JPH07185008A - Touch sensor for medical tool to be inserted into human body and medical tool therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a medical tool to be inserted into a human body capable of being inserted into a target portion of human body safely without penetration of the inner wall of blood vessel or damage thereto. CONSTITUTION:A medical touch sensor S to be inserted into a human body has at least one projection formed at a tip edge of a tubular member 1; a gap 12 under the projection 11; and at least a pair of electrodes 21a, 21b at the axial opposite positions of the member 1 in the inner face of the gap 12. The electrodes 21a, 21b are brought into contact with each other with the outer force applied to the projection 11. A touch sensor S is mounted on a tip of this tool.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tactile sensor which is used by being attached to the distal end portion of a medical instrument for insertion into the body such as a catheter or a fiberscope for a thin tube, and a medical instrument for insertion into the body which is attached thereto. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Currently, medical devices for insertion into the body such as catheters are provided with various functions such as visual function and working function, but those provided with a function of sensing contact with other objects at the tip thereof. Therefore, for example, when inserting a catheter into a blood vessel, the load applied to the tip end depends on the feeling of the human hand. Therefore, there are problems that the blood vessel is pierced or damaged at the tip of the catheter.

[0003]

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to insert into the body safely without breaking through the inner wall of the blood vessel or damaging it and inserting it into the target location in the body. It is to provide a medical device.

[0004]

The above object can be achieved by a tactile sensor and a medical instrument for insertion into the body of the present invention described below. That is, the tactile sensor for medical devices for insertion into the body of the present invention comprises at least one protrusion provided on the distal end edge of the tubular member, and a gap portion provided below the protrusion of the tubular member,
At least one pair of electrodes provided at positions facing each other in the axial direction of the tubular member on the inner surface of the gap portion, and the electrodes contact each other by an external force applied to the protrusion. Is. Further, the medical instrument for insertion into the body of the present invention has the tactile sensor attached to the distal end portion.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, S is a tactile sensor for medical instruments for insertion into the body,
Four protrusions 11 are provided on the tip edge of the tubular member 1, and the gaps 1 are provided on the side walls of the tubular member 1 and directly below each protrusion 11.
2 are provided respectively, and a pair of electrodes 2 are provided in the inner surface of each gap 12 at positions facing each other in the axial direction of the tubular member 1.
1a (portion indicated by a broken line) and 21b (portion indicated by a diagonal line) are provided.

[0006]

In the tactile sensor S of the present invention, the tip end portion of the tubular member 1 provided with the protrusion 11 is bent by the external force applied to the protrusion 11, so that the inner surface of the gap 12 is provided. The pair of electrodes 21a and 21b come into contact with each other and become conductive, so that the contact with another object can be sensed.

Since the distal end portion of the tubular material 1 needs to be bent as described above, at least the distal end edge portion and its vicinity have elasticity to the extent that they are easily deformed when an external force is applied. It is preferably composed of a material.
As a constituent material of such a tubular material 1, polyurethane,
Examples include polyimide and silicone rubber.

The tubular member 1 has an inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the medical instrument for insertion into the body, and its wall thickness is preferably about 50 to 200 μm. If the thickness of the tubular member 1 is within the above range, the protrusion 11
In addition to being able to receive a sufficient external force, it is easy to provide an electrode on the inner surface of the gap 12 and the gap 12 is easy to form, and the diameter of the medical instrument for insertion into the body may become larger than necessary. Absent.

The projection 11 acts as a contact pressure carrier of the tactile sensor S. The size, shape, and the like of the protrusion 11 are not specified, and may be any as long as they can receive the load (external force) applied to the tubular material 1.

The gaps 12 are provided on the side walls of the tubular material 1 immediately below the respective projections 11, so that a beam-shaped portion (beam) is formed at the tip edge of the tubular material 1 at the location where the projections 11 are arranged. ) Has been formed.

The gap 12 is formed as shown in FIG. 1 so that the beam is easily bent by the external force applied to the protrusion 11.
It is preferable that the tubular member 1 is formed in a slit shape that is long in the circumferential direction, and further, it is preferable that the gap 12 is provided so that the central portion thereof is located immediately below the protrusion 11. Further, the size of the gap 12 and the width (that is, the thickness of the beam) between the gap 12 and the tip edge of the tubular material 1 are the size, thickness, elastic modulus, etc. of the tubular material 1. It is decided according to.

The gap 12 may penetrate through the outer wall and the inner wall of the tubular member 1, or may be closed at the outer wall or the inner wall. In particular, when the medical device for insertion into the body of the present invention is a catheter, when this is inserted into a blood vessel, a thrombus may be formed inside the gap, but the gap 12 is closed at the outer wall of the tubular member 1. This prevents the formation of this thrombus. in this case,
The part that closes the gap 12 is the beam deflection and the electrode 21.
It is preferable to have sufficient flexibility so as not to prevent the contact between a and 21b. Examples of the form of the closed portion of the gap portion 12 include a form formed continuously with the outer wall or the inner wall of the tubular material 1, a polyolefin such as polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate, a polymer such as polyurethane and nylon, and a rubber such as latex. A mode in which the outer side or the inner side of the gap 12 is covered with a film made of, for example, is possible. Furthermore, if the gap 12 is closed on the outer wall of the tubular material 1 and the closed portion is formed so as to bulge slightly outside the gap 12, the closed portion will be formed when the beam is bent. It is particularly preferable because it does not get inside and hinder the contact of the electrodes. The thickness of the closed portion is preferably about 10 to 20 μm.

The protrusion 11 and the gap 12 are formed by processing the tip of the tubular member 1 by a method such as ablation using an excimer laser or a focused ion beam (FIB). In addition, the protrusion 11 is
A separately manufactured product may be fixed to the distal end portion of the tubular material 1 with, for example, an adhesive.

A pair of electrodes 21a and 21b are provided on the inner surface of the gap 12. This electrode 21a, 2
1b are provided at positions facing each other in the axial direction of the tubular member 1 so that they are brought into contact with each other when the beams are deflected so as to be in conduction, but in order to facilitate this contact, the center of the inner surface of the gap 12 is provided. It is preferable that they are provided respectively.

The shape of the electrodes 21a and 21b is not particularly limited. For example, if one electrode is formed in a planar shape and the other electrode is formed in a bump (projection) shape,
It is preferable in terms of contact reliability of the electrodes. In addition, the electrode 21
Examples of the constituent material of a and 21b include Ni, Cr and Pd.

The electrodes 21a and 21b and the electrode 21
The method of forming the wiring portion (not shown) connected to a and 21b is not particularly limited, but for example, electroless plating,
Examples include methods such as laser CVD and selective etching.

The protrusion 11, the gap 12 and the electrode 2
It is preferable that 2 to 6 units of the units 1a and 21b are provided along the circumferential direction of the tubular material 1 at substantially equal intervals. If the number of units is 2 or more, the external force applied to the tip of the tubular material 1 can be sensed efficiently, while if it is 6 or less, the arrangement is easy.

The tactile sensor S, as shown in FIG.
It is used by being attached to the distal end of the medical instrument M for insertion into the body.

The tactile sensor S is used as a medical instrument M for insertion into the body.
At the time of attachment, it is preferable that the entire protrusion 11 of the tactile sensor S be attached so as to protrude from the distal end surface of the medical instrument M for insertion into the body, as shown in FIG.

The tactile sensor S is preferably fixed to the medical instrument M for insertion into the body by a fusion method, an adhesive method or the like.

The medical instrument M for insertion into the body to which the tactile sensor S can be attached includes a catheter, a circulatory system endoscope (for example, an angioscope), and a digestive system endoscope (for example, a colonoscope). Etc. are illustrated.

[0022]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be shown and described more specifically. Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

(Production of Tactile Sensor) Inner Diameter φ1.5-1.
An ablation process using an excimer laser is performed on the tip surface of a 6 mm thick polyurethane tube with a thickness of 100 μm to form a projection with a height of 20 μm and a circumferential length of 100 μm on the tube side face directly below 50 μm from the projection. A gap with a width of 100 μm and a circumferential length of 1000 μm
Four pieces were formed at equal intervals. Then, Ni was plated on the entire tube by electroless plating, and then Cr was deposited by laser CVD on the portions where the electrodes and wiring portions were to be arranged. After this, dilute nitric acid was used to Ni.
Cr was etched in this order with dilute hydrochloric acid to form electrodes and wiring portions, and a tactile sensor similar to that shown in FIG. 1 was obtained.

(Mounting of tactile sensor) Nominal outer diameter φ1.6mm
The above-mentioned tactile sensor was attached to the tip of the catheter, and fixed by the fusion method to obtain the catheter having the configuration shown in FIG. The signal circuit was formed between the nine lead wires provided in one of the lumens of the catheter by a laser CVD method using Au.

(Evaluation of Tactile Sensor) When the above catheter was inserted into a blood vessel, the contact of the tip of the catheter with the inner wall of the blood vessel could be obtained as a signal.

[0026]

As described above in detail, when an external force is applied to the protrusion of the tactile sensor of the present invention, the tip edge portion (beam) of the tubular member provided with the protrusion bends and is provided on the inner surface of the gap. Since the pair of electrodes thus formed come into contact with each other and become conductive, the contact with another object can be sensed as a signal. Therefore, by attaching the tactile sensor to the distal end portion of the medical instrument for insertion into the body, it is possible to safely insert the medical instrument into the target position in the body without breaking or damaging the inner wall of the blood vessel. Becomes

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a tactile sensor of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic partial perspective view showing an embodiment of the medical instrument for insertion into the body of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tubular material 11 Projection part 12 Gap part 21a, 21b Electrode S Tactile sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. At least one protrusion provided on the tip edge of the tubular material, a gap portion provided under the protrusion of the tubular material, and a position in the inner surface of the gap facing the tubular material in the axial direction. A tactile sensor for a medical instrument for insertion into the body, comprising: at least one pair of electrodes provided on the electrode, the electrodes contacting each other by an external force applied to the protrusion. 2. A medical instrument for insertion into the body, wherein the tactile sensor according to claim 1 is attached to a tip portion.