The present invention relates to clamps used in surgery to secure to the position between a piece of surgical equipment and a patient and more particularly to a neuro-surgical clamp used to secure and steady a retractor during neurosurgery.
Clamps that are used in surgery to hold a piece of surgical equipment in proximity to a patient are known in the art. Position stability is particularly critical in a craniotomy procedure. However, prior art clamps do not adapt to attach to a head clamp or rest to easily support a retractor. Also, prior art clamps will not tilt to all desired angles.
Dinkier in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,358 teaches a clamp that is equipped with a double arc for attaching instruments. It will not rotate and tilt to all angles.
Shuele in U.S. Published patent application number 2013/0081636 teaches a simple head clamp.
Sklar in U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,563 also teaches a neurological clamp that has tilt and angle difficulties typical of other prior art devices.
The present invention relates to a clamp whose jaws are mounted on pivots. The clamp finds use in craniotomy procedures where a piece of the skull is removed to expose the brain. The clamp frame of the present invention can be attached to one or two armatures that circle the patient's head. The jaws hold the patient's skull fixed. In a particular embodiment (
Attention is now directed to several drawings that illustrate features of the present invention:
Several drawings and illustrations have been presented to aid in understanding the present invention. The scope of the present invention is not limited to what is shown in the figures.
The present invention relates to a double clamp whose jaws are mounted on pivots. The clamp finds use in craniotomy procedures where a piece of the skull is removed to expose the brain. The clamp frame of the present invention can be attached to armatures that circle the patient's head. The jaws hold the patient's skull fixed. There are no supporting bars; rather, there is a pair of semi-circular (or other shaped) armatures that partially circle the patient's head and are attached to the frame of the clamp device.
The preferred material for the armatures is stainless steel; however, any rigid material may be used including other metals and hard plastics. The armatures must hold clamped medical instruments in place during a procedure without flexing or otherwise distorting or moving.
The present invention allows a retractor or other surgical instrument to be held in proximity to the patient's head in a totally fixed position typically during a craniotomy procedure. The instrument is held continuously steady during surgery. The retractor is typically clamped or otherwise attached to the armature during the procedure. The arrangement is simple enough that it is easy to set up and easy to rearrange.
C-clamp 201 is used to clamp a human head in position for cranial surgery. It has a first head contact 212a and a second head contact 212b in opposition. The head contacts 212a, 212b are mounted on the ends of the C-clamp 201 and screw down to hold the patient's head. The two head contacts are different from each other with the point 212b having extended fingers. This is optional. Both head contacts can be identical.
A vice-clamp 205 is used to clamp an arcuate track 206 onto one end 220 of the C-clamp 201 (the 212a end typically). The vice-clamp 205 allows a straight rod 204 to pass through a hole 302 in the vice-clamp (shown in more detail in
The semi-circular accurate track 206 couples into the straight rod 204 in a swivel joint 211. This swivel joint 211 allows the accurate portion 206 to swivel with respect to the C-clamp 201. The swivel joint 211 can have a plurality of teeth 306 (shown in
The accurate track 206 allows a variety of clamped arms, instrument attaches 215 or other tools to be attached to it for use during surgery. Items like a light 214 can be placed on the straight rod 204, the accurate track 206 or elsewhere.
Several drawings and illustrations have been presented to aid in understanding the present invention. One with skill in the art will realize that numerous changes and variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Each of these changes and variations is within the scope of the present invention.
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 14/698,112 filed Apr. 28, 2015 which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent application No. 61/985,183 filed Apr. 28, 2014. Application Ser. No. 14/698,112 and 61/985,183 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61985183 | Apr 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 14698112 | Apr 2015 | US |
Child | 15729245 | US |