161 results about "Endoscopic Assembly" patented technology

The invention discloses a sealing structure, a negative pressure suction sheath and an endoscope assembly, and belongs to the technical field of medical instruments. The sealing structure is used for the negative pressure suction sheath and comprises a first cover body detachably connected with the near end of a sheath base of the negative pressure suction sheath, a first through hole is formed in the middle of the first cover body, and a first air hole is formed in the radial outer side of the first through hole; the second cover body is arranged on the outer side of the first cover body in a sleeving mode and detachably connected with a sheath base of the negative pressure suction sheath, a second through hole is formed in the middle of the second cover body, and a second air hole is formed in the radial outer side of the second through hole; the second cover body and the first cover body are in sliding fit, and the overlapping opening degree of the first air hole and the second air hole is adjusted through relative sliding; the second cover body axially limits the first cover body and provides support when the endoscope is inserted, so that the first cover body is prevented from collapsing. The sealing structure is used for the negative-pressure suction sheath, the branch switch is prevented from additionally occupying the operation space, and the operation safety is improved.

A resectoscope includes an endoscope assembly, a working element, a sheath assembly, and a resection loop assembly. The working element includes a connecting tube, a connector portion, and a sliding block part including a sliding block body and in sliding connection with the connecting tube. The resection loop assembly includes a connecting rod to connect the sliding block body. An accommodation cavity, a clamping mechanism, and a perforation are provided on the sliding block body, one end of the clamping mechanism disposed in the accommodation cavity, the accommodation cavity and the clamping mechanism hermetically connected, and the perforation in communication with the accommodation cavity; and a first sealing ring is provided on an inner wall of the perforation, a spacing formed between the first sealing ring and the accommodation cavity, one end of the connecting rod, after passing through the first sealing ring, being snap fastened with the clamping mechanism.

The endoscope with the suction function comprises an endoscope assembly and an aspirator assembly, the endoscope assembly comprises a handle and a main body catheter, and a visualization assembly and a forceps channel assembly are arranged in the endoscope assembly; the aspirator assembly comprises an aspiration tube, a connecting arm and a connector communicated with the aspiration tube, the connecting arm comprises a first connecting part and a second connecting part, the first connecting part is connected to the near end of the aspiration tube and / or the periphery of the connector, the aspiration tube can be inserted into the forceps channel, and meanwhile the connecting arm is clamped on the outer surface of the near end of the handle; and the distance between the far end of the suction tube and the far end of the main body catheter can be adjusted and locked through the connecting arm. According to the endoscope with the suction function, the connecting arm is clamped on the outer surface of the near end of the handle, rapid connection and disassembly of the suction device assembly and the endoscope assembly can be achieved, the distance between the far end of the suction tube and the far end of the main catheter can be adjusted and locked through one-hand operation after connection, operation is convenient and fast, flexibility is high, and the structure is simple.

The utility model discloses a dilator, a ureter sheath and an endoscope assembly, and relates to the technical field of medical instruments. The dilator disclosed by the utility model is used for the ureter sheath. The dilator comprises a dilation tube and a clamp, the clamp comprises a base portion and at least two clamping arms distributed in the circumferential direction of the base portion, and the clamp can be connected with the near end of a sheath tube of the ureter sheath through the clamping arms; the base part is provided with a mounting hole, the near end of the dilation tube penetrates through the mounting hole, and the near end of the dilation tube and the base part are clamped, positioned and matched in the axial direction and the circumferential direction of the dilator. The scheme at least can be used for improving the smoothness of the insertion action of the ureter sheath.

The present disclosure discloses a connecting device and an endoscope assembly, and belongs to the technical field of medical instruments. A body of the connecting device includes a connecting portion via which a first endoscope may be connected and fixed. A side of the body opposite to the connecting portion is provided with a receiving groove for directly receiving a second endoscope therein to facilitate a connection and fixation of the second endoscope. Meanwhile, a connecting component for engaging the second endoscope is provided on the body, so that the second endoscope may be fixed within the receiving groove, thereby achieving a connection between the first endoscope and the second endoscope, facilitating assembly and disassembly thereof, and also improving a stability of connection, which is convenient for physicians to operate.

An endoscopic magnetic anastomosis system, devices and method for forming an anastomosis. The endoscopic magnetic anastomosis system includes an endoscopic assembly, a video processor console, a magnet detector, and a magnetic navigation console. The endoscopic assembly includes an endoscope, an adjustable snare mechanism, an outer sheath, and a magnetic implant assembly. The adjustable snare mechanism includes a snare assembly. The snare assembly passes through a snare channel in the endoscope and includes a snare catheter and a snare wire passing through the snare catheter. The snare is used to selectively tighten and release the magnetic implant assembly disposed at one end of the endoscope.

The present invention discloses a visual hematoma removal device, comprising a support body, an endoscope assembly and an outer sleeve, wherein the support body has a suction cavity inside, and the rear end of the outer sleeve is fixedly connected to the front end of the support body. The endoscope assembly comprises an endoscope and a rod body, wherein the rod body can pass through the rear part of the support body and extend into the outer sleeve via the suction cavity, and the lens of the endoscope is arranged at the front end of the rod body and extends to the front end of the outer sleeve. A suction tube is arranged on the side wall of the support body, wherein one end of the suction tube is connected to the outer sleeve through the suction cavity, and the other end is used for detachably connecting an aspirator. The visual hematoma removal device disclosed in the present invention combines endoscope technology, can achieve zero object distance imaging, and transforms the original blind operation of puncture and catheterization, hematoma suction, etc. into a visual operation, and can also suction blood and water in the brain tissue to avoid affecting the imaging effect of the lens, thereby improving the operation safety under the visual state, and also improving the accuracy of hematoma removal and the efficiency of surgery.

The utility model provides a patch cord, endoscope subassembly and endoscope system relates to endoscope technical field, the utility model provides a patch cord, endoscope subassembly and endoscope system, including first main line, the distal end of first main line is suitable for connecting endoscope, the proximal end of first main line is divided into first wire harness and second wire harness; wherein the first wire harness is suitable for being connected with power supply equipment so as to provide electric energy for the endoscope, and the second wire harness is suitable for being connected with display equipment so as to display images collected by the endoscope. Compared with the prior art, the power supply function and the image transmission function of the endoscope are separated, the dependence of an existing endoscope system on a host is reduced, and therefore the manufacturing and purchasing cost of the whole system is reduced.

The utility model provides a disposable tube sheath and an endoscope assembly. The disposable tube sheath comprises a tube body and a flexible light-transmitting piece, the tube body is provided with an insertion channel used for allowing an endoscope tube of an endoscope to be inserted, and the flexible light-transmitting piece seals a far-end opening of the tube body. The flexible light-transmitting piece can deform when the endoscope tube is inserted into the insertion channel and abuts against the flexible light-transmitting piece, so that the flexible light-transmitting piece is attached to the endoscope, the attaching degree of the flexible light-transmitting piece and the endoscope is improved, a gap between the far end of the endoscope and the inner side face of the tube sheath is reduced or even eliminated, and the imaging quality is improved. Moreover, the flexible light-transmitting piece is not directly processed and fixed with the tube body, but is fixedly connected to the tube body through the fixing piece, so that the processing difficulty is reduced.

According to the connector end, the tube sheath and the endoscope assembly, the flexible light-transmitting part is adopted for the connector end to replace a hard lens in the prior art, deformation can be generated when the endoscope tube is inserted into the insertion channel of the sheath tube and abuts against the flexible light-transmitting part, the flexible light-transmitting part is attached to the lens of the endoscope tube, the attaching degree of the flexible light-transmitting part and the lens of the endoscope tube is improved, and the endoscope assembly is more flexible. The gap between the far end of the endoscope tube and the flexible light-transmitting piece is reduced or even eliminated, and the imaging quality is improved. Meanwhile, the connector end is a module which can be independently manufactured, and the connector end can be installed on the tube body of the sheathing tube through the butt joint part after being manufactured, so that the flexible light-transmitting piece is simpler to install and time-saving to assemble, and the flexible light-transmitting piece can be conveniently installed through an automatic machine so as to reduce the error rate.

An attachable endoscope assembly is disclosed herein. The attachable endoscope assembly can include an attachment component, an ultrasound assembly housing configured to selectively couple an ultrasound array to the attachable endoscope assembly, and a neck coupling the attachment component to the ultrasound assembly housing. The neck can include a guide configured to receive an instrument as it traverses out of an lumen of the endoscope and direct the instrument into a field-of-view of the ultrasound array when coupled to the ultrasound assembly housing, and a first pivot point including a first modulus of elasticity configured to move the ultrasound assembly housing between a relaxed position and a stressed position in response to a resultant force applied by the instrument when the instrument is received by the guide.

The invention discloses a front end assembly, an endoscope and an endoscope assembly, and belongs to the technical field of endoscopes. Comprising a front end seat and a telescopic pipe; the front end seat is provided with an instrument channel and a camera module mounting part, and the instrument channel is used for adsorbing broken stones; the telescopic pipe is movably installed on the front end base, the telescopic pipe is arranged around the instrument channel, the telescopic pipe can move relative to the front end base in the axial direction of the instrument channel so that at least part of the telescopic pipe can stretch out to the far end of the front end base, the telescopic pipe is provided with a perspective area, and the perspective area is located on the side, close to the camera module installation part, of the telescopic pipe. According to the device, the telescopic pipe is arranged, the range of the instrument channel is expanded through movement of the telescopic pipe, stone is treated in the telescopic pipe, the telescopic pipe can prevent diffusion of broken stone formed after the stone is crushed, the instrument channel communicated with the telescopic pipe is used for adsorbing the broken stone, and the broken stone in the telescopic pipe can flow out along the fluid negative pressure flow channel; broken stones are prevented from remaining in the body, and the stone removing efficiency and the stone removing effect are improved.

The invention relates to a medical magnetic drive capsule endoscope coated with a lubricating soft shell and a preparation method of the medical magnetic drive capsule endoscope. The medical magnetically-driven capsule endoscope comprises an inner shell, an endoscope assembly, a water-soluble protective cover, a medicine applying assembly and a hydrogel shell, the inner shell is provided with a sealing cavity and a pesticide applying cavity; the endoscope assembly is located in the sealing cavity and comprises a camera module and an illumination module. The inner shell is provided with a pesticide application window which is communicated with the pesticide application cavity and faces the second direction, and the water-soluble protective cover is connected with the inner shell and covers the pesticide application window; the pesticide applying assembly is located in the pesticide applying cavity; the hydrogel shell covers the inner shell, and the hydrogel shell is provided with a medicine applying opening, a camera shooting opening and a lighting opening. According to the medical magnetic drive capsule endoscope, when the medical magnetic drive capsule endoscope advances in the intestinal tract of a patient, friction between the hydrogel shell and the intestinal wall is small, the intestinal wall is not prone to being damaged by friction, safety and comfort are improved, the advancing speed of the medical magnetic drive capsule endoscope can be increased, and examination efficiency is improved.

The invention discloses a surgical robot and a control method.The surgical robot comprises an operating arm, an endoscope assembly, a biopsy forceps assembly, a first pushing assembly and a second pushing assembly, a sliding guide rail is arranged on the operating arm, and the extending direction of the sliding guide rail is the first direction; the endoscope assembly and the biopsy forceps assembly are arranged on the sliding guide rail in a sliding mode, and an instrument hole penetrating in the first direction is formed in the endoscope assembly; at least part of the biopsy forceps assembly extends into the instrument hole; the first pushing assembly and the second pushing assembly are both arranged on the operation arm, and the first pushing assembly is used for driving the endoscope assembly to reciprocate in the first direction; the second pushing assembly is used for driving the biopsy forceps assembly to reciprocate in the first direction. According to the surgical robot, the endoscope assembly and the biopsy forceps assembly are guided to work independently, manual operation is replaced, the automatic operation degree of the surgical robot in the biopsy sampling process is improved, and the safety of the surgical process is improved.

The invention relates to the technical field of alimentary canal administration, and discloses an alimentary canal administration nursing system, which comprises a preprocessing module, an image acquisition module, an image analysis module, an administration position determination module, an administration dosage determination module and an administration module, the endoscope assembly processed by the preprocessing module collects images of all parts related to digestive tract treatment in real time, the image analysis module analyzes image information collected by the image collection module, and the severity level of inflammation of all the parts of the digestive tract is determined; the drug administration position determination module determines an actual position where drug administration is needed; the administration dosage determination module is used for determining the required actual administration dosage; the administration module sprays an actual administration position, the system can carry out corresponding administration in real time according to the development condition of inflammation in the inner cavity of the digestive tract, the condition that the administration is carried out after the recovery condition of the digestive tract is checked is not needed, and the clear view of the image acquisition module can be ensured through the cooperation of the cleaning module and the negative pressure module.

The invention discloses a cardiothoracic surgery puncture outfit stable in puncture force, and belongs to the technical field of medical puncture equipment.The cardiothoracic surgery puncture outfit stable in puncture force comprises an outer tube assembly, a puncture assembly is installed in the outer tube assembly, and a connecting mechanism is installed at one end of the outer tube assembly; one end of the connecting mechanism is provided with a grasping forceps assembly, and the other end of the connecting mechanism is provided with an endoscope assembly. By designing the connecting mechanism, the grasping forceps assembly and the endoscope assembly, the grasping forceps assembly and the endoscope assembly can be quickly exchanged in the use process, and the medical instrument can be replaced through the operation of a single medical worker without the assistance of an assistant, so that the medical instrument is prevented from falling off in the process of transferring the medical instrument, the number of surgical steps is reduced, and the surgical efficiency is improved. Therefore, the puncture operation efficiency is improved.

The invention relates to the technical field of medical instruments, in particular to a portable visual nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube indwelling device which comprises an operation handle, an endoscope assembly, a guide wire and a shaping mechanism, and the endoscope assembly is connected to the operation handle, can be controlled by the operation handle and is used for checking conditions in the body of a patient; the endoscope assembly is sleeved with the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube when the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube is installed. The guide wire is inserted into the endoscope assembly and is used for supporting the endoscope assembly; the shaping mechanism is configured to enable the section shape of the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube with the curvature larger than a preset value to be recovered to be round and can also fix the shape of the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube with the curvature larger than the preset value. Therefore, on one hand, it can be guaranteed that the section of the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube is round and the blocking risk is avoided when the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube conveys nutrient solution or medicine, and on the other hand, elastic reset force generated at the bent position of the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube can be offset and the nasal gastrointestinal nutrition tube is prevented from continuously jacking mucous membranes and tissues in the human body.

This invention relates to the field of endoscopy technology, and more particularly to a sheath and endoscope assembly, comprising a sheath seat and a guide tube. The sheath seat is provided with a negative pressure interface, a tube body, and a sealing cap. The sealing cap has a control channel communicating with a cavity in its middle. The distal end of the control channel has a first sealing surface. The inner wall of the sheath seat near the tube body has a second sealing surface. The distal end of the guide tube passes through the control channel and is positioned close to the tube body. The guide tube has an upper sealing ring and a lower sealing ring. The guide tube and the control channel have a sliding stroke along the axial direction. This application utilizes the cooperation of the guide tube and the control channel to shorten the suspension distance of the insertion part from the lower sealing ring to the near end of the tube body, thereby reducing the difficulty of inserting the insertion part into the sheath body, reducing the resistance to rapid insertion of the insertion part from the sheath, eliminating the switch structure on the existing negative pressure interface, simplifying the sheath structure, and improving the ease of use of the sheath.

The invention provides an endoscope handle and an endoscope assembly, and the endoscope handle comprises a housing which is provided with a first installation hole used for installing an endoscope catheter; the rotating operation assembly comprises a first rotating part, a handle traction part and a second rotating part; the first rotating piece is rotationally connected with the shell and fixedly connected with the second rotating piece, and a plurality of wire fixing groove structures are arranged on the first rotating piece; the handle traction piece penetrates through the multiple wire fixing groove structures and is fixedly connected with the first rotating piece, and the first end and the second end of the handle traction piece are used for being connected with two bending traction ropes of the endoscope catheter respectively so as to drive the bending part of the endoscope catheter to bend in the corresponding direction when the second rotating piece rotates. The fixing mode of the handle traction piece is firmer, the phenomena of sliding, loosening and the like can be effectively prevented, and the operation control precision is high; and moreover, an instrument channel pipeline can be prevented from being damaged, normal operation or diagnosis operation is prevented from being influenced, and the product reliability is higher.

Provided are an electronic endoscope assembly (1) and an intracranial examination system. The electronic endoscope assembly (1) comprises: a camera module. The camera module comprises: a lens, a circuit board (105), and a plurality of LED lamps (103). The lens comprises: a miniature objective lens (101) and a CMOS image sensor (112). The miniature objective lens (101) is disposed at the foremost end of the camera module, and the CMOS image sensor (112) is disposed at the rear end of the miniature objective lens (101). The plurality of LED lamps (103) are arranged around the miniature objective lens (101). The CMOS image sensor (112) and the LED lamps (103) are electrically connected to the circuit board (105). The intracranial examination system comprising the electronic endoscope assembly can examine the lesion of a patient, thereby improving the examination efficiency and reliability.

The present application belongs to the field of medical device technology, and specifically relates to a guide sheath, an endoscope assembly, and a method of using the same. The guide sheath includes a sheath tube and a restraint. The sheath tube is disposed at the distal end of the guide sheath. The distal end of the sheath tube is provided with a passive bending section, which can bend following the active bending section of the endoscope. The restraint is disposed inside the sheath tube or outside the sheath tube. The distal end of the restraint is disposed corresponding to the passive bending section, and the distal end of the restraint is separated from the distal end surface of the sheath tube in the axial direction of the sheath tube, so that the restraint can limit the proximal bending of the active bending section. The restraint can move relative to the sheath tube in a direction close to the proximal end of the sheath tube. The use of the guide sheath of the present application helps to solve the problem that the bending amplitude of the sheath tube driven by the insertion part is limited, so that the sheath tube cannot reach an ideal bending angle.

A pipeline endoscope probe includes a housing, an image capturing device and a lighting device. The housing defines a housing chamber and a through hole communicated with the housing chamber. The image capturing device is arranged in the accommodating chamber and the image capturing device is oriented towards the through hole. The image capturing device includes a lens and a first control board. The lens is configured to capture images, and the first control board is configured to receive the images captured by the lens and converts the images into image signals. The lighting device is arranged on the housing adjacent to the through hole, and a lighting direction of the lighting device matches orientation of the image capturing device.

The embodiment of the utility model provides a kind of endoscope assembly and endoscope, it is related to instrument technical field.Endoscope assembly includes protective sleeve, magnetic piece and traction structure, magnetic piece is set to protective sleeve, and magnetic piece is slidably matched with protective sleeve;Traction structure is connected with magnetic piece, and traction structure is used to pull magnetic piece to slide relative to protective sleeve, to make magnetic piece from protective sleeve stretch out, or be contained in protective sleeve.This endoscope assembly is matched by traction structure and magnetic piece, can be contained in protective sleeve after foreign matter is extracted, to reduce the situation that scratch or damage cavity inner wall appears in foreign matter removal process, improve the effect of clinical treatment.

The guiding tube sheath comprises a multi-cavity tube and a handle, the multi-cavity tube comprises an outer tube and a plurality of inner tubes parallelly arranged in the outer tube in a penetrating mode, the tube wall of the outer tube is provided with a first positioning structure, the handle is provided with an insertion channel used for allowing the multi-cavity tube to be inserted in, and a second positioning structure is arranged in the insertion channel; the second positioning structure and the first positioning structure are connected in a matched mode in the radial direction of the multi-cavity tube so as to fix the handle and the multi-cavity tube. Through the cooperation of the first positioning structure and the second positioning structure, accurate positioning and stable fixing between the handle and the multi-cavity tube can be achieved, and the situation that the clinical operation of a guide tube sheath or an endoscope is affected due to the fact that the multi-cavity tube moves or rotates relative to the handle can be prevented; the guide tube sheath can be used for guiding the multi-cavity tube and providing support for improving the structural sealing performance of the multi-cavity tube and the structural sealing performance between the multi-cavity tube and the handle, so that the risk that germs on an endoscope are transmitted to the guide tube sheath is effectively reduced when the guide tube sheath is matched with the endoscope by enhancing the structural stability and sealing performance of the guide tube sheath.

The specification describes endoscopes that enable varying stiffness of an insertion portion in an endoscope assembly. In one example, an actuator operates either a spring or a flexible tube to vary stiffness of the insertion portion. In alternative examples, an elliptical wheel arrangement or screw mechanism provides a means to increase stiffness of the insertion portion of an endoscope assembly. In further examples, fluid and gas may be used inside the insertion potion to vary stiffness by varying pressure of the fluid / gas.

The invention provides a sampling device and an endoscope assembly, and relates to the technical field of endoscopes, the sampling device comprises a sampler, the sampler is provided with a flange component, and the flange component is arranged around an endoscope handle after the sampler and the endoscope handle are assembled in place so as to assist in positioning the endoscope handle; the side, facing the endoscope handle, of the flange component is provided with a binding face, and at least one convex rib is arranged on the binding face; the sampler is provided with an insertion hole used for being in butt joint with a suction nozzle of an endoscope handle. And under the condition that the sampler and the endoscope handle are assembled in place, the convex rib is propped against the outer surface of the endoscope handle, so that the suction nozzle of the endoscope handle is propped against and fixed in the hole wall of the insertion hole. Compared with the prior art, the invention has the advantage of obviously improving the assembly reliability and connection stability between the sampler and the endoscope handle.

Endoscope assembly suitable for repeated re-processing utilizing autoclave sterilization techniques. An endoscope includes a handpiece and an insertion tube attached to the handpiece, wherein the insertion tube comprises a sidewall, and wherein the sidewall comprises an interior surface and an exterior surface. The endoscope includes a cover plate attached to the interior surface of the sidewall of the insertion tube, and a window attached to the cover plate. The endoscope includes a fiber optic ferrule disposed within the insertion tube, wherein the fiber optic ferrule is configured to receive a distal fiber optic bundle, wherein the fiber optic ferrule is attached to the cover plate at the illumination hole such that electromagnetic radiation transmitted by the distal fiber optic bundle passes through the illumination hole of the cover plate.

The utility model relates to a multichannel hysteroscope, which comprises a hysteroscope sheath, a sheath and a soft sheath, and two ends of the sheath are respectively an extending end and an operating end. A sleeve opening of the soft sleeve extends into the sleeve sheath through the operation end, and the sleeve opening is fixedly connected with the extending-in end in a sealed mode. The soft body sleeve is provided with at least two connecting parts, the connecting parts are located outside the operation end and used for being connected with the sealing rubber plug in a sealed mode, and the sealing rubber plug is used for being extruded by an instrument to enter the soft body sleeve in a sealed mode. When the device is used for medical operation, installation of the endoscope sheath and the endoscope assembly is completed in advance, the extending end of the sheath is fed into the uterine cavity of a patient through follow-up observation, at the moment, the sheath forms a cavity for an instrument to conduct movable operation, and in actual use, the instrument needing to be used is inserted into the soft sleeve through the sealing rubber plug for surgical operation, so that the operation is convenient and fast. According to the endoscope assembly matched with the endoscope sheath, the sheath and the endoscope sheath are independently arranged, in the actual use process, the sheath can be used for imbedding operation of various instruments, and the endoscope assembly has the advantage of being high in use flexibility.

The application provides an endoscope, an endoscope assembly and a surgical microscope system. Two or more light beams collected by two or more light collecting modules from different angles of an observation target are combined into coaxial propagation light beams by a beam combination module. An image sensor is arranged on an image side after beam combination to image the light beams collected from different angles of the observation target, so as to obtain stereoscopic image information of the endoscope observation target. The present application changes double optical path imaging into single optical path imaging by arranging the beam combination module, reduces part of the optical path, reduces the number of optical elements, reduces the cost of the endoscope, realizes miniaturization of the endoscope, and calibrates three-dimensional amplitude. Only the optical elements need to change the light propagation path physically, without the need for complex 3D image processing algorithms, and the number of optical elements that need to be precisely assembled and calibrated can be reduced, so as to reduce the complexity of imaging.

An ultrasonic endoscope assembly (110) has an endoscope (111) defining one or more lumens and a needle (114) that can be pushed forward from a lumen to collect a biopsy sample. An ultrasonic subassembly (120) is attached to the endoscope (111) and includes a communication cable (126) including a set of conductors having a distal end and an ultrasonic imaging head (122) connected to the distal end of the cable. Further included is an imaging head movement subassembly (140) including a conduit (148) releasably connected to the endoscope. The conduit houses a tension member (144) that is releasably connected to the imaging head (122). Thus, the imaging head movement subassembly (140) can be released from the cable and imaging head after use for disposal.