catheter

Abstract

The present invention aims to provide a catheter that allows for easy determination of the orientation of the curved tip portion at the beginning and during insertion into the urethra. [Solution] The catheter 100 has a tube portion 10 and a curved tip portion 30 fixed to the tip of the tube portion 10, and the tube portion 10 has an indicator portion 50a that shows the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention mainly relates to a catheter for urinary management.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, catheters for urinary management of patients with urinary disorders and spinal cord injury patients during and after surgery have been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This type of catheter may be inserted into the bladder by the patient himself, and the insertion operation was difficult. For example, in the case of a catheter with a straight tip, it was sometimes difficult to insert it into the bladder of male patients. In particular, in the insertion of a catheter into a male patient, the catheter inserted straight through the pendulous urethra and rising steeply upward toward the bladder at the bulbous urethra was sometimes difficult to pass through the curved bulbous urethra. There are individual differences in the shape of the bulbous urethra. For example, depending on the curvature of the bulbous urethra, the tip of the catheter may not bend well along the bulbous urethra and may hit the wall surface of the bulbous urethra to cause a false urethra. To solve this problem, a curve tip catheter having a curved tip portion at the tip has been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, with the catheter according to the above conventional technology, unless it is inserted in a state where the direction of the tip portion curved along the direction of the bulbous urethra is aligned, it hits the wall surface of the bulbous urethra at the portion that curves steeply upward, making it very difficult to insert.

[0005] On the other hand, because the tip of a curved tip catheter is curved, insertion into the urethral orifice was difficult unless the curved tip was curved downwards, that is, curved in the opposite direction to the curvature of the bulbous urethra. Once inserted into the urethral orifice in a downward curved state, the catheter needed to be rotated 180° before the curved tip reached the bulbous urethra so that the tip was curved upwards to match the curvature of the bulbous urethra. At this time, the curved state of the tip located just before the bulbous urethra within the urethra could not be seen from the outside, and because the tip was made of a soft material, it was difficult to determine whether the tip was correctly curved upwards or not.

[0006] The present invention aims to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional technology and to provide a catheter that allows for easy determination of the orientation of the curved tip portion at the beginning and during insertion into the urethra. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention relates to a catheter having a tubular portion and a curved tip portion fixed to the tip of the tubular portion, wherein the tubular portion has an indicator portion that shows the curvature direction of the tip portion.

[0008] In this case, the display portion may be located within a range of 30 cm or less from the tip end of the tip portion. The display portion may extend linearly along the direction in which the tube portion extends. The display portion may be located on the curved side of the surface of the tube portion. The tube portion may have different appearances on the curved side surface and the opposite side surface. The display portion may be printed on the surface of the tube portion. The display portion may be formed as a recess or a protrusion on the surface of the tube portion. The tip portion may also have the display portion. The display portion of the tube portion and the display portion of the tip portion may be arranged in a straight line along the direction in which the tube portion extends. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The present invention provides a catheter that allows for easy determination of the orientation of the curved tip portion at the beginning and during insertion into the urethra. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This diagram schematically shows how the balloon catheter according to this embodiment is placed inside the bladder. [Figure 2] Figure 2(a) shows a side view of the chip section, and Figure 2(b) shows a front view of the chip section. [Figure 3] Figure 3(a) shows a side view of the modified tip portion, and Figure 3(b) shows a front view of the modified tip portion. [Figure 4] This diagram schematically illustrates how a balloon catheter passes through a pseudourethra. [Figure 5] A perspective view of a balloon catheter is shown. [Figure 6] A cross-sectional view of the tube section is shown. [Figure 7] A top view of a balloon catheter is shown. [Figure 8] This image shows the moment just before inserting the balloon catheter into the urethral opening. [Figure 9] This shows what it looks like immediately after insertion into the urethral opening. [Figure 10] This shows the balloon catheter rotated 180 degrees. [Figure 11] This shows the tip passing through the bulbous urethra. [Figure 12] This image shows a balloon catheter positioned inside the bladder with its balloon portion inflated. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a balloon catheter placed in the bladder, FIG. 2(a) shows a side view of the tip portion, FIG. 2(b) shows a front view of the tip portion, FIG. 3(a) shows a side view of the tip portion according to a modified example, FIG. 3(b) shows a front view of the tip portion according to the modified example, FIG. 4 schematically shows the state where the balloon catheter passes through the pseudo urethra, FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the balloon catheter, FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of the tube portion, and FIG. 7 shows a top view of the balloon catheter.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the balloon catheter 100 has a tube portion 10, a balloon portion 20, and a tip portion 30.

[0013] The tube portion 10, the balloon portion 20, and the tip portion 30 are made of silicone rubber, but may be made of latex, natural rubber, isoprene rubber, thermoplastic resin, for example, PVC and urethane rubber, fluorine rubber, fluorine resin, etc.

[0014] The tube portion 10 passes through the balloon portion 20, and the balloon portion 20 is provided on the outer periphery near the tip by adhesion. That is, the balloon portion 20 is formed so as to surround the entire circumference of the tube portion 10. Further, the tip portion 30 is attached to the tip of the tube portion 10 by adhesion. The tube portion 10 has a urine drainage lumen (see FIG. 6) for flowing urine formed along the extending direction of the tube portion 10. The urine drainage lumen is in fluid communication with the outside through a first side hole (opening) 34 (see FIG. 2) formed in the tip portion 30, and the urine flowing in from the first side hole 34 passes through the urine drainage lumen and flows to a branch portion (see FIG. 12) provided on the proximal end side of the balloon catheter 100.

[0015] The tube portion 10 has a balloon lumen (not shown) for inflating the balloon portion 20 formed along the extending direction of the tube portion 10. The balloon lumen is fluidly communicated with the inside of the balloon portion 20 near the tip, and the balloon portion 20 is inflated by filling the inside of the balloon portion 20 with sterilized water supplied from the branch portion on the proximal end side. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the balloon catheter 100 is retained in the patient's bladder A because the inflated balloon portion 20 is caught and cannot be removed.

[0016] The tip portion 30 is formed of an elastic body and is fixed to the tip of the tube portion 10. As shown in FIG. 2, this tip portion 30 has a tapered portion 31 that is formed thinner toward the position closer to the tip, a base end portion 32 attached to the tube portion 10 (see FIG. 1), and a curved portion 33 that is longer than the tapered portion 31 and curves between the tapered portion 31 and the base end portion 32. These tapered portion 31, base end portion 32, and curved portion 33 are integrally and solidly formed.

[0017] The tapered portion 31 is formed such that the cross-section perpendicular to the axis O becomes smaller toward the position closer to the tip without the cross-section perpendicular to the axis O expanding from the tip-side end portion 33a of the curved portion 33. The outer peripheral surface of this tapered portion 31 is flush with the outer peripheral surface at the tip-side end portion 33a of the curved portion 33. As a result, the tip portion 30 is formed with a continuous and smooth surface from the curved portion 33 to the tapered portion 31.

[0018] The base end portion 32 is formed in a cylindrical shape and is adhered to the tube portion 10 on the base end side. The base end portion 32 has first side holes 34, 34 formed at both ends in the width direction C orthogonal to the bending direction B in which the curved portion 33 curves. The first side hole 34 is formed in an oval shape and is fluidly communicated with the urine drainage lumen of the tube portion 10.

[0019] The outer circumferential surface of the base portion 32 is formed flush with the outer circumferential surface of the base end portion 33b of the curved portion 33. As a result, the tip portion 30 is formed with a continuous smooth surface from the base portion 32 to the curved portion 33. In other words, the tip portion 30 is formed with a continuous smooth surface from the base end portion 32a of the base portion 32 to the tip portion 31a of the tip portion 31.

[0020] The curved portion 33 is formed to be longer along the axis O than the tip portion 31, resulting in a larger radius of curvature and a gentler curve. The area of ​​the cross-section perpendicular to the axis O is approximately the same at the base end 33b and the tip end 33a of this curved portion 33. The cross-section perpendicular to the axis O of the curved portion 33 is formed in a circular shape, and this circular cross-section has a substantially constant cross-sectional area and extends from the base end 33b to the tip end 33a.

[0021] The elastic tip portion 30 is designed so that when the balloon catheter 100 is inserted into the bladder A through the urethra, the curved portion 33 bends to become straight or returns to a curved state due to its elastic force, depending on the shape of the urethra.

[0022] More specifically, in a straight pendulum-shaped urethra, the tip portion 30 is designed so that the curved portion 33 bends and becomes straight along the urethra as it passes through the pendulum-shaped urethra.

[0023] After passing through the pendulum-shaped urethra, the tip portion 30 passes through the curved bulb-shaped urethra D, where the curved portion 33 returns to its original curved state due to elastic force.

[0024] After passing through the bulbous urethra D, the tip portion 30's curved portion 33 bends and straightens again to follow the urethra, moving steeply up the urethra. Upon reaching the bladder A and no longer contacting the urethra, the curved portion 33 returns to its original curved state due to elastic force. At this time, as urine is discharged from the bladder A and the bladder A shrinks, the bladder wall may come into contact with the tip portion 30. However, the tip portion 30 is flexible because the curved portion 33 curves further from its original curved state, preventing it from strongly pushing back against the bladder wall.

[0025] The tip portion 30 may also be a tip portion 40 having a curved portion 41 with a different shape from the curved portion 33 (see Figure 2), as shown in Figure 3(a).

[0026] The curved portion 41 has a flattened cross-section that becomes thinner in the direction of curvature. The curved portion 41 is formed in a circular shape with approximately the same area in the cross-section perpendicular to the axis O at the base end 33b and the tip end 33a. On the other hand, the curved portion 41 is formed so that the cross-section becomes flatter, i.e., elliptical, as it approaches the midpoint between the base end 33b and the tip end 33a. Here, as shown in Figure 3(b), the width C in the width direction of the curved portion 41 is formed to be approximately constant from the base end 33b to the tip end 33a.

[0027] As shown in Figure 4, the balloon catheter 100 has a appropriately curved tip 30, which makes it less likely to get caught on the pseudourethra E when inserted into the bladder A of a male patient who has a pseudourethra E in the bulbous urethra D. As a result, the balloon catheter 100 is inserted while bending smoothly along the bulbous urethra D, avoiding the pseudourethra E.

[0028] As shown in Figure 5, the balloon catheter 100 according to this embodiment has a tip portion 30 fixed to the tip of the tube portion 10, and has an indicator portion 50a on the surface of the tube portion 10 that indicates the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30, as well as an indicator portion 50b on the surface of the tip portion 30 that also indicates the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30. Since these indicator portions 50a and 50b are for the user to see when inserting the balloon catheter 100 through the urethral opening, the indicator portion 50a on the tube portion 10 is provided at least at a position close to the tip of the tube portion 10, which extends in a string-like manner.

[0029] The display units 50a and 50b according to this embodiment are printed on the surfaces of the tube unit 10 and the tip unit 30, and as shown in Figure 6, they are located on the side of the surface of the tube unit 10 in the curvature direction B. In other words, the tube unit 10 has a different appearance on the surface on the side of the curvature direction B and on the surface on the opposite side of the curvature direction B, so that the direction of the curvature direction B can be visually determined.

[0030] As shown in Figure 7, the display unit 50 extends linearly along the direction in which the tube portion 10 extends. More specifically, the balloon catheter 100 has the display unit 50 in a range of at least 30 cm or less from the tip end of the tip portion 10 in the direction indicated by arrow F in the figure. Furthermore, the display unit 50 in this embodiment extends toward the proximal end in a range exceeding 30 cm from the tip end.

[0031] The display section 50a of the tube section 10 and the display section 50b of the tip section 30 are aligned in a straight line along the direction in which the tube section 10 extends. Furthermore, the display section 50a of the tube section 10 terminates at the base end of the balloon section 20.

[0032] Figure 8 shows the balloon catheter just before insertion into the urethral opening, Figure 9 shows it immediately after insertion into the urethral opening, Figure 10 shows the balloon catheter rotated 180°, Figure 11 shows the tip passing through the bulbous urethra, and Figure 12 shows the balloon catheter inflated and positioned within the bladder. The following describes how the balloon catheter 100 is inserted into the urethra and placed in the bladder, referring to Figures 8 to 12.

[0033] When inserting the balloon catheter 100 into the urethral opening, as shown in Figure 8, the user first holds the tip portion 30 with their hand so that the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 is facing downwards, and then inserts the tip portion 30 of the balloon catheter 100 into the urethral opening.

[0034] When the tip portion 30 of the balloon catheter 100 is inserted into the urethral opening, as shown in Figure 9, the user pushes in the exposed tube portion 10, allowing the balloon catheter 100 to advance straight through the urethra while the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 remains facing downwards. At this time, the user can see that the indicator portion 50a of the exposed tube portion 10 is located on the lower side, and thus determine that the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 is facing downwards.

[0035] As the balloon catheter 100 is advanced through the urethra, the user rotates the exposed tube portion 10 by twisting it by hand, as shown in Figure 10, so that the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 faces upward. At this time, the user can see that the indicator portion 50a of the exposed tube portion 10 is positioned upward, and thus determine that the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 is facing upward.

[0036] When the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 is oriented upward, as shown in Figure 11, the user pushes in the exposed tube portion 10, and while the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 remains oriented upward, the balloon catheter 100 is passed through the bulbous urethra. At this time, the user can see that the indicator portion 50a of the exposed tube portion 10 is positioned upward, and thus determine that the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 is oriented upward.

[0037] When the balloon catheter 100 is inserted into the bulbous urethra, as shown in Figure 12, the user pushes in the exposed tube portion 10 so that the curved direction B of the tip portion 30 is facing upward, and passes the balloon catheter 100 into the bladder. As a result, when the user inflates the balloon portion 20, the balloon catheter 100 is placed inside the bladder.

[0038] The balloon catheter 100 according to this embodiment has a tube portion 10 and a curved tip portion 30 fixed to the tip of the tube portion 10, and the tube portion 10 has a display portion 50a that indicates the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30. As a result, when inserting the balloon catheter 100 into the urethra, the curvature direction B of the tip portion 30 can be indirectly observed by the display portion 50a. Therefore, the orientation of the curved tip portion 30 at the beginning and during insertion into the urethra can be easily determined.

[0039] The present invention has been described above based on embodiments, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, the display unit 50a is positioned on the side of the curvature direction B of the surface of the tube unit 10 so as to be in line with the tip 31a of the tip unit 30 when viewed from above, but the invention is not limited thereto. The display unit may be positioned at another location on the tube unit, such as the side of the tube unit, as long as it indicates the curvature direction of the tip unit. Furthermore, as long as the curvature direction of the tip unit can be determined, the tube unit may have different patterns or colors in the direction of curvature of the tip unit and the direction opposite to this curvature direction, or different patterns or colors on the left side and the right side.

[0040] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the display sections 50a and 50b are provided by printing, but are not limited to this. The display sections may also be formed three-dimensionally on the surface of the tube section by recesses or protrusions using a mold or the like.

[0041] Furthermore, although the balloon portion 20 is not provided with a display unit 50a in the above embodiment, the invention is not limited to this. A display unit may also be provided in the balloon portion, depending on the length from the tip portion to the balloon portion. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0042] 10...Tube section 20... Balloon Club 30…Tip section 31...Details 31a...Tip 32...Proximal end 32a...Proximal end 33... Curved section 33a...Tip side end 33b...Proximal end 34…First side hole 40…Chip part 41... Curved section 50a...Display section 50b…Display section 100... Balloon catheter A...Bladder B... Curve direction C…Width direction D…bulbar urethra E…false urethra O…Axis center

Claims

1. In catheters, The tube section, It has a curved tip portion fixed to the end of the tube portion, A catheter characterized in that the tube portion has an indicator portion that shows the curvature direction of the tip portion.

2. In the catheter according to claim 1, A catheter characterized in that the display portion is located within a range of 30 cm or less from the tip end of the tip portion.

3. In the catheter according to claim 1, The catheter is characterized in that the display portion extends linearly along the direction in which the tube portion extends.

4. In the catheter according to claim 1, The catheter is characterized in that the display unit is located on the surface of the tube portion on the side in the curvature direction.

5. In the catheter according to claim 1, A catheter characterized in that the tube portion has a different appearance on the surface on the side facing the curvature direction and on the surface opposite to the curvature direction.

6. In the catheter according to claim 1, A catheter characterized in that the display unit is printed on the surface of the tube portion.

7. In the catheter according to claim 1, The catheter is characterized in that the display portion is formed on the surface of the tube portion as a recess or a protrusion.

8. In the catheter according to claim 1, A catheter characterized in that the tip portion also has the display portion.

9. In the catheter according to claim 8, A catheter characterized in that the display portion of the tube and the display portion of the tip are arranged in a straight line along the direction in which the tube extends.

Images