CONSOLE AND FOOT-OPERATED CONTROL UNIT FOR A MEDICAL TREATMENT SYSTEM AND MEDICAL TREATMENT SYSTEM THEREFOR

Abstract

A console for a medical treatment system includes a console housing and a control unit for controlling a medical treatment instrument. A foot-operated control unit wirelessly coupled to the control unit, and the console housing has at least one side wall, which has a bearing surface for arranging the foot-operated control unit in a not-in-use position. The bearing surface is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, at least in the region where the foot-operated control unit is arranged, in order when arranging the foot-operated control unit on the bearing surface to bring about bearing of the foot-operated control unit against the bearing surface by the weight of the foot-operated control unit. The side wall has in the region of the bearing surface a console-side connecting unit for releasably connecting the foot-operated control unit to the console. Further, a corresponding foot-operated control unit and a medical treatment system are provided.

Claims

1. A console for a medical treatment system or an ophthalmosurgical system for the treatment of an eye, the console comprising: a console housing; and a control unit configured to control a medical treatment instrument, wherein a foot-operated control unit can be wirelessly coupled to the control unit, and the console housing has at least one side wall, wherein the side wall has a bearing surface for arranging the foot-operated control unit in a not-in-use position, wherein the bearing surface is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, at least in the region where the foot-operated control unit is arranged, in order when arranging the foot-operated control unit on the bearing surface to bring about bearing of the foot-operated control unit against the bearing surface by the weight of the foot-operated control unit, wherein the side wall has in the region of the bearing surface a console-side connecting unit for releasably connecting the foot-operated control unit to the console, wherein the console has a charging unit for charging an electrical energy store of the foot-operated control unit, wherein the bearing surface has a charging connection with at least two electrical contacts for contacting corresponding mating contacts of the foot-operated control unit, wherein the bearing surface has a peripheral collar, which projects from the bearing surface and surrounds the electrical contacts, wherein the electrical contacts are typically formed as resilient electrical pin contacts, and wherein the console-side connecting unit has at least two retaining pins for arranging in corresponding receiving openings of the foot-operated control unit, which are arranged at least horizontally spaced-apart from one another.

2. The console as claimed in claim 1, wherein the charging unit is configured to evaluate an electrical potential at at least one of the electrical contacts to detect that the foot-operated control unit is arranged on the console.

3. A foot-operated control unit for a medical treatment system or an ophthalmosurgical system for the treatment of an eye, the foot-operated control unit comprising: a housing; an electrical energy store arranged in the housing; an actuating element which can be actuated with a foot; and a communication unit configured for wireless communication with a console of the medical treatment system and a charging unit for charging the electrical energy store, wherein the housing has a connecting region for releasably arranging the foot-operated control unit in a not-in-use position on a bearing surface of the console, wherein the connecting region has a connecting unit on the foot-operated control unit side for releasably connecting the foot-operated control unit to the console, wherein the connecting region has at least two receiving openings for receiving corresponding retaining pins of the console, which are arranged at least horizontally spaced-apart from one another, and wherein the charging unit has a charging connection with at least two electrical mating contacts, arranged at the connecting region, for contacting corresponding electrical contacts of the console.

4. The foot-operated control unit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the connecting region has a plateau for arranging in a clearance provided through a collar, and wherein the electrical mating contacts are arranged in the region of a plateau plane of the plateau.

5. A medical treatment system for the treatment of an eye, the medical treatment system comprising: a medical treatment instrument; a console configured for connecting and operating the medical treatment instrument during an as-intended operating mode; and a foot-operated control unit for at least partially controlling the as-intended operating mode of the medical treatment instrument, wherein the foot-operated control unit can be wirelessly coupled to the console and has an electrical energy store for supplying the foot-operated control unit with electrical energy, at least during the as-intended operating mode of the medical treatment system, and wherein at least the console is configured as claimed in claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

[0030] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of an ophthalmosurgical system with a console, a foot-operated control unit and also a handpiece connected to the console,

[0031] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective representation of the console according to FIG. 1,

[0032] FIG. 3 shows a schematic-perspective representation of a side wall in a lower region of the console according to FIG. 1,

[0033] FIG. 4 shows an enlarged representation of a region IV from FIG. 3,

[0034] FIG. 5 shows a schematic plan view of a rear side of the foot-operated control unit according to FIG. 1 in the region of electrical mating contacts,

[0035] FIG. 6 shows a schematic side view of a detail of a foot-operated control unit positioned at a distance from the console in the region of the bearing surface, and

[0036] FIG. 7 shows a schematic-perspective representation as in FIG. 3, wherein the foot-operated control unit is arranged on the console.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0037] FIG. 1 shows in a schematic block diagram an ophthalmosurgical system 1 as a medical treatment system which serves for the treatment of an eye 2. The ophthalmosurgical system 1 has a medical treatment instrument, which in the present case is formed by a handpiece 3. The ophthalmosurgical system 1 also has a console 4 for connecting and operating the handpiece 3 during an as-intended operating mode. Furthermore, the ophthalmosurgical system 1 has a foot-operated control unit 5, which in the present case is formed as a foot pedal. The foot-operated control unit 5 can be coupled wirelessly to the console 4 by way of a radio connection 11 and has an electrical energy store 6 for supplying the foot-operated control unit 5 with electrical energy, at least during the as-intended operating mode of the handpiece 3.

[0038] The console 4 also has a control unit 7 and also fluidic and electrical supply units 8, which serve inter alia for feeding an irrigation fluid to the handpiece 3 by way of an irrigation line 9 and discharging an aspiration fluid from the handpiece 3 by way of an aspiration line 10.

[0039] The foot-operated control unit 5 in the present case is of a cableless design, for which reason it is supplied with electrical energy from the electrical energy store 6, at least during the as-intended operating mode. In addition, during the as-intended operating mode, the foot-operated control unit 5 is in communication connection with the control unit 7 by way of the wireless radio connection 11, and so an operating state of the handpiece 3 can be at least partially set.

[0040] FIG. 2 shows the console 4 according to FIG. 1 in a schematic-perspective view which includes the rear side. The console 4 has a console housing 12, in which the elements or units of the console 4 are arranged. The console housing 12 has a side wall 13, which in the present case forms a rear side of the console 4. The side wall 13 has a bearing surface 14, which serves for arranging the foot-operated control unit 5 in a not-in-use position. The bearing surface 14 is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane in the region where the foot-operated control unit 5 is arranged, in order when arranging the foot-operated control unit 5 on the bearing surface 14 to bring about bearing of the foot-operated control unit 5 against the bearing surface 14 by the weight of the foot-operated control unit 5. In the present case, the bearing surface 14 is of a planar or flat design, in particular uncurved.

[0041] To be able to keep the foot-operated control unit 5 in the state in which it is arranged on the console 4, the side wall 13 has in the region of the bearing surface 14 a console-side connecting unit 15 for releasably connecting the foot-operated control unit 5 to the console 4. For this purpose, the console-side connecting unit 15 has two retaining pins 16 for arranging in corresponding receiving openings of the foot-operated control unit 5, which are arranged horizontally spaced-apart from one another. In the present case, it is provided that the retaining pins 16 are arranged at substantially approximately the same height with respect to a horizontal base. In alternative configurations, this may however also differ. FIG. 3 shows a corresponding enlarged representation of a detail III in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 shows in a schematic plan view an enlarged representation of a region IV in FIG. 3. It can be seen that the bearing surface 14 has a peripheral collar 22, which projects from the bearing surface 14 and surrounds electrical contacts 19, 20, 21.

[0042] The console 4 also has a charging unit 17 for charging the electrical energy store 6 of the foot-operated control unit 5. The bearing surface 14 has a charging connection 18 of the charging unit 17 with three electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 for contacting corresponding electrical mating contacts 31, 32, 33 of the foot-operated control unit 5 (FIG. 5).

[0043] In the present configuration, it is provided that the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 are fixedly connected to the bearing surface 14. In alternative configurations, it may be provided that the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21, which are formed as pin contacts, may also be formed as resilient electrical contacts.

[0044] The electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 are arranged as electrically insulated with respect to the side wall 13. The electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 are connected to the charging unit 17.

[0045] FIG. 5 shows in a schematic plan view a detail of a rear side of the foot-operated control unit 5. The foot-operated control unit 5 has a housing 23 (FIG. 7), an electrical energy store 6 arranged in the housing 23 (FIG. 1), an actuating element 24 which can be actuated with a foot (FIG. 1), a communication unit 26 for wireless communication by radio with the console 4 of the ophthalmosurgical system 1 and also a charging unit 25 for charging the electrical energy store 6 (FIG. 1). The housing 23 has a connecting region 27 for releasably arranging the foot-operated control unit 5 in a not-in-use position on the bearing surface 14 of the console 4 (FIG. 6)

[0046] The connecting region 27 has a connecting unit 36 on the foot-operated control unit side for releasably connecting the foot-operated control unit 5 to the console 4. The connecting region 27 has two receiving openings 30 for receiving corresponding retaining pins 16 of the console 4, which are arranged at least horizontally spaced-apart from one another. As a result, the foot-operated control unit 5 can be easily arranged on the console 4, wherein the retaining pins 16 are inserted into the receiving openings 30 formed as blind holes. The simultaneous inclined position of the bearing surface 14 consequently allows a reliable, releasable connection to the console 4 to be achieved by the weight of the foot-operated control unit 5.

[0047] The charging unit 25 has a charging connection 28, which has the three electrical mating contacts 31, 32, 33, arranged at the connecting region 27, for contacting corresponding electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 of the console 4. The electrical mating contacts 31, 32, 33 are formed in the present case as flat, substantially circular contact plates, which are connected to the charging unit 25 by way of electrical lines that are not shown.

[0048] The connecting region 27 has the plateau 35 for arranging in a clearance provided through the collar 22. The electrical mating contacts 31, 32, 33 are arranged in the region of a plateau plane 34 of the plateau 35. The arrangement corresponds to the arrangement of the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21, and so an electrical connection can be achieved by respective contacting when the foot-operated control unit 5 is arranged on the console 4. They are resiliently mounted in the present case, but in alternative configurations may also be fixedly connected to the plateau 35.

[0049] The disclosure can achieve the effect in particular of fitting out a modern workplace for performing a cataract operation. The units or systems of the ophthalmosurgical system are interconnected in order to make good performance and easy, intuitive operator control possible. The disclosure allows cable connections or hose connections for fluids to be at least partially avoided. In particular, electrical cable connections and also communication lines can be avoided almost completely. For this purpose, a wireless communication connection to the console 4 is provided for the foot-operated control device 5, also known as a footswitch pedal (FSP). This however requires that the foot-operated control device or the foot-operated control unit 5 also has an at least partially independent energy supply, for which reason the electrical energy store 6 is provided, usually formed as a storage battery.

[0050] When the ophthalmosurgical system 1 is not in the as-intended operating mode, the disclosure allows the foot-operated control device 5 to be stored as a combined unit with the console 4. The aforementioned connecting technique allows a manageable unit comprising the console 4 and the foot-operated control unit 5 to be created when it is not in the as-intended operating mode, and so the corresponding devices for an ophthalmosurgical operation can be provided in an easy way.

[0051] In addition, the disclosure makes it possible to supply the foot-operated control device 5, in particular its energy store 6, with electrical energy when it is arranged in the not-in-use position on the console 4. The electrical contact connection provided here allows a reliable line-bound, but at the same time cableless electrical connection to be achieved, and so a large amount of energy can also be easily transmitted in a short time. This largely allows the avoidance of disturbances such as can occur for example during energy transmission using alternating magnetic fields. This is particularly important for the medical sector.

[0052] The electrical mating contacts 31, 32, 33 are in the present case bonded in the housing 23 by being adhesively attached on an underside. They may alternatively also be molded in, if for example the housing 23 is formed from a plastic.

[0053] In the present case, it is provided that the electrical voltage between the mating electrodes 31, 32, 33 and the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 is approximately 15 V. This is a DC voltage. A charging current may be for example approximately 1 A. In addition, a protective function may be achieved in each case by way of the third electrical contact 19 or electrical mating contact 31, and so the supply voltage of 15 V is only made available when an electrical contact has been established by way of these two electrical contacts 19, 31. If an electrical contact cannot be established by way of these contacts, it may be provided that the electrical voltage is limited to approximately 3.3 V or is even switched off completely. This can be sensed by the charging unit 17, for which purpose the charging unit 25 applies a corresponding signal to the electrical mating contact 31. The charging function can then take place for example by way of the electrical contacts 20, 21 or 32, 33. As a result, it can for example also be achieved that an electrical voltage is only applied to the electrical contacts 20, 21 whenever the charging unit 17 detects a corresponding connection by the foot-operated control unit 5 being arranged on the console 4.

[0054] In addition, it may be provided that the electrical voltage is provided as a safety extra-low voltage. Increased safety can be achieved as a result.

[0055] The collar 22 interacts with the plateau 35 when the foot-operated control unit 5 is arranged on the console 4. This can inter alia achieve a centering effect if an inner contour of the clearance provided through the collar 22 is chosen as adapted to an outer contour of the plateau 35. As a result, centering of the electrical contacts or electrical mating contacts can also be achieved. In addition, the collar 22 can protect the electrical contacts 19 to 21 from external mechanical effects.

[0056] In addition, it is provided that the charging unit 17 is designed to evaluate an electrical potential at at least one of the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 in order to detect that the foot-operated control unit 5 is arranged on the console 4. This can be used to obtain the effect that the charging unit 17 only applies an electrical voltage to the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 whenever it has been detected that the foot-operated control unit 5 is correspondingly arranged on the console 4. As a result, the electrical safety can be improved. It is of course also possible for the purposes of detection for potential differences between pairs of the electrical contacts 19, 20, 21 to be evaluated.

[0057] It is understood that the foregoing description is that of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined in the appended claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0058] 1 Ophthalmosurgical system [0059] 2 Eye [0060] 3 Handpiece [0061] 4 Console [0062] 5 Foot-operated control unit [0063] 6 Energy store [0064] 7 Control unit [0065] 8 Supply units [0066] 9 Irrigation line [0067] 10 Aspiration line [0068] 11 Radio connection [0069] 12 Console housing [0070] 13 Side wall [0071] 14 Bearing surface [0072] 15 Connecting unit [0073] 16 Retaining pin [0074] 17 Charging unit [0075] 18 Charging connection [0076] 19 Electrical contact [0077] 20 Electrical contact [0078] 21 Electrical contact [0079] 22 Collar [0080] 23 Housing [0081] 24 Actuating element [0082] 25 Charging unit [0083] 26 Communication unit [0084] 27 Connecting region [0085] 28 Charging connection [0086] 30 Receiving opening [0087] 31 Electrical mating contact [0088] 32 Electrical mating contact [0089] 33 Electrical mating contact [0090] 34 Plateau plane [0091] 35 Plateau [0092] 36 Connecting unit