Ultrasonic device for cutting and coagulating

Abstract

An ultrasonic clamp coagulator assembly that is configured to permit selective cutting, coagulation, and fine dissection required in fine and delicate surgical procedures. The assembly includes a clamping mechanism, including a clamp arm cam-mounted at the distal portion of the instrument, which is specifically configured to create a desired level of tissue clamping forces. The balanced blade provides a functional asymmetry for improved visibility at the blade tip and a multitude of edges and surfaces, designed to provide a multitude of tissue effects: clamped coagulation, clamped cutting, grasping, back-cutting, dissection, spot coagulation, tip penetration and tip scoring. The assembly also features hand activation configured to provide an ergonomical grip and operation for the surgeon. Hand switches are placed in the range of the natural axial motion of the user's index or middle fingers, whether gripping the surgical instrument right-handed or left handed.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60 / 726,625, filed on Oct. 14, 2005.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention generally relates to ultrasonic surgical systems and, more particularly, to an ultrasonic device that is optimized to allow surgeons to perform cutting, coagulation, and fine dissection required in fine and delicate surgical procedures such as a thyroidectomy. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Ultrasonic surgical instruments are finding increasingly widespread applications in surgical procedures by virtue of the unique performance characteristics of such instruments. Depending upon specific instrument configurations and operational parameters, ultrasonic surgical instruments can provide substantially simultaneous cutting of tissue and homeostasis by coagulation, desirably minimizing patient trauma. The cutting action is typically effected by an end-effector ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0107] Several benefits and advantages are obtained from one or more of the expressions of the invention. Having a tissue pad with a base material and at-least-one filler material allows the base material and the at-least-one filler material to be chosen with a different hardness, stiffness, lubricity, dynamic coefficient of friction, heat transfer coefficient, abradability, heat deflection temperature, glass transition temperature and / or melt temperature to improve the wearability of the tissue pad, which is important when high clamping forces are employed because tissue pads wear faster at higher clamping forces than at lower clamping forces. In experiments, a 15% graphite-filled polytetrafluoroethylene tissue pad showed substantially the same wear with a 7 pound clamping force as a 100% polytetrafluoroethylene tissue pad showed with a 1.5 pound clamping force. Having a flexible clamping arm and / or a flexible tissue pad should also improve the wearability of the tissue pad due to the ability of the flexible member to more evenly distribute the load across the entire surface of the tissue pad. Further benefits and expressions of this embodiment are disclosed in U.S. provisional patent application, Ser. No. 60 / 548,301, filed on Feb. 27, 2004 and commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application.

Problems solved by technology

Key drawbacks with this type of instrument activation include the loss of focus on the surgical field while the surgeon searches for the foot pedal, the foot pedal getting in the way of the surgeon's movement during a procedure and surgeon leg fatigue during long cases.

The drawbacks of such methods are i) high stresses in the curved region, which makes the end effector more prone to fracture if it comes in contact with metal during surgery; ii) a shorter active length, which limits the vessel size that can be operated on, (the active length is defined as the length from the distal end of the blade to where the displacement is one half of the displacement at its distal end); and / or iii) the inability to separately balance orthogonal displacements.

This approach is limited since the relative motion between the two arms is completely rotational.

This feature limits the ability to control the pressure profile between the two working ends when fully closed.

Some current designs of clamp coagulator shears are not specifically designed for delicate procedures where precise dissection, cutting and coagulation are required.

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