Patent ID: 9649100
Date: 2017-05-16
CPC Classifications: A61B,A61F

Claim:
1. An apparatus for straightening and flattening a side wall of a body lumen or body cavity, so as to provide three dimensional exposure of, and access to, a lesion or abnormality within the body lumen or body cavity during an endoscopic procedure, the apparatus comprising: an endoscope having a distal end for insertion into the body lumen or body cavity, and a proximal end for disposition outside of the body lumen or body cavity; a deployable hoop expander comprising a distal end, a proximal end and a longitudinally-extending outer perimeter extending therebetween, the longitudinally-extending outer perimeter being delineated by an open lattice structure and defining a volume; the deployable hoop expander being configured so as to be transitionable between (i) a reduced cross-sectional configuration, and (ii) an expanded cross-sectional configuration, whereby the deployable hoop expander can be configured in its reduced cross-sectional configuration for easy insertion into a body lumen, and it can thereafter be re-configured into its expanded cross-sectional configuration so as to engage, straighten and flatten the side wall of the body lumen, whereby to provide three dimensional exposure of, and access to, the lesion or abnormality through the open lattice structure, the entire deployable hoop expander being configured for disposition within the body lumen or body cavity; the proximal end of the deployable hoop expander comprising at least one guide for releasably mounting the deployable hoop expander to the distal end of the endoscope such that the distal end of the endoscope is supported and stabilized relative to the body lumen or body cavity when the deployable hoop expander is in its expanded cross-sectional configuration within the body lumen or body cavity; wherein the open lattice structure is sized so that a working instrument may be passed through the endoscope and access the lesion or abnormality through the open lattice structure; and wherein the at least one guide is configured so that the deployable hoop expander can be selectively released from the distal end of the endoscope, whereby to dismount the deployable hoop expander from the endoscope so that the deployable hoop expander may be left in the body lumen or body cavity when the endoscope is removed from the body at the conclusion of the endoscopic procedure, with the entire deployable hoop expander being disposed in the body lumen or body cavity.