Surgical system and instruments configuration device

With surgical systems medical devices are here, for example, meant to which simultaneously or successively, the same and / or different surgical tools over elec tric cables and optionally also hoses are connected. Such chirurgi cal system consists for example of a high-frequency surgical device and RF chirurgi rule instruments, which at this high-frequency surgical device via electrical lines are simultaneously or sequentially connected. There are various Hochfrequenzchirurgie- Devices. A high-frequency surgical device consists for example of at least one Hochfre frequency generator for generating high-frequency electric voltages or currents for mo nopolaren, bipolar or quasibipolar cutting and / or coagulating of biological tissue and means for setting, monitoring, control, limit and / or modulation the time required for cutting and / or coagulating RF voltages, RF currents, electrical rule arcs between an active electrode and biological tissue and / or performance. High-frequency surgical devices can also with different modes of operation for cutting and / or coagulating be provided, such as soft coagulation, forced clots tion, spray coagulation, continuous cutting or fractionated cut and automatic Angle control. High-frequency surgical devices can also with facilities for ma nuellen and / or automatic activation and / or automatic deactivation, automatic rule limiting the activation time, a device for automatic monitoring ver various safety criteria etc. equipped. HF surgical instruments are example as monofunctional, bifunctional or multifunctional instruments for monopolar, Bipo lar or quasibipolar cutting and / or coagulating biological tissue.

The number of different instruments for high-frequency surgery has been used for the development of Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) in almost all surgical disciplines getting bigger.

This increases the demands on the staff with respect to the right attitude which connect to these instruments high frequency surgical equipment. Selecting the wrong Mode or set too high RF voltage, RF power or intensity of the RF Current can destroy a purpose not an appropriate instrument or the patient zufü damage gen. A change of instruments during surgery usually requires a change in the Settings of high frequency surgical unit, which the attention of the surgical team deflects from the surgery.

With surgical systems are here but also surgical instruments meant to which simultaneously or successively via electrical lines and, where appropriate, via tubing identical or different devices can be connected. In this regard, surgical systems are ge means in which, for example, multifunctional surgical instruments, which except for Cutting and / or coagulating example also used for sucking and / or flushing may be and which also can be equipped with automatic actuators to to brin such as a cutting electrode automatically to the working position or rest position gen, connected to various devices or can be connected (see G.Farin, pneumatically Controlled Bipolar Cutting tool in magazine Endoscopic Surgery and Allied Technolo gies, Vol. 1, No. 2, April 1993, pages 97 to 101, Thieme, Stuttgart New York). Therefor relevant devices can, for example, the high-frequency surgical devices listed above or Device for sucking off gases and / or liquids from the surgical field, apparatus for be flushing of the surgical field, pneumatic actuators, etc..

In applying surgical systems, various problems are known. If example , to a high-frequency surgical unit for a specific surgical instrument is Schlos sen, so must the relevant settings for this instrument at high frequency surgical Device are made. This relates to a high-frequency surgical device usually the setting of one or more operating modes, such as monopolar, bipolar or quasibipolares cutting and call for the relevant cutting qualities and voltage, Current or power limitations, monopolar, bipolar or quasibipolares coagulation, and call for the relevant coagulation modes and voltage, current or Leistungsbegren tions. If a surgical instrument also in other devices, such as a suction device, a flushing device, connected to a pneumatic control unit, etc., so these devices must be set specific to the instruments generally. If a chir urgisches instrument during an operation with another surgical instrument ge exchanges, so usually need the settings on high-frequency surgical device and / or the settings of other on each instrument connected devices each in instrument be amended accordingly. If the setting is not the relevant instrument amended accordingly, so the desired surgical effect can fail or uner wünschter effect and / or damage to the patient and / or instrument arise. Becomes for example a multifunctional instrument that simultaneously at several different connected devices, during an operation against another multifunctional Instru ment replaced, so more of these devices have generally the respective connected multi functional instrument be set or configured accordingly.

The object of the invention to design surgical systems so that maladjustments or improper device or system configurations which lead to undesirable effects and / or Injury to the patient and / or damage of the respective surgical instrument may cause and / or time-consuming device or system settings are avoided. This object is solved by the subject matter of the claims 1 or second refinements of the invention are subject of the subclaims.

The achievement of this object is that the surgical instruments ever are equipped with an electric or electronic coding device, and that for the or the equipment to which or to which one or more of these surgical instruments are sequentially or simultaneously connected, at least one electrical or electronic Decoding means is provided with the encoder and the encoders of each connected to the unit or to the equipment surgical instruments ver can be prevented and that the coding of the respectively connected thereto Kodierein automatically converts the direction of surgical instruments into electrical signals or implemen zen, the control and / or monitoring devices of the device or the device of the chir lurgical system are supplied to the device or devices of the surgical system automatically corresponding to the respective coding predetermined mode set or one of the respective coding corresponding device or system configuration. With a device or system configuration are here all the settings to the device or devices the system meant that for proper and / or secure operation of the surgical system are required.

The encoder with which equipped the surgical instruments according to the invention are, for example consists of an electronic component having a certain representing electrical impedance. For this purpose, electrical resistors, capacitors are and / or inductors. The corresponding impedances are accordingly real, capacitive, in productive or complex. The coding of this coding is done by defined gradation the type and / or size of the impedance.

If the encoder, for example from a real electrical resistance, so can coding in a defined graduation of the amount of physical resistance, for example, , Carried out in 10-ohm increments, wherein the resistance interval in which this gradation he follows from scratch or start any higher value of the resistor.

If the encoder example of an electrical capacitor, then the Coding in a defined graduation of the size of the capacitance of the capacitor, Example as in 10-nF-steps occur.

If the encoder example of an inductor, the coding can in a defined differentiation in the level of inductance, for example, 10 nF steps occur.

If the encoder example of a capacitor and an inductor, wel Che are in series or in parallel, so the encoding can be in a defined gradation the resonant frequency of the series or parallel connection, for example, he 1 kHz steps consequences.

Thus, the various surgical instruments each have a defined coding zugeord are net.

The decoder, which link with the encoder, for example, about the cable can be electrically connected between surgical instrument and device, constitutes respective coding, which is the respective impedance or resonant frequency defined in electrical cal signals. These electrical signals can be either directly or via a micropro supplied processor control and / or monitoring devices of the surgical system be to automatically corre surgical system on one of the respective coding relevant operating mode to configure.

The decoder may be part of one of the composites to the surgical instrument NEN devices or be a separate device which is connected to the devices to which the respective surgical instrument is connectable.

The coding of the respective associated device or system configuration as a software be assigned to program the decoder or the devices in question.

The decoder may be designed, for example, that they, the connections of the devices to which the respective surgical instruments can be connected and to which the Coding of the respective surgical instruments are connected, always looking for interrogates the coding, the surgical system can not be activated as long as the Dekodie bearing device does not detect improper coding defined and the surgical system as long as configured in accordance with the predetermined device or system configuration, such as the corresponding encoding is detected.

The decoder, for example, also be designed so that after each they Aktivie tion of equipment connected to the surgical system surgical instrument until the Ko interrogates dation of the corresponding surgical instrument, then the system accordingly the recognized coding automatically configured and only then release the activation. Can to a surgical system multiple surgical instruments to be connected simultaneously, so it may be expedient if the automatic search the encoding of an instrument and the automatic configuration of the surgical system by this surgical Instrument is clearly triggered associated activation signal.

An embodiment of the device according to the invention is that the each of the Decoding recognized surgical instrument by instrument number, a displayed instrument name and / or graphically on a suitable electronic display or is represented.

A further embodiment of the device according to the invention is that the one be voted coding assigned device or system configuration is programmable. These Programming can be done, for example, by the device or system in question indivi duel is set according to the purpose manually and this setting a be can be associated with certain coding and stored in an electronic memory, from which it can be retrieved automatically by the appropriate coding.

The invention will be described in more detail in the following with reference to embodiments.

In a first embodiment of the inventive device for configuration surgical systems using a surgical system comprising a High-frequency surgical device and different at this high-frequency surgical device connectable and operated electrosurgical instruments described. The High-frequency surgical device consists of a high-frequency generator for generating frequency electric voltages or currents to the monopolar, bipolar or quasibipolar cutting and / or coagulating of biological tissue, as well as means for Setting, monitoring, control, limit and / or modulation of the cutting and / or coagulating required RF voltages, HF currents, electric arc between the active electrode and the biological tissue and / or performance. It is also with various operating modes for coagulation and / or cutting, such as soft- Coagulation, forced coagulation, spray coagulation, continuous cutting or fractionated cut and automatic angle control, as well as facilities for ma nuellen and / or automatic activation and / or automatic deactivation, automatic rule limiting the activation time, a device for automatic monitoring ver various safety criteria etc. equipped. The RF surgical instruments Example as monofunctional, bifunctional or multifunctional instruments for monopolar, Bipo lar or quasibipolar cutting and / or coagulating biological tissue. Each of these RF surgical instruments is provided with a coding device consisting of a definable Impedance, for example, a real resistance, a capacitor, an inductor or a resonant circuit consisting of a capacitor and an inductor, equipped. A Decoding means, which is either integrated in the high-frequency surgical appliance, or a separate means is, is with the encoding means of the various instruments electrically connectable. Appropriately, this electrical connection is made by the Connection cable, which in a known manner for connecting a surgical instrument, a High-frequency surgical device is used, said cable in addition with one or two is electric wires equipped. The decoder sets the respective impedance of surgical instrument in question in a defined electrical signal which a Microprocessor is supplied. The microprocessor identifies this electrical signal and automatically configures the high-frequency surgical device according to one in a electronic memory stored program that surgical for the corresponding Instrument was created. If another RF surgical instrument at the connected high-frequency surgical unit, so the high-frequency surgical device is on this Way automatically configured for this surgical instrument.

The high-frequency surgical device can with one or more ports for surgical Instruments to be equipped. Is it with multiple ports for RF surgical instruments equipped, so the decoder can be designed so that they in the unactivated state of the high-frequency surgical device according to another and repeats all ports automatically interrogates whether and if so, which impedance is present at each terminal.

The described and other embodiments of the invention are from the <b>Fig.</b> 1-6 of the accompanying drawings can be seen or characterized explained.

<b>Fig.</b> 5: A surgical system having a plurality of sockets <b>21, 22, 23</b> surgical instruments <b>1, 2</b>, N, which are fitted with encoding means C1, C2, CN, and about the relay contacts <b>11, 12, 13</b> of the relay R11, R12, R13 to a decoder D can be switched. The decoder D provides electrical signals to a Microprocessor CPU. This occurs for example in the following manner. When one of the surgical instruments <b>1, 2, 3</b>Such as instrument <b>1</b>, An activation signal A1 of possible activation signals A1, A2, AN provides or if a different activation signal B, For example, a foot switch (not shown) or an automatic Activation means (not shown), supplies to the CPU is part of the related surgical instrument assigned relay contact, for example, the relay contact <b>11</b> by the relay closed R11, and thereby the encoder C1 of the relevant surgical instrument <b>1</b> connected to the decoder D. The Decoder asks the coding of the instrument and provides a corresponding electrical signal to the CPU. The CPU now configure all relevant units (ESU, RU, SU. , , Y) corresponding to the pre-determined and stored in the memory S, for this Instrument defined target configuration. For example, the active electrode AE ​​of instrument <b>1</b> over relay contact r1 of the relay R1 to the high-frequency surgical device ESU connected and all the control and monitoring equipment of ESU accordingly automatically adjusted or configured. For example, the valve<b>30</b> the flushing device RU and / or valve <b>33</b> the suction SU automatically opened or closed. In addition, other devices Y can be automatically controlled, which signals to the provide respective instrument or receive signals from these, for example, measuring signals of Sensors of the instrument concerned.