Catheter

Abstract

To provide a catheter where a rotary plate is easily operated.SOLUTION: A catheter includes: a flexible tube; and a handle arranged in a proximal end part of the tube. In the catheter, the handle includes: a handle body connected to the proximal end part of the tube and having a long-sized grip part; and a rotary plate which is rotatably arranged in the handle body by allowing a rotary shaft to be directed in a direction nearly orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the grip part, and around which a wire for flexibly operating the tube is wound. The rotary shaft is located at a position deviated from a center line in the longitudinal direction of the grip part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to catheters. [Background technology]

[0002] A medical catheter is a soft, thin, tubular instrument that is inserted into the body for examination, treatment, and the like. For example, electrode catheters are widely used to measure intracardiac electrocardiograms and treat arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation.

[0003] A known conventional catheter is, for example, that described in Patent Document 1. As shown in Fig. 7, the catheter has a handle 1 and a tube 3 provided at the tip of the handle 1, and various treatments and examinations are performed by operating switches (not shown) provided on the handle 1 and a rotating plate 20 (described later).

[0004] The handle 1 has a handle body 10 formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and a rotating plate 20 rotatably provided in the middle of the handle body 10. The rotating plate 20 has knobs 22, 23 on which the user can place his / her fingers on the outer peripheral edge, and the outer peripheral edge other than the knobs 22, 23 is formed with uneven surfaces to prevent slipping. The tip 32 of the tube 3 has an inspection electrode 33, which is connected to wiring (not shown) inserted through the handle 1 and the tube 3. An operating wire is inserted through the tube 3, and its tip is connected to the tip 32 of the tube 3, and its base end is connected by being wrapped around the rotating plate 20. The rotating plate 20 may not have a knob.

[0005] FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an example of the internal structure of the handle 1. The handle body 10 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, and the base end 31 of the tube 3 is connected to the wire guide portion 12 on the tip side of the handle body 10. A slit 18 is formed in the middle of the handle body 10 penetrating the handle body 10 (FIG. 9), and a rotating plate 20 is provided in the slit 18 so as to be rotatable around a rotation axis extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 8. The rotating plate 20 is provided so that its center of rotation O is located on the center line AA of the handle body 10, and both ends in a direction perpendicular to the center line AA (both upper and lower ends in FIG. 8) are exposed from the handle body 10. Knobs 22 and 23 are provided on the exposed parts to facilitate the user's rotation of the rotating plate 20, and the tips of the knobs 22 and 23 protrude from the handle body 10 by a distance h. The rotating plate 20 is rotatable within the range in which the knobs 22 and 23 are exposed from the slit 18 of the handle body 10.

[0006] The rotating plate 20 is formed with a substantially circular winding portion 27 for guiding and winding the wires 29, 29. Two wires 29, 29 are inserted into the tube 3, the distal ends of the wires 29, 29 are connected to the distal end 32 of the tube, and the proximal ends pass through the handle body 10, are wound around the winding portion 27, and are connected to the rotating plate 20 at the connecting portions 28, 28.

[0007] The grip portion 11 is formed on the opposite side of the rotating plate 20 of the handle body 10 from the wire guide portion 12. The outer surface of the grip portion 11 is generally cylindrical or tubular with a generally elliptical cross section so that it is easy for a user to grip, and generally has a rotationally symmetrical shape.

[0008] When using the catheter, the user generally holds the gripping portion 11 with the middle finger, ring finger, and little finger, places the thumb on one knob 22 and the index finger on the other knob 23, and rotates the rotating plate 20 with the thumb and index finger. When the rotating plate 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow P, the wire 29 at the top in the figure is pulled and the tip 32 of the tube is bent upward. Conversely, when the rotating plate 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow Q, the wire 29 at the bottom in the figure is pulled and the tip 32 is bent downward. Also, when only one knob is formed on the rotating plate 20, it is common to operate it by placing the thumb on the knob. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-17693 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] Since the rotating plate 20 can rotate within the range where the knobs 22, 23 are exposed from the handle body 10, the maximum amount of operation of the wires 29, 29 is determined by the angle at which the rotating plate 20 can rotate and the radius of the winding part 27, and the amount of bending of the tip 32 of the tube 3 is also limited to a predetermined amount. The amount of bending required differs depending on the application of the catheter and the type of treatment, and to obtain a larger amount of bending, it is necessary to use a rotating plate 20 with a larger radius (Figure 10).

[0011] If the radius of the rotating plate 20 is increased in order to increase the amount of wire manipulation, the amount of protrusion H of the knobs 22, 23 from the grip portion 11 also increases. If this amount of protrusion H increases, it becomes necessary to greatly bend the thumb that is placed on the knob 22, which increases the burden on the thumb and makes operation difficult. Even if the rotating plate 20 does not have a knob, the burden on the thumb increases when the radius of the rotating plate 20 is increased. Also, depending on the size of the user's hand, gripping style, etc., if the knobs 22, 23 protrude by the same amount from the handle body 10, it may feel strange or difficult to use.

[0012] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a catheter having a rotating plate that is easy to operate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] One aspect of the catheter of the present disclosure is a catheter having a flexible tube and a handle provided at the base end of the tube, wherein the handle comprises a handle body connected to the base end of the tube and having a long gripping portion, and a rotating plate rotatably mounted on the handle body with a rotation axis oriented in a direction approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, and around which a wire is wound for bending and extending the tube, the rotation axis being positioned offset from the longitudinal center line of the gripping portion.

[0014] Moreover, one aspect of the catheter of the present disclosure is a catheter having a flexible tube and a handle provided at the base end of the tube, the handle having a handle body connected to the base end of the tube and having a long gripping portion, and a rotating plate rotatably mounted on the handle body with a rotation axis oriented in a direction approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, and around which a wire is wound for bending and extending the tube, the rotation axis being positioned offset from the extension line of the base end.

[0015] Moreover, one aspect of the catheter of the present disclosure is a catheter having a flexible tube and a handle provided at the base end of the tube, wherein the handle comprises: a handle body connected to the base end of the tube and having a long gripping portion; and a rotating plate rotatably mounted on the handle body with a rotation axis oriented in a direction approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, and around which a wire is wound for bending and extending the tube, wherein the rotating plate has both end portions on either side in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, each protruding from the gripping portion by a different height. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to realize a catheter that is easy to use and causes no strain or discomfort when gripping the handle body and operating the rotating plate. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the handle. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the handle. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the handle. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing a modified example of the handle. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] 4A and 4B are a front view and a perspective view of a rotating plate; [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a conventional catheter. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a conventional handle. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram (plan view) showing a conventional handle. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a handle having a large diameter rotating plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the upper side of the drawing will be called "upper" and the lower side of the drawing will be called "lower", but the catheter can be used in any direction, and "upper" and "lower" do not have an absolute meaning.

[0019] 1 to 5 are diagrams showing the catheter of the present disclosure, and the same members as those in the prior art are given the same reference numerals and detailed description is omitted. The handle body 10 of the handle 1 shown in FIG. 1 has an approximately rotationally symmetric shape as a whole. The approximately rotationally symmetric shape includes not only a rotationally symmetric shape but also a shape that can be recognized as a rotationally symmetric shape when a user grasps the handle body 10. The rotation center O' of the rotating plate 20 is offset by t from the center line AA of the gripping part 11. Here, the center line includes the symmetric axis when the handle body 10 has an approximately rotationally symmetric shape, and the axis that can be recognized when a user grasps the gripping part 11 when the handle body 10 has an elongated shape other than the approximately rotationally symmetric shape. A pair of knobs 22 and 23 are provided on the outer peripheral edge of the rotating plate 20 exposed from the handle body 10. As a result, the amount of upward projection H1 of one knob 22 from the grip portion 11 is lower by t than the amount of projection H when there is no offset, and the amount of downward projection H2 of the other knob 23 from the grip portion 11 is higher by t than the amount of projection H when there is no offset. The offset amount t is set to a degree that allows a user to smoothly operate the rotating plate 20 without having to bend the thumb significantly when the user places his or her thumb on one knob 22 while gripping the grip portion 11. Since the grip portion 11 has a shape that is approximately rotationally symmetrical with respect to a predetermined axis (center line AA in the illustrated example), the operation is substantially the same regardless of the direction in which the knob 22 or 23 is offset. However, when other switches are provided on the handle body 10, for example, and operability differs depending on the direction in which the handle body 10 is gripped, it is desirable to determine the offset amount based on the amount of projection of the knob on which the thumb is placed.

[0020] With the above structure, when gripping grip 11 and placing thumb on knob 22 to operate, there is no need to bend the thumb upward significantly, so the burden on the thumb is small and operation is easy. Note that the user can also hook index finger on knob 23 while gripping grip 11. In this case, the amount of protrusion of knob 23 from grip 11 is greater than when there is no offset, but since the index finger can be stretched in a direction away from grip 11 without difficulty, the burden on the index finger is not large. In addition, when a finger is hooked on rotating plate 20, the amount of protrusion above and below is different, so the orientation of the handle can be confirmed without visual inspection.

[0021] 2 is a side view showing a modified example of the present disclosure. In this example, a notch 19 is formed in a portion around the slit 18 on the outer surface of the upper part of the handle body 10. This increases the range of the rotating plate 20 exposed above the handle body 10, and increases the angle at which the rotating plate 20 can rotate. As a result, the maximum amount of operation of the wires 29, 29 can be increased, and the amount of bending of the tip portion 32 of the tube 3 can be further increased.

[0022] 3 shows a further modified example of the present disclosure. In this modified example, the center line BB of the grip portion 11 is inclined at a predetermined angle α in the direction in which the rotating plate 20 is offset (downward) with respect to the center line AA of the tube 3 and the wire guide portion 12. This makes it easier for the user to grip the grip portion 11 and operate the tube 3. In addition, since the range of the rotating plate 20 exposed above the handle body 10 can be increased, the angle at which the rotating plate 20 can rotate can be further increased.

[0023] Fig. 4 shows a further modified example of the present disclosure. In this example, the tube 3 is inclined with respect to the center line CC of the wire guide portion 12, so that the angle β between the center line AA of the tube 3 and the center line BB of the grip portion 11 is made larger than the angle α in the modified example of Fig. 3. This reduces the burden on the thumb of the hand gripping the grip portion 11, increases the area of ​​the rotating plate 20 exposed from the handle body 10, and further improves the ease of gripping and operability when inserting the catheter into the body. EXAMPLES

[0024] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the catheter of the present disclosure is applied to an electrode catheter. A plurality of electrodes 33 are provided at the distal end 32 of the tube 3, and the electrodes 33 are guided through a blood vessel to a target site in the heart to obtain an electric potential in the heart. A handle 1 is provided at the proximal end 31 of the tube 3. The rotating plate 20 is provided with knobs 22 and 23 at the top and bottom, with the upper knob 22 positioned approximately on the center line AA of the tube 3. The center line BB of the gripping portion 11 is inclined downward with respect to the center line AA of the tube 3. The rotating plate 20 has a rotation axis offset downward from the center line AA of the tube 3 and the center line BB of the gripping portion 11. The upper knob 22 is positioned approximately on the extension of the upper outer shape of the gripping portion 11. The upper and lower portions of the handle body 10 corresponding to the rotating plate 20 are each formed with a notch 19, and the upper and lower portions of the rotating plate 20 are largely exposed from the handle body 10, ensuring a large range of rotation of the rotating plate 20.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a modified example of the rotating plate 20 of the catheter of FIG. 5. In the example of FIG. 5, the knobs 22 and 23 have the same shape, but in the example of FIG. 6, the upper and lower knobs 22 and 23 have different shapes. Specifically, the upper knob 22 has a convex portion 24 formed on its upper surface, while the lower knob 23 has a concave portion 25 formed on its lower surface. This allows the user to easily distinguish the up and down directions of the handle 1 and the tube 3 when placing their fingers on the upper and lower knobs 22 and 23. The knobs 22 and 23 can be formed in any shape other than the convex portion and concave portion as long as they are different from each other. That is, the shape of the upper exposed portion of the rotating plate 20 and the shape of the lower exposed portion can be different, so that the up and down directions of the handle can be distinguished by the feel of the fingertip. In addition, the outer peripheral edge of the main body 21 of the rotating plate 20 has an uneven portion 26 formed in addition to the knobs 22 and 23 to prevent the fingers from slipping during use. The uneven portion 26 may have a rough surface formed by knurling or may have a large number of grooves, in addition to the generally corrugated shape shown in the figure.

[0026] Although the catheter according to the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the drawings, the invention according to each claim of the present application is not limited to the above embodiment. The amount of offset of the rotating plate is designed to make it easy for the user to operate according to the thickness of the handle body, the radius of the rotating plate, the size of the knob, the required rotation range of the rotating plate, etc. In the above embodiment, the rotating plate is offset so as to lower the protruding amount of the knob on which the thumb is hooked, but conversely, the direction of the thumb may be adjusted by offsetting so as to increase the protruding amount of the knob on which the thumb is hooked. In addition, in the above embodiment, the case where the thumb and index finger are hooked on the knob to operate the rotating plate is described, but which finger is hooked on the rotating plate is merely a method of use, and the present invention is not limited in any way. In addition, it is of course applicable not only to bidirectional type catheters with two wires, but also to single-directional type catheters with one wire. Furthermore, the shape of the gripping part is not limited to a substantially rotationally symmetric shape. [Industrial Applicability]

[0027] The present disclosure is suitably applicable to catheters. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 1 Handle 10 Handle body 11 Gripping part 12 Wire outlet 18 Slit 19 Cutout 20 Rotating Plate 21 Main body 22, 23 Picking 24 Convex 25 Recess 26 Uneven part 27 Winding section 28 Connection 29 Wire 3 Tubes 31 Proximal end 32 Tip 33 electrode

Claims

1. A flexible tube; a handle provided at a proximal end of the tube; A catheter having The handle is A handle body connected to a base end of the tube and having a long grip portion; a rotating plate having a rotation axis oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, rotatably provided on the handle body, and around which a wire for bending and extending the tube is wound; having The rotation axis is offset from the longitudinal center line of the grip portion. catheter.

2. A flexible tube; a handle provided at a proximal end of the tube; A catheter having The handle is A handle body connected to a base end of the tube and having a long grip portion; a rotating plate having a rotation axis oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, rotatably provided on the handle body, and around which a wire for bending and extending the tube is wound; having The rotation axis is located at a position offset from the extension line of the base end portion. catheter.

3. The handle body has a wire outlet portion from which the wire is led out on the opposite side of the grip portion with respect to the rotating plate, The rotation axis is located at a position offset from the center line of the wire guide portion in the longitudinal direction.

3. The catheter according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The center line of the wire guide portion is inclined with respect to the center line of the grip portion.

4. A catheter handle as claimed in claim 3.

5. A flexible tube; a handle provided at a proximal end of the tube; A catheter having The handle is A handle body connected to a base end of the tube and having a long grip portion; a rotating plate having a rotation axis oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion, rotatably provided on the handle body, and around which a wire for bending and extending the tube is wound; having The rotating plate has both end portions on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion protruding from the gripping portion, and the protruding heights of the both end portions differ from each other. catheter.

6. The position of one of the ends is substantially equal to an extension of the outer surface of the gripping portion, and the position of the other end is substantially protruding from the extension of the outer surface of the gripping portion. The catheter according to claim 5.

7. A knob is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the rotating plate, and the end is an end of the knob.

7. The catheter according to claim 5 or 6.

8. A knob is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the rotating plate on the opposite side to the rotating shaft with respect to the center line of the longitudinal direction of the gripping portion.

6. A catheter according to claim 1, 2 or 5.

9. The outer circumferential edge of the rotating plate is provided with knobs on both sides of the center line of the gripping portion in the longitudinal direction.

6. A catheter according to claim 1, 2 or 5.

10. A cutout portion is formed on the outer surface of the handle body around the periphery of the rotating plate.

6. The catheter of claim 1, 2 or 5.

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