US6633234B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for detecting blade breakage using rate and/or impedance information
Assignee: Ethicon Endo Surgery Inc
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Filing: 2001-05-24
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Granted: 2003-10-14
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Expires: 2021-05-24
Abstract
Abstract Failures associate with bad hand pieces and blade failures in an ultrasonic surgical system are distinguished by monitoring the rate of change of the resonance frequency and the rate of change of the resonance impedance of the hand piece/blade as the drive frequency is changed. As the system reaches resonance, the control system locks onto the resonance frequency. When a loss of lock occurs with no recovery, the rate of change of the frequency and rate of change of the impedance are compared to obtain the fastest rate of change which is stored in non-volatile memory of the ultrasonic generator. If the rates of change are higher than normal rates of change due to temperature changes with the longest blades, a “Bad Blade” message is displayed on an LCD.
Inventors
- 👤 Eitan T. Wiener
- 👤 Foster B. Stulen
- 👤 Allan L. Friedman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 20:19
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B17/00; A61B17/32; A61B17/320068; A61B90/00; A61B90/90; A61B90/98; A61B2017/00017; A61B2017/00115; A61B2017/00119; A61B2017/00199; A61B2017/00973; A61B2017/320069; A61B2017/320071; A61B2017/320089
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
193 words
A method for distinguishing between bad hand pieces and blade failures in an ultrasonic surgical system, comprising the steps of: applying a drive signal to an ultrasonic hand piece/blade at a predetermined drive frequency; monitoring and storing a rate of change of a resonance frequency and a rate of change of a resonance impedance of the hand piece/blade as the drive frequency is changed in memory of the generator; performing a diagnostic self test in an ultrasonic generator located in the ultrasonic surgical system; monitoring the ultrasonic generator in the ultrasonic surgical system to determine whether lock is present; if lock is not present, retrieving the rate of change of the resonance frequency and the rate of change of the resonance impedance from memory of the generator; comparing the rate of change of the resonance frequency and the rate of change of the resonance impedance to obtain a fastest rate of change which is stored in the memory of the generator; and if the rates of change are higher than normal rates of change due to temperature changes associated with longer blades, displaying a message on a liquid crystal display of the generator.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
193 words
A method for distinguishing between bad hand pieces and blade failures in an ultrasonic surgical system, comprising the steps of: applying a drive signal to an ultrasonic hand piece/blade at a predetermined drive frequency; monitoring and storing a rate of change of a resonance frequency and a rate of change of a resonance impedance of the hand piece/blade as the drive frequency is changed in memory of the generator; performing a diagnostic self test in an ultrasonic generator located in the ultrasonic surgical system; monitoring the ultrasonic generator in the ultrasonic surgical system to determine whether lock is present; if lock is not present, retrieving the rate of change of the resonance frequency and the rate of change of the resonance impedance from memory of the generator; comparing the rate of change of the resonance frequency and the rate of change of the resonance impedance to obtain a fastest rate of change which is stored in the memory of the generator; and if the rates of change are higher than normal rates of change due to temperature changes associated with longer blades, displaying a message on a liquid crystal display of the generator.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
28 words
The method of claims 1 , wherein the step of applying the drive signal comprises exciting the hand piece/blade with an ultrasonic signal at the predetermined drive frequency.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 2 , wherein the predetermined drive frequency is in a range of 50 kHz to 56 kHz.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of monitoring the rate of change of the resonance frequency and the rate of change of the resonance impedance is performed continuously at start up.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein, if the diagnostic self test fails, all tests are terminated.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of monitoring the ultrasonic generator is performed during use of the hand piece/blade.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 6 , wherein use of the hand piece/blade comprises at least one of running the hand piece/blade in mid-air, cutting tissue, cauterizing tissue and coagulating tissue.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
99 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of displaying the message comprises the steps of: displaying a “Bad Blade” message on the liquid crystal display, if the rates of change are higher than the normal rates of change due to the temperature changes associated with the longer blades; and displaying a “Bad Hand Piece” message on the liquid crystal display, if the fastest rates of change are lower than the normally expected rates of change due to the temperature changes associated with the blades having the longest physical length and the generator passed the diagnostic self test.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 8 , wherein the normally expected rates of change are constant values which are stored in the memory of the generator.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-10-13 | 2007-04-14 | 2007-10-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-10-13 | 2011-04-14 | 2011-10-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-10-13 | 2015-04-14 | 2015-10-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |