Liquid jet-powered surgical instruments

A device comprising:

• a surgical instrument having a distal end adapted to perform a surgical procedure on a patient and a proximal end adapted to be controllable by an operator, the instrument including:
• a pressure lumen having sufficient burst strength to conduct a high pressure liquid towards the distal end of the instrument, the pressure lumen including at least one nozzle providing a jet opening and being shaped to form a liquid cutting jet as a liquid at high pressure flows therethrough;
• and
• a rotatable shaft;
• a surgical component drivable by the shaft, constructed and arranged for contact with tissue in a surgical operating field.

A device comprising:

• a surgical instrument having a distal end adapted to perform a surgical procedure on a patient and a proximal adapted to be controllable by an operator, the instrument including:
• a rotatable shaft;
• a surgical component drivable by the shaft, constructed and arranged for contact with tissue in a surgical operating field;
• a rotatable rotor, drivingly coupled to the rotatable shaft, when the instrument is in operation, such that rotation of the rotatable rotor causes a corresponding rotation of the rotatable shaft;
• a pressure lumen having a proximal end, and a distal end, the pressure lumen having sufficient burst strength to conduct a high pressure liquid, the distal end of the pressure lumen including a nozzle therein that is shaped to form a liquid jet as a liquid at high pressure flows therethrough, where
• the nozzle is positioned so that at least a portion of the liquid jet emanating therefrom impacts a surface of the rotatable rotor, thereby imparting rotational motion to the rotor, such that there is essentially no change in hydrostatic pressure of the liquid comprising the liquid jet while in contact with the rotor, when the instrument is in operation.

A device comprising:

• a surgical instrument having a distal end adapted to perform a surgical procedure on a patient and a proximal end adapted to be controllable by an operator, the instrument including:
• a rotatable shaft having a longitudinal axis defining an axis of rotation of the shaft;
• a surgical component drivable by the shaft, constructed and arranged for contact with tissue in a surgical operating field;
• a liquid jet-driven rotatable rotor, drivingly coupled to the rotatable shaft, when the instrument is in operation, such that rotation of the liquid jet-driven rotatable rotor causes a corresponding rotation of the rotatable shaft, where
• the rotatable rotor rotates about an axis of rotation that is essentially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotatable shaft, when the instrument is in operation.

A device comprising:

• a surgical instrument having a distal end adapted to perform a surgical procedure on a patient and a proximal end adapted to be controllable by an operator, the instrument including:
• a rotatable shaft having a longitudinal axis defining an axis of rotation of the shaft;
• a surgical component drivable by the shaft, constructed and arranged for contact with tissue in a surgical operating field;
• a liquid jet-driven rotatable rotor, drivingly coupled to the rotatable shaft, when the instrument is in operation, such that rotation of the liquid jet-driven rotatable rotor causes a corresponding rotation of the rotatable shaft, where
• the rotatable rotor rotates about an axis of rotation at a first rotational speed and the rotatable shaft rotates about the longitudinal axis defining an axis of rotation of the shaft at a second rotational speed that is different from the first rotational speed, when the instrument is in operation.

A device comprising:

• a surgical instrument having a distal end adapted to perform a surgical procedure on a patient and a proximal end adapted to be controllable by an operator, the instrument including:
• a rotatable shaft;
• a surgical component drivable by the shaft, constructed and arranged for contact with tissue in a surgical operating field;
• a liquid jet-driven rotatable saw-tooth rotor, drivingly coupled to the rotatable shaft, when the instrument is in operation, such that rotation of the liquid jet-driven rotatable saw-tooth rotor causes a corresponding rotation of the rotatable shaft.