Patent ID: 8968326
Filing Date: 2015-03-03
Classification: A61B,A61F

Abstract:
1. A pneumatic surgical instrument, comprising: a striker; a removable probe mountable on a distal end of the instrument; at least one removable probe cap configured to receive a proximal end of the removable probe therein or therethrough, the probe cap being mountable on the distal end of the surgical instrument; at least one removable O-ring disposed between an inner surface of the probe cap and a distal terminus of the removable probe; a pressure regulator operably connectable to a self-contained gas cartridge mountable on or in the instrument, and a trigger mechanism comprising a trigger, the trigger mechanism being operably connected to the pressure regulator and to the striker; wherein the probe has a distal end configured and shaped to engage or to be secured in or on a probe engagement feature disposed: (a) in or an orthopedic implant; or (b) in or on an orthopedic implant impactor configured to matingly engage the orthopedic implant, wherein the surgical instrument is configured: (a) to deliver at least one shock wave to the probe when the trigger is actuated by a user and a predetermined volume of gas stored at a predetermined range of pressures in the instrument is released thereby to cause the striker to move towards a distal end of the instrument and deliver the shock wave to the proximal end of the probe and thence into the orthopedic implant or into the orthopedic impactor and the orthopedic implant; (b) to drive the orthopedic implant at least partially into a void or hole formed in a patient's bone; (c) such that the shockwave delivered by the probe is substantially repeatable when the trigger is thereafter actuated by the user such that the instrument is configured to cause the orthopedic implant to engage at least portions of the void or hole in the bone; and (d) such that the shockwave provided by the probe has a rise time ranging between about 2 microseconds and about 20 microseconds; and further wherein the at least one O-ring is selectable according to a thickness, mechanical properties, materials, or stiffness of the O-ring, and the at least one probe cap is selectable such that internal dimensions of the at least one probe cap are configured, thereby to provide a given amount of relative displacement between the probe and the instrument body when the instrument is triggered or actuated, and wherein selection of a different one of the at least one O-ring and/or at least one cap provides the probe with a different relative displacement as compared with a selection of another of the at least one cap and/or at least one O-ring.