Abstract
Treatment device for ultrasonic treatment and high frequency treatment procedure is equipped with an ultrasonic transducer including piezoelectric elements converting electrical power into ultrasonic vibrations. The treatment device includes a transmission rod with a treatment probe and jaw for clasping objects. The transmission rod includes features for damping, such as a sheath, a geometry of the outer surface of the transmission rod, or combinations of such features, to minimize or prevent excess vibrations and to, among other things, decrease frictional heat caused by the friction between the damping features and the transmission rod arising from attenuating the ultrasonic vibrations.
Claims
1. A surgical treatment device, comprising: a transducer generating ultrasonic vibrations; a transmission rod including a treatment probe, wherein a proximal end of the transmission rod is operatively connected to the transducer for transmitting ultrasonic vibration generated by the transducer to the treatment probe located at a distal end of the transmission rod; and a damping feature for attenuating vibrations movably placed along the longitudinal axis direction of the transmission rod between an adjacent node and antinode of the longitudinal vibration, wherein the transmission rod includes a tapered portion, and wherein the outer surface of the tapered portion has a maximum outer diameter that is larger than an inner diameter of the damping feature.
2. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the tapered portion is inclined inwardly from a distal end of the tapered portion towards a proximal end of the tapered portion, and wherein, along the transmission rod, the node of the longitudinal vibration is located more distally than the tapered portion of the transmission rod.
3. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the tapered portion is inclined inwardly from a distal end of the tapered portion towards a proximal end of the tapered portion, and wherein, along the transmission rod, the node of the longitudinal vibration is located more proximally than the tapered portion of the transmission rod.
4. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the damping feature is a tube.
5. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the damping feature is a sleeve.
6. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the damping feature includes a tapered portion.
7. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the damping feature includes a slit.
8. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein a rubber ring is placed at the node.
9. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission rod includes a first portion having an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the damping feature, and wherein, along the transmission rod, the first portion is placed more proximally than the tapered portion of the transmission rod.
10. The surgical treatment device according to claim 9, wherein the first portion is located proximate to the antinode of the longitudinal vibration.
11. The surgical treatment device according to claim 9, wherein the first portion is removable from the transmission rod.
12. The surgical treatment device according to claim 9, wherein the first portion is assembled together with the transmission rod through a screw.
13. The surgical treatment device according to claim 9, wherein the first portion is assembled together with the transmission rod through shrink fitting.
14. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the treatment probe is configured to treat living tissue.
15. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the treatment probe is configured as an electrode for treatment using high frequency currents.
16. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the treatment probe includes a curved shape.
17. The surgical treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the treatment probe includes one or more jaws.
18. A transmission rod, comprising: an elongate body configured for transmitting ultrasonic vibration from a proximal end to a distal end; and a treatment probe formed at the distal end of the elongate body, wherein the treatment probe includes a treatment surface, wherein the transmission rod includes a tapered portion having an outer surface that is inclined inwardly from a distal end of the tapered portion towards a proximal end of the tapered portion,
19. The transmission rod according to claim 18, wherein the transmission rod includes a first portion having an outer diameter larger than the other portions of the transmission rod.
20. The transmission rod according to claim 19, wherein the first portion is removable from the transmission rod.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0043] The following detailed description of preferred embodiments can be read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals designate like elements and in which:
[0044] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a treatment device.
[0045] FIG. 2 shows a magnified view of the treatment end of the treatment device in Area P in FIG. 1.
[0046] FIG. 3A is a top view of a treatment region of an ultrasonic probe and FIG. 3B is an exaggerated representation, based on a simulation, of the ultrasonic vibrations of the treatment region in transverse vibration mode.
[0047] FIG. 4A is a side view of a treatment region of an ultrasonic probe and FIG. 4B is an exaggerated representation, based on a simulation, of the ultrasonic vibrations of the treatment region in transverse vibration mode.
[0048] FIG. 5 is an exaggerated perspective view of a treatment region of an ultrasonic probe and showing the variation in transverse vibration during vibration of the ultrasonic probe.
[0049] FIG. 6 illustrates a damping structure and associated features of the transmission member of an ultrasonic probe.
[0050] FIG. 7 illustrates a damping structure and associated features of the transmission member of an ultrasonic probe according to an embodiment where the damping structure is located at a probe axial position proximate the antinode position of the transverse vibration
[0051] FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate variations in the disclosed damping structure.
[0052] FIG. 9 shows an ultrasonic treatment device in the related art.
[0053] FIG. 10 shows a portion of an ultrasonic treatment device in the related art.
[0054] Throughout all of the drawings, dimensions of respective constituent elements are appropriately adjusted for clarity. For ease of viewing, in some instances only some of the named features in the figures are labeled with reference numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0055] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a surgical treatment device 300 including a body 302, a sheath 304, and a treatment end 306. The body 302 includes a moving arm 308, a grip 310, and a transducer 312. The moving arm 308 is used together with grip 310 to actuate and operate the functions of treatment end 306. The transducer 312 includes an ultrasonic transducer which is connected to a power source supplying power used for ultrasonic treatment, as well as high-frequency treatment of surgical treatment device 300. The power source can be a wired or wireless power source. The sheath 304 protects the wires and transmission members within, necessary for operating the functions of treatment end 306.
[0056] FIG. 2 is the magnified illustration of the treatment end 306 of the surgical treatment device 300. The treatment end 306 consists of a jaw 402 and an ultrasonic probe 404. In the current embodiment, the jaw 402 and the ultrasonic probe 404 open and close in the vertical direction through the manipulation of the movable handle 308 in order to grasp tissues and other objects for treatment, but ultrasonic probe 404 may be used for the treatment procedures without a jaw. The ultrasonic probe 404 vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency transmitted through the transmission member within sheath 304. A longitudinal vibration, an ultrasonic vibration of the ultrasonic probe 404 made in the direction 406, creates frictional heat used for treatment purposes such as dissection of tissues, as well as frictional heat caused through contacting objects such as damping members. The ultrasonic probe 404 may have a curved shape and may also serves as an electrode for treatment using high frequency currents.
[0057] FIG. 3A illustrates the ultrasonic probe 404 viewed from the vertical direction, the direction the jaw 402 opens and closes. FIG. 3A also illustrates the transmission member 502 extending from the ultrasonic probe 404 on the distal end, extending within the sheath 304, and connecting to the transducer 312 at the proximal end. The ultrasonic probe 404 and transmission member 502 are in its stationary state, a state where neither the ultrasonic vibration nor the high frequency current is applied to the ultrasonic probe 404 and transmission member 502.
[0058] FIG. 3B also illustrates the ultrasonic probe 404 viewed from the vertical direction, the direction the jaw 402 opens and closes. FIG. 3B illustrates an exaggerated representation of the ultrasonic probe 404 and transmission member 502 in its oscillated state, a state where the ultrasonic vibration is applied.
[0059] Considering the use of ultrasonic probe 404 in treatment procedures, longitudinal vibration would be the desirable ultrasonic vibration. On the contrary, transverse vibrations and torsional vibrations would be undesirable ultrasonic vibrations that may cause issues during the treatment procedures. Because the ultrasonic probe 404 is curved in the horizontal direction with an aim to improve the visibility during the treatment procedure, the axial unbalance of the ultrasonic probe 404 in the horizontal direction may create substantial transverse vibrations when the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the ultrasonic probe 404. In the case shown in FIG. 3B, the ultrasonic vibration has caused a strong transverse vibration at the antinode 504 of the transverse vibration leading to problems such as deterioration of blood vessel sealing performance, heat generation, abnormal stress, and abnormal noise.
[0060] FIG. 4A illustrates the ultrasonic probe 404 viewed from the horizontal direction, the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction referred to in FIGS. 3A and 3B. FIG. 4A also illustrates the transmission member 502 extending from the ultrasonic probe 404, extending within the sheath 304, and connecting to the transducer 312. The ultrasonic probe 404 and transmission member 502 are in its stationary state, a state where neither the ultrasonic vibration nor the high frequency current is applied to the ultrasonic probe 404 and transmission member 502.
[0061] FIG. 4B also illustrates the ultrasonic probe 404 viewed from the horizontal direction. FIG. 4B illustrates an exaggerated representation of the ultrasonic probe 404 and the transmission member 502 in its oscillated state, a state where the ultrasonic vibration is applied. Because the ultrasonic probe 404 is not curved in the vertical direction, axial unbalance in the vertical direction is minimal compared to the axial unbalance due to the curved ultrasonic probe 404 curving in the horizontal direction. Thus, the undesired transverse vibrations that may occur at the antinode 504 at the time of application of ultrasonic vibration is weak compared to the transverse vibrations in the horizontal direction as disclosed in FIG. 3B.
[0062] FIG. 5 also illustrates an exaggerated representation of the ultrasonic probe 404 and the transmission member 502 in its perspective view. FIG. 5 illustrates the ultrasonic probe 404 and transmission member 502 in its oscillated state, showing the occurrence of undesired transverse vibration created due to the curve of the ultrasonic probe 404.
[0063] FIG. 6 illustrates the transmission member 502, extending in the direction of center axis 602, covered by a damping feature, such as an attenuation tube 604. The longitudinal vibration occurs in parallel to the center axis 602 and the undesired transverse vibration occurs in the direction perpendicular to the center axis 602 and the longitudinal vibration. The attenuation tube 604 comes in contact with the transmission member 502 or the rubber member 606 and serves to attenuate the transverse vibrations caused by the ultrasonic vibration applied to the transmission member 502. In order to suppress the frictional heat caused by the longitudinal vibration and contact between the attenuation tube 604 and the transmission member 502, it is preferred to place the attenuation tube 604 at the node or near the node of the longitudinal vibration. In order to attenuate the transverse vibration caused by the ultrasonic vibration applied to the transmission member 502, it is preferred to place the attenuation tube 604 at a location including at least one antinode of the transverse vibration. The attenuation tube 604 is made from polymer materials such as fluororesins, PTFE, FEP, and PFA with a thickness around 0.1 to 1.0 mm. The attenuation tube 608 may include a linear or helical slit for easing the attachment to the transmission member 502. Attenuation tube 604 may consist a sleeve structure.
[0064] Although the structure of the attenuation tube 604 in FIG. 6 may attenuate transverse vibrations occurring in ultrasonic treatment devices when the ultrasonic probe is vibrated, because of the large amount of surface area contact between the attenuation tube 604 and the outer surface of the transmission member 502, problems such as heat generation through friction between the transmission member 502 and the attenuation tube 604 through longitudinal vibration may occur. Also, the inner diameter of the attenuation tube 604 may widen through usage, which can over time reduce the contacting area between the transmission member 502 and the attenuation tube 604 and problems associated with transverse vibrations of the ultrasonic vibrations can occur, such as deterioration of blood vessel sealing performance, heat generation, abnormal stress, and abnormal noise.
[0065] FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a transmission member 502 having a tapered structure in combination with attenuation tube 604. The attenuation tube 604 is placed between the step structure 702 that is formed by a portion P1 of the transmission member 502 having a larger outer diameter compared to a portion P2 of the transmission member 502, and a node structure 606 at a node of the longitudinal vibration of the transmission member 502. The portion P2 of the transmission member 502 can have an outer surface with a constant diameter along the longitudinal length, i.e., in a direction along center axis 602. Alternatively, and as shown in FIG. 7, the portion P2 of the transmission member 502 can have an outer surface with at least a portion having a changing diameter along the longitudinal length, preferably a diameter that has a constant rate of change as a function of position along the longitudinal length. In some embodiments, the portion of the outer surface having a changing diameter forms a conical geometry or is tapered section 704. It should be noted that the size of the inner diameter surface of the attenuation tube 604 is larger than the diameter of the outer surface of portion P2 where P2 meets the step structure 702; but the size of the inner diameter surface of the attenuation tube 604 is less than the diameter of the outer surface at least a portion of the tapered section 704. The longitudinal distance of portion P2 separating the step structure 702 from the location on the tapered section 704 where the diameter of the outer surface is equal to or is larger than the inner diameter surface of the attenuation tube 604 defines a length of the transmission member 502 along which the attenuation tube 604 can move.
[0066] Step structure 702 may be made removable from transmission member 502 by, e.g., separation of portion P1 from portion P2, in order to ease the assembly of the attenuation tube 604 and transmission member 502. For example, the step structure 702 may be assembled together with the transmission member 502 through a screw or shrink fitting the large dimeter portion P1 onto smaller diameter portion P2. Since the attenuation tube 604 is slidably located between the step structure 702 and tapered portion 704 (as described above), the attenuation tube 604 has the tendency to move towards the node position of longitudinal vibration (such as at 47 kHz or 55 kHz) during oscillation of the transmission member 502, such as during operation of a treatment device incorporating the transmission member 502. Also, it is preferred to set the antinode position of the longitudinal vibration of the ultrasonic vibration near the step structure 702 and the node position of the longitudinal vibration of the ultrasonic vibration near the node structure 606, such as at rubber member shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8A to 8C. Through this configuration, the attenuation tube 604 would move towards the node structure 606 and would be stopped at the tapered section 704 of the transmission member 502 where the outer diameter of the tapered section 704 equals the inner diameter of the attenuation tube 604. Even if, with use, the inner diameter of the attenuation tube 604 becomes larger than the tapered section 704, the attenuation tube 604 would be stopped at the node structure 606 by the rubber member.
[0067] FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate variations in the disclosed damping structure. FIG. 8A illustrates the transmission member 502 having a tapered structure in combination with attenuation tube 604, where the transmission member 502 and attenuation tube 604 is in an oscillated state. The attenuation tube 604 placed between the step structure 702 and tapered section 704 is moved towards the node position located near the node structure 606 through the longitudinal vibration (such as at 47 kHz or 55 kHz) during oscillation. The attenuation tube 604 is stopped at the contacting diameter 802 where the outer diameter of the tapered section 704 equals the inner diameter of the attenuation tube 604. Because the contact between the transmission member 502 and the attenuation tube 604 is minimized to be at the contact diameter 802, the frictional heat created between the transmission member 502 and the attenuation tube 604 through the longitudinal vibration is also minimized.
[0068] FIG. 8B illustrates another embodiment of the transmission member 502 having a tapered structure in combination with attenuation tube 604, where the transmission member 502 and attenuation tube 604 is in an oscillated state. The attenuation tube 604 placed in between the step structure 702 and tapered section 704 has a smaller diameter compared to the attenuation tube 604 disclosed in FIG. 8A, thereby moving the location of the contacting diameter 802 away from the node structure 606 and closer to the step structure 702 where the antinode of the longitudinal vibration is located. Therefore, by adjusting the inner diameter of the attenuation tube 604 or the inclination of the tapered section 704, the location of the contacting diameter 802 may be adjusted in accordance to the locations of nodes or antinodes of vertical or transverse vibrations of the ultrasonic vibrations in order to maximize the attenuation efficiency.
[0069] FIG. 8C illustrates the transmission member 502 having a tapered section 704 in combination with the attenuation tube 604 having a non-constant inner diameter. In the illustrated embodiment, the attenuation tube 604 has a non-constant inner diameter in the formed of a tapered portion 804 and a portion 806 with a constant diameter. FIG. 8C illustrates an oscillated state and the attenuation tube 604 is placed between the step member 702 and tapered transmission member 704 is moved towards the node position located near the rubber member 606 through the longitudinal vibration (such as at 47 kHz or 55 kHz) during oscillation. The attenuation tube 604 includes a tapered portion 804 that is stopped at the contacting diameter 802 where the outer diameter of the tapered section 704 equals the inner diameter of the tapered portion 804. Including the tapered portion 804 allows the contact area between the transmission member 502 and the attenuation tube 604 to be larger, thereby increasing the attenuation efficiency.
[0070] The embodiments disclosed in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8A-C are operable through a configuration in which the node structure 606 is placed towards the distal end of the transmission member 502 and the tapered section 704 and step structure 702 placed towards the proximal end of the transmission member 502 or an opposite configuration in which the node structure 606 is placed towards the proximal end of the transmission member 502 and the tapered section 704 and step structure 702 placed towards the distal end of the transmission member 502.
[0071] Although the present invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that additions, deletions, modifications, and substitutions not specifically described may be made without department from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
