Systems and methods for cleaning an endoscopic instrument
AssigneeIntuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
InventorsStephen J. Blumenkranz, Federico Barbagli, Tao Zhao
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system comprises a medical instrument including a nozzle and a lens. The system further comprises a valve configured to control provision of a pressurized fluid. The system further comprises a valve control mechanism and a control system. The control system is configured to determine, based on a position of the medical instrument within a patient anatomy, whether an obstruction is on a surface of the lens. The control system is further configured to, based on a determination that the obstruction is on the surface of the lens, instruct the valve control mechanism to open the valve to release a flow of the pressurized fluid through the nozzle and over the surface of the lens.
Claims21
1-48. (canceled)
A system comprising:
- a medical instrument including a nozzle and a lens;
- a valve configured to control provision of a pressurized fluid;
- a valve control mechanism;
- and
- a control system configured to:
- determine, based on a position of the medical instrument within a patient anatomy, whether an obstruction is on a surface of the lens;
- and
- based on a determination that the obstruction is on the surface of the lens, instruct the valve control mechanism to open the valve to release a flow of the pressurized fluid through the nozzle and over the surface of the lens.
A system comprising:
- a medical instrument including a nozzle and a lens;
- a pressure augmenting mechanism configured to provide a pressurized fluid at a pressure that is higher than a standard operating room pressure;
- a valve between the pressure augmenting mechanism and the nozzle, the valve configured to control provision of the pressurized fluid;
- a valve control mechanism;
- and
- a control system configured to:
- detect an obstruction on a surface of the lens;
- and
- based on detecting the obstruction, instruct the valve control mechanism to open the valve to release a flow of the pressurized fluid from the pressure augmenting mechanism, through the nozzle, and over the surface of the lens, wherein an amount of the flow of the pressurized fluid is determined based on a position of the medical instrument in a patient anatomy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.