Catheter with adjustable hardness

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of medical equipment, in particular to a hardness-adjustable catheter. The hardness-adjustable catheter comprises a catheter part and a handle part connected to one end of the catheter part, the catheter part comprises an inner tube and an outer tube arranged outside the inner tube in a sleeving mode, and the end, away from the handle part, of the inner tube is connected with the end, away from the handle part, of the outer tube in a sealed mode; a supporting piece with adjustable supporting strength is arranged at the position, away from the handle part, between the inner pipe and the outer pipe, the supporting piece is connected with an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the supporting strength of the supporting piece, and the strength of the other end of the catheter part is synchronously increased or decreased along with increase or decrease of the supporting strength of the supporting piece. The supporting piece has the advantages that the structural design is simple and ingenious, the supporting strength of the supporting piece can be adjusted through stretching and retracting of the supporting piece, and therefore the soft and hard states of the catheter part in the area where the supporting piece is located can be adjusted, and operation is convenient and fast.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of medical equipment, and in particular to a catheter with adjustable hardness and softness. Background Art

[0002] During cerebrovascular interventional treatment, it is necessary to extend the guide catheter through the vertebral artery into the cerebral blood vessels. The function of the guide catheter is to provide a stable pathway for other interventional instruments, so that the instruments can reach the designated location in the blood vessels. The guide catheter needs to have good flexibility so that the guide catheter can pass through the inside of blood vessels with different degrees of bending. At the same time, the guide catheter needs to have a certain hardness to provide a stable thrust to ensure that the guide catheter can smoothly reach the predetermined location. However, flexibility and hardness are two opposite indicators. If the flexibility is high, the hardness of the catheter will be low, which is not conducive to pushing the tube; if the flexibility is low, the hardness of the catheter will be high, and it will be difficult for the guide catheter to pass through the curved blood vessels, which is not conducive to the catheterization operation. Therefore, how to provide a guide catheter with both good flexibility and hardness is a difficulty in this field.

[0003] In order to improve the support performance and passability of the guide catheter, the prior art adopts the solution of catheter segments with different stiffness. For example, patent 201621141433X discloses a guide catheter, in which each segment of the catheter body has different stiffness, that is, the catheter body includes a flexible segment support segment and a push segment connected in sequence from the distal end to the proximal end; the tube body of the catheter body has different degrees of bending, which can ensure the overall support of the guide catheter on the one hand, and ensure the passability of the catheter on the other hand. However, the head end of the guide catheter is still a flexible segment, and the flexibility and hardness of the tube body cannot be adjusted.

[0004] Based on this, in order to overcome the above technical problems, it is necessary to develop a guide catheter whose flexibility and hardness can be adjusted at any time. Summary of the invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a catheter with adjustable hardness and softness, which effectively overcomes the defects of the prior art.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention to solve the above technical problems is as follows:

[0007] A catheter with adjustable hardness and softness comprises a catheter portion and a handle portion connected to one end of the catheter portion, the catheter portion comprises an inner tube and an outer tube sleeved on the outside of the inner tube, the inner tube and the outer tube are sealedly connected at one end away from the handle portion, a support member with adjustable support strength is provided at a portion between the inner tube and the outer tube away from the handle portion, the support member is connected to an adjustment mechanism for adjusting its support strength, and the strength of the other end of the catheter portion increases or decreases synchronously with the increase or decrease of the support strength of the support member.

[0008] Based on the above technical solution, the present invention can also be improved as follows.

[0009] Furthermore, the support member is a component with an adjustment gap on its surface, one end of the support member is connected and fixed to the other end of the conduit portion, the adjustment mechanism is connected to the other end of the support member, and the adjustment mechanism is used to drive the support member to extend or retract so that the adjustment gap size on its surface becomes smaller or larger, thereby adjusting its support strength.

[0010] Furthermore, the above-mentioned supporting member includes a fixed ring, a movable ring and a telescopic member, the above-mentioned fixed ring and the movable ring are respectively fixed at two ends of the above-mentioned telescopic member, the above-mentioned fixed ring is fixed to one end between the above-mentioned inner tube and the outer tube away from the above-mentioned handle part, the above-mentioned movable ring and the telescopic member are sleeved outside the above-mentioned inner tube, the above-mentioned adjustment mechanism is connected to the above-mentioned movable ring, and the above-mentioned telescopic member surface is provided with an adjustment gap.

[0011] Furthermore, the telescopic member comprises two groups of first and second wires with opposite spiral directions, the first and second wires are woven into a mesh component, and the hollow area between the first and second wires forms an adjustment gap.

[0012] Furthermore, the telescopic member is a rotary cut tube.

[0013] Furthermore, the telescopic member is a wave spring; at least one wave spring is provided, and when there are multiple wave springs, they are connected in series.

[0014] Furthermore, the telescopic member is a spring wire, and the spring wire spirally surrounds the inner tube.

[0015] Furthermore, the above-mentioned adjustment mechanism includes a pushing tube and a pushing handle, one end of the above-mentioned pushing tube is inserted from the above-mentioned handle part, and is sleeved between the above-mentioned inner tube and the outer tube, and is connected to the other end of the above-mentioned support member, the above-mentioned pushing handle is installed on one end of the above-mentioned pushing tube, and the above-mentioned inner tube extends into the above-mentioned pushing tube or the pushing handle, or extends out of the above-mentioned pushing handle.

[0016] Furthermore, the adjustment mechanism comprises a plurality of pulling wires, one end of the pulling wires is connected to the movable ring, and the other end thereof, after passing around the fixed ring, extends along the length direction of the outer tube and passes out of the handle portion.

[0017] Furthermore, the surface of the handle is provided with an anti-slip structure.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are: the structural design is simple and ingenious, and the support strength of the support member can be adjusted by the extension and retraction of the support member, thereby adjusting the softness and hardness of the catheter part in the area where the support member is located, and the operation is relatively convenient and quick. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the soft and hard adjustable catheter of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of a support member in a catheter with adjustable hardness and softness of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of a support member in a catheter with adjustable hardness and softness of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of a support member in a catheter with adjustable hardness and softness of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the wave spring structure involved in the hardness-adjustable catheter of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the rotary cutting tube involved in the soft and hard adjustable catheter of the present invention.

[0025] In the accompanying drawings, the components represented by the reference numerals are listed as follows:

[0026] 1. catheter part; 2. handle part; 3. support part; 4. adjustment mechanism; 11. inner tube; 12. outer tube; 31. fixed ring; 32. movable ring; 33. telescopic part; 41. push tube; 42. push handle; 331. first wire; 332. second wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The principles and features of the present invention are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The examples given are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0028] Example

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the soft and hard adjustable catheter of this embodiment includes a catheter part 1 and a handle part 2 connected to one end of the above-mentioned catheter part 1, the above-mentioned catheter part 1 includes an inner tube 11 and an outer tube 12 sleeved on the outside of the above-mentioned inner tube 11, the inner tube 11 and the outer tube 12 are sealed and connected at one end away from the above-mentioned handle part 2, and a support member 3 with adjustable support strength is provided at a portion between the inner tube 11 and the outer tube 12 away from the handle part 2, and the above-mentioned support member 3 is connected to an adjustment mechanism 4 for adjusting its support strength, and the strength of the other end of the above-mentioned catheter part 1 increases or decreases synchronously with the increase or decrease of the support strength of the above-mentioned support member 3.

[0030] When the hardness-adjustable catheter of this embodiment is used, the catheter as a whole can enter along the patient's blood vessels or tissues. During the entry process, the hardness of the proximal end of the catheter (that is, the end away from the handle portion 2) can be adjusted according to the needs. For example, when passing through the curved section of the blood vessel, the catheter needs a relatively high flexibility, so the support strength of the support member 3 needs to be low. If it needs to pass through the narrow section, it needs to be pushed. At this time, the proximal end of the catheter portion 1 needs a relatively high support strength. Therefore, it can be adjusted by the adjustment mechanism 4 to increase the support strength of the support member 3, that is, to increase the hardness of the proximal end of the entire catheter, so that the catheter can pass smoothly under the push. The overall structural design is simple and ingenious. The support strength of the support member can be adjusted by the extension and contraction of the support member, thereby adjusting the hardness of the catheter portion in the area where the support member is located. The operation is relatively convenient and quick.

[0031] As a preferred embodiment, the support member 3 is a component with an adjustment gap on its surface, one end of the support member 3 is connected and fixed to the other end of the conduit portion 1, and the adjustment mechanism 4 is connected to the other end of the support member 3. The adjustment mechanism 4 is used to drive the support member 3 to extend or retract so that the adjustment gap size on its surface becomes smaller or larger, thereby adjusting its support strength.

[0032] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the expansion and contraction of the support member 3 is adjusted by the adjustment mechanism 4. When contracting, the adjustment gap is reduced and the support strength of the support member 3 is increased, that is, the hardness of the proximal end of the catheter is increased. Under normal conditions, the adjustment gap on the surface of the support member 3 is too large, and its support strength is low, then the hardness of the proximal end of the catheter is too small.

[0033] As a preferred embodiment, Figure 2 , 3 As shown in Figures 4, the support member 3 includes a fixed ring 31, a movable ring 32 and a telescopic member 33. The fixed ring 31 and the movable ring 32 are respectively fixed to the two ends of the telescopic member 33. The fixed ring 31 is fixed to an end between the inner tube 11 and the outer tube 12 away from the handle portion 2. The movable ring 32 and the telescopic member 33 are sleeved outside the inner tube 11. The adjusting mechanism 4 is connected to the movable ring 32, and an adjusting gap is provided on the surface of the telescopic member 33.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the movable ring 32 is driven to move closer to or away from the fixed ring 31 by the adjustment mechanism 4, so that the telescopic member 33 is extended or shortened, thereby changing the size of the adjustment gap to achieve the purpose of adjusting the hardness of the catheter, and the operation is relatively simple and convenient.

[0035] In this embodiment, the telescopic member 33 includes at least the following structural forms:

[0036] 1) If Figure 2As shown, the telescopic member 33 includes two groups of first wires 331 and second wires 332 with opposite spiral directions. The first wires 331 and second wires 332 are woven into a mesh component, and the hollow area between the first wires 331 and second wires 332 forms an adjustment gap.

[0037] 2) If Figure 3 , 6 As shown, the telescopic member 33 is a conventional rotary cut tube on the market.

[0038] 3) The telescopic member 33 is a wave spring (such as Figure 5 As shown); there is at least one wave spring, and when there are multiple wave springs, they are connected in series (that is, the wave springs are arranged in a row, and the ends of adjacent wave springs are connected).

[0039] 4) If Figure 4 As shown, the telescopic member 33 is a spring wire, which spirally surrounds the inner tube 11.

[0040] As a preferred embodiment, Figure 1 As shown, the above-mentioned adjustment mechanism 4 includes a pushing tube 41 and a pushing handle 42. One end of the above-mentioned pushing tube 41 is inserted from the above-mentioned handle portion 2, and is sleeved between the above-mentioned inner tube 11 and the outer tube 12, and is connected to the other end of the above-mentioned support member 3. The above-mentioned pushing handle 42 is installed at one end of the above-mentioned pushing tube 41, and the above-mentioned inner tube 11 extends into the above-mentioned pushing tube 41 or the pushing handle 42, or extends out of the above-mentioned pushing handle 42.

[0041] In the above-mentioned implementation scheme, when the adjustment mechanism 4 is in operation, the push handle 42 is driven by external force to perform a "pulling" operation, and the movable ring 32 can be pushed and pulled through the push tube 41, thereby adjusting the telescopic length of the telescopic member 33, thereby realizing the adjustment of the supporting strength of the telescopic member 33, and the operation is relatively simple and convenient.

[0042] In this embodiment, protective structures such as convex ridges, convex points, etc. can be designed on the outer surfaces of the handle portion 2 and the push handle 42.

[0043] As a preferred embodiment, the adjustment mechanism 4 includes a plurality of pulling wires, one end of which is connected to the movable ring 32 , and the other end of which, after passing around the fixed ring 31 , extends along the length direction of the outer tube 12 and passes through the handle portion 2 .

[0044] In the above-mentioned embodiment, by simultaneously pulling one end of the plurality of pulling wires located outside the handle portion 2, the movable ring 32 can be pulled to move closer to the fixed ring 31, thereby adjusting the contraction of the telescopic member 33 and enhancing its supporting strength (that is, enhancing the strength of the catheter away from the handle portion 2). Since the telescopic member 33 itself is elastic, after the external force is removed, the telescopic member 33 will automatically return to its original position, the supporting strength is reduced, and the operation is relatively quick.

[0045] In this embodiment, a pull ring is connected to one end of the pulling wire outside the handle portion 2 , and the pull ring is used to conveniently operate the pulling wire to pull the movable ring 32 closer to the fixed ring 31 .

[0046] In this embodiment, the surface of the handle portion 2 is provided with an anti-slip structure, and the anti-slip structure may specifically be convex points, anti-slip patterns, and the like.

[0047] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms “center”, “longitudinal”, “lateral”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, “right”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, “inside”, “outside”, “clockwise”, “counterclockwise”, “axial”, “radial”, “circumferential”, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0048] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0049] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0050] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" or "above" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" or "below" a second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0051] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.

[0052] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is to be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not to be construed as limitations of the present invention. A person skilled in the art may change, modify, replace and vary the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A catheter with adjustable hardness and softness, characterized in that: The invention comprises a catheter part (1) and a handle part (2) connected to one end of the catheter part (1); the catheter part (1) comprises an inner tube (11) and an outer tube (12) sleeved on the outside of the inner tube (11); the inner tube (11) and the outer tube (12) are sealedly connected at one end away from the handle part (2); a support member (3) with adjustable support strength is provided at a portion between the inner tube (11) and the outer tube (12) away from the handle part (2); the support member (3) is connected to an adjustment mechanism (4) for adjusting its support strength; the strength of the other end of the catheter part (1) increases or decreases synchronously with the increase or decrease of the support strength of the support member (3).

2. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support member (3) is a component with an adjustment gap on its surface. One end of the support member (3) is connected and fixed to the other end of the conduit portion (1). The adjustment mechanism (4) is connected to the other end of the support member (3). The adjustment mechanism (4) is used to drive the support member (3) to expand or contract, thereby reducing or increasing the size of the adjustment gap on its surface, thereby adjusting its support strength.

3. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to claim 2, characterized in that: The support member (3) comprises a fixed ring (31), a movable ring (32) and a telescopic member (33); the fixed ring (31) and the movable ring (32) are respectively fixed to two ends of the telescopic member (33); the fixed ring (31) is fixed to an end of the inner tube (11) and the outer tube (12) away from the handle portion (2); the movable ring (32) and the telescopic member (33) are sleeved outside the inner tube (11); the adjustment mechanism (4) is connected to the movable ring (32); and an adjustment gap is provided on the surface of the telescopic member (33).

4. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to claim 3, characterized in that: The telescopic member (33) comprises two groups of first wires (331) and second wires (332) with opposite spiral directions, the first wires (331) and the second wires (332) are woven into a mesh component, and a hollow area between the first wires (331) and the second wires (332) forms an adjustment gap.

5. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to claim 3, characterized in that: The telescopic member (33) is a rotary cut tube.

6. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to claim 3, characterized in that: The telescopic member (33) is a wave spring; at least one wave spring is provided, and when there are multiple wave springs, they are connected in series.

7. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to claim 3, characterized in that: The telescopic member (33) is a spring wire, which spirally surrounds the inner tube (11).

8. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The adjusting mechanism (4) comprises a pushing tube (41) and a pushing handle (42). One end of the pushing tube (41) is inserted from the handle portion (2), and is sleeved between the inner tube (11) and the outer tube (12), and is connected to the other end of the supporting member (3). The pushing handle (42) is mounted on one end of the pushing tube (41), and the inner tube (11) extends into the pushing tube (41) or the pushing handle (42), or extends out of the pushing handle (42).

9. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The adjustment mechanism (4) comprises a plurality of pulling wires, one end of each pulling wire is connected to the movable ring (32), and the other end of each pulling wire, after passing around the fixed ring (31), extends along the length direction of the outer tube (12) and passes through the outside of the handle portion (2).

10. The hardness-adjustable catheter according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The surface of the handle portion (2) is provided with an anti-slip structure.

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