JP5689015B2 - catheter - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to catheters.

  A catheter that is inserted into a living body lumen such as a blood vessel and used to diagnose the inside of the lumen with ultrasonic waves or light is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  The catheter includes a catheter body having a lumen, a tubular guide wire insertion portion through which a guide wire is inserted, and an ultrasonic wave that is inserted into the lumen of the catheter body and emits ultrasonic waves at the distal end portion. And an imaging core having an oscillation unit. In this catheter, with the guide wire inserted into the guide wire insertion portion, the imaging core inserted in the lumen of the catheter body is rotated around its axis and moved in the proximal direction, and ultrasonic waves on the blood vessel wall are obtained. Images can be acquired.

  In addition, depending on the procedure, the catheter may be replaced with an imaging core having an ultrasonic oscillating unit by inserting an imaging core into the catheter body that emits light and receives the reflected light to image the blood vessel wall. It can also be used.

  However, in the conventional catheter, when the image is optically acquired, light is blocked by the guide wire, and the image is shaded by the guide wire, so-called “back shadow”. For this reason, in the portion where the back shadow of the image is generated, it becomes a blind spot and the blood vessel wall is not imaged. For example, when there is a lesioned portion in the portion not imaged, it is difficult to visually recognize the lesioned portion. There is a risk of becoming.

JP 2005-529715 A

An object of the present invention, when the captured image of the body lumen to provide a catheters that can prevent the back shadow is caused by the guide wire to the image.

Such an object is achieved by the present invention of the following (1) to ( 11 ).
(1) A sensor lumen in which an imaging core having an image capturing unit for capturing an image in a living body lumen on the distal end side is inserted, and a guide wire lumen in which a guide wire is inserted, and is inserted into the living body lumen A catheter comprising a flexible catheter body,
At the distal end of the catheter body, an imaging region is provided along the longitudinal direction of the catheter body that allows an operation to capture an image in the living body lumen by the image capturing unit.
On the proximal end side of the imaging region of the catheter body or the proximal end of the imaging region, a first marker having contrast is provided,
In the imaging region, the sensor lumen and the guide wire lumen are arranged side by side,
The distal end of the guide wire lumen is open to the distal end of the catheter body, and the proximal end of the guide wire lumen is provided to extend to the proximal end side from the proximal end of the imaging region. catheter.

  (2) The catheter according to (1), wherein an opening is provided in the middle of the catheter body, and a proximal end of the guide wire lumen communicates with the opening.

  (3) The catheter according to (1) or (2), wherein the first marker is located on a distal end side with respect to a proximal end of the guide wire lumen.

  (4) The catheter according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the first marker indicates a proximal end portion of the imaging region.

  (5) A second marker having contrast is provided on the proximal side of the catheter body from the first marker and on the proximal side of the guidewire lumen or the proximal end of the guidewire lumen. The catheter according to any one of (1) to (4) above.

  (6) The catheter according to (5), wherein the second marker indicates a proximal end portion of the guide wire lumen.

  (7) The catheter according to any one of (1) to (6), wherein the catheter body includes a fluid feeding lumen that communicates with the guide wire lumen and performs fluid feeding.

  (8) The catheter according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the imaging region of the catheter body has a side hole communicating with the guide wire lumen.

  (9) The catheter according to (8), wherein a plurality of the side holes are provided along the imaging region.

  (10) The side hole is inclined so that the opening on the outer peripheral surface side of the catheter body of the side hole is located on the proximal end side with respect to the opening on the guide wire lumen side. ) Catheter.

  (11) The catheter according to any one of (1) to (10), wherein a wire protruding in a distal direction is provided at a distal end of the catheter body.

  According to the present invention, since the proximal end of the guide wire lumen extends to the proximal end side with respect to the proximal end of the imaging region, when capturing an image of a target site in the living body lumen, the guide wire is removed from the imaging region. Can also be retracted to the proximal side. Thereby, when the image of the target site | part in a biological lumen is imaged, it can prevent reliably that the back shadow of a guide wire arises in an image. Then, the obtained image has no blind spot, and therefore accurate observation of the entire target site can be performed.

It is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional side view which shows 1st Embodiment of the catheter assembly of this invention. It is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional side view which shows 1st Embodiment of the catheter assembly of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the part by the side of the front end of the catheter shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the part by the side of the front end in 2nd Embodiment of the catheter of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the part by the side of the front end in the 3rd Embodiment of the catheter of this invention, and the part by the side of a base end.

Hereinafter will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments illustrating the catheters of the present invention in the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment>
1 and 2 are partial longitudinal sectional side views showing a first embodiment of the catheter assembly of the present invention, respectively. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a distal end portion of the catheter shown in FIG. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the right side in FIGS. 1 and 3 is referred to as “base end” and the left side is referred to as “tip”.

  A catheter assembly 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a catheter 2 and an imaging core 3 inserted into the catheter 2. The catheter assembly 1 is used by being inserted into a living body lumen (hereinafter, “blood vessel” is representatively treated) in an assembled state in which the catheter 2 and the imaging core 3 are assembled. The image of the wall is acquired.

  The catheter 2 is a catheter used in an image based on an optical signal, in particular, an optical coherence tomography diagnostic apparatus (OCT) and an optical coherence tomography diagnostic apparatus (OFDI) using a wavelength sweep which is an improved version thereof. After irradiating the living tissue with near-infrared light emitted from the tip of the core 3 and causing the reflected light from the living tissue to interfere with the reference light, a cross-sectional image of the blood vessel is generated based on the interference light. Can be drawn.

  The catheter assembly 1 is used by being connected to an external unit 6. The external unit 6 includes a scanner device 61 incorporating an external drive source such as a motor, an axial movement device 62 that holds the scanner device 61 and moves it horizontally (axial direction) by the motor, and the like, and the scanner device 61 and the axial direction. It has the control part 63 which has a function which controls the action | operation of the moving apparatus 62, and the display part 64 which displays the image of the blood vessel wall obtained by the catheter assembly 1. FIG.

  Before describing the configuration of each part of the catheter assembly 1, the external unit 6 will be described.

  The proximal end portion of the catheter assembly 1 is detachably connected to the scanner device 61. The scanner device 61 can rotate the imaging core 3 about its axis, and can move the imaging core 3 along the axial direction by the axial movement device 62. Thereby, the part of the prism 52 described later of the imaging core 3 can be scanned. Further, the external unit 6 forms an image of the blood vessel wall based on the information obtained from the imaging core 3 sent via the scanner device 61. Thereby, the cross-sectional image in the blood vessel is obtained at an arbitrary position with respect to the blood vessel over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction.

  The control unit 63 is a personal computer with a built-in CPU (Central Processing Unit), for example. The display unit 64 is a liquid crystal display device, for example.

Next, the catheter assembly 1 will be described.
As described above, the catheter assembly 1 includes the catheter 2 and the imaging core 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the imaging core 3 includes a long drive shaft 4 as a main body, a housing 51 fixed to the distal end portion of the drive shaft 4, and a prism housed in the housing 51. (Image capturing portion) 52 and a connector portion 53 fixed to the proximal end portion of the drive shaft 4. In the imaging core 3, the housing 51, the prism 52, and the connector portion 53 constitute an imaging unit 5 that captures an image of the blood vessel wall.

  The drive shaft 4 has a function of a light guide means, and is constituted by, for example, an optical fiber covered with a multilayer winding coil.

  The housing 51 is fixed to the tip of the drive shaft 4 by, for example, an adhesive, and the prism 52 is fixed to the tip of the drive shaft 4 in the housing 51 by, for example, an adhesive. The prism 52 is, for example, a right angle prism.

  The housing 51 is made of a cylindrical body made of a metal such as stainless steel, and a through hole 511 penetrating the side wall portion is formed at a position corresponding to the prism 52.

  In the imaging core 3, the light (signal) transmitted from the scanner device 61 in a state where the prism 52 faces the blood vessel wall through the through hole 511 is guided in the distal direction by the drive shaft 4, and is transmitted from the prism 52. The light is emitted through the through hole 511. The reflected light from the blood vessel wall enters the prism 52 via the through hole 511, is guided in the proximal direction by the drive shaft 4, and is received by the scanner device 61. An image of the blood vessel wall can be captured by emitting light from the prism 52 and incident reflected light on the prism 52, that is, transmitting and receiving light through the prism 52.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the catheter 2 includes an elongated catheter body 21 having flexibility and a connector portion 22 fixed to the proximal end portion of the catheter body 21.

  A sensor lumen 211 into which the imaging core 3 is inserted and a guide wire lumen 212 into which the guide wire 200 is inserted are formed in the catheter body 21 along the longitudinal direction of the catheter body 21. The distal end portion of the catheter body 21 is a reduced diameter portion 23 whose outer diameter is reduced.

  The sensor lumen 211 can be inserted with the imaging core 3 and is formed over the entire length of the catheter body 21 from the proximal end of the reduced diameter portion 23 of the catheter body 21 to the proximal end of the catheter body 21. Further, the tip of the sensor lumen 211 is closed. Thereby, the inflow of blood into the sensor lumen 211 can be prevented. Needless to say, the tip of the sensor lumen 211 may not be closed.

  Note that the portion of the catheter body 21 where the sensor lumen 211 is provided constitutes an imaging core insertion part into which the imaging core 3 can be inserted.

  At the distal end of the catheter main body 21, an imaging region 27 is provided along the longitudinal direction of the catheter main body 21 so that the imaging core 3 can take in an image inside the blood vessel, that is, an image of the blood vessel wall. When imaging with the imaging core 3, the portion corresponding to the housing 51 of the imaging core 3, that is, the prism 52, moves around the axis of the imaging core 3 in the imaging region 27 and moves in the proximal direction.

  The length of the imaging region 27 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 5 to 15 cm.

  Note that at least the distal end side portion of the catheter body 21, specifically, the imaging region 27 portion is a window portion that transmits light. Thereby, it is possible to take an image with the imaging core 3.

  Further, the guide wire lumen 212 can be inserted through the guide wire 200 and is formed only at the distal end portion of the catheter body 21. Specifically, the guide wire lumen 212 is formed from the distal end of the reduced diameter portion 23 of the catheter body 21 to the middle of the catheter body 21. Further, at least in the imaging region 27, the sensor lumen 211 and the guide wire lumen 212 are arranged in parallel. In the illustrated configuration, the guide wire lumen 212 is arranged in parallel with the sensor lumen 211 over the entire length thereof. That is, the guide wire lumen 212 is arranged in parallel with the central axis of the catheter body 21.

  The distal end of the guide wire lumen 212 is opened to the distal end of the catheter body 21, and the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212 is opened in the middle of the catheter body 21. That is, an opening 213 is formed at the distal end of the reduced diameter portion 23 of the catheter main body 21, and the distal end of the guide wire lumen 212 communicates with the opening 213. Accordingly, the opening 213 constitutes the distal end opening of the guide wire lumen 212. An opening 214 is formed in the middle of the catheter main body 21, and the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212 communicates with the opening 214. Accordingly, the opening 214 constitutes the proximal end opening of the guidewire lumen 212. The catheter 2 is inserted into a blood vessel with the guide wire 200 inserted through the guide wire lumen 212, and can be quickly inserted and removed from the guide wire 200, so-called "rapid exchange type (short monorail). Type) "catheter.

  Further, the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212 is located closer to the proximal end than the proximal end of the imaging region 27. That is, the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212 is provided so as to extend to the proximal end side from the proximal end of the imaging region 27. Thereby, when imaging with the imaging core 3, the guide wire 200 can be retracted from the imaging region 27 by moving the guide wire 200 in the proximal direction, and thereby, when an image of the blood vessel wall is captured. The back shadow of the guide wire 200 can be reliably prevented from occurring in the image.

  The length from the base end of the imaging region 27 to the opening 214 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 10 to 20 cm.

  The portion of the catheter body 21 where the guide wire lumen 212 is provided constitutes a guide wire insertion portion through which the guide wire 200 can be inserted. The outer diameter of the guide wire insertion portion is set smaller than the outer diameter of the imaging core insertion portion.

  The guide wire insertion part and the imaging core insertion part may be integrally formed or may be formed by separate members.

  A plurality of side holes 215 communicating with the guide wire lumen 212 are provided at a portion facing the guide wire lumen 212 in the imaging region 27 of the catheter body 21. The side holes 215 are arranged at equal intervals along the imaging region 27. Further, the side holes 215 are provided in the entire imaging region 27.

Thereby, when imaging with the imaging core 3, in order to flow the blood in the vicinity of the imaging region 27 in the distal direction, a liquid such as physiological saline or a contrast medium is introduced into the guiding catheter (not shown) in which the catheter 2 is inserted. When flowing in the direction, the liquid flows into the guide wire lumen 212 from the side hole 215, and the blood in the guide wire lumen 212 can flow in the distal direction.
Needless to say, the number of side holes 215 may be one.

  Further, the side hole 215 is inclined so that the opening on the outer peripheral surface side of the catheter body 21 of the side hole 215 is located on the proximal end side relative to the opening on the guide wire lumen 212 side. Thereby, the blood in the guide wire lumen 212 can flow more reliably in the distal direction. In addition, when the guide wire 200 in the guide wire lumen 212 is advanced in the distal direction, the distal end portion of the guide wire 200 can be prevented from projecting to the outside from the side hole 215.

  Further, the inclination angle θ of the side hole 215 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 15 to 75 °.

  Further, a guide wire side marker (not shown) having a contrast property under X-ray fluoroscopy or MRI fluoroscopy is provided at the distal end portion of the guide wire 200. A first marker 261 and a second marker 262 having a contrast property under X-ray fluoroscopy or MRI fluoroscopy are provided at predetermined positions on the outer peripheral surface of the catheter main body 21. In the illustrated configuration, each of the first marker 261 and the second marker 262 has an annular shape and is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the catheter body 21 over the entire circumference.

  The guide wire side marker, the first marker 261, and the second marker 262 are each made of, for example, a metal such as platinum, gold, silver, titanium, tungsten, or an X-ray opaque material such as an alloy thereof. ing. Further, it may be a layer in which the X-ray opaque material and other X-ray opaque materials such as barium sulfate, barium carbonate, bismuth oxide and the like are blended.

  Here, the first marker 261 indicates the base end portion of the imaging region 27. The first marker 261 is located proximal to the proximal end of the imaging region 27 of the catheter body 21 or the proximal end of the imaging region 27 and to the distal end side of the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212.

  The second marker 262 indicates the proximal end portion of the guide wire lumen 212. The second marker 262 is located on the proximal end side of the first marker 261 of the catheter body 21 and on the distal end side of the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212 or the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212.

  By such a guide wire side marker, the first marker 261, and the second marker 262, the distal end portion of the guide wire 200, the proximal end portion of the imaging region 27, and the guide wire lumen 212 under X-ray fluoroscopy or MRI fluoroscopy. It is possible to reliably confirm the base end of the.

  When imaging with the imaging core 3, the guide wire 200 is moved in the proximal direction so that the guide wire side marker is positioned between the first marker 261 and the second marker 262. As a result, the guide wire 200 is retracted from the imaging region 27 in the proximal direction. Further, it is possible to prevent the distal end portion of the guide wire 200 from coming off from the guide wire lumen 212.

  The catheter body 21 is made of a flexible material, and the material is not particularly limited. For example, the catheter body 21 is made of styrene, polyolefin, polyurethane, polyester, polyamide, polyimide, polybutadiene, or transpoly. Various thermoplastic elastomers such as isoprene-based, fluororubber-based, and chlorinated polyethylene are listed. Use one or a combination of two or more of these (polymer alloy, polymer blend, laminate, etc.). Can do.

  Moreover, the catheter main body 21 and its tube wall may be a single layer, or may be a laminate in which a plurality of layers are laminated.

  The connector portion 22 fixed to the proximal end portion of the catheter main body 21 is constituted by a hard tube. The connector unit 22 is connected to the scanner device 61 of the external unit 6.

  The method for fixing the connector portion 22 to the catheter body 21 is not particularly limited. For example, a method using adhesion (adhesion with an adhesive or a solvent), fusion (thermal fusion, high-frequency fusion, ultrasonic fusion), or the like. ) And the like.

  A rotation support portion 223 that rotatably supports the imaging core 3 is provided at the base end portion of the connector portion 22.

  On the distal end side of the connector portion 22, there are a unit connector 32 connected via an inner tube 312 and a relay connector 33 connected to the unit connector 32 via an outer tube 331 and connected to the catheter body 21.

  The connector part 22 holds the drive shaft 4 and the inner tube 312. When the inner tube 312 is pushed into or pulled out of the unit connector 32 and the outer tube 331, the drive shaft 4 is slid in the catheter body 21 in the axial direction in conjunction with it.

  When the inner tube 312 is pushed in the most, as shown in FIG. 1, the inner tube 312 reaches the end on the catheter body 21 side near the end of the outer tube 331 on the catheter body 21 side, that is, near the relay connector 33. . In this state, the prism 52 is located near the distal end of the catheter body 21 of the catheter 2.

  When the inner tube 312 is pulled out most, as shown in FIG. 2, the stopper 313 formed at the tip of the inner tube 312 is caught by the inner wall of the unit connector 32, and the portions other than the vicinity of the caught tip are exposed. In this state, the prism 52 is pulled back inside the catheter 2 while leaving the catheter 2. As the prism 52 moves while rotating, a tomographic image of blood vessels and vessels can be created.

  The constituent material of the connector portion 22 is not particularly limited. For example, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, cyclic polyolefin, polystyrene, poly- (4-methylpentene-1), polycarbonate, acrylic resin, acrylonitrile-butadiene- Various resins such as styrene copolymers, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, butadiene-styrene copolymers, polyamides (for example, nylon 6, nylon 6,6, nylon 6,10, nylon 12) can be used. .

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the connector portion 22 is formed by connecting three tubular bodies along the longitudinal direction. However, the connector portion 22 is not limited to this, and may be configured by, for example, one tubular body. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the imaging core 3 is inserted into the sensor lumen 211 of the catheter 2. The imaging core 3 in the inserted state rotates about its central axis and moves along its longitudinal direction by the operation of the scanner device 61.

  As described above, according to the catheter 2 and the catheter assembly 1, the guide wire 200 can be retracted to the proximal side with respect to the imaging region 27 when capturing an image of the blood vessel wall. Thereby, when an image of the blood vessel wall is taken, it is possible to reliably prevent the back shadow of the guide wire 200 from occurring in the image. Then, the obtained image has no blind spot, and therefore accurate observation of the entire target site can be performed.

  Moreover, since the diameter-reduced part 23 is formed in the front-end | tip part of the catheter main body 21, the catheter main body 21 can be easily inserted in the inside of a blood vessel, especially the inside of a thin blood vessel with the diameter-reduced part 23. .

Second Embodiment
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a distal end side portion of the second embodiment of the catheter of the present invention. In the following, for convenience of explanation, the right side in FIG. 4 is referred to as “base end” and the left side is referred to as “tip”.

  Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with a focus on the differences from the first embodiment described above, and the description of the same matters will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the catheter 2 of the second embodiment, the position of the distal end portion of the sensor lumen 211, that is, the position of the distal end portion of the imaging region 27 coincides with the position of the distal end portion of the guide wire lumen 212. Yes.

  Moreover, the external shape in the cross section of the catheter main body 21 is circular in the structure of illustration. In this case, the outer diameter of the portion of the catheter body 21 where the guide wire lumen 212 is formed is set larger than the outer diameter of the portion of the catheter body 21 where the guide wire lumen 212 is not formed. Needless to say, the shape of the catheter body 21 is not limited to the shape described above.

  A wire 281 protruding in the distal direction is provided at the distal end of the catheter body 21. In the illustrated configuration, the wire 281 is configured by a member obtained by winding a wire in a spiral shape, that is, a coil. Further, in the configuration shown in the drawing, the wires 281 are arranged in a dense manner without any gap between the wires wound spirally in a state where no external force is applied. That is, the wire 281 is wound in a close winding so that adjacent wires are in contact with each other. Note that the wire 281 may have a gap between the spirally wound wires in a state where no external force is applied.

  Further, the outer diameter of the distal end portion of the wire 281 is reduced with respect to the outer diameter of the proximal end portion of the wire 281. And the wire 281 is being fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the front-end | tip part of the sensor lumen 211 in the outer peripheral surface of the base end part.

  Further, a tip member 282 is fixed to the tip of the wire 281 so as to cover the tip opening of the wire 281. The distal end surface of the distal end member 282 is rounded. The tip member 282 can protect the blood vessel.

  In addition, although the front-end | tip part of the sensor lumen | rumen 211 is sealed with the sealing member which is not shown in figure, it does not need to seal not only this but.

  The wire 281 is preferably made of a metal material. Examples of the metal material constituting the wire 281 include stainless steel, a superelastic alloy, a cobalt-based alloy, a noble metal such as gold, platinum, and tungsten, or an alloy containing these (for example, a platinum-iridium alloy). In particular, when it is made of an X-ray opaque material such as a noble metal, that is, a material having X-ray contrast properties, the wire 281 has contrast properties under X-ray fluoroscopy, and the distal end of the catheter 2 under X-ray fluoroscopy. The position of the part can be confirmed, which is preferable. The length of the wire 281 is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 5 to 20 mm.

According to this catheter 2, the same effect as the first embodiment described above can be obtained.
In this catheter 2, the position of the distal end of the imaging core 3 matches the position of the distal end of the sensor lumen 211, that is, the position of the distal end of the imaging region 27, and the position of the distal end of the guide wire lumen 212. Can be moved deeper than in the first embodiment.

  Further, when photographing with the imaging core, the distal end portion of the catheter body 21 can be protected by the wire 281 and the distal end member 282, and damage to the blood vessel can be prevented.

  In the present invention, the wire 281 and the tip member 282 may be omitted. In this case, it is preferable that the corner of the distal end of the catheter body 21 is rounded.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a distal end portion and a proximal end portion in a third embodiment of the catheter of the present invention. In the following, for convenience of explanation, the right side in FIG. 5 is referred to as “base end” and the left side is referred to as “tip”.

  Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described with a focus on differences from the first embodiment described above, and descriptions of the same matters will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the catheter 2 of the third embodiment, the catheter main body 21 has a feeding lumen 217 that communicates with the guide wire lumen 212 on the proximal end side of the guide wire lumen 212 and feeds the fluid. Have. The liquid feeding lumen 217 is arranged in parallel with the sensor lumen 211 over the entire length thereof.

  Further, a side hole 218 is provided as an opening in the middle of the catheter body 21, and the proximal end of the guide wire lumen 212 communicates with the side hole 218.

  Further, in the middle of the connector portion 22 in the longitudinal direction, a tube 222 whose lumen communicates with the liquid feeding lumen 217 is connected, and a liquid injection port 221 is connected to the proximal end portion of the tube 222. ing. Thereby, a liquid can be inject | poured from the liquid injection | pouring port 221, for example using a syringe, and the inside of the lumen 217 for liquid feeding can be flowed to a front-end | tip direction.

In this catheter 2, when imaging is performed by the imaging core 3, blood in the vicinity of the imaging region 27 outside the catheter body 21 flows in the distal direction, so that physiological saline is contained in a guiding catheter (not shown) in which the catheter 2 is inserted. Or a liquid such as a contrast medium is flowed toward the tip. Further, in order to flow blood in the vicinity of the imaging region 27 in the guide wire lumen 212 in the distal direction, the liquid is flowed in the liquid feeding lumen 217 in the distal direction. Thereby, a part of the liquid flowing in the distal direction in the guide wire lumen 212 is discharged from the side hole 215 to the outside of the catheter body 21 and stays in the imaging region. On the other hand, during the imaging, the prism 52 portion of the imaging core 3 moves in the proximal direction in the imaging region 27, so that the moving direction of the prism 52 portion and the liquid flow direction are the same. This makes it possible to flow blood in the vicinity of the prism 52 more reliably.
According to this catheter 2, the same effect as the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  The third embodiment can also be applied to the second embodiment. That is, the liquid feeding lumen 217 may be provided in the catheter 2 of the second embodiment.

Above, the catheters of the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto, each part of the configuration will be replaced with any configuration having a similar function be able to. In addition, any other component may be added to the present invention.

  Further, the present invention may be a combination of any two or more configurations of the above embodiments.

  Further, the image obtained by the catheter assembly is not limited to an optically obtained image, and may be an ultrasonic image, for example. That is, the imaging means of the imaging core may have, for example, an ultrasonic transducer as an image capturing unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Catheter assembly 2 Catheter 21 Catheter main body 211 Sensor lumen 212 Guide wire lumen 213, 214 Opening 215 Side hole 217 Fluid supply lumen 218 Side hole 22 Connector part 221 Liquid injection port 222 Tube 223 Rotation support part 23 Reduced diameter part 261 First marker 262 Second marker 27 Imaging area 281 Wire 282 Tip member 3 Imaging core 312 Inner tube 313 Stopper 32 Unit connector 331 Outer tube 33 Relay connector 4 Drive shaft 5 Imaging means 51 Housing 511 Through hole 52 Prism 53 Connector portion 6 External unit 61 Scanner device 62 Axial direction moving device 63 Control unit 64 Display unit 200 Guide wire

Claims (11)

A sensor lumen having an imaging core having an image capturing portion for capturing an image in a living body lumen on the distal end side, and a guide wire lumen in which a guide wire is inserted are used by being inserted into the living body lumen A catheter comprising a flexible catheter body,
At the distal end of the catheter body, an imaging region is provided along the longitudinal direction of the catheter body that allows an operation to capture an image in the living body lumen by the image capturing unit.
On the proximal end side of the imaging region of the catheter body or the proximal end of the imaging region, a first marker having contrast is provided,
In the imaging region, the sensor lumen and the guide wire lumen are arranged side by side,
The distal end of the guide wire lumen is open to the distal end of the catheter body, and the proximal end of the guide wire lumen is provided to extend to the proximal end side from the proximal end of the imaging region. catheter.   The catheter according to claim 1, wherein an opening is provided in the middle of the catheter body, and a proximal end of the guide wire lumen communicates with the opening.   The catheter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first marker is located on a distal end side with respect to a proximal end of the guide wire lumen.   The catheter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first marker indicates a proximal end portion of the imaging region.   2. A second marker having a contrast property is provided on a proximal side of the catheter body from the first marker and on a proximal side of the guide wire lumen or a proximal side of the guide wire lumen. The catheter in any one of thru | or 4.   The catheter according to claim 5, wherein the second marker indicates a proximal end portion of the guide wire lumen.   The catheter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the catheter main body has a liquid-feeding lumen that communicates with the guide wire lumen and performs liquid feeding.   The catheter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the imaging region of the catheter body has a side hole communicating with the guide wire lumen.   The catheter according to claim 8, wherein a plurality of the side holes are provided along the imaging region.   10. The catheter according to claim 8, wherein the side hole is inclined so that an opening on an outer peripheral surface side of the catheter body of the side hole is positioned on a proximal end side with respect to an opening on the guide wire lumen side.   The catheter according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein a wire protruding in a distal direction is provided at a distal end of the catheter body.

Images