Systems and methods for controlling continuous irrigation in surgical systems

A system for controlling irrigation fluid flow in a phacoemulsification surgical system, the system comprising:

• a surgical handpiece comprising a probe, the probe comprising a probe tip for insertion into a surgical site;
• an irrigation fluid source connected to an irrigation feed line, wherein the irrigation feed line coupled with the probe tip;
• an aspiration line providing at least a partial vacuum for removing material from the surgical site through the probe tip;
• at least one pressure sensor in communication with the aspiration line;
• at least one valve in communication with the irrigation feed line;
• and
• a controller coupled with the irrigation fluid source and the at least one valve, wherein the controller and the irrigation fluid source are configured to provide irrigation fluid flow through the irrigation feed line and the probe tip to the surgical site while the probe tip is inserted into the surgical site and while a continuous irrigation function is enabled, a volume of the irrigation fluid flow balancing a volume of the material removed from the surgical site,
• wherein the controller is configured to disable the continuous irrigation function when the probe tip is removed from the surgical site, wherein disabling the continuous irrigation function comprises controlling the at least one valve to restrict the irrigation fluid flow through the irrigation feed line for reduced irrigation fluid usage;
• and
• wherein the controller is configured to determine the probe tip is removed from the surgical site at least based upon an aspiration pressure differential exceeding a value and based on at least one predetermined system attribute, wherein the aspiration pressure differential is equal to a first measurement of aspiration pressure minus a second measurement of aspiration pressure over a predetermined time.