JP3685510B2 - In-vivo insertion device having electrical conduction path and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial application fields]
The present invention relates to a medical tube used for a catheter or endoscope for injecting a chemical solution into a lumen of a living body or inserting an intraluminal observation treatment instrument, or a medical wire such as a guide wire. The present invention relates to a tubular or linear, small-diameter internal insertion tool.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in a catheter or the like that mounts various sensors such as a thermistor at the distal end and obtains a signal from the lumen of a living body, as shown in FIG. A thin coaxial line, twisted pair wire 5 or the like is used for the electric conduction path 4 for transmitting and receiving an electric signal between the placed analysis apparatus main bodies 2, and means for mounting them inside the lumen 3 of the catheter is used. It was done.
[0003]
In addition, it has a mechanical operation mechanism that applies motors, electrostatic actuators, shape memory alloys, etc., and even for catheters and endoscopes used for biological treatment and observation, it has a small diameter for power supply. Means for mounting the electric wire (lead wire) in the lumen is used.
[0004]
In addition, a lead wire for signal transmission / reception is mounted on the inside of a thin medical wire such as a guide wire type probe that has an ultrasonic sensor at the tip and is used for measuring the flow velocity in blood vessels. Or means such as winding the lead wire along the outer wall to cover it integrally.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since these in-vivo insertion tools are intended to be inserted into the lumen of a living body, it is preferable that the diameter is small. In other words, there is a problem that the size of the lumen itself used for injecting a chemical solution into a living body, observation and treatment is restricted, and that the mounting process itself is extremely difficult for a finer wire.
[0006]
In addition, by mounting lead wires inside the tube, the wire and the required physical properties such as flexibility may be impaired. As a result, insertion into the lumen becomes difficult, and the inner wall of the lumen may be damaged. There is.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to provide an in-vivo inserter having a lumen having functions such as treatment and observation of a living body, having an easy manufacturing process and excellent physical properties, and a manufacturing method for obtaining the in-vivo inserter. And
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Such an object is to provide an intracorporeal insertion device having an electric conduction path electrically connected to a device having an electrical function, wherein the electric conduction path is formed on at least a part of the base material surface of the intracorporeal insertion instrument. This is achieved by an in-vivo insert having an electrical conduction path characterized by comprising a coated conductor.
[0009]
In a preferred aspect of the present invention, the in-vivo insertion tool is a member having a curved surface, such as a medical tube or a medical wire, having a tubular or linear shape.
[0010]
Further, it is desirable that the conductor is one or more kinds of metals and the coating is vapor deposition of the metals.
[0011]
Furthermore, it is desirable that the coated conductor forms a plurality of electrical conduction paths that are insulated from each other.
[0012]
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an intracorporeal insertion device having an electrical conduction path electrically connected to a device having an electrical function, wherein a conductor is provided on at least a part of the surface of the substrate of the intracorporeal insertion device. And a step of removing a part of the coated conductor and forming at least a part of two or more electrically conductive paths insulated from each other. This can also be achieved by a method for manufacturing an in-vivo insertion tool.
[0013]
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the in-vivo insertion tool is a medical tube or a medical wire.
[0014]
Further, it is desirable that the conductor is one or more kinds of metals and the coating is vapor deposition of the metals.
[0015]
Furthermore, it is desirable that the step of removing a part of the coating is non-contact processing using light or an electron beam.
[0016]
Furthermore, the non-contact processing is preferably optical energy processing using an excimer laser.
[0017]
Further, it is desirable that the step of removing a part of the coating is a substantially spiral groove process along the outer wall of the base material of the body insertion tool.
[0018]
Further, the vapor deposition is preferably ion-assisted vapor deposition.
[0019]
In addition, after the step of removing a part of the coating, it is desirable to electrolessly and / or electrolytically plate at least one kind of metal on at least a part of the portion where the coating remains.
[0020]
Further, it is desirable to coat the synthetic resin after the step of removing a part of the coating or after performing electroless plating and / or electrolytic plating.
[0021]
[Action]
According to the present invention, an electric wire is not mounted inside a tube or a wire as in a conventional medical tube or an electric conduction path of a medical wire, but at least a part of the surface of the base material of the tube or wire. By using an electric conduction path that is covered with a conductor such as metal, it is possible to avoid the difficulty of mounting an electric wire inside a thin tube or wire. It is possible to provide an electric conduction path without damaging it. Here, since the electrical conduction path is a coating made of metal or the like, even if the surface of the body insertion tool of the present invention is a curved member with a small diameter, it can be easily formed.
[0022]
Further, according to the present invention, an electric wire is not mounted inside the tube or wire as in the electric conduction path of the conventional in-vivo insertion tool, but a metal or the like is formed on at least a part of the surface of the tube or wire base And a step of removing a part of the coated conductor and roughly dividing the conductor into two or more electric conduction paths, thereby being substantially insulated from each other on the outer wall. To form at least a part of at least two or more electric conduction paths, there is no difficulty in mounting an electric wire inside a small-diameter tube or wire, and the lumen of the tube is damaged. It is possible to provide an electric conduction path without any problem. In this case, roughly dividing means a step of separating the conductor coating for the purpose of forming a plurality of electric conduction paths, but for the convenience of the subsequent manufacturing process, it is not completely divided. There is also a case where a part of the conductor coating is left undivided.
[0023]
Moreover, it is difficult for the outer wall of a tube or wire having a curved surface shape by performing the process of removing a part of the coating by non-contact processing using light such as excimer laser or electron beam. Can be processed without any problems.
[0024]
Furthermore, since the process of removing a part of the coating is a spiral groove processing along the outer wall of the base material of the body insertion tool, the electrical conduction path has a spiral structure. In addition to maintaining flexibility and facilitating insertion into the lumen, the wire portion can prevent peeling and breakage of the conductor due to the difference between the physical property value of the base material and the physical property value of the conductor. Can do.
[0025]
Moreover, the outer wall of the tube and the wire in the insertion tool having a curved surface can be covered without difficulty by vapor deposition of a conductive material such as metal as a means for covering the conductor. At this time, as a vapor deposition method, the adhesion strength is obtained in normal vapor deposition by using an ion-assisted vapor deposition method that accelerates and irradiates particles such as Ar ionized at the same time as vapor deposition and improves adhesion. Good adhesion can be obtained even for difficult polymer substrates.
[0026]
Furthermore, since only the conductor layer formed by vapor deposition has a large electric resistance, Cu, Au, Ag, Pt is further added to at least a part of the portion where the coating remains after the step of removing a part of the coating. By increasing the thickness of the conductor layer by electroless plating and / or electrolytic plating at least one of the metals such as Ni and Fe, it is possible to reduce the electrical resistance.
[0027]
After the conductor portion of the electric conduction path is formed by the above-mentioned means, it is coated with a synthetic resin such as polyurethane and silicone, and a protective layer is formed, thereby preventing external forces such as bending of the tube and wire, wear, etc. It is possible to improve the durability of the electric conduction path.
[0028]
【Example】
(Example 1)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a medical tube in Example 1 of the in-vivo insertion tool of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the medical tube of Example 1 includes a tube main body 1 and an apparatus main body 2 installed outside the body for amplifying and analyzing a biological signal from the distal end portion thereof. The tube lumen 3 is used for inserting a drug solution and an observation / treatment instrument. A sensor 6 such as a thermistor is provided in the vicinity of the distal end of the tube to measure biological information such as the temperature and blood flow in the living body. On the outer wall of the tube, there are provided two electric conduction paths 12 and 13 deposited on the surface of the tube, 12 for signal transmission and 13 for ground. The leading ends of the electrical conduction paths 12 and 13 are electrically connected to a signal electrode (not shown) and a ground electrode (not shown) of the sensor by a method such as soldering, and the base side is connected to the tube 1. It is connected to the apparatus main body 2 by being electrically connected to the connecting cable 5 through soldering or a connector.
[0029]
3 and 4 are explanatory views showing a method for manufacturing the medical tube according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[0030]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the coating process in the first embodiment, and the outer wall of the tube body 1 is conductively coated by depositing a vapor deposition source 8 of a conductor. The tube body 1 has an outer diameter of about 0.1 to 20 mm and a wall thickness of about 0.01 to 5 mm, and is made of a polymer material having excellent flexibility such as polyurethane, polyolefin, polyester, polycarbonate, polysulfone or silicone. As the conductor vapor deposition source 8, one kind of metals such as Cu, Au, Ti, Al, Ag, Pt, etc., conductive non-metallic materials such as C, or a plurality of things are used simultaneously or in layers. And it vapor-deposits with the thickness of about 0.05-50 micrometers on a tube outer wall. The thickness is preferably determined appropriately in consideration of the diameter of the tube. The smaller the thickness, the smaller the current that can be conducted, and the larger the thickness, the less flexible the tube. As an evaporation method, an ion-assisted evaporation method or the like is preferably used in which particles such as Ar ionized at the same time as the evaporation are accelerated and irradiated to improve adhesion.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of removing a part of the conductor coating and dividing the same in the first embodiment. A part of the coating is removed by irradiating the surface of the tube 1 whose outer wall is coated with a conductor with a laser beam 10 by a laser processing device 9. Further, since the insulating groove 11 is formed by scanning the laser beam 10 in the length direction of the tube 1, a plurality of electric conduction paths 4a and 4b can be formed from the conductor coating by repeating the scanning. it can.
[0032]
(Example 2)
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a manufacturing process of the medical tube according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the medical tube according to the second embodiment.
[0033]
Also in the second embodiment, the process up to the covering step with the conductor is the same as the first embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a process of removing and dividing a part of the conductor coating in the second embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that the laser beam 10 is spiral with the length direction of the tube 1 as an axis. It is a point that the electric conduction path 4 is formed in a spiral shape by scanning in a shape.
[0034]
FIG. 6 shows a part of the electric conduction path of the medical tube manufactured according to the second embodiment. In this way, the laser beam is repeatedly scanned in a spiral shape to form the divided grooves 11a and 11b. By forming the channels 12 and 13, the covered portion made of a hard material such as a metal has a spiral structure, so that the tube and the wire are kept flexible and can be easily inserted into the lumen. In addition, it is possible to prevent peeling and breakage of the conductor portion during bending due to the difference between the physical property value of the substrate and the physical property value of the conductor.
[0035]
(Example 3)
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a manufacturing process of the medical tube according to the third embodiment.
[0036]
In the third embodiment, the process is the same as that of the second embodiment until a part of the conductor covering is removed and divided. FIG. 7 shows a step of further performing electrolytic plating on at least a part of the portion where the coating remains. The tube 1 is put in the plating solution 15, and the negative electrode of the DC power supply device 14 is connected to the portion where the conductor coating remains through the electric wire 17. The positive electrode of the DC power supply device 14 is connected via a wire 18 to a positive electrode 16 made of conductive carbon or the like in the plating solution. As a metal used for plating, one kind of metal such as Cu, Au, Ag, Pt, Ni, Fe or the like, or a plurality of objects are used simultaneously or in a stacked manner, about 0.1 to 100 μm. Plating with thickness. If the thickness of the plating is too large, the flexibility of the tube is impaired. Conversely, if the thickness is too small, the ability to retain the durability of the electric conduction path is impaired.
[0037]
In the present embodiment, a method using electrolytic plating has been described. However, it is possible to similarly deposit metals such as Cu, Au, Ag, Pt, Ni, and Fe by electroless plating.
[0038]
(Example 4)
FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a medical tube according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In the fourth embodiment, the process up to the step of removing a part of the conductor coating and dividing the same is the same as that of the second embodiment. FIG. 8 shows a tube in which the protective layer 19 is formed by covering with a synthetic resin after the conductor portion of the electric conduction path is formed in the same manner as the medical tube of the second embodiment. As the synthetic resin, a polymer having excellent flexibility such as polyurethane and silicone is used and coated by a method such as dipping, or a resin tube made of these resins is covered and adhered by heat shrinkage or the like.
[0039]
Thus, by covering with a synthetic resin, it becomes possible to improve the durability of the electric conduction path with respect to bending or abrasion of the tube.
[0040]
In the above embodiments, only the formation of the electrical conduction path to the medical tube has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same method is also used for the formation of the electrical conduction path to other body insertion tools such as medical wires. Can be realized.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a member having an electrical function such as a sensor, an actuator, an electrode, and the like, and an electric conduction path for performing power supply and / or signal transmission / reception to these members are provided. Since the electric conduction path in the internal insertion device is formed by a conductor such as metal coated on at least a part of the surface of the base material of the internal insertion device, the lumen is easy to process and has functions such as treatment and observation of the living body Therefore, it is possible to reduce the diameter and to achieve an in-vivo insertion tool having excellent physical properties such as flexibility and durability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a conventional medical tube.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a medical tube according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a coating process of the method for manufacturing a medical tube according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a step of removing a part of the coating in the method for manufacturing a medical tube according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a step of removing a part of the coating in the method for manufacturing a medical tube according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an electrical conduction path of a medical tube according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a plating step in the method for manufacturing a medical tube according to Example 3 of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an electrical conduction path of a medical tube according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: tube main body 2: analysis device main body 3: lumen 4: electric conduction path 5: cable 6: sensor 7: vapor deposition source vapor 8: vapor deposition source 9: laser processing device 10: laser beams 11, 11a, 11b: dividing grooves 12 : Conduction path for signal transmission 13: Conduction path for ground 14: DC power supply device 15: Plating solution 16: Positive electrode 17, 18: Electric wire 19: Protective layer

Claims (14)

An in-vivo insertion tool having an electrical conduction path electrically connected to a device having an electrical function, further comprising a sensor provided near the distal end of the in-vivo insertion tool, wherein the electrical conduction path is in the body It is made of a conductor coated on at least a part of the base material surface of the insertion tool, the tip end side of the electric conduction path is electrically connected to the sensor, and the electric conduction path is formed in a spiral shape. body insertion tool according to claim. The in-vivo insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a thermistor.   The intracorporeal insert according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the intracorporeal insert further includes a protective layer coated with a synthetic resin.   The intracorporeal insert according to claim 1, wherein the intracorporeal insert is a medical tube or a medical wire.   The in-vivo insertion device according to claim 1, wherein the conductor is one or more kinds of metal, and the coating is vapor deposition of the metal. A method for manufacturing an intracorporeal insertion device having an electrical conduction path electrically connected to a sensor provided in the vicinity of a tip, the step of covering at least a part of the base material surface of the intracorporeal insertion device with a conductor When the electrical conductivity, characterized in that comprising the step of forming at least a portion of said part of the coated conductor to remove spirally, two or more electrically conductive paths are insulated from each other in a spiral A method for manufacturing an intracorporeal insertion device having a path.   The method for manufacturing an intracorporeal insert according to claim 6, wherein the intracorporeal insert is a medical tube or a medical wire.   The method for manufacturing an intracorporeal insert according to claim 6, wherein the conductor is one or more kinds of metals and the coating is vapor deposition of the metals.   The method for manufacturing an in-vivo insertion device according to claim 6, wherein the step of removing a part of the coating is non-contact processing using light or an electron beam.   The method of manufacturing an intracorporeal insert according to claim 9, wherein the non-contact processing is optical energy processing using an excimer laser. The method of manufacturing an in-vivo insertion device according to claim 6, wherein the step of removing a part of the coating is a spiral groove process along the outer wall of the base material of the in-vivo insertion device.   The method for manufacturing an intracorporeal insert according to claim 8, wherein the vapor deposition is ion-assisted vapor deposition.   The electroless plating and / or electrolytic plating of at least one kind of metal is performed on at least a part of a portion where the coating remains after the step of removing a part of the coating. The manufacturing method of the in-body insertion tool as described in any one of.   The in-vivo insertion device according to claim 6 or 13, wherein the synthetic resin is coated after the step of removing a part of the coating, or after performing electroless plating and / or electrolytic plating. Production method.

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