Device and method for cleaning the external auditory canal
US11759366B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 20, 2019 |
| Grant date | Sep 19, 2023 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 17, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61M3/02
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A device (1) for cleaning the external auditory canal, which device (1) includes a guide sleeve (30), with a proximal outlet portion (31) for partial insertion into the auditory canal, and an instrumentation rod (10) that can be guided axially through the guide sleeve (30). At a proximal end region, the instrumentation rod (10) has a cleaner (20) with at least one circumferentially extending cleaning element (21) which is elastically expandable in a radial direction. An internal cross section of the proximal outlet portion (31) is smaller than an external cross section of the cleaning element (21) in a radially expanded state. The cleaning element (21) can be arranged inside the proximal outlet portion (31) in a radially compressed state in which the cleaning element (21) is bent in the distal direction towards the longitudinal axis of the instrumentation rod (10), such that the cleaning element (21), on emerging from the proximal outlet portion (31), straightens up in the proximal direction into the radially expanded state. A method for cleaning the external auditory canal using such a device (1) is also provided.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.