Device for inserting a simple voice prosthesis

Description

FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a voice prosthesis insertion device and more particularly to a voice prosthesis insertion device in which a voice prosthesis can be easily loaded.BACKGROUND

[0002] This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.

[0003] During a total laryngectomy, the larynx is removed and two separate pipes are created for swallowing and breathing / talking. The mouth is connected to the esophagus, forming one pipe for swallowing. The trachea is redirected to create a permanent hole on the surface of the neck, forming one pipe for breathing. This hole is called a tracheostoma (TRAY-kee-oh STOW-ma), or "stoma" for short. The nose and the mouth do not connect to the lungs after this surgery.

[0004] It has been known to provide a tracheoesophageal prosthesis (or voice prosthesis) to restore people's ability to speak after a laryngectomy. Tracheoesophageal (TE) speech tends to be easier to produce and learn than esophageal speech and sounds more natural than using an electrolarynx. A small hole or puncture is made in the common wall between the trachea and the esophagus. This puncture is visible inside the stoma and becomes a path to allow airflow into the esophagus. The voice prosthesis is inserted in the puncture to keep it open and includes a small silicone one-way valve. The voice prosthesis also keeps food and liquid from flowing from the esophagus into the trachea. The voice prosthesis is typically surgically installed.

[0005] The present disclosure recognizes that an improved voice prosthesis insertion device is needed to allow for easier loading and installing of the voice prosthesis.SUMMARY

[0006] This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

[0007] A voice prosthesis insertion device includes an elongated body having an aperture therein extending axially along the elongated body. The elongated body includes a ring member at one end that is supported by a pair of straps. The elongated body has at least one region that is increasing in cross-section. The elongated body further having a collapsible portion defined by a pair of openings in the elongated body. A rod is disposed in the aperture of the elongated body and including a peg adapted to be inserted into an aperture of a tether of a voice prosthesis device. The collapsible portion of the elongated body is flexible to allow the collapsible portion to be longitudinally collapsed to expose the peg of the rod for easy engagement with the strap of the voice prosthesis and the collapsible portion is extendable from the collapsed position to extend over the peg.

[0008] Devices for delivering voice prosthesis are known from the documents US-A-2011 / 093071, US-A-2009 / 036983, DE-B-102017103623, WO-A-2005 / 097001 and US-A-5935165.

[0009] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.DRAWINGS

[0010] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Figure 1 is a perspective view of a voice prosthesis inserter device according to the principles of the present disclosure; Figure 2 is a top plan view of the voice prosthesis inserter device according to the principles of the present disclosure; Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the voice prosthesis inserter device taken along line 3-3 of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a side plan view of the voice prosthesis inserter device according to the principles of the present disclosure; Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the voice prosthesis inserter device taken along line 5-5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a top plan view of the voice prosthesis inserter device shown with the collapsible portion in folded / retracted position; and Figure 7 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the voice prosthesis inserter device illustrating a voice prosthesis device loaded therein.

[0011] Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013] Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.

[0014] With references to Figures 1-5, a voice prosthesis inserter device 10 is shown including an elongated inserter body 12 and a peg rod 14 (best shown in Figure 3), inside of an longitudinal aperture 16 in the elongated inserter body 12. The elongated inserter body 12 is made from a flexible material and includes a first end 12a having a pair of flats 18 that provide a grip for improved manipulation by a user. A hole 20 is in communication with the longitudinal aperture 16 is provided in the first end 12a for receiving a cable or stringer, not shown. The elongated inserter body 12 includes at least one tapering region 24a, 24b that increases in diameter toward a second end 12b of the elongated inserter body 12. In the embodiment shown, two tapering regions 24a, 24b are shown. The elongated inserter body 12 further includes a ring 26 that is supported by a pair of outwardly curved straps 28 that are also connected to the tapering region 24b.

[0015] With reference to Figure 3, the peg rod 14 includes an elongated body 140 having a flat region 142 at one end with a peg 144 extending from the flat region 142. The elongated body 140 further includes a recess region 146 (best shown in Figure 7) that is engaged by a retainer projection 16a within the aperture 16 of the elongated inserter body 12. As shown in Figure 5, the peg rod 14 further includes a stringer attachment feature 148 for receiving a stringer (not shown). The stringer can include a flexible plastic strand that can be bent into a hook at one end for engaging with the stringer attachment feature 148 and then pass through the hole 20. The elongated inserter body 12 captures the hook shaped end of the stringer within the stringer attachment feature.

[0016] The elongated inserter body further includes a collapsible portion 30 disposed adjacent to the tapering region 24b and distal to the pair of outwardly curved straps 28. The collapsible portion 30 is defined by a pair of opposed openings 32a, 32b that are separated by a pair of collapsible sidewall portions 34. The opposed openings 32a, 32b can be different sizes or of the same size and they are designed to provide the elongated inserter body with the ability to collapse longitudinally as shown in Figure 6 where the collapsible sidewall portions 34 are folded over themselves to allow the tapering region 24b to be longitudinally retracted in order to expose the peg 144 and flat region 142 of the peg rod. When the peg 144 of the peg rod 14 is exposed with the tapering region 24b longitudinally retracted, a user is able to insert the peg 144 into an opening 50 in a tether 52 of a voice prosthesis device 54, best shown in Figure 7.

[0017] In Figure 7, the voice prosthesis 54 is shown with the opening 50 of the tether 52 engaged with the peg 144 and the collapsible portion 30 in an un-deformed state so that the tapering region 24b is covering the peg 144 and the ring 26 is disposed around the tubular body 56 and between the flanges 58a, 58b of the voice prosthesis 54 so that the voice prosthesis insertion device 10 is loaded and ready for use. In use, a tracheoesophageal puncture is surgically created between the esophagus and trachea of a patient. A stringer can be passed through the tracheoesophageal puncture and accessed through the patient's mouth. The stringer is then fed through the hole 20 in the elongated inserter body 12 and connected to the voice prosthesis insertion device 10 by engaging the stringer to the stringer attachment feature 148 of the peg rod 14. The stinger can then be used to pull the voice prosthesis insertion device 10 through the patient's mouth, along the esophagus and out through the tracheoesophageal puncture where the voice prosthesis is deployed with the flange 58b on the esophagus side and the flange 58a and tether 52 on the trachea side. The tracheoesophageal puncture is accessible through a stoma in the patient's neck.

[0018] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising," "including," and "having," are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

[0019] When an element or layer is referred to as being "on," "engaged to," "connected to," or "coupled to" another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly engaged to," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent," etc.). As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0020] Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and / or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as "first," "second," and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

[0021] Spatially relative terms, such as "inner," "outer," "beneath," "below," "lower," "above," "upper," and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the example term "below" can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

Claims

1. A voice prosthesis insertion device (10), comprising: an elongated inserter body (12) having a first end and a second end and including an aperture (16) therein extending axially along the elongated inserter body (12), characterized in the elongated inserter body (12) including a ring member (26) at the second end that is supported by a pair of straps (28), the elongated inserter body having a collapsible portion (30); and a rod (14) disposed in the aperture of the elongated inserter body (12), the rod including (14) a first end and a second end and the second end including a peg (144) extending therefrom, the peg (144) being adapted to be inserted into an aperture (50) of a tether (52) of a voice prosthesis device (54), wherein the collapsible portion (30) of the elongated inserter body (12) is flexible to allow the elongated inserter body (12) to be longitudinally collapsed to expose the peg (144) of the rod (14) for engagement with the tether (52) of the voice prosthesis (54) and the elongated inserter body (12) is extendable from the collapsed position to extend over the peg (144).

2. The voice prosthesis insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the collapsible portion (30) includes a pair of opposed openings (32a, 32b) in the elongated inserter body (12).

3. The voice prosthesis insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the elongated inserter body (12) includes a pair of flats (18) on the first end.

4. The voice prosthesis insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the first end of the elongated inserter body (12) includes an aperture (20) for receiving a stringer and the rod (14) has a stringer attachment feature (148).

5. The voice prosthesis insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the elongated inserter body (12) has at least one region between the first end and the second end that has an outer diameter that increases as the at least one region extends toward the second end.

6. The voice prosthesis insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the second end of the rod (14) includes a flattened region (142) with the peg (144) extending from the flattened region.

7. A method of loading a voice prosthesis (54) into a voice prosthesis insertion device (10) comprising; forming a voice prosthesis insertion device characterized by an elongated inserter body (12) having a first end with a ring (26) and a second end and including an aperture (16) therein extending axially along the elongated inserter body (12), the elongated inserter body (12) having a collapsible portion (30) and a peg (144) disposed in the aperture (16) of the elongated inserter body (12) and covered by the elongated inserter body (12); collapsing the collapsible portion (30) of the elongated inserter body (12) to cause a portion of the elongated inserter body (12) to be retracted from the peg (144); inserting the peg (144) into an aperture (50) in a tether (52) of a voice prosthesis device (54) and extending the collapsible portion (30) of the elongated inserter body (12) to cause the portion of the elongated inserter body (12) to cover the peg (144); and inserting a tubular body (56) of the voice prosthesis (54) through the ring (26).