Patent ID: 8216247

Claim:
An endoscopic instrument comprising: a wire comprising a loop or basket section and two ends disposed proximal to the loop or basket section, wherein the loop or basket section has an expanded state and a contracted state; and a fixture cylinder having an internal lumen through which the two ends of the wire are disposed, wherein the fixture cylinder is provided with: a wire-radius-increasing-direction-regulating section for regulating the direction in which the radius of the loop or basket section of the wire increases; and a wire-fixing section, disposed in the vicinity of a proximal end of the fixture cylinder relative to the wire-radius-increasing-direction-regulating section, for fixing the two ends of the wire; and a flexible sheath through which the fixture cylinder and wire are disposed and are capable of freely projecting relative to the flexible sheath, wherein the loop or basket section expands to the expanded state when projected distally from the flexible sheath.