Apparatus for stricture diagnosis and treatment
US5427115A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 1993 |
| Grant date | Jun 27, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 13, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2017/320012
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Apparatus for use in the diagnosis and treatment of strictures in a biliary duct, urinary tract or pancreatic tract. The apparatus includes a dual lumen catheter device. One lumen size is sized to accommodate a guidewire. A second, parallel lumen has a non-circular cross-section and carries a cytology brush at one end that couples through an operator to a manipulator at another end. The cytology brush has an effective diameter that is greater than the diameter of the catheter device. Brush cytology samples are obtained without removing the guidewire from a stricture and without introducing any relative motion between the guidewire and the catheter. As the cytology brush is retracted into the non-circular lumen, its bristles compact around the operator for storage within the lumen. A predetermined arrangement of markers at the distal end of the catheter facilitates the measurement of stricture length by direct endoscopic visualization.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.