Back to results
US 2010/0145353 A1Published application
Flexible Vacuum Grabber for Holding Lesions
AssigneeBoston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
InventorPeter HAMILTON
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A grabbing device includes a transparent flexible cup that can be placed adjacent to a selected region of an inner surface of a body cavity. The flexible cup is visually put in place by the surgeon, and a vacuum is applied to draw a selected amount of tissue into the flexible cup, so that it may, e.g., be excised. The device may also retrieve the tissue excised from the body cavity.
Claims21
-22. (canceled)
A vacuum grabber device for insertion into a body cavity via an insertion device having a working channel, comprising:
- a vacuum line configured for insertion in the working channel;
- and
- a substantially transparent and fluid-tight flexible cup attached to the vacuum line and angled about an axis of the vacuum line, the flexible cup being expandable into a shape having a width sufficient to at least partially surround a selected tissue.
A method for removing a selected portion of tissue from a surface of a body cavity, comprising:
- inserting into the body cavity an insertion device;
- advancing a substantially transparent and fluid-tight flexible cup through a lumen of the insertion device in a folded insertion configuration;
- advancing the flexible cup distally from the lumen of the insertion device, wherein the flexible cup deploys to an operative configuration in which the flexible cup expands to a size sufficient to at least partially surround a selected portion of tissue as the flexible cup exits the lumen;
- visually positioning the flexible cup adjacent to the selected portion of tissue by observing the selected portion of tissue;
- applying a vacuum pressure to an interior of the flexible cup to draw the selected portion of tissue thereinto;
- and
- withdrawing the flexible cup into the lumen and from the body while maintaining vacuum pressure within the flexible cup to retain the selected portion of tissue within the flexible cup.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.