Surgery – Instruments – Suture – ligature – elastic band or clip applier
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-10
2001-08-21
Jackson, Gary (Department: 3731)
Surgery
Instruments
Suture, ligature, elastic band or clip applier
C206S063300, C206S339000, C206S340000, C206S341000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06277132
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a needle insertion device with a needle protection device especially for surgical use.
Needle inserters are auxiliary devices used especially in surgery procedures to insert a needle into a suturing device including endoscopic suturing devices as well as conventional suturing devices used in open surgery. The insertion of a needle into a suturing device, however, is problematic since the needle is so short that it cannot be guided accurately by hand. In suturing devices with two jaws (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,652), wherein the needle must be passed back and forth between the jaws, it must be originally accurately inserted into the needle holder of one of the two jaws.
Basically, there are two ways to solve this problem:
First, the needle could be taken out of a needle magazine and supplied to a grasping device by which the needle is then installed in the suturing instrument. In this case, the grasping device would be a re-useable device.
Second, the needle installation device is provided with a needle and is mounted for direct installation of the needle. After installation of the needle in the suturing instrument, the installation device is removed and discarded. It is not used again. Consequently, it must be inexpensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,181 discloses a needle insertion device with which a needle can be inserted into at least one branch of a pair of branches of a surgical suturing apparatus. The device comprises a body which supports the needle which is removably mounted therein. The body is so shaped that it can be placed at least on one of the two branches of the suturing apparatus in order to insert the needle.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a needle insertion device with which surgical needles, which are small and which cannot easily be handled, can be safely and reliably inserted into a surgical suturing instrument. The person attending to the procedure should be safe from piercing and scratching injuries by the needle when installing the needle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a needle inserter with a needle protector for surgical suturing instruments, including a needle insertion structure having a handle part at one end and a needle mounting part at the other end, a slot is provided in the needle mounting part for engaging therein a suturing needle. Means are provided for placing the needle inserter onto a jaw of a suturing instrument such that the needle can be locked with the jaws of the suturing instrument, which then, upon compression of the handles, can be removed. The protector, which is installed on the needle inserter by a manufacturer, holds the needle in its proper position in the needle inserter and covers the needle tip to prevent displacement of the needle and injuries to persons operating the suturing instrument.
The needle insertion device is supplied by the manufacturer as a fully assembled unit. The needle installation is automated such that the needle is accurately installed by the needle insertion device and is firmly engaged in the suturing device. After insertion of the needle in the inserter, the needle protector is moved with its T-shaped part onto the needle inserter up to a stop in which position the needle tip is covered by the needle protector. In this way, the needle itself is protected, since none of the two needle tips is exposed. Injuries to a person handling the needle, for example, upon removal from the packing are also prevented. The needle is received over much of its length in the insertion device in such a way that it is not released by an unintended compression of the handle area. Additionally, the two arms of the handle area may be held apart by a compression spring disposed there-between when the device is not used. Once the needle inserter is mounted onto the suturing instrument up to a final stop and the needle is engaged by the jaws of the suturing instrument, the needle inserter can be pulled off with a slight jerk when the two arms of the handle are pressed together. This can be achieved properly if the needle inserter consists of a plastic material, which is sufficiently firm but still elastic at normal ambient temperature. The needle inserter and the needle protection have a complicated surface so that their shape can be obtained easiest if they are manufactured by casting or by injection molding. Machining would be too expensive.
It is advantageous if the needle inserter and the needle protection are firmly interconnected by a string, and also if the needle is not simply released when the handle part is pressed together. Rather a slight jerk should be necessary to remove the needle from the needle inserter when the needle is installed in the suturing instrument. Preferably, the needle protection is inclined at the front end of the web adjacent the handle portion in accordance with the shape of the engaged by the needle inserter. The interconnection of the needle inserter and the needle protection by the string ensures that both parts are discarded together and none of the parts is unintentionally left unattended. This is particularly important for a single use article since both parts must be properly disposed of in order to avoid unnecessary cleaning.
Materials suitable for cleaning and sterilization in a medical sense are compounds such as PEEK, PE or TE.
The needle inserter with needle protection provides for always safe handling. If manufactured by casting or injection molding or other molding processes suitable for the material used, any desired amount of needle inserters can be manufactured perfectly and inexpensively. The needle is automatically mounted in the needle inserter already by the manufacturer and remains in place until it is installed in the suturing instrument. Even if the handle portion is unintentionally compressed, the needle still remains clamped in the needle inserter as long as no other forces are applied.
The packaged needle inserter including needle protection is shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5571090 (1996-11-01), Sherts
patent: 5591181 (1991-01-01), Stone et al.
patent: 5690652 (1997-11-01), Wurster
Bach Klaus J.
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH
Jackson Gary
LandOfFree
Needle inserter with a needle protection device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Needle inserter with a needle protection device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Needle inserter with a needle protection device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2513331