Peristaltic pump with air venting

Abstract

A peristaltic pump (10) for use in ophthalmic surgery includes a housing (12), a pump head (14) having plurality of rollers (16), a backing plate (18) attached to the housing (12), and a length of surgical tubing (50). The rollers (16) and backing plate (18) cooperate to pinch the length of surgical tubing (50) to peristaltically pump fluids from a surgical site to a collection bag (64). At least one of the pump head (14) and the backing plate (18) is moveable, during operation of the pump (10), from a tubing pinched position to a tubing vent position. This movement allows the tubing (50) to be vented by removing the pinched closure of the tubing (50).

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to depressurization of the suction path in a peristaltic pump after reaching an unacceptably high vacuum, and more particularly to gas decompression or air venting. Background technique [0002] During the use of peristaltic pumps, especially in ophthalmic surgery, occlusion of the suction path (including the surgical handpiece, suction tubing, pump barrel, and collection bag) can occur. Once a piece of tissue, such as a piece of cataract, blocks the suction port of a surgical handpiece, such as a phacoemulsification instrument, the vacuum within the suction path will begin to rise. If the occlusion is not cleared in time, the vacuum can become dangerous, i.e. after the occlusion is cleared, the excessive surge in the suction path will cause the eye to collapse and increase the intraocular pressure (IOP) of the eye sudden and sharp drop. This could cause serious damage to the eyes. [0003] Therefore, it is well known i...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This requires the pump to include expensive pinch valves dedicated for gas relief purposes

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