THERMALLY-ACTIVATED COUPLING ARRANGEMENTS AND METHODS FOR ATTACHING TOOLS TO ULTRASONIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
- a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer; and
a surgical tool having a coupling portion configured to be coupled to a distal end of said waveguide such that upon application of thermal energy to one of said distal end of said waveguide or said coupling portion of said surgical tool, said surgical tool is coupled to said waveguide and, upon discontinuing the application of said thermal energy, said surgical tool may be detached from said waveguide.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic surgical instrument that has a waveguide that protrudes distally from the handpiece and a surgical tool that is configured to be coupled to the waveguide upon application of thermal energy to the waveguide or the surgical tool.
431 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
-
a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer; and a surgical tool having a coupling portion configured to be coupled to a distal end of said waveguide such that upon application of thermal energy to one of said distal end of said waveguide or said coupling portion of said surgical tool, said surgical tool is coupled to said waveguide and, upon discontinuing the application of said thermal energy, said surgical tool may be detached from said waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
-
a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer such that upon activation of said at least one ultrasonic transducer, said waveguide transmits thermal and vibratory energy to a distal end portion thereof, said distal end portion comprising a meltable alloy material; and a surgical tool having a proximal end portion having a cavity sized to receive said distal end portion therein such that upon activation of said at least one ultrasonic transducer when said distal end portion is received within said cavity, said meltable alloy forms a welded connection between said surgical tool and said waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (13)
-
-
14. An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said surgical instrument comprising:
-
elongated means for transmitting ultrasonic energy from the at least one ultrasonic transducer; a surgical tool; and means for coupling said surgical tool to said elongated means upon application of a coupling signal to one of said elongated means and said surgical tool, said coupling means configured to permit said surgical tool to be decoupled from said elongated means when said application of said coupling signal is discontinued. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
-
-
17. An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
-
a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer, said waveguide being fabricated from at least a first material such that at least a distal end portion of said waveguide has a first coefficient of thermal expansion; and a surgical tool having a proximal end portion, said surgical tool fabricated from at least a second material such that at least the proximal end portion of said surgical tool has a second coefficient of thermal expansion that is less than said first coefficient of thermal expansion, said proximal end portion of said surgical tool having a cavity therein for receiving said distal end portion of said waveguide therein, said cavity sized and shaped relative to said distal end portion of said waveguide such that upon application of thermal energy to said distal end portion when said distal end portion is received in said cavity, said distal end portion expands to retain said distal end portion within said cavity.
-
-
18. A method for coupling a surgical tool to a waveguide of an ultrasonic surgical instrument that has a handpiece that operably supports at least one ultrasonic transducer therein that operably interacts with the waveguide, said method comprising:
-
positioning a proximal end of the surgical tool in mating contact with a distal end of the waveguide; applying a coupling signal to one of the waveguide and the proximal end of the surgical tool to cause the proximal end of the surgical tool to be coupled to the distal end of the waveguide; and discontinuing the application of the coupling signal to permit the surgical tool to be decoupled from the distal end of the waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (19)
-
-
20. A method for coupling a surgical tool to a waveguide of an ultrasonic surgical instrument that has a housing that operably supports at least one ultrasonic transducer therein that operably interacts with the waveguide, said method comprising:
-
positioning a proximal end of the surgical tool in mating contact with a distal end of the waveguide; and operating the at least one ultrasonic transducer at a predetermined power level that is greater than a normal operating power level for a period of time sufficient to cause at least a portion of the distal end of the waveguide to be welded to the proximal end of the surgical tool and thereafter operating the at least one ultrasonic transducer at the normal operating power to complete a surgical task with the surgical tool.
-
-
21. An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said surgical instrument comprising:
-
a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer, said waveguide having a distal end that has a tool-receiving cavity therein; a surgical tool having a proximal end portion configured to be received within said tool-receiving cavity in said distal end of said waveguide upon application of thermal energy to said distal end and a shroud portion surrounding said proximal end and protruding proximally therefrom; a coupling arrangement for selectively retaining the proximal end of the surgical tool within said tool-receiving cavity, said coupling arrangement comprising; a locking member supported on said distal end of said waveguide adjacent said cavity, said locking member configured to expand from an unexpanded state to an expanded state when ultrasonic energy is applied to said waveguide from said at least one ultrasonic transducer and to return to the unexpanded state when said application of ultrasonic energy is discontinued; and at least one heat generating and cooling unit movably coupled to said handpiece and interacting with said locking member, said at least one heat generating and cooling unit configured for locking engagement and disengagement with corresponding portions of said shroud. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
-
Specification