Scalpel

Details Scalpel Scalpel

1996-09-17

1998-03-24

Buiz, Michael

Surgery

Instruments

Cutting, puncturing or piercing

30 2, 30151, A61B 1732

Patent

active

057307512

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a scalpel. As used herein, the term "scalpel" is used to denote a cutter, including cutters intended for use a surgical environment.


BACKGROUND ART

The emergence of HIV and other patient-to-patient transmissable diseases has encouraged the development of scalpels having some means for protecting the blade of the scalpel when the scalpel is not in use, or has performed its single use.
It is known to provide a scalpel with a guard or sheath which can be slid forward relative to the blade to shield the blade. Examples of such constructions are taught in International Patent Application WO 93/11916, European Patent Application 279 957, U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,606, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,512, U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,626, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,704, and Australian Patent Application 31999/93.
It is also known to have a retractable blade as, for example, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,748, U.S. Pat. 4,805,304 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,424.
The present invention relates to a scalpel having a retractable blade.
A problem associated with scalpels having blades which retract inside a handle is the likelihood that, depending on tolerances, the mandrel and hence blade can move laterally and/or vertically relative to the handle during a cutting operation. It will be understood that this is highly undesirable.
This problem is not associated with scalpels having guard or sheath because, in that case, the handle is integral with the blade.


DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

This invention in one aspect resides in a scalpel including: to support a blade member and having engagement means for operative engagement by a user for movement of said mandrel within said handle; inoperative position within said handle; and against the action of said biasing means, surface of said handle when said mandrel is in said operative position.
Preferably, the resilient means are a pair of laterally and rearwardly extending wings.
The blade member may be supported on the mandrel in a number of ways. Thus the blade can be manufactured with lugs adapted to be received within apertures on the mandrel, or alternatively the blade may be supported and fixed on the mandrel by ultrasonic welding of a plastic mandrel about the blade shank. The blade can also be supported on the mandrel by rivets or other similar fastening means. However it is preferred that the mandrel includes mounting means for mounting the blade member thereon, the mounting means constituting mandrel stiffening means and being adapted to guide the mandrel for movement within the handle.
In a preferred single-use embodiment the scalpel may include locking means actuable upon retraction of the mandrel from the operative position to non-releasably lock the mandrel in the inoperative position.
The handle may be made from a range of suitable materials which may be quite rigid and not requiring stiffening. However it is preferred that the handle includes handle stiffening means.
In one preferred embodiment the opposite sides of the handle extend to form jaws and the handle stiffening means extend along the inside surfaces of the jaws. In such an arrangement the mounting means and the handle stiffening means may cooperate to guide the mandrel for movement in the handle.
It is preferred that the handle includes a longitudinally extending slot, the engagement means being adapted to extend through the slot. Preferably, the longitudinally extending slot is located on the upper surface of the handle although for varying ergonomic requirements in the implementation of special surgical techniques it may be desirable that the slot and the engagement means are located on each side surface or on the base of the handle.
The restraining means may include a projecting member on the engagement means and receiving means on the handle for releasably receiving the projecting member therein. The projecting member may be biased into engagement with the receiving means.
The locking means may be any suitable arrangement for ensuring that the blade, once retracted within the handle after us

REFERENCES:
patent: 3906626 (1975-09-01), Riuli
patent: 5201748 (1993-04-01), Newman et al.
patent: 5275606 (1994-01-01), Abidin et al.
patent: 5330493 (1994-07-01), Haining
patent: 5344424 (1994-09-01), Roberts et al.
patent: 5411512 (1995-05-01), Abidin et al.
patent: 5417704 (1995-05-01), Wonderly
patent: 5481804 (1996-01-01), Platts
patent: 5571127 (1996-11-01), DeCampli
patent: 5571128 (1996-11-01), Shapiro
patent: 5599351 (1997-02-01), Haber et al.

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