EP-4740829-A1 - BENDABLE THORACOSCOPE KIT WITH STRAIGHT WORKING CHANNEL

EP4740829A1EP 4740829 A1EP4740829 A1EP 4740829A1EP-4740829-A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel. The thoracoscope kit includes rigid biopsy forceps (100) and a flexible thoracoscope (200) with a straight working channel. The rigid biopsy forceps (100) are provided with a forceps head (101), an elastic guide rod segment (102), and a rigid guide rod segment (103), and the forceps head (101) is connected to a first end of the rigid guide rod segment (103) through the elastic guide rod segment (102). An endoscope tube of the thoracoscope (200) includes a rigid tube segment (201) and a soft tube segment (202), and a rear end of the soft tube segment (202) is connected to a front end of the rigid tube segment (201). The forceps head (101), the elastic guide rod segment (102), and the rigid guide rod segment (103) are movably mounted in the endoscope tube, the elastic guide rod segment (102) at least partially overlaps with the soft tube segment (202), and the soft tube segment (202) can synchronously bend with the elastic guide rod segment (102) under the action of a control mechanism, to implement the steering of the forceps head (101). The thoracoscope kit improves the diagnosis and treatment efficacy of the flexible thoracoscope (200).

Inventors

HOU, GANG
DENG, Mingming

Assignees

ZHEJIANG UE MEDICAL CORP.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20231115

Claims (10)

A flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel, comprising: rigid biopsy forceps, wherein the rigid biopsy forceps are provided with a forceps head, an elastic guide rod segment, and a rigid guide rod segment, the forceps head is connected to a first end of the rigid guide rod segment through the elastic guide rod segment, a second end of the rigid guide rod segment is connected to a first control mechanism and a second control mechanism, the first control mechanism is configured to control opening and closing of the forceps head, and the second control mechanism is configured to control bending of the elastic guide rod segment, to implement steering of the forceps head; and a thoracoscope, wherein the thoracoscope is provided with an endoscope tube, and the endoscope tube is provided with a hollow channel extending along an axial direction; and the endoscope tube comprises a rigid tube segment and a soft tube segment, and a rear end of the soft tube segment is connected to a front end of the rigid tube segment; and the forceps head, the elastic guide rod segment, and the rigid guide rod segment are movably mounted in the hollow channel, the elastic guide rod segment at least partially overlaps with the soft tube segment, and the soft tube segment can synchronously bend with the elastic guide rod segment.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 1, wherein the second control mechanism comprises a bending manipulation wire, one end of the bending manipulation wire is connected to a forceps base of the forceps head, the other end is located at a control end of the rigid biopsy forceps, and the bending of the elastic guide rod segment is implemented by driving the bending manipulation wire, thereby implementing the steering of the forceps head.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 2, wherein the elastic guide rod segment and the rigid guide rod segment are of an integral structure, and the elastic guide rod segment is a helical spring tube cut by a laser.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 1, wherein the forceps head comprises a forceps base, a first forceps jaw, and a second forceps jaw, and the forceps base is fixedly connected to the elastic guide rod segment; and the first forceps jaw and the second forceps jaw are disposed on the forceps base in an openable manner, and the first forceps jaw and the second forceps jaw form an accommodation space for accommodating tissue after being opened.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 4, wherein the first forceps jaw is provided with first row teeth, and an end portion of the first row teeth is provided with a first end tooth; and the second forceps jaw is provided with second row teeth, and an end portion of the second row teeth is provided with a second end tooth; longitudinal cross sections of the first end tooth and the second end tooth are both triangles, a vertex angle of the first end tooth has a first angle bisector, and a vertex angle of the second end tooth has a second angle bisector; an included angle between the first forceps jaw and the second forceps jaw has a third angle bisector; and in a fully open state of the first forceps jaw and the second forceps jaw, included angles between the first angle bisector, the second angle bisector, and the third angle bisector are all α, wherein 0° ≤ α ≤ 5°.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 1, wherein a front end of the soft tube segment is provided with an insertion head, and a front end of the insertion head is provided with a camera and a light source lamp.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 6, wherein the thoracoscope is further provided with an operating main body, the operating main body is provided with a housing, a bottom portion of the housing is provided with a mounting opening, and the endoscope tube is connected to the mounting opening in a sealing manner; and a center of a top portion of the housing is provided with a biopsy channel opening, and a central line of the biopsy channel opening overlaps with an axis of the rigid tube segment.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 7, wherein the operating main body is provided with a third control mechanism, and the third control mechanism is configured to control a normal operation of the thoracoscope.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 7, wherein a mounting frame is disposed in a lower space of the housing, and the mounting frame is internally provided with a guide tube in a penetrating manner; a bottom portion of the insertion head is provided with a through hole along a length direction thereof, and the through hole is communicated with the hollow channel of the endoscope tube; and one end of the endoscope tube is communicated with the through hole, and the other end is communicated with the guide tube.
The flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel according to claim 7, wherein the biopsy channel opening at the top portion of the housing is provided with a mounting head of a hollow structure, and an opening at a top end of the mounting head is detachably provided with a sealing plug.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure belongs to the technical field of thoracoscopes, and specifically relates to a flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel. BACKGROUND The pleural cavity is a closed potential cavity gap formed by the visceral and parietal layers of the pleura folding and transitioning at the root of the lung and is composed of the visceral pleura closely attached to the lung surface and the parietal pleura closely attached to the inner wall of the thoracic cage. Under normal conditions, there is a thin layer of liquid on the surfaces of both the visceral pleura and the parietal pleura, serving as a lubricant during respiratory movements. Any factor that causes rapid formation or slow absorption of liquid in the pleural cavity results in pleural effusion, which can affect the pulmonary ventilation function and the hemodynamic stability. Lung, pleural, and extrapulmonary diseases, and medications can all cause pleural effusion. Pleural effusion is a common complication of various diseases, and its etiological diagnosis is challenging. Medical thoracoscopy (also known as pleuroscopy) is an invasive operation technique, which is a method that uses an electronic bronchoscope, a rigid or soft-rigid combined (semi-rigid) thoracoscope, and the like to insert into the pleural cavity through the chest wall and intercostal space to perform biopsy or treatment on lesions in the thoracic cavity under direct visualization. Studies have shown that the sensitivity of medical thoracoscopy biopsy in diagnosing MPE is 92.6% to 97%, and the specificity is 99% to 100%. Currently, the pathological examination of pleural biopsy tissue under medical thoracoscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing unexplained pleural effusion. Medical thoracoscopy can also provide endoscopic evidence for some cases of pleural effusion with unclear diagnoses, such as pleural effusion caused by rheumatoid arthritis, cirrhosis of the liver or pancreatitis, and some rare causes such as amyloidosis or sarcoidosis. Medical thoracoscopy includes two types: rigid thoracoscopes and flexible thoracoscopes. The existing rigid medical thoracoscope requires two incisions in the chest wall, which causes significant harm to the patients. Furthermore, the whole rigid medical thoracoscope is of a rigid tubular structure. After reaching into the diseased position of the human body, the operation of adjusting the angle is complicated, which brings inconvenience to the operator. Moreover, the angle adjustment range is limited, and sometimes it is impossible to reach the lesion to acquire tissue standard block samples, which has certain limitations. The existing flexible thoracoscope can only use flexible biopsy tools, such as flexible biopsy forceps, for pleural biopsy operations, and the biopsy efficacy is lower than that of the rigid thoracoscope using rigid biopsy tools. This has been confirmed by research results published after peer review. The overall structure of flexible biopsy forceps is soft, and the flexible biopsy forceps extend from the side wall of the flexible thoracoscope, resulting in low biopsy efficacy of the flexible thoracoscope, small acquired tissue standard block samples, severe compressional deformation of tissue structures, long time consumption, difficulty in acquiring some tissues, and limited success rate and quality of sampling. In summary, the biopsy efficacy of current medical thoracoscopy still cannot meet actual clinical requirements, which is a significant technical challenge for clinicians. SUMMARY In view of the above analysis, embodiments of this disclosure aim to provide a flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel, to solve the problem that the biopsy efficacy of existing medical thoracoscopy still cannot meet actual clinical requirements. The purpose of this disclosure is achieved as follows: A flexible thoracoscope kit with a straight working channel, including: rigid biopsy forceps, where the rigid biopsy forceps are provided with a forceps head, an elastic guide rod segment, and a rigid guide rod segment, the forceps head is connected to a first end of the rigid guide rod segment through the elastic guide rod segment, a second end of the rigid guide rod segment is connected to a first control mechanism and a second control mechanism, the first control mechanism is configured to control opening and closing of the forceps head, and the second control mechanism is configured to control bending of the elastic guide rod segment, to implement steering of the forceps head; anda thoracoscope, where the thoracoscope is provided with an endoscope tube, and the endoscope tube is provided with a hollow channel extending along an axial direction; and the endoscope tube includes a rigid tube segment and a soft tube segment, and a rear end of the soft tube segment is connected to a front end of the rigid tube segment; andthe forceps head, the elastic guide rod segment, and the rigid guide rod s