Patent Application
20190274666
The present invention relates to surgical instruments and, more specifically, to a balanced, weighted suction irrigator device used in laparoscopic surgery having an ergonomic handle. The balanced ergonomic surgical handle is designed to minimizing fatigue to the user and to accommodate multiple grip styles.
The use of medical instruments is a necessity in modern surgery. Many of the surgical procedures performed today are laparoscopic in nature. Laparoscopy, which is a form of endoscopy, is performed in the abdomen of a patient through small holes made in the abdominal wall. Due to the small ports used, specialized tools are required.
Studies have shown that as laparoscopic techniques develop, greater demands are placed on surgeons. Poorly designed laparoscopic tools increase physician fatigue, particularly of the hands. Accordingly, there will always be a need for well designed handles especially as advances in technology continue. A good understanding of handle designs is important for many reasons. In surgical procedures, it is important to consider the efficiency, safety, and accommodation to the intended user. Is the user sitting down, standing or moving? Determination must also be taken as to whether the handles need to be small, large, soft, stiff, sharp or extra safe. In addition, when dealing with robotics, special consideration must to be taken to help plan a good working relation. The interface between the desired result and the hand of the user is a considerable factor. A handle that is not accommodating can result in unnecessary fatigue and may be inefficient to use.
Suction/irrigator devices are one type of instrument used in laparoscopic surgeries, and have an elongated shaft that is adapted to pass through the lumen of a trocar, and long tubes attached to them that are used for administering or removing fluids encountered during surgery. The tubes are typically adjoined and located at the proximal end of the device. Surgical procedures may take hours to perform, and often require a person to hold the instrument in place. The longer the procedure the longer the fatigue caused on the hands.
Existing suction/irrigator devices typically use rigid elongated shafts that are inserted through a trocar and adapted to be coupled to a suction/irrigation source used for flushing liquid such as saline inside the abdomen. Its main purpose is to irrigate or evacuate bodily fluids from an abdominal area. The knobs that activate the action are usually spring loaded to a valve. The device is commonly held throughout the procedure; when the knobs are depressed by the finger actions, they provide a suction or irrigation action. Most such devices are designed to be used like a trumpet, or pistol, with the problem being that the connected tubing pulls the handle in different directions, particularly upwardly. Accordingly, during surgical procedures surgeons counter-balance the upward motion of such devices by pushing down with force, which can cause fatigue over the course of the procedure.
Further to the above, depending on the type of instrument and on the surgeon's personal preference, different grip styles can be needed, requiring that current instruments be offered with different handles to accommodate different grips such as, for example, “Pistol Grip”, “Flute Grip”, “Remote Grip”, “Camera Grip” and “Pencil Grip”. This is costly and burdensome for hospitals, since they must stock multiple versions of each instrument and keep track of which surgeon needs which type of handle.
In view of the above, there is a need for an ergonomic surgical handle that minimizes operator fatigue and accommodates or provides for a variety of different grip positions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ergonomically balanced handle that can be used in laparoscopic surgery.
A further object of the invention is to provide a light-weight handle that reduces the fatigue on the hands of the holder, caused by the weight of the suction/irrigation tubing pulling on the device.
A further object of the invention is to provide a handle shape that allows the user to grip the handle in several of the different methods/styles commonly used during laparoscopy, including, but not limited to, the “Pistol Grip”, “Flute Grip”, “Remote Grip”, “Camera Grip” and “Pencil Grip”.
A further object of the invention is to provide an ergonomic handle having a “universal” handle shape that accommodates all of the most common types of grips, and which has buttons positioned in a way that allows the fingers to access them in all the different grip positions. The tubing is positioned in a way that allows it to be incorporated into the grip, rather than interfere with it. The handle also has a space for the purlicue of the hand to fit, so that the handle can rest comfortably and securely in the hand.
The present invention overcomes the deficiencies of the known art and the problems that remain unsolved by providing an ergonomically balanced medical device that fits comfortably in the user's hand and reduces the fatigue associated with prolonged use in this unbalanced position over an extended period of time. These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
An ergonomic laparoscopic device 100 is presented in various configurations in the illustrations of
In an embodiment, the ballast 104 has an elongated ellipsoid shape, although other configurations are also possible without departing from the broader aspects of the invention. As discussed below, the length of the ballast 104 may be selected to provide for optimal balancing of the laparoscopic device. In some embodiments, the length of the ballast 104 is variable or adjustable to provide proper balancing. The ballast 104 may be held in place by 4 screws attaching the bottom half to the top half, although other attachment means are also possible.
With further reference to
With reference to
Referring once again to
Importantly, and as perhaps best shown in
Referring once again to
In an embodiment, the suction knob 114 and suction tubing 112 are color coded to easily distinguish which knob works with which tubing. The cauterizing plug connector 118 is color coded different, such as, for example, the color red, to indicate that an electrical current will flow through it. The current path will follow a metal rod (not shown) located inside the elongated shaft 124 to a spatula tip, of
The main body 101 defining the handle of the device 100 is preferably made of, but not limited to, polycarbonate materials which have excellent heat resistance properties that can be combined with flame retardant materials without significant material degradation. The polycarbonate material is also excellent in its light weight characteristics. The handle design does not have to be limited to suction/irrigation devices, but could be used on any laparoscopic instrument to improve ergonomics and accommodate a wider variety of grips.
While the above description provides examples of the embodiments, it will be appreciated that some features and/or functions of the described embodiments are susceptible to modification without departing from the spirit and principles of operation of the described embodiments. Accordingly, what has been described above has been intended to be illustrative of the invention and non-limiting and it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that other variants and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims appended hereto. The scope of the claims should not be limited by the preferred embodiments and examples, but should be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.
This application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/639,081 filed on Mar. 6, 2018, entitled “Balanced Ergonomic Surgical Handle” of Ricardo Alexander Gomez, Sandy Lawrence Heck, Eric William Conley, hereby incorporated by reference for all that is disclosed as though fully set forth herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62639081 | Mar 2018 | US |
