Patents by Inventor Katsuji UEMICHI

Katsuji UEMICHI has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10973501
    Abstract: An endoscopic treatment tool includes a sheath; a treatment portion capable of protruding and retracting from a distal end of the sheath; a manipulation main body; a slider which advances and retracts in a longitudinal axis direction to cause the treatment portion to protrude and retract from the sheath; a first locking mechanism which locks the slider at a position at which the distal end of the treatment portion is accommodated in the sheath in accordance with a retracting manipulation of the slider; a second locking mechanism provided at further distal side than the first locking mechanism and restricts advance of the slider by being locked to the manipulation main body; a fixing mechanism provided in the second locking mechanism and fixed to the manipulation main body by sliding; and a restricting portion which restricts fixing of the fixing mechanism to the manipulation main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hirofumi Eto, Yasuhiko Kikuchi, Katsuji Uemichi, Masatoshi Tonomura, Jin Hiraoka
  • Publication number: 20190021708
    Abstract: An endoscopic treatment tool includes a sheath; a treatment portion capable of protruding and retracting from a distal end of the sheath; a manipulation main body; a slider which advances and retracts in a longitudinal axis direction to cause the treatment portion to protrude and retract from the sheath; a first locking mechanism which locks the slider at a position at which the distal end of the treatment portion is accommodated in the sheath in accordance with a retracting manipulation of the slider; a second locking mechanism provided at further distal side than the first locking mechanism and restricts advance of the slider by being locked to the manipulation main body; a fixing mechanism provided in the second locking mechanism and fixed to the manipulation main body by sliding; and a restricting portion which restricts fixing of the fixing mechanism to the manipulation main body.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2018
    Publication date: January 24, 2019
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hirofumi ETO, Yasuhiko KIKUCHI, Katsuji UEMICHI, Masatoshi TONOMURA, Jin HIRAOKA
  • Patent number: 9839414
    Abstract: In the biopsy system according to one embodiment, the needle tube of the treatment tool has the minor axis of the flattened portion and the bending plane of the bending portion parallel to each other. Accordingly, the needle tube is easily bent in the bending direction of the bending portion, and even in an endoscope that has few bendable directions and is bendable, for example, in only two directions (e.g., up and down), the bending operation of the bending portion is not easily hindered. As a result, even after the treatment tool for endoscopes is inserted into the endoscope, the bending portion can be easily bent with a predetermined bending amount, and a procedure can be easily performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kiyotaka Matsuno, Hirofumi Eto, Katsuji Uemichi
  • Publication number: 20160367231
    Abstract: A biopsy system includes an endoscope having an insertion portion provided with a channel and an active bending section disposed in part of the insertion portion, and a treatment tool. The treatment tool has a sheath capable of being inserted into the channel and a needle tube disposed inside the sheath. The sheath has a distal tube portion including a distal end of the sheath and a proximal tube portion fixed to a proximal end of the distal tube portion and less flexible than the distal tube portion. A connecting portion acting as a boundary portion between the distal tube portion and the proximal tube portion is placed in a proximal side relative to a proximal end of a bending section in a positional relationship in which the distal end of the sheath protrudes from a distal end of the channel and is optically observable by the endoscope.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2016
    Publication date: December 22, 2016
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuji UEMICHI, Yuji SAKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20160206278
    Abstract: An ultrasonic biopsy needle includes a sheath inserted through a channel of an ultrasonic endoscope; a needle tube which is inserted through the sheath and capable of advancing and retracting inside the sheath; and an operation portion which is connected to a proximal end of the sheath and is provided to advance and retract. The sheath includes an extension limiting portion that is positioned more distal than a proximal end of a bending portion of the ultrasonic endoscope. The extension limiting portion is formed of a metal coil, the ratio of the inner diameter of the channel to the outer diameter of the coil is in a range from 1.0:0.84 to 1.0:0.96, the initial tension of the coil is equal to or greater than 2.0 [N] or greater, and extension of the sheath caused by the forward and backward movement of the needle tube is limited.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Publication date: July 21, 2016
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuji UEMICHI, Yasuhiko KIKUCHI, Yukio SATO, Ryuji NAGAMATSU, Koji ONISHI, Yuji SAKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20160206297
    Abstract: An ultrasonic biopsy needle includes a sheath inserted through a channel of an ultrasonic endoscope; a needle tube which is inserted through the sheath and capable of advancing and retracting in the sheath; and an operation portion which is connected to a proximal end of the sheath and is provided to advance and retract the needle tube. The sheath includes a meandering suppressing portion positioned more proximal than a proximal end of a bending portion of the ultrasonic endoscope when a distal end of the sheath is positioned in a visual field of an optical image-capturing mechanism of the ultrasonic endoscope. The meandering suppressing portion is formed of a metal coil, the ratio of the inner diameter of the channel to the outer diameter of the coil is in a range from 1.0:0.66 to 1.0:0.84, and the initial tension of the coil is equal to or greater than 5.0 [N].
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2016
    Publication date: July 21, 2016
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Katsuji UEMICHI, Yasuhiko KIKUCHI, Yukio SATO, Ryuji NAGAMATSU, Koji ONISHI, Yuji SAKAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20160135795
    Abstract: An endoscope treatment instrument includes: a sheath to be inserted into a channel of an endoscope; a treatment portion at a distal end portion of the sheath; an elongate member inserted into the sheath advancing and retracting, a distal end portion of the elongate member connected to the treatment portion, the elongate member advancing and retracting with respect to the sheath to operate the treatment portion; and an operating portion on a proximal end portion of the sheath. The operating portion includes: an operating portion body connected to the sheath; a slider movably along a direction of an axial line of the sheath with respect to the operating portion body and connected to a proximal end portion of the elongate member; and a constant force spring portion biasing the slider towards a proximal end side with a constant force regardless of a position of the slider.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 19, 2016
    Publication date: May 19, 2016
    Applicant: OLYMPUS CORPORATION
    Inventors: HIROFUMI ETO, KATSUJI UEMICHI, KIYOTAKA MATSUNO
  • Publication number: 20150087994
    Abstract: In the biopsy system according to one embodiment, the needle tube of the treatment tool has the minor axis of the flattened portion and the bending plane of the bending portion parallel to each other. Accordingly, the needle tube is easily bent in the bending direction of the bending portion, and even in an endoscope that has few bendable directions and is bendable, for example, in only two directions (e.g., up and down), the bending operation of the bending portion is not easily hindered. As a result, even after the treatment tool for endoscopes is inserted into the endoscope, the bending portion can be easily bent with a predetermined bending amount, and a procedure can be easily performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 28, 2014
    Publication date: March 26, 2015
    Applicant: OLYMPUS MEDICAL SYSTEMS CORP.
    Inventors: Kiyotaka MATSUNO, Hirofumi ETO, Katsuji UEMICHI