EP0340923A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for dilating a body cavity
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1989-04-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-04-10
Abstract
Abstract The invention provides an apparatus for dilating a body cavity comprising an expandable member (11) having a normal position and a dilated position. In the normal position, the member defines a narrow generally elongate shape (Fig 2) for insertion in a body cavity. A means is provided to expand the member to its dilated position in which the member forms a hollow generally open ended elongate shape having a substantially continuous sidewall to dilate the body cavity. In one form the expandable member comprises a sheet of material (11) capable of being rolled into the normal position, and the means to expand the member comprises an inherent resilience of the sheet of material causing it to be naturally urged into a partially unrolled dilated position.
Inventors
- 👤 Gerard A. Waters
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 13:59
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B1/00; A61B1/32
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
72 words
An apparatus for dilating a body cavity comprising, an expandable member (11) having a normal position and a dilated position, in the normal position the member (11) defines a narrow generally elongate shape for insertion in a body cavity, and means to expand the member to its dilated position in which the member forms a hollow generally open ended elongate shape (19) having a substantially continuous sidewall to dilate the body cavity.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
72 words
An apparatus for dilating a body cavity comprising, an expandable member (11) having a normal position and a dilated position, in the normal position the member (11) defines a narrow generally elongate shape for insertion in a body cavity, and means to expand the member to its dilated position in which the member forms a hollow generally open ended elongate shape (19) having a substantially continuous sidewall to dilate the body cavity.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
70 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the expandable member comprises a sheet of material (11) capable of being rolled into the normal position, to form a narrow generally elongate shape, and wherein the means to expand the member comprises an inherent resilience of the sheet of material causing it to be naturally urged into a partially unrolled dilated position to form a hollow generally open ended elongate shape.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the expandable member is generally cylindrical in its normal and dilated positions.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
73 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the sheet of material (11) is generally rectangular having upper and lower edges (12,13) and left and right side edges (14,15), and first and second handle members (16,17) are attached to the sheet of material (11) along said left and right side edges respectively, said handle members having lower ends (22) which extend below the lower edge (13) of the sheet of material.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the upper end of one of said handle members (16,17) has a dome shaped tip (18).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 or 5, wherein there is provided means (20) for securing the handle members (16,17) together in the normal and dilated positions of the sheet of material (11).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the means for securing the handle members (16,17) together comprises a collar (20) having a suitable recess (21) to receive the ends (22) of the handle members.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
45 words
An apparatus as claimed in Claim 6, wherein said first handle member (16) is longer than said second handle member (17), and the means for securing the handle members together comprises a hollow collar (30) which engages over the lower ends (22) of the handles.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
33 words
An apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 8, wherein at least one of said handle members (16,17) includes a light guide (35) for conveying light into the body cavity.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
27 words
An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the expandable member (11) includes at least one light guide (40) for conveying light into the body cavity.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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