Colon cleaning devices and methods

Abstract

There is provided a colon cleaning device comprising: a tube through which liquid and fecal matter are removed from a colon of a patient, the tube having a longitudinal axis; a cleaning head positioned at the distal end of the tube, the cleaning head having at least one opening coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the at least one opening sized for fecal matter to enter the interior of the cleaning head from the colon; at least one disassembly element disposed within the cleaning head; and an actuating mechanism which actuates the disassembly element to perform sweeping displacement inside the cleaning head so that the at least one disassembly element rotates around the longitudinal axis to slice through the fecal matter; wherein the cleaning head and the tube are sized and shaped to be displaced along the colon of a patient.

1 . A colon cleaning device comprising:
 a tube through which liquid and fecal matter are removed from a colon of a patient, the tube having a longitudinal axis;   a cleaning head positioned at the distal end of the tube, the cleaning head having at least one opening coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the at least one opening sized for fecal matter to enter the interior of the cleaning head from the colon;   at least one disassembly element disposed within the cleaning head, said at least one disassembly element is a thin rod for slicing through the fecal matter during rotation around the longitudinal axis; and   an actuating mechanism which actuates the disassembly element to perform sweeping displacement inside the cleaning head so that the at least one disassembly element rotates around the longitudinal axis to slice through the fecal matter;
 wherein said thin rod is coupled at one end along the longitudinal axis and at the other end at a radial distance away from the longitudinal axis, so that the rod is arranged at an angle relative to the longitudinal axis; and 
   wherein the cleaning head and the tube are sized and shaped to be displaced along the colon of a patient.   
     
     
         2 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , wherein the disassembly element takes up a relatively small volume of space so more room is left for waste fluid and fecal matter to enter the device head for removal. 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . A colon cleaning device comprising:
 a tube through which liquid and fecal matter are removed from a colon of a patient, the tube having a longitudinal axis;   a cleaning head positioned at the distal end of the tube, the cleaning head having at least one opening coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the at least one opening sized for fecal matter to enter the interior of the cleaning head from the colon;   at least one disassembly element disposed within the cleaning head, said at least one disassembly element is a thin rod for slicing through the fecal matter during rotation around the longitudinal axis; and   an actuating mechanism which actuates the disassembly element to perform sweeping displacement inside the cleaning head so that the at least one disassembly element rotates around the longitudinal axis to slice through the fecal matter;   wherein the rod is arranged so that the proximal and distal ends of the rod are coupled along the longitudinal axis, and a portion of the rod rotates parallel to the longitudinal axis, at a radial distance away from the longitudinal axis, between the longitudinal axis and the circumference of the cleaning head; and   wherein the cleaning head and the tube are sized and shaped to be displaced along the colon of a patient.   
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one disassembly element is arranged so that at least a portion of the at least one disassembly element rotates at a radial distance away from the longitudinal axis so that a gap is formed between the portion and the longitudinal axis and so that another gap is formed between the portion and the interior wall of the cleaning head. 
     
     
         7 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one disassembly element is coupled by at least one bearing to a power delivery mechanism for delivering torque to rotate the at least one disassembly element, so that the at least one disassembly element rotates at least partially independently of the power delivery mechanism. 
     
     
         8 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , further comprising a stopping element coupled to the at least one disassembly element, the stopping element arranged to restrict the extent of the sweeping motion of the disassembly element, thereby preventing a portion of the at least one disassembly element from exiting the openings and damaging the colon wall. 
     
     
         9 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning head comprises two spaced apart openings arranged approximately opposite one another so that fluid and fecal matter in the intestine are able to flow in and out of the cleaning head. 
     
     
         10 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one opening is positioned so that the at least one opening faces a wall of the colon when inside a relatively straight portion of the colon of the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The colon cleaning device of  claim 1 , wherein the tube is an add-on to a colonoscope, the tube being sized to fit into the colon through an anal sphincter of a patient when coupled to the colonoscope. 
     
     
         12 - 17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . A device for colon cleaning comprising:
 a jethead having an inner surface shaped for fitting partially around the circumference of a distal end portion of a colonoscope;   a plurality of jets located within the jethead, the jets arranged to spray a fluid into a colon, the plurality of jets in fluid communication with an external source of the fluid through at least one tube;   a gas inlet for supplying pressurized gas; and   a material output tube through which liquid and fecal matter are removed, the material output tube having an inner surface shaped for fitting partially around the circumference of a portion of the colonoscope, at a location proximal to the jethead;   wherein a distal portion of the jethead is angled towards the center of the colonoscope; and   wherein the device is sized and shaped so that the combined colonoscope and device is displaceable along the colon of a patient.   
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein the inner surface of the jethead is shaped for fitting around about 150-180 degrees of the distal end portion. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein the plurality of jets are in fluid communication with one another and with the external source through a manifold in the jethead. 
     
     
         22 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein said gas inlet is for supplying pressurized gas to inflate the colon. 
     
     
         23 - 28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A colon cleaning device comprising:
 a tube through which liquid and fecal matter are removed from a colon of a patient, the tube having a longitudinal axis;   a shredding spring disposed in the interior of the tube and coupled approximately at the center of the distal end of the tube allowing for free rotational motion of the spring;   a cleaning head positioned at the distal end of the tube, the cleaning head having at least one opening coaxial with the longitudinal axis, the at least one opening sized for fecal matter to enter the interior of the cleaning head from the colon, the interior of the cleaning head in fluid communication with the tube;   a stopper located proximally to the openings and at the distal end portion of the spring, preventing the spring from expanding or displacing out of the at least one opening;   at least one disassembly element disposed within the cleaning head; and   an actuating mechanism which actuates the disassembly element to perform sweeping displacement inside the cleaning head so that the at least one disassembly element rotates around the longitudinal axis to slice through the fecal matter;   wherein fecal matter sliced by the at least one disassembly element is further shredded by the spring and transported out of the colon through the tube; and   wherein the cleaning head and the tube are sized and shaped to be displaced along the colon of a patient.   
     
     
         30 . A method of cleaning a colon segment of a patient comprising:
 selecting at least one bubble parameter for gas bubbles suitable for releasing energy to at least structurally weaken fecal matter inside a colon segment of a patient;   forming an emulsion of a cleaning fluid and said gas bubbles;   administering said emulsion into said colon segment of said patient during a cleaning procedure, releasing energy to said at least structurally weaken fecal matter inside said colon segment to disassemble said fecal matter;   increasing ambient pressure in said colon segment;   detecting said increase of ambient pressure by at least one sensor coupled to a cleaning device inside said colon segment;   automatically activating a vacuum source coupled to said cleaning device according to said detecting to increase visual field during said cleaning procedure; and   removing fecal waste from said colon segment by said vacuum source.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the released energy occurs by bursting of said gas bubbles. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein said bubble parameter is an average bubble size selected to cause said gas bubbles to float to a surface of the cleaning fluid and burst at the surface, the bursting releasing the energy to disassemble the fecal matter. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein said bubble parameter is a ratio between said gas bubbles to said cleaning fluid to cause friction between the emulsion and pipes delivering the emulsion from an external reservoir to the colon segment to be reduced, thereby allowing for relatively smaller pipes to be used as compared to pipes delivering cleaning fluid without the gas bubbles. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein said bubble parameter is a ratio between said gas bubbles to cleaning fluid selected to increase ambient pressure inside said colon segment increasing suction of fluid and fecal matter from the colon segment through a suction tube and decreasing leakage of fluid and fecal matter through an anal sphincter, as compared to cleaning without the gas bubbles having the selected bubble parameter. 
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 30 , further comprising dynamically adjusting said bubble parameter during the cleaning procedure according to the consistency of the fecal matter. 
     
     
         37 . (canceled)