Disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel

Abstract

This invention relates to a disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel. It comprises a housing with an internal delivery channel, an installation section, and a gripping section. The gripping section is located at the bottom of the installation section and extends towards the rear end of the installation section. The installation section has a catheter extending towards the front end and forming a working channel internally. The installation section has an irrigation tube and an assembly tube. The rear end of the gripping section has a discharge tube. Both the irrigation tube and the discharge tube are connected to the delivery channel. The working channel is connected to the delivery channel and has a diameter between 1.21 mm and 3 mm, which is larger than the maximum working channel size of 1.2 mm of current ureteroscopes. This large working channel increases the irrigation flow and improves the suction efficiency. In addition, the outer diameter of the catheter is smaller than the minimum size of current guide sheaths by 4 mm, which allows for direct surgery for patients with urethral stricture who cannot have a guide sheath inserted.

Description

Disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel Technical Field

[0001] This invention is a disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel, especially a ureteroscope that can be used in kidney stone surgery. Prior Technology

[0002] During kidney stone surgery, to reduce patient pain and accurately remove stones from deep within the kidney, doctors typically use a flexible ureteroscope in conjunction with a ureteral guide sheath. During the procedure, the doctor first inserts the ureteral guide sheath into the ureter, then passes the catheter of the flexible ureteroscope through the guide sheath and into the ureter and kidney. This allows the doctor to examine the location of the kidney stone through the endoscope at the end of the catheter. A laser fiber is then extended from the catheter and aimed at the stone, using a high-energy laser to generate shockwaves that break the stone.

[0003] However, the laser procedure generates a large number of small fragments and dust, which may obstruct the endoscope lens and prevent a clear view. Therefore, during the laser stone fragmentation process, the doctor will simultaneously infuse saline solution into the working channel of the catheter to flush the kidney, and then use a suction device to aspirate the stone fragments. Through repeated infusion and suction, the clarity of the surgical field can be ensured, and small fragments can be prevented from getting stuck in the gaps in the kidney, thereby effectively removing the stones from the kidney.

[0004] However, the inner diameter of current ureteroscope catheters is too small, even the largest size is only between 1mm and 1.2mm, resulting in insufficient perfusion flow and efficiency of normal saline, as well as poor aspiration efficiency, leading to the following disadvantages: 1. Insufficient perfusion flow rate can lead to kidney burns: The high temperature generated when the laser beam is focused can cause the water temperature inside the kidney to rise continuously. If the perfusion flow rate is too low, the saline solution cannot cool the inside of the kidney in time, which can easily cause kidney burns. 2. Risk of complications due to slow aspiration: When too much fluid accumulates in the kidneys and cannot be aspirated and drained in time, the kidneys will be subjected to greater expansion pressure, which may cause damage and increase the incidence of complications such as bacterial infection and urosepsis. 3. Limited working channel space in the catheter affects surgical efficiency: If the working channel space in the catheter is too small, larger stone fragments cannot be smoothly suctioned out. They need to be broken into smaller fragments by laser treatment to pass through the working channel, which increases the workload of the doctor and also causes the stone fragments to be suctioned too slowly, thus prolonging the operation time and increasing the risk of postoperative infection for the patient.

[0005] In addition, the catheter used in modern ureteroscopy must be used with a ureteral guide sheath for the procedure. However, the smallest standard ureteral guide sheath has an outer diameter of about 4 mm. When the patient's urethra is narrow, the ureteral guide sheath cannot be inserted, and the procedure cannot be performed smoothly. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The main purpose of this invention is to provide a disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel, in order to improve the current ureteroscopes with too small an inner diameter of the catheter, resulting in insufficient irrigation flow and poor aspiration efficiency, which in turn causes harm to the patient's body.

[0007] To achieve the aforementioned objectives, this invention comprises a disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel, which includes: A housing includes a mounting portion and a gripping portion, and a conveying channel is formed inside. The gripping portion is disposed at the bottom of the mounting portion and extends toward the rear end of the mounting portion. A conduit is disposed at the device and extends toward the front end of the device, and forms a working channel inside, which is connected to the delivery channel, and has a diameter between 1.21 mm and 3 mm; A set of connecting pipes is located at the rear end of the installation unit and connects to the conveying channel; An injection pipe, which is located on one side of the device and connected to the delivery channel; and A pipe is disposed at the rear end of the grip and connected to the conveying channel.

[0008] This invention features a disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel, suitable for kidney stone surgery. The working channel diameter of this disposable flexible ureteroscope, with a diameter between 1.21mm and 3mm, is larger than the current maximum working channel size of 1.2mm, creating a large working channel. Combined with the irrigation tubing connecting to an external irrigation device and the discharge tubing connecting to an external suction device, this increases irrigation flow and improves suction efficiency, offering the following advantages: 1. Immediate cooling and decompression of the kidney to reduce postoperative complications: Sufficient physiological saline can be rapidly infused into the kidney, and excess fluid can be drained immediately, thereby maintaining the temperature and pressure of the kidney at a safe threshold and reducing the incidence of postoperative complications such as infection and urosepsis. 2. Accelerates the removal of stone fragments to improve surgical efficiency: It can effectively flush out dust and stone fragments generated after laser lithotripsy, maintain clear vision during surgery, and can immediately and efficiently aspirate stone fragments during surgery, further improving surgical efficiency.

[0009] Furthermore, the outer diameter of the catheter of the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel is smaller than the current minimum size of ureteral guide sheath by 4mm, and it has the function of protecting the urinary system. Therefore, for patients with urethral stricture who cannot have a ureteral guide sheath inserted, the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel can be used directly for surgery. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0010] Figure 1: A side view of the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel of this invention. Figure 2: A schematic diagram of the AA section of Figure 1. Figure 3: A schematic diagram of the irrigation and drainage of the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel in this invention. Implementation

[0011] Please refer to Figure 1, which shows a preferred embodiment of the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel of the present invention, which includes a housing 10, a catheter 20, a set of connecting tubes 30, an irrigation tube 40 and an exhaust tube 50.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the housing 10 includes a mounting part 11 and a gripping part 12, and a conveying channel is formed inside. The gripping part 12 is disposed at the bottom of the mounting part 11 and extends toward the rear end of the mounting part 11.

[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the conduit 20 is disposed on the device 11 and extends toward the front end of the device 11, and forms a working channel 21 inside. The working channel 21 is connected to the delivery channel, and the diameter Ø is between 1.21 mm and 3 mm.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the connecting pipe 30 is located at the rear end of the installation part 11 and is connected to the conveying channel.

[0015] As shown in Figure 1, the injection pipe 40 is located on one side of the device 11 and is connected to the delivery channel.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the discharge pipe 50 is located at the rear end of the gripping part 12 and is connected to the conveying channel.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, when performing kidney stone surgery using the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel of this invention, the physician can hold the grip part 12 and insert the catheter 20 into the kidney through the patient's urethra. Then, instruments such as laser fibers are inserted through the connecting tube 30 through the delivery channel and then through the working channel 21 of the catheter 20 into the kidney. In this way, the physician can accurately locate the stone in the kidney through the endoscope at the end of the catheter 20, so as to perform laser lithotripsy using laser fibers.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the infusion tube 40 can be connected to an external infusion device, allowing physiological saline to enter the delivery channel from the infusion tube 40 and be infused into the kidney through the working channel 21 of the catheter 20. The discharge tube 50 can be connected to an external suction device, allowing the working channel 21 of the catheter 20 to aspirate fluid or fragments from the kidney and discharge them through the delivery channel from the discharge tube 50. Furthermore, since the diameter Ø of the working channel 21 of the catheter 20 is between 1.21 mm and 3 mm, a larger working channel 21 can be formed, thereby achieving sufficient perfusion flow and high suction efficiency.

[0019] Therefore, as shown in Figure 3, when the high temperature generated by the laser causes the temperature inside the kidney to rise, through the cooperation of the perfusion device and the working channel 21 of the catheter 20, physiological saline can be quickly and adequately perfused into the kidney, thereby immediately relieving the temperature inside the kidney and preventing kidney burns. When too much fluid accumulates inside the kidney, causing excessive pressure inside the kidney, through the cooperation of the suction device and the working channel 21 of the catheter 20, excess fluid can be aspirated from the kidney and quickly discharged from the body, thereby avoiding the risk of kidney rupture and bacterial infection. In this way, the temperature and pressure inside the kidney can be maintained at a safe threshold, improving the safety of the surgery.

[0020] Meanwhile, as shown in Figure 3, when a large number of stone fragments and dust are generated during laser lithotripsy, obstructing the view, the irrigation device, in conjunction with the working channel 21 of the catheter 20, can achieve a good flushing effect, reducing dust interference with the surgical field of vision. In addition, during the laser lithotripsy process, the suction device, in conjunction with the working channel 21 of the catheter 20, can simultaneously aspirate the stone fragments in the kidney and remove them from the body, further improving the clarity of the surgical field of vision. Furthermore, because the working channel 21 of the catheter 20 has a sufficiently large space, it can not only improve the efficiency of aspirating stone fragments, but also allow larger stone fragments to be smoothly removed, reducing the number of times the doctor needs to perform laser lithotripsy and aspiration again, thereby improving the efficiency of the surgery.

[0021] In summary, this invention features a disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel. The working channel 21 of the catheter 20 has a diameter Ø between 1.21 mm and 3 mm, providing ample space. Combined with the irrigation tube 40 connecting to an external irrigation device and the discharge tube 50 connecting to an external suction device, this increases irrigation flow and improves suction efficiency. During surgery, physiological saline can be infused into the kidney immediately, or excess fluid can be aspirated, maintaining the kidney's temperature and pressure at safe thresholds. Simultaneously, it effectively flushes out kidney stone fragments and dust, maintaining a clear surgical field and efficiently aspirating stone fragments, further enhancing the safety and efficiency of the procedure.

[0022] Furthermore, the outer diameter of the catheter 20 of the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel is smaller than the minimum size of the current ureteral guide sheath by 4mm, and it has the function of protecting the urinary system. Therefore, for patients with urethral stricture who cannot have a ureteral guide sheath inserted, the disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel can be used directly for surgery.

[0023] 10: Shell 11: Installation Department 12: Grip section 20: Catheter 21: Work passage 30: Group Takeover 40: Injection pipe 50: Discharge pipe Ø: Diameter

Claims

1. A disposable flexible ureteroscope with a large working channel, comprising: a housing including an mounting portion and a gripping portion, and having an internal delivery channel formed therein, the gripping portion being disposed at the bottom of the mounting portion and extending toward the rear end of the mounting portion; a catheter being disposed at the mounting portion and extending toward the front end of the mounting portion, and having an internal working channel forming therein, the working channel communicating with the delivery channel, and having a diameter between 1.21 mm and 3 mm; a set of connecting tubes being disposed at the rear end of the mounting portion and communicating with the delivery channel; an infusion tube being disposed on one side of the mounting portion and communicating with the delivery channel; and a discharge tube being disposed at the rear end of the gripping portion and communicating with the delivery channel.

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