Adjustable touch control handpiece

An adjustable handpiece for use in laser surgery including a housing for physically grasping the handpiece during the surgical use thereof;

• a generally elongate member extending from the housing and having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the elongate member defining a laser energy output for performing surgical operations on human tissue;
• an optical fiber having a first proximal end for connection to a laser source and a second distal end, the optical fiber extending through the housing and elongate member and means for securing the fiber to the elongate member whereby the distal end of the fiber generally coincides with the distal end of the elongate member;
• a switch on the housing and an optical transmitter;
• a low voltage battery for powering said transmitter, the battery and transmitter being operatively connected to the switch whereby the transmitter outputs an optical signal in response to actuation of the switch, an optical receiver adjacent the transmitter for receiving the optical transmitter output signal;
• means for interconnecting the optical receiver to the laser source whereby the laser source is selectably enabled by the actuation of the switch on the handpiece housing through said optical interconnection between the handpiece and the laser source whereby any possibility of inadvertent electrical shock to the patient or attending surgeon caused by the handpiece is eliminated;
• and means for adjustably fixing the elongate member to the housing and for permitting adjustment of the relative orientation of the elongate member with respect to the housing using mechanical means within the housing, whereby the distal end of the elongate member may be oriented as desired by a surgeon with respect to the housing and switch means thereon.

An adjustable handpiece for use in laser surgery including a housing for physically grasping the handpiece during the surgical use thereof;

• a generally elongate member extending from the housing and having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the elongate member defining a laser energy output for performing surgical operations on human tissue;
• an optical fiber having a first proximal end for connection to a laser source and a second distal end, the optical fiber extending through the housing and elongate member and means for securing the fiber to the elongate member whereby the distal end of the fiber generally coincides with the distal end of the elongate member;
• a switch on the housing and wires operatively interconnecting the switch with the laser source whereby actuation of the switch causes the corresponding enablement of the laser source, said wires being connected to the switch and being positioned within the housing adjacent the optical fiber and extending generally therealong to the proximal end of said fiber;
• means for protecting the wires whereby the elongate member may be oriented without damage to the wires;
• and means for restricting the axial travel of the elongate member between first retracted and second extended positions and means for restricting the rotational movement of the elongate member between first and second rotational limit positions.

An adjustable handpiece for use in laser surgery including a housing for physically grasping the handpiece during the surgical use thereof;

• a generally elongate member extending from the housing and having a proximal end and a distal end, the distal end of the elongate member defining a laser energy output for performing surgical operations on human tissue;
• an optical fiber having a first proximal end for connection to a laser source and a second distal end, the optical fiber extending through the housing and elongate member and means for securing the fiber to the elongate member whereby the distal end of the fiber generally coincides with the distal end of the elongate member;
• switch means on the housing for enabling operation of the laser source;
• means for adjustably fixing the elongate member to the housing and for permitting axial adjustment of the relative orientation of the elongate member with respect to the housing into a plurality of working positions by using mechanical means within the housing, whereby the distal end of the elongate member may be oriented as desired by a surgeon with respect to the housing and switch means thereon.