puncture needle retainer

Abstract

The present invention provides a puncture needle holder that facilitates aligning the puncture needle's position with the scanning plane of a CT scanner. [Solution] The lancet holder according to this disclosure comprises a main body that removably holds a lancet and a light-gathering tube supported by the main body. The light-gathering tube is supported by the main body such that its axis is parallel to the needle body of the lancet held by the main body, and at least a portion of its end face and at least a portion of its side surface along the axis are exposed. The main body is, for example, forceps-shaped, and the light-gathering tube is supported by the gripping portion of the forceps that holds the lancet. Preferably, the gripping portion is rotatable in multiple stages relative to the rest of the main body. Preferably, the light-gathering tube consists of multiple light-gathering tubes of different colors. The ends of the light-gathering tubes are preferably convex.

Description

Technical Field

[0005] ,

[0001] The present invention relates to a puncture needle holder which is an instrument for holding a puncture needle.

Background Art

[0002] A puncture needle is a medical instrument that is inserted from the body surface of a subject such as a patient (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as "body surface") into the body interior. A biopsy needle, which is an instrument for extracting tissue from a target site such as a diseased part (for example, cancer tissue) inside the body by inserting it from the body surface of the subject, is a kind of puncture needle.

[0003] When performing a CT scan examination with a puncture needle inserted into the body of a subject, the posture of the puncture needle is maintained so that the needle body of the puncture needle is positioned within the X-ray irradiation plane of the CT scan device, that is, within a vertical scan plane that cuts the subject's body into sections. On the gantry of the CT scan device, light sources that emit laser beams for displaying the scan plane are arranged along the circumferential direction. The doctor aligned the needle body with the scan plane by visually observing the laser beam reflected by the metal needle body of the puncture needle. However, there was a problem that it was not easy to confirm the posture of the needle body by capturing the reflected light from the needle body.

[0004] If the puncture needle is directly held by hand, the hand will be irradiated with X-rays. Therefore, the doctor indirectly holds the puncture needle while placing the hand at a position away from the puncture needle by using forceps, which are medical instruments similar to scissors for clamping an object, to clamp the puncture needle. The forceps used for holding the puncture needle correspond to a kind of puncture needle holder. There is also known a stationary type of puncture needle holder (for example, Patent Document 1) that can hold the puncture needle in a predetermined posture even when a doctor or the like releases the hand from the puncture needle. However, there was a problem that it was not easy to align the posture of the puncture needle with the scan plane even when using a stationary type of puncture needle holder.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6398028 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a puncture needle holder that facilitates aligning the position of the puncture needle with the scanning plane of a CT scanner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above objective, a first aspect of the present invention provides a lancet holder comprising a main body for removably holding a lancet, and a light-gathering tube supported by the main body. The light-gathering tube is supported by the main body such that its axis is parallel to the needle body of the lancet held by the main body, and at least a portion of its end face and at least a portion of its side surface along its axis are exposed.

[0008] With this configuration, when the puncture needle is held in the main body and operated in the cavity of the gantry of the CT scanner, the laser beam that displays the scan surface is received along the side of the focusing tube, causing the end face of the focusing tube to emit light. This light emission confirms that the axis of the focusing tube is within the scan surface. In other words, by observing the light emission from the end face of the focusing tube, it is possible to confirm that the needle body of the puncture needle, which is held parallel to the axis of the focusing tube, is parallel to the scan surface. Thus, with this configuration, the orientation of the puncture needle can be easily aligned with the scan surface of the CT scanner.

[0009] A second aspect of the present invention is a puncture needle holder according to the first aspect, wherein the light-gathering tube is divided into a plurality of unit light-gathering tubes supported by the main body such that their axes are parallel to each other. Furthermore, the plurality of unit light-gathering tubes are of different colors.

[0010] This configuration makes it easy to use the same puncture needle holder with CT scanners that use laser beams of different colors.

[0011] A third aspect of the present invention is a puncture needle holder according to the first or second aspect, wherein the end of the light-collecting tube is convex.

[0012] This configuration makes it easy to observe the light emission from the end of the light-gathering tube from a wide range of angles.

[0013] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a puncture needle holder according to any of the first to third aspects, wherein the light-gathering tube is supported on the main body so as to be rotatable in multiple stages relative to the main body, while its axis remains parallel to the needle body of the puncture needle held on the main body.

[0014] This configuration allows the needle body of the puncture needle and the axis of the light-gathering tube to be kept parallel to each other, while the inclination angle of the needle body relative to the main body can be adjusted in multiple stages according to the needs of the procedure or diagnosis.

[0015] A fifth aspect of the present invention is a puncture needle holder according to any of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the main body has forceps. The light-gathering tube is supported by the clamping portion of the forceps that holds the puncture needle.

[0016] This configuration makes the puncture needle holder easy to use for physicians who are familiar with using forceps. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] As described above, the present invention provides a puncture needle holder that facilitates aligning the position of the puncture needle with the scanning plane of a CT scanner. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0018] [Figure 1]It is an external perspective view by a photograph illustrating a puncture needle holder according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a partially enlarged view of the puncture needle holder of FIG. 1, where (a) is a perspective view and (b) is a front view of the clamping surface. [Figure 3] It is a view illustrating a puncture needle, where (a) is an overall front view and (b) is a partial cross-sectional perspective view. [Figure 4] It is a schematic view illustrating the usage method of the puncture needle holder of FIG. 1. [Figure 5] It is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating the usage method of the puncture needle holder of FIG. 1. [Figure 6] It is a perspective view illustrating a puncture needle holder according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] FIG. 1 is an external perspective view by a photograph illustrating a puncture needle holder according to an embodiment of the present invention. This puncture needle holder 101 has a main body portion 1 that removably holds a puncture needle, and a pair of condenser tubes 3 and 5 supported by the main body portion 1. In the puncture needle holder 101, the main body portion 1 is configured as forceps. The main body portion 1 configured as forceps can be opened and closed by manual operation, and by closing it, the puncture needle can be held by being sandwiched between a pair of clamping portions 7 that sandwich an object, and the puncture needle can be removed by opening it.

[0020] The condenser tubes 3 and 5, also referred to as "external light tubes", are made of a material that transmits light, for example, resin, and have the property that when irradiated with light rays along the side surface, the end portions emit strong light. The pair of condenser tubes 3 and 5 are supported such that their axes are parallel to each other, and in the illustrated example, they are separately supported by the pair of clamping portions 7.

[0021] FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial view of the puncture needle holder 101, (a) is a perspective view, and (b) is a front view of the clamping surface. In the illustrated example, on the clamping surface 9 that clamps the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 among the respective clamping portions 7, grooves 11 parallel to the axes of the condenser tubes 3 and 5 are arranged. By clamping the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 in any of these grooves 11, the puncture needle 43 can be held in the main body portion 1. Since the grooves 11 are parallel to the axes of the condenser tubes 3 and 5, the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 held in the main body portion 1 is also parallel to the axes of the condenser tubes 3 and 5.

[0022] The condenser tubes 3 and 5 are supported by the main body portion 1 such that at least a partial region of one end face is exposed and at least a partial region along the axis of the side face is exposed. In the illustrated example, the entire region of one end face (the upper end face in the figure) which is convex is exposed, and most of the side face is exposed. When the laser beam displaying the scan surface of the CT scanner is received along the side face, the end face emits light. By observing this light emission, it can be confirmed that the axes of the respective condenser tubes 3 and 5 and the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 are in a posture parallel to the scan surface. The reason why one end face of the condenser tubes 3 and 5 is convex is to make it easier to visually recognize the light emission of the end face from a wide angle. The pair of condenser tubes 3 and 5 have different colors. For example, the condenser tube 3 is green and the condenser tube 5 is orange. By making the colors different, it becomes easy to observe the light emission of the end face of either one of the pair of condenser tubes 3 and 5 regardless of the color of the laser beam used by the CT scanner.

[0023] In the illustrated example, each of the pair of clamping portions 7 is connected to other parts of the main body portion 1 so as to be rotatable in multiple stages. When the pair of clamping portions 7 are rotated in a state where the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 is clamped, the axes of each of the pair of condenser tubes 3 and 5 and the needle body 43 rotate together while maintaining parallelism with each other. Thus, the condenser tubes 3 and 5 are supported by the main body portion 1 such that their respective axes remain parallel to the axis of the puncture needle held in the main body portion 1 and are rotatable in multiple stages with respect to the main body portion 1.

[0024] Figure 3 illustrates a puncture needle 40, where (a) is an overall front view and (b) is a partial cross-sectional perspective view. This puncture needle 40 is, for example, a biopsy needle. The biopsy needle 40 has a manual operating part 45 attached to its head. In a biopsy needle, the needle body 43 connected to the manual operating part 45 has a cylindrical sheath (referred to as a "cannula") 75 and a thin shaft (referred to as a "stylet") 73 housed inside the cannula and movable axially relative to the sheath 75. The thin shaft 73 has a holding part 77 formed at its tip for holding the collected tissue sample 41. By placing a finger on the finger hook 47 of the manual operating part 45 and pressing the plunger 49 with the thumb, the holding part 77 can be exposed from the tip of the sheath 75. By further pressing the plunger 49, the holding part 77 can be instantly pulled back into the sheath 75 by the restoring force of the built-in spring. In this way, it is possible to collect a tissue fragment 41, which is a part of the internal tissue of the body, while it is contained within the sheath 75.

[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the method of using the puncture needle holder 101. The puncture needle holder 101 is used together with the CT scanner 50. The CT scanner 50 is, for example, a commercially available and well-known device, and includes a scan gantry 51, a bed 53, a bed drive stand 55, and an operation panel 57. The subject 60, such as a patient, lies on the bed 53, and the bed 53 is driven by the bed drive stand 55 to move the subject into and out of the cavity of the scan gantry 51. During this process, an X-ray tomography image of the subject 60 is taken by the X-ray source and X-ray detector built into the scan gantry 51. The scan gantry 51 and the bed drive stand 55 are operated by an operator, such as a physician, operating the operation panel 57. The acquired X-ray tomography image is displayed on the display screen of the operation panel 57 and stored in a data storage medium (not shown).

[0026] The scan gantry 51 has light sources that emit a laser beam 63 to display the X-ray irradiation surface, i.e., the scan surface 61, arranged circumferentially. Alternatively, the scan surface 61 is displayed by the laser beam 63 as the light sources that emit the laser beam 63 rotate circumferentially. The physician 65 holds the puncture needle 40 by gripping the puncture needle holder 101 so as to clamp the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40, and directs the focusing tube 3 or 5 (see Figure 2) of the puncture needle holder 101 to the laser beam 63 so that the needle body 43 is in a position parallel to the scan surface 61.

[0027] Figure 5 is a partially enlarged perspective view illustrating the use of the puncture needle holder 101. In the illustrated example, the laser beam 63 projected into the scanning surface 61 is irradiated onto the side of the focusing tube 3 along its axial direction. At this time, the end face of the focusing tube 3 emits a strong light. By observing this light emission, it can be confirmed that the axis of the focusing tube 3 is within the scanning surface 61 and that the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 is parallel to the scanning surface 61. In this way, the physician 65 can perform procedures and diagnoses using the puncture needle 40 while keeping the needle body 43 parallel to the scanning surface 61. Furthermore, as shown in the illustrated example, when the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 is held in a position sandwiched between the focusing tube 3 and the focusing tube 5, it can be confirmed that the needle body 43 is not only parallel to the scanning surface 61 but also located within the scanning surface 61 by observing the strong simultaneous light emission from the end face of the focusing tube 3 and the end face of the focusing tube 5.

[0028] Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating a lancet holder according to another embodiment of the present invention. While the lancet holders 101 illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 are of a type that a physician 65 constantly holds and operates, the lancet holder 102 illustrated in Figure 6 is a stationary type that holds the lancet 40 in a predetermined position even when the physician 65 releases their hand. Thus, the lancet holder of the present invention can also take the form of a stationary type.

[0029] The illustrated example of a lancet holder 102 includes a main body 211 that removably holds a lancet 40, and a light-gathering tube 213 supported by the main body 211. The main body 211 includes a base 201, a needle insertion tube 207, a pair of support members 203, 205, and a screw body 209. The base 201 is placed on the body surface of the subject 60 (see Figure 4) and has an opening 221 that rotatably supports the bottom of the needle insertion tube 207. The needle insertion tube 207 holds a needle holder 253 through which the needle body 43 of the lancet 40 is inserted. The needle holder 253 is discarded after each use of the lancet 40. Support members 203 and 205 are each curved in a semicircular shape, and their respective ends are rotatably supported on the base 201 so as to intersect each other. They support the needle insertion tube 207 at their intersection so that it can slide in the circumferential direction of both sides. The screw body 209 is screwed onto the needle insertion tube 207 radially outward at the intersection. By loosening it, the needle insertion tube 207 can slide freely relative to the support members 203 and 205, and by tightening it, the support members 203 and 205 are fastened together with the needle insertion tube 207.

[0030] A light-gathering tube 213 is supported in the needle insertion tube 207. The light-gathering tube 213 is supported so that its axis is parallel to the axis of the needle holder 253. In the illustrated example, a pair of light-gathering tubes 213 are positioned to sandwich the needle holder 253 from each other. In the illustrated example, the entire upper surface and most of the side surfaces of each light-gathering tube 213 are exposed. Similar to the puncture needle holder 101, the needle holder 102 configured in this way allows confirmation that the needle body 43 of the puncture needle 40 is parallel to the scan surface 61 by observing the emission of light from the upper surface of the light-gathering tube 213 by the laser beam 63 within the scan surface 61.

[0031] (Other embodiments) In addition to the forceps-shaped main body 1 of the lancet holder 101 illustrated in Figure 1, other forms of main body 1, such as tweezers or tongs, can also be used. Furthermore, the light-gathering tube used in the lancet holder of the present invention may be a single tube or three or more tubes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1 Main body, 3,5 Light-gathering tube, 7 Clamping part, 9 Clamping surface, 11 Groove, Puncture needle 40, 41 Tissue piece, 43 Needle body, 45 Hand operation part, 47 Finger rest, 49 Plunger, 50 CT scanner, 51 Scan gantry, 53 Bed, 55 Bed drive stand, 57 Operation panel, 60 Subject, 61 Scan surface, 63 Laser beam, 65 Doctor, 73 Thin shaft, 75 Sheath, 77 Holding part, 101,102 Puncture needle holder, 201 Base, 203,205 Pair of support members, 207 Needle insertion tube, 209 Screw body, 211 Main body, 213 Light-gathering tube, 221 Opening, 253 Needle holder.

Claims

1. A main body that holds the puncture needle in a removable manner, The main body is supported by a light-collecting tube, A lancet holder wherein the light-gathering tube is supported on the main body such that its axis is parallel to the needle body of the lancet held on the main body, and at least a portion of its end face and at least a portion of its side surface along the axis are exposed.

2. The light-gathering tube is divided into a plurality of unit light-gathering tubes supported by the main body such that their axes are parallel to each other. The puncture needle holder according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of unit light-gathering tubes are of different colors from each other.

3. The puncture needle holder according to claim 1, wherein the end of the light-collecting tube is convex.

4. The puncture needle holder according to claim 1, wherein the light-gathering tube is supported on the main body so as to be rotatable in multiple stages relative to the main body, while its axis remains parallel to the needle body of the puncture needle held on the main body.

5. The main body has forceps, The puncture needle holder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the light-gathering tube is supported by the clamping portion of the forceps that holds the puncture needle.

Images