PUNCTURE APPARATUS WITH AUTOMATIC PUNCTURE FUNCTION

• US 20090062830A1
• Filed: 08/29/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: HIRAOKA, Jin
• Granted Patent: US 9,155,526 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/185
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0233 Pointed or sharp biopsy instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/0283 with vacuum aspiration, e.g. caused by retractable plunger or by connected syringe A61B10/025, A61B10/0266 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/0208 Biopsy devices with actuators, e.g. with triggered spring mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2010/045 Needles pointed biopsy devices with vacuum aspiration A61B10/0283
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/3443 with means for adjusting the length of a cannula
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0801 Prevention of accidental cutting or pricking

Abstract

The present invention is a puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function, that includes: a hollow needle tube; a flexible sheath having the needle tube inserted therethrough; a main body having one of the ends of the sheath fixed thereto; a slider attached to the main body, the slider being capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the main body; a needle tube-maneuvering section, attached to the slider, capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the slider, the needle tube-maneuvering section having an end section of the needle tube fixed thereto; a retraction state-maintaining member for maintaining the needle tube-maneuvering section in the retracted state toward a proximal end; an urging member, provided in the needle tube-maneuvering section, for urging a retracted state of the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end; an operation section for resetting the operation of the retraction state-maintaining member; releasing the ejection force; and projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end; and an unintentional operation preventive member, provided to the slider, for holding the operation section in an non-operating state, wherein the non-operating state of the operation section held by the unintentional operation preventive member can be reset only when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed by sliding the slider to a predetermined position relative to the main body.

Claims

1. A puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function, comprising:

a hollow needle tube;

a flexible sheath having the needle tube inserted therethrough;

a main body having one of the ends of the sheath fixed thereto;

a slider attached to one of the ends of the main body, the slider being capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the main body;

a needle tube-maneuvering section, attached to one of the ends of the slider, capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the slider, the needle tube-maneuvering section having an end section of the needle tube fixed thereto;

a retraction state-maintaining member for maintaining the needle tube-maneuvering section in a retracted state toward the proximal end;

an ejecting member provided in the needle tube-maneuvering section, an ejection force for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end being accumulated in the needle tube-maneuvering section retracted toward the proximal end;

an operation section for resetting the operation of the retraction state-maintaining member;

releasing the ejection force; and

an unintentional operation preventive member, provided to the slider, for holding the operation section in an non-operating state, wherein

the non-operating state of the operation section held by the unintentional operation preventive member can be reset only when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed by sliding the slider to a predetermined position relative to the main body.

2. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 1, wherein the main body has a main body engagement section on an outer periphery,

the slider has an engagement member having an engagement projection at a first end section, the engagement projection can engage with the main body engagement section,

one of the end sections of the unintentional operation preventive member enters between the engagement member and the slider,

a correlation is obtained in which the main body engagement section can engage with the engagement projection when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed by sliding the slider to the predetermined position relative to the main body, the unintentional operation preventive member can slide in the axial direction, and the non-operating state of the operation section held by the unintentional operation preventive member can be reset.

3. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 1, wherein the unintentional operation preventive member is a protection cover that covers the operation section, and

the operation section can be operably exposed by retracting the protection cover only when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed from the sheath by sliding the slider to the predetermined position relative to the main body.

4. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 1, wherein the unintentional operation preventive member is an interposed member that is interposed between the operation section and the slider, and

the operation section can be operably exposed by retracting the interposed member only when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed from the sheath by sliding the slider to the predetermined position relative to the main body.

5. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 4, wherein the main body engagement section are rack teeth each having a tilting surface having an angle of 45 degrees or steeper relative to the axial line of the main body.

10. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 2, wherein the unintentional operation preventive member is a protection cover that covers the operation section, and

the operation section can be operably exposed by retracting the protection cover only when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed from the sheath by sliding the slider to the predetermined position relative to the main body.

11. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 2, wherein the unintentional operation preventive member is an interposed member that is interposed between the operation section and the slider, and

the operation section can be operably exposed by retracting the interposed member only when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed from the sheath by sliding the slider to the predetermined position relative to the main body.

6. A puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function, comprising:

an automatic puncture unit; and

an unintentional operation preventive member, wherein

the automatic puncture unit comprises;

a hollow needle tube;

a flexible sheath having the needle tube inserted therethrough;

a main body having one of the ends of the sheath fixed thereto;

a slider attached to one of the ends of the main body, the slider being capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the main body;

a needle tube-maneuvering section, attached to one of the ends of the slider, capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the slider, the needle tube-maneuvering section having an end section of the needle tube fixed thereto;

a retraction state-maintaining member for maintaining the needle tube-maneuvering section in a retracted state toward the proximal end;

an ejecting member provided in the needle tube-maneuvering section, an ejection force for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end being accumulated in the needle tube-maneuvering section retracted toward the proximal end, the ejecting member pressed between a front end of the needle tube-maneuvering section and a rear end of the slider; and

an operation section for releasing the ejection force by resetting the needle tube-maneuvering section held by the retraction state-maintaining member and for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end, wherein

needle tube-maneuvering section is provided to the slider, for holding the operation section in an non-operating state, and wherein

the ejection force is released when the rear end of the operation switch is destroyed by applying a specific value of load or greater to the automatic puncture unit.

7. A puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function, comprising:

a hollow needle tube;

a flexible sheath having the needle tube inserted therethrough;

a main body having one of the ends of the sheath fixed thereto;

a first slider attached to one of the ends of the main body, the first slider being capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the main body, the sheath being inserted through the first slider;

a second slider attached to a second end section of the main body, the second slider being capable of sliding in the axial direction relative to the main body;

a needle tube-maneuvering section, attached to one of the ends of the second slider, capable of sliding in the axial direction relative to the second slider, the needle tube-maneuvering section having an end section of the needle tube fixed thereto;

a retraction state-maintaining member for maintaining the needle tube-maneuvering section in a retracted state toward the proximal end;

an ejecting member provided in the needle tube-maneuvering section,

an ejection force for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end being accumulated in the retracted state of needle tube-maneuvering section retracted toward the proximal end;

an operation section for releasing the ejection force by resetting the needle tube-maneuvering section held by the retraction state-maintaining member and for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end; and

an unintentional operation preventive member, provided to the second slider, for holding the operation section in an non-operating state, wherein

the first slider has a plurality of sections to be fixed,

the main body has a slider-fixing section that can be engaged with the sections to be fixed, and

a predetermined and fixed correlation between the first slider and the main body is obtained by engaging the sections to be fixed with the slider-fixing section.

8. The puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function according to claim 7, wherein the sections to be fixed are rack teeth each having a tilting surface at an angle of 45 degrees or more relative to the axial line of the main body.

9. A puncture apparatus with an automatic puncture function, comprising:

a hollow needle tube;

a flexible sheath having the needle tube inserted therethrough;

a main body having one of the ends of the sheath fixed thereto;

a slider attached to one of the ends of the main body, the slider being capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the main body;

a needle tube-maneuvering section, attached to one of the ends of the slider, capable of sliding in an axial direction relative to the slider, the needle tube-maneuvering section having an end section of the needle tube fixed thereto;

a retraction state-maintaining member for maintaining the needle tube-maneuvering section in a retracted state toward a proximal end;

an ejecting member provided in the needle tube-maneuvering section, for accumulating an ejection force for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end in a state where the needle tube-maneuvering section is retracted toward the proximal end;

an operation section for releasing the ejection force by resetting the needle tube-maneuvering section held by the retraction state-maintaining member and for projecting the needle tube-maneuvering section toward the distal end;

an unintentional operation preventive member, provided to the slider, for holding the operation section in an non-operating state;

a locking section provided to an end section of the main body; and

an engagement member, provided to the slider, having a plurality of engagement projections, wherein

when the needle tube-maneuvering section is held by the retraction state-maintaining member in a retracted state, and when the distal end of the needle tube is exposed from the sheath by sliding the slider to a predetermined position relative to the main body, the locking section engages with the engagement projections so that the slider engages with the main body and so that the slider can be slid manually relative to the main body.