Insulating grips for minimally invasive surgical instruments

Inventors

Alesi, Christopher • Pelletier, Dennis

Assignees

Microline Surgical Inc

Abstract

A surgical instrument with insulating grips is described. The grips can include internal metal frames that are arranged to limit electrical conductivity within the grips and to other components that attach to a grip, such as a ratchet. The internal metal frames can be constructed of multiple internal portions, spatially separated from one another to interrupt electrical conductivity between the internal portions, but coated with an insulating overmold to provide mechanical coupling between the portions. An internal metal frame can also include a notch, cut-out, or other region partially surrounded by the structure of the internal metal frame, which can be coated with an insulating overmold to define a region of the grip that does not have an internal metal frame therein but which can include an attachment point for mechanically coupling other components while limiting electrical coupling between the metal frame and the other components.

Core Innovation

The disclosed minimally invasive surgical instrument includes a handle having an electrical port configured to receive a voltage or a current and to communicate the voltage or the current to a surgical tip. The handle is coupleable to the surgical tip to transfer motion from at least one grip to actuate the surgical tip, while electrical coupling is routed such that one or more internal metal portions or frames are electrically coupled to the electrical port.

The instrument further includes a first grip mechanically coupled to the handle with a first internal metal frame and a first insulating overmold over the first internal metal frame. The first internal metal frame includes a first internal metal portion and a second internal metal portion that are electrically isolated from the first internal metal portion and mechanically coupled to the first internal metal portion by the first insulating overmold. A second grip mechanically coupled to the handle includes a second internal metal frame and a second insulating overmold over the second internal metal frame.

In some configurations, the instrument uses a ratchet mechanism and electrically isolated attachment features to manage relative motion and connection points while avoiding undesired electrical contact. The grip and notch/cutout regions are arranged so attachment through notch regions can be performed without contacting internal metal frames, and insulating overmolds can be configured with specified dielectric strength ranges and material examples.

Claims Coverage

The disclosure provides two independent claims: a device claim covering an electrically powered minimally invasive surgical instrument with electrically insulating grips, and a method claim covering providing, coupling, decoupling, and autoclaving a surgical tip and handpiece. Across these independent claims, the core coverage centers on an electrical port on a handle coupled to a surgical tip via mechanically coupled grips that include internal metal frames with insulating overmolds and electrical isolation relationships.

The independent claims collectively cover an electrically powered surgical instrument in which a handle electrical port communicates voltage/current to a surgical tip through mechanically coupled grips that include internal metal frames and insulating overmolds with specified electrical isolation relationships, and a method that couples and decouples the surgical tip from such a handpiece followed by autoclaving the handpiece.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found