WO2009031800A1

WO2009031800A1 - Method of metal plating of fine tube inside and metal plating device of that and the fine tube metal plated inside and cannula gilded inside

Info

Publication number: WO2009031800A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/005162
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yong Sub Song
Original assignee: Metrigen Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2007-09-03
Filing date: 2008-09-03
Publication date: 2009-03-12
Also published as: KR100833998B1

Abstract

The present invention provides a fine tube for use in manufacture of a cannula for medical use, a cannula manufactured by using the fine tube, and a method of forming a gold plating film on the inner circumferential surface of the fine tube. The method of plating the inner circumferential wall of a fine tube comprises the steps: allowing electrolyte of an electrolyte tank 13 having a plating material disposed therein to circulate inside the fine tube as a to-be-plated object using an electrolyte-circulating pump, the fine tube being applied with a negative polarity and the plating material being applied with a positive polarity; and disposing an electrode lead 17 at the inside of the fine tube, the electrode lead being coated with an insulating cladding 172 having a plurality of holes 173 formed thereon and being applied with a positive polarity.

Description

METHOD OF METAL PLATING OF FINE TUBE INSIDE AND

METAL PLATING DEVICE OF THAT AND THE FINE TUBE

METAL PLATED INSIDE AND CANNULA GILDED INSIDE

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a fine tube for use in manufacture of a cannula for medical use, a cannula manufactured by using the fine tube, and a method of forming a gold plating film on the inner circumferential surface of the fine tube. Background Art

[2] In general, similarly to a needle of a syringe, a cannula for use in liposuction, a laser irradiation tube for use in an in- vivo laser surgery, and the like, in case of a cannula which is adapted to intrude into the human body to inject a medicinal liquid solution into the body, extract fat, flood, body fluid or the like from the human body, or irradiate a laser beam into the human body, the cannula is manufactured of a very fine tube so as to make an intrusion region of the human body small to minimize a damage of tissues of the human body.

[3] A fine tube for use in the cannula is typically made stainless steel so as to prevent corrosion and contaminant deposition. The fine tube is manufactured by drawing a stainless steel tube having a given thickness into a very elongate state. Then, the cannula is manufactured by cutting the fine tube into a desired length in such a fashion that the cut fine tube is machined at one end of to easily intrude into the human body and to conform to each use purpose, and is machined at other end thereof to be attached to a connector which can be connected to a body of a syringe, a liposuction device or a laser beam supply device used in a laser surgery.

[4] The stainless steel used as a material of the cannula basically does not cause corrosion but still has a problem in that it is not free completely from corrosion and a very fine concavo-convex portion may be formed on the inner wall of the fine tube during the manufacture of the cannula. The cannula is used to inject a medicinal liquid solution into a patient's body or extract body fluid from the patient's body through its intrusion into the body. Thus, if any corrosion occurs a little on the inner wall of the fine tube, a corrosion substance itself and bacteria or other contaminants deposited on the corroded portion are introduced into the patient's body to thereby cause a fatal problem to the patient. Also, although corrosion does not occur on the inner wall of the cannula, germs or other contaminants may be deposited on the fine concavo-convex portion.

[5] Currently, for heath or beauty purpose, liposuction is frequently performed, and autologous fat injection is frequently conducted in which adipose cells in the body of a patient herself are extracted and injected into a subcutaneous tissue for removal of the skin folds.

[6] During the liposuction procedure, a method is used in which a laser beams is irradiated to adipose tissues through an optical fiber inserted into the cannula to dissolve fat in order to facilitate suction of in-vivo fat. Such liposuction using the laser beans requires a laser with a very high energy. However, a part of the energy is leaked from the fiber optic at the course of irradiating the laser beam to the inside of the body to heat the inner wall of the cannula, thereby leading to a risk that the intrusion region of the cannula may suffer a burn.

[7] In addition, in autologous fat injection for removal of the skin folds, adipose cells inside the body are extracted through the cannula, and then the extracted adipose cells are purified. Thereafter, the purified adipose cells are again injected into the subcutaneous tissue through the cannula. In this case, if a corrosion occurs or a concavo- convex portion is formed on the inner wall of the cannula, the adipose cells passing through this corroded portion while being in close contact therewith are destroyed and is not rooted in the subcutaneous tissue to thereby die, resulting in a deterioration of fat injection effect.

[8] If the inner wall of the cannula is precisely coated with a corrosion-resistant material such as gold, titanium and the like, a problem associated with the corrosion or fine concavo-convexes caused on the inner wall of the cannula can be resolved. However, this approach is problematic in that a fine tube used for the cannula is very long and its inner diameter is small to make it difficult to uniformly coat the entire inner wall of the fine tube. Also, a technique of uniformly coating the inside of the fine tube has not been known yet.

[9] Korean Utility Model Registration No. 20-0256373 discloses a needle for syringes in which silver is plated on the inner and outer surfaces of the syringe needle to terminate germs owing to a bactericidal effect of the silver. But, such bactericidal effect has not been proven yet. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[10] A conventional cannula has the above problems, and thus a material for a cannula is not harmful to the human body, and corrosion and corrugations must not occur and formed, respectively, on the inner circumferential surface of the cannula in order to implement a sanitary and safe cannula. However, it is not reasonable economically to extremely precisely manufacture a cannula no having concavo-convexes formed on the inner wall thereof using a corrosion-resistant material. Accordingly, an alternative solution to this problem must be prepared in which the inner wall of the cannula made of a stainless steel is coated properly with a corrosion-resistant material.

[11] Particularly, a cannula used in a laser surgery must possess a characteristic that reflects a laser beam from the inner wall of the cannula to prevent energy of a leaked laser beam from heating the cannula. Technical Solution

[12] To accomplish the above object, the present invention provides a cannula which is manufactured by plating gold on the inner wall of a fine tube made of a stainless steel material used presently in manufacture of the cannula using an electroplating method, and then cutting the gold-plated fine tube.

[13] Similarly to the fine tube for use in the cannula, a method of uniformly plating gold on the inner wall of the fine tube large in length and small in inner diameter employs a method in which an electric wire having pores formed on the coating material thereof is inserted into the inside of the fine tube to circulate electrolyte and air therein.

Advantageous Effects

[14] According to the present invention, since gold is a metal which is non-harmful to the human body and is very stable chemically, it does not cause any corrosion by oxidation. Also, in case of the coating employing an electroplating method, the coated surface is even and uniform like a mirror surface, and thus no concavo-convexes or corrugations occur thereon. In addition, since the gold-plated inner circumferential surface of the cannula reflect light including a laser beam well, although some of the laser beams are partially leaked from the fiber optic, most of laser beam is not absorbed by the inner wall of the cannula, but not reflected therefrom, thereby eliminating a risk of heating the cannula.

[15] Therefore, the cannula having an inner wall plated with gold proposed by the present invention is safe and sanitary, and there is no risk that the cannula is over-heated to cause a cannula-intruded region to suffer a burn even in case of the laser surgery. Especially, in case where the inventive cannula is applied to the autologous fat injection for removal of the skin folds, the number of adipose cells destroyed is decreased upon the extraction and injection of the adipose cells, so that a rooting rate of the adipose cells increases to thereby enhance a treatment effect.

[16] Further, a fine tube plating method proposed by the present invention has an advantageous effect in that the inner circumferential surface of a fine tube having a very small diameter can be substantially uniformly plated, and the cannula is very easily manufactured by cutting this plated fine tube. Brief Description of Drawings

[17] Further objects and advantages of the invention can be more fully understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[18] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a cannula used typically for medical use;

[19] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a fine tube having a plating film formed on an inner circumferential surface thereof; and

[20] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a plating device for plating the inside of a fine tube for use in the cannula.

[21]

[22] * Explanation on reference numerals on main elements of drawings*

[23] 1: fine tube

[24] 2 : plating film

[25] 10: plating device

[26] 11 :fine tube coupler,

[27] 12: fine tube connector

[28] 13: electrolyte tank

[29] 14: electrolyte-circulating pump

[30] 15: electrolyte-circulating line

[31] 16: air pump

[32] 17: electrode lead

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

[33] Generally, cannulas refer to all kinds of tubes which are used to intrude into the human body such as a needle of syringes, a liposuction cannula and the like so as to inject a medicinal liquid solution, blood, a Ringer's solution, etc., into the body, extract fat, flood, body fluid or the like from the human body, or are used to insert another tube for treatment purpose into the human body. An typical example of such a cannula includes one used in a liposuction device as shown in FIG. l(a) and one used as a syringe needle as shown in FIG. l(b).

[34] The present invention is directed to a cannula which is manufactured by plating gold on the inner circumferential surface of such a typical cannula, a fine tube 1 having a gold plating film 2 formed on the inner circumferential surface thereof as shown in FIG. 2, and a method of plating the inner circumferential surface of the fine tube.

[35] Since the cannula is intended to intrude into the human body, can mitigate a stabbing pain as its diameter becomes smaller, and must be able to be inserted into a fine blood vessel, it is manufactured of a metal tube (mainly, stainless steel) having a very diameter and a predetermined strength. The cannula is manufactured by cutting a fine tube made by drawing a relatively large-diameter tube into a given length.

[36] A method of plating the metal material is a well-known technique, but it is not easy to uniformly plate the inner circumferential surface of a tube which is very small in diameter and is large in length.

[37] A device 10 for plating the inner circumferential surface of a fine tube applied to the present invention includes a fine tube coupler 11, a fine tube connector 12, an electrolyte tank 13, an electrolyte-circulating pump 14, an electrolyte-circulating line 15, an air pump 16, and an electrode lead 17 as shown in FIG. 3.

[38] The electrolyte tank 13 is mounted in the middle of the electrolyte-circulating line

15, and a plating material such as gold, etc., is positioned in the electrolyte tank and then a positive (+) polarity of direct current (DC) voltage is applied to one end of the plating material.

[39] A negative (-) polarity of the direct current (DC) voltage is applied to one side of the fine tube as a to-be-plated object, which is in turn connected at both ends thereof to the fine tube coupler 11 and the fine tube connector 12, respectively, so as to allow electrolyte to be circulated in the electrolyte-circulating line 15.

[40] The electrode lead 17 is mounted inside the fine tube. The electrode lead 17 is made by coating an electric wire 17 formed of copper, etc., with an insulating cladding 172 and forming a plurality of holes 173 on the insulating cladding. The electrode lead 17 is applied with the positive (+) polarity similarly to the plating material.

[41] The electrode lead serves to allow ions (for example, gold ions) of a plating material dissolved in the electrolyte to be migrated toward the inner circumferential wall of the fine tube by repulsion of ions so as to increase the concentration of ions, thereby leading to an effective plating. The outer diameter of the electrode lead 17 is made smaller than the inner diameter of the fine tube to allow the electrolyte to be circulated inside the fine tube.

[42] The both ends of the fine tube are connected to the electrolyte-circulating line 15 by means of the fine tube coupler 11 and the fine tube connector 12, respectively. The fine tube coupler 11 and the fine tube connector 12 are preferably made of rubber having a high elasticity to prevent leakage of the electrolyte from a connection portion of the fine tube or the electrolyte-circulating line and facilitate connection between the fine tube or the electrolyte-circulating line and the fine tube coupler 11 and the fine tube connector 12.

[43] Only through the above configuration, a relatively uniform plating film is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the fine tube. But, if the air pump 16 is additionally included at the fine tube coupler 11 so as to supply air to the electrolyte being circulated, a great quantity of bubbles are generated in the electrolyte and thus it is possible to obtain an effect of stirring the electrolyte. Therefore, the concentration of ions of the plating material submerged in the electrolyte become uniform, and hence the entire inner circumferential surface of the fine tube is uniformly plated. In addition, when air is injected into the fine tube, the electrode lead 17 mounted inside the fine tube is shaken, thereby prevent that the electrode lead comes into close contact with one point of the inner wall of the fine tube plating to cause the plating not to occur in this contact portion.

[44] The outer circumferential surface of the fine tube as the to-be-plated object is preferably masked using a masking tape, etc., to prevent contaminants in the air from being deposited thereon during the plating.

[45] The plating material may use gold, silver, chrome, etc., which are typically used in plating.

[46] When the plating is performed by the above method using the plating material, the inner circumferential wall of the fine tube having a small inner diameter and a large length can be substantially uniformly plated.

[47] The plating principle and procedure of the present invention is the same as that of a conventional plating method. When the plating material and the fine tube as the to- be-plated object are applied with a DC voltage and the electrolyte-circulating pump 14 is operated, the plating material is applied with a positive polarity to release positive ions by the electrolyte in the electrolyte tank 13. Then, the electrolyte containing the ions of the plating material is circulated while passing through the inside of the electrolyte-circulating line 15 and the fine tube. At this point, the fine tube is applied with a negative polarity, and thus the ions of the plating material are deposited on the inner circumferential wall of the fine tube to form a plating film 2.

[48] The annula of the present invention is manufactured by using the fine tube having gold plated on the inner circumferential wall thereof in the above plating method. Industrial Applicability

[49] According to the present invention, the fine tube having gold plated on the inner circumferential wall thereof is utilized in a medical equipment industry for manufacturing a cannula including a syringe needle for medical use, a fat extracting or injecting tube, a cannula for laser surgery and the like, and the manufactured cannula is widely applied to a variety of medical fields.

[50] In addition, the fine tube of the present invention can be applied to a fine chemistry field, an industrial hygiene field such as a water purifier and the like besides medical uses.

[51] While the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the drawings, it will be appreciated that it is merely an illustrative embodiment and various equivalent modifications and variations of the embodiments can be made by a person having an ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

[1] A method of plating the inner circumferential wall of a fine tube, the method comprising the steps: allowing electrolyte of an electrolyte tank 13 having a plating material disposed therein to circulate inside the fine tube as a to-be-plated object using an electrolyte-circulating pump, the fine tube being applied with a negative polarity and the plating material being applied with a positive polarity; and disposing an electrode lead 17 at the inside of the fine tube, the electrode lead being coated with an insulating cladding 172 having a plurality of holes 173 formed thereon and being applied with a positive polarity.

[2] The method according to claim 1, further comprising injecting air into the fine tube using an air pump 16 along with the electrolyte and circulating the electrolyte.

[3] A device for plating the inner circumferential wall of a fine tube, the device comprising: an electrolyte tank 13 in which electrolyte is accommodated and a plating material applied with a positive polarity is mounted; an electrolyte-circulating line 15 connected to the electrolyte tank 13 for allowing the electrolyte of the electrolyte tank to circulate therein; an electrolyte-circulating pump 14 mounted in the middle of the electrolyte- circulating line 15 for allowing the electrolyte to circulate in the electrolyte- circulating line; a fine tube coupler 11 and a fine tube connector 12 for allowing the electrolyte- circulating line 15 to be connected to both ends of the fine tube therethrough; and an electrode lead 17 disposed at the inside of the fine tube and, the electrode lead being coated with an insulating cladding 172 having a plurality of holes 173 formed thereon and being applied with a positive polarity.

[4] The device according to claim 3, further comprising an air pump 16 connected to a fine tube coupler 11 by means of which the electrolyte is injected into the fine tube for injecting air into the fine tube therethrough, so that air is injected into the fine tube along with the electrolyte during the plating to circulate the electrolyte inside the fine tube and the electrolyte-circulating line.

[5] A fine tube having a plating film plated on the inner circumferential wall thereof using the method according to claims 1 and 2.

[6] The fine tube according to claim 5, wherein a plating material on which the inner circumferential wall of the fine tube is plated as gold.

[7] A cannula manufactured by cutting the plated fine tube according to claim 6, and which the internal of the cannula is plated as gold.