# US 9,516,994 B2 · Balloon detachment tool

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- Number: US 9,516,994 B2
- Document ID: US9516994B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 14/932,052
- Filed: 2015-11-04
- Published: 2016-02-25
- Granted: 2016-12-13
- Earliest claimed: 2013-11-26
- Assignees: Olympus Corporation
- Applicants: Olympus Corporation
- Inventors: Sunao Sato
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9516994B2

## CPC

- A61B 8/12: in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters
- A61B 1/00131: {Accessories for endoscopes}
- A61B 1/00163: {Optical arrangements (A61B1/002, A61B1/06 take precedence)}
- A61B 8/0841: {for locating instruments}
- A61B 8/42: {Details of probe positioning or probe attachment to the patient}
- A61B 8/4281: {characterised by sound-transmitting media or devices for coupling the transducer to the tissue}
- A61B 8/4494: {characterised by the arrangement of the transducer elements}
- A61B 8/00: Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
- A61B 8/08: Clinical applications (A61B8/02, A61B8/04, A61B8/06 take precedence)
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

Included are a cylindrical holding portion, a groove engageable with a balloon band removed from a balloon engagement groove provided in an outer periphery of an ultrasound transducer unit, a cut portion provided in the holding portion, the cut portion allowing the holding portion to radially expand in a radial direction, and an abutment portion provided on a second opening side relative to the groove on an inner peripheral face of the holding portion.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A balloon detachment tool comprising:
a cylindrical holding portion including a first opening on one end side in an axial direction, the first opening having an inner diameter that allows an ultrasound transducer unit in a distal end of an insertion portion of an ultrasound endoscope to be inserted and extracted, and a second opening on another end side in the axial direction;
a first balloon engagement groove formed in an outer periphery of the holding portion, the first balloon engagement groove being at a position a set distance away toward the other end side in the axial direction from the one end, the first balloon engagement groove being engageable with an end portion of the balloon which is removed from a second balloon engagement groove provided in an outer periphery of the ultrasound transducer unit;
a cut portion provided in the holding portion, the cut portion allowing the holding portion to radially expand in a radial direction; and
an abutment portion provided on an inner peripheral face of the holding portion and on the second opening side relative to the first balloon engagement groove in the axial direction, the abutment portion positioning the first balloon engagement groove so that the first balloon engagement groove is located on a distal end side of the insertion portion of the ultrasound endoscope relative to the second balloon engagement groove when the abutment portion is brought into abutment with the distal end of the insertion portion of the ultrasound endoscope.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The balloon detachment tool according to claim 1, wherein the cut portion is a cut portion forming the holding portion from the one end to the other end in the axial direction.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The balloon detachment tool according to claim 1, further comprising a fitting portion positioned on the second opening side in an inner portion of the holding portion, the fitting portion radially contracting an inner peripheral face of the holding portion from the other end toward the one end and including a member that can radially expand in a radial direction of the holding portion.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The balloon detachment tool according to claim 3, wherein the fitting portion is formed in a cylindrical shape separately from the holding portion, and is provided so as to be fitted on the second opening side in the inner portion of the holding portion, and includes an inner peripheral face that radially contracts toward one end from another end of the fitting portion.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The balloon detachment tool according to claim 4, wherein a through hole extending in the axial direction is formed in the abutment portion, and the through hole communicates with an opening on the one end side of the fitting portion.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The balloon detachment tool according to claim 4, further comprising a radial expansion portion including an outer peripheral face whose diameter is at least partially larger than an inner diameter of the fitting portion, and an abutting surface that abuts against the abutment portion, the radial expansion portion being fitted into the fitting portion from an opening on the other end side of the fitting portion via the second opening,
wherein when the radial expansion portion is fitted into the fitting portion, the radial expansion portion radially expands the fitting portion outward in the radial direction, so that the holding portion radially expands outward in the radial direction.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The balloon detachment tool according to claim 6, wherein the outer peripheral face of the radial expansion portion is formed as a tapered surface having an inclination angle that is different from an inclination angle of an inclined surface formed by the fitting portion in the inner peripheral face of the holding portion.