Mechanical surgical assistant for microsurgery

Abstract

Performance of consistent, high-quality experimental surgeries is essential to scientific experimentation. The present invention is directed to a mechanical micro-retractor that increases the quality and reproducibility of microsurgery, reduces the time to perform procedures, and reduces the proportion of unsuccessful surgeries. The present invention includes two surgical instrument holders that enable the primary surgeon to adjust the location and orientation of the surgical instrument tips in 3D space at will. The surgical instrument holders are also configured to lock the instruments into a desired position. The present invention enables the primary surgeon to provide adequate surgical exposure, lock the device in place to maintain that exposure, and then go on to perform primary surgical interventions.

Description

MECHANICAL SURGICAL ASSISTANT FOR MICROSURGERYCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 789.113 filed on April 15, 2025, which is incorporated by reference, herein, in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to medical devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mechanical surgical assistant for microsurgery.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The retractor is a common surgical instrument that is used to expose a target tissue by providing access and visualization for any manipulation like extracting tissue or tumor, implanting prostheses or devices, and observing hidden tissues / organs. In clinical human surgery, assistant surgeons help the primary surgeons by maintaining surgical exposure.

[0004] In some cases, mechanical devices achieve exposure through locked placement within a surgical cavity or tissue plane. However, in experimental surgery on small animals, like rodents, having an assistant available for surgery’, especially in research laboratories, is not always practical or cost effective. In addition, some procedures (e.g., surgery in the ophthalmic orbit, joints, spine, or brain) require a surgical field that is quite small and a second surgeon will have great difficulty' maneuvering with the primary' surgeon in a tight space while maintaining perfectly steady fixation of surgical instruments. Indeed, it has been found to be impractical to have even a trained ophthalmic surgeon provide adequate surgical exposure as an assistant to a primary surgeon performing interventions on the rat or mouse optic nen e. Such microsurgeries would be greatly aided by mechanical retractors that canfirst be independently adjusted by the primary surgeon and then locked to retract very' small areas (sometimes less than 5 mm2).

[0005] The smallest retractors available in the market are not appropriate for retracting small surgical fields in rodents like the orbit to expose the optic nerve (behind the eyeball).Furthermore, the lack of a braking system to properly lock the retractors in the desired area and orientate them at fine spatial resolution during long surgeries is an issue that potentially affects the quality' of the microsurgeries in small animals.

[0006] It would therefore be advantageous to provide a mechanical surgical assistant for microsurgery that addresses these issues.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention directed to a surgical device including a surgical instrument holder. The surgical device also includes an air brake and a foot pedal for engaging the air brake.

[0008] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the surgical instrument holder takes the form of two or more surgical instrument holders. The surgical device includes a surgical retractor configured to be held by' the surgical instrument holder. The air brake is configured to immobilize the surgical retractor when the air lock is engaged by the foot pedal. The surgical device can include two or more surgical retractors configured to be held by the two or more surgical instrument holders. The air brake is configured to immobilize the two or more surgical retractors when the air brake is engaged by the foot pedal. The air lock includes two or more air brakes, and the foot pedal includes two or more foot brakes, wherein each of the two or more foot pedals is configured to engage one of the two or more air brakes associated with the two or more surgical instrument holders. The surgical instrument holderincludes a movable coupling for a surgical instrument. The surgical instrument holder is coupled to the movable frame. The movable frame includes j oints to allow for movement of the surgical instrument holder in a predetermined number of dimensions.

[0009] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention a surgical device includes a moveable frame. The surgical device includes a pair of surgical instrument holders held by the moveable frame. The surgical device includes movable couplings for surgical instruments, wherein the moveable couplings for the surgical instruments are coupled to the pair of surgical instrument holders.

[0010] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention. The surgical device includes an air brake. The surgical device includes a foot pedal for engaging the air brake. The surgical device includes a surgical retractor configured to be held by the surgical instrument holders. An air brake is configured to immobilize the surgical retractor when the air brake is engaged by a foot pedal. The surgical device can in some embodiments include two or more surgical retractors configured to be held by the surgical instrument holders. An air brake is configured to immobilize the two or more surgical retractors when the air brake is engaged by a foot pedal. The surgical device in some embodiments can include two or more air brakes and two or more foot pedals, wherein each of the two or more foot pedals is configured to engage one of the two or more air brakes associated with the two or more surgical instrument holders. The movable coupling for a surgical instrument is configured to be lockable. The movable frame includes joints to allow for movement of the surgical instrument holder in a predetermined number of dimensions.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The accompanying drawings provide visual representations, which will be used to more fully describe the representative embodiments disclosed herein and can be used by those skilled in the art to better understand them and their inherent advantages. In these drawings, like reference numerals identify corresponding elements and:

[0012] FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate perspective view of a surgical device for retraction, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate perspective views of surgical instruments and surgical instrument holders according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a surgical instrument holder and air brake according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate perspective views of a surgical device of the present invention in use in an experimental retraction, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] FIGS. 5 A-5C illustrates a foot pedal and gas cannister with pressure gauges for actuating an air brake according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] FIGS. 6A-6I illustrate perspective views of a surgical device of the present invention, where the surgical device is being used for an experimental retraction according to an embodiment of the present invention.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The presently disclosed subject matter now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The presently disclosed subject matter may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy’ applicable legal requirements. Indeed, manymodifications and other embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the presently disclosed subject matter pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated Drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the presently disclosed subject matter is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

[0019] Performance of consistent, high quality experimental surgeries is essential to scientific experimentation. The present invention is directed to a mechanical micro-retractor that increases the quality and reproducibility' of microsurgery, reduces the time to perform procedures, and reduces the proportion of unsuccessful surgeries. The present invention includes two surgical instrument holders that enable the primary surgeon to adjust the location and orientation of the surgical instrument tips in 3D space at will. The surgical instrument holders are also configured to lock the instruments into a desired position. The present invention enables the primary surgeon to provide adequate surgical exposure, lock the device in place to maintain that exposure, and then go on to perform primary surgical interventions.

[0020] The current invention provides an opportunity to retract a small area in small animals (e.g., rodents), which helps surgeons to execute the surgery independently. This device is designed to be used under an ophthalmic, neurosurgical, ENT, dental, or plastic and reconstructive surgical microscope, or a dissecting microscope, and the device is user-friendly when the surgeon needs to apply it under the microscope; the utilization of air brake technology coupled to a foot pedal enables the surgeon to engage the locking mechanism without looking away from the surgical field. In some embodiments, this device is for orbital surgery on mice and rats, which are the most common animals for in-vivo researchlaboratories. The technology of the present invention can be applied for other small research animals including flies, worms, fish, amphibians, and reptiles.

[0021] The micro-retractor of the present invention is helpful for animal surgeons, especially small animal surgeons, to retract the target area independently by using the air brake system. It provides a groundbreaking advance over existing surgical devices available to scientists working in research labs and performing small animal surgery as part of their scientific programs.

[0022] A locking system associated with the present invention is controlled by the foot pedal. Prior to locking the mechanism, the surgeon can manipulate the instruments in 3D space with full translational and rotational freedom, exactly has they would if the instruments were not linked to a locking mechanism (i.e., freehand). Immediately after retracting and exposing the target tissue and locking the device, the surgeon can continue the surgery without changing the hand position or enlisting the help of another person or assistant. Importantly, the surgical device of the present invention can retract an area of less than 5 mm2which is not achievable with the available surgical instruments or standalone retractors. This invention is a portable device that gives the opportunity to be shared between different operating rooms or transported from the lab to the operating room. The size, shape, and conformation of the specific surgical instruments loaded into the device can be swapped interchangeably, to broaden the range of configurations and types of retraction achieved. The materials used in the device can be sterilized with 70% ethanol, enabling surgery on consecutive animals without the risk of infection.

[0023] FIGS. 1 A-1D illustrate perspective views of a surgical device for retraction, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The surgical device 10 of the present invention includes two surgical instrument holders 12. In the exemplar)’ surgical device 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1A and IB, the device 10 includes two surgical instruments in the form ofcurved forcep retractors 14 disposed within the surgical instrument holders 12. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 A and IB, the surgical instrument holders 12 can be mounted on a frame 20 that allows for the surgical instrument holders 12 to be manipulated, moved, and adjusted, in multiple dimensions as deemed necessary7by the operator. Movable joints or other movement mechanisms know n to or conceivable by one of skill in the art can be used to affect this movement. The frame 20 and the surgical instrument holders 12 can include one or more mechanisms to affect movement.

[0024] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 A and IB, the device 10 includes an air brake system 16. The air brake system 16 is configured to apply pressure to hold the surgical retractors in place 14 and release pressure to make the surgical retractors freely mobile again 14. The air brake system 16 can be actuated with a fluid, such as air, or any other suitable fluid known to or conceivable by one of skill in the art. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 A and IB, the air brake 16 is actuated by a foot pedal 18. In some embodiments, there can be one foot pedal 18 for actuating the air brake on each surgical retractor simultaneously. Alternately, in other embodiments, multiple foot pedals can be included for actuating the air brake 16 on the surgical retractors 14, independently. In other embodiments, the foot pedal 18 may be actuated in different directions to actuate the air brake independently for the various surgical retractors. The air brake system 16 includes tubing that directs the fluid to actuate the surgical retractors 14 associated with the embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] A foot pedal is described herein for actuating the air brake, because it allows for the operator to visualize the surgical instruments and the surgical field, while also engaging the air brake. In this embodiment, the operator does not need to remove visualization or hands from the surgical instruments and field. However, it should be noted that any other suitable means for actuating the air brake known to or conceivable to one of skill in the art could alsobe used. It should also be noted that the air brake can be configured for allowing the surgical instruments to grasp, retract, open, close, rotate, or translate in space.

[0026] FIGS. 1C and ID illustrate the attachment of a surgical instrument and the tubing for the air brake system. As illustrated in FIGS. 1C and ID the surgical instruments 14 are releasably coupled to the surgical instrument holders 12. The surgical instrument holders 12 can include pressure fittings, tighteners, or other suitable mechanism for coupling the surgical instruments 14 to the surgical instrument holders 12. The surgical instruments 14 are also coupled to the air brake system 16, as illustrated in FIGS. 1C and ID. The air brake system 16 allows for the surgical instruments 12 to be opened and closed and locked, as needed throughout a procedure. It should be noted that, here, the surgical instruments 12, take the form of retractors, but it should also be noted that the surgical instrument can take the form of any suitable instrument known to or conceivable by one of skill in the art.

[0027] FIGS. 2A-2D illustrate perspective views of surgical instruments and surgical instrument holders according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A illustrates a pair of surgical instruments in the form of curved surgical forcep retractors in an open configuration. FIG. 2B illustrates the pair of surgical retractors in a closed position. FIGS. 2C and 2D illustrate surgical retractors of the present invention being used to retract. The exemplary retraction is being shown here on a rubber band to illustrate the capabilities of the device. In FIG. 2C, the surgical retractors are closed as they are inserted into the hole in the rubber band. In FIG. 2D. the surgical retractors are opened to retract the sides of the hole in the rubber band.

[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of a surgical instrument holder and air brake according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary ball joint 22 of the frame 20. The ball joint 22 can be used to move the surgical retractor 14 to adesired position for the procedure. FIG. 3 also illustrates the air brake 16 positioned such that it can be used to open and close the surgical retractor.

[0029] FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate perspective views of a surgical device of the present invention in use in an experimental retraction, according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A illustrates a pair of surgical instruments in the form of surgical retractors in a semi-closed configuration. FIG. 4B illustrates the pair of surgical retractors in an open position to retract an elastic sheet being used as an exemplary surgical field. FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate surgical retractors of the present invention being used in an example of retraction with the surgical retractors being opened and closed to manipulate a hole in the exemplary surgical field. The exemplary retraction is being shown here on an elastic sheet, to illustrate the capabilities of the device.

[0030] FIGS. 5A-5C illustrates a foot pedal and gas cannister with pressure gauges for actuating an air brake according to an embodiment of the present invention. The foot pedal is coupled to fluid actuation tubing in order to apply and pressure to the surgical instruments, in some embodiments surgical retractors to open and close the surgical retractors as desired by the operator, as illustrated in FIG. 5 A. FIGS. 5B and 5C illustrate a compressed air tank and pressure gauges for delivering air pressure through the tubing to control the surgical instruments. In this instance, the fluid being applied is compressed air, however any other suitable fluid for actuation of the system could also be used.

[0031] FIGS. 6A-6I illustrate perspective views of a surgical device of the present invention, where the surgical device is being used for an experimental retraction according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 6A-6I the device of the present invention is being used in an exemplary surgery on a rat. The purpose of the surgery’ is to expose and isolate an optical nerve of the rat. The surgical retractors of the present invention are used over the progression of FIGS. 6A-6I to expose and isolate the optical nerve of the rat.

[0032] While curved surgical forcep retractors are illustrated herein as the surgical instruments, it should be noted that any surgical instrument know n to or conceivable by one of skill in the art could also be used. Alternately, it is possible that the device can be configured to hold and actuate more than one ty pe of surgical instrument at the same time. The invention enables interchangeability' of surgical instruments between the holders.

[0033] The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A surgical device comprising:a surgical instrument holder;an air brake;a foot pedal for engaging the air brake.

2. The surgical device of claim 1 wherein the surgical instrument holder takes the form of two or more surgical instrument holders.

3. The surgical device of claim 1 further comprising a surgical retractor configured to be held by the surgical instrument holder.

4. The surgical device of claim 3 wherein the air brake is configured to immobilize the surgical retractor when the air lock is engaged by the foot pedal.

5. The surgical device of claim 2 further comprising two or more surgical retractors configured to be held by the two or more surgical instrument holders.

6. The surgical device of claim 5 wherein the air brake is configured to immobilize the two or more surgical retractors when the air brake is engaged by the foot pedal.

7. The surgical device of claim 6 wherein the air lock comprises two or more air brakes and the foot pedal comprises two or more foot pedals, wherein each of the two or more foot pedals is configured to engage one of the two or more air brakes associated with the two or more surgical instrument holders.

8. The surgical device of claim 1. wherein the surgical instrument holder comprises a movable coupling for a surgical instrument.

9. The surgical device of claim 1 further comprising a movable frame, wherein the surgical instrument holder is coupled to the movable frame.

10. The surgical device of claim 9 wherein the movable frame comprises joints to allow for movement of the surgical instrument holder in a predetermined number of dimensions.

11. A surgical device comprising:a moveable frame;a pair of surgical instrument holders held by the moveable frame; and, movable couplings for surgical instruments, wherein the moveable couplings for the surgical instruments are coupled to the pair of surgical instrument holders.

12. The surgical device of claim 11 further comprising an air brake.

13. The surgical device of claim 12 further comprising a foot pedal for engaging the air brake.

14. The surgical device of claim 11 further comprising a surgical retractor configured to be held by the surgical instrument holders.

15. The surgical device of claim 14 wherein an air brake is configured to immobilize the surgical retractor when the air brake is engaged by a foot pedal.

16. The surgical device of claim 13 further comprising two or more surgical retractors configured to be held by the surgical instrument holders.

17. The surgical device of claim 16 wherein an air brake is configured to immobilize the two or more surgical retractors when the air brake is engaged by a foot pedal.

18. The surgical device of claim 17 further comprising two or more air brakes and two or more foot pedals, wherein each of the two or more foot pedals is configured to engage one of the two or more air brakes associated with the two or more surgical instrument holders.

19. The surgical device of claim 11, wherein the movable coupling for a surgical instrument is configured to be lockable.

0. The surgical device of claim 11 wherein the movable frame comprises joints to allow for movement of the surgical instrument holder in a predetermined number of dimensions.

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