MEDICAL TREATMENT DEVICE

摘要

Medical treatment device for treating a target in a living body which takes the form of an undesired solid formation, such as a kidney stone (13). The device comprises a chamber (7) for accommodating a charge (5) of low density material, such as a liquid, semi-liquid material or a gel, a nozzle (11) forming an outlet from the chamber, and a receiving aperture closed by a diaphragm (9) which communicates with the chamber (7) and which is arranged to receive a slug (3) of relatively high density material projected at high speed towards the aperture, thereby to transmit the impacting force of the slug to the charge in the chamber so that the charge is extruded through the nozzle (11) as a pulsed jet. The slug is propelled at high speed along a barrel (25, 41) upon supply of high pressure gas under the control of a quick-acting valve (27), and a guide tube (31) is connected to the nozzle (11) and is arranged to direct the pulsed jet which issues from the nozzle, substantially without loss of kinetic energy, and towards the target so as to effect cleavage of the solid formation.