JPH08112352A - Tube for medical treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a tube for medical treatment which prevents reinforcing materials from being exposed on the outside surface of a tube and has high safety by existing the front end of a reinforcing material layer nearer the base end side than the front end of a tube body and forming the external shape at the front end of this reinforcing material layer smaller than the outside diameter of the base end. CONSTITUTION: The tubular reinforcing material layer 5 is installed on the outer peripheral part of a tube body 2 so as to enclose respective lumens 31 to 34 over nearly the entire part of the tube body 2. The outside diameter of the reinforcing material layer 5 is formed nearly constant. The outside diameter on the front end side is made gradually smaller (finer in diameter) toward the front end and the outside diameter at the front end 52 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is set smaller than the outside diameter at the base end of the reinforcing material layer 5. The front end 53 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is positioned nearer the base end side than the front end face of a front end member 7 and the front end 53 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is positioned nearer the front end than the base end of the annular part 71 of the front end member 7 and nearer the inner side of an annular part 71. As a result, the wire-shaped bodies of the reinforcing material layer 5 are prevented from being exposed on the outside surface of the catheter tube even if external force acts thereon. There is thus no possibility of flawing the inside wall of the blood tube, etc., and the tube is safe.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical tube, and more particularly to a catheter tube which constitutes an endoscope.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a catheter tube which is used by inserting it into a body cavity, the distal end of the catheter tube can be remotely controlled in order to direct the distal end of the catheter tube toward a target site or to position it at the target site. A catheter tube having a bending mechanism (pivoting mechanism) for bending a portion has been developed. In particular, in a catheter tube that constitutes an endoscope, the bending mechanism of the distal end portion is one of the important mechanisms in order to select the field of view of the observation site.

Conventionally, such an endoscope is provided with a bending portion formed by sequentially connecting a plurality of node rings in a rotatable manner at a tip portion thereof, and four wires each having a tip fixed to the bending portion. Among them, a wire having a structure in which the bending portion is bent in four directions of up, down, left and right by pulling a desired wire of the operation portion on the proximal end side has been used. In order to reduce the diameter, a bending mechanism having a structure that does not use node rings has been developed.

As an example thereof, a multi-lumen catheter having a plurality of lumens formed along the longitudinal direction of a tube body composed of a non-curved portion having a certain degree of rigidity and a curved portion located on the distal end side thereof. There is a catheter tube having a structure in which a wire for pulling a curved portion is inserted into one or two lumens. In order to reduce the diameter of this catheter tube, the number of lumens for accommodating the wire is set to 2 or less. Therefore, since the bending portion bends in only one or two directions by the pulling operation of the wire, bending in other directions Responds by rotating the entire catheter tube about its axis.

In such a catheter tube involving a rotating operation, it is necessary to impart torque transmissibility for rotation without impairing the flexibility of the catheter tube as much as possible, and as an effective method therefor, It has been proposed to embed a reinforcing member made of an assembly of wires in the tube body.

[0006] However, in the tube body containing such a reinforcing member, the end surface of the reinforcing member is exposed at the tube cutting surface at the tip, and when the catheter tube is inserted into the body, the exposed end of the wire is the living body. May damage tissue.

A method of connecting a short tube having no reinforcing member to the tube cut surface at the tip is also conceivable.
When an external force acts on this connecting portion, the wire end of the reinforcing member may be exposed on the outer surface of the catheter tube, and the exposed wire end may damage the living tissue, as described above.

[0008]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has appropriate flexibility, excellent torque transmission and crush resistance, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a medical tube with high safety in which the reinforcing material is not exposed on the outer surface of the tube.

[0009]

These objects are achieved by the present invention described in (1) to (7) below.

(1) A flexible tube body in which at least one lumen is formed along the longitudinal direction, and at least the tip of the tube body surrounds the lumen without being exposed on the surface of the tube body. A medical tube having a tubular reinforcing material layer provided in such a manner that the distal end of the reinforcing material layer is located closer to the base end side than the distal end of the tube body, and the distal end portion of the reinforcing material layer. The outer diameter of the tube is smaller than the outer diameter of the proximal end portion of the medical tube.

(2) A flexible tube body in which at least one lumen is formed along the longitudinal direction, and at least the tip of the tube body surrounds the lumen without being exposed on the surface of the tube body. A tubular medical material having a tubular reinforcing material layer and a tip member joined to the distal end of the tube body, wherein the outer diameter of the distal end portion of the reinforcing material layer is the outer diameter of the proximal end portion. A medical tube characterized by being smaller.

(3) The distal end member has an annular portion on the proximal end side that fits into the distal end of the tube body, and the inner diameter of the proximal end of the annular portion is greater than the outer diameter of the distal end of the tube body. The medical tube according to (2) above, wherein the tip of the reinforcing material layer is large and is located on the tip side from the base end of the annular portion.

(4) The medical tube according to the above (3), wherein the tip of the reinforcing material layer is embedded inside the annular portion.

(5) The medical tube according to any one of (2) to (4), wherein the tip member is made of a material harder than the material of the tube body.

(6) The medical device according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein the tube body has a plurality of lumens, and at least one of the lumens accommodates an optical fiber bundle. tube.

(7) The medical tube according to any one of the above (1) to (6), wherein the reinforcing material layer is a braided body formed by intersecting linear bodies in a net shape.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The medical tube of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing an embodiment in which the medical tube of the present invention is applied to a catheter tube which constitutes an endoscope (fiberscope), and FIG. 2 is a side view of the catheter tube shown in FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the tip portion, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, and FIG.
Is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is V in FIG.
6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the tube body of the catheter tube shown in FIG. In the following description, the right side in FIGS. 1 to 4 is the “base end” and the left side is the “tip end”.
Say.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the catheter tube 1 of the present invention has a tube body 2. The tube body 2 is made of a flexible polymer material such as soft polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyamide, polytetrafluoroethylene, silicone rubber, and ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer. In particular, in order to allow thermal deformation at the boundary portion 24 described later, it is preferable that the boundary portion 24 is made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyvinyl chloride or thermoplastic polyurethane.

In order to make the catheter tube 1 visible under fluoroscopy, it is preferable that the tube body 2 be provided with an X-ray contrast property. Examples thereof include a method of incorporating an X-ray opaque substance such as barium sulfate, bismuth oxide, and tungsten into the constituent materials, and a method of embedding or attaching a marker of such an X-ray opaque substance to the surface.

In order to improve the slidability with respect to the body cavity to be inserted, the outer surface of the tube body 2 is coated with a low friction material such as hydrophilic polymer or fluororesin (eg polytetrafluoroethylene). May be.

A bending portion 21 which is bent by a wire operation to be described later is formed on the distal end side of the tube body 2, and a bending operation of the bending portion 21 and other operations are performed on the proximal end portion 23 of the tube. Tool 9 is installed. An intermediate portion 22 is formed between the bending portion 21 and the base end portion 23 of the tube body 2, and the intermediate portion 22 and the base end portion 23 are structured not to be bent by a wire pulling operation described later. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the tube body 2
A tip member 7 is joined to the tip of the. The tip member 7 has an annular portion 71 on the base end side thereof, which is fitted to the tip 26 of the tube body 2 so as to cover the same. A taper portion 25 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the tube body 2 so that the outer diameter thereof gradually decreases toward the tip, while the annular portion 7 is formed.
The inner peripheral surface of 1 is formed with a taper portion 72 that matches the taper portion 25, and both taper portions 25 and 72 are adhered or fused to each other to form a tip member 7 at the tip of the tube body 2.
Are joined and integrated. As a result, the inner diameter of the base end 73 of the annular portion 71 is set to be larger than the outer diameter of the distal end 26 of the tube body 2, and the distal end 26 of the tube body 2 becomes the distal end of the annular portion 71 when the annular portion 71 is fitted. Located near 74.

On the outer surface of the curved portion 21, it is preferable that the boundary between the tube body 2 and the tip member 7 constitutes a continuous surface having substantially no step. This allows
It is possible to smoothly and safely insert the catheter tube into the body (tubular organ such as blood vessel).

Lumens 75 and 76 are formed so as to penetrate the tip member 7, and the lumens 75 and 76 are formed in a state where the tip member 7 is joined to the tip of the tube body 2.
Are respectively connected to lumens 31 and 32, which will be described later, formed in the tube body 2.

Such a tip member 7 is used for the tube body 2
After being joined and integrated with the tip of the tube, it forms a part of the tube body 2.

The main constituent material of the tip member 7 is, for example, polycarbonate, ABS resin, polystyrene, in addition to those exemplified as the constituent material of the tube body 2.
Various hard resins such as polyester, fluororesin, hard polyvinyl chloride, hard polyurethane, polyphenylene sulfide and polyether ether ketone, various metals such as stainless steel, aluminum, titanium, tungsten, gold and platinum, alumina, silica, hydroxyapatite, etc. Hard materials such as various ceramics can be used. When the tip member 7 is made of a material harder than the material of the tube body 2, there is an advantage that the end portion of the reinforcing material layer 5 described later is difficult to be exposed on the outer surface.

The tip member 7 is fused or adhered to the tip of the tube body 2 depending on its constituent material. For example, when the tip member 7 is made of the hard material, it is bonded with an adhesive.

Further, X-ray contrast property can be imparted to the tip member 7 by the same method as described above, whereby the tip position of the catheter tube 1 can be grasped. Further, the outer surface of the tip member 7 can be coated with the same low friction material as described above.

Inside the tube main body 2, four lumens 31, 32, 33 and 34 are formed over substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the lumens 31 and 32 are arranged so as to face each other via the central axis of the tube body 2 in the cross section, and the tips of both lumens 31 and 32 are
Lumens 75 and 76 formed on the tip member 7, respectively
It is opened to the front end surface of the tube body 2 via.

The lumen 31 has a catheter tube 1
An optical fiber bundle 8 is housed as an observation tool for observing the inside of the body cavity into which is inserted. This optical fiber bundle 8
Can also be used for medical treatment such as irradiating the inner wall of a tubular organ such as a blood vessel (hereinafter, represented by a blood vessel) with laser light.

The optical fiber bundle 8 is, as shown in FIG.
It is composed of a light-transmitting fiber (light guide) 81 and a light-receiving fiber (image fiber) 82, and these optical fibers are made into a bundle by being hardened with a resin such as epoxy, acrylic, or silicone rubber.

A lens 83 is attached to the tip of the optical fiber bundle 8, and this portion is located near the opening at the tip of the lumen 31. The optical fiber bundle 8 may be fixedly installed or slidably installed on the lumen 31.

Light emitted from a light source (not shown) on the base end side (right side in FIG. 1) of the operating tool 9 is transmitted through the inside of the light transmitting fiber 81, radiated from the tip to the observation portion, and the reflected light is reflected. The image is taken in from the tip of the light receiving fiber 82, the image is transmitted through the fiber 82, and is guided to the image receiving portion (not shown) on the proximal end side of the operation tool 9.

The lumen 32 is open to the tip of the tube body 2, and a fluid can be injected into the blood vessel or suctioned from the blood vessel through the opening of the tip. Specifically, the lumen 32 is used to administer a drug solution or the like into the blood vessel into which the catheter tube 1 has been inserted or left in place, or to obstruct the field of vision when observing the inside of the blood vessel with an endoscope. It is also used as a flush channel for ejecting a transparent liquid for pushing out blood (eg, physiological saline, glucose solution).

In addition to the above, the lumens 31 and 32 are
It can also be used as a guide wire, a medical treatment, a channel for inserting a diagnostic tool, or the like. Examples of medical treatment and diagnostic tools include forceps, cytodiagnosis brush, injection needle, high frequency,
Examples include probes (for calculus breaking) that generate ultrasonic waves, electro-hydraulic shock waves, and the like.

It should be noted that the inner surface of at least one of the lumens 31 and 32 may be made of the low friction material described above (for example, a coating layer of the low friction material may be formed). In this case, the sliding resistance of the optical fiber bundle inserted into the lumen, the medical treatment, the diagnostic tool, etc. is reduced, and the insertion operation, movement, rotation, etc. of these can be performed more smoothly.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lumen 3
3 and 34 are opposed to each other in the cross section through the central axis of the tube body 2, and the lumen 3
The first and second lumens 33, 34 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the first and second lumens 32, and the distal ends of the lumens 33, 34 are closed by the distal end member 7.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the lumen 3
Each of the members 3 and 34 accommodates an anti-shrinkage member 6 formed of a flat plate coil formed by spirally winding a flat wire rod with almost no space. This anti-shrinkage member 6 has flexibility,
Although it can be bent, it has an anti-shrinkage property that does not substantially shrink in the longitudinal direction, and the wires 41, 4 described later are used.
The tube body 2 is prevented from contracting when the tube 2 is pulled.

The tip of the anti-shrinkage member 6 has a tube body 2
It is inserted up to the vicinity of the boundary 24 between the curved portion 21 and the intermediate portion 22, and is fixed at this boundary 24. That is, when the outer peripheral surface of the boundary portion 24 is heated and pressed (tightened) while being coated with, for example, a heat-shrinkable tube (not shown), the tube body material is melted or softened, and the lumens of the lumens 33 and 34 are narrowed. Become, lumen 33, 3
4 is deformed so that the inner wall surface on the outer peripheral side of the tube main body protrudes inward, and is pressed and brought into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of each anti-shrink member 6, and due to their frictional force, the distal end portion of each anti-shrink member 6 becomes lumen 33. , 34 are fixed. Although not shown,
Due to the tightening of the heat-shrinkable tube, the outer surface of the boundary portion 24 is slightly recessed. Note that the fixing of the tip end portion of the anti-shrinkage member 6 is not limited to the above method, and for example, at the boundary portion 24, the inner surface of the lumens 33 and 34 and the outer circumferential surface of each anti-shrinkage member 6 are bonded with an adhesive (filler) or the like. The method of adhering with each other, the method of tightening and fixing each anti-shrink member 6 by caulking with a caulking member, and the like may be adopted.

The anti-shrinkage members 6 are fixed to the lumens 33 and 34 at other places, for example, at the base end portion 23 of the tube body 2. Note that if there are too many fixing points and fixing areas, the flexibility of the anti-shrinkage member 6 is impaired, so it is preferable that the anti-shrinkage member 6 be fixed at about two points, the tip and the base end.

An insertion hole 61 is formed in the central portion of each anti-shrinkage member 6 of the lumens 33 and 34, and a wire 41 for pulling and bending the bending portion 21 is provided in both insertion holes 61. , 42 are inserted. Wire 4
1 and 42 are exposed from the tip end openings of the respective insertion holes 61, are inserted into the lumens 33 and 34 of the bending portion 21, and the tip ends (heads) 43 and 44 of the wires 41 and 42.
Are embedded and fixed in the tip member 7. In this case, the tips 43 and 44 of the wires 41 and 42 are arranged so as not to be exposed at the tip surface of the tip member 7, as in the case of the reinforcement layer 5 described later.

The tips 43 and 44 of the wires 41 and 42 are
Each of them is fixed at a position eccentric from the central axis of the tube main body 2, and therefore, when one of the wires 41, 42 is pulled toward the proximal end side, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. Bends to the pulled wire side. In this case, since the anti-shrink member 6 is fixed to the tube body 2 at the boundary portion 24 and the base end portion 23, the bending of the intermediate portion 22 due to the pulling of the wires 41 and 42 hardly occurs, and the anti-shrink member 6 is Only the non-existing bending portion 21 surely bends.

As the wires 41 and 42, those having strength and durability to the extent that disconnection does not occur due to frequent pulling operations and having little elongation are preferable, for example, stainless steel and superelastic alloy. And the like, a high-strength resin fiber such as polyamide, polyethylene, polyarylate, or polyimide, or a single wire or fiber bundle made of carbon fiber or the like.

The outer diameters of the wires 41, 42 differ depending on various conditions such as their constituent materials, the cross-sectional shape of the tube body 2, dimensions, constituent materials, etc., but the wires 41, 42 are, for example, polyarylate fiber bundles. When configured, the outer diameter thereof is preferably about 30 to 500 μm, particularly about 50 to 300 μm.

As the constituent material of the anti-shrinkage member 6, for example, a metal material such as stainless steel, carbon steel, copper or copper alloy, and various resins such as polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and polyester are used. Can be mentioned.

The thickness of the anti-shrinkage member 6 varies depending on various conditions such as its constituent material, the cross-sectional shape of the tube body 2, dimensions, and constituent materials. For example, the wire used for the flat coil is a stainless steel material having a rectangular cross section. And its thickness is
The thickness is preferably about 20 μm to 1 mm, particularly about 50 to 300 μm.

The flat coil of the anti-shrinkage member 6 is not limited to a single-layer winding, but may be a plurality of layers or a plurality of windings.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the tube body 2
A tubular reinforcing material layer 5 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the tube body 2 so as to surround the lumens 31 to 34 over substantially the entire length of the tube body 2. In this case, the reinforcement layer 5 is the tube body 2
It is buried so as not to be exposed on the outer surface of the.

The reinforcing material layer 5 in this embodiment is the linear body 5
1 (reinforcing material) is crossed to form a braided body (see FIG. 7). Linear body 5 in this braid
Examples of the constituent material of No. 1 include metal materials such as stainless steel and superelastic alloys, resin materials such as polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, polyimide and ABS resin, and carbon fibers. As the linear body, a single wire of the above material or a fiber bundle of the same or different material can be used.

As described above, since the reinforcing material layer 5 is provided and reinforced on the outer peripheral portion of the tube body 2, the catheter tube 1 has high torsional rigidity and torque transmission during rotation on the proximal end 23 side. Excellent in performance. Furthermore, the tube body 2
When the tube is bent, the lumens 31 to 34 are unlikely to be closed or constricted accordingly, and even if the tube body 2 is tightened by a check valve or the like provided in a sheath for inserting a catheter tube, the lumens 31 to 34 Blockage or stenosis due to crushing is prevented.

The reinforcing material layer 5 is used for each lumen 31 to 3.
The outer circumference of 4 may be surrounded by double or triple or more.

The outer diameter of such a reinforcing material layer 5 is substantially constant, but on the tip side (tip portion 52) from the taper portion 25, the outer diameter gradually decreases (narrows) toward the tip. ing. That is, the outer diameter of the tip portion 52 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the base end portion of the reinforcing material layer 5.

The tip 53 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is located closer to the base end side than the tip surface of the tip member 7. That is, the tip 53 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is the base end 7 of the annular portion 71 of the tip member 7.
It is on the tip side of 3 and is located inside the annular portion 71.

With such a structure, the linear body 51 of the reinforcing material layer 5 is formed on the outer surface of the catheter tube 1 even when an external force is applied to the vicinity of the joint between the tube body 2 and the distal end member 7. Therefore, it is safe because the inner wall of the blood vessel is not damaged when the catheter tube 1 is inserted into, for example, the blood vessel.

When the tip member 7 is made of a thermoplastic resin such as polyvinyl chloride or thermoplastic polyurethane, it is suitable to be joined to the tube body 2 by fusion (heat fusion, high frequency fusion, etc.). ing. When joining by such fusion bonding, as shown in FIG.
It becomes possible for the tip 53 of the above to enter the inside of the tip member 7. By doing so, the exposure of the linear body 51 to the outer surface of the catheter tube 1 is further reliably prevented.

As shown in FIG. 1, the catheter tube 1
The operating tool 9 connected to the proximal end side of the operating tool body 91 has an operating tool body 91, and the proximal end portion 23 of the tube body 2 is inserted from a manifold portion 92 formed at the tip of the operating tool body 91. . In addition, the grip portion 93 is provided on the proximal end side of the operation tool body 91.
A connector 94 for inserting the optical fiber bundle 8 of the endoscope into the lumen 31 is attached to the proximal end portion of the grip portion 93. Further, the grip portion 93 is formed with a branched portion 95 which is branched in an oblique direction, and a connector 96 for injecting, for example, a liquid into the lumen 32 is attached to an end portion of the branched portion 95. Connector 94 and lumen 31, Connector 96 and lumen 32
Are connected to each other in the operation tool body 91 by conduits (not shown).

An operation dial 97 for pulling the wires 41 and 42 is rotatably supported between the manifold portion 92 of the operation tool body 91 and the grip portion 93. A take-up reel (not shown) is fixed to the rotary shaft of the operation dial 97 and rotates integrally with the operation dial 97. The proximal ends of the wires 41 and 42 are exposed from the proximal ends of the lumens 33 and 34, pass through the inside of the operation tool body 91, and are wound around the take-up reel in mutually opposite directions. As a result, the operation dial 97 is moved to
When it is rotated counterclockwise, the wire 42 is pulled, the wire 41 is relaxed, the bending portion 21 is bent upward in FIGS. 1 and 4, and when the operation dial 97 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, the wire 41 is pulled. Then, the wire 42 relaxes, and the bending portion 21 bends downward in FIGS. 1 and 4.

Although the medical tube of the present invention has been described above based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

In the medical tube of the present invention, the number and arrangement of each lumen are not limited to those shown in the drawings, and the number of lumens may be 1 to 3, for example. In addition to the illustrated lumens 31 to 34, one or more other lumens may be added. For example, at the tip of the tube body 2, expand with a working fluid,
In the case of a balloon catheter provided with a deflating balloon (not shown), a lumen for supplying a working fluid into the balloon can be added.

The reinforcing material layer 5 is not limited to the braided body as shown in the figure, but may be, for example, a linear body wound into a coil or a plate. .
Further, the shape of the tip member 7, in particular, the shape of the joint with the tube body 2 can be arbitrary, and the tip member 7 may not be provided.

Hereinafter, the medical tube of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples.

Example 1 A catheter tube having the structure shown in FIGS. 1 to 7 was produced by the following method. First, prepare four lumen tubes that are formed on the outer surface of the cored bar and that have lumens to become the lumens 31 to 34, respectively.
These were bundled in the desired arrangement.

Next, around the bundle of each lumen tube,
The braid (reinforcing material layer 5) was wound, and further, the same resin material as that of each lumen tube was coated to fix the braid. Next, each lumen tube was covered with the same resin material so as to have a circular cross section and fixed, and a tube body 2 in which a braid was embedded was obtained.

While heating the tip portion of the tube body 2 thus obtained, it is pressed against a tapered mold,
The tapered portion 25 was formed. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the tip portion 52 of the reinforcing material layer 5 was also shaped into the same shape as the tapered portion 25.

On the other hand, an annular portion 71 having a tapered portion 72 on its inner surface and lumens 75 and 76 were formed on the material of the tip member by heat processing using a die to obtain the tip member 7. Also, during this heat processing, inside the tip member 7,
The tips of the wires 41, 42 were buried.

Next, the cored bar was extracted from each of the lumens 33 and 34, and the flat coil (anti-shrinkage member 6) was inserted into each of these lumens. A urethane-based adhesive is applied to the outer surface of the front end of the flat coil in advance and dried. With the adhesive application part aligned with the boundary 24, a heat shrink tube is wound around the boundary 24 and heated with 200 ° C. hot air. When contracted, the tube body 2 was deformed and the adhesive was softened, and the plate coils were adhesively fixed to the lumens 33 and 34.

Next, in a state where the tapered portion 25 of the tube body 2 and the tapered portion 72 of the distal end member 7 are brought into close contact with each other so that the lumens 31 and 75 and the lumens 32 and 76 are aligned with each other, these are molded. Then, the tube main body 2 and the tip member 7 were joined and integrated by heating and pressure bonding and then cooling. At this time, the wires 41 and 42, the tips of which are fixed to the tip member 7, are inserted into the lumens 33 and 34 from the tip side, respectively, and the insertion holes 61 of the two flat plate coils are also inserted.
Inserted inside.

Next, the cored bar was extracted from each of the lumens 31 and 32, and the optical fiber bundle 8 was inserted into the lumen 31 to obtain the catheter tube of the present invention. Finally,
The operation tool 9 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 was attached to the proximal end portion of the catheter tube to form an endoscope.

The various conditions of the thus obtained endoscopic catheter tube are as follows.

<Tube Body> Constituent material: Thermoplastic polyurethane (containing tungsten filler, softening point: 95 ° C) Outer diameter: 2.5 mm Outer diameter of tip: 2.3 mm Taper angle of taper portion: Approximately 10 ° Total length: Approximately 50cm Number of lumens: 4 Lumens for storing operation wires and flat-plate coils: 2 (inner diameter 0.6mm) Lumens for storing optical fiber bundle: 1 (inner diameter 1.0mm) Lumens for storing medical procedures and diagnostic tools: 1 (inner diameter) 1.0 m
m)

<Tip member> Constituent material: Thermoplastic polyurethane (containing tungsten filler, softening point: 130 ° C) Outer diameter: 2.5 mm Annular portion base inner diameter: 2.5 mm Annular portion tip inner diameter: 2.1 mm Tapered portion Taper angle: Approx. 10 ° Total length: Approx. 5 mm Number of lumens: 4 Lumens for storing operation wires: 2 (closed tip, inner diameter 0.3 mm) Lumens for storing optical fiber bundle: 1 (inner diameter 1.0 mm) Medical treatment, diagnosis Lumen for storing ingredients: 1 (inner diameter 1.0m
m)

<Flat coil> Constituent material: Stainless steel Structure: Single-thread single-layer close-wound outer diameter: about 0.5 mm Inner diameter: about 0.35 mm

<Wire> Constituent material: Polyarylate twisted yarn number: 2 Outer diameter: about 0.3 mm

<Braid> Stranded material: Stainless steel Number of strands: 16 each (8 right-handed and 8 left-handed) Strand diameter: 0.05 mm Outer diameter: 2.4 mm Tip outer diameter: 2 2mm Tip position: 4mm from the tip surface of the tip member

<Optical fiber bundle> Structure: Image fiber (about 2000 quartz fibers with a diameter of about 3 μm) Light guide (quartz fiber 25 with a diameter of about 50 μm)
Book) Outer diameter: about 0.9 mm

(Example 2) Except that the tip member was made of thermoplastic polyurethane (containing tungsten filler, softening point: 95 ° C) and the outer diameter of the tip of the braid was 2.3 mm.
A catheter tube similar to that in Example 1 was produced.

In this catheter tube, FIG.
As shown in, the tip 1 mm of the braid (reinforcing material layer 5) was embedded inside the tip member 7.

Example 3 A catheter tube similar to that of Example 1 was prepared except that the tip member was made of polycarbonate (containing tungsten filler) and was bonded to the tube body with an adhesive.

For each of the catheter tubes of Examples 1 to 3 described above, when the bending portion 21 was bent by rotating the operation dial 97 of the operation tool 9, the bending operation was performed satisfactorily and the lumen collapsed. No obstruction or stenosis occurred.

Next, with respect to each of the catheter tubes of Examples 1 to 3 above, the torque transmissibility in the rotating operation was examined. The measuring method was performed by rotating the proximal end side of the catheter tube in a linearly extended state and measuring the rotational force generated at the distal end with a torque gauge.

As a result of the measurement, in all of the catheter tubes of Examples 1 to 3, 70% or more of the torque on the proximal end side of the catheter tube was transmitted to the distal end portion, and the catheter tubes had excellent torque transmissibility. .

Next, for each of the catheter tubes of Examples 1 to 3 described above, it was examined whether or not the braid was exposed when a predetermined stress was applied to the tube body. The measurement method was as follows: The tip of the catheter tube was pressed against the plane perpendicular to the axis of the tube with a load of 1 kgf / cm ² for 10 seconds.

As a result of the measurement, Examples 1 to 3, especially Example 3
No exposure of the braided body or the linear body constituting the braided body to the outer surface of the tube was observed at all.

The use of the medical tube of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned endoscope catheter tube, but may be various catheter tubes such as an ablation catheter or a cardiac output measuring catheter, or laparoscopic surgery. It can be applied to a trocar tube used for, and various other tubular bodies.

[0086]

As described above, according to the medical tube of the present invention, by providing the reinforcing material layer, particularly the reinforcing material layer made of the braided body, excellent torque transmission and lumen collapse resistance are secured. In addition, since the end of the reinforcing material is prevented from being exposed on the outer surface of the tube body, for example, when inserting the tube into the body cavity, there is no risk of damaging living tissue such as the inner wall surface of the tube, which is safe. It is highly likely.

When a tip member having an annular portion is provided and the tip of the reinforcing material layer is located closer to the tip side than the base end of the annular portion, particularly inside the annular portion, or when it is embedded in the annular portion. The effect of preventing the exposure of the end portion of the reinforcing material is more remarkably exhibited. Further, when the reinforcing member is a braided body, it is lightweight and has a high reinforcing effect, the torque transmissibility is further improved, and it is advantageous for reducing the diameter of the tube.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view showing an embodiment in which the medical tube of the present invention is applied to a catheter tube that constitutes an endoscope.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a distal end portion of the catheter tube shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

7 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a tube body in the catheter tube shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing another configuration example of the distal end portion of the catheter tube.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Catheter tube 2 Tube main body 21 Curved part 22 Intermediate part 23 Base end part 24 Boundary part 25 Tapered part 26 Tip 31-34 Lumen 41, 42 Wire 43, 44 Tip 5 Reinforcement material layer 51 Linear body 52 Tip part 53 Tip 6 Anti-shrinkage member 61 Insertion hole 7 Tip member 71 Annular portion 72 Tapered portion 73 Base end 74 Tip 75, 76 lumen 8 Optical fiber bundle 81 Light transmitting fiber 82 Light receiving fiber 83 Lens 9 Operation tool 91 Operation tool body 92 Manifold section 93 Grip Part 94 connector 95 branch part 96 connector 97 operation dial

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A flexible tube main body having at least one lumen formed along a longitudinal direction, and at least a distal end portion of the tube main body so as to surround the lumen without being exposed to the surface of the tube main body. A medical tube having a tubular reinforcing material layer provided in, wherein the distal end of the reinforcing material layer is located on the proximal side from the distal end of the tube body, and the distal end portion of the reinforcing material layer. A medical tube having an outer diameter smaller than that of the proximal end portion. 2. A flexible tube body having at least one lumen formed along the longitudinal direction, and at least the tip of the tube body surrounding the lumen without being exposed at the surface of the tube body. A tubular reinforcing material layer provided in, and a medical tube having a distal end member joined to the distal end of the tube body, wherein the outer diameter of the distal end of the reinforcing material layer is greater than the outer diameter of the proximal end. A medical tube characterized by being small. 3. The distal end member has an annular portion on the proximal end side that fits into the distal end of the tube body, and the inner diameter of the proximal end of the annular portion is larger than the outer diameter of the distal end of the tube body. The medical tube according to claim 2, wherein the tip of the reinforcing material layer is located closer to the tip side than the base end of the annular portion. 4. The medical tube according to claim 3, wherein the tip of the reinforcing material layer is embedded inside the annular portion. 5. The medical tube according to claim 2, wherein the tip member is made of a material harder than the material of the tube body. 6. The medical tube according to claim 1, wherein the tube body has a plurality of lumens, and an optical fiber bundle is housed in at least one of the lumens. 7. The medical tube according to claim 1, wherein the reinforcing material layer is a braided body in which linear bodies are crossed to form a mesh.