Clamp for occluding tubular conduits in the human body

Claim 1

A clamp for occluding the lumen of a tubular conduit in the human body, such as an artery, a vein, or an intestine, comprising: a clamp body; grip means mounted to the clamp body; and a flexible band having an axis of length and of width, said band being attached to th body at a first point along its axis of length, and being gripped by the grip means at a second point along its axis of length which is spaced from the first point, so as to form a loop that bounds an opening to receive the tubular conduit, said opening having an axis, around which at least 270* of the peripheral boundary of the opening is formed by the flexible band, said grip means having combined therewith drive means for moving the band through the aperture, said combined grip and drive means comprising a rotatable worm screw bearing a worm thread which is engageable with the band, rotation of the worm driving the band through the aperture, the pitch of the worm thread being such as to prevent rotation of the worm screw as the consequence of a lengthwise pull on the band, said clamp body further including a means for receiving and storing an excess portion of said part of the band spaced from said second point in an area removed from said human tubular conduit, comprising a chamber adjacent said griPping means, said chamber having two walls defining a tangential entrance aperture and a contiguous wall portion for forming said excess band portion into a tubular encapsulated curled loop portion.