Intracardiac ultrasound catheter and control handle

Abstract

The utility model discloses an intracardiac ultrasound catheter and a control handle. The control handle comprises a fixing mechanism and a rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism is movably connected to the fixing mechanism and can rotate around the self axis longitudinally arranged along the control handle; the rotating mechanism comprises a rotating wheel, a rotation-to-linear motion mechanism and a stay wire fixing slide block; the rotation-to-linear motion mechanism comprises a stay wire control screw, the rotating wheel is connected with the stay wire control screw to drive the stay wire control screw to rotate, the stay wire control screw is sleeved with the stay wire fixing sliding block through threads, and when the stay wire control screw rotates, the stay wire fixing sliding block moves in the axial direction of the stay wire control screw. And meanwhile, the self-locking of the rotating wheel is realized by the stay wire fixing slide block and the stay wire control screw rod through a thread structure. According to the scheme, by arranging the stay wire fixing sliding block and the stay wire control screw rod, deformation of the front end of the catheter body is controlled, self-locking of the rotating wheel can be achieved, self-locking of the control handle is achieved, the structure is simple, operation is convenient, and the self-locking effect is good.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of medical device technology, and in particular to an intracardiac ultrasound catheter and its control handle. Background Technology

[0002] Diagnosis and surgery for cardiac diseases are difficult to perform directly through optical observation, while ultrasound can propagate through opaque media. Therefore, intracardiac ultrasound catheters have a wide range of applications in the medical field.

[0003] To provide direct visualization of anatomical structures within the heart cavity, such as the foramen ovale, left atrial appendage, left and right atria, and ventricles, and to guide and position interventional devices such as occluders, ablation catheters, and ventricular assist devices, as well as to measure physiological characteristics such as blood flow, thrombus, and pericardial effusion, the catheter tip needs to be bent at different angles (often called "bending") to flexibly adjust the spatial position and imaging angle of the ultrasound probe. However, the current method of achieving bending is structurally complex and inconvenient to operate, affecting the success rate and treatment outcomes. Utility Model Content

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the purpose of this utility model is to provide an intracardiac ultrasound catheter and control handle that are simple in structure and easy to operate.

[0005] The technical solution provided by this utility model is as follows:

[0006] A control handle for an intracardiac ultrasound catheter is connected to the rear end of the catheter body to control the deformation of the front end of the catheter body. The catheter body has multiple drawstring cavities, each containing a drawstring that can move freely within it. One end of each drawstring is fixed to the front end of the catheter body, and drawstrings spaced 180° apart form a pair. The control handle fixes the other end of each drawstring and includes a fixing mechanism and a rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism is movably connected to the fixing mechanism and can rotate about its own axis, which is longitudinally aligned with the control handle. The end of each drawstring is fixed to a corresponding rotating mechanism. When the rotating mechanism rotates, it drives the corresponding drawstring to move longitudinally along the control handle, thereby controlling the tension and relaxation of the drawstring to control the deformation of the front end of the catheter body, producing bends of different angles. The rotating mechanism includes a rotating wheel, a rotation-to-linear motion mechanism, and a drawstring fixing slider. The fixing mechanism has a [missing information - likely a design feature or feature] behind the drawstring fixing slider. A reversing structure is included; the pull-wire fixing slider is embedded in a corresponding groove of the fixing mechanism, the groove restricting the pull-wire fixing slider to move only axially and not rotate; one of the pull wires is fixed to the front end of the pull-wire fixing slider, and the other passes around the reversing structure and is fixed to the rear end of the pull-wire fixing slider; the rotating wheel is connected to the pull-wire fixing slider through a rotary-to-linear motion mechanism, so that when the rotating wheel rotates, it drives the pull-wire fixing slider to move through the rotary-to-linear motion mechanism, tightening or loosening the pull wire fixed to the pull-wire fixing slider to control the deformation of the front end of the guide tube; the rotary-to-linear motion mechanism includes a pull-wire control screw, the rotating wheel is connected to the pull-wire control screw to drive the pull-wire control screw to rotate, the pull-wire fixing slider is threaded onto the pull-wire control screw, and moves along the axial direction of the pull-wire control screw when the pull-wire control screw rotates; at the same time, the pull-wire fixing slider and the pull-wire control screw achieve self-locking of the rotating wheel through the threaded structure.

[0007] Preferably, the rotary-to-linear motion mechanism further includes a transmission gear ring and a transmission gear. The rotating wheel is rigidly connected to the transmission gear ring, the transmission gear ring meshes with the transmission gear, and the transmission gear is rigidly connected to the cable control screw. The rotating wheel is connected to the cable control screw through the transmission gear ring and the transmission gear to drive the cable control screw to rotate.

[0008] Preferably, there are four pull wires, spaced 90° apart at the front end of the fixed guide tube, forming two pairs; in the rotating mechanism, the rotating wheel includes a front rotating wheel and a rear rotating wheel, the transmission gear ring includes a front transmission gear ring and a rear transmission gear ring, the transmission gear includes a front transmission gear and a rear transmission gear, the pull wire control screw includes a front pull wire control screw and a rear pull wire control screw, and the pull wire fixing slider includes a front pull wire fixing slider and a rear pull wire fixing slider; there are two reversing structures, located behind the front pull wire fixing slider and the rear pull wire fixing slider respectively; in one pair of pull wires, one is fixed to the front end of the front pull wire fixing slider, and the other is fixed to the rear end of the front pull wire fixing slider after passing through the reversing structure; in the other pair of pull wires, one is fixed to the front end of the rear pull wire fixing slider, and the other is fixed to the rear end of the rear pull wire fixing slider after passing through the reversing structure.

[0009] Preferably, the fixing mechanism includes a handle housing, the slide groove is axially disposed in the handle housing, the pull cable control screw is rotatably mounted axially in the handle housing, and the reversing structure is mounted in the handle housing; the transmission gear is connected to the front end of the pull cable control screw and extends out of the handle housing, and the rotating wheel and transmission gear ring are located in front of the handle housing.

[0010] Preferably, the reversing structure is a pulley.

[0011] An intracardiac ultrasound catheter includes a catheter body and a control handle connected to the rear end of the catheter body. The catheter body has multiple pull-wire cavities, and each pull-wire cavity is provided with a pull-wire that can move freely within the pull-wire cavity. One end of each pull-wire is fixed to the front end of the catheter body, and pull-wires spaced 180° apart form a pair. The control handle is the control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described above.

[0012] Preferably, it also includes a catheter tip connected to the front end of the catheter body. The catheter tip includes an ultrasound unit, two magnetic positioning sensors, and a protective layer covering the ultrasound unit and the magnetic positioning sensors. Each of the magnetic positioning sensors is a 5-degree-of-freedom sensor. The two magnetic positioning sensors are arranged in an "X" shape, and the included angle is greater than or equal to 40°.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the intracardiac ultrasound catheter and control handle of this utility model control the deformation of the front end of the catheter body by setting a pull wire fixing slider and a pull wire control screw, and realize the self-locking of the rotating wheel by using the thread structure, so as to achieve the self-locking of the control handle. The structure is simple, easy to operate and has a good self-locking effect. Attached Figure Description

[0014] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the catheter tip in an intracardiac ultrasound catheter is shown.

[0017] Figure 3 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the catheter body in an intracardiac ultrasound catheter is shown.

[0018] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of another structure in the catheter body of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter shown;

[0019] Figure 5 for Figure 1 An exploded three-dimensional view of the control handle in the intracardiac ultrasound catheter shown.

[0020] Figure 6 for Figure 5 The control handle shown is a cross-sectional view of the fully assembled embodiment 3. Detailed Implementation

[0021] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in this application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0022] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as being "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly set on the other component; when a component is referred to as being "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to the other component.

[0023] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0024] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, "a plurality of" or "several" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0025] It should be noted that the structures, proportions, sizes, etc., shown in the accompanying drawings of this specification are only for the purpose of assisting those skilled in the art in understanding and reading the content disclosed in the specification, and are not intended to limit the conditions under which this application can be implemented. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in the proportions, or adjustments to the size should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in this application, provided that they do not affect the effects and purposes that this application can produce.

[0026] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, this embodiment of the present invention provides an intracardiac ultrasound catheter, which includes a catheter tip 1, a catheter body 2, a control handle 3, a communication unit 4, and a connector plug 5. The catheter tip 1 includes an ultrasound unit 11, two magnetic positioning sensors 12 arranged in an "X" shape, and a protective layer 13 covering the ultrasound unit 11 and the magnetic positioning sensors 12. In this embodiment, the protective layer 13 is made of block polyamide. The ultrasound unit 11 is used to provide ultrasound imaging, and the magnetic positioning sensors 12 can provide positioning information for a three-dimensional cardiac electrophysiological mapping system. The electrical signals generated by the ultrasound unit 11 and the magnetic positioning sensors 12 are transmitted to the connector plug 5 via the communication unit 4. The signals from the connector plug 5 are transmitted to the three-dimensional electrophysiological mapping system and the ultrasound host via a matching connecting cable, enabling imaging of the heart and great vessels, ultrasound imaging of other instruments within the heart, and positioning of the catheter within the cardiac chamber.

[0027] The catheter body 2 has a multi-layered structure. The inner layer 21 can be made of any suitable material, including, for example, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The inner side of the inner layer 21 forms a central lumen 20, which can be circular (e.g., ...). Figure 3 ) or other shapes (such as Figure 4The outer layer is a braided layer 22. Between the inner layer 21 and the braided layer 22 are four pull-cord cavities 25, spaced 90° apart, to accommodate four pull-cords. These four pull-cords are spaced 90° apart at the front end of the fixed catheter body, forming two pairs, each pair spaced 180° apart. The pull-cords 24 are arranged within the pull-cord cavities 25 and can move freely. The braided layer 22 expands the inner lumen while providing strong support and flexural strength. The outer layer 23 can include materials with different hardness for different segments of the catheter body 2 to provide different flexibility characteristics. The material contains a certain proportion (e.g., 25%) of barium sulfate and is visible under X-ray. The catheter body 2 includes an adjustable bend section and a reinforcing section. The principle of catheter bend adjustment is to fix one end of the pull wire 24 on the tube wall to the front end of the catheter body 2, and extend the other end from the rear end of the catheter body 2. Then, the tension and relaxation of the pull wire 24 are controlled by the control handle 3 to control the deformation of the front end of the catheter body 2, so that the catheter tip 1 can reach any part of the heart.

[0028] In this embodiment, each magnetic positioning sensor 12 is a 5-DOF sensor. The two magnetic positioning sensors 12 are arranged in an "X" shape with an included angle of more than 40°, thereby achieving higher spin angle accuracy (the included angle between two traditional 5-DOF sensors does not exceed 20°), and thus having higher positioning accuracy, enabling the ultrasound unit 11 to accurately reach the lesion location.

[0029] In this embodiment, each magnetic positioning sensor 12 is a 5-DOF sensor. The two magnetic positioning sensors 12 are arranged in an "X" shape with an included angle greater than or equal to 40°, thereby achieving higher spin angle accuracy (the included angle between two traditional 5-DOF sensors does not exceed 20°), and thus having higher positioning accuracy, enabling the ultrasound unit 11 to accurately reach the lesion location.

[0030] Figure 5 , Figure 6 The control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter in this embodiment is shown.

[0031] like Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown, the control handle includes a fixing mechanism and a rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism is movably connected to the fixing mechanism and can rotate around its own axis, which is set along the longitudinal direction of the control handle. The ends of each pull wire are fixed to the corresponding rotating mechanism. When the rotating mechanism rotates, it drives the corresponding pull wire to move along the longitudinal direction of the control handle, so as to control the deformation of the front end of the conduit body by manipulating the tension and relaxation of the corresponding pull wire, thereby producing a bend at different angles.

[0032] Specifically, in this embodiment, the rotating mechanism includes a rotating wheel, a rotary linear motion mechanism, and a wire-fixed slider; the fixing mechanism has a pulley (or a directional structure such as a round convex column) installed behind the wire-fixed slider; the wire-fixed slider is embedded in a corresponding groove provided in the fixing mechanism, the groove restricts the wire-fixed slider to move only axially and not rotate, one of the pairs of wires is fixed to the front end of the wire-fixed slider, and the other passes around the pulley and is fixed to the rear end of the wire-fixed slider; the rotating wheel is connected to the wire-fixed slider through the rotary linear motion mechanism, so that when the rotating wheel rotates, it drives the wire-fixed slider to move through the rotary linear motion mechanism, tightening or loosening the wire fixed to the wire-fixed slider to control the deformation of the front end of the guide tube.

[0033] In this embodiment, the rotary-to-linear motion mechanism includes a transmission gear ring, a transmission gear, and a cable control screw. The rotating wheel is rigidly connected to the transmission gear ring, the transmission gear ring meshes with the transmission gear, and the transmission gear is rigidly connected to the cable control screw. The cable-fixed slider is threaded onto the cable control screw and moves along the axial direction of the cable control screw when the cable control screw rotates. Of course, in other embodiments, the rotary-to-linear motion mechanism can adopt other structures besides the gear ring and screw mechanism described above.

[0034] In this embodiment, the fixing mechanism includes a handle housing 312, a slide groove 411 is axially disposed in the handle housing 312, a pull cable control screw is rotatably mounted axially in the handle housing 312, a pulley is mounted in the handle housing 312, a transmission gear is connected to the front end of the pull cable control screw and extends out of the handle housing 312, and a rotating wheel and a transmission gear ring are located in front of the handle housing 312.

[0035] In this embodiment, since there are two pairs of pull cables 24, the rotating wheel includes a front rotating wheel 302 and a rear rotating wheel 303; the transmission gear ring includes a front transmission gear ring 402 and a rear transmission gear ring 403; the transmission gear includes a front transmission gear 404 and a rear transmission gear 405; the pull cable control screw includes a front pull cable control screw 408 and a rear pull cable control screw 409; and the pull cable fixing slider includes a front pull cable fixing slider 406 and a rear pull cable fixing slider 407. There are two pulleys 410, located behind the front pull cable fixing slider 406 and the rear pull cable fixing slider 407, respectively. If there are not two pairs of pull cables, the above structure needs to be adjusted according to the number of pull cables, which should be understood by those skilled in the art based on the above description, and will not be repeated here.

[0036] In this embodiment, the assembly method is as follows: the front rotating wheel 302 is rigidly connected to the front drive gear ring 402, and the rear rotating wheel 303 is rigidly connected to the rear drive gear ring 403. The front drive gear ring 402 meshes with the front drive gear 404, and the rear drive gear ring 403 meshes with the rear drive gear 405. The front drive gear 404 is rigidly connected to the front cable control screw 408, and the rear drive gear 405 is rigidly connected to the rear cable control screw 409. The front cable fixing slider 406 is threaded onto the front cable control screw 408, and can move axially when the screw rotates. The rear cable fixing slider 407 is threaded onto the rear cable control screw 409, and can move axially when the screw rotates. The front cable fixing slider 406 and the rear cable fixing slider 407 are embedded in the groove 411 of the handle housing 312, and the groove restricts the two cable fixing sliders to move only axially and not rotate. The strain relief sleeve 301 is fixed to the handle cap 401, which in turn is fixed to the support cylinder 412 at the front end of the handle housing. A pull cable is connected to the pull cable fixing holes on both sides of the pull cable fixing slider; one of the pull cables needs to pass around the pulley 410 to change its direction. When the front rotating wheel 302 is rotated, it simultaneously drives the connected front drive gear ring 402. The rotation of the front drive gear ring 402 is transmitted to the front drive gear 404 through gear meshing. The front drive gear 404 drives the connected front pull cable control screw 408. The rotation of the front pull cable control screw 408 drives the front pull cable fixing slider 406 to move via a thread, tightening or loosening the pull cable fixed thereon to adjust the bending shape of the guide tube front end. This control handle achieves self-locking through its threaded structure.

[0037] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A control handle for an intracardiac ultrasound catheter, used to connect to the rear end of the catheter body of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter, controlling the deformation of the front end of the catheter body, wherein the catheter body has multiple drawstring cavities, each drawstring cavity containing a drawstring that can move freely within the drawstring cavity; one end of each drawstring is fixed to the front end of the catheter body, and drawstrings spaced 180° apart form a pair; characterized in that, The control handle fixes the other end of each of the pull wires and includes a fixing mechanism and a rotating mechanism. The rotating mechanism is movably connected to the fixing mechanism and can rotate about its own axis arranged longitudinally along the control handle. The end of each pull wire is fixed to the corresponding rotating mechanism. When the rotating mechanism rotates, it drives the corresponding pull wire to move longitudinally along the control handle to control the tension and relaxation of the corresponding pull wire, thereby controlling the deformation of the front end of the guide tube and producing different angle bends. The rotating mechanism includes a rotating wheel, a rotation-to-linear motion mechanism, and a pull wire fixing slider. The fixing mechanism has a direction-changing structure behind the pull wire fixing slider. The pull wire fixing slider is embedded in a corresponding groove provided in the fixing mechanism. The groove restricts the pull wire fixing slider to move only axially and not rotate. One cable is fixed to the front end of the cable-fixing slider, and the other cable is fixed to the rear end of the cable-fixing slider after passing through the reversing structure. The rotating wheel is connected to the cable-fixing slider through a rotary-to-linear motion mechanism, so that when the rotating wheel rotates, it drives the cable-fixing slider to move through the rotary-to-linear motion mechanism, thereby tightening or loosening the cable fixed to the cable-fixing slider to control the deformation of the front end of the guide tube. The rotary-to-linear motion mechanism includes a cable control screw, and the rotating wheel is connected to the cable control screw to drive the cable control screw to rotate. The cable-fixing slider is threaded onto the cable control screw and moves along the axial direction of the cable control screw when the cable control screw rotates. At the same time, the cable-fixing slider and the cable control screw achieve self-locking of the rotating wheel through the threaded structure.

2. The control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rotary-to-linear motion mechanism further includes a transmission gear ring and a transmission gear. The rotating wheel is rigidly connected to the transmission gear ring, the transmission gear ring meshes with the transmission gear, and the transmission gear is rigidly connected to the cable control screw. The rotating wheel is connected to the cable control screw through the transmission gear ring and the transmission gear to drive the cable control screw to rotate.

3. The control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described in claim 2, characterized in that, There are four pull wires, spaced 90° apart at the front end of the fixed guide tube, forming two pairs. The rotating mechanism includes a front rotating wheel and a rear rotating wheel, a front transmission gear ring and a rear transmission gear ring, a front transmission gear and a rear transmission gear, a pull wire control screw and a rear pull wire control screw, and a pull wire fixing slider and a front pull wire fixing slider. There are two reversing structures, located behind the front and rear pull wire fixing sliders respectively. In one pair of pull wires, one is fixed to the front end of the front pull wire fixing slider, and the other bypasses the reversing structure and is fixed to the rear end of the front pull wire fixing slider. In the other pair of pull wires, one is fixed to the front end of the rear pull wire fixing slider, and the other bypasses the reversing structure and is fixed to the rear end of the rear pull wire fixing slider.

4. The control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The fixing mechanism includes a handle housing, the slide groove is axially disposed in the handle housing, the pull cable control screw is rotatably mounted axially in the handle housing, and the reversing structure is mounted in the handle housing; the transmission gear is connected to the front end of the pull cable control screw and extends out of the handle housing, and the rotating wheel and transmission gear ring are located in front of the handle housing.

5. The control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The reversing structure is a pulley.

6. An intracardiac ultrasound catheter, characterized in that, The catheter includes a catheter body and a control handle connected to the rear end of the catheter body. The catheter body has multiple pull-wire cavities, and each pull-wire cavity is provided with a pull-wire that can move freely within the pull-wire cavity. One end of each pull-wire is fixed to the front end of the catheter body, and pull-wires spaced 180° apart form a pair. The control handle is the control handle of the intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

7. The intracardiac ultrasound catheter as described in claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes a catheter tip connected to the front end of the catheter body. The catheter tip includes an ultrasound unit, two magnetic positioning sensors, and a protective layer covering the ultrasound unit and the magnetic positioning sensors. Each of the magnetic positioning sensors is a 5-degree-of-freedom sensor. The two magnetic positioning sensors are arranged in an "X" shape with an included angle greater than or equal to 40°.

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