Trocar and cannula assembly
First Claim
1. A trocar and cannula assembly for guarding against accidental puncture wounds of a patient or medical personnel, which comprisesa hollow cannula having an open end;
- a trocar member adapted to be removably inserted through the cannula so to expose a piercing apex through the cannula'"'"'s open end, the trocar member having a substantially cylindrical shank terminating in the piercing apex;
the piercing apex comprising a tip, a sloping side wall providing a contoured profile and sufficient surface area to create a smooth transition between the tip and the trocar'"'"'s shank, and a plurality of openings in the side wall surrounding the tip;
a trocar tip protector housed within the trocar member and adapted to actuate between a retracted and an extended position, the tip protector having a plurality of projections, each projection adapted to pass through one of the openings in the piercing apex, to surround the tip in the extended position; and
means to actuate the tip protector into an extended position;
wherein once the tip of the trocar member has entered a patient'"'"'s body cavity and before the piercing apex has been fully inserted, the tip protector is actuated into an extended position to surround the tip and guard against accidental puncture.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides an improved trocar assembly for use in creating an incision in a patient. The trocar of the present invention includes a unique piercing apex, which eases the insertion process, and an internal tip protector to protect the patient and medical personnel from accidental puncture injuries. The improved tip protector is designed to become fully extended immediately after the leading edge of the trocar enters the patient, thus avoiding many of the operational drawbacks of existing trocar tip protector designs. Additionally, the present invention provides an improved tip protector locking mechanism which is believed to be far simpler and more reliable than existing locking mechanisms.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A trocar and cannula assembly for guarding against accidental puncture wounds of a patient or medical personnel, which comprises
a hollow cannula having an open end; -
a trocar member adapted to be removably inserted through the cannula so to expose a piercing apex through the cannula'"'"'s open end, the trocar member having a substantially cylindrical shank terminating in the piercing apex; the piercing apex comprising a tip, a sloping side wall providing a contoured profile and sufficient surface area to create a smooth transition between the tip and the trocar'"'"'s shank, and a plurality of openings in the side wall surrounding the tip; a trocar tip protector housed within the trocar member and adapted to actuate between a retracted and an extended position, the tip protector having a plurality of projections, each projection adapted to pass through one of the openings in the piercing apex, to surround the tip in the extended position; and means to actuate the tip protector into an extended position; wherein once the tip of the trocar member has entered a patient'"'"'s body cavity and before the piercing apex has been fully inserted, the tip protector is actuated into an extended position to surround the tip and guard against accidental puncture. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A trocar for use in inserting a cannula into a patient, the trocar having a tip protector to protect the patient and medical personnel from accidental puncture wounds, which trocar comprises:
-
a trocar member having a shank terminating in a piercing apex, the trocar member being adapted to be removably inserted through the cannula so to expose the piercing apex; the piercing apex comprising a tip, a sloping side wall, and a plurality of openings in the side wall surrounding the tip; the tip protector comprising a trocar tip protector having a forward and rearward end housed within the trocar and adapted to actuate between a retracted and an extended position, the tip protector having a plurality of projections at the forward end thereof, each projection adapted to pass through one of the openings in the piercing apex, to surround the tip in the extended position, means to actuate the tip protector into an extended position, and means to lock the tip protector into the extended position comprising a flange attached at the rearward end of the tip protector, a lock spring actuated upon insertion of the piercing apex to engage the flange and lock the tip protector into an extended position, and a disengagement member to actuate the lock spring away from the flange to permit the tip protector to be replaced into a retracted position. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
Specification