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Power-assisted tissue-aspiration instrument system employing an electronically-controlled air-flow valve assembly within an external instrument controller

  • US 7,381,206 B2
  • Filed: 06/03/2005
  • Issued: 06/03/2008
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/14/1990
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An air-powered tissue-aspiration instrument system comprising:

  • (A) an air-powered tissue-aspiration instrument including(i) a hand-supportable housing having a front end portion and a rear end portion, and an air-powered reciprocation mechanism disposed in said hand-supportable housing and including a dual-port air-driven cylinder having first and second ports for receiving a pair of pressurized air streams to drive said air-powered reciprocation mechanism;

    (ii) a dual-cannula assembly being operably connectable to said hand-supportable housing and including a hollow inner cannula having a distal end and a proximal end and an inner suction aperture about said inner cannula distal end, said inner cannula proximal end further including an outlet port and a continuous passageway which communicates said inner suction aperture with said outlet port, and a hollow outer cannula mounted stationary relative to said hand-supportable housing and having a distal end and a proximal end and an outer suction aperture about said outer cannula distal end, said hollow inner cannula being disposed within at least a portion of said hollow outer cannula while permitting aspiration of tissue through said outer and inner suction apertures, along said continuous passageway and out of said outlet port; and

    (iii) a first multi-port connector provided on the rear end portion of said hand-supportable housing, and supporting a first set of air-power supply-line connectors and electrical control signal connectors;

    (B) an instrument controller having a controller housing containing a digitally-controlled multi-port air-flow control valve assembly including(i) a central air-flow control port for operable connection to an external source of pressurized air,(ii) a first air-flow control port for communication with the first port on said dual-port air-driven cylinder, and(iii) a second air-flow control port for communication with the second port on said dual-port air-driven cylinder; and

    (iv) a second multi-port connector provided on the housing of said instrument controller, and supporting a second set of air-power supply-line connectors and electrical control signal connectors; and

    (C) a multi-core connector assembly including (i) a first multi-port connector plug adapted for connection to said first multi-port connector, (ii) a second multi-port connector plug adapted for connection to said second multi-port connector, and (iii) a multi-core cable structure for interconnecting said first and second multi-port connector plugs, and including a pair of air-supply tubes and a set of electrical control signal wires encased within a flexible casing; and

    wherein when said first multi-port connector plug is connected to said first multi-port connector and said second multi-port connector plug is connected to said second multi-port connector, then said first set of air-power supply-line connectors are operably connected to said second set of air-power supply-line connectors by way of said pair of air-supply tubes, and also said first set of electrical control signal connectors are electrically connected to said second set of electrical control signal connectors by way of said set of electrical control signal wires.

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