Surgery – Instruments – Corneal cutter or guide for corneal cutter
Patent
1998-04-09
2000-02-08
Buiz, Michael
Surgery
Instruments
Corneal cutter or guide for corneal cutter
606167, 606170, A61F 900
Patent
active
060223642
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a disposable surgical safety scalpel for medical use, having a retractable blade.
A scalpel is a highly professional surgical instrument which has been perfected over the years to such an extent that it cannot be compared to a jack knife or a cutter.
In describing the state of the art, reference can be made only from an historical viewpoint to some patents relating to knives described in the more or less recent past, whose characteristic was to have a blade that is positioned after use in a protective container.
This is the case, for example, of the following patents:
GB-5487 (LAKE), which as far back as 1884 described a knife with an extractable blade;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,758 (O'CONNOR), which describes a combination of a utility knife and a staple remover;
U.K. 1511889 (STEABBEN), which describes a pocket cutter with a blade that retracts but not automatically;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,912 (DAVIS), which describes a knife with an acceleration sensor;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,320 (LEMAIRE), which describes a pocket knife with retractable blade;
DE-3735294 (TEIHS), U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,865 (KNOOP) and lastly BE.1.002.554 (VAN HOOYDONCK), which describe an industrial cutter with retractable blade.
As is well known, the surgical scalpels existing on the market are of the disposable or reusable type, with a fixed or interchangeable blade, and do not normally have any protection, except for a blade protecting cap in the case of disposable scalpels, which cap is slipped off before use and could be replaced after use.
In fact the cap should never be replaced because this maneuver can cause unwelcome cuts, with the risk of transmission of diseases, including serious ones like AIDS and viral hepatitis.
The use of a barrier system, such as gloves with a steel mesh, which protect from cuts but not from stab wounds, is not well accepted because of the increased thickness and stiffness of the gloves, which leads to a loss of sensitivity.
The use of a different system, called "Magnetic Drape", which consists of a sort of magnet cloth to be placed near the operating field and to which the surgical instruments adhere through the action of a magnet, avoids the stage of passing the instruments from hand to hand, thus eliminating some wounds, i.e. those that occur during exchange of instruments between operators.
This system is poorly received by surgeons because it is essential to look away from the operating field to grasp the instrument and also because it is of no use for non-metallic objects.
The majority of accidental scalpel stab wounds or cuts occurs not so much when the surgeon makes an incision in the patient's skin or tissue as when the scalpel is passed from hand to hand by the medical operators or during disposal.
A study published in the USA in April 1995 by Dr. Janine Jagger in "Advances in exposure prevention", Volume 1 No. 3 published by "INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CARE WORKER SAFETY RESEARCH AND RESOURCE CENTER" showed that 34% of scalpel wounds occur during use of the instrument, whilst the remaining 39% and 27%, respectively, take place when the scalpel is passed from hand to hand by operators and during removal-replacement-disposal of the blade.
From these data it emerges that, overall, scalpels with an exposed blade or an interchangeable blade are responsible for 66% of cut wounds that occur among medical operators before, during and after use of the instrument.
It is for this reason that all scalpels with an exposed blade, such as those currently on the market must be considered dangerous, as well as those with an interchangeable blade, such as those forming the object of the following patents:
PCT-WO 90/11725 (DOLGIN), which describes a metal scalpel with a mobile guard, with no automatic return and requiring replacement of the blade;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,063 (ABIDIN), which describes a metal scalpel with a mobile guard and an interchangeable blade;
PCT-WO 94/13216 (WERNER), which describes a metal scalpel with a voluntarily or automatically retracting blade that is extremely dangerous
REFERENCES:
patent: 3905101 (1975-09-01), Shepherd
patent: 3906626 (1975-09-01), Riuli
patent: 4028758 (1977-06-01), O'Conner
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patent: 5403337 (1995-04-01), Platts
patent: 5417704 (1995-05-01), Wonderley
patent: 5431672 (1995-07-01), Cote et al.
Janine Jagger et al., "Suture Needle and Scalpel Blade Injuries: Frequent but Unreported", Advances in Exposure Prevention, vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 1 ff, Apr. 1995.
Notification of Transmittal of the International Search Report or Declaration, and attached International Search Report, Feb. 1997.
Flumene Antonio Giovanni
Pilo Giuseppe
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