SCALPEL FOR CARPAL TUNNEL SURGERY

Abstract

Scalpel for carpal tunnel surgery by sectioning the transverse carpal ligament; comprising: —a handle (1), —an actuator (2) housed in the handle (1) with the possibility of longitudinal movement, —a hollow anterior guide (4) attached to the front end of the handle and protruding frontally from the handle (1), comprising the said anterior guide (4) a longitudinal slot (41), and a hook (42) at its free end aligned with the aforementioned longitudinal slot (41), and suitable for the attachment of the transverse carpal ligament to be sectioned and; —a knife (5) for sectioning the transverse carpal ligament, being the knife (5) attached to the actuator (2) by a shaft (51), and with the possibility to move along the longitudinal slot (41) of the anterior guide (4) from an inoperative rear position to an operational anterior cutting position, limited by the hook (42).

Claims

1. A scalpel for carpal tunnel surgery, specifically through the sectioning of the carpal transversal ligament, the scalpel comprising: a handle, an actuator housed in the handle with the possibility of longitudinal movement, a hollow anterior guide attached to the anterior end of the handle and protruding frontally from the handle, comprising the anterior guide a longitudinal slot, and a hook at its free end aligned with the aforementioned longitudinal slot, and suitable for holding the transverse carpal ligament to be sectioned, and; a knife for sectioning the transverse carpal ligament, being this knife attached to the actuator by a shaft, and with the possibility to move along the longitudinal slot of the anterior guide, from an inoperative rear position to an operational anterior cutting position, limited by the hook.

2. The scalpel of claim 1, wherein the handle presents one of its ends threaded for its union with a front stop that incorporates the hollow anterior guide in its central part.

3. The scalpel of claim 1, wherein the actuator incorporates in its distal part a bushing which serves as a means of joining with the shaft of the knife, utilising hardware or equivalent.

4. The scalpel of claim 2, wherein the handle, the actuator and the front stop are preferably made of plastic while the rest of the components, are either made of stainless steel or a material with equivalent mechanical characteristics, all of which are sterilisable and suitable for use in health care.

5. The scalpel of claim 1, wherein the handle and the anterior guide are made of a single piece or in two halves of that piece.

6. The scalpel of claim 5, wherein the piece is made of plastic material for surgical use.

7. The scalpel of claim 5, wherein the shaft of the knife and the actuator are made of one piece, being mounted this knife in a housing defined on the anterior end of shaft.

8. The scalpel of claim 7, wherein the piece is made of plastic material for surgical use.

9. The scalpel of claim 5, wherein the piece presents in the longitudinal slot of the anterior guide, and some transverse partitions of the handle, some non-circular sections, suitable for longitudinal guidance, and without the possibility of rotation of the knife shaft and the actuator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0013] The following briefly describes a series of drawings that help to understand the invention better and that are expressly related to an embodiment of the said invention that is presented as a non-limiting example of it.

[0014] FIG. 1 shows a side view of a first embodiment of the scalpel for carpal tunnel surgery, the object of this invention.

[0015] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the carpal tunnel surgical scalpel in FIG. 1.

[0016] FIG. 3 shows a view of the handle (1) as part of the carpal tunnel surgical scalpel in FIG. 1.

[0017] FIG. 4 shows a view of the actuator (2) as part of the carpal tunnel surgical scalpel in FIG. 1.

[0018] FIG. 5 shows a view of the anterior guide (4) as part of the carpal tunnel surgical scalpel in FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 6 shows a view of the knife (5) as part of the carpal tunnel surgical scalpel in FIG. 1.

[0020] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the carpal tunnel surgical scalpel, according to the invention.

[0021] FIG. 8 shows an elevational view of the scalpel in FIG. 7.

[0022] FIG. 9 shows an elevational view of the scalpel in FIGS. 7 and 8, partially sectioned by a vertical plane and with the knife in an inoperative position.

[0023] FIG. 10 shows an elevational view of the scalpel in FIGS. 7 and 8, partially sectioned by a vertical plane and with the knife in the operating position.

[0024] FIG. 11 shows a cross-section of the scalpel in the A-A plane referenced in FIG. 9.

[0025] FIG. 12 shows a cross-section of the scalpel in the B-B plane referenced in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT MODES OF THE INVENTION

[0026] FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the scalpel for carpal tunnel surgery, the object of this invention.

[0027] In this first embodiment, the scalpel comprises a handle (1) wherein an actuator (2) is fitted with the possibility of longitudinal travel.

[0028] The handle has a threaded end (11) wherein a front stop (3) is attached solidly conforming to the front end of the handle (1).

[0029] The actuator (2) incorporates a bushing (21) at its distal part, which acts as a means of joining the knife shaft (51) of the scalpel (5), using hardware or equivalent.

[0030] The front stop (3) incorporates in its central part a hollow, solid anterior guide (4) protruding from the front of the handle (1); comprising this anterior guide (4) a longitudinal slot (41) and, at its free end, a hook (42) that is aligned with the aforementioned longitudinal slot (41), and suitable for attachment of the transverse carpal ligament to be sectioned.

[0031] This anterior guide (4) has transverse laser markings, advising the degree of penetration of the anterior guide in the patient during the procedure.

[0032] This hollow anterior guide (4) is occupied in its interior by the shaft (51) of the knife (5).

[0033] The longitudinal slot (41) of the anterior guide (4) allows the longitudinal movement of the knife (5), responsible for sectioning the ligament, from an inoperative posterior position to an anterior operational position for cutting the ligament, limited by the hook (42).

[0034] The shaft (51) is attached to the actuator (2) at the opposite end of the knife (5), allowing the knife (5) to be moved along the longitudinal slot (41) of the anterior guide (4), in the proximal or distal direction and without the possibility of a change of direction when actuating the actuator (2) in either direction.

[0035] In the first embodiment of the invention, the handle (1), the actuator (2), and the front stop (3) are preferably made of plastic, while the other components will be made of stainless steel or a material with equivalent mechanical characteristics, all of which are sterilisable and suitable for use in health care.

[0036] In the second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7 to 12, the scalpel maintains the above-described operation and presents a greater simplicity of construction.

[0037] Specifically, in this second embodiment, the handle (1) and the anterior guide (4) are formed by one piece (6), which in this embodiment consists of two halves (61, 62), that permit assembly in its interior of the actuator (2) and the knife shaft (51), prior to the attachment of these halves (61, 62) by welding, screwing, or equivalent.

[0038] The part (6) is made in this case with a plastic material for surgical use, which allows the significant reduction of manufacturing costs compared to scalpels made entirely of metal, although the use of other materials suitable for surgical use is not excluded.

[0039] In this second embodiment, the knife (5) shaft (51) and actuator (2) are made of a single part (7), preferably of plastic material for surgical use, such that the knife (5) is mounted in a housing (71) defined at the front end of the shaft (51).

[0040] As can be seen in FIGS. 11 and 12, the part (6) presents in the longitudinal slot (41) of the anterior guide (4) and some transverse partitions (63) of the handle (1), some non-circular sections (64), suitable for longitudinal guidance, and without the possibility of rotation of the knife shaft (51) (5) and the actuator (2).