Apparatus for endoluminal access to gastro-intestinal tract

A gastro-intestinal-tract endoluminal apparatus for assisting creation of an anastomosis between spaced apart positions in the gastro-intestinal tract of a patient, the apparatus being retrievably insertable into the gastro-intestinal tract, and able to follow a curved path of the small intestine, comprising:

• a flexible tube introducible into the gastro-intestinal tract of a patient with the tube in an at least partly invaginated state, the tube having a stationary end and a mobile lumen, the tube being extendable within the tract without substantial movement of the stationary end, by inflating an inflatable region of the tube around the lumen, the inflation causing distal-most invaginated material to evert outwardly such that the everted material extends a deployed length of the tube distally along a path of the gastro-intestinal tract, invaginated material of the lumen being drawn distally within the deployed tube to feed the distal extension.

A method of introducing an apparatus into the gastro-intestinal-tract of a patient, the apparatus comprising a flexible tube introducible into the gastro-intestinal tract of a patient with the tube in an at least partly invaginated state, the tube having a stationary end and a mobile lumen, the method comprising:

• inflating an inflatable region of the tube around the lumen, the inflation causing distal-most invaginated material to evert outwardly such that the everted material extends a deployed length of the tube distally along a path of the gastro-intestinal tract, invaginated material of the lumen being drawn distally within the deployed tube to feed the distal extension, whereby the tube is extendable within the tract without substantial movement of the stationary end.

A method of identifying a target position in a gastro-intestinal-tract of a patient, the method comprising:

• providing apparatus comprising a flexible tube introducible into the gastro-intestinal tract of a patient with the tube in an at least partly invaginated state, the tube having a stationary end and a mobile lumen,
• inflating an inflatable region of the tube around the lumen, the inflation causing distal-most invaginated material to evert outwardly such that the everted material extends a deployed length of the tube distally along a path of the gastro-intestinal tract, invaginated material of the lumen being drawn distally within the deployed tube to feed the distal extension, and
• causing deployment of at least one marker element for identifying the target site.

A method of measuring a distance in a gastro-intestinal-tract of a patient, the method comprising:

• providing apparatus comprising a flexible tube introducible into the gastro-intestinal tract of a patient with the tube in an at least partly invaginated state, the tube having a stationary end and a mobile lumen,
• inflating an inflatable region of the tube around the lumen, the inflation causing distal-most invaginated material to evert outwardly such that the everted material extends a deployed length of the tube distally along a path of the gastro-intestinal tract, invaginated material of the lumen being drawn distally within the deployed tube to feed the distal extension, and
• causing deployment of at least a first marker element and a second marker element having a predetermined separation.