TWI718028B - Radiopaque marker installation device and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A radiopaque marker installation device is provided, which may include an inner tube and a clamping element. The clamping element may have a positioning portion. The positioning portion may be disposed at one end of the clamping element and used to fix the portion, having an installation hole, of a stent. The inner tube may be disposed inside the clamping element and be able to move in relation to the clamping element. The inner tube may have an accommodating portion. The accommodating portion may be disposed at one end of the inner tube and a radiopaque marker may be disposed inside the accommodating portion, such that the radiopaque marker may be aligned with the installation hole.

Description

Blood vessel stent marker setting device and setting method thereof

The invention relates to a vascular stent marker setting device. The invention also relates to the setting device and the setting method.

Cardiovascular obstruction has become one of modern civilization diseases. In order to effectively solve the patient's blood vessel blockage, doctors usually implant a vascular stent into the patient's blood vessel to resolve the blockage. In addition, stents can be used in the cardiovascular field as well as in non-vascular fields, and can also be used to treat related obstructive diseases, such as biliary tract, intestinal tract or trachea.

Please refer to Figure 1, which is a structural diagram of an existing vascular stent. As shown in the figure, the blood vessel stent S includes a plurality of rib-shaped portions R, and adjacent rib-shaped portions R are connected by a plurality of connecting portions C. In addition, one of the connecting portions C of the two rib-shaped portions R connecting the head ends further includes a mounting hole H; this mounting hole H is used for setting a radiopaque marker M. Similarly, one of the connecting parts C of the two rib-shaped parts R connecting the tail ends also includes a mounting hole H; this mounting hole H is used for setting a marker M. In addition, the marker M of the blood vessel stent S may also be directly provided on the rib-shaped portion R at the head end and the rib-shaped portion R at the tail end of the blood vessel stent S.

When performing stent expansion, the physician needs to use X-ray equipment to determine the position of the marker M of the vascular stent S to understand whether the vascular stent S is in the correct position; therefore, the marker M is usually set at the head and tail of the vascular stent S Two ends.

However, the manufacturer of the vascular stent S usually needs to manually install the marker M on the vascular stent S, so the production process of the vascular stent S is extremely inefficient and will consume more labor costs.

According to one of the objectives of the present invention, a vascular stent marker setting device is provided, which includes a clamp and an inner tube. The clamping piece has a positioning part; the positioning part is arranged at one end of the clamping piece and is used to fix the part of the blood vessel stent with the installation hole. The inner tube is arranged in the clamping piece and moves in the clamping piece relative to the clamping piece. The inner pipe has an accommodating part; the accommodating part is arranged at one end of the inner tube and is used to set a marker so that the marker and the mounting hole Align with each other.

In an embodiment, the inner diameter of the accommodating portion may be greater than the inner diameter of the inner tube.

In one embodiment, the vascular stent marker setting device further includes an airflow generator, which is connected to the inner tube and generates suction to fix the marker to the receiving portion.

In an embodiment, the airflow generator generates a thrust to push the marker away from the accommodating part and into the mounting hole.

In one embodiment, the blood vessel stent marker setting device further includes a thimble, which is arranged in the inner tube and used to push the marker to push the marker away from the accommodating portion and enter the mounting hole.

In one embodiment, the diameter of the upper surface of the marker is smaller than the diameter of the lower surface of the marker, so that the marker has a trapezoidal cylindrical shape or an arbitrary-sided ladder.

In one embodiment, the angle between the side edge of the marker and the vertical plane is 1°-5°.

In one embodiment, the diameter of the hole above the mounting hole is larger than the diameter of the hole below the mounting hole, so that the mounting hole is a trapezoidal cylindrical shape or a trapezoidal hole with any side.

In one embodiment, the angle between the side of the mounting hole and the vertical plane is -1°~-5°.

In one embodiment, the marker is made of metal.

In one embodiment, the hardness of the marker is greater than the hardness of the blood vessel stent.

In one embodiment, the hardness of the marker is less than the hardness of the blood vessel stent.

According to one of the objectives of the present invention, a method for arranging a vascular stent marker is further provided, which includes the following steps: placing the marker on the accommodating part at one end of the inner tube in the holder, and then installing the marker and the vascular stent The holes are aligned with each other; a part of the blood vessel stent with a mounting hole is fixed by the positioning part at one end of the clamping piece; and the marker is pushed away from the containing part and into the mounting hole.

In one embodiment, the method for arranging the vascular stent marker further includes the following steps: generating suction with an airflow generator to fix the marker to the accommodating portion.

In one embodiment, the method for arranging a marker for a blood vessel stent further includes the following steps: generating a pushing force with an airflow generator to push the marker away from the receiving portion and into the mounting hole.

In one embodiment, a thimble is used to push the marker to push the marker away from the receiving part and into the mounting hole.

In one embodiment, the method for setting a marker for a blood vessel stent further includes the following steps: cutting the metal block with a laser generator, so that the cut metal block is a trapezoidal cylinder or a ladder with any side as the marker; And flip the marker.

In one embodiment, the vascular stent marker setting method further includes the following steps: cutting the portion of the vascular stent with a laser generator, so that the portion of the vascular stent after cutting forms a trapezoidal cylindrical shape or an arbitrary-sided ladder shape Mounting holes.

In summary, according to the vascular stent marker setting device and method of the present invention, it can have one or more of the following advantages:

(1) In an embodiment of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting device has a special structural design, which enables it to achieve extremely high positioning accuracy. Therefore, it can be realized by automated production equipment, which greatly improves the efficiency of the vascular stent production process. Promote.

(2) In an embodiment of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting device can be realized by automated production equipment, so labor costs can be effectively reduced, and therefore the manufacturing cost of the vascular stent can be significantly reduced.

(3) In an embodiment of the present invention, both the marker and the mounting hole of the vascular stent can be made by laser processing, so the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent can be further improved and labor costs can be reduced.

(4) In an embodiment of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting can be applied not only to polymer vascular stents, but also to metal vascular stents. Therefore, it is extremely flexible in use and more widely used.

(5) In one embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the vascular stent marker setting device is simple, so the desired effect can be achieved without a substantial increase in cost, which is of great commercial value.

1: vascular stent marker setting device

11: Clamping parts

111: Positioning Department

12: inner tube

121: accommodating part

13: Airflow generator

14: thimble

M, K: marker

K1: the side of the marker

K2: The upper surface of the marker

K3: Lower surface of marker

S,S’: Blood Vessel Stent

R,R’: ribs

C, C’: Connection part

H, H’: mounting hole

H1’: The side of the mounting hole

H2’: Hole above the mounting hole

H3’: Hole under the mounting hole

L: Laser

MB: Metal block

DF: suction

PF: thrust

VP: vertical plane

θ: included angle

S61~S67: Step flow

Figure 1 is a structural diagram of an existing vascular stent.

Figures 2A and 2B are structural diagrams of the vascular stent marker setting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3A is a schematic diagram of the preparation of the marker of the vascular stent marker setting device of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3B is a structural diagram of the marker of the vascular stent marker setting device of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4A is a structural diagram of a blood vessel stent with mounting holes according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of the mounting hole of the vascular stent with mounting hole according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4C is a structural diagram of the mounting hole of the vascular stent with mounting hole in the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5A is the first schematic diagram of the marker setting device of the vascular stent marker setting device of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5B is a second schematic diagram of setting markers of the vascular stent marker setting device of the first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart of the method for setting markers of the vascular stent according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a structural diagram of the vascular stent marker setting device of the second embodiment of the present invention.

The following will describe embodiments of the vascular stent marker setting device and the setting method of the present invention with reference to related drawings. For clarity and convenience of the drawing description, the various components in the drawings may be changed in size and proportion. Exaggerated or reduced. In the following description and/or the scope of the patent application, when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or an intervening element may be present; and when referring to an element When "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there is no intervening element, and other words used to describe the relationship between elements or layers should be interpreted in the same way. To facilitate understanding, the same elements in the following embodiments are described with the same symbols.

Please refer to Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B, which are the structural diagrams of the vascular stent marker setting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the blood vessel stent marker setting device 1 of this embodiment includes a clamping member 11, an inner tube 12 and an air flow generator 13.

The clamping member 11 has a positioning portion 111; the positioning portion 111 is disposed at one end of the clamping member 11.

The inner tube 12 is disposed in the clamping member 11 and can move relative to the clamping member 11 inside the clamping member 11. The inner tube 12 has a receiving portion 121. The accommodating portion 121 is disposed at one end of the inner tube 12 and used for setting the marker K, and the inner diameter of the accommodating portion 121 is larger than the inner diameter of the inner tube 12.

The air flow generator 13 is connected to the inner tube 12 and generates a suction force DF to fix the marker K in the receiving portion 121.

Please refer to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, which are schematic diagrams and structural diagrams of the markers of the vascular stent marker setting device of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3A, the marker K of this embodiment can be produced by cutting the metal block MB by generating a laser L through a laser generator. Since the laser generator focuses the laser L on one point, the side K1 of the marker K and the vertical plane VP will present an angle θ during cutting. In this way, the diameter of the upper surface K2 of the marker K is smaller than the diameter of the lower surface K3 of the marker K, so that the marker K has a trapezoidal cylindrical shape. In another embodiment, the marker K can also be a ladder with any side shape or other different shapes.

As shown in Figure 3B, the side of the marker K has an angle θ with the vertical plane; in one embodiment, the angle θ between the side of the marker K and the vertical plane VP is 1°~5°; in another implementation In an example, the angle θ between the side of the marker K and the vertical plane VP is 1°~4°; in another embodiment, the angle θ between the side of the marker K and the vertical plane VP is 1°~2°. Then, the marker K can be set in the accommodating portion 121 after being turned over.

Please refer to Fig. 4A, Fig. 4B and Fig. 4C, which are the structural diagram of the vascular stent with mounting hole, the schematic diagram of the manufacturing process of the mounting hole and the structural diagram of the mounting hole according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 4A, the mounting hole H'of the blood vessel stent S'of this embodiment can also be provided on one of the connecting portions C'between two adjacent rib-shaped portions R'.

As shown in Fig. 4B, similarly, the mounting hole H'can also be produced by cutting the connecting portion C'by generating a laser L through the same laser generator. Since the laser generator focuses the laser L on one point, when cutting, the side H1' of the mounting hole H'and the vertical plane VP will also present an angle θ; in one embodiment, between the mounting hole H' The angle θ between the side H1' and the vertical plane VP is -1°~-5°; in another embodiment, the angle θ between the side H1' of the mounting hole H'and the vertical plane VP is -1°~-4 °; In another embodiment, the angle θ between the side H1' of the mounting hole H'and the vertical plane VP is -1°~-2°. In this way, the diameter of the hole H2' above the mounting hole H'is greater than the diameter of the hole H3' below the mounting hole H', so that the mounting hole H'also has a trapezoidal cylindrical shape and has substantially the same size and shape as the marker K . Therefore, as shown in Fig. 4C, the marker K can be appropriately placed in the mounting hole H'. Of course, if the marker K is a ladder with any side shape or other different shapes, the mounting hole H'also needs to be made to have substantially the same size and shape as the marker K through a corresponding manufacturing process. In another embodiment, the mounting hole H'can also be a trapezoid with any side shape or other different shapes.

Please refer to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, which are the first schematic diagram and the second schematic diagram of setting markers of the vascular stent marker setting device of the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 5A, first, first align the clamping member 11 with the part of the blood vessel stent S'having the mounting hole H'(i.e., the connecting portion C'of the blood vessel stent S'). At this time, the airflow generator 13 generates a suction force DF to fix the marker K to the accommodating portion 121.

As shown in Figure 5B, next, fix the vascular stent S'with the positioning portion 111 of the clamp 11 to fix the part having the mounting hole H'to position it, and make the marker K and the mounting hole H'mutually Aligned, it can be seen from the figure that the clamping member 11 can have two positioning portions 111, which are two protrusions; at the same time, the airflow generator 13 generates a thrust PF to push the marker K away from the accommodating portion 121 and enter the mounting hole H '. If the marker K is made of metal (such as gold, platinum, tantalum, etc.), and the blood vessel stent S’ is made of polymer material, the blood vessel branch of this embodiment The design of the rack marker setting device 1, the marker K and the mounting hole H'can achieve better performance. Wherein, the hardness of the marker K can be greater than the hardness of the blood vessel stent S', or can be less than the hardness of the blood vessel stent S'.

It can be seen from the above that the blood vessel stent marker setting device 1 has a special structural design, and the positioning portion 111 of the holder 11 fixes the portion of the blood vessel stent S'with the mounting hole H'to position it, and makes the marker K Align with the mounting hole H', it can provide positioning function, and can achieve extremely high positioning accuracy. Therefore, it can be realized by automated production equipment, which greatly improves the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent S'and can effectively reduce Labor costs.

In addition, as mentioned above, both the marker K and the mounting hole H'of the blood vessel stent S'can be made by laser processing, so that the efficiency of the production process of the blood vessel stent S'can be further improved and labor costs can be reduced.

Of course, the above is only an example. The components of the vascular stent marker setting device 1 of this embodiment, their cooperative relationship, the structure of the marker K, and the structure of the mounting hole H'can be changed according to actual needs. The present invention does not Limit this.

It is worth mentioning that, generally speaking, manufacturers of vascular stents usually need to manually install the markers on the vascular stent. Therefore, the production process of the vascular stent is extremely inefficient and consumes more labor costs. On the contrary, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting device has a special structural design, so that it can achieve extremely high positioning accuracy, so it can be realized with automated production equipment, which greatly improves the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent , And can effectively reduce labor costs, so the manufacturing cost of the vascular stent can be significantly reduced.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, both the marker and the mounting hole of the vascular stent can be manufactured by laser processing, so the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent can be further improved and the labor cost can be reduced.

In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting can be applied not only to polymer vascular stents, but also to metal vascular stents. Therefore, it is extremely flexible in use and more widely used.

Furthermore, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the structure of the vascular stent marker setting device is simple, so the desired effect can be achieved without a substantial increase in cost, which is of great commercial value. It can be seen from the above that the present invention can indeed achieve unexpected effects.

Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a flowchart of a method for setting a vascular stent marker in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the method of this embodiment includes the following steps:

Step S61: Use a laser generator to cut the metal block so that the cut metal block has a trapezoidal cylindrical shape as a marker.

Step S62: Turn over the marker.

Step S63: Use a laser generator to cut a part of the blood vessel stent, so that the cut part of the blood vessel stent forms a trapezoidal cylindrical mounting hole.

Step S64: Set the marker on the accommodating part at one end of the inner tube in the clamping member.

Step S65: Use the airflow generator to generate suction to fix the marker in the accommodating portion.

Step S66: Fix the part of the blood vessel stent with the installation hole by the positioning part at one end of the clamping member, so that the marker and the installation hole of the blood vessel stent are aligned with each other.

Step S67: Use the air flow generator to generate thrust to push the marker away from the accommodating part and into the mounting hole.

Please refer to FIG. 7, which is a structural diagram of the vascular stent marker setting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the blood vessel stent marker setting device 1 of this embodiment includes a clamping member 11, an inner tube 12 and an air flow generator 13.

The clamping member 11 has a positioning portion 111; the positioning portion 111 is disposed at one end of the clamping member 11.

The inner tube 12 is disposed in the clamping member 11 and can move relative to the clamping member 11 inside the clamping member 11. The inner tube 12 has a receiving portion 121. The accommodating portion 121 is disposed at one end of the inner tube 12 and used for setting the marker K, and the inner diameter of the accommodating portion 121 is larger than the inner diameter of the inner tube 12.

The air flow generator 13 is connected to the inner tube 12 and generates suction to fix the marker K to the receiving portion 121.

The above-mentioned elements are the same as the previous embodiments, so they will not be repeated here. Different from the previous embodiment, the vascular stent marker setting device 1 further includes a thimble 14; the thimble 14 is arranged in the inner tube 12 and is used to push the marker K To push the marker K away from the accommodating portion 121 and enter the mounting hole H′.

The above-mentioned structure can also achieve similar effects to the first embodiment, and can be realized by automated production equipment, which greatly improves the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent S', and can effectively reduce labor costs, so that the vascular stent S 'The manufacturing cost is significantly reduced.

Of course, the above is only an example. The components of the vascular stent marker setting device 1 of this embodiment and their cooperative relationship are not limited to this in the present invention.

In summary, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting device has a special structural design, which can achieve extremely high positioning accuracy. Therefore, it can be realized by automated production equipment to improve the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent. Significantly improved.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting device can be realized by automated production equipment, so labor costs can be effectively reduced, and therefore the manufacturing cost of the vascular stent can be significantly reduced.

In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, both the marker and the mounting hole of the vascular stent can be made by laser processing, so the efficiency of the production process of the vascular stent can be further improved and labor costs can be reduced.

In addition, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the vascular stent marker setting can be applied not only to polymer vascular stents, but also to metal vascular stents. Therefore, it is extremely flexible in use and more widely used.

Furthermore, according to the embodiments of the present invention, the structure of the vascular stent marker setting device is simple, so the desired effect can be achieved without a substantial increase in cost, which is of great commercial value.

It can be seen that the present invention has indeed achieved the desired enhancement effect by breaking through the previous technology, and it is not easy to think about by those who are familiar with the art. Its progressiveness and practicability have clearly met the requirements for patent application. Therefore, the applicant filed a patent application in accordance with the law, and I implore your office to approve this invention patent application, so as to encourage creation and to feel good.

The above description is only illustrative, and not restrictive. Any other equivalent modifications or alterations that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be included in the scope of the attached patent application.

1: vascular stent marker setting device

11: Clamping parts

111: Positioning Department

12: inner tube

121: accommodating part

13: Airflow generator

Claims (18)

A vascular stent marker setting device includes: a clamping member, including a positioning part, which is arranged at one end of the clamping member and used to fix a part of a blood vessel stent with a mounting hole; And an inner tube, which is arranged in the clamping member and can move in the clamping member relative to the clamping member, the inner tube has a accommodating part, and the accommodating part is arranged at one end of the inner tube And is used to set a marker; wherein, when the positioning part of the clamping member fixes a part of the vascular stent with the mounting hole, the marker and the mounting hole are aligned with each other. The blood vessel stent marker setting device according to claim 1, wherein the inner diameter of the accommodating portion is larger than the inner diameter of the inner tube. The vascular stent marker setting device according to claim 1, further comprising an airflow generator connected to the inner tube and generating suction to fix the marker on the accommodating part. The blood vessel stent marker setting device according to claim 1, further comprising an airflow generator connected to the inner tube and generating a thrust to push the marker away from the accommodating portion and into the mounting hole . The blood vessel stent marker setting device according to claim 1, further comprising a thimble, the thimble is arranged in the inner tube, and used to push the marker to push the marker away from the accommodating portion and enter the mounting hole . The vascular stent marker setting device according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the upper surface of the marker is smaller than the diameter of the lower surface of the marker, so that the marker is a trapezoidal cylindrical shape or a ladder of any side . The vascular stent marker setting device according to claim 6, wherein the angle between the side of the marker and a vertical plane is 1°-5°. The vascular stent marker setting device according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of the hole above the mounting hole is larger than the diameter of the hole below the mounting hole, so that the mounting hole is trapezoidal cylindrical or a ladder with any side hole. The vascular stent marker setting device according to claim 8, wherein the angle between the side of the mounting hole and a vertical plane is -1°~-5°. The blood vessel stent marker setting device according to claim 1, wherein the marker is made of metal. The blood vessel stent marker setting device according to claim 1, wherein the hardness of the marker is greater than the hardness of the blood vessel stent. The blood vessel stent marker setting device according to claim 1, wherein the hardness of the marker is less than the hardness of the blood vessel stent. A method for setting a marker for a blood vessel stent includes the following steps: setting a marker on an accommodating part at one end of an inner tube in a clamping piece; fixing the blood vessel with a positioning part at one end of the clamping piece The stent has a part of the mounting hole, and the marker is aligned with the mounting hole of the blood vessel stent; and the marker is pushed away from the accommodating part and enters the mounting hole. The vascular stent marker setting method according to claim 13, further comprising the following steps: generating suction with an airflow generator to fix the marker to the accommodating portion. The vascular stent marker setting method according to claim 13 further includes the following steps: generating a thrust with an airflow generator to push the marker away from the accommodating portion and into the mounting hole. The vascular stent marker setting method according to claim 13, further comprising the following steps: pushing the marker with a thimble to push the marker away from the accommodating part and into the mounting hole. The vascular stent marker setting method according to claim 13, further comprising the following steps: cutting a metal block with a laser generator, so that the metal block after cutting becomes a trapezoidal cylinder or a ladder of any side As the marker; and flip the marker. The blood vessel stent marker setting method according to claim 17, further comprising the following steps: cutting the part of the blood vessel stent with the laser generator so that the cut part of the blood vessel stent forms a trapezoidal cylindrical shape or The mounting hole of any side trapezoid.

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