Patent EP0497347A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0497347A2
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EP
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Laparoscope having means for removing image impeding material from a distal lens
Assignee: Circon Corp
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Filing: 1992-01-30
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-01-30
Abstract
Abstract A laparoscope for performing laparoscopic surgery is shown. The laparoscope includes a rigid elongated sheath tube (32) having a selected length, a distal section (36) and a proximal section (38). The distal section has a distal tip (44) which includes a fluid tight transparent member (76), such as a distal lens, which is capable of passing an optical image. The transparent member has an exterior surface located at the distal tip. The laparoscope includes a fluid flow channel which terminates in a nozzle (80) located at the distal tip for directing a fluid flow across the exterior surface of the transparent member to remove image impeding material therefrom such as per example organic material. The laparoscope further includes a first channel (86) which terminates in an orifice which is capable of directing a flow of irrigation fluid along a selected path which, in the preferred embodiment, is a path substantially in alignment with the direction of view of the laparoscope. The laparoscope may optionally include at least one working channel (112) which can be utilized for performing other procedures such as for passing accessories through the laparoscope, to an operating site within the cavity. A method for performing a laparoscopic procedure in a cavity is also shown. A system for performing a laparoscopic procedure in a cavity is also shown.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard A. Auhull
- 👤 Richard J. O'hare
- 👤 Richard P. Muller
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 10:19
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B1/00; A61B1/04; A61B1/055; A61B1/00064; A61B1/00071; A61B1/0008; A61B1/00091; A61B1/00131; A61B1/00135; A61B1/042; A61B1/12; A61B1/127; A61B1/313; A61B1/126
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 32
Claim 1
Independent Claim
74 words
An instrument comprising a rigid elongated sheath tube having a selected length and a distal end, said distal end including means for passing an image, said image passing means having an exterior surface located at said distal end; and means located within said rigid elongated sheath tube for defining at said distal end means for directing a fluid flow across the exterior surface of said image passing means to remove therefrom image impeding agents.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
87 words
A laparoscope comprising a rigid elongated sheath tube having a selected length and a distal section, said distal section having a means for defining a distal tip including fluid tight, transparent member capable of passing an optical image, said transparent member having an exterior surface located at said distal tip; and means located within said rigid elongated sheath tube for defining at said distal tip a nozzle for directing a fluid flow across the exterior surface of said transparent member to remove therefrom optical image impeding agents.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The laparoscope of claim 2 wherein said distal tip terminates in a generally rounded cross-section.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
127 words
The laparoscope of Claim 2 wherein the proximal section of said rigid elongated sheath tube includes means defining a proximal end and further includes means defining a first channel which extends axially from the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube to the distal tip thereof, said first channel being operatively coupled to said means defining said nozzle and wherein said first channel includes a means defining at its proximal end an opening which is adapted to be operatively connected to a source of fluid, said means defining an opening being operatively connected to a valve means for selectively applying fluid from the source of fluid through said first channel to said nozzle to produce a fluid flow across the exterior surface of said transparent member.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
The laparoscope of Claim 4 wherein the source of fluid is under a predetermined pressure.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
The laparoscope of Claim 4 wherein said fluid is a saline solution which is under a pressure in the order of about 200 mm of Hg to about 350 mm of Hg.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The laparoscope of Claim 4 wherein said valve means is a manually controlled valve.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
13 words
The laparoscope of Claim 4 wherein said valve means is a trumpet valve.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
43 words
The laparoscope of Claim 4 wherein said rigid elongated sheath tube further includes means defining an image transferring means channel which is adapted to receive an image transferring means, said image transferring means channel having its distal end positioned adjacent said transparent member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
89 words
The laparoscope of Claim 9 wherein said rigid elongated sheath tube has an elongated axis and said image transferring means channel has a central axis, the elongated axis of said rigid elongated sheath tube being coaxial with the central axis of said image transferring means channel, and wherein said central axis of the image transferring means channel is offset from the elongated axis of said rigid elongated sheath tube, and wherein the rigid elongated sheath tube further includes an image transferring means located within the image transferring means channel.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
76 words
The laparoscope of Claim 4 wherein the rigid elongated sheath tube has an elongated axis and includes means defining a second channel which extends axially from the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube to the distal tip thereof; and means operatively coupled to said second channel for defining an orifice for directing a stream of fluid along a path which is substantially in alignment with the direction of view of said image transferring means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
71 words
The laparoscope of claim 11 wherein the rigid elongated sheath tube further includes means for defining a fiber optic light carrying means located internally within said rigid elongated sheath tube and which is interspersed around said first channel, said second channel and between said image transferring means channel and rigid elongated sheath tube and which extends from the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube to the distal tip thereof.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
18 words
The laparoscope of Claim 11 wherein the size of the first channel and second channel are the same.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
20 words
The laparoscope of Claim 11 wherein the size of the second channel is greater than that of the first channel.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
The laparoscope of Claim 14 wherein the interior dimension of the first channel is approximately 1 millimeter and the interior dimension of the second channel is approximately 2 millimeters, and wherein the selected length is between about 150 millimeters to about 350 millimeters.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
The laparoscope of Claim 14 wherein the exterior dimension of the rigid elongated sheath tube is approximately 10 millimeters.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
The laparoscope of Claim 15 wherein the selected length is about 300 millimeters.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
19 words
The laparoscope of Claim 10 wherein the outside dimension of the image transferring means channel is about 6.5 millimeters.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
41 words
The laparoscope of Claim 9 wherein the laparoscope includes an optical wedge located distal to the objective lens system to provide a deviated direction of view having an angle of about 0 degrees to about 30 degrees when viewing in CO₂.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
90 words
The laparoscope of Claim 11 wherein said rigid elongated sheath includes means for defining at least one working channel; means defining interior walls in said at least one working channel; means for coating the interior walls of said at least one working channel with material having a reduced coefficient of friction to facilitate passage of accessories through the at least one working channel; and means including an elongated tube operatively connected to said at least one working channel for extending said elongated tube beyond the distal tip of said laparoscope.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
73 words
The laparoscope of Claim 11 wherein said second channel includes a means defining an opening which is adapted to be operatively coupled to a pressurized source of fluid and wherein said rigid elongated sheath tube includes means for defining an orifice at the distal end of the second channel which is capable of directing a pressurized stream of fluid along an axis parallel to the elongated axis of said rigid elongated sheath tube.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
52 words
The laparoscope of Claim 11 wherein said rigid elongated sheath includes means for defining at least one working channel; and a laser guide operatively positioned within said at least one working channel, said laser guide being movable within said at least one channel to extend beyond the distal tip of said laparoscope.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
61 words
The laparoscope of Claim 11 further comprising means operatively coupled to said second channel at the distal tip of said laparoscope for defining a second nozzle for directing a fluid flow across the exterior surface of said image passing means, and further comprising means operatively coupled to the proximal end of said second channel for applying a source of vacuum thereto.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
32 words
The laparoscope of Claim 10 wherein said rigid elongated sheath tube includes means defining a third channel and a fourth channel for performing a procedure at a working area within a cavity.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
28 words
The laparoscope of Claim 24 wherein said first channel, said second channel, said third channel and said fourth channel are positioned at selected angular positions to each other.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
16 words
The laparoscope of Claim 25 wherein selected angle position of each adjacent channel is approximately 90°.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
21 words
The laparoscope of Claim 20 wherein the size of said working channel is greater than the size of said second channel.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
74 words
The laparoscope of Claim 24 wherein the rigid elongated sheath tube further includes means for defining a fiber optic light carrying means located internally within said rigid elongated sheath tube and which is interspersed around said first channel, said second channel, said third channel and between said image transferring means channel and rigid elongated sheath tube and which extends from the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube to the distal tip thereof.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
142 words
A method for performing a procedure in a cavity comprising the steps of providing a laparoscope including a rigid elongated sheath tube having a selected length, a distal section and a proximal section, said distal section including a means for defining a distal tip including a fluid tight, transparent member capable of passing an image, said transparent member having an exterior surface located at said distal tip, and a means for defining at said distal tip means for directing a fluid flow across the exterior surface of said transparent member to remove therefrom image impeding agents; applying fluid under a predetermined pressure through the fluid flow directing means to remove image impeding means from the exterior surface of the transparent member; and viewing from the proximal section of the rigid elongated sheath tube said cavity through said transparent member in the laparoscope.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
93 words
The method of Claim 29 wherein the means for defining this fluid through a nozzle and the transparent member is a distal lens and the step of applying fluid under pressure includes directing the fluid through a nozzle across the exterior surface of the transparent member to remove the image impeding agents from the exterior surface of said distal lens, and wherein the step of applying fluid under pressure includes means for directing a fluid flow of saline under a pressure of about 200 mm of Hg to about 350 mm of Hg.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
76 words
The method of Claim 30 wherein the laparoscope further includes a second channel and a working channel and further comprises the step of passing a working tool through at least one of said second channel and working channel to perform a procedure in said cavity, and further comprising the steps of: using the other of said second channel and working channel to perform a separate procedure in said cavity, and withdrawing the laparoscope from the cavity.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
449 words
A system for performing laparoscopic procedures comprising a laparoscope comprising a rigid elongated sheath tube having an elongated axis, a distal section and a proximal section which terminates in a proximal end, said distal section having a means for defining a distal tip including fluid tight distal lens, said distal lens having an exterior surface located at said distal tip; means for defining an image transferring means which extends from the distal tip to the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube; means for defining a fiber optic light guide means which extends from the distal tip to the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube; means located within said rigid elongated sheath tube for defining at said distal tip a nozzle for directing a fluid flow across the exterior surface of said distal lens to remove therefrom optical image impeding agents; means defining a first channel which extends axially from the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube to the distal tip thereof, said first channel being operatively coupled to said means defining said nozzle, said first channel including means for defining the proximal end an opening which is adapted to be operatively connected to a source of pressurized fluid; means for defining a second channel which extends axially from the proximal end of the rigid elongated sheath tube to the distal tip thereof; means for defining an orifice for directing a stream of fluid along a path which is substantially in alignment with the direction of view of said image transferring means; a cannula and trocar assembly for forming an opening in the peritoneal cavity and including means for passing the distal section of the laparoscope into the peritoneal cavity, said cannula and trocar assembly including means for passing an insufflator gas therethrough into the peritoneal cavity to insufflate the same; means defining a source of insufflation gas and means for regulating the flow rate and pressure of the insufflation gas operatively connected to means for passing the insufflation gas; means including a video camera and video signal processing means operatively coupled to the proximal end of the laparoscope for processing a video image of the laparoscopy procedures; a light source operatively connected to the fiber optic light guide means at the proximal end of the laparoscope; and means including a source of fluid under pressure operatively connected to the proximal end of the laparoscope for selectively applying fluid under pressure to at least one of said first channel to direct a fluid flow across the exterior surface of the transparent member and said second channel to produce an irrigating fluid along a path substantially parallel to the direction of view of the laparoscope.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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