Method and apparatus for duodenal intubation of a patient
First Claim
1. A method for intubating a patient to introduce nutrition to the digestive tract beyond the stomach, said method including the steps of:
- selecting an elongated flexible catheter having a catheter permanent magnet in a distal end portion which is remote to an access channel communicating with a fluid conductive lumen of the catheter;
introducing the distal end of the catheter through the stomach to the duodenum of the patient;
arranging an external permanent magnet on the patient'"'"'s abdomen to form a magnetic guidance path between the oesophagus and the pyloric part of a patient'"'"'s stomach, said magnetic guidance path consisting of a field of magnetic flux enveloping the lesser curvature of the stomach; and
imparting a traction force to the distal end portion of said catheter by a flux couple between the magnetic flux of said catheter permanent magnet and said magnetic flux enveloping the lesser curvature of the stomach to advance the catheter tip along said magnetic guidance tract.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for duodenal intubation of a patient is provided by establishing a force couple between a permanent magnet in the catheter tip and a hand held permanent magnet. The force couple is sufficiently great to impart a traction force to the catheter tip for advancing movement in the direction of bolus in the stomach beyond the pyloric sphincter and into the duodenum. Both magnets have an intense field of magnetic flux as formed by neodymium, iron, boron and dysprosium. The hand held magnet is of a size that can be grasped between the outstretched figures of a person performing the intubation procedure.
99 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. A method for intubating a patient to introduce nutrition to the digestive tract beyond the stomach, said method including the steps of:
-
selecting an elongated flexible catheter having a catheter permanent magnet in a distal end portion which is remote to an access channel communicating with a fluid conductive lumen of the catheter; introducing the distal end of the catheter through the stomach to the duodenum of the patient; arranging an external permanent magnet on the patient'"'"'s abdomen to form a magnetic guidance path between the oesophagus and the pyloric part of a patient'"'"'s stomach, said magnetic guidance path consisting of a field of magnetic flux enveloping the lesser curvature of the stomach; and imparting a traction force to the distal end portion of said catheter by a flux couple between the magnetic flux of said catheter permanent magnet and said magnetic flux enveloping the lesser curvature of the stomach to advance the catheter tip along said magnetic guidance tract. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. An apparatus to intubate a patient to introduce nutrition into the small intestine, said apparatus including the combination of:
-
an elongated flexible catheter having a permanent magnet at a distal end portion thereof, said catheter having an access channel extending to a lumen for conducting a nutrient to an eyelet communicating with the lumen at the distal end of the catheter upstream of the magnet; and an external permanent magnet having magnetic pole faces on a body of magnetic material defining a flux density of such character for forming a magnetic guidance path by permeating body tissue of the abdomen and defining by the field of magnetic flux enveloping the lesser curvature of the stomach, the field of magnetic flux being sufficiently dense to impart a traction force to the distal end portion of the catheter through a flux couple between the magnetic flux of the catheter permanent magnet and the magnetic flux of said external permeate magnet. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
-
Specification