CN111870337A - Reinforcing tube for flexible cryoprobe and flexible cryoprobe - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an enhanced tube for a flexible cryoprobe and the flexible cryoprobe, which comprise an outer tube, an inner tube, a metal wire and a wire groove; the wire groove is arranged on the outer wall of the inner layer pipe, the metal wire is embedded in the wire groove, and the outer layer pipe is sleeved on the outer side of the inner layer pipe; the wire can fully compensate the pressure resistance of the catheter, the possibility is provided for further reducing the diameter of the catheter, and the wire groove can fully fix the wire to avoid the displacement of the wire. Therefore, the invention can compensate the pressure resistance of the conduit when the diameter of the conduit is reduced.

Description

Reinforced Tubes and Flexible Cryoprobes for Flexible Cryoprobes

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of medical machinery, in particular to a reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe and a flexible cryoprobe.

Background technique

The flexible cryoprobe can be bent through the natural orifice of the human body to reach the lesion for cryotherapy. For blood vessels, bronchi and other natural orifices with multiple branches ranging from thick to thin, the thinner the diameter, the larger and farther the treatment can cover. Therefore, the diameter reduction of needles and flexible catheters is the core development trend of flexible cryoprobes.

In the prior art, the thinning of the flexible conduit can only be achieved by reducing the wall thickness of the flexible conduit. However, if the wall thickness is reduced, the pressure resistance performance will inevitably be reduced, which will bring safety risks to the operation. It can be seen that in the prior art, the wall thickness and pressure resistance performance cannot be effectively considered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a reinforcing tube and a flexible cryoprobe for a flexible cryoprobe, so as to solve the problem that it is difficult to balance the wall thickness of the flexible catheter and the pressure resistance performance.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe, comprising an outer tube, an inner tube, a wire and a wire groove;

The wire groove is arranged on the outer wall of the inner layer tube, the metal wire is embedded in the wire groove, and the outer layer tube is sleeved on the outside of the inner layer tube.

Optionally, the paths of the wire grooves are distributed on the outer wall of the inner tube in a grid or spiral shape, and the metal wires are in a grid or spiral shape matching the wire grooves.

Optionally, the depth of the wire groove is greater than or equal to the dimension of the wire along the corresponding depth direction.

Optionally, the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire is any one of the following:

Rectangle, circle, triangle, trapezoid;

If the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire is a rectangle, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove includes an indented edge, and the size and shape of the indented edge are matched with the rectangle;

If the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire is a circle, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove includes an arc edge, and the radius of curvature of the arc edge is the same as the circle;

If the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire is a triangle, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove includes a V-shaped edge, and the size and shape of the V-shaped edge match the triangle;

If the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire is a trapezoid, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove includes a wedge-shaped edge, and the size and shape of the wedge-shaped edge match the trapezoid.

Optionally, both the inner layer tube and the outer layer tube are made of fluoropolymer; the outer layer tube is sheathed on the outside of the inner layer tube by heat shrinking.

Optionally, the outer layer tube and the inner layer tube are glued or welded together by glue.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flexible cryoprobe, including the reinforcing tube for the flexible cryoprobe according to the first aspect of the present invention and its optional solution, comprising a front section of a needle, a connecting portion and a rear section of the needle, The radially inner end of the connecting portion is connected to the rear section of the needle head, the radially outer end of the connecting portion is connected to the front section of the needle head, and the reinforcing tube is sleeved outside the rear end of the needle head.

Optionally, the rear section of the needle is provided with a pagoda joint, and the inner tube is sleeved on the rear section of the needle through the pagoda joint; the first end of the inner tube is connected to the first end of the outer tube. Both ends are fixedly connected to the connecting portion.

Optionally, it also includes an outer wall tube and an extruded tube;

The outer wall tube is sleeved on the outside of the outer layer tube, and the outer wall tube includes a first outer wall tube section and a second outer wall tube section that are connected in sequence; the first end of the first outer wall tube section is fixedly connected to the connecting portion; the The extrusion pipe is sleeved on the outside of the first outer wall pipe section, and the first end of the extrusion pipe is fixedly connected to the connecting part;

The second end of the extruded tube is fixed to the second end of the first outer wall tube section.

Optionally, a vacuum interlayer is provided between the second outer wall pipe section and the outer pipe.

The reinforcing tube and the flexible freezing probe for the flexible cryoprobe provided by the present invention are provided with a metal wire between the inner tube and the outer tube, which can fully compensate the pressure resistance of the catheter, so as to further reduce the diameter of the catheter Provides the possibility in which, even with a reduced diameter of the catheter, a better pressure resistance can still be maintained. It can be seen that the present invention takes both wall thickness and pressure resistance into consideration.

Further, the present invention also provides a wire groove for embedding the wire, and the wire groove can fully fix the wire to avoid its displacement. The influence of the wire on the diameter of the catheter can be reduced or avoided, and the diameter of the catheter can be reduced. It can be seen that the present invention can stably compensate the pressure resistance of the catheter when the diameter of the catheter is reduced.

In the optional solution of the present invention, both the inner layer tube and the outer layer tube are made of fluoropolymer material, and the outer layer tube is sleeved on the inner layer tube by means of heat shrinking or glue bonding, which can strengthen the fixing of the metal wire and protect the catheter at the same time. Flexibility and tightness at low temperatures.

Description of drawings

In order to explain the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art more clearly, the following briefly introduces the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only These are some embodiments of the present invention, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram 1 of a reinforcing tube used for a flexible cryoprobe in an embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a schematic diagram of the inner tube structure of the reinforcing tube used for the flexible cryoprobe in an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a second structural schematic diagram of a reinforcing tube used for a flexible cryoprobe in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a third structural schematic diagram of a reinforcing tube used for a flexible cryoprobe in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram 4 of the structure of a reinforcing tube used for a flexible cryoprobe according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram 5 of the structure of a reinforcing tube used for a flexible cryoprobe according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a sixth structural schematic diagram of a reinforcing tube used for a flexible cryoprobe according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a flexible cryoprobe in an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of reference numbers:

1- Reinforcing tube;

11- inner tube;

111-silk groove;

12 - metal wire;

121-Wire extension

13-outer tube;

2 - Needle;

21 - the front section of the needle;

22 - the posterior segment of the needle;

221-Pagoda joint

23 - connecting part;

3-outer wall tube;

4- Squeeze the tube;

5- Vacuum interlayer.

Detailed ways

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, but not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The terms "first", "second", "third", "fourth", etc. (if any) in the description and claims of the present invention and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to Describe a particular order or sequence. It is to be understood that the data so used may be interchanged under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein can be practiced in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, for example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those expressly listed Rather, those steps or units may include other steps or units not expressly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

This application fully studies the contradiction between the catheter wall thickness and pressure resistance performance of the flexible cryoprobe, as follows:

The flexible cryoprobe can be bent through the natural orifice of the human body to reach the lesion for cryotherapy, so its flexible catheter segment needs to have good flexibility. The existing cryotherapy technologies almost all use the principle of throttling high-pressure gas through the Joule-Thomson effect to generate low temperature, so the flexible catheter needs to have a certain pressure resistance and low temperature flexibility. In addition, the needle of the flexible cryoprobe is made of metal material, and the connection between the metal needle and the non-metal flexible catheter also needs to have certain pressure resistance, air tightness and low temperature resistance.

For blood vessels, bronchi and other multi-branched natural cavities from thick to thin, the thinner the diameter, the larger and farther the area that can be covered by the treatment, and the inner diameter of the flexible catheter determines the back pressure of throttling and cooling, which in turn determines In order to improve the freezing performance, its inner diameter should not be too small. Therefore, the thinning of the flexible conduit can only be achieved by reducing the wall thickness, but reducing the wall thickness will lead to a decrease in the pressure resistance performance.

Therefore, the present invention provides a reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe to balance the contradiction between the wall thickness of the catheter and the pressure resistance performance.

Further, in order to meet the requirements of low temperature flexibility and low temperature air tightness of the joint, the fluoropolymer materials (such as polytetrafluoroethylene, etc.) are selected for the inner layer tube and the outer layer tube of the reinforced tube provided by the present invention. It still has a certain expansion and contraction rate at -196 °C, which can make the catheter still have good flexibility at low temperature.

The technical solutions of the present invention will be described in detail below with specific examples. The following specific embodiments may be combined with each other, and the same or similar concepts or processes may not be repeated in some embodiments.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , a reinforcing tube 1 for a flexible cryoprobe includes an outer tube 13 , an inner tube 11 , a wire 12 and a wire groove 111 ;

The wire groove 111 is arranged on the outer wall of the inner tube 11 , the metal wire 12 is embedded in the wire groove 111 , and the outer tube 13 is sleeved on the outer side of the inner tube 11 .

The material of the metal wire 12 is not limited, and may be stainless steel or other metal materials such as carbon steel and aluminum.

In one embodiment, the paths of the wire grooves 111 are distributed on the outer wall of the inner tube 11 in a grid or spiral shape, and the metal wires 12 are in a grid or spiral shape matching the wire grooves 111 . shape.

In an example, please refer to FIG. 2 , the wire groove 111 may be carved on the inner tube 11 , or may be turned on the inner tube 11 . The depth of the wire groove 111 is smaller than the wall thickness of the inner tube 11 .

In one embodiment, the depth of the wire groove 111 is greater than or equal to the dimension of the wire 12 along the corresponding depth direction. It can be understood that the wire 12 can be completely embedded in the wire groove 111 and does not exceed the outer surface of the inner tube 11 .

In one embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire 12 is any one of the following:

Rectangle, circle, triangle, and trapezoid; at the same time, the embodiment of the present invention does not exclude other regular or irregular shapes, as long as the cross-sectional shape of the wire 12 and the cross-section of the wire groove 111 are suitable for achieving stable assembly, they will not be separated from the scope of embodiments of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 3 , if the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire 12 is a rectangle, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove 111 includes an indented edge, and the size and shape of the indented edge are matched with the rectangle;

The matching of the size and shape of the indented edge with the rectangle can be understood as: the metal wire 12 with a rectangular cross-section can be completely accommodated in the wire groove 111 with the indented edge The outer surface of the metal wire 12 can fit the inner surface of the wire groove 111 with the cross-section of the serrated edge.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 , if the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire 12 is a circle, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove 111 includes a circular arc edge, and the radius of curvature of the circular arc edge is the same as the circle ;

Among them, the wire groove 111 with a circular arc edge cross-section can be provided with a narrow wire inlet above the wire groove 111, and the wire 12 can be squeezed into the wire groove 111 by using the elasticity of the fluoropolymer material.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 4 , the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove 111 also includes two straight edges, respectively connecting two ends of the arc edge, and further, the two straight edges and one arc edge can form an arch, The two straight edges therein may for example be parallel to each other. In the example shown in FIG. 5 , the arc edge of the cross-section of the wire groove 111 may form a circle with a notch.

Please refer to FIG. 6 , if the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire 12 is a triangle, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove 111 includes a V-shaped edge, and the size and shape of the V-shaped edge match the triangle;

The matching of the size and shape of the V-shaped edge with the triangle can be understood as: the metal wire 12 with a triangular cross-section can be completely accommodated in the wire groove 111 with a V-shaped edge cross-section, or the metal wire with a triangular cross-section The outer surface of the wire 12 can conform to the inner surface of the wire groove 111 having a V-shaped edge cross-section.

Referring to FIG. 7 , if the cross-sectional shape of the metal wire 12 is a trapezoid, then: the edge of the cross-section of the wire groove 111 includes a wedge-shaped edge, and the size and shape of the wedge-shaped edge match the trapezoid.

Wherein, matching the size and shape of the wedge-shaped edge with the trapezoid can be understood as: the metal wire 12 with a trapezoidal cross-section can be completely accommodated in the wire groove 111 with a wedge-shaped edge cross-section, or the metal wire 12 with a trapezoidal cross-section can be completely accommodated The outer surface of the wire can fit the inner surface of the wire groove 111 with the wedge-shaped edge section.

In one embodiment, the inner layer tube 11 and the outer layer tube 13 are both made of fluoropolymer; the outer layer tube 13 is sheathed on the outside of the inner layer tube 11 by heat shrinking. The inner layer tube 11 and the outer layer tube 13 are pressed together by heat shrinking radial force, and the metal wire 12 is sufficiently fixed in the wire groove 111 .

The expansion diameter of the outer layer tube 13 is larger than the outer diameter of the inner layer tube 11 , and the recovery diameter of the outer layer tube 13 is smaller than the outer diameter of the inner layer tube 11 .

In one example, the inner layer tube 11 can be a non-heat-shrinkable tube made of PTFE material, and in another example, it can also be a non-heat-shrinkable tube of fluoropolymer material such as FEP and PFA;

In one example, the outer layer tube 13 may be a heat-shrinkable tube made of PTFE material, and in another example, it may also be a heat-shrinkable tube of fluoropolymer material such as FEP.

In one embodiment, the outer layer tube 13 and the inner layer tube 11 are glued or welded together through glue.

In an example, after the metal wire 12 is embedded in the wire groove 111 on the inner layer tube 11 along the wire groove 111, the outer layer tube 13 is sleeved into the inner layer tube 11, and before heating and shrinking, the inner layer tube can pass through the inner layer tube 11. Apply glue between 11 and the outer layer tube 13. In order to enhance the wettability, you can also first perform surface treatment on the outer surface of the inner layer tube 11 and the inner surface of the outer layer tube 13, such as coating ethanol, tetrafluoro and other low surface energy substances , in order to reduce the surface energy, and then heating and heat shrinking is performed to fix the metal wire 12 in the wire groove 111 .

In other examples, after the metal wire 12 is embedded in the wire groove 111 on the inner layer tube 11 along the wire groove 111, the outer layer tube 13 is inserted into the inner layer tube 11 after heating and heat shrinking, and then the inner layer tube is strengthened by laser welding. Bonding between 11 and outer tube 13.

Please refer to FIG. 8 , the flexible cryoprobe includes a needle front section 21 , a connecting portion 23 and a needle rear section 22 , the connecting portion 23 is connected to the needle rear section 22 along the radial inner end, and the connecting portion 23 is radially connected to the needle rear section 22 . The outer end of the needle head is connected to the front section 21 of the needle head, and the reinforcing tube 1 is sleeved on the outside of the rear section 22 of the needle head.

In an embodiment, please refer to FIG. 8 , the rear section 22 of the needle head is provided with a pagoda joint 221 , and the inner tube 11 is sheathed on the rear section 22 of the needle head through the pagoda joint 221 ; the inner tube 11 The first end of the outer tube 13 and the first end of the outer tube 13 are both fixedly connected to the connecting portion 23 .

In one example, the first end of the inner layer tube 11 and the first end of the outer layer tube 13 can be fixedly connected to the connecting portion 23 by means of glue. In other examples, the inner layer tube 11 The first end of the outer tube 13 and the first end of the outer tube 13 can also be fixedly connected to the connecting portion 23 by means of laser welding.

In an example, the metal wire 12 may partially extend from the reinforcing tube 1 (for example, the metal wire extending section 121 shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 8 ) for connecting with the needle 2 , specifically, the metal wire extending The segment 121 can be connected to the rear segment 22 of the needle head, and can also be connected to the connecting portion 23 . In addition, each wire of the metal wire 12 has at least one connecting point with the connecting portion 23 . The connection method can be glued or laser welded.

In one embodiment, please refer to FIG. 8, it also includes an outer wall tube 3 and an extruded tube 4;

The outer wall pipe 3 is sleeved on the outside of the outer layer pipe 13, and the outer wall pipe 3 includes a first outer wall pipe section and a second outer wall pipe section connected in sequence;

The first end of the first outer wall pipe section is fixedly connected to the connecting portion 23; the extrusion tube 4 is sleeved on the outside of the first outer wall pipe section, and the first end of the extrusion pipe 4 is fixedly connected to the connecting portion twenty three;

The second end of the extrusion pipe 4 is fixed to the second end of the first outer wall pipe section.

In one example, the extrusion tube 4 can be fixed to the connecting portion 23 by means of glue, and in other examples, it can also be fixed by means of laser welding.

In one embodiment, please refer to FIG. 8 , a vacuum interlayer 5 is provided between the second outer wall pipe section and the outer layer pipe 13 .

The vacuum interlayer 5 is used for thermal insulation to avoid frostbite on the normal lumen of the flexible catheter segment.

In the specific implementation process, the reinforcing tube 1 is fixed to the rear section 22 of the needle head through the pagoda joint 221, and at the same time, the wire extending section 121 is fixedly connected to the needle head 2 to further strengthen the fixed connection between the reinforcing tube 1 and the needle head 2, that is, the needle head 2 A risk control measure is added to the connection with the reinforcing tube 1, and then the outer wall tube 3 is sleeved into the reinforcing tube 1, the first end of the outer wall tube 3 is against the connecting part 23, and then sleeved into the extruded tube 4, and the The first end is against the connecting part 23, and then the extruded tube 4 is extruded to the desired outer diameter by the extrusion tool, and finally the gap between the first end of the extruded extruded tube 4 and the connecting part 23 is carried out. gluing or welding, in this connection scheme, the extrusion tube 4 and the outer wall tube 3 are extruded, and the gluing or welding between the extrusion tube 4 and the connecting part 23 prolongs the leakage path of the gas in the braided tube, which is beneficial to improve the At the same time, due to the extrusion of the reinforcing tube 1 and the outer wall tube 3, the sealing of the front end of the vacuum interlayer 5 is realized, which ensures the effectiveness of vacuum insulation.

To sum up, in the reinforcing tube and flexible cryoprobe of the flexible cryoprobe provided by the present invention, a metal wire is installed between the inner tube and the outer tube, which can fully compensate the pressure resistance of the catheter, and further reduce the pressure of the catheter. The diameter offers the possibility of maintaining better pressure resistance even if the diameter of the catheter is reduced. It can be seen that the present invention takes both wall thickness and pressure resistance into consideration.

At the same time, the present invention also provides a wire groove for embedding the wire, the wire groove can fully fix the wire to avoid its displacement, and at the same time, compared with the solution of directly arranging the wire without using the wire groove, the present invention can Reduce or avoid the influence of the wire on the diameter of the catheter and reduce the diameter of the catheter. It can be seen that the present invention can stably compensate the pressure resistance of the catheter when the diameter of the catheter is reduced.

Further, in the optional solution of the present invention, both the inner layer tube and the outer layer tube are made of fluoropolymer material, and the outer layer tube is sleeved on the inner layer tube by means of heat shrinking or glue bonding, which can strengthen and fix the metal wire. At the same time, it ensures the flexibility and tightness of the catheter at low temperature.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, but not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some or all of the technical features thereof can be equivalently replaced; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention. scope.

Claims (9)

1. A reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe is characterized by comprising an outer tube, an inner tube, a metal wire and a wire groove;

the wire groove is arranged on the outer wall of the inner layer pipe, the metal wire is embedded in the wire groove, and the outer layer pipe is sleeved on the outer side of the inner layer pipe;

the inner layer pipe and the outer layer pipe are both made of fluoropolymer;

the outer layer pipe is sleeved outside the inner layer pipe in a thermal shrinkage mode.

2. The reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe of claim 1, wherein the path of the wire grooves is distributed in a grid or spiral pattern on the outer wall of the inner tube, the wires being in a grid or spiral pattern matching the wire grooves.

3. The reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe of claim 1, wherein the depth of the wire groove is greater than or equal to the dimension of the wire in the corresponding depth direction.

4. The reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe of claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the wire is any one of the following:

rectangular, circular, triangular, trapezoidal;

if the cross-sectional shape of the wire is rectangular, then: the edges of the cross section of the silk groove comprise T-shaped edges, and the size and the shape of the T-shaped edges are matched with those of the rectangle;

if the cross-sectional shape of the wire is circular, then: the edge of the cross section of the wire groove comprises an arc edge, and the curvature radius of the arc edge is the same as that of the circle;

if the cross-sectional shape of the wire is triangular, then: the edges of the cross section of the wire groove comprise V-shaped edges, and the size and the shape of the V-shaped edges are matched with those of the triangle;

if the cross-sectional shape of the wire is trapezoidal, then: the edges of the cross section of the wire groove comprise wedge-shaped edges, and the size and the shape of the wedge-shaped edges are matched with those of the trapezoid.

5. The reinforced tube for a flexible cryoprobe of claim 1, wherein the outer tube and the inner tube are glued together or welded together by glue.

6. A flexible cryoprobe comprising the reinforcement tube for a flexible cryoprobe of any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a front needle section, a connecting section and a rear needle section, the connecting section being connected to the rear needle section at a radially inner end, the connecting section being connected to the front needle section at a radially outer end, the reinforcement tube being arranged outside the rear needle section.

7. The flexible cryoprobe of claim 6, wherein the rear needle section is provided with a pagoda joint, and the inner tube is sleeved on the rear needle section through the pagoda joint; the first end of the inner layer pipe and the first end of the outer layer pipe are fixedly connected to the connecting portion.

8. The flexible cryoprobe of claim 6, further comprising an outer wall tube and an extruded tube;

the outer wall pipe is sleeved outside the outer layer pipe; the outer wall pipe comprises a first outer wall pipe section and a second outer wall pipe section which are sequentially connected, and a first end of the first outer wall pipe section is fixedly connected with the connecting part;

the first outer wall pipe section is sleeved with the extrusion pipe, and the first end of the extrusion pipe is fixedly connected with the connecting part;

the second end of the extruded tube is secured to the second end of the first outer wall tube segment.

9. The flexible cryoprobe of claim 8, wherein a vacuum interlayer is provided between the second outer wall tube section and the outer layer tube.

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