Claims:I/We Claim:
1. A stone retrieval device, comprising:
a handle assembly coupled to retrieval basket via a sheath, said sheath having
stylet, said sheath extending longitudinally away from said handle toward said
retrieval basket,
said retrieval basket having plurality of legs, extending away from said catheter,
each leg having distal end, said distal end engaged a basket end to define closed
ends of said retrieval basket adjacent said basket end of said sheath and each leg of
said plurality of legs having proximal end extended in longitudinal direction away
from said basket end towards said sheath,
said retrieval basket capable of capturing even smallest of stone fragments,
wherein basket diameter ranges from minimum diameter of 2mm to maximum
diameter of 15mm,
said retrieval basket movable between an extended and retracted position.
2. The stone retrieval device of claim 1, wherein said basket comprises of sheath
wherein said sheath surrounds the said retrieval basket.
3. The stone retrieval device of claim 2, wherein said sheath has an outer diameter
ranging between 1.7 Fr to 3 Fr.
4. The stone retrieval device of claim 2, wherein said sheath facilitate pulling foreign
body containing retrieval basket through the patient or passageway.
5. The stone retrieval basket of claim 1, wherein said stone retrieval device is used
to access, approach, engage, ensnare or remove stone, calculi or like from bladder,
or gall bladder or kidney or urethra or ureter etc.
6. A stone retrieval basket comprising:
plurality of flexible legs or wires,
said flexible legs or wires outwardly disposed to form mesh-like structure, said
plurality of flexible legs or wires comprises wires of different cross sectional
dimension, moulded to form four identical cross-sectional loops,
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said mesh like structure capable to capture and/or ensnare even smallest of
stone fragments within itself and minimize the loss of captured stone while
retracting back the said basket,
said plurality of flexible wires having proximal end, said proximal end extending
longitudinally away from the said sheath, towards distal end to include retrieval
basket
said distal end forming atruamatic tip-less retrieval basket.
7. The stone retrieval basket of claim 6, wherein diameter of the basket ranges
between 2mm to 15mm with a tolerance level of 0.5mm.
8. The stone retrieval basket of claim 6, wherein basket wire is shape memory
material such as nickel titanium alloy, preferably nitinol or any other shape memory
material.
9. The stone retrieval basket of claim 6, wherein said plurality of flexible wires are of
varying cross sectional dimensions ranging from 0.02mm to 1mm.
10. The stone retrieval basket of claim 6, wherein diameter of said loop is 6.5mm
with tolerance level of 0.2mm.
11. The stone retrieval basket of claim 6, wherein said plurality of flexible legs or
wires are attached, connected and/or coupled to said stylet in any variety of ways
including tying, looping, welding, mechanically fastening, weaving, adhering, gluing
or any other way or any combination thereof.
12. The stone retrieval basket of claim 6, wherein plurality of flexible legs or wires
have gripping or holding mechanism, said plurality of flexible legs or wires are
formed of any of variety of metals or alloys, such as stainless steel, nitinol or plastic
or any other material or any combination thereof. , Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to medical devices to remove stone, calculi
or like from the biliary and urinary tracts. More particularly, the invention relates to
stone baskets having atraumatic distal ends that are contoured or tip-less to
minimize chances of damage to tissue during use and to enhance the ability of the
basket to capture and release stones or like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various organs and passages in the body are subjected to the development of stones,
calculi or like. Gallstones are common problem and are the most frequent cause of
gallbladder inflammation. Calculi in other parts of the biliary system are also
common place. Similarly, stones, calculi and the like can develop throughout the
urinary system, including urethra, ureter and kidney. Minimally invasive surgical
procedures have been developed for the removal of stones, calculi, or like from the
biliary and urinary systems.
Medical instruments are currently in use that reduce the invasiveness and potential
trauma previously associated with various medical procedures. One such procedure
is the removal from the body of naturally occurring non-tissue objects referred to as
stones, such as kidney stones and gallstones. Various medical retrieval devices are
available which allow these stone-type objects to be removed from the body, for
example via the urinary tract, without requiring major surgery. Typically, such
instruments consist of two or more flexible elements. The flexible elements, such as
wires, are formed in the shape of a resiliently collapsible basket, cage, grasper, or
other entrapping mechanism. This basket is attached to a drive wire or actuation
cable that passes through the lumen of a flexible sheath. The sheath and drive wire
comprise the shaft portion of the device. At the proximal end of the shaft, the sheath
and drive wire are attached to a multi-part handle, normally constructed of
thermoplastic materials, which can typically be operated by the user with a single
hand.
Particularly, basket-tipped catheters can be less than satisfactory in attempting to
retrieve very small or flat stones, particularly when the stones lie in large cavities
which provide the stones with ample room for displacement. Moreover, most stone
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baskets are helically shaped, so that they permit the entry of stones from the side of
the basket. This is typically due to the presence of a discreet tip on the basket, such
as small length of cannula which holds the ends of the wires of the basket
together. In addition, the relatively sharp tip of such baskets tends to cause an
indentation in the organ wall during capture of the stones, and can lead to damage
or injury to the wall of the organ.
There are "open-ended" baskets available in which the wires of the basket form an
open loop, and thereby permit a head-on approach to the stones, calculi or the like.
The wires of such baskets have typically been composed of stainless steel. Stainless
steel, however, is often subject to undesirable kinking during use, making it very
difficult to push or track the device through the body. Moreover, stainless steel
baskets typically do not have a resiliency suitable for more than one stone capture.
These drawbacks become particularly acute as the diameter of the device is
decreased, as is required for the retrieval of stones located more deeply within the
body.
A few devices are known in which the wires of the basket are composed of a
superelastic alloy (for example, nitinol), but these particular devices may be subject
to their own drawbacks in manufacture or use. For example, they commonly employ
suture material to interconnect the most distal ends of the loops to one another. A
coating material or adhesive is often applied to the suture material and the
underlying section of wire, to fixedly position the suture material and wires relative
to one another and prevent the basket loops from sliding at their interconnection. In
the absence of such a material or adhesive, the sliding of the loops is allowed to be
fairly free, even in the presence of the suture material. No provision is made in these
devices for an intermediate degree of restricted sliding or movement of the basket
wires with respect to one another. Nor is any provision made, in devices having
relatively fixed basket wires, for allowing substantial flexing of the individual wires
with respect to one another, without unacceptable kinking.
Various prior arts discuss different basket configurations that are in use for
endoscopic object removal procedures. Likewise, US 6893450 discloses a medical
retrieval device that is provided which includes an elongated cylindrical member
having a passage extending therein and having a metallic proximal and distal
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portions. The proximal and distal portions are formed as separate pieces and
connected at a junction. The retrieving portion includes a plurality of resilient
grasping members, wherein the resilient grasping members are manipulate between
a compact shape and an enlarged shape, wherein the resilient grasping members of
the enlarged shape are in a relaxed condition. The disclosed invention includes a tip
basket wherein such baskets leads to tissue damage and is usually a painful
experience for the patients. Also, such baskets if used repeatedly it will lead to more
tissue loss, disturbance of vision to surgeons while performing the surgery and
traumatic experience for patients.
US5944728 discloses a surgical extractor, and related method, for removing material
from the body has the ability to capture and release material. The extractor has
sheath, basket comprised of a plurality of legs that are unattached at a distal end of
the basket and joined at a proximal base of the basket, and a plunger at distal end of
the sheath. The legs are moveable relative to the sheath and achieve a collapsed
position within the sheath and an extended position outside of the sheath in the
form of an open basket. The plunger can be moved back and forth between a
withdrawn position against the distal end of the sheath with the basket legs in the
open position and an extended position away from the distal end of the sheath with
the basket legs in a closed position. The distal ends of the legs are farther apart from
each other when in the open position than when in the closed position. Though the
design objectives of the current invention is to allow the device for both capture and
release of material thereby preventing trauma to the body tissues and to the lining
of lumen of the body and to enhance the ability of the basket to retain the material
during removal, but due to the open basket design, there is a probability of stone
loss while capturing the same and the open end of the legs can cause some trauma
to the patients as well while stone retrieval.
US 6626915 discloses a basket with atraumatic distal tips that allows capture of
material from difficult to reach areas of the body, while reducing the risk of tissue
damage. The applicant discloses a basket formed by a plurality of wires, each wire
forming a loop. The basket can remove material from a body, and it is moveable
between a collapsed position and expanded position. The ends of the loops are
attached to each other at a distal end of the sheath whereas the loops are
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unattached and freely moveable at the distal end of the basket. The non attached
loop design of the current patent might lead to non-capture of stones at times,
because of the gap available between the loops leading to multiple and repeated
attempts to capture the stone by inserting and removing the device time and again
through the scope leading to excess wear and tear.
US 7103796 discloses a medical retrieval basket device, comprising a plurality of
basket wires forming a basket, the basket including a wire collector at its distal end,
the wire collector having a substantially rigid body for receiving the wires, the wire
collector securing the wires at the distal end of the basket so as to provide a
substantially tip-less basket. The use of interlocking wires may compromise the
shape and integrity of the basket because the wires may move relative to each other
given the nature of a loop or suture. Further the foregoing tip-less prior art baskets
are known to have difficulty capturing and retaining calculus.
US 20150327876 discloses apparatus and methods relating to a medical retrieval
device that may include or be used with a catheter. The retrieval basket disclosed by
the applicant has plurality of legs that extend away from catheter in a longitudinal
direction. The retrieval basket also has an open retrieval end defined by a basket rim
that is engaged with the distal ends of the legs. The retrieval basket is surrounded by
a sheath as claimed by the applicant. Thought the sheath is to surround retrieval
basket but it may lead to some kind of hindrance while capturing the stones, also the
stone basket is an open mouthed basket so while trying to capture the stone, the
process can become repetitive and cumbersome.
It should thus be clear that it would be highly desirable to have a medical retrieval
device for repeatedly grasping, capturing, retrieving, extracting or removing stones,
calculi or the like which was tip-less and which was atraumatic during use. It would
also be highly desirable to have such a device which possessed superior resistance to
kinking during use, and which possessed good push-ability and track-ability during
use. It would further be highly desirable to have such a device which possessed a
predetermined, restricted degree of relative movement between the wire loops
making up the basket, yet which permitted a very high degree of springiness or
flexibility between the pair of wire legs making up each wire loop of the basket. It
would also be highly desirable to have such a device which could possess either an
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even number or an odd number of wire legs making up the basket. Finally, it would
be especially desirable to have such a device in unusually small diameters to capture
small-sized stones efficiently.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an atraumatic tip-less stone basket that
does not have a substantially protruding distal basket end or basket tip. A basket
according to the invention is atraumatic and does not have any significant distal
protrusion or outward projection that can poke tissue, pierce tissue or otherwise
cause trauma to tissue.
It is an another object of the present invention to provide a stone retrieval basket
that allows user to access certain areas within the body where material to be
retrieved might be lodges, impacted or embedded.
It is further an object of the invention to provide an atraumatic tip-less stone basket
that lacks a protruding tip, wherein the basket is formed by a plurality of wires, each
wire forming a loop thus leading to a tip-less basket.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a stone retrieval basket that
provides a mesh like structure formed by a plurality of filaments in a distal portion
and individual strands in proximal portion to optimize both the entry and capture of
objects in the proximal portion of the retrieval basket and retention of such objects
in distal portion of retrieval basket.
Further objects and advantages of preferred embodiments of the device described
herein are that such preferred embodiments are safe, reliable and easy to use. Still
further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the
ensuring description and drawings.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accord with these objects which will be discussed in detail below, the stone
retrieval device of the invention generally includes a sheath, a flexible connecting
means, preferably a stylet extending through and axially movable relative to the
sheath, a basket assembly coupled to a distal end of the stylet and an activation
handle coupled to proximal end of stylet and adapted for facilitating movement of
the stylet relative to the sheath such that the basket assembly may be moved out of
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and into the distal end of the sheath. The basket assembly is formed from plurality of
flexible wires which facilitate entrapping of urological and gastrointestinal calculi.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, an apparatus for stone retrieval is
provided, to be used with an endoscope or cystoscope or ureteroscope having a
shaft with a lens at a distal end; and a stone removing device to be introduced
through the endoscope. The stone removing device comprises a basket device and a
control, preferably a handle assembly. The basket device comprises a basket section
for capturing stone, calculi or like. The control or handle assembly is configured to
manage the closing and opening of the basket section around the stone, calculi or
like to facilitate the entrapment and release of the same.
In another preferred embodiment, the invention provides a medical retrieval basket
formed from a plurality of flexible legs or wires preferably made of nitinol; moulded
in a helical basket shape, a mesh like structure formed from plurality of flexible legs
or wires at distal end of the basket and individual wires combined together at
proximal end. The said medical retrieval basket formed from the aforementioned
configuration wherein the flexible wires are connected or coupled in a variety of
ways together that includes tying, looping, welding, mechanically fastening, weaving,
adhering, gluing or any other way or any combination thereof, that yields a
atraumatic tip-less basket.
Embodiments of the invention provide a medical retrieval basket and procedure that
assist practitioners in the removal of stone, calculi or like from a desired place by
entrapment and releases the stone, calculi or like from entrapment when desired.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of entrapping stone,
calculi or like within a medical retrieval basket is disclosed. The method includes
inserting the stone removing device through a guiding scope like endoscope,
ureteroscope or cystoscope into the patient, wherein the said device having a
catheter, a proximal end, a distal end and a sheath extending longitudinally between
the proximal and distal ends, an stylet extending within the sheath and a basket
connected to distal end of stylet wherein basket comprises plurality of flexible wires
of superelastic alloy preferably nitinol. The method further includes advancing the
device to a desired body location, extending the catheter including stylet comprising
basket distally relative to sheath and deploying the basket, entrapping the stone,
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calculi or like within the basket, retracting back the same along with the guiding
scope to release the captured stones.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description
taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 shows the perspective view of the medical retrieval device
Figure 2 is top view of the medical retrieval basket
Figure 3 is the isometric view of the medical retrieval basket
Figure 4 is the front view of the medical retrieval basket
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
It has to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in their application to
the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the
following description or illustrated in the drawings. Other embodiments are possible
and may be practised or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that
the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and
should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including”, “comprising”, or “having”
and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and
equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms
“connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and
encompass direct and indirect connections and couplings. In addition the terms
“connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted to physical or
mechanical connections or couplings.
Referring to Figure 1, a stone retrieval device (10) is illustrated having a control
mechanism or handle (11) connected to a retrieval basket (15) via a sheath (12) that
includes a stylet (13). Stone retrieval device (10), in the embodiment depicted, may
be used with a catheter-based design suitable for endoscopic or cystoscopic or
ureteroscopic use , for example, by being insertable or suitable for placement
through working channel(s) of an endoscope or cystoscope or ureteroscope.
Retrieval basket (15) may be inserted into a body passageway or virtually anywhere
in a patients gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, abdominal cavity, kidney, bile duct,
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urethra etc., facilitated by a relatively lengthy and/or flexible sheath (12). Handle
(11), may remain outside of the body passageway of the patient so that it may be
manipulated by, for example, an operating doctor or medical professional. Handle
(11) may be in communication with retrieval basket (15) through sheath (12)
including stylet (13), wherein stylet (13) and/or include a needle (14), preferably a
stainless steel grade 304 needle (), that is in communication with the basket (15), to
cause extension, retraction, constriction, rotation and/or loosening of basket (15).
Stone retrieval device (10) with a flexible sheath (12) has an outer diameter ranging
between 1.7 Fr to 3 Fr.
Retrieval basket (15) may be inserted into patient’s body passageway, may follow
the twists, turns, bends, angles and/or contours of the passageway into which it is
entered and remain in communication with handle (11), for example via sheath (12),
and handle (11) may be used to cause extension, retraction, constriction, and/or
loosening of retrieval basket (15). Stone retrieval device (10) may be used to access,
approach, and/or engage an object or projection within a patient. For example,
retrieval device (10) may be used to access, approach, engage, ensnare and/or
remove a foreign body from a patient. For another example, stone retrieval device
(10) may be used to access, approach, engage, ensnare and/or remove a stone or
crystal from a bladder or gall bladder, or kidney or urethra or ureter etc. It is
understood that these are merely examples and that stone retrieval device (10) may
be used for any of a variety of purposes and is not limited in use by these examples.
Referring to Figure 2, the retrieval basket (15) consists of a plurality of flexible
elements or wires (151) that are outwardly disposed in a criss-cross manner to form
a mesh like structure (152) for entrapping objects. Basket (15) has an expandable
diameter, which in its completely open state is generally between 2mm to 15mm
with tolerance level of 0.5mm. Basket wires (151) may be constructed or formed of a
shape memory material, such as nickel titanium alloy, preferably known as nitinol, or
any other shape memory material with similar properties. In preferred embodiments,
the mesh like structure (152) formed from a plurality of flexible wires (151)
comprises wires of different cross-sectional dimension ranging between 0.01mm and
1mm, moulded in a manner to form four identical cross sectional loops (153) as
shown in Figure 3, comprising of another set of plurality flexible wires (154)
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criss-crossing each other to form the desired mesh like structure (152) for entrapping
the objects.
As shown in Figure 4 and Figure 2, in preferred embodiments, the total length from
the distal end (141) of the needle (14) to the centre (155) of the basket (15) and
distal end (156) of the basket (15) is typically 29.2 mm to 32mm, wherein the needle
(14), typically having 0.90 mm diameter and 8.50 mm length, is included to receive
the plurality of flexible wires (151,154), attached at the distal end of the stylet (131).
The retrieval basket (15), in some preferred embodiments, comprises of plurality of
legs (157) formed from plurality of continuous strand or piece of flexible wire (151)
with a cross sectional dimension of varying ranges preferably between 0.01mm to
1mm, each leg (157) forms a loop (153), typically having 6.5 mm diameter with 0.2
mm tolerance level, at distal end (156) of the retrieval basket (15) having
intersections in between formed from plurality of flexible wires (154) with a varying
cross sectional dimension ranging between 0.01mm to 1mm.
Retrieval basket (15) may be used to ensnare or grab such a foreign body, may be
constricted around foreign body, and/or may be retracted into a sheath (12). If
included, sheath (12) may be used to, for example, envelope foreign body in retrieval
basket (15) and/or to facilitate pulling foreign body and/or retrieval basket (15)
through the patient and/or passageway. Sheath (12) may be attached to retrieval
basket (15) so that, for example, sheath (12) may be either static or dynamic relative
to basket (15). In some embodiments, legs (157) may be connected with a mesh,
netting, and/or solid covering, instead of or in addition to sheath (12), may be
included to, for example, help prevent foreign body from escaping between legs
(157) and/or to reduce or eliminate trauma to the passageway during extraction.
Retrieval basket (15) may include one or more legs (157) that are connected to a
stylet (13) that could be tube, wire or cable either plastic or metallic. Stylet (13) may
extend through sheath (12) into handle (11) and/or connect to a distal finger hold
(111). Sheath (12) may have a handle end (112) that is connected to and/or adjacent
a handle body (11) and/or coupling. Sheath (12) may have a basket end (121) that is
connected to and/or adjacent retrieval basket (15) and/or legs (157). In some
embodiments, stylet (13) may extend through sheath (12) which may extend from
and/or be connected at or near basket end (121). Such a sheath (12), if included,
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may facilitate conveying, supporting, and/or locating, for example, stylet (13). The
sheath (12) may be formed from a thermoplastic or metallic part. Thumb slider (113)
may slidably engage handle body (11) so that pulling distal finger hold (111) away
from handle body (11) will cause stylet (13) to slide within sheath (12) and/or to pull
and/or retract legs (157) and/or retrieval basket (15) toward basket end (121) of
sheath (12) and/or toward (or into) a retracted position. Thumb slider (113) may be
pushed and/or moved toward handle body (11), which may cause stylet (13) to push
and/or extend leg (157) and/or retrieval basket (15) away from basket end (121) of
sheath (12) and/or toward (or into) an extended position. Handle (11) may include
lateral finger holds (114), which may be rigidly affixed to handle body (11). An
operator may insert a finger into one or both lateral finger holds (114) and cause
relative motion of thumb slider (113) with thumb. In this or any other way, stylet
(13), legs (157), and/or retrieval basket (15) may be moved or movable between an
extended position and a retracted position.
All of legs (157) may include a proximal end (158), as per figure 4, that is connected
to and/or adjacent stylet (13). All of legs (157) may extend in a longitudinal direction
away from sheath (12), and/or may include a retrieval basket (15) at distal end. Legs
(157) may be integral with and/or attach, connect, and/or be coupled to stylet (13),
in any variety of ways, including, but not limited to, tying, looping, welding,
mechanically fastening, weaving, adhering, gluing, or any other way or any
combination thereof.
In some embodiments, one or more of the flexible wires (151,154) forming retrieval
basket (15); extending through distal end of stylet (13), facilitate grabbing of an
object, stone, calculi or like. In these or other embodiments one or more loops (153)
forms a tip-less retrieval basket (15), so as to avoid any direct penetration into the
body tissue and facilitate smooth capture of stone, calculi or like.
In some embodiments, such as those shown in Figure 2-4, legs (157) may be included
and/or used to at least partially form retrieval basket (15). However, it’s understood
that any number of legs (157) may be included and/or used. The number and/or
shape of legs (157) may vary between embodiments for any of a variety of purposes,
including but not limited to, forming a certain retrieval basket (15) shape. In some
embodiments, legs (157) may have gripping and/or holding mechanism, for example,
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at or near distal end (156). Legs (157) may be formed of any of variety of materials,
including but not limited to any of a variety of metals or alloys, such as stainless steel
or nitinol or plastic or any other material, or any combination thereof. It is
understood, that in some embodiment, the material may be selected for one or
more purposes, such as for example, to resist bulking upon actuation of device, to
have spring like temper so that legs may have resilience to repeated openings and
closings, be non-ferrous for MRI compatibility and/or be amenable to working in an
acidic environment.
In some embodiments, to operate the device, the user may wrap four fingers of one
hand partially around the handle base (115), but not overlapping thumb slider (113).
The tip of the thumb of the same hand may be placed on thumb slider (113).
Referring to Figure 1, the retrieval basket (15) may be in open or expanded position.
In this position, thumb slider (113) may be located at distal end (110) of handle body
(11). To actuate the device (10) to the closed or retracted position, the user may
extend the thumb inward from the hand while maintaining contact between the
thumb and thumb slider (113) and keeping handle base (115) stationery in the hand.
This action may cause thumb slider (113) to slide within slot (116). This longitudinal
movement of thumb slider (113) relative to handle base (115) propels sheath (12)
and/or stylet (13) to move relatively. This may enable longitudinal movement of the
sheath (12) relative to retrieval basket (15), forcing basket (15) to collapse and
become enclosed within sheath (12). When thumb slider (113) rests at proximal end
(117) of slot (116), basket (15) may be in closed or retracted position within sheath
(12).
Handle assembly (11) is then manipulated in order to entrap the stone within basket
(15). Longitudinal manipulation of basket (15) relative to the object, stone, calculi or
like is accomplished by pushing or pulling handle assembly (11) along longitudinal
axis. Once the stone, calculi or like has been engaged within the basket (15), the user
then pushes thumb slider (113) forward part way toward distal end (118) of the slot
(116) until basket (15) is partially closed in order to securely hold the stone. The
device and the endoscope are then simultaneously withdrawn from the patient,
holding the thumb slider (113) stationary relative to handle base (115) to keep the
stone secured within the basket (15).
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If, for example, the object the device is being used to retrieve is kidney stone located
within a calyx of the kidney, the device is introduced in a retracted position through
the working channel of an endoscope into the kidney until the retracted basket
emerges from the tip of the endoscope in the proximity of kidney stone in an
expanded state and capture the stone, retracting back the basket along with the
captured stone, further retracting back the whole device through the working
channel of an endoscope to be removed along-with the endoscope to release the
captured stones out of the body.
While several embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of
ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or
structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or
more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or
modifications is deemed to be within scope of the embodiments described herein.
More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters,
dimensions, materials and configurations described herein are meant to be
exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or
configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the
teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain
using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific
embodiments described therein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing
embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of
the appended claims and equivalents thereto, embodiments may be practised
otherwise than as specifically described and claimed.
All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over
dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or
ordinary meanings of the defined terms.
While in preferred embodiments, the present invention relates to retrieving stones
or calculi from the urinary system using a ureteroscope, several other applications
are envisioned as well. The present invention may be embodied in other specific
form without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is
therefore desired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects as
illustrative not restrictive.