Endometrial cell collector
By employing a fan-shaped design with multiple sampling brushes in the endometrial cell collector, the problem of incomplete sampling by existing samplers is solved, achieving full coverage of the uterine cavity wall and effective sampling at the uterine horn, thus improving sampling accuracy and ease of operation.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- PEOPLES HOSPITAL OF HENAN PROV
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-17
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-23
AI Technical Summary
Existing endometrial sampling devices are prone to incomplete or incomplete sampling, especially in the cornual region, which is difficult to sample and poses a risk of omission. They are also inconvenient to operate.
An endometrial cell collector was designed, which uses a sampling handle inserted inside an outer tube. Multiple sampling brushes are arranged on the sampling handle in a fan shape to expand the sampling range, especially to cover the uterine horn. Comprehensive cell sampling is achieved by sliding and rotating the sampling handle.
It achieves full coverage sampling of the uterine cavity wall, avoids sampling omissions, and improves the comprehensiveness and precision of sampling. In particular, it can effectively sample the uterine horn position, making the operation more convenient.
Smart Images
Figure CN122251069A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical devices for cell sampling, and more particularly to an endometrial cell collector. Background Technology
[0002] Endometrial cancer is one of the three major malignant tumors of the female reproductive tract, making screening for it particularly important. Endometrial cancer commonly occurs in the uterine body, especially near the uterine horn at the fundus. Most current screening methods utilize an endometrial sampler, which is similar to a brush. The sampler is inserted into the uterine cavity to a certain depth, using bristles to scrape cells from the uterine wall for sampling, which is then analyzed using appropriate testing instruments.
[0003] In actual sampling, conventional endometrial sampling devices are generally long rods with a straight shape. Due to the shape of the endometrial sampling device, sampling may be incomplete or inadequate, resulting in incomplete sampling and omissions. This can easily lead to missed diagnoses, and endometrial cancer is often only discovered at the uterine horn at the fundus of the uterus during hysteroscopic surgery.
[0004] For example, the disposable endometrial sampling brush disclosed in patent publication number CN220423918U has bristles on a straight connecting rod to obtain sufficient mucosal fragment samples. When sampling at different locations within the uterine cavity, the connecting rod needs to be manually moved, which is inconvenient and requires a high level of operator skill. Furthermore, the straight shape of the connecting rod limits the comprehensiveness of sampling, especially at the uterine horns, i.e., the sides of the uterine fundus, where sampling is difficult. Summary of the Invention
[0005] To address the issues of incomplete sampling and missed sampling in conventional straight-brush endometrial samplers, this invention provides an endometrial cell collector. A sampling handle is inserted inside an outer tube, and multiple sampling brushes are arranged on the handle. These brushes extend from the outer tube and naturally bend into a fan shape, expanding the coverage area and enabling comprehensive cell sampling of the uterine cavity wall, especially at the uterine horn, thus avoiding the possibility of missed sampling.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:
[0007] The endometrial cell collector includes an outer tube, a sampling handle, and a sampling brush. The sampling handle is inserted inside the outer tube to facilitate sliding and rotating of the sampling handle. One end of the sampling handle extends out of the outer tube for easy manipulation of the sampling handle.
[0008] The sampling brushes are arranged in parallel, and each sampling brush is rotatably installed inside the sampling handle and arranged radially along the sampling handle. The length of the sampling brush is greater than the length of the sampling handle, and both ends of the sampling brush extend out of the sampling handle, so as to facilitate individual control of the rotation of each sampling brush.
[0009] Each of the sampling brushes has a brush head at one end. After the sampling handle approaches the outer tube along the axial direction, it causes the brush head to extend out of the outer tube. The brush heads on the multiple sampling brushes after extending out are arranged in a fan shape to expand the contact range with the uterine cavity and improve the comprehensiveness of sampling.
[0010] Furthermore, the outer tube is a round tube with open ends, which facilitates the movement of the sampling handle and the brush head. The sampling handle is a round tube with closed ends, which facilitates the support for the rotational installation of the sampling brush. The sampling handle is placed inside the outer tube and can move axially and rotate circumferentially along the outer tube.
[0011] Furthermore, the number of sampling brushes is five or seven, and the length of the brush heads on the multiple sampling brushes decreases sequentially from the edge of the sampling handle towards the center, thus well adapting to the shape of the uterine cavity.
[0012] Furthermore, the number of sampling brushes is five, and the lengths of the brush heads on the five sampling brushes are 7cm, 5cm, 4cm, 5cm and 7cm respectively along the radial direction of the sampling handle;
[0013] The number of sampling brushes is seven, and the lengths of the brush heads on the seven sampling brushes are 7cm, 6cm, 5cm, 4cm, 5cm, 6cm and 7cm respectively, along the radial direction of the sampling handle.
[0014] Furthermore, each of the sampling brushes includes a brush rod and a brush head, wherein the brush rod is a stepped straight rod and is rotatably connected to the sampling handle;
[0015] One end of the brush rod is a rotating section, which extends out of one end of the sampling handle and is rotatably connected to the sampling handle. The rotating section facilitates the rotation of a sampling brush. The other end of the brush rod is fixedly fitted with a rotating sleeve, which has a "T" shaped cross section. The rotating sleeve cooperates with the rotating section to restrict the axial movement of the brush rod.
[0016] Furthermore, the brush head includes an elastic strip and a plurality of bristles disposed on the elastic strip, one end of which is embedded and fixed into the brush handle.
[0017] Furthermore, the outer tube surface is provided with a limit mark, which is a scale line 3cm away from one end of the outer tube.
[0018] Furthermore, a limiting sleeve is fixedly fitted at one end of the sampling handle extending from the outer tube. When the sampling handle moves along the axial direction of the outer tube until the limiting sleeve abuts against one end of the outer tube, it is used to restrict the sampling handle from continuing to move axially in the original direction.
[0019] Furthermore, a cap is also fastened to one end of the outer tube, and the cap covers the brush head after the brush head is hidden inside the outer tube. This facilitates the protection of the brush head.
[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention through the above technical solution are:
[0021] This invention arranges five sampling brushes inside the outer tube, with the brushes mounted on a sampling handle. By pushing or pulling the sampling handle, the five brushes can easily extend or retract simultaneously into the outer tube. In particular, after extending, the brush heads can be freely bent, naturally arranging themselves in a fan shape throughout the uterine cavity. Furthermore, two of the brush heads can extend to the two uterine horns, achieving complete coverage of the uterine cavity and ensuring no samples are missed.
[0022] The sampling handle of this invention can control five sampling brushes to rotate simultaneously. After 3-5 rotations, comprehensive sampling can be achieved. Simultaneously, the sampling brushes are rotatably mounted on the sampling handle, facilitating individual rotation of each brush and improving the precision of the sampling. Attached Figure Description
[0023] Figure 1 This is a front view of the endometrial cell collector of the present invention.
[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the disassembled endometrial cell collection device of the present invention.
[0025] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the endometrial cell collector of the present invention.
[0026] Figure 4 This invention relates to the endometrial cell collector. Figure 3 Enlarged view of the cap at point A in the middle.
[0027] Figure 5 This invention relates to the endometrial cell collector. Figure 3 Enlarged view of the rotating sleeve at point B.
[0028] Figure 6 This invention relates to the endometrial cell collector. Figure 3 Enlarged view of the rotating segment at point C.
[0029] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the sampling brush arrangement of the endometrial cell collector of the present invention.
[0030] Figure 8This is a schematic diagram illustrating the application status of the endometrial cell collector of the present invention.
[0031] The attached diagram is labeled as follows: 1 Outer tube, 101 Limit mark, 2 Sampling handle, 201 Limit sleeve, 3 Sampling brush, 4 Brush rod, 41 Rotating section, 5 Brush head, 51 Elastic strip, 52 Brush bristles, 6 Rotating sleeve, 7 Deep hole, 8 Cap. Detailed Implementation
[0032] The specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings:
[0033] like Figures 1-8 As shown, the endometrial cell collector includes an outer tube 1, a sampling handle 2, and a sampling brush 3. The outer tube 1 is a round tube open at both ends, and its length is 14-18cm. A limit mark 101 is set on the surface of the outer tube 1, which is a scale line 3cm away from one end of the outer tube 1.
[0034] A sampling handle 2 is inserted inside the outer tube 1. The sampling handle 2 is a circular tube closed at both ends. Due to its insertion, the sampling handle 2 is placed inside the outer tube 1, and it can move axially and rotate circumferentially along the outer tube 1. It should be noted that there is friction between the outer wall of the sampling handle 2 and the inner wall of the outer tube 1. Therefore, a certain force needs to be applied to the sampling handle 2 to make it slide and rotate, preventing the sampling handle 2 from moving easily relative to the outer tube 1.
[0035] One end of the sampling handle 2 extends out of the outer tube 1, while the other end of the sampling handle 2 is inside the outer tube 1. The length of the sampling handle 2 is 4-5 cm longer than the length of the outer tube 1. No matter how the sampling handle 2 slides, one end of it is always inside the outer tube 1. Therefore, a limiting sleeve 201 is fixedly fitted on one end of the sampling handle 2 that extends out of the outer tube 1. When the limiting sleeve 201 abuts against one end of the outer tube 1, the end of the sampling handle 2 that is away from the outer tube 1 can no longer get close to the outer tube 1.
[0036] In this embodiment, multiple sampling brushes 3 are arranged side by side. Specifically, the number of sampling brushes 3 is five or seven; here, five sampling brushes 3 are selected. During installation, all five sampling brushes 3 are rotatably mounted inside the sampling handle 2, and the five sampling brushes 3 are arranged radially along the sampling handle 2. By rotating the sampling handle 2, the rotation of all five sampling brushes 3 can be controlled. The length of each sampling brush 3 is greater than the length of the sampling handle 2; therefore, both ends of the sampling brush 3 extend out of the sampling handle 2. The rotation of the sampling brush 3 can be controlled individually through the protruding part at one end of the sampling brush 3.
[0037] Each sampling brush 3 includes a brush rod 4 and a brush head 5. The brush rod 4 is a stepped, round, straight rod and is rotatably connected to the sampling handle 2. Specifically, the brush rod 4 extends axially along the sampling handle 2 and passes through the sampling handle 2. One end of the brush rod 4 is a rotating section 41, which is stepped and extends out of one end of the sampling handle 2 and is rotatably connected to the sampling handle 2.
[0038] Meanwhile, a rotating sleeve 6 is fixedly fitted to the other end of the brush rod 4. The rotating sleeve 6 is interference-fitted with the brush rod 4 to achieve a reliable connection. The rotating sleeve 6 is a circular sleeve with a "T"-shaped cross-section. In this way, the rotating sleeve 6 cooperates with the rotating section 41 to restrict the axial movement of the brush rod 4, and the brush rod 4 can only rotate on the sampling handle 2. Moreover, there is a certain friction between the rotating section 41 and the sampling handle 2 to ensure that the entire sampling brush 3 will not rotate easily.
[0039] Each sampling brush 3 has a brush head 5 at one end, which is connected and fixed to one end of the brush rod 4. The brush head 5 includes an elastic strip 51 and several bristles 52 disposed on the elastic strip 51. The elastic strip 51 is a malleable rod made of medical plastic. One end of the elastic strip 51 is embedded and fixed into the brush rod 4 to achieve the connection and fixation between the brush head 5 and the brush rod 4. That is, a deep hole 7 is opened at one end of the brush rod 4, and one end of the elastic strip 51 extends into the deep hole 7 and is interference-fitted with the deep hole 7 to achieve the fixed installation of the elastic strip 51.
[0040] It should be noted that the lengths of the brush heads 5 on the five sampling brushes 3 decrease sequentially from the edge of the sampling handle 2 towards the center. Specifically, when there are five sampling brushes 3, the lengths of the brush heads 5 on the five sampling brushes 3 along the radial direction of the sampling handle 2 are 7cm, 5cm, 4cm, 5cm, and 7cm respectively; additionally, when there are seven sampling brushes 3, the lengths of the brush heads 5 on the seven sampling brushes 3 along the radial direction of the sampling handle 2 are 7cm, 6cm, 5cm, 4cm, 5cm, 6cm, and 7cm respectively.
[0041] Furthermore, in the initial state, the brush heads 5 on the five sampling brushes 3 are curved. Along the radial direction of the sampling handle 2, the curvature of the five brush heads 5 first decreases and then increases. That is, the brush head 5 located at the edge of the sampling handle 2 has the largest curvature and the longest length, while the brush head 5 located at the center of the sampling handle 2 has the smallest curvature and can also be uncurved, with the shortest length.
[0042] Correspondingly, along the radial direction of the sampling handle 2, the lengths of the rotating segments 41 on the five brush bars 4 first decrease and then increase; that is, the rotating segment 41 located at the edge of the sampling handle 2 is the longest, and the rotating segment 41 located at the center of the sampling handle 2 is the shortest. This makes it easy to identify brush heads 5 at different lengths, with the longest rotating segment 41 corresponding to the longest brush head 5, and the shortest rotating segment 41 corresponding to the shortest brush head 5.
[0043] The brush head 5 extends out of the sampling handle 2. In the initial state, the five brush heads 5 are hidden inside the outer tube 1 and are restrained by the outer tube 1. The five brush heads 5 are close to each other. If the restraint of the outer tube 1 is removed, the five brush heads 5 will move away from each other and be arranged in a fan shape.
[0044] Specifically, when the sampling handle 2 is pushed to move axially along the outer tube 1, so that the end of the sampling handle 2 away from the outer tube 1 is close to the outer tube 1, the brush head 5 will be caused to extend out of the outer tube 1. Since there is no restriction from the outer tube 1, the brush heads 5 on the five sampling brushes 3 after extending out are arranged in a fan shape, thereby expanding the contact range with the uterine cavity and improving the comprehensiveness of cell sampling.
[0045] The principle of this invention is as follows: In the initial state, one end of the sampling handle 2 extends out of the outer tube 1, thus reserving space for the brush head 5 to be hidden inside the outer tube 1. During application, one end of the outer tube 1 is inserted into the uterine cavity, and then, while keeping the outer tube 1 stationary, the sampling handle 2 is pushed to retract into the outer tube 1 until the limiting sleeve 201 abuts against the outer tube 1, at which point the sampling handle 2 can no longer retract. During this process, the brush head 5 gradually extends out of the outer tube 1 until it is fully extended. After all five brush heads 5 have extended, they are no longer restricted by the outer tube 1 and return to their original curved state, arranged in a fan shape in the uterine cavity, which can evenly cover the uterine cavity area. In particular, two of the brush heads 5 can extend to the uterine horn.
[0046] The sampling handle 2 is manually rotated, causing all five brush heads 5 to rotate together 3-5 times, thus sampling the endometrium. Alternatively, one brush head 5 can be rotated individually via the rotating section 41 to improve sampling precision. Finally, the sampling handle 2 is pulled out, causing the brush head 5 to retract into the outer sheath 1. The outer sheath 1 is then removed, completing the endometrial cell sampling. The sampler containing the endometrial cells is then sent to the appropriate testing instrument for analysis.
[0047] In order to optimize the product structure and improve the protection of the brush head 5, a cap 8 is also fastened to one end of the outer tube 1. After the brush head 5 is hidden inside the outer tube 1, the cap 8 covers the outside of the brush head 5. The cap 8 is a hard protection that can protect the brush head 5.
[0048] The embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes or modifications made to the structure, features and principles described in the claims of the present invention should be included within the scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. An endometrial cell collector, characterized in that, It includes an outer tube (1), a sampling handle (2) and a sampling brush (3), wherein the sampling handle (2) is inserted inside the outer tube (1) and one end of the sampling handle (2) extends out of the outer tube (1); The sampling brushes (3) are arranged in parallel. The multiple sampling brushes (3) are rotatably set inside the sampling handle (2) and arranged radially along the sampling handle (2). The length of the sampling brush (3) is greater than the length of the sampling handle (2), and both ends of the sampling brush (3) extend out of the sampling handle (2). Each of the sampling brushes (3) has a brush head (5) at one end. After the sampling handle (2) approaches the outer tube (1) along the axial direction, it causes the brush head (5) to extend out of the outer tube (1). The brush heads (5) on the multiple sampling brushes (3) after extending out are arranged in a fan shape to expand the contact range with the uterine cavity.
2. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer tube (1) is a round tube with open ends, and the sampling handle (2) is a round tube with closed ends. The sampling handle (2) is placed inside the outer tube (1) and moves axially and rotates circumferentially along the outer tube (1).
3. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 2, characterized in that, The number of sampling brushes (3) is five or seven, and the length of the brush head (5) on the multiple sampling brushes (3) decreases sequentially from the edge of the sampling handle (2) towards the center.
4. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 3, characterized in that, The number of sampling brushes (3) is five. Along the radial direction of the sampling handle (2), the lengths of the brush heads (5) on the five sampling brushes (3) are 7cm, 5cm, 4cm, 5cm and 7cm respectively. The number of sampling brushes (3) is seven. Along the radial direction of the sampling handle (2), the lengths of the brush heads (5) on the seven sampling brushes (3) are 7cm, 6cm, 5cm, 4cm, 5cm, 6cm and 7cm respectively.
5. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 2, characterized in that, Each of the sampling brushes (3) includes a brush rod (4) and a brush head (5). The brush rod (4) is a stepped straight rod and is rotatably connected to the sampling handle (2). One end of the brush rod (4) is a rotating section (41), which extends out of one end of the sampling handle (2) and is rotatably connected to the sampling handle (2); the other end of the brush rod (4) is fixedly fitted with a rotating sleeve (6), which has a "T" shaped cross section. The rotating sleeve (6) cooperates with the rotating section (41) to restrict the axial movement of the brush rod (4).
6. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 5, characterized in that, The brush head (5) includes an elastic strip (51) and a plurality of bristles (52) disposed on the elastic strip (51), one end of which is embedded and fixed to the brush handle (4).
7. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 1, characterized in that, The outer tube (1) is provided with a limit mark (101) on its surface. The limit mark (101) is a scale line 3cm away from one end of the outer tube (1).
8. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 1, characterized in that, A limiting sleeve (201) is fixedly fitted at one end of the sampling handle (2) extending out of the outer tube (1). When the sampling handle (2) moves along the axial direction of the outer tube (1) to the point where the limiting sleeve (201) abuts against one end of the outer tube (1), it is used to restrict the sampling handle (2) from continuing to move axially in the original direction.
9. The endometrial cell collector according to claim 1, characterized in that, One end of the outer tube (1) is also fitted with a cap (8). After the brush head (5) is hidden inside the outer tube (1), the cap (8) covers the outside of the brush head (5).