ASSEMBLY AID TOOL FOR SECURING ELECTRODES IN A RESECTOSCOPE

Abstract

An assembly aid tool for positioning a work instrument in a resectoscope for endoscopic surgery, wherein the assembly aid tool has a grip part in its distal end region, one or more holding elements for retention of a work instrument, and/or bearing faces, in its proximal end region, for supporting a work instrument. In addition, assembly aid systems and resectoscopes include such an assembly aid tool.

Claims

1. An assembly aid tool for positioning a work instrument in a resectoscope for endoscopic surgery, wherein the assembly aid tool has (a) a grip part in its distal end region, (b) one or more holding elements for retention of a work instrument and/or (c) bearing faces, in its proximal end region, for supporting a work instrument.

2. The assembly aid tool according to claim 1, wherein the assembly aid tool is suitable for the positioning of an electrode instrument.

3. The assembly aid tool according to claim 1, wherein the bearing faces are designed for the contacting of guide plates of an electrode instrument.

4. The assembly aid tool according to claim 1, wherein the holding elements are designed as clamping elements.

5. The assembly aid tool according to claim 1, wherein the assembly aid tool is made from a plastic.

6. The assembly aid tool according to claim 1, wherein the bearing faces form the proximal end of the assembly aid tool.

7. An assembly aid system for positioning a work instrument in a resectoscope for endoscopic surgery, wherein the assembly aid system comprises a work instrument and an assembly aid tool according to claim 1.

8. The assembly aid system according to claim 7, wherein the work instrument is an electrode instrument.

9. The assembly aid system according to claim 8, wherein the electrode instrument comprises two fork tubes, which are held by the one or more holding elements of the assembly aid tool.

10. The assembly aid system according to claim 9, wherein the fork tubes have an insulation portion in their distal end region, and the holding elements of the assembly aid tool hold the respective fork tubes proximally in relation to the insulation portions.

11. The assembly aid system according to claim 8, wherein the bearing faces in the proximal end region of the assembly aid tool bear at least partially on the distal end of one or more guide plates of the electrode instrument.

12. The assembly aid system according to claim 8, wherein the electrode instrument comprises a loop electrode.

13. A resectoscope with assembly aid tool according to claim 1.

14. A method for positioning a work instrument on a resectoscope, the method comprising steps in which (a) a work instrument is positioned in the shaft part of the resectoscope by means of an assembly aid tool according to claim 1; (b) the assembly aid tool is released from the work instrument; and (c) the assembly aid tool is removed from the resectoscope.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0040] Illustrative embodiments of the invention are presented schematically in the drawings, in which:

[0041] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a resectoscope;

[0042] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of an assembly aid system according to the invention;

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a schematic perspective view of a portion of an assembly aid system according to the invention;

[0044] FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of a portion of an assembly aid system according to the invention inserted into the inner tube of a resectoscope;

[0045] FIG. 5 shows a further schematic perspective view of a portion of the assembly aid system according to the invention from FIG. 3; and

[0046] FIG. 6 shows a further schematic perspective view of a portion of the assembly aid system according to the invention from FIG. 4, with the assembly aid system inserted into the inner tube of a resectoscope.

ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

[0047] Further advantages, characteristics and features of the present invention will become clear from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention is not limited to these illustrative embodiments.

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a highly schematic side view of a resectoscope 14 from the prior art. The assembly aid tool 10 according to the invention can be used to insert a work instrument 11 into the resectoscope 14. The work instrument 11 is designed here as an electrode instrument 12. The insertion of the assembly aid system 26 takes place in particular from the distal end of the shaft part 32 of the resectoscope 14. In the resectoscope 14 depicted, the electrode instrument 12 has already been inserted into the resectoscope 14 and locked there. It will be seen that the electrode instrument 12 has a loop electrode 30, which is held by fork tubes 20. The fork tubes 20 are connected to the optic 42 by means of guide plates 24. By means of the loop electrode 30, tissue can be removed by electrosurgical ablation. Here, a high-frequency electrical voltage is applied to the loop electrode 30 in order to cut tissue.

[0049] Within the shaft region 32 of the resectoscope, the optic 42 and the electrode instrument 12 extend inside an inner tube 50 which, for example, can be mounted rotatably with respect to the outer tube 52. An embodiment is shown in which the electrode instrument 12 and the optic 42 protrude slightly beyond the distal end of the outer tube 52. However, a great many variations are conceivable in this regard. The inner tube 50, as shown, can also be slightly shorter than the outer tube 52, or it can also be of the same length or longer. A space between the inner tube 50 and the outer tube 52 can serve as a return conduit for irrigation liquids and/or body fluids.

[0050] An eyepiece or alternatively a camera for viewing the treatment region can be arranged on the proximal end of the optic 42. At the distal end of the optic 42, the latter has, for example, a lens (not shown) which is targeted on the region in which surgery is to be performed. However, the optic 42 can also be assigned an electronic sensor, for example a CCD chip.

[0051] The resectoscope 14 shown has a passive transporter in which, by relative movement of the grip pieces 34 and 36 arranged proximally from the shaft part 32, the carriage 54 is displaced in the distal direction towards the distal, first grip piece 34 counter to a spring force applied by a spring bridge 38. In the displacement of the carriage 54 in the distal direction towards the grip piece 34, the electrode instrument 12 and/or the optic 42 is forced in the distal direction in a manner not shown. Upon relaxation of the grip pieces 34, 36, the spring force generated by the spring bridge 38 forces the carriage 54 back to its rest position, wherein the shaft part 32, and thus also the electrode instrument 12 and/or the optic 42, is pulled in the proximal direction. Upon the rearward displacement of the carriage 54, an electrosurgical intervention can be performed with the electrode instrument 12 without manual force from the operator, i.e. passively.

[0052] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of an assembly aid system 26 according to the invention, in which an assembly aid tool 10 (indicated by hatching) is connected to an electrode instrument 12. The connection between the assembly aid tool 10 and the electrode instrument 12 is effected via clamping elements 18 (not shown in this view) and the bearing faces 22 adjacent to the distal end of the guide plates 24.

[0053] As can also be seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, the assembly aid tool 10 has an elongate configuration with a shaft part 46 and has, at its distal end, a grip part 16 shaped anatomically for holding between two fingers. The shaft part 46 has a part-circular cross section, with which it is adapted optimally to the curves in the inner tube 50. The electrode instrument 12 has fork tubes 20 which, in their distal end region, are angled into a fork tube plane G.

[0054] FIGS. 3 to 6 each show the one portion of the assembly aid system 26 according to the invention, wherein the system in FIGS. 4 and 6 is inserted into the inner tube 50 of a resectoscope 14. To simplify matters, the outer tube 54 of the resectoscope 14 is not shown in these views. FIGS. 3 and 4 show an embodiment of the assembly aid system 26 according to the invention from a different perspective than in FIGS. 5 and 6.

[0055] Like the assembly aid system 26 shown in FIG. 2, the embodiment in FIGS. 3 to 6 has an assembly aid tool 10 which is connected to an electrode instrument 12. In its distal end region, the assembly aid tool 10 comprises an ergonomically shaped grip part 16 via which the assembly aid system 26 can be grasped. By means of this grip part 16, the assembly aid system 26 can be held securely between two or more fingers. The system does not need to be touched at any other points. The danger of damaging the electrode instrument 12 is greatly reduced in this way.

[0056] The assembly aid tool 10 moreover has an elongate shaft part 46 on which two holding elements 17 are arranged laterally, only one of these holding elements 17 being visible in each of the views shown. The holding elements 17 are designed as clamping elements 18. The clamping elements 18 are partly complementary in shape to the fork tubes 20 and are able to hold these fork tubes 20 with a clamping action. Alternatively, however, it is also conceivable to design the holding elements 17 such that they hold the work instrument 11 at another position of its shaft part.

[0057] At the proximal end of the assembly aid tool 10, two bearing faces 22 are formed in the direction of the distal end of the electrode instrument 12. The bearing faces 22 are partly complementary in shape to the distal end of the guide plates 24 of the electrode instrument 12. In this way, a force sufficient for locking purposes can be exerted on the guide plates 24 by means of the assembly aid tool 10 from a distal direction.

[0058] The guide plates 24 together form a structure having, in the longitudinal direction of the electrode instrument, a part-circular cross section. As can be seen from FIG. 6, the optic 42 can be received in this structure. The assembly aid system 26 is designed such that the optic 42 can be guided through between the assembly aid tool 10 and the guide plates 24 and also between the two fork tubes 20.

[0059] The electrode instrument 12 moreover has two fork tubes 20, which extend substantially over the entire length of the electrode instrument 12. In the proximal and the central region of the shaft part 32, the fork tubes 20 lie close to each other and, in the distal region of the shaft part 32, they are then guided away from each other and to the opposite side of the inner shaft 50 in the manner shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. As a result, the electrode at the distal end of the electrode instrument 12, which electrode is here designed as a loop electrode 30 and has been inserted into an inner tube 50, is arranged in a space-saving manner within the inner tube 50 in front of the optic 42. Before and during the insertion and positioning of the assembly aid system 26, the electrode is moreover protected from damage by virtue of the grip part 16 lying over it, i.e. in a parallel transverse plane.

[0060] The clamping elements 18 are positioned on the shaft part 46 of the assembly aid tool 10 in such a way that, when an assembly aid system 26 is put together, they lie proximally in relation to the insulation portions 28 which are usually arranged at the distal end region of fork tubes 20. In this way, slipping of the assembly aid tool 10 from the electrode instrument 12 during insertion is prevented.

[0061] Although the present invention has been described in detail on the basis of the illustrative embodiments, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted to these illustrative embodiments but rather that modifications are possible, whereby individual features can be omitted or different types of combinations of the individual features shown can be implemented, without departing from the scope of protection of the accompanying claims. The present disclosure covers all combinations of the individual features shown.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0062] 10 assembly aid tool [0063] 11 work instrument [0064] 12 electrode instrument [0065] 14 resectoscope [0066] 16 grip part [0067] 17 holding element [0068] 18 clamping element [0069] 20 fork tube [0070] 22 bearing face [0071] 24 guide plate [0072] 26 assembly aid system [0073] 28 insulation portion [0074] 30 loop electrode [0075] 32 shaft part of resectoscope [0076] 34 first grip piece [0077] 36 second grip piece [0078] 38 spring bridge [0079] 40 eyepiece [0080] 42 optic [0081] 44 shaft element of electrode instrument [0082] 46 shaft part of assembly aid tool [0083] 48 distal end region [0084] 50 inner tube [0085] 52 outer tube [0086] 54 carriage [0087] G fork tube plane