Gas-tight seal accomodating surgical instruments with a wide range of diameters
Inactive Publication Date: 2011-05-17
APPL MEDICAL RESOURCES CORP
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- Description
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- Application Information
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Benefits of technology
[0014]It is a further object of the invention to provide a gas-tight seal that effectively provides a leak-free seal with an instrument with a diameter at the minimum of the range of diameters.
[0029]The inner zone of the seal molding forms the gas-tight seal with the instrument and is mounted in the rigid annulus. The rigid annulus is, in turn, mounted to the seal body by the compliant outer part of the seal molding. The rigid annulus effectively isolates the instrument seal part of the seal molding from the compliant outer zone of the seal molding, and also interacts with the internal faces of the seal body to restrict axial movement of the instrument seal. The compliant outer zone of the seal molding allows the instrument to move the inner zone of the seal molding laterally with a relatively small lateral force. This enables a significant reduction to be made in the radial force that the inner zone of the seal molding is required to exert on the instrument to maintain the gas-tight seal as the instrument is moved laterally. This, in turn, increases the range of instrument diameters that can be used in the seal.
Problems solved by technology
The gas-tight seal built into the trocar tube cannot provide an adequate gas-tight seal with such a smaller-diameter instrument since known gas-tight seals suffer from an inability to accommodate a wide range of instrument diameters.
Known gas-tight seals leak when a smaller-diameter instrument is inserted, and / or impose excessive friction when a larger-diameter instrument is inserted.
Known gas-tight seals also have an increased tendency to leak with a smaller-diameter instrument when the instrument is displaced laterally.
The inability of known gas-tight seals to seal with instruments having a large range of diameters results from this basic construction.
Deforming the elastic material results in a radial force between the elastic material and the instrument.
This increase in the radial force further increases friction between the seal and the larger-diameter instrument, and thus further limits the diameter range that the seal will accommodate.
The process of sliding the auxiliary gas-tight seal can be tedious, especially for gloved hands.
If the auxiliary seal is too large for the instrument, the seal will leak; if the auxiliary seal is too small for the instrument, there will be excessive friction between the seal and the instrument.
With an extreme diameter mismatch, the instrument can tear the seal, which would then require that the trocar tube be replaced.
Method used
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Embodiment Construction
[0053]The conventional gas-tight trocar tube seal, described above, uses the same piece of elastic material to form the gas-tight seal with the instrument, and to accommodate lateral displacement of the instrument. The need to accommodate lateral displacement of the instrument requires that, to prevent the seal from leaking, the radial force between the elastic material and the instrument be increased for an instrument at the minimum of the range of diameters. This reduces the maximum of the range of diameters above which there is excessive friction between the elastic material and the instrument.
[0054]The gas-tight seal according to the invention uses different structures to provide the gas-tight seal with the instrument and to accommodate lateral displacement of the instrument. This enables the radial force between the gas-tight seal and the instrument to be reduced for an instrument at the minimum of the range of diameters. This, in turn, reduces friction between the seal and a l...
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A seal for use in a surgical instrument to provide a gas-tight seal with an instrument passed through the seal. The seal can form a gas-tight seal with an instrument having a diameter within a wide range of diameters. The seal comprises a seal body, an instrument seal, and a laterally-compliant seal mounting device. The seal body includes a bore through which the instrument is passed. The instrument seal is made of an elastic material and is disposed substantially perpendicular to the axis defined by the bore in the seal body. The instrument seal includes an instrument port through which the instrument is passed. The laterally-compliant seal mounting device mounts the instrument seal to the seal body, forms a gas-tight seal between the instrument seal and the seal body, and allows the instrument seal to move freely laterally in response to lateral movement of the instrument.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention relates to a gas-tight seal for use in a surgical instrument to provide a gas-tight seal with an instrument passed through the seal. The seal can form a gas-tight seal with instruments having a wide range of diameters.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Trocar tubes used in laparoscopic surgery are normally fitted with a gas-tight seal to maintain pneumoperitoneum when a laparoscopic instrument is inserted into the trocar tube. The gas-tight seal is normally built into the rear housing attached to the cannula of the trocar tube, and forms a gas-tight seal with an instrument having an outside diameter that is similar to the internal diameter of the cannula.[0003]In the course of laparoscopic surgery, it is often necessary to insert into the trocar tube a laparoscopic instrument having a diameter that is less than the diameter of the cannula. The gas-tight seal built into the trocar tube cannot provide an adequate gas-tight seal with such a small...
Claims
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Patent Timeline
Login to View More IPC IPC(8): A61M5/178F16J15/00A61M5/14A61B17/34A61M39/06
CPCA61B1/00137A61B17/3462A61B17/3498A61B2017/3464A61M39/06A61M39/0606A61M39/0613A61M2039/0279A61M2039/0626A61M2039/0673A61M2039/0686
InventorLOOMAS, BRYAN E.
OwnerAPPL MEDICAL RESOURCES CORP