Method and apparatus for performing ultrasonic assisted surgical procedures
First Claim
1. A combination of an ultrasonic sensing system and an endoscopic surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical step and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical step, said combination comprising:
- ultrasonic transducer means associated with said digital end of said endoscopic surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means;
circuit means, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means and responsive to said signals, for activating said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means, said circuit means being interconnected to said ultrasonic transducer means by wires extending from said proximal end to said distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument; and
alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said endoscopic surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field during performance of said surgical step.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Ultrasonic sensing systems are incorporated into surgical instruments to monitor operational fields defined by distal ends of the instruments. The instruments include proximal ends for their activation typically including one or a pair of handles which a surgeon grasps and operates, for example by squeezing the handles together or by pivotally moving a trigger portion of the handle relative to a fixed portion of the handle. Circuitry for performing ultrasonic sensing preferably is enclosed in housings defined within the handles of the proximal ends of the instruments. Wiring, preferably running through the instruments, connects the circuitry to transducers formed in or mounted on the distal ends of the surgical instruments. The transducers direct ultrasonic energy to the operational fields defined by the distal ends of the instruments and receive ultrasonic energy reflected from the operational fields. The direction for transmission and receipt of ultrasonic energy is determined by acoustic lenses, angularly oriented transducer mounts or a combination of the two. Signals representative of the tissue or contents of the operational fields of surgical instruments drive audible signal generators or preferably tactile transducers to inform the surgeon of the contents. Tactile transducers are mounted for access by the surgeon, preferably on the handles of the surgical instruments.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A combination of an ultrasonic sensing system and an endoscopic surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical step and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical step, said combination comprising:
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ultrasonic transducer means associated with said digital end of said endoscopic surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means; circuit means, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means and responsive to said signals, for activating said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means, said circuit means being interconnected to said ultrasonic transducer means by wires extending from said proximal end to said distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument; and alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said endoscopic surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field during performance of said surgical step. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A combination of an ultrasonic sensing system and a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical step and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical step, said combination comprising:
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ultrasonic transducer means associated with said distal end of said surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means; circuit means, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means and responsive to said signals, for activating said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means; and alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field, said alerting means comprising tactile transducer means, coupled to said proximal end of said surgical instrument, for tactilely alerting said user.
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11. A combination of an ultrasonic sensing system and a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical step and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical step, said combination comprising:
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ultrasonic transducer means associated with said distal end of said surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means; circuit means, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means and responsive to said signals, for activating said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means; and alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field, said surgical instrument comprising a surgical fastener applier with said distal end comprising a fastener ejection end and said proximal end comprising a handle grasped and operated by said user, said circuit means being housed within said handle and interconnected to said transducer means by wires extending from said handle to said fastener ejection end.
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12. A combination of ultrasonic sensing system and a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical step and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical step, said combination comprising:
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ultrasonic transducer means associated with said distal end of said surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means; circuit means, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means and responsive to said signals, for activating said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means; alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field; and power control means coupled to said circuit means and said surgical instrument for connecting power to said circuit means only while said surgical instrument is at least partially activated.
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13. A combination of an endoscopic surgical instrument and an ultrasonic sensing system, said combination comprising:
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a distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument for performing a surgical procedure; a proximal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument for activating performance of said surgical procedure; ultrasonic transducer means associated with said distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means from said operational field; circuit means coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means for driving said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means, said circuit means being housed in said proximal end of said endoscopic surgical instrument and interconnected to said ultrasonic transducer means by wires extending from said proximal end to said distal end; and alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. A combination of an ultrasonic sensing system and a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical step and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical step, said combination comprising:
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ultrasonic transducer means associated with said distal end of said surgical instrument for transmitting ultrasonic energy to an operational field defined by said distal end of said surgical instrument, for receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field, and for generating signals representative of ultrasonic energy received by said ultrasonic transducer means; circuit means, coupled to said ultrasonic transducer means and responsive to said signals, for activating said transducer means to transmit said ultrasonic energy and for receiving and analyzing said signals from said ultrasonic transducer means; and alerting means coupled to said circuit means for informing a user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field, said alerting means comprising tactile transducer means coupled to said proximal end of said surgical instrument for tactilely alerting said user.
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17. A method of operating an endoscopic surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical procedure within an operational field defined by movable members of said distal end and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical procedure by said movable members within said operational field, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting ultrasonic energy to said operational field of said surgical instrument; receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field of said surgical instrument; generating doppler signals representative of the contents of said operational field in response to reflected ultrasonic energy received from said operational field; analyzing said doppler signals to determine the nature of the contents of said operational field of said surgical instrument; informing the user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field; and operating said surgical instrument to perform said surgical procedure by movement of said movable members in response to information confirming that the contents of said operational field are appropriate for said surgical procedure. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of operating a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical procedure within an operational field defined by said distal end and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical procedure within said operational field, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting ultrasonic energy to said operational field of said surgical instrument; receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field of said surgical instrument; generating doppler signals representative of the contents of said operational field in response to reflected ultrasonic energy received from said operational field; analyzing said doppler signals to determine the nature of the contents of said operational field of said surgical instrument; informing the user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field by activating tactile transducer means accessible to said user for tactilely informing said user; and operating said surgical instrument to perform said surgical procedure in response to information confirming that the contents of said operational field are appropriate for said surgical procedure.
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22. A method of operating a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical procedure within an operational field defined by said distal end and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical procedure within said operational field, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting ultrasonic energy to said operational field of said surgical instrument; receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field of said surgical instrument; generating doppler signals representative of the contents of said operational field in response to reflected ultrasonic energy received from said operational field; analyzing said doppler signals to determine the nature of the contents of said operational field of said surgical instrument; informing the user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field; operating said surgical instrument to perform said surgical procedure in response to information confirming that the contents of said operational field are appropriate for said surgical procedure; and enabling the performance of the foregoing steps only while said surgical instrument is at least partially operated.
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23. A method of operating a surgical instrument having a distal end for performing a surgical procedure within an operational field defined by said distal end and a proximal end for activating performance of said surgical procedure within said operational field, said method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting ultrasonic energy to said operational field of said surgical instrument; receiving ultrasonic energy reflected from said operational field of said surgical instrument; generating doppler signals representative of the contents of said operational field in response to reflected ultrasonic energy received from said operational field; analyzing said doppler signals to determine the nature of the contents of said operational field of said surgical instrument; informing the user of said surgical instrument of the contents of said operational field by activating tactile transducer means accessible to said user for tactilely informing said user; and operating said surgical instrument to perform said surgical procedure in response to information confirming that the contents of said operational field are appropriate for said surgical procedure.
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Specification