Retractable wipe for cleaning endoscopic surgical devices

A retractable wipe for endoscopic surgical instruments comprising:

• A. a housing having distal and proximal ends, with a longitudinal cavity extending along at least a portion of its length and terminating at said proximal end;
• B. a hollow tubular extension projecting forward from said proximal end of said housing and communicating with said longitudinal cavity;
• C. a needle, extending along a longitudinal axis, located within said tubular extension, and dimensionally related thereto to permit reciprocating movement within said tubular extension said tubular extension along said longitudinal axis of said tubular extension and having a distal portion extending towards said distal end of said housing and a proximal end extending towards and beyond said proximal end of said housing;
• D. a wiping element at said proximal end of said needle;
• E. a reciprocating means for selectively moving said needle along said axis of said tubular extension between a retracted position, in which said wiping element is within said tubular extension, and an extended position, in which said wiping element projects outward of said proximal end of said tubular extension;
• F. said reciprocating means including a knob projecting outward of said housing, said knob being operably connected to said needle and manually moveable between a first position, in which said wiping element is in said retracted position, and a second position, in which said wiping element is in said extended position;
• and
• G. said housing includes an aperture to receive said knob, said knob including a portion located within said aperture and a manually operable portion extending outward of said aperture, said knob being moveable within said aperture to reciprocate said needle between said retracted position and said extended position.

A. a housing having distal and proximal ends, with a longitudinal cavity extending along at least a portion of its length and terminating at said proximal end;

• B. a hollow tubular extension projecting forward from said proximal end of said housing and communicating with said longitudinal cavity;
• C. a needle, extending along a longitudinal axis, located within said tubular extension, and dimensionally related thereto to permit reciprocating movement within said tubular extension said tubular extension along said longitudinal axis of said tubular extension and having a distal portion extending towards said distal end of said housing and a proximal end extending towards and beyond said proximal end of said housing;
• D. a wiping element at said proximal end of said needle;
• E. a reciprocating means for selectively moving said needle along said axis of said tubular extension between a retracted position, in which said wiping element is within said tubular extension, and an extended position, in which said wiping element projects outward of said proximal end of said tubular extension,
• F. said reciprocating means comprises a screw mechanism;
• G. said screw mechanism having a body with proximal and distal ends, a base member at said distal end to facilitate rotation of said screw mechanism, and threading on a perimeter of the body of said screw mechanism,
• H. said longitudinal cavity having threads which correspond to the threads of the perimeter of the body of said screw mechanism;
• I. said screw mechanism being located and threaded into within said longitudinal cavity at a distal end of said housing such that there is a moving engagement between them, and
• J. said needle being affixed to said proximal end of the body of said screw mechanism such that rotating said screw mechanism moves said needle through said hollow tubular extension.

A. a housing having distal and proximal ends, with a longitudinal cavity extending along at least a portion of its length and terminating at said proximal end;

• B. a hollow tubular extension projecting forward from said proximal end of said housing and communicating with said longitudinal cavity;
• C. a needle, extending along a longitudinal axis, located within said tubular extension, and dimensionally related thereto to permit reciprocating movement within said tubular extension said tubular extension along said longitudinal axis of said tubular extension and having a distal portion extending towards said distal end of said housing and a proximal end extending towards and beyond said proximal end of said housing;
• D. a wiping element at said proximal end of said needle;
• E. a reciprocating means for selectively moving said needle along said axis of said tubular extension between a predetermined retracted position, in which said wiping element is within said tubular extension, and a predetermined extended position, in which said wiping element projects a predetermined distance outward of said proximal end of said tubular extension;
• F. said reciprocating means comprises a rod mechanism, having proximal and distal ends and being movingly located within said longitudinal cavity, said needle affixed at a distal end to said rod mechanism;
• and
• G. said rod mechanism includes stop means at both of said retracted and extended positions to limit said extent of needle movement between said predetermined retracted position and said predetermined extended position.

A method of cleaning an endoscope lens while said endoscope is being used within a body cavity for endoscopic surgery comprising:

• A. permitting an endoscope to enter into a body cavity and be positioned adjacent a surgical field;
• B. allowing working ends of various surgical implements to be positioned in a body cavity adjacent said surgical field;
• C. inserting a retractable wipe into at least one body cavity adjacent said surgical field while its wiping element is in a retracted position within a protective extension of said retractable wipe;
• D. extending said wiping element from within a protective extension of said retractable wipe and wiping said wiping element against said endoscope lens until said lens is sufficiently devoid of soiling matter;
• E. retracting said wiping element into said protective extension of said retractable wipe;
• F. removing said retractable wipe from said immediate surgical field;
• and
• G. repeating steps D, E, and F a desired number of times as said endoscopic lens becomes fouled with soiling matter during said surgery.

A method of cleaning an endoscope lens while said endoscope is being used within a body cavity for endoscopic surgery comprising said steps of:

• A. permitting an endoscope, which has a retractable wipe attached thereto, to enter into a body cavity and be positioned adjacent a surgical field while its wiping element is in a retracted position within a protective extension of said retractable wipe;
• B. allowing working ends of various surgical implements to be positioned in a body cavity adjacent said surgical field;
• C. extending said wiping element from within a protective extension of said retractable wipe and wiping said wiping element against said endoscope lens until said lens is sufficiently devoid of soiling matter;
• D. retracting said wiping element into said protective extension of said retractable wipe;
• and
• E. repeating steps C and D a desired number of times as said endoscopic lens becomes fouled with soiling matter during said surgery.