Surgical instrument having fluid actuated opposing jaws

• US 20060289600A1
• Filed: 06/23/2005
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Shelton, Frederick E. IV, Wales, Kenneth S.
• Granted Patent: US 7,559,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 227/175.100
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00491 Surgical glue applicators surgical adhesives A61L24/00; two-component delivery syringes A61M5/19
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/068 Surgical staplers , e.g. containing multiple staples or clampsstaplers containing only one staple A61B17/10; magazines or containers for staples A61B17/105; for performing anastomosis A61B17/115; staplers in general B25C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/07207 the staples being applied sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/115 Staplers for performing anastomosis in a single operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/29 Forceps for use in minimally invasive surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/320016 Endoscopic cutting instruments, e.g. arthroscopes, resectoscopes A61B10/0233, A61B17/29, A61B17/3207 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3201 Scissors for biopsy A61B10/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00539 hydraulically
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00544 pneumatically
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00893 pharmaceutically effective
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/07214 Stapler heads
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/07285 characterised by its cutter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2912 transmission of forces to actuating rod or piston
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/2932 Transmission of forces to jaw members

Abstract

A surgical stapling and severing instrument enables minimally invasive surgical procedures by having upper and lower jaws (i.e., anvil and staple channel) that are positioned with an elongate shaft and handle through surgical openings, and in particular through a cannula of a trocar. A pair of fluid actuator bladders (lift bags) are positioned in the staple channel beneath a proximally projecting lever tray so that transfer of fluid from the handle causes closing and clamping of the anvil. The bi-directional fluid control may be mechanically produced at the handle or by activating an electroactive polymer actuator. Once firing is sensed, an EAP plunger in a medical substance syringe inserted into the elongate shaft is activated to dispense a medical substance (e.g., anesthetics, adhesives, cauterizing substances, antibiotics, etc.) and is guided along a firing bar to a cutting surface of an E-beam placing the substance on tissue as severed.

Claims

1. A surgical instrument, comprising:

a handle operably configured to produce closure actuation;

an elongate shaft attached to the handle;

an end effector distally attached to the elongate shaft and comprising opposing jaws for clamping tissue;

a pair of pivoting members opposingly contacting tissue, each pivoting member including a respective proximally projecting lever constrained to pivot relative to the other lever about a pivot connection; and

a fluid actuated closure mechanism comprising;

a fluid actuator positioned between the levers,

a fluid conduit communicating with the fluid actuator and the elongate shaft, and

a fluid reservoir responsive to the closure actuation by the handle to selectively and bi-directionally transfer fluid across the fluid conduit with the fluid actuator.

2. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the handle is operably configured to produce a reciprocating mechanical closure motion, the fluid reservoir selectively compressed and expanded by the reciprocating mechanical closure motion.

3. The surgical instrument of claim 1, further comprising control circuitry response to the closure action by the handle to selectively produce a closure signal, the fluid reservoir further comprising an electroactive polymer actuated bi-directional fluid pump.

4. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the pair of pivoting members comprise cutting blades opposingly cutting tissue.

5. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the pair of pivoting members comprise grasping jaws.

6. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the lever projecting proximally from a lower pivoting member of the pair of pivoting members comprises a frame of the elongate shaft attached to the handle.

7. The surgical instrument of claim 6, wherein the lower pivoting member comprises a staple channel and the upper pivoting member comprises an anvil, the surgical instrument further comprising:

a staple cartridge received in staple channel;

a firing bar slidingly received in the elongate channel and distally movable through closed end effector to effect severing and stapling of clamped tissue.

8. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the shaft further comprises an articulation joint, wherein the fluid conduit further comprises a flexible portion traversing the articulation joint.

9. The surgical instrument of claim 8, further comprising:

an outer sheath encompassing the frame of the elongate shaft and the lever of the anvil; and

a fluid actuator positioned between the lever of the anvil and the outer sheath for opposing the left and right fluid actuators to open the anvil, the handle further operatively configured to differentially expand and compress the opposing fluid actuator and the pair of left and right fluid actuators.

10. The surgical instrument of claim 7, wherein the handle is operably configured to produce a reciprocating mechanical closure motion, the fluid reservoir selectively compressed and expanded by the reciprocating mechanical closure motion.

11. The surgical instrument of claim 7, further comprising control circuitry response to the closure action by the handle to selectively produce a closure signal, the fluid reservoir further comprising an electroactive polymer actuated bidirectional fluid actuator.

12. The surgical instrument of claim 1, wherein the fluid actuator comprises a fluid actuator bladder.

13. The surgical instrument of claim 7, further comprising a means for clamping, stapling and severing tissue.

14. The surgical instrument of claim 1, further comprising a monitoring system operatively configured to sense an end effector blocked condition wherein the pair of pivoting members are in a relative position that does not correspond to a commanded position.

15. The surgical instrument of claim 14, wherein the monitoring system further comprises control circuitry responsive to a comparison of a sensed commanded position and a sensed current end effector position.

16. The surgical instrument of claim 15, wherein the monitoring system further comprises position sensing of at least one of the pivoting members.

17. The surgical instrument of claim 15, wherein the monitoring system further comprises pressure sensing positioned to respond to a fluid pressure in the fluid actuated closure mechanism.

18. A surgical instrument, comprising:

a handle operably configured to produce a bidirectional fluid motion and a longitudinal firing motion;

an elongate shaft attached to the handle and operatively configured to conduct the bi-directional fluid motion;

an end effector distally attached to the elongate shaft and comprised of opposing jaws for clamping tissue;

a firing bar received for reciprocating longitudinal firing motion in the elongate shaft to transfer the longitudinal firing motion and distally terminating in a cutting surface to sever the clamped tissue in the end effector;

a staple cartridge received in one of the opposing jaws responsive to the firing member to drive and form staples through the clamped tissue; and

a fluid actuator operatively coupled to the end effector to selectively open and to close the end effector in response to the bi-directional fluid motion from the handle via the elongate shaft.

19. The surgical instrument of claim 18, wherein the fluid actuator comprises a fluid actuator bladder.

20. The surgical instrument of claim 18, wherein the end effector comprises a staple channel attached to a frame of the elongate channel and an anvil pivotally attached to the staple channel, the anvil including a lever proximally projecting from the pivotal attachment to the staple channel, the fluid actuator positioned between the lever and the staple channel to close the anvil.

21. The surgical instrument of claim 18, wherein the handle is operably configured to produce a reciprocating mechanical closure motion, the fluid reservoir selectively compressed and expanded by the reciprocating mechanical closure motion.

22. The surgical instrument of claim 18, further comprising control circuitry response to the closure action by the handle to selectively produce a closure signal, the fluid reservoir further comprising an electroactive polymer actuated bi-directional fluid pump.

23. A surgical instrument, comprising:

a handle operably configured to produce closure actuation;

an elongate shaft attached to the handle;

first and second tissue contacting members pivotally engaged to each other and distally projecting from the elongate shaft; and

a fluid actuated closure mechanism comprising;

a fluid actuator coupled between the first and second tissue contacting members,

a fluid conduit communicating with the fluid actuator and the elongate shaft, and

a fluid reservoir responsive to the closure actuation by the handle to selectively and bi-directionally transfer fluid across the fluid conduit with the fluid actuator.

24. The surgical instrument of claim 23, wherein the first and second tissue contacting members comprise cutting blades.

25. The surgical instrument of claim 23, wherein the first and second tissue contacting members comprise grasping jaws.

26. The surgical instrument of claim 23, wherein the first tissue contacting member includes a lever extending proximally from the pivotal engagement with the second tissue contacting members, the elongate shaft including a lever cavity receiving the lever, the fluid actuator positioned in the lever cavity.