Supporting catheter with adjustable flexibility

Abstract

The invention provides a supporting catheter with adjustable flexibility, and belongs to the technical field of interventional surgical instruments. Comprising a catheter body, the side wall of the far end of the catheter body is provided with an adjusting channel capable of being filled with fluid, the catheter body is further provided with a filling channel communicated with the adjusting channel, the filling channel extends to the near end along the catheter body, and the near end of the catheter body is provided with filling equipment. The adjusting channel is filled with fluid through the filling channel according to needs so as to adjust the supporting performance of the far end of the catheter body. The technical problem that in the prior art, a supporting catheter needs high flexibility before reaching the thrombus position, and enough supporting performance is needed when a thrombus taking support is conveyed is effectively solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of interventional surgical instruments, and particularly relates to a support catheter with adjustable flexibility. Background Art

[0002] Stroke, also known as cerebrovascular accident or apoplexy, is a disorder of cerebral blood circulation, resulting in local ischemic necrosis or softening of brain tissue due to ischemia and hypoxia, including cerebral infarction, cerebral embolism, transient ischemic attack, lacunar infarction, multiple cerebral softening, etc., characterized by high incidence, high disability rate and high mortality.

[0003] For different types of stroke, the treatment methods are different. For the case of vascular embolism, surgical treatment usually has significant effects.

[0004] During the surgical treatment process, as Figure 1 shown, first, the doctor will perform local disinfection and anesthesia in the patient's groin area (the common puncture site of the femoral artery), and then use a puncture needle to puncture the femoral artery percutaneously. After successful puncture, a guide wire is introduced into the blood vessel through the puncture needle, and then a catheter sheath 2 is inserted into the femoral artery along the guide wire to establish an operation channel leading to the cerebral blood vessel 1. The angiography catheter is gradually pushed upward along the blood vessel through the catheter sheath 2 until it reaches the carotid artery or vertebral artery in the neck. Then, a contrast agent is injected, and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) examination is performed under X-ray fluoroscopy to clearly show the morphology, course of the cerebral blood vessel 1, and the specific location and blockage condition of the thrombus 5. According to the angiography results, the support catheter 3 is carefully passed through the catheter sheath 2 and slowly advanced along the blood vessel, passing through the narrow or curved blood vessel segments, and finally reaching the location of the thrombus 5. Finally, a microcatheter 6 with a thrombectomy stent 4 compressed by a microguide wire is advanced along the support catheter 3 to the location of the thrombus 5. Then, the microguide wire is withdrawn, and then the thrombectomy stent 4 is released. The thrombectomy stent 4 will open and closely adhere to the thrombus 5, and the thrombus 5 is fixed on the thrombectomy stent 4 through mechanical grasping. The support catheter 3 and the thrombectomy stent 4 are slowly withdrawn to remove the thrombus 5 out of the body together.

[0005] During the above surgical operation process, when the support catheter 3 extends from the distal end of the catheter sheath 2 and continues to travel distally along the cerebral blood vessel 1, the diameter of the cerebral blood vessel 1 is relatively thin and there are many curved situations. Therefore, in order to avoid damaging the blood vessel and ensure that the support catheter 3 can smoothly reach the location of the thrombus 5, the support catheter 3 needs to have high flexibility. When it reaches the location of the thrombus 5 and it is necessary to deliver the thrombectomy stent 4 into the support catheter 3, if the flexibility of the support catheter 3 is still high at this time, during the pushing process of the thrombectomy stent 4, especially in the section between the distal end of the catheter sheath 2 and the thrombus 5, the support catheter 3 is prone to displacement due to poor supportability, resulting in the thrombectomy stent 4 not being accurately delivered in place.

[0006] Therefore, it is necessary to provide an improved technical solution to address the deficiencies of the above-mentioned existing technologies. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a support catheter with adjustable flexibility, so as to at least solve the contradictory problem in the existing technology that the support catheter requires high flexibility before reaching the thrombus position, while sufficient support is needed when delivering the thrombectomy stent.

[0008] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0009] A support catheter with adjustable flexibility, including a catheter body. An adjustable channel capable of filling fluid is provided on the side wall at the distal end of the catheter body. A filling passage communicating with the adjustable channel is also provided on the catheter body. The filling passage extends along the catheter body to the proximal end. A filling device is provided at the proximal end of the catheter body for filling fluid into the adjustable channel through the filling passage as needed to adjust the support performance at the distal end of the catheter body.

[0010] As a further optimized technical solution, the adjustable channel is in the shape of a helical spring, and the flexibility of the adjustable channel gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0011] As a further optimized technical solution, the cross-section of the adjustable channel gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0012] As a further optimized technical solution, the pitch of the adjustable channel gradually increases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0013] As a further optimized technical solution, the adjustable channel is in a wavy shape, and the flexibility of the adjustable channel gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0014] As a further optimized technical solution, the cross-section of the adjustable channel gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0015] As a further optimized technical solution, the size of the adjustable channel in the circumferential direction gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0016] As a further optimized technical solution, the adjustable channel is in a straight shape, and a plurality of adjustable channels are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the catheter body.

[0017] As a further optimized technical solution, the proximal ends of the plurality of adjustable channels communicate with an annular passage together, and the annular passage communicates with the distal end of the filling passage.

[0018] As a further optimized technical solution, a developing component is provided at the distal end of the catheter body for displaying the position of the catheter body during the operation.

[0019] Beneficial effects:

[0020] (1)Precisely meet the needs of different surgical stages: By adopting the design of providing an adjustable channel capable of filling fluid on the distal side wall of the catheter body, and matching it with a connected filling path and a filling device at the proximal end, the present invention realizes the flexible adjustment of the supporting performance of the supporting catheter. In the early stage of the operation, when the supporting catheter needs to pass through the cerebral blood vessels with a relatively small diameter and many bending conditions and travel towards the thrombus position, by controlling the filling device to reduce or stop filling fluid into the adjustable channel, the supporting catheter can maintain high flexibility, and thus can easily shuttle in the complex vascular environment, effectively reducing damage to the blood vessels and significantly improving the success rate of the supporting catheter reaching the thrombus position. When the thrombus position is reached and a thrombus removal stent needs to be delivered into the supporting catheter, only by operating the filling device to fill an appropriate amount of fluid into the adjustable channel, the supporting performance at the distal end of the supporting catheter will be rapidly enhanced, providing stable support for the pushing of the thrombus removal stent and ensuring that the thrombus removal stent can be accurately delivered in place, successfully solving the contradiction problem of the requirements for flexibility and supportability of the supporting catheter in different surgical stages in the prior art and significantly improving the overall success rate of the operation.

[0021] (2)Diversified adjustable channel design to adapt to complex vascular morphology: A variety of different-shaped adjustable channels are carefully designed, and each channel has unique performance advantages, which can fully meet the complex and changeable morphological requirements of the cerebral blood vessels.

[0022] For the adjustable channel in the shape of a helical spring, after it is arranged on the catheter body, a continuous cavity is circumferentially arranged at the distal end of the catheter body, so that the distal end of the catheter body has better flexibility in the early stage, and the supporting performance of the catheter body can be fully increased by filling fluid in the later stage.

[0023] For the wavy adjustable channel, this design endows the supporting catheter with unique adjustment characteristics, enabling it to exhibit just the right supporting performance when facing different vascular conditions and surgical operation requirements, providing more possibilities for the smooth progress of the operation.

[0024] The adjustable channels in a straight shape and arranged at intervals along the circumference of the catheter body, in cooperation with the annular path that is commonly connected at the proximal end and the connection design with the distal end of the filling path, enable the supporting catheter to provide uniform and stable supporting force when delivering the thrombus removal stent. Just like a solid "supporting frame", it comprehensively guarantees the stability of the thrombus removal stent during the pushing process, effectively avoiding the displacement problem of the supporting catheter caused by insufficient supportability, and further improving the reliability of the operation.

[0025] (3) The imaging component enhances the safety and accuracy of the surgery: An imaging component is provided at the distal end of the catheter body. During the entire surgical operation, doctors can clearly observe the position of the imaging component through equipment such as X-rays, thereby understanding in real time and accurately the specific position of the catheter body in the cerebral blood vessels. This enables doctors to more precisely control the support catheter, avoiding misoperations caused by the inability to accurately judge the position of the support catheter, greatly improving the accuracy and safety of the surgical operation, and providing a more reliable guarantee for the health of patients. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] The accompanying drawings forming a part of this application are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention. The schematic embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention. Among them:

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a surgical operation in the prior art;

[0028] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the distal structure of the support catheter in Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the distal structure of the support catheter in Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the distal structure of the support catheter in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0031] In the figures: 1, cerebral blood vessels; 2, catheter sheath; 3, support catheter; 310, catheter body; 311 - 313 respectively represent adjustment channels in different embodiments (wherein, the adjustment channel in the first embodiment is 311, the adjustment channel in the second embodiment is 312, and the adjustment channel in the third embodiment is 313); 320, filling passage; 330, annular passage; 340, imaging component; 4, thrombectomy stent; 5, thrombus; 6, microcatheter. Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0032] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and does not require the present invention to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it should not be construed as a limitation to the present invention. The terms "connected" and "coupled" used in the present invention should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate component. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to specific circumstances. Additionally, in the present invention, the "distal end" uniformly refers to the end far from the operator, and the "proximal end" uniformly refers to the end close to the operator.

[0034] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and in conjunction with embodiments. It should be noted that, without conflict, the embodiments in the present invention and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0035] The shapes and sizes of the components in the drawings do not reflect the true proportions of the products, and the purpose is only to schematically illustrate the content of the present invention.

[0036] The present invention provides a support catheter with adjustable flexibility. By opening an adjustment channel capable of filling fluid on the distal sidewall of the catheter body, controlling the pressure of filling fluid into the adjustment channel, the support performance of the distal end of the support catheter can be flexibly adjusted. It provides stable support for the pushing of the thrombectomy stent, ensuring that the thrombectomy stent can be accurately delivered in place, and successfully solving the contradiction problem of the requirements for flexibility and support of the support catheter in different surgical stages in the prior art, significantly improving the overall success rate of the surgery.

[0037] Embodiment 1

[0038] As Figure 2 shown, the support catheter with adjustable flexibility includes a catheter body 310. An adjustment channel 311 capable of filling fluid is opened on the sidewall of the distal end of the catheter body 310, and a filling passage 320 communicating with the adjustment channel 311 is also opened on the catheter body 310. The filling passage 320 extends along the catheter body 310 to the proximal end. A common filling device for filling fluid (such as a syringe-type filling device, an electric pump-type filling device, or a pressure tank-type filling device) is provided at the proximal end of the catheter body 310, which is used to fill fluid into the adjustment channel 311 through the filling passage 320 as needed to adjust the support performance of the distal end of the catheter body 310. It should be noted that the fluid can be a liquid with good fluidity similar to water, or a gas, or a gas-liquid mixture, as long as the fluidity performance meets the requirements. The material of the fluid can be a filling glue that can be in a fluid state and solidify, or a non-solidifying fluid.

[0039] When the fluid is the filling glue, after the support catheter 3 reaches the position of the thrombus 5, the filling glue can be used to fill and adjust the channel 311. The filling glue can quickly solidify, thereby solidifying the delivery channel of the thrombectomy stent 4 and facilitating the delivery of the thrombectomy stent 4. Of course, the hardness of the filling glue after solidification is not very high, as long as it can facilitate the delivery of the thrombectomy stent 4. After the thrombectomy is completed, the distal end of the support catheter 3 first retracts into the catheter sheath 2 after being appropriately deformed. Under the protection of the catheter sheath 2, the support catheter 3 will not cause damage to the blood vessel. Then, the support catheter 3 is withdrawn from the body together with the catheter sheath 2.

[0040] When the fluid cannot solidify, in the early stage, when the distal end of the support catheter 3 requires high flexibility to smoothly reach the position of the thrombus 5, the filling device can reduce or stop filling the fluid into the adjustment channel 311, making the distal end of the catheter body 310 relatively soft and easy to pass through the curved blood vessels in the brain; when it is necessary to deliver the thrombectomy stent 4 into the support catheter 3, an appropriate amount of fluid is filled into the adjustment channel 311 through the filling device, enhancing the support performance of the distal end of the catheter body 310, so as to ensure that the support catheter 3 will not easily displace during the pushing process of the thrombectomy stent 4 and ensure that the thrombectomy stent 4 can be accurately delivered in place.

[0041] In this embodiment, the adjustment channel 311 is in the shape of a spiral spring. The spiral spring shape itself has good structural stability and can effectively resist external pressure and deformation force after filling with fluid. During the operation, the support catheter may be subjected to various external forces such as the extrusion of the blood vessel wall and the pushing force of the thrombectomy stent. The adjustment channel 311 in the shape of a spiral spring can disperse and buffer these external forces through its own structural characteristics, maintain the shape and performance stability of the support catheter, and ensure its normal operation in a complex surgical environment.

[0042] On the basis of clarifying that the adjustment channel 311 in the shape of a spiral spring has good structural stability, we further analyze the requirements for the support and flexibility performance of different positions of the support catheter 3. In the distal part of the catheter body 310, the closer to the distal end, the better the flexibility is required, because when the front end advances in the blood vessel 1 in the brain, it will directly collide with the blood vessel wall. The closer to the proximal end, the higher the support requirement is, because effective transmission of the pushing force is needed. Therefore, the flexibility of the catheter body 310 gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end, and then the adjustment performance of the adjustment channel 311 needs to gradually decrease in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0043] To achieve the above object, in this embodiment, the cross-section of the adjustment channel 311 can be gradually reduced in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end. When presented on the catheter body 310, the larger the cross-section of the adjustment channel 311, the more material needs to be removed from the catheter body 310. Therefore, this position is softer. On the contrary, the smaller the cross-section of the adjustment channel 311, the less material needs to be removed from the catheter body 310. Therefore, the support performance of this position is stronger.

[0044] In addition, the pitch of the adjustment channel 311 can be gradually increased in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end. The greater the pitch, the stronger the support performance of the catheter body 310. The smaller the pitch, the higher the flexibility of the catheter body 310.

[0045] The above adjustments are limited to when no fluid is filled into the adjustment channel 311. When it is necessary to push the thrombectomy stent 4 through the support catheter 3, the support performance of the support catheter 3 is required. After the adjustment channel 311 is filled with fluid, the support performance of the catheter body 310 is adjusted as needed.

[0046] Furthermore, a visualization component 340 is provided at the distal end of the catheter body 310 for displaying the position of the catheter body 310 during the operation. In this embodiment, the visualization component 340 is a visualization ring. During the entire operation, the doctor can clearly observe the position of the visualization component 340 through equipment such as X-rays, so as to grasp the specific position of the catheter body 310 in the cerebral blood vessel 1 in real time and accurately. This enables the doctor to be more proficient in operating the support catheter, accurately judge the position and direction of the support catheter 3, timely adjust the operation strategy, and avoid misoperations caused by the inability to accurately judge the position of the support catheter 3, providing strong guarantee for the smooth progress of the operation.

[0047] Embodiment 2

[0048] As Figure 3 shown, in this embodiment, almost all the structures of the support catheter are the same as those in Embodiment 1. The only difference is that the adjustment channel 312 is wavy, and the wavy shape has a certain elasticity and buffering ability. During the pushing process of the thrombectomy stent 4, instantaneous impact forces may be generated. The wavy adjustment channel can buffer and absorb these impact forces like a spring, making the support catheter 3 more stable when bearing external forces and ensuring that the thrombectomy stent 4 can be smoothly and accurately delivered to the target position.

[0049] In this embodiment, in order to make the flexibility of the support catheter 3 better meet the actual requirements during the process of pushing it to the position of the thrombus 5, it is necessary to make the flexibility of the adjustment channel 312 gradually decrease in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0050] Specifically, it can be achieved by processing the cross-section of the adjustment channel 312 to gradually decrease in the direction of extension from the distal end to the proximal end, or by processing the circumferential dimension of the adjustment channel 312 to gradually decrease in the direction of extension from the distal end to the proximal end.

[0051] In the pre-operative stage, when the support catheter 3 needs to flexibly shuttle in the blood vessel, the fluid volume in the adjustment channel 312 is small, and the support catheter 3 maintains high flexibility. The wavy shape allows it to deform freely in the curved blood vessel, reducing damage to the blood vessel wall. When it reaches the position of the thrombus 5 and it is necessary to deliver the thrombectomy stent 4, fluid is filled into the adjustment channel 312. The structural change of the wavy shape enables the distal end of the support catheter 3 to quickly obtain a support force, and this support force gradually decreases from the distal end to the proximal end, which can accurately meet the requirements during the operation at different positions and achieve a smooth transition between flexibility and supportiveness.

[0052] Embodiment 3

[0053] As Figure 4 shown, in this embodiment, almost all the structures of the support catheter are the same as those in Embodiment 1. The only difference is that the adjustment channel 313 is in a straight line shape, and a plurality of adjustment channels 313 are arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction of the catheter body 310.

[0054] The proximal ends of the plurality of adjustment channels 313 are commonly connected to the annular passage 330, and the annular passage 330 is connected to the distal end of the filling passage 320. In this way, by setting one filling passage 320, the filling of all the adjustment channels 313 can be achieved.

[0055] In the initial stage of the operation, the support catheter 3 travels in the blood vessel in a state of relatively low supportiveness. At this time, the filling device has not filled a large amount of fluid into the adjustment channel 313, and the support catheter can easily adapt to the natural shape of the blood vessel and smoothly pass through various parts of the blood vessel and approach the position of the thrombus 5.

[0056] When it reaches the critical step of delivering the thrombectomy stent 4, the filling device starts to work, and delivers the fluid to the annular passage 330 through the filling passage 320, and then evenly fills it into each straight-line-shaped adjustment channel 313 arranged at intervals along the circumferential direction. The plurality of adjustment channels 313 act together to form a uniform and stable support structure at the distal end of the support catheter. This structure is like a solid "protective circle" that provides a reliable support force for the pushing of the thrombectomy stent 4 in all directions. During the process of pushing the thrombectomy stent 4, the distal end of the support catheter can maintain a high degree of stability, effectively avoiding the deviation or shaking of the support catheter caused by uneven support force, ensuring that the thrombectomy stent 4 can be delivered to the position of the thrombus 5 along an accurate route, and greatly improving the accuracy and reliability of the operation.

[0057] In summary, the present invention provides a support catheter with adjustable flexibility. By providing an adjustment channel in the form of a helical spring, a wave, or a straight line on the distal sidewall of the catheter body, and by controlling the pressure of the fluid filled into the adjustment channel, the flexible adjustment of the support performance of the distal end of the support catheter is achieved.

[0058] It can be understood that the above description is only exemplary, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0059] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are within the scope of the claims of the present invention awaiting approval.

Claims

1. A support catheter with adjustable flexibility, characterized in that: The invention comprises a catheter body (310), wherein the side wall at the distal end of the catheter body (310) is provided with adjustment channels (311, 312, 313) which can be filled with fluid, and the catheter body (310) is also provided with a filling passage (320) which is connected with the adjustment channels (311, 312, 313), and the filling passage (320) extends along the catheter body (310) to the proximal end, and a filling device is provided at the proximal end of the catheter body (310) for filling the adjustment channels (311, 312, 313) with fluid through the filling passage (320) as needed to adjust the supporting performance of the distal end of the catheter body (310).

2. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjustment channel (311) is in the shape of a spiral spring, and the flexibility of the adjustment channel (311) gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

3. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cross section of the adjustment channel (311) gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

4. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 2, characterized in that: The pitch of the adjustment channel (311) gradually increases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

5. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjustment channel (312) is wavy in shape, and the flexibility of the adjustment channel (312) gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

6. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 5, characterized in that: The cross section of the adjustment channel (312) gradually decreases in the extending direction from the distal end to the proximal end.

7. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 5, characterized in that: The circumferential dimension of the adjustment channel (312) gradually decreases in the direction extending from the distal end to the proximal end.

8. The support conduit with adjustable compliance according to claim 1, characterized in that: The adjustment channel (313) is in a straight line shape, and a plurality of the adjustment channels (313) are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the catheter body (310).

9. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to claim 8, characterized in that: The proximal ends of the plurality of adjustment channels (313) are connected to a common annular passage (330), and the annular passage (330) is connected to the distal end of the filling passage (320).

10. The support conduit with adjustable flexibility according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The distal end of the catheter body (310) is provided with a developing component (340) for displaying the position of the catheter body (310) during surgery.

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