Irrigation system with tubing cassette

• US 5,403,277 A
• Filed: 01/12/1993
• Issued: 04/04/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation (JP Morgan Chase & Co)
• Original Assignee: 3M Company
• Inventors: Dodge, Larry H., Christmann, H. Aaron, Watts, James R., Egan, Thomas D., Dunberger, Ulf B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Green, Randall L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CLARKE, ROBERT A
• Application Number:
  US08/003,475
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 604/4-6, 604/27-46
• US Class Current: 604/30
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/72 Cassettes forming partially or totally the fluid circuit
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 1/77 Suction-irrigation systems aspiration tips supplying fluids A61M1/85; specific for negative pressure wound therapy A61M1/92; combined with tracheal tubes A61M16/0463
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/12 with interchangeable cassettes forming partially or totally the fluid circuit
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3344 Measuring or controlling pressure at the body treatment site
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 3/0201 Cassettes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 39/28 Clamping means for squeezing flexible tubes, e.g. roller clamps tube strippers A61M1/83
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 43/1253 by using two or more rollers as squeezing elements, the rollers moving on an arc of a circle during squeezing
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 43/1284 Means for pushing the backing-plate against the tubular flexible member
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/12 Pressure infusion

Abstract

An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow of irrigation fluid to an internal body irrigation site. The system includes a tubing set comprising inflow and outflow lines and a cassette, and an fluid control module comprising a race and a pumping mechanism that squeezes the inflow line of the tubing set against the race to pump fluid to the irrigation site. The cassette includes a through opening exposing a portion of the inflow line to the race and pumping mechanism so that the cassette merely holds the inflow line in alignment with the pumping mechanism but is not required to resist the compressive force of the pumping mechanism. The cassette may include a second through opening exposing a portion of the outflow line to a valve mechanism to regulate pressure independently of the pump mechanism, and rib-or-groove alignment mechanism to align the inflow line with the pumping mechanism and the outflow line with the valve mechanism.

Claims

1. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow of irrigation fluid to an internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an inflow line for providing irrigation fluid to the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of the inflow line and having opposed through openings exposing an exposed segment of the held portion of the inflow line; and

an irrigation pump comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

a race mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway for engagement with the inflow line through one of the opposed through openings of the cassette when the cassette is inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway; and

pumping means, mounted in the housing on the other side of the cassette-receiving passageway from the race, operable through the other of the opposed openings of the cassette for squeezing the inflow line against the race to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line;

means for moving the race and the pumping means relative to one another between a release position, wherein the race and pumping means are sufficiently spaced apart to allow the cassette to be inserted into and removed from the cassette-receiving passageway, and an operating position, wherein the race and pumping means are positioned relative to one another such that the race engages the inflow line through one of the opposed through openings through the cassette and the pumping means engages the inflow line through the other of the opposed through openings through the cassette to squeeze the inflow line between the pumping means and race.

2. An irrigation system according to claim 1 wherein the means for moving the race and the pumping means relative to one another moves the race relative to the pumping means between the release and operating positions.

3. An irrigation system according to claim 2 wherein the pumping means comprises a rotary peristaltic pump mechanism comprising:

a rotor element having a plurality of rollers along its periphery for rolling engagement with the inflow line to squeeze the inflow line against the race when the race is in its operating position against the inflow line to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line;

a motor mounted in the housing of the irrigation pump and having a rotatable shaft for rotating the rotor element; and

a pump controller for controlling the motor such that the rollers of the rotor element can be selectively held in an orientation facilitating disengagement of the cassette from the irrigation pump.

4. An irrigation system according to claim 3 wherein the pump controller includes means for selectively ensuring that the closest two rollers of the rotor element are held equally spaced from the inflow line, the race having a frame mounted on the rotatable shaft for supporting the rollers, the frame having a plurality of generally flat or concave edges each extending between adjacent rollers such that the rollers extends farther from the rotatable shaft than the edges of the frame.

5. An irrigation system according to claim 2 wherein the means for moving the race and the pumping means relative to one another comprises a solenoid mounted between the race and housing for moving the race between the release and operating positions relative to the pumping means.

6. An irrigation system according to claim 2 wherein the means for moving the race and the pumping means relative to one another comprises a manually operable overcenter lever mounted on the housing for moving the race between the release and operating positions relative to the pumping means, the overcenter lever having an overcenter position for securing the race in its operating position against force applied by the pumping means.

7. An irrigation system according to claim 2 wherein the race is provided with an indexing pin that moves with the race as the race moves between the release and operating positions, the cassette having an indexing hole complementary to the indexing pin for receiving the indexing pin when the opposed through openings of the cassette are aligned with the race and the pumping means and the race is moved to the operating position.

8. An irrigation system according to claim 1 wherein the opposed through openings of the cassette constitutes a first pair of opposed through openings;

the tubing set further comprising an outflow line for draining irrigation fluid from the internal body irrigation site, the outflow line having inlet and outlet ends;

the cassette holding a held portion of the outflow line between the inlet and outlet ends thereof, and having a outflow-regulating opening exposing an exposed segment of the held portion of the outflow line; and

the irrigation pump further including valve means operable through the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette for squeezing the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line.

9. An irrigation system according to claim 8 further comprising cooperable alignment means on the cassette and the housing for ensuring that the cassette can only be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in the proper orientation relative to the race, pumping means and valve means such that the first pair of opposed through openings of the cassette are aligned with the race and pumping means and the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette is aligned with the valve means.

10. An irrigation system according to claim 9 wherein the cassette comprises a box-like structure enclosing the held portions of the inflow and outflow lines, the box-like structure having first and second passageways containing the held portions of the inflow and outflow lines, respectively, and maintaining the exposed segment of the inflow line in alignment with the first pair of opposed through openings and the exposed segment of the outflow line in alignment with the outflow-regulating opening, the first and second passageways having a generally U-shaped longitudinal axis and open ends at opposite ends of passageways extending through a first end of the box-like structure such that the inflow and outflow lines extend out from the first end of the box-like structure, whereby a second end of the box-like structure opposite the first end is adapted to be first inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway of the irrigation pump.

11. An irrigation system according to claim 10 wherein the cooperable alignment means comprises:

the second end of the box-like structure having a generally rectangular cross section, and the cassette-receiving passageway having a generally rectangular cross-section complementary to the second end of the box-like structure;

opposite side surfaces of the box-like structure extending between the first and second ends, the opposite side surfaces including first and second side surfaces; and

opposing passageway-defining surfaces in the irrigation pump defining opposite sides of the cassette-receiving passageway, the opposing passageway-defining surfaces including a first passageway-defining surface complementary to the first side surface of the box-like structure, and a second passageway-defining surface complementary to the second side surface of the box-like structure; and

complementary rib-and-groove indexing means on the first side surface of the box-like structure and the first passageway-defining surface that is not complementary to the second passageway-defining surface and/or the second side surface, respectively, such that the cassette can be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in only one orientation in which the first pair of opposed through openings of the cassette are aligned with the race and pumping means and the outflow-regulating opening is aligned with the valve means.

12. An irrigation system according to claim 11 wherein the cassette-receiving passageway has a longitudinal direction corresponding to the direction in which the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway, the cassette and the cassette-receiving passageway having cooperable detent means for releaseably retaining the cassette in alignment longitudinally along the cassette-receiving passageway such that the first pair of opposed through openings of the cassette are aligned with the race and pumping means and the outflow-regulating opening is aligned with the valve means.

13. An irrigation system according to claim 8 wherein the valve means comprises:

a valve mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway and engageable with the outflow line for controllably squeezing the outflow line to regulate flow through the outflow line; and

solenoid means for moving the valve between a first position, relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the valve does not interfere with inserting cassette in the cassette-receiving passageway or removing the cassette from the cassette receiving passageway, and a second position, adjacent the portion of the outflow line exposed through the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette for flow regulating action of the valve on the outflow line.

14. An irrigation system according to claim 8 wherein the tubing set further comprises information-conveying means for conveying information about fluid pressure at the irrigation site to the irrigation pump, the information-conveying means including cooperable communication means mounted in the cassette and in the irrigation pump such that such information can be transmitted to the irrigation pump when the cassette in inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

15. An irrigation system according to claim 14 wherein the information-conveying means comprises a pressure sensing line providing a fluid column for transmitting pressure from the internal body irrigation site, the cooperable communication means comprising:

a first fitting mounted on the cassette in communication with the pressure sensing line; and

a second fitting mounted in the irrigation pump, complementary to the first fitting, and positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the first fitting and the second fitting are connected when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

16. An irrigation system according to claim 15 wherein the first fitting comprises a one of a male or female connector on the cassette in fluid communication with the pressure sensing line, the second fitting comprising the other of a male or female connector in the cassette-receiving passageway and complementary with the first fitting, the male connector having an elastomeric seal thereon for sealing engagement with the female connector.

17. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow of irrigation fluid to an internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an inflow line for providing irrigation fluid to the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of the inflow line and having opposed through openings exposing an exposed segment of the held portion of the inflow line; and

an irrigation pump comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

a race mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway for engagement with the inflow line through one of the opposed through openings of the cassette when the cassette is inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway; and

pumping means, mounted in the housing on the other side of the cassette-receiving passageway from the race, operable through the other of the opposed openings of the cassette for squeezing the inflow line against the race to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line;

means for moving the race and the pumping means relative to one another between a release position, wherein the race and pumping means are sufficiently spaced apart to allow the cassette to be inserted into and removed from the cassette-receiving passageway, and an operating position, wherein the race and pumping means are positioned relative to one another such that the race engages the inflow line through one of the opposed through openings through the cassette and the pumping means engages the inflow line through the other of the opposed through openings through the cassette to squeeze the inflow line between the pumping means and race, the opposed through openings of the cassette constitutes a first pair of opposed through openings;

the tubing set further comprising an outflow line for draining irrigation fluid from the internal body irrigation site, the outflow line having inlet and outlet ends;

the cassette holding a held portion of the outflow line between the inlet and outlet ends thereof, and having a outflow-regulating opening exposing an exposed segment of the held portion of the outflow line; and

the irrigation pump further including valve means operable through the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette for squeezing the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line, the valve means comprising;

a valve mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway and engageable with the outflow line for controllably squeezing the outflow line to regulate flow through the outflow line; and

solenoid means for moving the valve between a first position, relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the valve does not interfere with inserting cassette in the cassette-receiving passageway or removing the cassette from the cassette receiving passageway, and a second position, adjacent the portion of the outflow line exposed through the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette for flow regulating action of the valve on the outflow line;

the cassette having an opening on the opposite side of the outflow line from the outflow-regulating opening, which opening forms, together with the outflow-regulating opening, a second pair of opposed through openings;

the valve means further comprising a back support mounted in the housing on the opposite side of the cassette-receiving passageway from the valve in alignment with the valve, the back support being movable between a release position, wherein the back support is positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway to allow the cassette to be inserted into or removed from the cassette-receiving passageway, and an operating position, wherein the back support is more closely positioned to the valve than in the release position to allow the valve to squeeze the outflow line against the back support to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line.

18. An irrigation system according to claim 17 wherein the race and the back support are mounted together for movement between their release and operating positions, the means for moving the race and the pumping means relative to one another comprising means for moving the race and back support between their release and operating positions.

19. An irrigation system according to claim 18 wherein the means for moving the race and back support comprises a solenoid mounted between the race and back support, on the one hand, and housing, on the other, for moving the race and back support between their release and operating positions relative to the pumping means and valve, respectively.

20. An irrigation system according to claim 18 wherein the means for moving the race and back support comprises a manually operable overcenter lever mounted on the housing for moving the race and back support between the release and operating positions relative to the pumping means and valve, respectively, the overcenter lever having an overcenter position for securing the race and back support in their release position against forces applied by the pumping means and valve, respectively.

21. An irrigation system according to claim 18 wherein the race is provided with an indexing pin that moves with the race as the race and back support move between their release and operating positions, the cassette having an indexing hole complementary to the indexing pin for receiving the indexing pin when the first pair of opposed through openings of the cassette are aligned with the race, the second pair of opposed through openings are aligned with the back support, and the race and back support are moved to their operating position.

22. An irrigation system according to claim 18 further comprising spring means, operatively linked with the race and back support, for relieving pressure within the inflow and/or outflow line by allowing the race to back away from the pumping means when pressure within the inflow line exceeds a threshold and the back support to back away from the valve when pressure within the outflow line exceeds a threshold.

23. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow of irrigation fluid to an internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an inflow line for providing irrigation fluid to the internal body irrigation site;

an outflow line for draining irrigation fluid from the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of each of the inflow and outflow lines, and having at least one first opening exposing an exposed segment of the inflow line and an exposed segment of the outflow line, and at least one second opening on the opposite side of the exposed segment of the outflow line from the first opening; and

an irrigation pump comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

pumping means, mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the inflow line to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line;

valve means, mounted in the housing adjacent the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line; and

a back support mounted in the housing on the opposite side of the cassette-receiving passageway from the valve means in alignment with the valve means, the back support and valve means being movable relative to one another between a release position, wherein the back support is positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway to allow the cassette to be inserted into or removed from the cassette-receiving passageway, and an operating position, wherein the back support is more closely positioned to the valve means than in the release position such that the back support engages the exposed segment of the outflow line through one of the first and second openings to allow the valve means to squeeze the outflow line against the back support to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line.

24. An irrigation system according to claim 23 further comprising cooperable alignment means on the cassette and the housing for ensuring that the cassette can only be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in the proper orientation relative to the pumping means and valve means such that exposed segment of the inflow line is aligned with the pumping means and the exposed segment of the outflow line is aligned with the valve means.

25. An irrigation system according to claim 24 wherein the cassette comprises a box-like structure enclosing portions of the inflow and outflow lines, the opening of the cassette comprising an inflow-line-exposing opening into the box-like structure for exposing the exposed segment of the inflow line and an outflow-regulating opening into the box-like structure for exposing the exposed segment of the outflow line, the box-like structure having first and second passageways containing the inflow and outflow lines, respectively, and maintaining a portion of the inflow line in alignment with the inflow-line-exposing opening and a portion of the outflow line in alignment with the outflow-regulating opening, the first and second passageways having a generally U-shaped longitudinal axis and open ends at opposite ends of passageways extending through a first end of the box-like structure such that the inflow and outflow lines extend out from the first end of the box-like structure, whereby a second end of the box-like structure opposite the first end is adapted to be first inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway of the irrigation pump.

26. An irrigation system according to claim 25 wherein the cooperable alignment means comprises:

the second end of the box-like structure having a generally rectangular cross section, and the cassette-receiving passageway having a generally rectangular cross-section complementary to the second end of the box-like structure;

opposite side surfaces of the box-like structure extending between the first and second ends, the opposite side surfaces including first and second side surfaces; and

opposing passageway-defining surfaces in the irrigation pump defining opposite sides of the cassette-receiving passageway, the opposing passageway-defining surfaces including a first passageway-defining surface complementary to the first side surface of the box-like structure, and a second passageway-defining surface complementary to the second side surface of the box-like structure; and

complementary rib-and-groove indexing means on the first side surface of the box-like structure and the first passageway-defining surface that is not complementary to the second passageway-defining surface and/or the second side surface, respectively, such that the cassette can be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in only one orientation in which the inflow-line-exposing opening of the cassette are aligned with the pumping means and the outflow-regulating opening is aligned with the valve means.

27. An irrigation system according to claim 26 wherein the cassette-receiving passageway has a longitudinal direction corresponding to the direction in which the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway, the cassette and the cassette-receiving passageway having cooperable detent means for releaseably retaining the cassette in alignment longitudinally along the cassette-receiving passageway such that the inflow-line-exposing opening of the cassette is aligned with the pumping means and the outflow-regulating opening is aligned with the valve means.

28. An irrigation system according to claim 23 wherein the valve means comprises:

a valve mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway, the valve being engageable with the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid in the outflow line; and

solenoid means for moving the valve between a first position, relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the valve does not interfere with inserting cassette in the cassette-receiving passageway or removing the cassette from the cassette receiving passageway, and a second position, adjacent the portion of the outflow line exposed through the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette for flow regulating action of the valve on the outflow line.

29. An irrigation system according to claim 23 wherein the tubing set further comprises information-conveying means for conveying information about fluid pressure at the irrigation site to the irrigation pump, the information-conveying means including cooperable communication means mounted in the cassette and in the irrigation pump such that such information can be transmitted to the irrigation pump when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

30. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow of irrigation fluid to an internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an inflow line for providing irrigation fluid to the internal body irrigation site;

an outflow line for draining irrigation fluid from the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of each of the inflow and outflow lines, and having at least one opening exposing an exposed segment of the inflow line and an exposed segment of the outflow line; and

an irrigation pump comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

pumping means, mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the inflow line to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line; and

valve means, mounted in the housing adjacent the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line, the valve means comprising;

a valve mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway, the valve being engageable with the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid in the outflow line; and

solenoid means for moving the valve between a first position, relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the valve does not interfere with inserting cassette in the cassette-receiving passageway or removing the cassette from the cassette receiving passageway, and a second position, adjacent the portion of the outflow line exposed through the outflow-regulating opening of the cassette for flow regulating action of the valve on the outflow line;

the cassette having an opening on the opposite side of the outflow line from the outflow-regulating opening, which opening forms, together with the outflow-regulating opening, a pair of opposed through openings;

the valve means further comprising a back support mounted in the housing on the opposite side of the cassette-receiving passageway from the valve in alignment with the valve, the back support being movable between a release position, wherein the back support is positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway to allow the cassette to be inserted into or removed from the cassette-receiving passageway, and an operating position, wherein the back support is more closely positioned to the valve than in the release position such that the back support engages the exposed segment of the outflow line through one of the opposed through openings to allow the valve to squeeze the outflow line against the back support to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line.

31. An irrigation system according to claim 30 further comprising means for moving the back support between its release and operating positions.

32. An irrigation system according to claim 31 wherein the means for moving the back support comprises a solenoid operatively mounted between the back support, on the one hand, and housing, on the other, for moving the back support between the release and operating positions relative to the valve.

33. An irrigation system according to claim 31 wherein the means for moving the back support comprises a manually operable overcenter lever mounted on the housing for moving the back support between the release and operating positions relative to the valve, the overcenter lever having an overcenter position for securing the back support in the release position against force applied by the valve.

34. An irrigation system according to claim 31 further comprising an indexing pin that moves with the back support as the back support moves between the release and operating positions, the cassette having an indexing hole complementary to the indexing pin for receiving the indexing pin when the pair of opposed through openings of the cassette are aligned with the back support and the back support is moved to the operating position.

35. An irrigation system according to claim 30 wherein the valve means further comprises a spring operatively linked with the back support, the spring being movable from its normal position to allow the back support to back away from the valve when pressure within the outflow line exceeds a threshold.

36. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow of irrigation fluid to an internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an inflow line for providing irrigation fluid to the internal body irrigation site;

an outflow line for draining irrigation fluid from the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of each of the inflow and outflow lines, and having at least one opening exposing an exposed segment of the inflow line and an exposed segment of the outflow line; and

an irrigation pump comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

pumping means, mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the inflow line to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line; and

valve means, mounted in the housing adjacent the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line;

the tubing set further comprising information-conveying means for conveying information about fluid pressure at the irrigation site to the irrigation pump, the information-conveying means including cooperable communication means mounted in the cassette and in the irrigation pump such that such information can be transmitted to the irrigation pump when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway;

the information-conveying means comprising a pressure sensing line providing a fluid column for transmitting pressure from the internal body irrigation site, the cooperable communication means comprising;

a first fitting mounted on the cassette in communication with the pressure sensing line; and

a second fitting mounted in the irrigation pump, complementary to the first fitting, and positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the first fitting and the second fitting are connected when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

37. An irrigation system according to claim 36 wherein the first fitting comprises one of a male or female connector on the cassette in fluid communication with the pressure sensing line, the second fitting comprising the other of a male or female connector in the cassette-receiving passageway and complementary with the first fitting, the male connector having an elastomeric seal thereon for sealing engagement with the female connector.

38. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for maintaining and controlling flow and pressure of irrigation fluid in an internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an inflow line for providing irrigation fluid to the internal body irrigation site;

a pressure sensing line for transmitting information about fluid pressure at the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of each of the inflow and pressure sensing lines, the cassette having at least one opening exposing an exposed segment of inflow line, and coupling means for bringing the pressure sensing line in communication with an irrigation pump; and

an irrigation pump comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

pumping means, mounted in the housing on one side of the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the inflow line to pump irrigation fluid through the inflow line; and

cooperable coupling means in the cassette-receiving passageway of the irrigation pump for engagement with the coupling means of the cassette to bring the pressure sensing line in communication with the irrigation pump;

the pressure sensing line providing a fluid column for transmitting pressure from the internal body irrigation site;

the coupling means on the cassette comprising a first fitting mounted on the cassette in communication with the pressure sensing line; and

the cooperable coupling means on the irrigation pump comprising a second fitting mounted in the irrigation pump, complementary to the first fitting, and positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the first fitting and the second fitting are connected when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

39. An irrigation system according to claim 38 wherein the first fitting comprises one of a male or female connector on the cassette in fluid communication with the pressure sensing line, the second fitting comprising the other of a male or female connector in the cassette-receiving passageway complementary with the male connector, the male connector having an elastomeric seal thereon for sealing engagement with the female connector when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

40. An irrigation system according to claim 38 further comprising cooperable alignment means on the cassette and the housing for ensuring that the cassette can only be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in the proper orientation relative to the pumping means and cooperable coupling means such that the exposed segment of the inflow line is aligned with the pumping means and the coupling means of the cassette is connected to the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation pump.

41. An irrigation system according to claim 40 wherein the cassette comprises a box-like structure enclosing the held portion of the inflow line, the box-like structure having a first passageway containing the inflow line and maintaining a portion of the inflow line in alignment with the opening, the first passageway having a generally U-shaped longitudinal axis and open ends at opposite ends of passageway extending through a first end of the box-like structure such that the inflow line extends out from the first end of the box-like structure, the box-like structure further having a second end opposite the first end, the coupling means of the cassette being on the second end of the cassette, the cassette-receiving passageway having an inner, closed end on which the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation pump is mounted, whereby the second end of the box-like structure is adapted to be first inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway of the irrigation pump until the coupling means of the cassette is connected to the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation pump and the exposed segment of the inflow line is aligned with the pumping means.

42. An irrigation system according to claim 41 wherein the cooperable alignment means comprises:

the second end of the box-like structure having a generally rectangular cross section, and the cassette-receiving passageway having a generally rectangular cross-section complementary to the second end of the box-like structure;

opposite side surfaces of the box-like structure extending between the first and second ends, the opposite side surfaces including first and second side surfaces; and

opposing passageway-defining surfaces in the irrigation pump defining opposite sides of the cassette-receiving passageway, the opposing passageway-defining surfaces including a first passageway-defining surface complementary to the first side surface of the box-like structure, and a second passageway-defining surface complementary to the second side surface of the box-like structure; and

complementary rib-and-groove indexing means on the first side surface of the box-like structure and the first passageway-defining surface that is not complementary to the second passageway-defining surface and/or the second side surface, respectively, such that the cassette can be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in only one orientation in which the exposed segment of the inflow line is aligned with the pumping means and the coupling means of the cassette is aligned with the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation pump.

43. An irrigation system according to claim 42 wherein the cassette-receiving passageway has a longitudinal direction corresponding to the direction in which the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway, the cassette and the cassette-receiving passageway having cooperable detent means for releaseably retaining the cassette in alignment longitudinally along the cassette-receiving passageway such that the exposed segment of the inflow line is aligned with the pumping means and the coupling means of the cassette is connected to the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation pump.

44. An irrigation system for use in endoscopic procedures for controlling flow of irrigation fluid from an internal body irrigation site and fluid pressure in the internal body irrigation site, the system comprising:

a tubing set comprising;

an outflow line for draining irrigation fluid from the internal body irrigation site;

a pressure sensing line for transmitting information about fluid pressure at the internal body irrigation site; and

a cassette holding a held portion of each of the outflow and pressure sensing lines, the cassette having at least one opening exposing an exposed segment of the outflow line, and coupling means for bringing the pressure sensing line in communication with an irrigation control module; and

an irrigation control module comprising;

a housing having a cassette-receiving passageway for releaseably receiving the cassette;

valve means, mounted in the housing adjacent the cassette-receiving passageway, operable through the opening of the cassette for squeezing the outflow line to regulate the flow of irrigation fluid through the outflow line; and

cooperable coupling means in the cassette-receiving passageway of the housing for engagement with the coupling means of the cassette to bring the pressure sensing line in communication with the irrigation control module;

the pressure sensing line providing a fluid column for transmitting pressure from the internal body irrigation site;

the coupling means on the cassette comprising a first fitting mounted on the cassette in communication with the pressure sensing line; and

the cooperable coupling means on the irrigation control module comprising a second fitting mounted in the irrigation control module, complementary to the first fitting, and positioned relative to the cassette-receiving passageway such that the first fitting and the second fitting are connected when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

45. An irrigation system according to claim 44 wherein the first fitting comprises one of a male or female connector on the cassette in fluid communication with the pressure sensing line, the second fitting comprising the other of a male or female connector in the cassette-receiving passageway complementary with the first fitting, the male connector having an elastomeric seal thereon for sealing engagement with the female connector when the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway.

46. An irrigation system according to claim 44 further comprising cooperable alignment means on the cassette and the housing for ensuring that the cassette can only be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in the proper orientation relative to the valve means and cooperable coupling means such that exposed segment of the outflow line is aligned with the valve means and the coupling means of the cassette is connected to the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation pump.

47. An irrigation system according to claim 46 wherein the cassette comprises a box-like structure enclosing the held portion of the outflow line, the box-like structure having a first passageway containing the outflow line and maintaining a portion of the outflow line in alignment with the opening, the first passageway having a generally U-shaped longitudinal axis and open ends at opposite ends of passageway extending through a first end of the box-like structure such that the outflow line extends out from the first end of the box-like structure, the box-like structure further having a second end opposite the first end, the coupling means of the cassette being on the second end of the cassette, the cassette-receiving passageway having an inner, closed end on which the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation control module is mounted, whereby the second end of the box-like structure is adapted to be first inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway of the irrigation pump until the coupling means of the cassette is connected to the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation control module and the exposed segment of the outflow line is aligned with the valve means.

48. An irrigation system according to claim 47 wherein the cooperable alignment means comprises:

the second end of the box-like structure having a generally ]rectangular cross section, and the cassette-receiving passageway having a generally rectangular cross-section complementary to the second end of the box-like structure;

opposite side surfaces of the box-like structure extending between the first and second ends, the opposite side surfaces including first and second side surfaces; and

opposing passageway-defining surfaces in the irrigation control module defining opposite sides of the cassette-receiving passageway, the opposing passageway-defining surfaces including a first passageway-defining surface complementary to the first side surface of the box-like structure, and a second passageway-defining surface complementary to the second side surface of the box-like structure; and

complementary rib-and-groove indexing means on the first side surface of the box-like structure and the first passageway-defining surface that is not complementary to the second passageway-defining surface and/or the second side surface, respectively, such that the cassette can be inserted in the cassette-receiving passageway in only one orientation in which the exposed segment of the outflow line is aligned with the valve means and the coupling means of the cassette is aligned with the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation control module.

49. An irrigation system according to claim 48 wherein the cassette-receiving passageway has a longitudinal direction corresponding to the direction in which the cassette is inserted into the cassette-receiving passageway, the cassette and the cassette-receiving passageway having cooperable detent means for releaseably retaining the cassette in alignment longitudinally along the cassette-receiving passageway such that the exposed segment of the outflow line is aligned with the valve means and the coupling means of the cassette is connected to the cooperable coupling means of the irrigation control module.