Abstract: A vascular puncture device punctures a blood vessel using an imaging unit that comes into contact with a skin surface and acquires a cross-sectional image of a human body, an inner needle including a sharp needle tip, a flexible outer tube covering the inner needle, a drive unit moving the inner needle and the outer tube, and a detection unit detecting puncture of the needle tip with respect to a blood vessel back wall, and includes a control unit capable of receiving information on the cross-sectional image, controlling an operation of the drive unit, and receiving a detection result from the detection unit. The control unit controls the drive unit to move the inner needle and the outer tube to puncture the blood vessel with the inner needle, and controls the drive unit to stop the puncture with the inner needle.

Abstract: A vascular puncture device is a vascular puncture device that punctures a blood vessel using an imaging unit that comes into contact with a skin surface and acquires a cross-sectional image of a human body, a puncture unit including a sharp needle tip, and a drive unit moving the puncture unit, and includes a control unit that can receive information on the cross-sectional image and control an operation of the drive unit. The control unit identifies at least one blood vessel from the information on the cross-sectional image, determines whether the blood vessel is an artery or a vein from the information on the cross-sectional image of the identified blood vessel, sets a blood vessel to be punctured from among a plurality of the identified blood vessels, and controls the drive unit to move the puncture unit to puncture the blood vessel set to be punctured with the puncture unit.

Abstract: A vascular puncture device is a vascular puncture device that punctures a blood vessel using an inner needle having a sharp needle tip, a flexible outer tube covering the inner needle, a drive unit moving the inner needle and the outer tube, and an imaging unit capable of acquiring a cross-sectional image of a human body in contact with a skin surface and visualizing a distal end of the inner needle, and includes a control unit controlling movement of the drive unit. The control unit calculates one or more of a movement distance and a puncture angle of the drive unit based on a separation distance between the distal end of the inner needle and a distal end of the outer tube, and moves the drive unit to set the drive unit at one or more of the calculated movement distance and the calculated puncture angle.

Abstract: A vascular puncture assist device includes a property acquisition unit that acquires a property of a blood vessel; and a control unit that detects a state of hardness of a blood vessel from the property of the blood vessel acquired by the property acquisition unit, and determines availability of puncture and a puncture position or direction based on the detected state of hardness of the blood vessel. The vascular puncture assist device further includes a probe including an imaging unit that acquires a cross-sectional image of a human body, and the control unit detects a state of calcification of a blood vessel from the acquired cross-sectional image using the imaging unit as a property acquisition unit.

Abstract: A treatment method reduces the time required to exchange a long catheter which is introduced from an arm to treat the lower limb artery. The treatment method involves introducing a first catheter from an artery of one arm of the patient to dispose a distal portion of the first catheter at least in front of the lesion area in the lower limb artery; introducing a second catheter from an artery of the other arm of the patient; disposing a first treatment catheter in the lesion area through the first catheter; treating the lesion area with the first treatment catheter; and assisting the treatment with the second catheter and/or a second treatment catheter that is inserted into the second catheter.

Abstract: An ultrasound probe includes a probe body including a side surface and a bottom surface, a display unit on the side surface, first and second imaging units arranged on the bottom surface, separated from each other in a first direction, and each configured to acquire a cross-sectional image of a human body, and a controller configured to determine a position of a blood vessel using the cross-sectional image acquired by each of the first and second imaging units, determine an orientation of the blood vessel based on the determined position of the blood vessel, and control the display unit to display an indicator indicating the orientation of the blood vessel.

Abstract: Provided is a vascular puncture device including a support table that is capable of supporting a main body including an imaging unit that is capable of coming into contact with a skin surface of an arm of a human body and acquiring a cross-sectional image of the arm, a drive unit that moves a puncture needle, and a control unit that is capable of controlling a movement of the drive unit, the support table including a holding unit capable of holding the arm, in which the support table is capable of supporting the main body and being separated from the main body.

Abstract: A catheter includes an elongated shaft extending in a longitudinal direction and possessing an outer surface, the shaft possessing a distal end, a proximal end and a proximal portion which includes the proximal end, a transverse direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the elongated shaft being an elongated tubular body having a lumen formed therein, and a tubular hub fixed by insert molding to the outer surface of the shaft along the proximal portion of the shaft. The hub possesses a residual stress at one predetermined location of the hub that exceeds the residual stress of the hub at each of: (i) a first position distal to the one predetermined location, (ii) a second position proximal to the one predetermined location, and (iii) a third position being at the one predetermined location in the longitudinal direction and spaced apart from the one predetermined location in the transverse direction.

Abstract: A medical device for assisting in a puncture operation on a human body, includes an imaging unit configured to acquire a cross-sectional image of a human body, a laser unit configured to emit laser light and project a marker onto a skin surface of the human body, a controller configured to: determine a first distance from the imaging unit to a blood vessel using the cross-sectional image acquired by the imaging unit, determine a position of a puncture point on the skin surface with respect to the imaging unit based on the determined first distance, and control the laser unit to project onto the skin surface a marker indicating the puncture point at the determined position thereof.

Abstract: An imaging apparatus includes a base portion having a space in which a part of a human body is placed, a probe body attached to the base portion and including an imaging unit that faces the space and is configured to acquire a cross-sectional image of the part of the human body when the part of the human body is placed in the space, a first pressing portion attached to the base portion and by which the part of the human body can be pressed against the imaging unit, and a controller configured to control a pressure applied to the part of the human body by the first pressing portion.

Abstract: A catheter is disclosed having a distal end portion of a shaft with high breaking strength even if a wall thickness of the distal end portion of the shaft is relatively small. The catheter includes an elongated tube shaped shaft. The shaft has an inner layer having a lumen along a longitudinal direction, an outer layer covering an outer peripheral side of the inner layer, and a reinforcement body disposed on the outer peripheral side of the inner layer. The outer layer has a distal outer layer on a distal end portion of the shaft, an intermediate outer layer proximal to the distal outer layer, and a proximal outer layer proximal to the intermediate outer layer. The intermediate outer layer is more flexible and thicker than the proximal outer layer, and a distal end of the reinforcement body is located proximal to a distal end of the intermediate outer layer.

Abstract: A catheter includes an elongated shaft extending in a longitudinal direction and possessing an outer surface, the shaft possessing a distal end, a proximal end and a proximal portion which includes the proximal end, a transverse direction being perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the elongated shaft being an elongated tubular body having a lumen formed therein, and a tubular hub fixed by insert molding to the outer surface of the shaft along the proximal portion of the shaft. The hub possesses a residual stress at one predetermined location of the hub that exceeds the residual stress of the hub at each of: (i) a first position distal to the one predetermined location, (ii) a second position proximal to the one predetermined location, and (iii) a third position being at the one predetermined location in the longitudinal direction and spaced apart from the one predetermined location in the transverse direction.

Abstract: A rapid exchange type medical elongated body is disclosed in which an outer diameter of a distal portion of a tubular member is set smaller than an outer diameter of a proximal portion of the tubular member, which prevents an occurrence of a kink in a physical property change region of the medical elongated body which has a relatively large change in physical property. A tubular member forming a second region of a distal member of a medical elongated body is integrally formed with a shaft portion. The distal member has a reinforcement layer containing a metallic material and formed between an inner layer and an outer layer from a first region to the second region. The reinforcement layer is disposed inside the tubular member in the second region. An outer diameter of the first region is set smaller than an outer diameter of the second region.

Abstract: A rapid exchange type medical elongated body is disclosed in which an outer diameter of a distal portion of a tubular member is set smaller than an outer diameter of a proximal portion of the tubular member, which prevents an occurrence of a kink in a physical property change region of the medical elongated body which has a relatively large change in physical property. A tubular member forming a second region of a distal member of a medical elongated body is integrally formed with a shaft portion. The distal member has a reinforcement layer containing a metallic material and formed between an inner layer and an outer layer from a first region to the second region. The reinforcement layer is disposed inside the tubular member in the second region. An outer diameter of the first region is set smaller than an outer diameter of the second region.

Abstract: An assistance system includes a schedule information acquisition unit that acquires disease information on the surgery and blood vessel information relating to a shape of a portion capable of applying a backup force to the catheter by coming into contact with the catheter in a blood vessel of the patient, a past information acquisition unit that acquires a shape of a catheter used for a past similar surgery having the disease information coinciding with that of the surgery and having the blood vessel information similar to that of the surgery, and a proposal unit that corrects the shape of the catheter used for the past similar surgery, based on a comparison result obtained by comparing the blood vessel information on the surgery with the blood vessel information on the past similar surgery, and that proposes a catheter having the corrected shape, as the catheter to be used for the surgery.

Abstract: A catheter manufacturing method includes positioning a shaft in a cavity of a mold. The shaft is an elongated tubular body configured to be inserted into a living body. The mold includes a first mold die and a second mold die that contact one another to define a closed space which is the cavity. The method includes injecting a molding material into the cavity from a gate at a position between the proximal end and the distal end of the shaft in the axial direction. The injecting position is offset from the center of the shaft in the transverse direction. The method includes molding a hub onto the shaft by solidifying the injected molding material in the cavity onto the outer surface of the shaft.

Abstract: An assistance system includes a schedule information acquisition unit that acquires disease information on the surgery and blood vessel information relating to a shape of a portion capable of applying a backup force to the catheter by coming into contact with the catheter in a blood vessel of the patient, a past information acquisition unit that acquires a shape of a catheter used for a past similar surgery having the disease information coinciding with that of the surgery and having the blood vessel information similar to that of the surgery, and a proposal unit that corrects the shape of the catheter used for the past similar surgery, based on a comparison result obtained by comparing the blood vessel information on the surgery with the blood vessel information on the past similar surgery, and that proposes a catheter having the corrected shape, as the catheter to be used for the surgery.

Abstract: An assistance system capable of efficiently selecting a proper doctor from a plurality of doctors in accordance with physical conditions of the doctors and surgery difficulties on a scheduled surgery date. An assistance system includes an information acquisition unit that acquires disease information, lesion area information, and a scheduled surgery date of a scheduled surgery, a lesion area evaluation unit that uses surgery information on a past similar surgery having the lesion area information similar to that of the scheduled surgery, a doctor evaluation unit that uses surgery information on the same past disease surgery performed by each of the plurality of doctors and having at least disease information coinciding with that of the scheduled surgery, and a proposal unit that proposes the doctor whose doctor score falls within a range based on the lesion area score, as a surgeon-in-charge for the scheduled surgery.

Abstract: A treatment method reduces the time required to exchange a long catheter which is introduced from an arm to treat the lower limb artery. The treatment method involves introducing a first catheter from an artery of one arm of the patient to dispose a distal portion of the first catheter at least in front of the lesion area in the lower limb artery; introducing a second catheter from an artery of the other arm of the patient; disposing a first treatment catheter in the lesion area through the first catheter; treating the lesion area with the first treatment catheter; and assisting the treatment with the second catheter and/or a second treatment catheter that is inserted into the second catheter.

Abstract: A rapid exchange type medical elongated body is disclosed in which an outer diameter of a distal portion of a tubular member is set smaller than an outer diameter of a proximal portion of the tubular member, which prevents an occurrence of a kink in a physical property change region of the medical elongated body which has a relatively large change in physical property. A tubular member forming a second region of a distal member of a medical elongated body is integrally formed with a shaft portion. The distal member has a reinforcement layer containing a metallic material and formed between an inner layer and an outer layer from a first region to the second region. The reinforcement layer is disposed inside the tubular member in the second region. An outer diameter of the first region is set smaller than an outer diameter of the second region.