KR20040082781A - Apparatus for gathering the cervical cells - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for gathering cervical cells is provided to gather cells of an endocervix, an ectocervix, and a transformation zone by installing additionally a collection unit. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for collecting cervical cells includes a handle, a gathering unit, and a connection unit. A user catches the handle(100) when the user gathers the cervical cells. The gathering unit(140) includes a first gathering plate and a gathering brush. The first gathering plate are formed in line with the handle. The gathering brush is installed around the first gathering plate. The connection unit(120) connects the handle to the gathering unit and includes a joint part and a cutting part for cutting the gathering unit.

Description

Cervical cell harvesting instrument {Apparatus for gathering the cervical cells}

The present invention relates to a mechanism for collecting cervical cells, and more particularly, is provided with a length-adjustable joint, which is easy to carry, and further includes an additional collection table so that the cervix, outer cervix, and transition table may be further included. It relates to a cervical cell harvesting apparatus capable of evenly collecting cervical cells throughout.

Cervical cancer, the most common cancer in women, is a tumor with a relatively well known pathogenesis, caused by the human papillomavirus, a type of sexually transmitted disease. During sexual intercourse, when female genital epithelial cells are infected with HPV, the DNA of HPV penetrates into the DNA in the cell nucleus, causing epithelial cell carcinoma. There are various methods of testing for HPV infection, including cervical smear smearing.However, testing for the presence of HPV using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is an early test for cervical cancer. It is recognized as the most sensitive and accurate method of diagnostic screening test. The polymerase chain reaction test is a very sensitive test. However, the cervical cells of a woman must be collected for this test. To do this, a woman must visit a hospital and a doctor must collect cervical cells directly from the genitals of a woman. A conventional cervical cell harvesting device has a sharp pointed end of a cell harvester, and a skilled doctor The harvest may also damage the vaginal wall or cervical mucosa, resulting in bacterial infections.

Korean Utility Model Registration Application No. 1993-0022216 discloses a "cell collection structure for cervical disease screening". The application describes a cervical cell harvesting device for harvesting cervical cells by inserting the cervical harvesting device into the vagina.

1 is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to the prior invention. The handle part 1 and the cell collection part 9 are connected by the connection part 3. The user grabs the handle 1 and collects cervical cells.

The connection part 3 is formed in the length which enables the cell collection part 9 to reach a cervix through a vagina. The cell harvesting section 9 is made of wire and has a twisted shape. In the cell collecting part 9, a cell collecting brush 7 is formed in a shape surrounding the cell collecting part 9. Cell collection brush (7) is composed of fine strands to facilitate the collection of cervical cells.

Referring to the application state of the cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to the conventional invention as follows. The user first uses the vaginal dilation mechanism to enlarge the interior of the vagina. Thereafter, the handle 1 of the cervical cell harvesting device is held, and the cervical cell harvesting device is inserted into the vagina. When the cell collection section 9 of the inserted cervical cell collection device reaches the cervix, the handle 1 is rotated up, down, left and right so that the cervical cells are collected and buried in the cell collection brush 7. Let's do it. In this process, due to the softness of the cervical mucosa and the vaginal wall, the cervical mucosa and the vaginal wall are susceptible to wounds, and thus bacterial infection can occur. In addition, when the user is a subject who is not an experienced doctor, the infection may be more easily caused.

On the other hand, the connecting portion 3 should have a length sufficient for the cell collection portion 9 to reach the cervix. However, when the subject uses the cervical cell harvesting apparatus by themselves due to the characteristics of the connecting portion 3, inconvenience in carrying the apparatus is caused.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, an object of the present invention, the cervical cell harvesting mechanism provided with an additional sampling table to collect the cervical cells evenly in the cervical inward, outboard and transition To provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cervical cell harvesting apparatus, which is made of silicon and provided with a collecting end having a sphere shape in order to prevent damage to the cervical mucosa and the vaginal wall during cervical cell harvesting.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a cervical cell harvesting device provided with a joint for ease of portability.

Another object of the present invention, the cervical cell harvesting is provided with an angle-shaped handle portion to easily collect the cervical cells with a small force without slipping the cervical cell harvesting mechanism from the user's hand during cervical cell harvesting operation To provide a mechanism.

1 is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to the prior art,

Figure 2a is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 2b is an enlarged view of the connecting portion of Figure 2a,

3 is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention,

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the collecting part of FIG. 2 in which cervical cells are collected; and

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a state in which the collecting part of FIG. 5 is immersed in the cell fixation liquid in the cell fixation container.

* Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings *

100, 200, 300: handle portion

120, 220, 320: Connection

122, 222, 322a, 322b: seam

124, 224, 324: cutting section

140, 240, 340: collecting section

142, 242, 342: sampling end

144, 244, 344

146, 246, 346: second harvesting table

148, 248, 348: collecting brush

Cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object, when the cervical cell harvesting, the handle portion to be held by the user for the collection operation; A collecting part including a first collecting stand formed in a line with the handle part, and a collecting brush made of fine strands surrounding the first collecting stand; And a connecting part having a cutting part for connecting the handle part and the collecting part, and cutting the collecting part after collecting the joint and the cervix collected so that the length can be adjusted.

The handle portion has an angular shape to prevent the cervical cell harvesting mechanism from slipping on the user's hand during the cervical cell harvesting operation.

The first collection table is made of silicone material and has a spherical end portion to minimize cervical mucosal damage during cervical cell collection.

The collecting part may further include a second collecting stand formed in the shape of a bow at a predetermined angle with the first collecting stand to collect the cervical cells evenly across the cervix, the outer neck and the transition zone.

Preferably the joint is formed of a male element and a female element.

Preferably, the joint is formed of an elastic member.

It is preferable that the elastic member is a spring.

The connecting portion is provided with a plurality of joints, the radius of each joint is characterized in that the front joint and the next joint is sequentially increased so as to be connected to each other.

The cervical cell harvesting device further includes a cell fixation container containing a cell fixative to fix the collected cervical cells.

The cell fixer is an alcoholic solution, or a mixture of an alcoholic solution and a solution for optimizing the polymerase chain reaction, and the solution for optimizing the polymerase chain reaction is preferably a PBS buffer or paraformaldehyde. Do.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings will be described cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2a is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 2a, the cervical cell harvesting unit 140 is collected, the cervical cell harvesting operation when the user to take the handle 100, and collecting portion 140 and the handle portion 100 is connected A cervical cell harvesting instrument having a connecting portion 120 is shown.

The collecting unit 140 is provided with a first collecting stand 144, a second collecting stand 146, and a collecting brush 148. In order to prevent damage to the cervical mucosa and vaginal wall during cervical cell harvesting, the first sampling table is made of a soft silicone material. In addition, the end 142 of the first collecting stand may prevent damage to the vaginal wall and cervical mucosa caused by striking the vaginal wall during movement of the cervical cell harvesting device or by striking with the cervical mucosa during cervical cell harvesting. It is rounded.

On the other hand, the collecting table 140 is provided with a second collecting table 146 in order to collect enough cells for diagnosing various cervical diseases by one sampling at the time of collecting the cervical cells. The second collection stand 146 is formed in the form of cutting the first collection stand 144 at a predetermined angle with the first collection stand 144. As shown in FIG. 2A, the second collection stand 146 is in the shape of a bow.

A collection brush 148 composed of fine strands surrounds the first collection stand and the second collection stand. Fine strands of the collecting brush 148 are made of synthetic resin.

At the time of cell collection, the handle 100 is angled to prevent the cervical cell harvesting mechanism from slipping from the user's hand and to collect the cervical cells with little force.

The connection part 120 exists between the collection part 140 and the handle part 100. The connection part 120 is provided with a cutting part 124 capable of separating the collecting part 140 from the connecting part 120 after collecting the cervical cells in the direction of the collecting part 140.

In addition, the connection part 120 is formed with a joint 122 for adjusting the length of the connection part 120 at an intermediate position of the connection part 120. The joint 122 is composed of a male element 122 'and a female element 122' ', and the male element 122' and the female element 122 '' are detachably coupled and separated. In addition, a fixing member 126 for fixing the coupling of the male element 122 'and the female element 122 "surrounds the male element 122' and the female element 122".

FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a joint part of the connection part of FIG. 2A. The male element 122 'and the female element 122 "of the joint 122 are coupled, and a fixing member 126 is provided to fix the male element 122' and the female element 122" so as not to be separated. have.

Referring to the operation principle of the cervical cell harvesting apparatus of the present invention described above are as follows.

The user engages the male element 122 'with the female element 122' 'and the anchoring member 126 of the separate seam 122 of the cervical cell harvesting instrument. After coupling, the user grasps the handle portion 100 of the cervical cell harvesting device and inserts the cervical cell harvesting device into the vagina. When the collecting part 140 of the inserted cervical cell collecting device reaches the cervix, the cervical cells are collected by rotating the handle 100 up, down, left and right. The collected cervical cells are seated on a collection brush 148 surrounding the first collection table 144 and the second collection table 146. After collecting the cells, the collecting unit 140 is separated from the connection unit 120 to fix the collected cells. For easy separation, the collecting part 140 is cut at the cutting part 124.

3 is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Comparing the cervical cell harvesting device shown in FIG. 3 with the cervical cell harvesting device shown in FIG. 2, the handle part 200 and the collecting part 240 are configured in the same manner. However, the joint 222 of the connection portion 220 is different. That is, the seam 122 of FIG. 2 is configured such that the male element 122 'and the female element 122' 'are detachable, while the seam 222 of FIG. 3 is formed of an elastic member. The elastic member is shown as a spring as shown in Figure 3, in addition to rubber or the like is also possible.

Most of the operation principle of the cervical cell harvesting instrument of FIG. 3 is the same as the operation principle described above with respect to FIG. However, the operation principle due to the difference between the joint 222 is as follows.

When the cervical cell harvesting device is not used, the joint part 222 formed by the spring is bent to maintain the folded state so that the collecting part 240 and the handle part 200 face each other. As a result, the total length of the cervical cell harvesting apparatus is reduced to half of the previous length, thereby improving the portability.

On the other hand, when the user wants to use the cervical cell harvesting device releases the folded state of the joint 222. Thus, the length of the cervical cell harvesting instrument is restored to its original state, thereby enabling the collecting section 240 to reach the cervix.

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 4, the cervical cell harvesting device has an angle-shaped handle 300; A collecting unit 340 including a first collecting table 344 and a second collecting table 346 and a collecting brush 348 on which the collected cervical cells are seated; And a connection part 320 connecting the handle part 300 and the collecting part 340.

The connection part 320 includes a plurality of joints 322a and 322b. The plurality of joints 322a and 322b are sequentially connected, and the radius of the second joint 322b is larger than the radius of the first joint 322a. This is so that when the cervical cell harvesting mechanism is not used, the collection part 340 can be moved in the direction of the first joint 322a, and the first joint 322a can be moved in the direction of the second joint 322b. To do this. The length of the cervical cell harvesting device is reduced by the movement of the harvesting unit 340 and the first joint 322a. As a result, the cervical cell harvesting device becomes easy to carry.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the collecting part of FIG. 2 in which cervical cells are collected, and FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a state in which the collecting part of FIG. 5 is immersed in the cell fixation liquid in the cell fixing container.

Referring to FIG. 5, a sampling part 140 cut after performing cervical cell harvesting is illustrated. The collected cervical cells 160 are seated on the collecting brush 148. To check for cervical disease, cervical cells must be kept alive. Thus, the harvesting unit 140 with the collected cervical cells 160 is placed in the cell fixation container 400 as shown in FIG. 6.

The cell fixation container 400 contains a cell fixation liquid 420 to fix the collected cervical cells 160.

The cell fixation solution 420 is preferably an alcoholic solution, or a mixture of an alcoholic solution and a solution capable of optimizing the polymerase chain reaction test result. Alcoholic solutions include ethanol, methanol, and the like, which can optimize polymerase chain reaction test results, include PBS buffer solution and paraformaldehyde.

According to the present invention, an additional collection table is provided in the cervical cell harvesting mechanism, so that the cells of the cervix, the uterine cervix, and the transition zone can be evenly collected. As a result, it is possible to achieve the effect of collecting enough cells for screening for cervical diseases with a single sampling.

In addition, the collection table is made of a silicon material, the end of the treatment is rounded to achieve the effect of preventing damage to the cervical mucosa and vaginal wall that may occur during cell collection.

In addition, the connection part of the cervical cell harvesting mechanism is provided with a male element, a female element, or a spring-shaped joint, so that the length of the cervical cell harvesting mechanism can be adjusted, thereby increasing the ease of carrying the cervical cell harvesting mechanism. The effect can be aimed at.

In addition, the handle portion is an angled shape to prevent the cervical cell harvesting mechanism from slipping from the user's hand, thereby making it possible to easily collect the cervical cells with little force.

Claims (13)

When collecting cervical cells, the handle portion that the user grabs for the operation; A collecting part having a first collecting stand formed in line with the handle part and a collecting brush made of fine strands surrounding the first collecting stand; And And a connecting portion having a cutting portion for connecting the handle part and the collecting part and cutting the collecting part after the joint part and the cervix collected so as to adjust the length thereof. The method of claim 1, Wherein the handle is cervical cell harvesting device, characterized in that the cervical cell harvesting device is angular shape to prevent the sliding of the cervical cell harvesting device in the user's hand. The method of claim 1, The first harvesting table is cervical cell harvesting apparatus, characterized in that made of silicon material to minimize the cervical mucosa damage when collecting cervical cells. The method of claim 1, The first collection table is cervical cell harvesting apparatus, characterized in that having a spherical end portion to minimize the cervical mucosa damage during cervical cell harvest. The method of claim 1, The harvesting unit further comprises a second harvesting table formed in the shape of a bow at a predetermined angle with the first harvesting table to collect the cervical cells evenly across the cervix, the outer neck and the transition zone. Cervical cell collection apparatus. The method of claim 1, The joint portion cervical cell harvesting device, characterized in that formed by the male and female elements. The method of claim 6, Cervical cell harvesting mechanism further comprises a fixing member for fixing the coupling of the male element and the female element. The method of claim 1, Cervical cell harvesting apparatus, characterized in that the joint is formed of an elastic member. The method of claim 8, Cervical cell harvesting mechanism, characterized in that the elastic member is a spring. The method of claim 1, The connecting portion is provided with a plurality of joints, the radius of each joint is cervical cell harvesting device, characterized in that the front joint and the next joint is increased in sequence so as to be connected to each other. The cervical cell harvesting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cell fixation container containing a cell fixative for fixing the collected cervical cells. 12. The cervical cell harvesting apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cell fixative is an alcoholic solution or a solution in which an alcoholic solution and a solution for optimizing the polymerase chain reaction are mixed. 13. The cervical cell harvesting apparatus of claim 12, wherein the solution capable of optimizing the polymerase chain reaction is PBS buffer or paraformaldehyde.