Flexible vacuum grabber for holding lesions

摘要

A grabbing device includes a transparent flexible cup that can be placed adjacent to a selected region of an inner surface of a body cavity. The flexible cup is visually put in place by the surgeon, and a vacuum is applied to draw a selected amount of tissue into the flexible cup, so that it may, e.g., be excised. The device may also retrieve the tissue excised from the body cavity.

主权项

1. A vacuum grabber device for insertion into a body via an insertion device, comprising:
a hollow elongated rod extending from a proximal end accessible to a user to a distal end having a flexible cup attached thereto, the flexible cup being movable between a first folded configuration in which an outer profile of the flexible cup is smaller than a working channel extending through the insertion device and a second deployed configuration in which an outer profile of the flexible cup is greater than the working channel, the flexible cup configured to move from the first configuration to the second configuration upon deployment from an opening in the working channel, wherein the flexible cup moves from the first configuration to the second configuration due to a resilience of at least one of the flexible cup and a plurality of ribs associated with the cup; and a sample catcher inside the elongated rod.