NL2010089C2

NL2010089C2 - Morcellator.

Info

Publication number: NL2010089C2
Application number: NL2010089A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Ewout Aart Arkenbout; Frank Willem Jansen
Original assignee: Univ Delft Tech
Priority date: 2013-01-08
Filing date: 2013-01-08
Publication date: 2014-07-09

Description

Morcellator

The invention relates to a morcellator which at least comprises an outer sleeve having a bore formed axially therethrough, and a cutting blade being received by the axial bore of the outer sleeve and being movable therein.

5 Such a morcellator is known from US2008/0039884 Al, and in this known morcellator optionally the outer sleeve is reciprocatingly axially slidable relative to the cutting blade to selectively cover or at least partially uncover an edge of the cutting blade.

10 Morcellator's are used to remove relatively large masses of tissue, for example uterine fibroids. As is explained in US2008/0039884 Al known morcellator's typically include a rotating tube having a sharp distal cutting edge, which rotates within an outer stationary tube. The morcellator 15 is inserted through a cannula or trocar, or through an incision made for laparoscopic surgery. A grasping instrument is normally inserted through the inner rotating tube and this instrument is used by the surgeon to pull the tissue to be severed into the rotating tube to enable its rotating edge to 20 grasp and peel off the tissue.

There are different problems associated with the known morcellator which the invention seeks to address.

A first problem concerns the need to execute extensive and time-consuming after treatment after the operation of 25 the known morcellator to remove loose morsels and cleanup of the patient's interior.

A further problem is that the known morcellator is always used in connection with laparoscopic surgery. Particularly when removing the uterus it is desirable to perform the 30 operation through the vaginal tract in order to obviate unnecessarily the therefor required large incisions in the abdomen. This is however not possible with the known morcellator.

Still a further problem is that the known morcellator is not suited to fine-tune the rate of peeling of the tissue 35 to be removed.

These and other problems are intended to at least in part address with the morcellator according to the invention.

2 A further intention is to provide an alternative to the known morcellator and to achieve advantages which will become apparent from the following disclosure.

The morcellator of the invention is provided with the 5 features of at least one of the appended claims. Generally speaking it is possible to apply the features of the respective claims independent from each other, although preferably particular features are applied in combination in order to achieve best results.

10 According to a first aspect the morcellator of the invention comprises drive means connected to the cutting blade for providing an oscillatory or vibratory motion of the cutting blade around its body longitudinal axis with reference to the outer sleeve. It is found that the morcellator of the in-15 vention is at least as effective as the morcellator of the prior art, whereas it avoids spreading of loose morsels and therefore also obviates the need to effect the time consuming cleanup operation of the prior art.

It is found effective that the oscillatory or vibra-20 tory motion of the cutting blade is executed at a frequency between 500 Hz and 3000 Hz. Preferably the oscillatory or vibratory motion of the cutting blade is executed with an amplitude in the range 2-25 mm.

In some embodiments the edge of the cutting blade is 25 perpendicular with reference to the cutting blade's longitudinal axis.

According to a further aspect of the invention the edge of the cutting blade is preferably at an angle with reference to the cutting blade's longitudinal axis in the range 30 40-60°. This feature enables that the morcellator of the in vention can be applied in an operation through the vaginal tract when the morcellator is used for removal of the uterus. The angle of the cutting blade is then accommodated to the angle of the uterus with reference to the vaginal tract.

35 It is preferably further that the outer sleeve has a slanted frontal portion to provide an overhang sheeth with respect to the edge of the cutting blade. With the outer sleeve being reciprocatingly axially slidable relative to the cutting blade, this enables that sliding the outer sleeve selectively 3 positions the overhang sheeth so as to partly or fully expose the edge of the cutting blade. This applies both to the embodiment that the edge of the cutting blade is perpendicular with reference to the cutting blades longitudinal axis, and to the 5 embodiment that the edge is at an angle with reference to this longitudinal body axis. Accordingly the feature of the outer sleeve being reciprocatingly axially slidable tunes the mor-cellator to the desired amount of tissue being processed.

Advantageously the cutting blade has a central bore. 10 This central bore can be used for inserting a grasping instrument for bringing the tissue close to the edge of the cutting blade. The central bore can also be used as a channel for removal of morsels by vacuum suction.

An advantageous feature is further that the outer 15 sleeve is rotatable around its body longitudinal axis. This improves the possibility to position the morcellator most effectively avoiding the cumbersome handling that the surgeon is sometimes required to do with morcellator's of the prior art.

A further advantageous feature is that at its frontal 20 portion at the side where the edge of the cutting blade is located, a receptacle such as a bag or cup can be provided for entrapping tissue morsels and protecting the patient's surrounding tissue, and which may also function as a funnel for guiding tissue towards the distal tip of the instrument where 25 the cutting modality is located.

The invention will hereinafter be further elucidated with reference to a drawing of an exemplary embodiment of a morcellator according to the invention, which is not limiting as to the appended claims.

30 In the drawing: -figure 1 shows a schematic side view of the morcellator of the invention; -figure 2 shows an isometric view of the morcellator of figure 1; 35 -figure 3 shows a further schematic side view of the morcellator of the invention, in which relative positions of the outer sleeve and cutting blade are visible; -figure 4 shows a detailed frontal portion of the morcellator of the invention in which the outer sleeve is re- 4 tracted to expose the cutting blade.

Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.

Making reference first to figures 1-3, the morcella-5 tor of the invention is depicted with reference 1. The morcel-lator 1 comprises an outer sleeve 2 having a bore 3 (which can be best seen in figure 2) formed axially therethrough.

Figure 3 shows that a cutting blade 4 is received by the axial bore 3 of the outer sleeve 2. This cutting blade 4 10 is rotationally movable in said axial bore 3. In some embodiments the outer sleeve 2 is rotatable around its longitudinal body axis. Preferably further the outer sleeve 2 is recipro-catingly axially slidable relative to the cutting blade 4 to selectively cover or at least partially uncover an edge 5 of 15 the cutting blade 4. For this purpose the surgeon may operate the handle 6 which connects to the outer sleeve 2 in order to pull said sleeve 2 in the direction of the stop plate 7 against the counterforce of a spring 8. The said spring 8 provides a preferential position to the outer sleeve 2 corre-20 sponding to it fully covering the cutting edge 5 of cutting blade 4. This preferential position is clearly shown in figure 3, showing in full lines both the outer sleeve 2 and the cutting blade 4 with its cutting-edge 5.

Figures 1-3 further show that the stopping plate 7 is 25 connected to adjustment means 9 -in this case embodied as a spindle- which enables adjusting the position of the stopping plate 7, whilst ensuring that the cutting edge 5 of the cutting blade 4 remains covered when the outer sleeve 2 is in its preferential position.

30 Also shown in figures 1-3 is that the morcellator 1 comprises drive means 10, 11, 12 connected to the cutting blade 4 for providing an oscillatory or vibratory motion of the cutting blade 4 around its body longitudinal axis with reference to the outer sleeve 2. Said drive means include a 35 (preferably battery-powered) motor 10, a drivetrain 11, and a swivable excenter plate 12 that connects to the cutting blade 4. When the motor 10 executes a 360° rotation, the swivable excenter plate 12 undergoes a back-and-forth or swinging motion that it transfers to the cutting blade 4. Correspondingly 5 the cutting blade 4 is subjected to an oscillatory or vibratory motion, which preferably is executed at a frequency between 500 Hz and 3000 Hz. It is also preferred that the oscillatory or vibratory motion of the cutting blade 4 is executed with an 5 amplitude in the range 2-25 mm.

Particularly figure 3 shows the preferred feature that the edge 5 of the cutting blade 4 is at an angle with reference to the cutting blade's longitudinal axis in the range 40-60°. This enables that the morcellator 1 is usable 10 for operations on the uterus through the vaginal tract. There are however also embodiments feasible wherein the edge 5 of the cutting blade 4 is perpendicular to the cutting blade's longitudinal axis.

Figure 3 and figure 4 show that the outer sleeve 2 15 has a slanted frontal portion 13 to provide an overhang sheeth 14 with respect to the edge 5 of the cutting blade 4. This overhang sheeth 14 effects the rate at which the morcellator 1 operates. Particularly when the outer sleeve 2 is reciprocat-ingly axially slidable relative to the cutting blade 4, slid-20 ing the outer sleeve 2 will selectively position the overhang sheeth 14 so as to partly or fully expose the edge 5 of the cutting blade 4. This applies both to the embodiment that the cutting edge 4 of the cutting blade 5 is perpendicular with reference to the cutting blade's longitudinal axis, and to the 25 embodiment in which the cutting edge 4 is at an angle with reference to the cutting blade's longitudinal axis, which preferably is in the range 40-60°.

It will be appreciated by the skilled person that the cutting blade 4 has a central bore. This is useful for insert-30 ing grasping means or to provide a duct for vacuum suction.

Although not shown it is possible that at its frontal portion at the side where the edge 5 of the cutting blade 4 is located, a receptacle bag may be provided for entrapping or catching loosened tissue morsels and protecting the patient's 35 surrounding tissue and organs during operation of the morcellator 1. The way this can be implemented is known to the skilled person and requires no further elucidation with reference to the drawing.

It is expressly pointed out that the drawing and the 6 explanation with reference to this drawing of an exemplary embodiment is considered to be an example only, which is not limiting as to the appended claims. The protective scope that merits the invention is exclusively determined by the appended 5 claims, and variations to the above discussed exemplary embodiment are expressly included therein. The exemplary embodiment and it's drawing merely serve to elucidate these claims.

Claims

A morcellator (1) at least comprising an outer housing (2) with a channel (3) arranged therein axially, and a cutting blade (4) which is received in the axial channel (3) of the outer housing (2) and is movable therein , wherein optionally the outer housing is axially reciprocating relative to the cutting blade (4) for selectively covering or at least partially exposing a cutting edge (5) of the cutting blade (4), characterized in that this drive means (10, 11, 12) connected to the cutting blade (4) for providing an oscillatory or vibratory movement of the cutting blade (4) about its longitudinal body axis with respect to the outer housing (2).

2. A morcellator (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the oscillatory or vibratory movement of the cutting blade (4) is carried out with a frequency between 500 Hz and 3000 Hz.

3. Morcellator (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the oscillatory or vibratory movement of the cutting blade (4) is carried out with an amplitude in the range of 2-25 mm.

Morcellator (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cutting edge (5) of the cutting blade (4) is perpendicular to the longitudinal body axis of the cutting blade (4).

The morcellator (1) according to the preamble of claim 1 or according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the cutting edge (5) of the cutting blade (4) forms an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cutting blade in the range 40-60 °.

6. Morcellator (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer housing (2) has an oblique frontal part (13) for providing an overhang covering (14) relative to the cutting edge (5) ) of the cutting blade (4).

7. A morcellator (1) according to any one of claims 1-5 and claim 6, wherein the outer housing (2) is axially reciprocally slidable relative to the cutting blade (4), characterized in that the displacement of the outer housing (2) selectively positions the overhang covering (14) for partially or completely exposing the cutting edge (5) of the cutting blade (4).

A morcellator (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cutting blade (4) has a central quay.

A morcellator (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer housing (2) is rotatable about its longitudinal body axis.

A morcellator (1) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a catch is provided on its frontal part (13) on the side where the cutting edge (5) of the cutting blade (4) is located, preferably a bag or head, for confining tissue parts and protecting surrounding tissue or organs of the patient.