Endoscopic hemostatic agent delivery system

Abstract

An endoscopic tool for dispensing units of hemostatic agent broadly comprises a hollow tube which holds a plurality of individual units of the hemostatic agent, a valve at the distal end of the hollow tube which permits the hemostatic agent to pass therethrough but prevents foreign matter from contacting the hemostatic agent while in the tube, a plunger which extends into the hollow tube and contacts a proximal unit of the hemostatic agent, and a mechanism for moving the plunger distally in incremental movements to cause, upon each incremental movement, an individual unit of the hemostatic agent to be pushed through the valve. Typically, the mechanism for moving the plunger and the proximal end of the hollow tube are held in a handle. One mechanism for moving the plunger utilizes a portion of the plunger as a ratchet by forming a plurality of conical elements thereon, and utilizes a switch in the handle which has a V-spring coupled thereto as a pawl for advancing the conical elements. A second mechanism utilizes a regularly shaped notched cutout in the handle as the ratchet, and a vertical protrusion on the plunger which extends through the cutout as an engagement element. The notched cutout provides resilient stops, and the protrusion is shaped to allow it to be forced in a forward direction through each resilient stop and then to sit in another notch.