Medical/surgical smoke evacuator that continually draws waste into the evacuator to control the operation of the evacuator

A smoke evacuation system for use during a medical procedure, said system comprising:

• a conduit including an inlet into which air that includes smoke generated during a medical/surgical procedure is drawn;
• a filter assembly in fluid communication with said conduit, said filter assembly including:
• a housing to which said conduit is connected:
• at least one filter element disposed in said housing for removing smoke from air drawn through said housing;
• and
• a smoke sensor disposed in said housing so as to be removed with the removal of said filter, said smoke sensor configured to sense smoke in the air drawn through said housing and generate a smoke signal representative of the amount of smoke in the air drawn though said housing;
• a pump connected to said filter for drawing air into said the conduit inlet, through said conduit, and through said filter housing for filtering smoke from the air;
• a variable speed motor for operating the pump;
• a controller connected to said smoke sensor for receiving therefrom the signal corresponding to an amount of detected smoke and connected to said pump for regulating the speed of said pump, wherein said controller is configured so that:
• when the signal from said smoke sensor indicates the amount of smoke is below a predetermined limit, said controller regulates said motor to cause the pump to run at a first speed, the first speed being sufficient to draw air into the conduit and through said filter housing so that smoke can be sensed by said sensor;
• and
• when the signal from said smoke sensor indicates the smoke is at or above he predetermined limit, said controller regulates said motor to cause the pump to run at a second speed, the second speed being greater than the first speed.