FOETAL BLOOD SAMPLING ENDOSCOPE

• US 3,685,509 A
• Filed: 07/07/1970
• Issued: 08/22/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Richard Hugh Cameron Bentall
• Original Assignee: Richard Hugh Cameron Bentall
• Inventors: Bentall, Richard Hugh Cameron
• Primary Examiner(s): Howell, Kyle L.
• Application Number:
  US05/052,932
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 128/2F,2K,2M,2R,2T,2A,3-11,329,280-282,300,302,303.15
• US Class Current: 600/583
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0676 at distal tip of an endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/303 for the vagina, i.e. vaginoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150022 for capillary blood or interstitial fluid
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150045 for blood from vagina, placenta, colon or mouth
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150259 Improved gripping, e.g. with high friction pattern or projections on the housing surface or an ergonometric shape
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150343 Collection vessels for collecting blood samples from the skin surface, e.g. test tubes, cuvettes sampling from within body cavities A61B5/150015, A61B5/150045
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150412 Pointed piercing elements, e.g. needles, lancets for piercing the skin blade-like piercing elements A61B5/150442
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15186 Devices loaded with a single lancet, i.e. a single lancet with or without a casing is loaded into a reusable drive device and then discarded after use; drive devices reloadable for multiple use
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/252 by suction
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/288 for foetal cardiography, e.g. scalp electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/344 Foetal cardiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4362 Assessing foetal parameters

Abstract

A medical instrument comprises two tubes arranged to define an annular space therebetween for application of suction to adhere the same to a body part while an associated instrument is housed within or passed through the inner tube. This finds particular application to endoscopes, especially amniscopes for foetal blood sampling, with one of the tubes being shorter than and preferably outside the longer main tube at its distal end, with a third tube of smaller order of cross-section passing back along the main tube towards its proximal end.

Claims

1. An endoscope for foetal blood sampling, comprising:

a main first tube which is open at both ends and is conically shaped to provide an unobstructed smoothly convergent interior from one end, the proximal end, to the other, distal end;

a suction head second tube significantly shorter than but having slightly greater diameter than said first tube, coaxially disposed around the distal end region of said first tube to define therewith a generally cylindrical annular space therebetween, the respective distal ends of said first and second tubes being substantially coplanar and a wall connecting the proximal end of said second tube to the exterior of said first tube to close said annular space at its proximal end, said space being of small radial thickness relative to the internal diameter of said first tube at its distal end;

a suction-applying third tube of significantly smaller diameter than said first and second tubes, similar length to said first tube, connected to extend longitudinally along the exterior of said first tube, connected at its distal end with the proximal end of said second tube to communicate with said annular space without extending radially beyond the exterior of said second tube at such communicating connection, and having means at its proximal end for connecting said annular space with a vacuum source;

a lance of similar length to but significantly smaller diameter than said first tube disposed within and longitudinally along the interior of said first tube, and freely translatable axially with respect to said first tube so that the end of said lance may be moved beyond said first tube to puncture a foetus held across the distal end of said first tube by suction applied to said annular space; and

a sample-extracting fourth tube of smaller diameter than any of said first, second and third tubes, of similar length to said first tube, and disposed to extend longitudinally along said first tube to terminate at the distal end of the interior thereof to draw off a foetal blood sample from said puncture.

2. An endoscope according to claim 1 wherein said second tube is substantially cylindrical and is connected with said first tube by an annular proximal end wall with which said third tube is connected to communicate with said annular space.

3. An endoscOpe according to claim 1 wherein said first tube is longitudinally slotted part way therealong from its proximal end, and said lance has a handle projecting radially from its proximal end, which handle is received in said slot to pass therethrough to the exterior of said first tube while allowing translation of said lance.

4. An endoscope according to claim 1 comprising an elongate distal field illuminating means disposed to extend longitudinally along the interior of said first tube.

5. An endoscope for foetal blood sampling, comprising:

a long main first tube which is open at both ends and conically shaped to provide an unobstructed smoothly convergent interior from one end, the proximal end, to the other, distal end where the internal diameter is about one-half inch;

a suction head second tube of cylindrical form significantly shorter than but having slightly greater internal diameter than the external diameter of said first tube at its distal end and coaxially disposed around such end, the respective distal ends of said first and second tubes being substantially coplanar, so that said first and second tubes define a generally cylindrical annular space therebetween of about 3/32-inch radial thickness;

an annular end wall connecting the proximal end of said second tube to the exterior of said first tube to close the proximal end of said annular space;

a suction-applying third tube of similar order of length to said first tube connected to extend longitudinally along and in engagement with the exterior of said first tube, and having an external diameter not greater than the radial thickness of said end wall, said third tube being connected at its distal end with said end wall to communicate with said annular space, and having means at its proximal end for connecting said annular space with a vacuum source;

means adapted for puncturing a foetus held across the distal end of said first tube by suction applied to said annular space; and

means for extracting a foetal blood sample from said puncture.