CA1079812A - Removable tip cautery - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A removable tip cautery has a housing for containing a battery, and a voltage control device adjustable relative to the housing for controlling a voltage applied from the battery to the heater element of the cautery tip. An adaptor for releasably connecting the tip to the housing is secured to the housing and has a pair of electrodes connected through a switch to the voltage control device and the battery. The tip has a male portion which has two projecting electrodes engageable with the adaptor electrodes on insertion of the male portion into a bore in the adaptor, the tip electrodes being beveled to form sharp edges for piercing a sterile bag surrounding the adaptor and housing.

Description

10798~L2 The present invention generally relates to a cautery device and more particularly pertains to a battery operated remov-able tip cautery.
Many types of portable battery operated cautery instru-ments have been developed and used, one of which is described in U. S. Patent No. 3,613,682. These battery operated cautery inst-ruments are used on the basic principle that after each surgical use the entire instrument is disposed of. However, it has been found that the actual use life of such cauteries is much greater than the time required for a single surgical use so that the cautery could be used for other surgical proceedings if a way could be found to sterilize the instrument for additional surgical usage. Such sterilization generally requires autoclaving or other associated heat treating of the instrument, which treatment has been found to destroy or damage the batteries in the instrument.
Another means of sterilization is accomplished through the use of ethylene oxide gas. While this treatment does not d~mage the batteries in the instrument, small hospitals or health treatment facilities are not provided with the necessary gas treatment ap-paratus. Another problem inherent with the use of this type ofgas treatment is that aluminum components cannot be used in the instrument due to the interaction of the gas and the aluminum, which decreases the sterilization capability of the gas and builds up salt on the aluminum.
A reusable battery operated cautery is described in U. S. Patent 3,461,874. This cautery uses a plug-in cautery tip assembly which is removed and stored in the bore of a charger -~ stand when the handle assembly is being recharged. It should be noted that the cautery must be sterilized in the previously dis-~; 30 cussed manner.
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The present invention provides a reusable removable tip cautery of the type having a self-contained voltage source comprising a housing, a voltage source contained within the hous-ing, control means adapted to selectively control the transmission of voltage from the voltage source, the control means being mov-ably mounted to the housing in operative engagement with the volt-age source to provide a connection between the voltage source and a heater tip, an adaptor means serving as a connecting mechanism mounted to the housing at least partially in operative engagement with the voltage source, the adaptor means comprising a female housing and first and second electrodes electrically connected to the voltage source and mounted in the female housing, disposable tip means including a heater tip adpated to be energized by the voltage source removably mounted to the adaptor means, the dis-posable tip means comprising a male tip housing adapted to mating-ly engage the female housing of the adaptor means, a third and fourth electrode mounted in the male tip housing and extending away from the tip housing, a heater element comprising a heater tip interconnected between one end of the third and fourth elec-trodes, the other ends of the third and the fourth electrodesbeing adapted to engage and be electrically connected to the first and second electrodes of the adaptor means and the voltage source when said male tip housing matingly engages with said female hous-ing.
In use, the voltage control means enable the voltage ~ .
supplied by a battery, contained in the housing, to the heating element to be varied, thus enabling the temperature of the heating ; element to be controlled by the user of the cautery in accordance ; with the particular applications for which the cautery is employed.

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Preferably, said other ends of the tip electrodes are beveled to form sharp edges which may be employed to perforate a sterile flexible bag into which the adaptor means and the housing are inserted.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the housing is a hollow substantially cylindrical barrel, preferably formed of a dielectric material such as polyvinyl or other applicable substance capable of withstanding relatively abusive treatment during use. Retaining means are formed at each end of the barrel to retain the adaptor means and the voltage control means in op-posite ends thereof.
The tip comprises the heater element and mounting plug.
The mounting plug is configured to connect the heater element to the adaptor means in operative relation to the battery and the voltage control means.
In operation, the operator initially determines the output voltage required for a particular application. The opera-tor then adjusts the cautery to deliver this preselected output by rotating the control means relative to the barrel. A visual indication of the output selected may be indicated by means of aligning an index maxk formed on the exterior of the control means -1 with a scale printed around the exterior of the barrel. Having ¦ selected the desired output, the operatox next places the barrel in the sterile flexible bag and mounts the heater tip to the ~ adaptor means through the flexible bag with the barrel being con-¦ tained in the bag. The operator then mo~es an actuator to the econd or "on" position to complete a circuit between the voltage I source and heater tip, causing the heater element to heat up.

Once heated, the heater element may be touched to exposed wounds or cuts to clean and heal the wounds or remove sutures and the .~ .
like. In this manner the previously d~termined voltage limits of proper value are provided.

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1(~79812 It can thus be seen that by virtue of the invention, a single device can be set to selectively deliver a variety of out-puts. The housing can also be used several times in a sterile condition before it is disposed of. The structure as contained is simple, safe, economical to manufature and easy to. use in any variety of field conditions~
The invention will become more readily apparent and understood from the following description of embodiments thereof given, by way of examp.le, with reference to the drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cautery body being placed into a protective bag;
Figure 2 is a side elevational view Gf the cautery body of Figure 1 placed in a protective bag with the tip assembly mounted to the body;
Figure 3 is an exploded enlarged perspective view of the tip assembly and adaptor plug partially in section of the cautery instrument shown in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a side elevational view partially in section of another embodiment of the invention;
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of a variable temperature cauter~ embodiment of the invention;

i Figure 6 is an enlarged side view of the control means 1 of Figure 5;
Figure 7 is an end view of the control means of Figure 6;
Figure 8 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional side view of the control means taken along line 8'-8' o~ Figure 6;

Figure g is an electrical schematic of the variable 3~ temperature cautery;

i.~.r~ -4-Figure 10 is a sectional view showing another embodi-ment of the control means;
Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view showing yet an-other embodiment of the control means; and Figure 12 is an end view of the embodiment shown in Figure 11.
In the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figures 1~12, a cautery 10 comprises a barrel or handle assembly 12 formed by a tubular plastic case 13 in which is mounted an adaptor plug assembly i4. The adaptor plug assembly 14 comprises a frusto-conical body 16 which extends past the end of the tubu-lar handle assembly and is constructed to hold a heater tip assembly 18 which fits onto the adaptor plug body 16.
The heater tip assembly 18 comprises a plastic plug body 21 having hollow electrode leads 20 and 22 extending there-from, the forward ends of which are secured to a wire loop heater element 24 of platinum or other similar resistance wire. The wire element 24 is secured to the leads by welding or preferably crimping the ends of the hollow leads down upon the wire loop heater element to secure the wire loop element in place. The leads 20 and 22 extend through the plug 18 and extend on the distal side outward a predetermined distance which is sufficient to fit into hollow electrod~ leads 26 and 2~ which are secured in the adaptor plug ~ody. These leads extend through plug body 16 and terminate at the bottom of an oval shaped blind bore 17 formed in the plug body. The heater tip assembly is formed with a male portion 19 which is substantially ovally shaped and adapted to seat and snugly fit in the oval shaped bore 17 cut in the adaptor plug body 16.

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' It is apparent that the bore can take any desired shape and the tip assembly male portion any compatable companion shape.
The heater tip assembly body 21 has a frusto-conical shape from which the oval cylindrical male end portion 19 extends. Planar surface 23 of the body 21 acts as a stop against the top surface of adaptor plug 16 thus limiting the distance that the heater tip assembly 18 can be inserted into the bore 17 of the plug 16.
The distal ends 27 of the leads 20 and 22 extend into the hollow -electrode leads 26 and 28 of the adaptor plug body when the male portion 19 is inserted into bore 17 to form an electrical connec-tion. These distal ends 27 are preferably beveled to form a sharp cutting edge which is used to penetrate a flexible plastic bag 32 into which the cautery handle or barrel 12 is dropped.
The flexible plastic bag 32 preferably is provided with a sealed closed end and an open opposite end which is adapted to be sealed in a conventional manner through a press fit, tongue and groove type seal 33 which is known in the art under the trade mark "ZIPLOC". Bag 32 is provided with an internal funnel 34 of paper or other suitable material which is preferably t~apered and flexible so that it can be folded into a flat planar config uration and inserted into the bag 32 for convenient packing and storage. In use the sterile bag 32 is pulled out of its pre-sterilized container, the bag seal is broken and pressure is placed on the funnel sleeve 34 causing it to expand into a sub-stantially conical shape thereby causing the interior of the bag 32 to expand allowing for easy entry of the cautery barrel assembly 12 which is dropped through the funnel 34 into the bag.
I The funnel 34 is then pulled out of the bag and the open end is pressed together so that the tongue and groove configuration snaps shut formung a sealed package holding the cautery barrel or handle in a sterile wrapper.

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~ 6-~079812 The heating tip body 21 is then placed against the bag adjacent the end of the adaptor plug 16 and the sharp ends 27 of electrical leads 20 and 22 are pressed against the plastic bag 32, puncturing the package, with the heating tip body 21 being seated next to the adaptor plug body 16 but separated by the plastic bag wall. The electrical contacts are made by posi-tioning hollow leads 20 and 22 within the hollow electrcde leads 26 and 28 so that the outer surface of leads 20 and 22 engage the inner surface of leads 26 and 28. The cautery and associated batteries contained therein are described in U. S. Patent No.
3,613,682 issued October 19, 1971.
An alternate embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4 in which a flexible rubber bag 40 having an O-ring 41 on one end is placed over the cautery body 42 so that a cap 44 and associated heating wire assembly 45 can be placed over the cautery body and bag 40 with the electrode leads 50 and 52 of the cap fitting into similarly situated hollow leads 54 and 56 in the cautery adaptor plug. The O-ring 41 of the bag 40 forms a seal so that after surgery has been performed, the heating cap 44 and the outer covering bag 40 can be removed. A new flexible bag is then placed on the body with a new heating cap mounted so that the cautery can again be used for additional cutting or cauterizing.

In the preferred embodiment the temperature of the cautery loop can be varied to obtain the desired cutting temper-ature.
As shown in Fig. 5, this preferred embodiment of the invention relates to a hand-held variable temperature cautery indicated as 110 comprising a housing 112 and protective cap 114 removably attached thereto. In the cautery 110 control means 116 10798~2 and adaptor means 118 are attached to opposite ends of housing 112, a first conductor means 120 and a voltage source 122 are operatively retained within housing 112, and an actuator means 124 is provided outside of the housing.

The housing 112 comprises a hollow suDstantially cylin-drical barrel 126 including retaining means comprising a pair of retainer lips 128 and 130 formed on its upper and lower ends in a substantially annular configuration. The barrel 126 is pre-ferably formed of dielectric material such as polyvinyl or other similar or applicable substance providing the desired character-istics including the ability to withstand relatively abusive treatment during use. The barrel 126 is internally insulated.
Retainer lips 128 and 130 are configured to operatively couple the adaptor means 118 and control means 116 respectively to the barrel 126. A terminal 132 of the voltage source 122, which is in the form of a battery, engages control means 116 while the opposite terminal 134 of battery 122 engages adaptor means 118.
; If desired a plurality of batteries or other voltage sources may be placed in series or parallel, end to end to increase the avail-able voltage output. The first conductor means 120 comprises an elongated strip of conductive material which e~tends substantial-ly the length of the barrel 126. At least one portion 138 of the strip includes a first contact means or wiper 140 positioned to operatively engage control means 116 while a second portion includes a second contact means 142 shaped to operatively engage the adaptor means 118.
The adaptor means 118 comprises a housing 146 with electrodes 150 and 152 extending through channels 154 and 156 respectively formed in the housing 146 into the interior of the barrel 126. The inner end of the first electrode 150 is disposed to engage the terminal 134 of battery 122 while the second elec-trode 152 is spaced apart from the terminal 134.
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The outer ends of electrodes 150 and 152 terminate at the seat of a blind bore 147 cut into housing 146. A heating tip assembly 153 is designed to be seated in the blind bore 147 so that the tip assembly can be removably mounted on the adaptor means 118. The heating tip assembly 153 includes a tip body 155 which holds two throughgoing electrodes 157 and 159 and a wire tip 163 interconnected between the third electrode 157 and the fourth electrode 159.
The third and fourth electrodes 157 and 159 are tubular in shape and of smaller diameter than the first and second elec-trodes 150 and 152 and are adapted to be inserted into the first and second electrodes to provide an electrical connection. The ends 161 of the electrodes 157 and 159 opposite the wire tip 163 are beveled to form sharp cutting surfaces.

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The mounting housing 146 comprises an enlarged base 158 and a reduced upper portion 160 which together cooperatively form a ledge 162 therebetween. The ledge 162 and retaining lip 128 engage each other to secure the adaptor means 118 to the barrel 126. As configured, the adaptor means 118 comprises an integral unit which prevents any accidental separation of parts during use.
An alternate embodiment of the present invention may include the integral adaptor means 118 being welded or similarly attached to casing 112.

As shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the control means 116 comprises an adjustment means 164 and a second conductor means 166. The second conductor means 166 comprises a hollow substan-tially cylindrical member 168 and a conductive wire-like strip 170 coupled thereto. The strip 170 comprises an origin 172 and terminal point 174. Adjustment means 164 comprises an enlarged base 176 having oppositely disposed inner portions 178 and 180 extending outwardly from the opposite sides of base 176. The intersection of base 176 and portion 180 cooperatively forms ledge 184 which engages bias means 186 to hold the voltage source 122 in engagement with the first electrode 150. Inner portion 178 includes channel 188 for accommodating the junction of origin 172 of strip 170 and cylindrical member 168. Aperture 192 is formed in the inner portion 178 to secure the terminal contact means cylindrical member 168 to portion 178 in a corresponding relation to terminal 132 of battery 122.
The opposite or terminal point 174 of strip 170 is attached to portion 178 of adjustment means 116 by means of an integrally formed slot. The slot has its inner wall surface specifically configured to define a projection means l9n disposed and configured to engage the terminal point or end 174 of conductive strip 170 in such a manner as to lock the terminal 10798~Z

point 174 within the slot and thereby maintain the conductive strip 170 in operative relation relative to the first contact 140 which comprises a portion of the first conductor means.
Another embodiment of the invention is disclose~ in Figure 10 and includes a substantially L-shaped element 171.
Portion 173 of element 171 may be either solid or hollow as desired. The portion indicated as 175 is specifically configured to allow crimping between portion 175 and the origin 172 of conductive strip 170.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention as shown in Fig. 12 envisions a solid flange 177 fitted on portion 176 of the control means. Conductive strip 170 has its origin 172 also crimped to engage flange 177 as shown in both Figs. 11 and 12. In the alternative, conductive strip 170 has its origin tack welded or otherwise securely attached thereto to provide efficient electrical contact therebetween. It should also be noted that conductive strip 170 may include any of a number of various configurations and is not intended to be limited to a "flat" or "round" configuration as represented. Irrespective of the embodiment utilized, member or elements 168, 171 and/or 177 are configured and positioned relat~ve to the terminal 132 of the battery 122 so as to effect proper, efficient and reliable electric contact therebetween.
As shown in Fig. 5, the actuator means 124 comprises a suitable dielectric material and includes slot 193 formed inwardly from one end thereof. Actuator means 124 comprises portion 194 disposed to engage conductor means 120 to move second contact means 142 into electrical contact with the electrode 152. This is accomplished when the cap 114 is removed from the housing 112 and the actuator means 124 is manually depressed, Fi~. 9 represents schematic circuitry of the operation of cautery 110. The wire-like strip 170 serves as a variable "

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resistor, and when the control means 116 is rotated relative to the housing 112, the position of contact 168 between the wiper 140 and the strip 170 is adjusted to vary the voltage supplied to applicator means 118. Actuator means (switch) 124, when closed, completes a circuit passing current through electrodes 150 and 152 and electrodes 157 and lS9 to wire tip 163, which is heated.
In operation, the operator initially determines the output voltage re~uired for a particular application. The operator then adjusts the cautery to deliver this preselected output by rotating the control means 116 relative to the barrel 126. A visual indication of the output selected may be indicated by means of aligning an index mark formed on the exterior of the ; control means 116 with a s~ale printed around the exterior of the barrel 126. The adjusted cautery barrel is then dropped ` into bag 32 in the previously described manner, the bag is sealed ; and the tip assembly is mounted to the adaptor means. Having selected the desired output, the operator moves the actuator means 1~4 through the bag to the second or "on" position to complete the circuit between the voltage source 122 and the heating tip assembly, which has been mounted to the cautery, causing the wire heater tip element 163 to heat up. Once heated, the heater element 163 may be touched to exposed wounds or cuts to clean and heal the wounds or remove sutures and the like.
It is envisioned in all of the previously described embodiments that the outer bag which serves as a sterilizing covering for the cautery body can be removed and discarded and a new bag placed on the cautery body with subsequent tip assem-blies being inserted into the cautery body for various cutting and cauterizing functions. Upon use these cutting tip assemblies can also be discarded so that the cautery bodies with their associated batteries can be reused as desired. It should be noted that, in the uses of the described embodiments, the flexible 11 ~, `

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, , . : : . :' ~ ' ' 1~798~;2 bag covering allows the operating button 194 to be easily depressed, thus completing the circuit in the disposable cauteries so that electricity is pro~ided to the resistance tip, thereby heating the tip to the desired degree necessary.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it is understood that the invention is not limited to such embodiments since it may be otherwise embodied ~iithin the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (5)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A reusable removable tip cautery of the type having a self-contained voltage source comprising a housing, a voltage source contained within said housing, control means adapted to selectively control the transmission of voltage from said voltage source, said control means being movably mounted to said housing in operative engagement with said voltage source to provide a con-nection between said voltage source and a heater tip, an adaptor means serving as a connecting mechanism mounted to said housing at least partially in operative engagement with said voltage source, said adaptor means comprising a female housing and first and second electrodes electrically connected to said voltage source and mounted in said female housing, disposable tip means including a heater tip adapted to be energized by said voltage source removably mounted to said adaptor means, said disposable tip means comprising a male tip housing adapted to matingly en-gage said female housing of said adaptor means, a third and fourth electrode mounted in said male tip housing and extending away from said tip housing, a heater element comprising a heater tip interconnected between one end of said third and fourth electrodes the other ends of said third and said fourth electrodes being adapted to engage and be electrically connected to said first and second electrodes of said adaptor means and said voltage source when said male tip housing matingly engages with said fe-male housing.

2. The cautery of claim 1 wherein said male tip housing positively engages and seats in a blind bore defined by said adaptor means and said third and fourth electrodes are con-figured to slide inside and electrically contact said housing to said adaptor means.

3. The cautery of claim 1 including switch means mov-able between a first position and a second position, said switch means being disposed when in one of said positions to actuate said cautery so that the voltage from said voltage source supplied to said tip means is determined by the position of said control means relative to said housing.

4. The cautery of claim 1 further comprising a protec-sive bag for enclosing said voltage source housing from outside environments.

5. The cautery of claim 4 wherein said protective bag is made of a flexible plastic which is perforable by said other ends of said third and fourth electrodes.