Coupling arrangements and methods for attaching tools to ultrasonic surgical instruments
AssigneeEthicon Endo-Surgery, Inc.
InventorsScott A. Nield, David T. Krumanaker, Aaron C. Voegele, Shan Wan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ultrasonic surgical instrument that has a waveguide that protrudes distally from the handpiece and a surgical tool that is configured to be coupled to the waveguide upon application of thermal energy to the waveguide or the surgical tool.
Claims20
An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
- a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer;
- and
- a surgical tool comprising:
- a proximal end portion configured to mate with a distal end portion of said waveguide;
- and
- at least one selectively expandable latch member on said surgical tool configured to retainingly engage a corresponding portion of said handpiece to retain said proximal end portion of said surgical tool in mating engagement with said distal end portion of said waveguide upon application of an actuation signal to said at least one selectively expandable latch member.
An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
- a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer such that, upon activation of said at least one ultrasonic transducer, said waveguide transmits thermal and vibratory energy to a distal end portion thereof;
- a surgical tool having a proximal end portion configured for operable attachment to said distal portion of said waveguide;
- and
- a meltable material oriented to couple said proximal end portion of said surgical tool to said distal end portion of said waveguide when said proximal end portion and said distal end portion are brought into mating engagement with each other and said at least one ultrasonic transducer is activated.
An ultrasonic surgical instrument, comprising:
- a handpiece operably supporting an ultrasonic transducer;
- a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer;
- a surgical tool having a coupling portion configured to couple to a distal end of the waveguide;
- a shroud attached to the surgical tool and configured to surround a portion of the handpiece when the surgical tool is in coupled relationship with the waveguide;
- and
- at least one selectively expandable member positioned on the shroud to engage in an expanded state with a surface of the handpiece to capture the coupling portion of the surgical tool in a coupled relationship with the distal end of the waveguide.
An ultrasonic surgical instrument having a handpiece operably supporting at least one ultrasonic transducer therein, said surgical instrument comprising:
- a waveguide protruding distally from the handpiece and operably interacting with the at least one ultrasonic transducer, said waveguide having a distal end that has a tool-receiving cavity therein;
- a surgical tool having a proximal end portion configured to be received within said tool-receiving cavity in said distal end of said waveguide and a shroud portion surrounding said proximal end and protruding proximally therefrom;
- a coupling arrangement for selectively retaining the proximal end of the surgical tool within said tool-receiving cavity, said coupling arrangement comprising:
- a locking member supported on said distal end of said waveguide adjacent said cavity, said locking member configured to expand from an unexpanded state to an expanded state when ultrasonic energy is applied to said waveguide from said at least one ultrasonic transducer and to return to the unexpanded state when said application of ultrasonic energy is discontinued;
- and
- at least one heat generating and cooling unit movably coupled to said handpiece and interacting with said locking member, said at least one heat generating and cooling unit configured for locking engagement and disengagement with corresponding portions of said shroud.
A method for coupling a surgical tool to a waveguide of an ultrasonic surgical instrument that has a housing that operably supports at least one ultrasonic transducer therein that operably interacts with the waveguide, said method comprising:
- positioning a proximal end of the surgical tool in mating contact with a distal end of the waveguide;
- and
- operating the at least one ultrasonic transducer at a predetermined power level that is greater than a normal operating power level for a period of time sufficient to cause at least a portion of the distal end of the waveguide to be coupled to the proximal end of the surgical tool and thereafter operating the at least one ultrasonic transducer at the normal operating power to complete a surgical task with the surgical tool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.