Surgery – Instruments
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-28
2001-01-30
Gordon, Paul P. (Department: 2786)
Surgery
Instruments
C200S051020, C200S051030, C200S051050, C200S086500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179829
ABSTRACT:
MICROFICHE APPENDIX
This application includes a microfiche appendix having 15 microfiches and 3032 frames which is a copy of the provisional application under which priority was claimed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to the control of surgical instruments, especially microsurgical and ophthalmic systems, by the use of foot controls, and more particularly, to a surgical foot control, namely a peripheral foot control assembly
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, with programmable features and functions for specific use in a modular microsurgical system for anterior and posterior ophthalmic surgery as described below, and herein interchangeably as “the modular microsurgical system” or “the microsurgical system” or “the microsurgical control system.” As disclosed, such microsurgical system uses a fully modular microprocessor-controlled methodology which allows the system to be dynamically configured electronically for anterior, posterior or both surgical environments from a console of the system. Further, as the present surgical foot control includes microprocessor-controlled circuitry which communicates with the modular microsurgical system, reference may be had, for purposes of a further understanding, to the copending patent application entitled “Ophthalmic Microsurgical System”, Serial No. 60/025,498, filed Aug. 29, 1996, for comprehensive disclosure of the software and certain communication bus protocols usable therewith.
In use of a microsurgical multi-functional system as the foregoing, a surgeon conducting surgery or carrying out ophthalmic procedures in the anterior or posterior portions of the eye necessarily will have his or her eyes at a microscopic viewing instrument, and desires to be able to carry out control of the various ophthalmic modules by the use of a foot control of the invention. Such a foot control desirably provides controls not only for the various ophthalmic modules, selecting the surgical mode desired, and controlling the rate of operation produced by handpieces interconnected with the modules, such as aspiration, vitrectomy cutting, phacoemulsification, scissor cutting, and so forth.
Ophthalmic microsurgical systems in present day use, and as have been proposed and used for a number of years in modern ophthalmic surgical practice, have heretofore been controlled by foot controls, as typically may be used in conjunction with a display console.
An example of a modern control system for ophthalmic surgical instruments, employing a foot control, is found in co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,603, entitled Control System for Ophthalmic Surgical Instruments and herein called “predecessor system.” The foot control in the predecessor system, specifically designed for such system, does not have all the features and advantages of the present foot control. Foot controls disclosed in related co-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,091,656 and 4,837,857 should also be noted as disclosing features of prior foot controls usable in microsurgical systems for ophthalmic surgery.
Numerous other microsurgical systems using foot controls have been known and used; and indeed simple foot controls have been used for many years in the medical and surgical arts and for other cognate uses where the user desires to be able to use foot control in order to free the hands and in order to obviate need for diversion of the eyes from a task or procedure at hand.
Nevertheless, foot controls as heretofore known are not without considerable drawbacks when it is desired to be able to use the same foot control for controlling a variety of possible devices, ophthalmic tools and instruments; or where it is desired that the same foot control be equally as useful with one type of module as for another, while allowing the foot control to select the mode or module desired, while providing also capability for use of the foot control with any of possible future modules as they become available.
But, in general, prior foot controls have not had the desired degree of flexibility and programmability allowing for the wide gamut of conceivable modes and preferences.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A specific concern in the use of foot controls for ophthalmic surgery systems is that ophthalmic surgeons may have various different preferences and individual practices or customs in the way in which they want or expect the foot control to perform or operate. Thus, a surgeon may be left-footed or right-footed. In addition to elemental capability for a foot control to allow either left-footed or right-footed use, it is desired that the foot control permit accommodation of various possible differences and preferences in rate, control sensitivity and feedback, as will facilitate surgical preferences in practice in myriad precise and different procedures which may vary from one individual to the next, and there are even differences according to whether a ophthalmic surgeon is performing anterior segment procedures or posterior procedures.
Because the modular microsurgical system is microprocessor controlled, it is also desired that a foot control for such a system provide the capability of receiving, implementing and reporting various signals for system communication in a digital format used by such system.
Thus, it is desirable that a foot control is itself modular, and that it be a “smart control.” It is further desired that it use only low voltage, low power circuitry as appropriate for operating room environment, but with the circuitry being capable of interfacing with digital circuits, including a central processor and any of various modules and peripherals, of such a modular microsurgical system as the foregoing. It is desired that the “smart control” have the capability for system communication with such circuits by means of appropriate interface network protocols such as the known RS-485 protocol.
In carrying out various surgical procedures by means of such a system, it is desired that the foot control provide an actuating foot pedal with capability for movement in both pitch and yaw in order to accommodate various possible control actions in accordance with the mode of usage of the system at any given time. Thus, a surgeon can use the pitch control for one or more distinct modes of operation; and the yaw control for one or more other modes of operation.
In pitch control, it is desirable to be able to have the actuating pedal movable within specific regions. Thus, in a first region, a surgeon in an irrigation mode may then be able to move the foot pedal from zero deflection with increasing deflection causing increasing aspiration; and then with further deflection, the foot pedal can be moved through a second region in which a mode such as phacoemulsification or vitrectomy cutting occurs with increasing rate as the pedal is still further deflected in the second region.
It is preferable that the foot control and surgical system in which it is used permit the point of transition from the first region to the second region be electronically selected by the operation of controls. This may be carried out by touch screen control, as made possible by the referenced modular microsurgical system.
Heretofore the definition of such regions and point of transition from one region to the next has been typically inherently defined by the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the foot control, and this does not facilitate changing the point or points of transition.
Moreover, it is important for a surgeon to be able receive tactile feedback, when operating the foot control, as by having a detent, in order readily to perceive the point of transition from one region to the next.
Heretofore, it has been proposed, as in co-assigned Gahn U.S. Pat. No. 5,091,656, to use a mechanical arrangement with multiple springs which can be selective coupled in or out of engagement for purposes of tactile feedback, dependent upon mode of usage.
Existing foot controls are primarily dedicated in their function and operation to a specific system or type of equipment. In this sense these known foot controls have fixed functions. Thus, they typically merely incorporat
Bisch Michael Evremonde
Cochran Bruce Robert
Eberhardt Christopher Michael
McFerran Stanley Curtis
Painter John A.
Bausch & Lomb Surgical, Inc.
Calca{tilde over (n)}o Iv{acute over (a)}n
Gordon Paul P.
Kang Grant D.
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