JPH08257128A - Medical tube - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a medical tube which enables manufacturing thereof in a relatively simple process with a moderate rigidity on the side of a base part and excellent softness at the tip part thereof. CONSTITUTION: In a medical tube 31, a groove 33 with a shape spiral as a whole or of a string of rings as formed at a specified interval while being cut in by a connection parts 34 at points is formed at a tip part of a metal tube 32 made of stainless steel, a shape memory alloy or the like. The outer circumference of a metal tube 32 may be covered with a resin film or a resin tube to improve a sliding property. The groove 33 formed spiral or in rings is preferably narrowed in interval toward the tip of the metal tube 32 or broadened in width.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical tube suitable for use as a catheter, a guide wire which also serves as a catheter, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, a catheter is guided by, for example, a guide wire, inserted into a body cavity such as a blood vessel, and its tip reaches a target site. It is used to perform the examination of (1), to collect the tissue of the affected part through forceps or the like, or to insert and indwell a member such as a stent.

A catheter is generally made of a resin tube such as a fluororesin or a urethane resin. However, the resin tube alone is insufficient in rigidity especially on the base side and is difficult to be pushed into a body cavity such as a blood vessel. Since the torsional rigidity is insufficient and it is difficult to orient the tip in a desired direction by rotating the base side, there is a disadvantage that the insertion work cannot be performed quickly.

On the other hand, the catheter, on the other hand, is required to have flexibility, especially at the distal end thereof, in order to prevent the catheter from being easily deformed along the change of the insertion path of the blood vessel or the like and not damaging the inner wall of the blood vessel or the like. .

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Publication No.
No. 26574 proposes a catheter shown in FIG. The catheter 11 includes a flexible inner tube portion 12
And a flexible outer tube portion 13 between the wire layer 14 and
The base end portion 14a of the wire layer 14 is densely knitted, and the tip end portion 14b is roughly knitted. Then, the wire layer 14 increases the torsional rigidity, and the tip portion 14b of the wire layer 14 is roughened to impart flexibility to the tip portion.

[0006] In addition, the applicant of the present invention 3-1228
No. 50 discloses a medical guide wire shown in FIG. This guide wire 21 has a spiral groove 23 formed at the tip of a metal tube 22 and has a curved head 2 at the tip.
4 is formed. Also, the spiral groove 23
By narrowing the pitch as it gets closer to the tip,
It is designed to become more flexible as it approaches the tip.

Further, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-122850 describes that, instead of the spiral groove 23, a slit or a hole may be provided at the tip of the metal tube.

[0008]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Japanese Patent Publication 6-26574
The catheter 11 shown in FIG. 7 disclosed in US Pat.
Although the flexibility of the distal end portion is imparted by roughening the distal end portion of, the rigidity of the base side becomes insufficient when the diameter of the catheter becomes extremely small and the thickness of the wire layer 14 cannot be sufficiently taken, Further, it is difficult to make adjustments when roughening the tip portion, and it is difficult to gradually make the tip portion soft to a desired degree. Furthermore, since the wire layer 14 has a structure in which it is sandwiched between the inner tube portion 12 and the outer tube portion 13 and the tip of the wire layer 14 needs to be roughened, the manufacturing process is complicated and the cost is high. There was a problem.

On the other hand, since the guide wire 21 shown in FIG. 8 disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-122850 is mainly intended to be used as a guide wire, the head 24 is provided at the tip.
However, there is a problem that it is difficult to take out a tool such as a drug solution or forceps from the tip. Further, in the case where the spiral groove 23 is formed, there is a possibility that the spiral may extend linearly when pulled.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its object is to provide rigidity against pushing into a body cavity such as a blood vessel and torsional rigidity when the tip is directed in a desired direction. Another object of the present invention is to provide a medical tube which is excellent and has a tip end portion provided with sufficient flexibility so as not to damage tissues such as blood vessels and which can be manufactured by a relatively simple process.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the medical tube of the present invention is formed as a whole in a spiral shape or an annular shape arranged at a predetermined interval, and a groove having a shape interrupted at some places by a connecting portion. Is equipped with a metal tube formed at the tip.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the spiral or annular groove is formed such that its interval becomes narrower or its groove width becomes wider toward the tip of the metal tube. With this, it is possible to obtain a structure in which the flexibility increases toward the distal end portion of the tube.

In one preferred embodiment of the invention,
A resin film covers the outer circumference of the metal tube. This resin film improves the slipperiness in the body cavity such as a blood vessel.

In another preferred aspect of the present invention, a resin tube is coated on the outer circumference of the metal tube. In this way, by covering the resin tube, the slipperiness in the body cavity such as a blood vessel may be improved.

In this case, the resin tube may be covered up to the front end of the metal tube. According to this, the tip portion is only the portion where the groove of the metal tube is provided, and the flexibility of the tip portion can be favorably maintained.

Further, the resin tube may protrude from the tip of the metal tube by a predetermined length. According to this, since the tip end portion is a portion only of the resin tube, flexibility is imparted.

[0017]

In the medical tube of the present invention, the tip of the metal tube has a spiral shape or an annular shape arranged at predetermined intervals as a whole, and the groove formed in some places is interrupted by the connecting portion. The base side is provided with sufficient rigidity by the metal tube having no groove, and the tip side is provided with flexibility by the spiral or annular groove.

Therefore, the rigidity required for pushing the body into the body cavity and the torsional rigidity required for rotating the tip for directing the tip in a desired direction can be sufficiently obtained, and the flexibility of the tip allows the blood vessel to be formed. It is possible to prevent the tissue in the body cavity from being damaged.

Further, the spiral or annular groove has a shape in which the coil or the annular portion formed between the grooves is connected in the axial direction by the connecting portion, with some places being interrupted by the connecting portion. Since it is formed, for example, it can be prevented from linearly extending when it is pulled, and it can be safely used as a catheter or the like without covering the outer circumference with a resin tube or the like.

Furthermore, since the metal tube is superior in rigidity as compared with a cylindrical mesh or the like, sufficient rigidity can be obtained even if the diameter is reduced and the wall thickness is reduced. as a result,
It is possible to manufacture an extremely thin medical tube to be inserted into a cerebral blood vessel or the like.

Furthermore, since the metal tube does not come apart as compared with a cylindrical mesh, it is not necessary to have a structure sandwiched between resin tubes, and the structure is simple. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the effective inner diameter can be increased even with the same outer diameter.

As described above, when the groove is formed such that the interval between the grooves becomes narrower or the groove width becomes wider toward the tip of the metal tube, the flexibility becomes closer to the tip of the tube. The structure can be increased. Further, when the outer circumference of the metal tube is covered with the resin film or the resin tube, the slipperiness in the body cavity can be improved.

[0023]

1 shows an embodiment of a medical tube according to the present invention. The medical tube 31 has a metal tube 32 made of, for example, stainless steel or a shape memory alloy. A groove 33 having an overall spiral shape is formed at the tip of the metal tube 32. The spiral groove 33 is interrupted in some places by the connecting portions 34, and the coil portions formed between the grooves 33 are axially connected by the connecting portions 34. In this case, the connecting portion 3
One width W of 4 is from 1/15 of the circumferential length of the metal tube 32 to
It is preferable to set it to ⅕, and it is preferable that the connecting portions 34 are provided at 0.5 to 2 places per revolution of the spiral groove 33.

Further, the spiral groove 33 is formed in the metal tube 3
The pitch is narrowed toward the tip of No. 2, and in the coil portion formed by the spiral groove 33, the width A on the base side is 5 to 20 mm and the width B on the tip side is 0.1 to
It is designed to be 2 mm. In addition, this spiral groove 3
3 can be formed by, for example, a method by etching, a method by machining, etc. As the method by machining, cutting, laser processing, etc. are preferably adopted.

The outer diameter of the metal tube 32 is 0.4 to
2.0 mm is preferable, and the wall thickness of the metal tube 32 is 0.05 to
0.2 mm is preferred. Further, the total length of the medical tube 31 is preferably 500 to 2000 mm, and the length C of the tip portion provided with the spiral groove 33 is preferably 100 to 600 mm.

A ring 35 made of a radiopaque material such as gold, platinum, or an alloy thereof is fixed to the outer periphery of the tip of the metal tube 32, and the tip position of the ring 35 is fixed when the tube is inserted into a body cavity. It is easier to confirm by fluoroscopy.

Due to the metal tube 32, the medical tube 31 has excellent rigidity at the time of pushing and torsional rigidity at the time of rotation for orienting the tip in a desired direction, and the tip of the metal tube 32 has a spiral shape. Groove 33
With the provision of, the distal end portion has sufficient flexibility, and therefore, the insertion work into a body cavity such as a blood vessel can be performed quickly and reliably.

When inserting the medical tube 31 into the body cavity, it is preferable to insert the guide wire up to the target position in advance and insert the guide wire along the guide wire, but the guide wire is used. It is also possible to directly insert itself into a body cavity and guide it to a desired position without using it.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the medical tube according to the present invention. In the following description of the embodiments, substantially the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The medical tube 41 has a metal tube 32 similar to that shown in FIG. 1, and a spiral groove 33 similar to that shown in FIG. 1 is formed at the tip of the metal tube 32. The groove 33 has a shape that is interrupted in some places by the connecting portion 34. A feature of the medical tube 41 of this embodiment is that a resin film 42 of urethane resin, fluororesin or the like is formed on the outer periphery of the metal tube 32, thereby improving the slidability in the body cavity. This resin film 42
Can be formed by, for example, spray coating, dipping, or the like. The thickness of the resin film 42 is preferably 2 to 10 μm.

FIG. 3 shows still another embodiment of the medical tube according to the present invention. This medical tube 5
1 has a metal tube 32 similar to that shown in FIG. 1, and a tip end portion of this metal tube 32 has a spiral groove 3 similar to that shown in FIG.
3 are formed. The groove 33 has a shape that is interrupted in some places by the connecting portion 34. The medical tube 51 of this embodiment is characterized in that the outer circumference of the metal tube 32 is covered with a resin tube 52 made of urethane resin, fluororesin or the like except for a portion of a predetermined length from the tip thereof. In the case of this embodiment, the resin tube 52 is covered up to the middle of the portion where the spiral groove 33 is provided.

The metal tube 32 and the resin tube 52 are joined together by molding the metal tube 32 integrally when the resin tube 52 is molded.
After covering the outer circumference of 2 with the resin tube 52, the resin tube 52 may be heated and shrunk to adhere to the outer circumference of the metal tube 32. The outer diameter of the resin tube 52 is preferably 0.5 to 2.6 mm, and the wall thickness of the resin tube 52 is preferably 0.05 to 0.3 mm. The resin tube 52 also improves the slidability in the body cavity of the medical tube 51.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the medical tube according to the present invention. This medical tube 6
1 has basically the same configuration as the medical tube 51 shown in FIG. 3, but the resin tube 62 coated on the outer periphery of the metal tube 32 protrudes from the tip of the metal tube 32 by a length D. The difference is that the ring 35 made of a radiopaque material is fixed to the inner circumference of the protruding portion of the resin tube 62 by adhesion or welding. The protrusion length D of the resin tube 62 is preferably 2 to 30 mm. The ring 35 may be attached to the outer circumference of the protruding portion of the resin tube 62.

According to this medical tube 61, the resin tube 62 improves the slidability in the body cavity, and the resin tube 62 has a portion projecting from the tip of the metal tube 32, so that the most advanced flexibility can be obtained. It is provided to prevent damage to tissues inside the body cavity such as blood vessels.

In each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the resin film 42 or the resin tubes 52, 6 is used.
The outer periphery of 2 may be coated with a hydrophilic resin film. As such a hydrophilic resin film, for example, the resin disclosed in JP-B-4-14991 can be used.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the medical tube according to the present invention. This medical tube 7
1 has a metal tube 72 made of, for example, stainless steel or a shape memory alloy. A plurality of annular grooves 73 as a whole are formed side by side at the tip of the metal tube 72 so that the interval becomes gradually narrower toward the tip in the axial direction. The annular groove 73 is interrupted in some places by the connecting portion 74, whereby the annular portions formed between the grooves 73 are axially connected. The width of the annular portion formed by the annular groove 73 is such that the width E on the base side is 5 to 20 mm and the width F on the tip side is 0.1 to 2 mm.

Also in this medical tube 71, due to the metal tube 72, the rigidity at the time of pushing in and the torsional rigidity at the time of rotation for orienting the tip in a desired direction are excellent, and the tip of the metal tube 72 has an annular shape. Since the groove 73 is provided, the distal end portion has sufficient flexibility, so that the insertion work into a body cavity such as a blood vessel can be performed quickly and reliably.

FIG. 6 shows still another embodiment of the medical tube according to the present invention. This medical tube 8
1 has a metal tube 82 made of, for example, stainless steel or a shape memory alloy. A groove 83 having an overall spiral shape is formed at the tip of the metal tube 82.
The spiral groove 83 is interrupted in some places by the connecting portion 84, whereby the coil portions formed between the grooves 83 are connected in the axial direction.

The medical tube 81 is characterized in that the grooves 83 having a spiral shape as a whole are formed so that the pitch thereof is constant, but the groove width becomes wider toward the front end direction of the metal tube 82. There is a point. By gradually widening the groove width in this manner, in the coil portion formed between the grooves 83, the width G on the base side is 5 to 20 mm,
The width H on the tip side is 0.1 to 2 mm. In this way, by gradually widening the width of the groove 83, it is possible to adopt a structure in which the flexibility increases toward the tip.

In the medical tube of the present invention, the distal end portion is bent in advance to have an angle shape, for example, and when the base portion side is rotated at the branch portion of a blood vessel or the like, the distal end portion is easily oriented in a desired direction. You can also

[0041]

As described above, according to the medical tube of the present invention, since the spiral or annular groove is formed at the tip of the metal tube, it is necessary when pushing into the body cavity. Sufficient rigidity and torsional rigidity required at the time of rotation for orienting the tip in a desired direction can be sufficiently obtained, and the tip end portion is excellent in flexibility so that damage to tissues in the body cavity such as blood vessels can be prevented.

Further, since the spiral or annular groove is interrupted in some places by the connecting portion, and the coil or the annular portion formed between the grooves is connected in the axial direction, for example, it is pulled. Sometimes it can be prevented from extending linearly, and it can be safely used as a catheter or the like without covering the outer circumference with a resin tube or the like.

Furthermore, since the metal tube is superior in rigidity as compared with a cylindrical mesh or the like, sufficient rigidity can be obtained even if the diameter becomes small and the wall thickness becomes thin, and the metal tube is inserted into a cerebral blood vessel or the like. Even extremely thin medical tubes can be manufactured.

Furthermore, since the metal tube does not come apart as compared with a tubular mesh, it is not necessary to have a structure sandwiched between resin tubes, and the structure is simple. As a result, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the effective inner diameter can be increased even with the same outer diameter.

Therefore, this medical tube can be suitably used as a catheter or a guide wire that also serves as a catheter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a medical tube of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the medical tube of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of the medical tube of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the medical tube of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing still another embodiment of the medical tube of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing still another embodiment of the medical tube of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial side view showing an example of a conventional medical tube with a part thereof peeled off.

FIG. 8 is a partial side view showing an example of a conventional medical guide wire.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31, 41, 51, 61, 71, 81 Medical tube 32, 72, 82 Metal tube 33, 83 Spiral groove 34, 74, 84 Connecting portion 35 Radiopaque material ring 42 Resin film 52, 62 Resin Tube 73 annular groove

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A medical device comprising a metal tube having a spiral shape or an annular shape arranged at predetermined intervals as a whole, and a groove having a shape interrupted at some places by a connecting portion and having a groove formed at a distal end thereof. Tube for. 2. The distance between the spiral or annular grooves becomes narrower toward the tip of the metal tube,
Alternatively, the medical tube according to claim 1, wherein the medical tube is formed to have a wide groove width. 3. The medical tube according to claim 1, wherein the outer circumference of the metal tube is covered with a resin film. 4. The medical tube according to claim 1, wherein the outer circumference of the metal tube is covered with a resin tube. 5. The medical tube according to claim 4, wherein the resin tube is covered up to the front of the tip of the metal tube. 6. The medical tube according to claim 4, wherein the resin tube projects from the tip of the metal tube by a predetermined length.