Wire Fixtures

Abstract

The present invention achieves a wire fixture to be attached to a medical wire inserted into a bone that is less likely to cause damage to soft tissue such as blood vessels, nerves, and tendons, even when such soft tissue is present in the vicinity of the attachment location. A wire fixture 10 comprises a ball member 11 which is formed in a ball shape and in which a penetration section 12 extending in the thickness direction is formed as a portion through which a medical wire 5 penetrates. In a state in which the medical wire 5 is penetrating the penetration section 12, the ball member 11 is compressed such that the medical wire 5 is pinched by the inner surface of the penetration section 12, thereby attaching the ball member 11 to the medical wire 5.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wire fastener used in the medical field. [Background technology]

[0002] Percutaneous pinning and open reduction and fixation are the most common treatments for fractures. In these treatments, after reduction, Kirschner wires, also known as "K-wires," are inserted into the bone to provide internal fixation. After treatment, the Kirschner wires may be left straight or bent into an L-shape so that they can be easily removed in an outpatient setting after bone union has been achieved, or they may be bent into an L-shape and buried subcutaneously so that they can be removed through a small incision.

[0003] However, if the insertion side of the Kirschner wire is left straight or bent into an L-shape and exposed to the body surface after treatment, there is a risk that the Kirschner wire will be pushed into the bone from the insertion side, progressing deeper than its original position immediately after insertion. In such cases, there is a risk that the Kirschner wire will be difficult to remove, or that the sharp tip of the Kirschner wire will penetrate the bone and blindly damage the tissue beyond. Furthermore, if the insertion side of the Kirschner wire is bent into an L-shape and exposed to the body surface, there is a risk that the L-shaped part will get caught and the Kirschner wire will be pulled out. Furthermore, if the insertion side of the Kirschner wire is buried subcutaneously, there is a risk that the Kirschner wire will be pushed inward by force from the outer surface of the skin, and the L-shaped part will interfere with and damage surrounding soft tissues such as blood vessels, nerves, and tendons.

[0004] Because such problems may occur, it is desirable that the Kirschner wire does not move after treatment. Patent Document 1 describes an internal fixator for fracture treatment used in fracture treatment. This internal fixator for fracture treatment includes a Kirschner wire that is passed through the treatment target site so as to straddle the fracture site, a pair of staplers that hold both ends of the Kirschner wire, and a screw set that fixes both ends of the Kirschner wire on the staplers by mechanical means. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6616767 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Conventional wire fasteners have many corners in the stapler and bolt set used to fasten medical wires such as Kirschner wires, etc. Therefore, if soft tissue such as blood vessels, nerves, or tendons is present near the stapler and bolt set, the corners of the stapler and bolt set may come into contact with the soft tissue, potentially damaging it.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a wire fastener that is attached to a medical wire that is inserted into bone, and that is less likely to damage soft tissue, such as blood vessels, nerves, or tendons, even if soft tissue is present near the attachment point. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first invention is a wire fastener that is attached to a medical wire to fix the position of the medical wire inserted into a bone, the wire fastener comprising a ball-shaped member having a penetration portion that extends in the thickness direction as a portion through which the medical wire passes, and the ball member is attached to the medical wire by crushing the ball member and clamping the medical wire with the inner surface of the penetration portion while the medical wire passes through the penetration portion.

[0009] In a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, one or more projections are formed on the inner surface of the through-hole.

[0010] According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a pair of concave and convex portions is formed on the inner surface of the through portion in regions that face each other when viewed from the front of the through portion.

[0011] In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the pair of concave and convex portions are opposed to each other in the short-side direction of the through portion in a front view.

[0012] In a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the ball member has a back surface where one end of the through-hole is open, and a plurality of projections with pointed tips are formed on the back surface.

[0013] In a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the ball member is formed to have a thickness dimension smaller than the minimum dimension of its outer shape when viewed from the front.

[0014] In a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect, the ball member is formed in an oblate spheroid shape, and the through-hole is a through-hole extending in the minor axis direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] In the present invention, the ball member is attached to the medical wire by the simple process of crushing the ball member and clamping the medical wire between the inner surfaces of the penetration portion. Furthermore, even if soft tissue such as blood vessels, nerves, or tendons is present near the location where the ball member is attached, the ball shape of the ball member makes it less likely to damage the soft tissue even when the ball member comes into contact with the soft tissue. According to the present invention, a wire fastener that is attached to a medical wire that is inserted into bone can be realized that is less likely to damage the soft tissue, even if soft tissue is present near the location where the wire fastener is attached. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] Figure 1(A) is a front view of the ball member of the wire fastener according to this embodiment, seen from the front side; Figure 1(B) is a side view of the ball member; and Figure 1(C) is a front view of a ball member of a different form from that shown in Figure 1(A). [Figure 2]Figure 2 is a diagram for explaining how to use the wire fastener according to this embodiment, in which Figure 2(A) shows the state in which the insertion of the medical wire into the bone is completed, Figure 2(B) shows the state in which the ball member has been moved to a position in which it contacts the outer surface of the bone, Figure 2(C) shows the state in which the ball member is being crimped with pliers, and Figure 2(D) shows the state in which the medical wire is being cut. [Figure 3] FIG. 3(A) is a bottom view of the ball member according to the first modified example of the present embodiment, and FIG. 3(B) is a side view of the ball member. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view of a ball member according to the second modification of the present embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a ball member according to a third modification of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6(A) is a front view of the ball member shown in Figure 5, Figure 6(B) is a side view of the ball member seen from below in Figure 6(A), Figure 6(C) is a side view of the ball member seen from the right side in Figure 6(A), Figure 6(D) is a cross-sectional view of the ball member at the AA cutting position in Figure 6(A), and Figure 6(E) is a cross-sectional view at a position corresponding to the AA cutting position of a ball member in which the direction in which the convex portions are continuously arranged is different from that in Figure 6(A). [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a wire fixture according to Modification 4 of this embodiment is attached to a medical wire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, its applications, or its uses.

[0018] This embodiment is a wire fixation device 10 that is attached to a medical wire 5 (such as a Kirschner wire) in order to fix the position of the medical wire 5 that is inserted into a bone 8. The wire fixation device 10 is used during treatment or surgery such as percutaneous pinning or open reduction and fixation.

[0019] The wire fixture 10 is provided with one ball-shaped member 11 with a smooth outer surface for one medical wire 5. The material of the ball member 11 is medically acceptable for being embedded under the skin and is a material (stainless steel, titanium, etc.) that undergoes plastic deformation when an external force is applied.

[0020] Here, "spherical" is not limited to a perfect sphere, but refers to a sphere, an ellipsoid, or a similar shape. As shown in Fig. 1, the ball member 11 is formed as a rounded, single piece with no corners except for the edge of the opening of the through-hole 12. The outer periphery of the ball member 11 in a front view is composed only of curves (see Fig. 1(A)), and the outer periphery of the ball member 11 is rounded over its entire length in a cross-sectional view.

[0021] Specifically, the ball member 11 is formed in an oblate spheroid shape. The ball member 11 has a flattened spheroid shape with its minor axis extending in the thickness direction. The ball member 11 is formed so that the minimum dimension L of its outer shape in the front view shown in FIG. 1(A) is larger than its thickness dimension D (see FIG. 1(B)). In this embodiment, since the shape of the ball member 11 in the front view is circular, the minimum dimension L of the outer shape is the diameter of the ball member 11. When the shape of the ball member 11 in the front view is vertically elongated, the minimum dimension L of the outer shape is the horizontal dimension (width dimension) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. For example, the minimum dimension L of the outer shape can be 1.5 times or more the thickness dimension D. In a third modified example described later, the minimum dimension L of the outer shape is three times or more the thickness dimension D. By using such a shape, if there are substantially flat regions on the front and back surfaces of the ball member 11, the area of ​​the regions will be large. If there are no substantially flat regions, the area of ​​the regions with small curvature will be large, and the contact area with the bone 8 will be large.

[0022] The ball member 11 has a through hole 12 extending in the thickness direction (short axis direction) formed therein as a penetration portion through which the medical wire 5 passes. The ball member 11 has a ring shape (or doughnut shape) due to the through hole 12. The through hole 12 can be, for example, a circular hole. The ball member 11 functions as a hollow rivet. The penetration portion 12 may have an opening on the side surface of the ball member 11, as shown in FIG. 1(C). When viewed from the front, the ball member 11 has a substantially C-shape.

[0023] A plurality of dimensions are standardized for ball member 11 so that different sizes can be used depending on the diameter of medical wire 5. Medical wires 5 generally have a diameter of 0.7 mm to 2.4 mm. The minimum outer dimension L of ball member 11 in a front view (diameter in this embodiment) can be, for example, 1.5 mm to 8 mm. The thickness D of ball member 11 can be, for example, 1 mm to 5 mm. The diameter r of through hole 12 is slightly larger than the diameter of medical wire 5, and can be, for example, 0.8 mm to 2.8 mm.

[0024] [How to use the wire fastener] Next, a method of using the wire fixture 10 will be described with reference to Figure 2. The wire fixture 10 is used after the insertion of the medical wire 5 into the bone 8 has been completed (the state shown in Figure 2(A)). The following description will be given taking open reduction and internal fixation as an example.

[0025] First, the medical wire 5 is passed through the through-hole 12 of the ball member 11, and as shown in Figure 2(B), the ball member 11 is moved to a position where the back surface (or front surface) of the ball member 11 contacts the outer surface of the bone 8. Then, in this state, as shown in Figure 2(C), a tool P such as pliers is used to grasp the side of the ball member 11, and from this state, the ball member 11 is crushed to sandwich the medical wire 5 between the inner surfaces (opposing inner surfaces) of the through-hole 12 (i.e., by crimping the ball member 11), and the ball member 11 is attached (fixed) to the medical wire 5. The ball member 11 plays the role of a "barb."

[0026] Furthermore, after the ball member 11 is attached, as shown in FIG. 2(D), a tool P such as pliers is used to cut the base of the portion of the medical wire 5 that protrudes from the through-hole 12 of the ball member 11. In other words, the medical wire 5 is cut just above the ball member 11. After this series of steps, the surgery is completed by suturing the skin, etc. Note that the skin is not shown in FIG. 2.

[0027] In the case of the percutaneous pinning method, ball member 11 is attached to medical wire 5 by crushing ball member 11 with a tool P such as pliers at a position where the back (or front) of ball member 11 contacts the outer surface of the skin, and pinching medical wire 5 with the inner surface of through-hole 12. Then, medical wire 5 is cut directly above ball member 11, completing the treatment.

[0028] [Effects of this embodiment] In this embodiment, the ball member 11 is attached to the medical wire 5 by the simple task of crimping the ball member 11, and the ball member 11 can be easily fixed at the very edge of the insertion site (the position where the ball member 11 contacts the outer surface of the bone 8 or the outer surface of the skin). The ball member 11 fixes the position of the medical wire 5. The medical wire 5 is less likely to shift from its initial insertion position. Furthermore, when the ball member 11 is exposed to the body surface, the medical wire 5 is cut so that the stump of the medical wire 5 barely protrudes from the ball member 11, thereby reducing the risk of the medical wire 5 getting caught on the ball member 11 and being pulled out. This embodiment can prevent a decrease in the fixing force for fixing the bone 8 and failure of the fixed bone 8, which are caused by the medical wire 5 shifting position.

[0029] Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if soft tissue such as blood vessels, nerves, or tendons is present near the location where the ball member 11 is attached, the ball member 11 is formed in a ball shape, and even if the ball member 11 comes into contact with the soft tissue, damage to the soft tissue is unlikely to occur.

[0030] Here, if the position of the medical wire 5 is not fixed by the ball member 11, there are various concerns as described in the [Background Art] section, and therefore the medical wire 5 may be removed as soon as possible after the bone 8 has healed to a certain extent. In contrast, in this embodiment, there is little risk of the medical wire 5 moving and there are no other concerns, so the bone 8 can be fixed with the medical wire 5 for as long as the bone 8 needs to be fixed.

[0031] [First Modification of the Embodiment] In this modified example, as shown in Fig. 3, a plurality of protrusions 15 with pointed tips are formed on the back surface 11b of the ball member 11 (the surface where one end of the through hole 12 opens). The plurality of protrusions 15 are arranged near the through hole 12 and lined up along the circumferential direction of the through hole 12. Each protrusion 15 is formed in a rivet shape. The dimensions of each protrusion 15 can be about 1 mm in diameter (diameter of the bottom) and about 1 mm in height. The number of protrusions 15 can be, for example, three or more.

[0032] In this modified example, the medical wire 5 is passed through the through-hole 12 of the ball member 11 so that the back surface 11b of the ball member 11 faces the bone 8. After the ball member 11 is crimped and attached to the medical wire 5, the ball member 11 is pushed toward the bone 8, and each protrusion 15 is driven into the bone 8.

[0033] Here, when inserting the medical wire 5, the medical wire 5 may bend. In such a case, if the medical wire 5 rotates, it will affect the stability of the fixed bone 8. In this modification, the protrusions 15 prevent the medical wire 5 from rotating. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the effect on the stability of the fixed bone 8.

[0034] [Modification 2 of the embodiment] 4, the shape of the ball member 11 in a side view is different from that of the embodiment. In the ball member 11, the curvature of the outer periphery 11y on the back side is larger than the curvature of the outer periphery 11x on the front side. Therefore, the contact area of ​​the ball member 11 with the bone 8 is larger.

[0035] [Modification 3 of the embodiment] In this modification, one or more protrusions 21 are provided protruding from the inner surface of the through hole 12 of the ball member 11. In this modification, as shown in Figures 5 and 6(A)-(D), an uneven portion 25 consisting of a plurality of continuous protrusions 21 (for example, three or more protrusions 21) is formed on the inner surface of the through hole 12. Note that in this modification, the through portion 12 may have an opening on the side surface of the ball member 11 as shown in Figure 1(C).

[0036] In a front view of the through hole 12 (ball member 11) shown in Figure 6(A) (viewed in the penetration direction of the through hole 12), each of the convex portions 21 in the uneven portion 25 is formed in a tapered shape (for example, a triangular shape with the base at the base), and the tip of each of the convex portions 21 is sharp. The uneven portion 25 has a jagged shape. Furthermore, on the inner surface of the through hole 12, each of the convex portions 21 is formed across the penetration direction of the through hole 12 (thickness direction of the ball member 11).

[0037] A pair of concave-convex portions 25 is formed on the inner surface of the through hole 12 in regions facing each other in a front view of the through hole 12. Here, the through hole 12 is formed to be horizontally elongated in the front view shown in FIG. 6(A). The front shape of the through hole 12 has a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction intersecting the longitudinal direction (for example, a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction). The dimension of the lateral direction of the through hole 12 is slightly larger than the diameter of the medical wire 5. The pair of concave-convex portions 25 face each other in the lateral direction of the through portion 12 in a front view.

[0038] When the wire fixture 10 is used, with the medical wire 5 passing through the through hole 12, the ball member 11 is crushed in the short direction of the through hole 12. The medical wire 5 is sandwiched between the pair of concave-convex portions 25. This makes it difficult for the ball member 11 to become displaced relative to the medical wire 5. Note that in the concave-convex portion 25 of this modified example, multiple convex portions 21 are continuously aligned in the circumferential direction of the through hole 12, but as shown in FIG. 6(E), multiple convex portions 21 may also be continuously aligned in the direction of passage of the through hole 12. In this case, it is difficult for the ball member 11 to become displaced in the longitudinal direction of the medical wire 5.

[0039] [Fourth Modification of the Embodiment] In this modification, as shown in Fig. 7, ball members 11 are attached to both the insertion side and the opposite side of medical wire 5. Wire fixture 10 is provided with two ball members 11 for one medical wire 5. In this modification, the position of medical wire 5 is fixed more reliably. [Industrial Applicability]

[0040] The present invention is applicable to wire fixing devices used in the medical field. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 5 Medical Wires 8 bones 10 Wire Fixture 11 Ball parts 12 Through hole (through part)

Claims

1. A wire fastener that is attached to a medical wire in order to fix the position of the medical wire inserted into a bone, comprising: a ball member formed in a ball shape and having a through-portion extending in a thickness direction as a portion through which the medical wire passes; The ball member has a thickness dimension smaller than the minimum dimension of its outer shape when viewed from the front, The through-hole is a horizontally elongated through-hole with the longitudinal direction being the horizontal direction in the front view, A pair of concave and convex portions facing each other in the short direction of the through-hole are formed on the inner surface of the through-hole, With the medical wire passing through the penetration portion, the ball member is crushed to sandwich the medical wire between the inner surface of the penetration portion, thereby attaching the ball member to the medical wire.

2. The wire fixture according to claim 1 , wherein the ball member has a back surface on which one end of the through-hole is open, and a plurality of projections each having a pointed tip are formed.

3. The ball member is formed in an oblate spheroid shape, The wire fastener according to claim 1 , wherein the through-hole is a through-hole extending in the minor axis direction.

4. A wire fixing device attached to a medical wire in order to fix the position of the medical wire inserted into a bone, comprising: a ball member formed in a ball shape and having a through-portion extending in a thickness direction as a portion through which the medical wire passes; The minimum dimension of the outer shape of the ball member when viewed from the front is three times or more the thickness dimension, With the medical wire passing through the penetration portion, the ball member is crushed to sandwich the medical wire between the inner surface of the penetration portion, thereby attaching the ball member to the medical wire.

5. A wire fixing device attached to a medical wire in order to fix the position of the medical wire inserted into a bone, comprising: a ball member formed in a ball shape and having a through-portion extending in a thickness direction as a portion through which the medical wire passes; One or more convex portions are formed on the inner surface of the through-hole, and the convex portions are formed in a triangular shape when viewed from the front of the through-hole, and are formed along the through-hole direction of the through-hole; or a pair of concave-convex portions are formed on the inner surface of the through-hole in regions facing each other when viewed from the front of the through-hole, and the convex portions of the concave-convex portions are formed in a triangular shape when viewed from the front of the through-hole, and are formed along the through-hole direction of the through-hole; With the medical wire passing through the penetration portion, the ball member is crushed to sandwich the medical wire between the inner surface of the penetration portion, thereby attaching the ball member to the medical wire.

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