A device is disclosed for removing foreign objects from anatomic organs such as the ear canal or throat. It has a housing shaped like a flashlight, an electrical power source such as a battery or AC power from a wall socket, and a tip extending from the housing. The tip has at least one wire loop made from a shape-memory-effect alloy, such as Nitinol, switchably connected to the electrical power source such that when electric current flows through the wire loop the wire loop heats up and returns to a previously programmed shape such as a curet or tweezers so as to facilitate removal of the foreign object

Angulo, Earl D.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

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United States Patent [191 
US005133721A 
[i i j  Patent Number: 5,133,721 
Angulo [45] Date of Patent: Jul. 28, 1992 
[54] DEVICE FOR REMOVING FOREIGN 
[75] Inventor: Earl D. Angulo, Silver Spring, Md. 
[73] Assignee: The United States of America as 
represented by the Administrator of 
the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, Washington, D.C. 
OBJECTS FROM ANATOMIC ORGANS 
[21] Appl. No.: 674,828 
1221 Filed: Mar. 19,1991 
[51] Jnt. C l . 5  ............................................... A61M 1/00 
[52] U.S. Cl. .................................... 606/106; 148/402; 
606/78; 606/127 
[58] Field of Search ...................... 606/106, 78, 27-31, 
606/113, 127, 128; 148/402; 604/95 
~561 References Cited 
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 
3,285,470 11/1966 Frei et al. ....................... 148/402 X 
3,489,151 VI970 Eller . 
3,581,745 6/1971 Eller . 
3,802,930 4/1974 Brook et al. .................... 148/402 X 
3,868,956 3/1975 Alfidi ................................ 606/78X 
3,980,861 9/1976 Fukunaga . 
4,485,816 12/1984 Krumme ........................... 606/78 X 
4,753,689 6/1988 Rizzo et al. ..................... 148/402 X 
4,925,445 5/1990 Sakamoto et al. .................... 604/95 
5,025,799 6/1991 Wilson .............................. 604/95 X 
OTHER PUBLICATIONS 
Encyclopedia of Materials Science & Engineering, vol. 
6, 1986, pp. 4365-4374, Pergamon Press. 
Primary Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner 
Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Paul S .  Clohan, Jr.; R. Dennis 
Marchant; Guy M. Miller 
P I  ABSTRACT 
A device for removing foreign objects from anatomic 
organs such as the ear canal or throat having a housing 
shaped like a flashlight, an electrical power source such 
as a battery or AC power from a wall socket, and a tip 
extending from the housing, the tip having at least one 
wire loop made from a shape-memory-effect alloy such 
as Nitinol switchably connected to the electrical power 
source such that when electric current flows through 
the wire loop the wire loop heats up and returns to a 
previously programmed shape such as a curet or twee- 
zers so as to facilitate removal of the foreign object. 
9 Claims, 6 Drawing Sheets 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19920023788 2020-03-24T07:18:13+00:00Z
U.S. Patent July 28, 1992 Sheet 1 of 6 5,133,721 
FIG. 1 
TRANSFORMER 
\ 
I 
FIG. 2 
U.S. Patent July 28, 1992 
*y;\ \ I 
T q  
'-- 12
FIG.3  
Sheet 2 of 6 5,133,721 
FIG. 4 a  
F I G 5  
FIG.61  
28 
FIG. 4 b  
22 
FIG.5b 
FIG. l a  FIG. 7b 
U,S, Patent July 28, 1992 Sheet 3 of 6 5,133,721 
FIG. 8 a  
34 
36 
FIG. 8 b 
U.S. Patent July 28, 1992 Sheet 4 of 6 5,133,721 
FIG.& 
FIG. 8 d  
U.S. Patent July 28, 1992 Sheet 5 of 6 5,133,721 
FIG. 9 a 
40 
36 
42 
FIG. 9 b  
US. Patent July 28, 1992 Sheet 6 of 6 5,133,721 
FIG. 9 c  
40 
\ 36 
FIG. 9 d  
5,133,721 
1 
DEVICE FOR REMOVING FOREIGN OBJECTS 
FROM ANATOMIC ORGANS 
ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION 
The invention described herein was made by an em- 
ployee of the United States Government, and may be 
manufactured and used by or for the Government for 
governmental purposes without the payment of any 
royalties thereon or therefor. 
TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to instruments for removing 
obstacles from anatomic organs and more particularly 
to a device for removing foreign objects from the ear 
canal, nose or throat. 
BACKGROUNDART 
Previous methods for removing foreign objects from 
anatomic organs involved the use of forceps, curet, 
pressurized water, suction devices and/or magnets. For 
example, one device for removing obstructions from the 
throat comprises two generally coextensive arms 
hinged together at one end of each, enabling a forceps 
or tweezer-like movement of the other or free ends. The 
arms have insertable portions terminating in the free 
ends and being similarly curved in the general planes of 
the arms for insertion into a throat associated organ on 
opposite sides of an obstruction therein. The insertable 
portions have spur-like obstruction-engageable means 
extending from each insertable portion inner face. The 
end regions of the insertable portions are curled in- 
wardly toward each other. 
Another instrument for removing obstructions from 
the throat comprised a generally U-shaped instrument 
for removing obstructing objects from the throat and 
organs associated therewith and has spaced arms which 
can be squeezed together. The arms are formed with 
curved hooklike ends having lateral flanges to protect 
the tongue and parts of the throat when the instrument 
is inserted in the throat. Wedge-shaped spurs extend 
laterally from inner sides of the arms to interfit with 
each other for engaging the obstruction. The spurs can 
be pivotally mounted. 
The disadvantages of the prior art involve the need, 
in most cases, to insert a relatively large instrument past 
the foreign object in order to grasp it. This can be a 
dangerous and frustrating task for the physician. Unsuc- 
cessful traumatic attempts to force the instrument past 
the object can also lead to significant damage to the 
anatomic canal; e.g., in the ear canal possible perfora- 
tion of the tympanic membrane and loss of hearing can 
resuIt. 
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to 
provide a device for removing foreign objects from 
anatomic organs that allows the physician to safely 
capture the foreign object and remove it from the ana- 
tomic canal without the use of a large clumsy instru- 
ment. 
The foregoing object is achieved by providing a de- 
vice that eliminates the necessity of forcing a relatively 
large and rigid instrument, such as tweezers, forceps, or 
a curet, past the foreign object so the object can be 
pulled from the ear, nose or throat canal. The present 
invention uses a flat loop of very small (approximately 
0.010’’ diameter or less) and flexible shape-memory- 
2 
effect wire (such as Nitinol) which is relatively safe and 
easy to slip past the foreign object. When the flat tip of 
the wire loop is inserted beyond the foreign object 
electrical current is allowed to pass through the wire 
5 which causes it to heat up to slightly above body tem- 
perature and, due to the shape-memory-effect, to form a 
hook or curet if a single wire loop is used, or tweezers 
if two loops are used. This allows the physician to cap- 
ture or grasp the foreign object and easily remove it. 
10 Thus the danger of damaging the ear, nose or throat 
canal is greatly reduced when compared to prior art 
devices. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a device to remove foreign 
objects from an anatomic organ according to the pres- 
ent invention. 
FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the device shown in 
FIG. 1. 
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the tip of the device of 
FIGS. 1 and 2. 
FIG. 40 is an enlarged plan view of a cool barbed tip 
filament wire loop. 
FIG. 46 is an enlarged plan view of a warm barbed tip 
25 filament wire loop. 
FIG. 5u is an enlarged elevation view of the cool 
FIG. 56 is an enlarged elevation view of the warm 
FIG. 6u is an enlarged plan view of a cool forcep tip 
FIG. 66 is an enlarged plan view of a warm forcep tip 
FIG. 7a is an enlarged elevation view of the cool 
FIG. 76 is an enlarged elevation view of the warm 
FIG. 8a is a view of a device with a curet thermal tip 
FIG. 86 is an enlarged view of the tip of FIG. &. 
FIG. 8c is a view of the device of FIG. 8u in an 
FIG. 8d is an enlarged view of the tip of FIG. 8c. 
FIG. 9a is a view of a device with a tweezers thermal 
FIG. 9b is an enlarged view of the tip of FIG. 90. 
FIG. 9c is another view of the device of FIG. 9u in an 
FIG. 9d is an enlarged view of the tip of FIG. 9c. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE 
INVENTION 
l5 
2o 
barbed tip filament wire loop shown in FIG. 40. 
3o barbed tip filament wire loop shown in FIG. 46. 
filament wire loop. 
filament wire loop. 
forcep tip filament wire loop shown in FIG. 6u. 
forcep tip filament wire loop shown in FIG. 66. 
in an ear canal when the thermal tip is cool. 
35 
canal when the thermal tip is warm. 
45 
tip in an ear canal when the thermal tip is cool. 
ear canal when the thermal tip is warm. 
50 
Referring nowto FIG. 1, a device 10 for removing 
55 foreign objects from anatomic organs according to the 
teachings of the present invention is shown. Device 10 
includes a generally cylindrical housing 2, which is 
similar to a flashlight housing only smaller in diameter, 
a tip 14, and a thermal tip 6. Tip 14 can be made remove- 
60 able as represented by knurled area 9 which would 
allow the user to unscrew tip 14. Within housing 2 is a 
battery 16 controlled by on-off switch 4. Battery 16 is 
connected to thermal tip 6 by wires 5 and 7 and is a DC 
power source for device 10, although other power 
65 sources can be used as described later. Instead of pro- 
viding electrical current to the filament of a light bulb 
(as in a flashlight), in device 10 battery 16 provides DC 
current through a standard current limiting circuit 7a to 
5.133.721 
3 
thermal tip 6. Thermal tip 6 is made from a shape-mem- 
ory-effect alloy such as Nitinol. When an ordinary 
metal is strained beyond its elastic limit, permanent 
deformation of the material is produced. For most met- 
als, this yield point corresponds to a fraction of a per- 
cent strain; any strain beyond this is defined as plastic 
deformation and is expected to remain. For example, if 
an extensively kinked metal wire were heated it would 
not straighten out spontaneously. Yet this is exactly 
what certain metallic alloys are able to do. If one of 
these alloys is deformed (below a critical temperature, 
with a limit of about 10% strain), it will recover its 
original unbent shape when it is reheated. The reheating 
“reminds” the alloy that it prefers a different crystal 
structure and associated shape at higher temperature. 
This unusual behavior has been termed the shape-mem- 
ory-effect . Shape-memory-effect alloy is a common 
feature of most alloys which are susceptible to a mar- 
tensitic transformation. Typical shape-memory-effect 
alloy compositions are given below in Table 1. Al- 
though the shape-memory-effect has recently been 
widely publicized for Nitinol (Ti-Ni) alloys, historically 
the shape-memory-effect was first extensively studied in 
an alloy of gold and cadmium. It is the shape-memory- 
effect in Nitinol, however, that has stimulated wide- 
spread interest in its potential application. For example, 
Nitinol has been used in orthopedic devices, vena cava 
filters, artificial hearts and for an intracranial aneurism 
clip. The shape-memory-effect programming sequence 
of the alloys is well understood in the art and requires 
no further discussion here. 
TABLE 1 
Typical shape-memory-effect alloy compositions 
(wt%) 
A~-(34-36%)Cd 
(&62.8%)Au-( 10.5-27%)Cu-(26.6-33%)Zn 
Cu-(384%)Zn 
Cu-(2&32%)Zn/Al 
Cu-17%Zn-7%Al 
Cu-34.5 %Zn-0.9% Si 
Cu-( 14-1 S%)AL3%Ni 
Cu-25%Sn 
Ti-(55-58%)Ni 
(4546%)Ti-( S 22%)Cu-Ni(balance) 
45%Ti-( S 8%)Co-Ni(ba1ance) 
Ni-26.5%Al 
Referring now to FIG. 2, an elevation view of device 
10 is now shown. As an alternate to battery 16 power, 
standard AC power could be used, as shown by AC 
power cord 18 and transformer/rectifier 3. It can now 
be seen in this view that thermal tip 6 consists of two 
filament wire loops 8 and 12 that, when heated, will 
form tweezers, i.e., the filament wire loops have been 
programmed according to standard shape-memory- 
effect techniques to return to the shape of tweezers 
when heated to slightly above body temperature. The 
Nitinol or other shape-memory-effect wire used in fila- 
ment wire loops 8 and 12 is preferably made from very 
small diameter Nitinol wire approximately 0.010’ in 
diameter and is approximately 1” long by 0.40” wide 
which allows thermal tip 6 to easily slip beyond the 
foreign object to be removed. Depending upon the 
particular application of device 10, the wire diameter 
and the length and width of thermal tip 6 can easily be 
varied. 
Cu-44%A1 
4 
An enlarged view of thermal tip 6 (area A on FIG. 2) 
is shown in FIG. 3, which depicts filament wire loops 8 
and 12 in a warm condition caused by the DC current 
through filament wire loops 8 and 12. Because of the 
5 previous programming of the Nitinol wire used in fila- 
ment wire loops 8 and 12, their tips have now come 
together, as tweezers do, to grasp the foreign object. 
When the electric current is removed, the tips of the 
filament wire loops 8 and 12 will return to their previ- 
10 ous straight conoguration. Alternate embodiments for 
thermal tip 6 are shown in FIGS. 4u through 7b. FIG. 
4u through 56 shows a pair of barbed tip filament loops 
22 and 24 made from flat wire or stamped from 0.010’ 
thick sheet. FIG. 4a is an enlarged plan view of barbed 
l5 tip filament wire loops 22 and 24 when they are cool. 
FIG. 46 is an enlarged plan view of barbed tip filament 
wire loops 22 and 24 when they are warm. FIG. So is an 
enlarged elevation view of barbed tip filament wire 
loops 22 and 24 when they are cool. And FIG. Sb is an 
enlarged elevation view of barbed tip filament wire 
loops 22 and 24 when they are warm. FIG. 6u through 
7b shows a pair of forcep tip filament wire loops 26 and 
28. FIG. 6u is an enlarged plan view of forcep tip fila- 
ment wire loops 26 and 28 when they are cool. FIG. 66 
25 is an enlarged plan view of forcep tip filament wire 
loops 26 and 28 when they are warm. FIG. 7u is an 
enlarged elevation view of forcep tip filament wire 
loops 26 and 28 when they are cool. And FIG. 7b is an 
enlarged elevation view of forcep tip filament wire 
loops 26 and 28 when they are warm. Referring now to 
FIG. &, an additional alternate embodiment of device 
10 is shown in use. Instead of two filament wire loops 
this embodiment has only one filament wire loop 34 
35 which is shown as it is placed beyond foreign object 36. 
A close-up is shown in FIG. 8b. This embodiment also 
has a light bulb 33 in tip 14 to provide additional illumi- 
nation of foreign object 36 lodged in ear canal 32 of ear 
30. When electric current from the power source is 
40 supplied to the single filament wire loop 34, it becomes 
warm, the tip curls and forms a curet, as shown in 
FIGS. 8c and 8d. Foreign object 36 can then be cap- 
tured and withdrawn from ear canal 32. FIGS. 9u 
through 9d show removal of foreign object 36 from ear 
45 canal 32 when two filament wire loops 40 and 42 are 
provided. In this embodiment, the two filament wire 
loops 40 and 42 form tweezers when heated, enabling 
the operator to grasp and remove foreign object 36 
easily. 
To those skilled in the art, many modifications and 
variations of the present invention are possible in light 
of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood 
that the present invention can be practiced otherwise 
than as specifically described herein and still will be 
50 
55  within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
I claim: 
1. A device for removing foreign objects from ana- 
a housing; 
a tip extending from said housing, Said tip comprising 
at least one wire loop made from a shape-memory- 
effect alloy switchably connected to said electrical 
power source such that when electric current 
flows through said wire loop said wire loop heats 
up and returns to a previously programmed shape 
so as to facilitate removal of said foreign object; 
and 
tomic organs comprising: 
60 an electrical power source; 
65 
5 
5,133,721 
6 
further comprising a light bulb located on said hous- 
2. The device of claim 1 wherein said electrical 
5. The device of claim 1, wherein said tip comprises 
two wire loops made from shape-memory-effect alloys 
switchably connected to said electrical power source. 
6. The device of claim wherein said two wire loops 
Power Source comprises a battery and current limiting 5 return to a previously programmed shape of tweezers. 
circuit located within said housing. 7. The device of claim 5 wherein said two wire loops 
3. The device of claim 1, wherein said electrical 
8. The device of claim 6 further comprising barbs on power source comprises an AC power cord with a 
transformerhectifier for connection to a wall socket. 9. The device of claim wherein =id shape-memory- 
4. The device of claim 1 wherein said previously 
programmed shape comprises a curet shape. 
ing so as to illuminate said tip. 
return to a Previously Programmed shape of forceps. 
said wire loops. 
effect alloy is Nitinol. * * * * *  
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 
55 
60 
65 


Device for removing foreign objects from anatomic organs

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