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Publication Number
US-8961534-B2
Publication Date
2015-02-24
Expiration Date
Abstract
Provided a medical snare in which the expansion direction of a loop is easily rotated in an arbitrary direction in which a removable target has grown, the removable target is easily inserted into the loop so as to allow a surgical procedure to be easily performed to reduce a time required for the surgical procedure and burdens of a patient and a surgeon, and the free rotation of a wheel is prevented to be able to fix the expansion direction of the loop. Accordingly, only the wheel can be easily rotated to switch the expansion direction of the loop without rotating the entire medical snare.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a medical snare for polypectomy using a wire having a loop formed at a front end, where the loop expansion direction can be rotated to align with tissue to be inserted into the wire loop. The snare includes a pusher coupled to a front of a movable handle that moves along a cylindrical body in a forward and backward direction, and an auxiliary pusher having engagement faces that is rotatably coupled to the front end of the pusher of the movable handle.
A wheel having an engagement hole in its hub accepts the engagement faces of the auxiliary pusher, and is rotatably installed on the wire at a front side of the body. When the movable handle moves forward, the auxiliary pusher slidably passes into the engagement hole such that the engagement faces engage the engagement hole, enabling the auxiliary pusher and the wire to rotate so that a direction of the wire loop can align with tissue to be inserted into the wire loop.
When the movable handle moves backward, the tissue that was inserted into the wire loop is cut, and the auxiliary pusher disengages from the wheel hub so that the wheel can rotate about the wire without changing the direction of the wire loop. The structure further includes anti-sliding and fixation features, including engaging faces and anti-slide recesses on the wheel, and a wheel cover with locking protrusions that engage locked recesses to prevent the wheel from returning under an elastic restoring force of the wire, thereby fixing the rotated loop direction.
Claims Coverage
The partial content provides one independent claim, clm-00001. It defines a forward/backward medical snare operation in which a wheel and an auxiliary pusher cooperate to rotate the wire loop direction during forward movement, while disengaging during backward movement to cut tissue without changing the fixed loop direction. Dependent claims clm-00002 through clm-00004 refine structural relationships and retention features of this mechanism.
Auxiliary pusher engagement to rotate the wire loop during forward handle movement
An auxiliary pusher having engagement faces is rotatably coupled to a pusher of a movable handle, and a wheel with an engagement hole accepts the engagement faces so that, when the movable handle moves forward, the auxiliary pusher slidably passes into the engagement hole and the engagement faces engage the engagement hole to enable the auxiliary pusher and the wire to rotate so the direction of the wire loop can align with tissue to be inserted into the wire loop.
Disengagement during backward movement to cut tissue without changing loop direction
When the movable handle moves backward, the tissue that was inserted into the wire loop is cut and the auxiliary pusher disengages from the wheel hub, thereby enabling the wheel to rotate about the wire without changing the direction of the wire loop.
Rotational coupling dimensional and structural relationships for connected components
A configuration in which the pusher includes a front catching ball held by a tapered connecting pipe, with comparative dimensional relationships among diameters of the catching ball and the connecting pipe, such that rotation of the auxiliary pusher rotates the auxiliary pusher and the connecting pipe while keeping them connected to an unrotated pusher.
Wheel anti-slide recesses for controlled wheel behavior
The wheel includes anti-slide recesses formed along an outer circumference to refine wheel behavior during operation.
Wheel cover locking protrusions to prevent wheel return under wire elastic force
A wheel cover partially exposing the wheel includes locking protrusions that engage locking recesses on the wheel to mechanically lock the wheel so it cannot rotate back to an original position by an elastic force of the wire.
Across the independent claim and its dependents, the inventive concept is grounded in coupling an auxiliary pusher to a wheel hub so that forward movement rotates the wire loop direction for alignment with tissue, followed by auxiliary-pusher disengagement to cut tissue during backward movement without changing the loop direction. Dependent claims further specify anti-sliding recesses, dimensional structural relationships of connected components, and wheel-cover locking that prevents the wheel from returning under wire elastic force.
Stated Advantages
Allows the direction of the wire loop to align with tissue to be inserted into the wire loop.
Prevents the wire loop direction from changing during backward movement while cutting inserted tissue.
Fixes the rotated loop direction by preventing the wheel from returning under elastic force of the wire.
Provides anti-slide features on the wheel to refine wheel behavior.
Documented Applications
Polypectomy using a high-frequency resection/diathermy snare, including removal of a polyp in the large intestine with an endoscope.
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