Abstract:
A handpiece having at least one set of piezoelectric elements. The piezoelectric elements are constructed of segments that produce both longitudinal and torsional motion. An appropriate ultrasound driver drives the set of elements at the respective resonant frequencies to product longitudinal vibration and torsional oscillation.

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/106,223, filed Jun. 29, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,285. 
    
    
     This invention relates to ultrasonic devices and more particularly to an ophthalmic phacoemulsification handpiece. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A typical ultrasonic surgical device suitable for ophthalmic procedures consists of an ultrasonically driven handpiece, an attached hollow cutting tip, an irrigating sleeve and an electronic control console. The handpiece assembly is attached to the control console by an electric cable and flexible tubings. Through the electric cable, the console varies the power level transmitted by the handpiece to the attached cutting tip and the flexible tubings supply irrigation fluid to and draw aspiration fluid from the eye through the handpiece assembly. 
     The operative part of the handpiece is a centrally located, hollow resonating bar or horn directly attached to a set of piezoelectric crystals. The crystals supply the required ultrasonic vibration needed to drive both the horn and the attached cutting tip during phacoemulsification and are controlled by the console. The crystal/horn assembly is suspended within the hollow body or shell of the handpiece at its nodal points by relatively inflexible mountings. The handpiece body terminates in a reduced diameter portion or nosecone at the body&#39;s distal end. The nosecone is externally threaded to accept the irrigation sleeve. Likewise, the horn bore is internally threaded at its distal end to receive the external threads of the cutting tip. The irrigation sleeve also has an internally threaded bore that is screwed onto the external threads of the nosecone. The cutting tip is adjusted so that the tip projects only a predetermined amount past the open end of the irrigating sleeve. Ultrasonic handpieces and cutting tips are more fully described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,589,363; 4,223,676; 4,246,902; 4,493,694; 4,515,583; 4,589,415; 4,609,368; 4,869,715; and 4,922,902, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     When used to perform phacoemulsification, the ends of the cutting tip and irrigating sleeve are inserted into a small incision of predetermined width in the cornea, scera, or other location in the eye tissue in order to gain access to the anterior chamber of the eye. The cutting tip is ultrasonically vibrated along its longitudinal axis within the irrigating sleeve by the crystal-driven ultrasonic horn, thereby emulsifying upon contact the selected tissue in situ. The hollow bore of the cutting tip communicates with the bore in the horn that in turn communicates with the aspiration line from the handpiece to the console. A reduced pressure or vacuum source in the console draws or aspirates the emulsified tissue from the eye through the open end of the cutting tip, the bore of the cutting tip, the horn bore, and the aspiration line and into a collection device. The aspiration of emulsified tissue is aided by a saline flushing solution or irrigant that is injected into the surgical site through the small annular gap between the inside surface of the irrigating sleeve and the outside surface of the cutting tip. 
     There have been prior attempts to combine ultrasonic longitudinal motion of the cutting tip with rotational or oscillating motion of the tip, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,222,959 (Anis), U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,945 (Anis, et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,264 (Kelman), the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. These prior attempts have used electric motors to provide the rotation of the tip which require O-ring or other seals that can fail in addition to the added complexity and possible failure of the motors. 
     Accordingly, a need continues to exist for a reliable ultrasonic handpiece that will vibrate both longitudinally and torsionally. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention improves upon prior art ultrasonic devices by providing a handpiece having at least one set of piezoelectric elements. The piezoelectric elements are constructed of segments that produce both longitudinal and torsional motion. An appropriate ultrasound driver drives the set of elements at the respective resonant frequencies to produce longitudinal vibration and torsional oscillation. 
     It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasound handpiece having both longitudinal and torsional motion. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide an ultrasound handpiece having a pair of piezoelectric elements polarized to produce longitudinal motion and a pair of piezoelectric elements polarized to produce torsional motion. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent with reference to the drawings, and the following description of the drawings and claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an ultrasound handpiece of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 a block diagram of a first driving circuit that may be used with the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second driving circuit that may be used with the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a phacoemulsification tip that may be used with the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the phacoemulsification tip illustrated in FIG. 4 taken at line  5 — 5  in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an ultrasonic piezoelectric crystal that may be used with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As best seen in FIG. 1, one embodiment of handpiece  10  suitable for use with the present invention generally has cutting tip  12 , handpiece shell  14 , ultrasound horn  16 , torsional ultrasound crystals  18  and longitudinal ultrasound crystals  20 . Horn  16  is held within shell  14  by isolator  17 . Crystals  18  and  20  are held within shell  14  and in contact with horn  16  by back cylinder  22  and bolt  24 . Crystals  18  and  20  vibrate ultrasonically in response to a signal generated by ultrasound generator  26 . Crystals  18  are polarized to produce torsional motion. Crystals  20  are polarized to produce longitudinal motion. 
     Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 6, crystal  23  may be used to produce both longitudinal and torsional motion. Crystal  23  is generally ring shaped, resembling a hollow cylinder, and is constructed from a plurality of crystal segments  25 . Upper portions  27  of segments  25  may be polarized to produce clockwise motion while lower portions  29  of segments  25  may be polarized to produce counterclockwise motion or vice versa. When segments  25  are assembled into crystal  23 , the polarization of segments  25  cause crystal  23  to twist when excited. In addition, the twisting motion of crystal  23  will produce longitudinal motion, but such longitudinal motion will resonate at a different resonant frequency than the torsional motion. For example, torsional movement in crystal  23  can occur at approximately between 18 kilohertz (Khz) and 25 Khz while longitudinal motion in crystal  23  can occur at approximately between 33 Khz and 43 Khz, with approximately 21 Khz and approximately 38 Khz, respectively, being preferred. This difference is because the forces on crystal  23  resisting such vibrations are different in the torsional direction than in the longitudinal direction. One skilled in the art will recognize that different frequencies may be used depending upon the construction of crystal  23 . By subjecting crystal  23  to two drive signals, one at the torsional resonant frequency and one at the longitudinal resonant frequency, both torsional and longitudinal motion can be produced in crystal  23 . Handpiece  10  may can any suitable number of pairs of crystals  23 , for example a single pair or two pairs. 
     As seen in FIG. 2, ultrasound generator  26  employs a broad-spectrum source to generate at least a component of the signal that drives an ultrasonic handpiece (“the drive signal”). The broad-spectrum source may be programmable and thus easily adjustable by varying certain input information fed to the source. However, a fixed-spectrum source may also be used without difficulty. A fast fourier transform (“FFT”) digital signal processor (“DSP”) may be used to analyze the response of handpiece  10  to the broad-spectrum component of the drive signal. In real-time applications, the output of the FFT DSP is used to generate control parameters embodied within an appropriate feedback signal, which is fed to the circuitry generating the drive signal in order to alter aspects of the drive signal. As seen in FIG. 3, ultrasound generator  26  may also use a conventional signal processor to analyze the response of handpiece  10  to the drive signal. The term “drive signal” as used here encompasses at least a signal useful solely for powering an ultrasonic handpiece, a signal useful solely for tuning or calibrating a handpiece, and a combination of such a power signal and such a tuning or calibration signal. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, broad spectrum signal source  28  generates drive signal  4  which is combined with drive signals  5  and  6  from torsional single frequency source  30  and longitudinal single frequency source  32 , respectively, in amplifier  34 . Amplifier  34  delivers drive signal  36  to handpiece  10  and to FFT DSP  38 . FFT DSP  38  also receives feedback signal  40  from handpiece  10 . FFT DSP  38  processes drive signal  36  and feedback signal  40  in the manner more fully disclosed in commonly owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/769,257 (corresponding to PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US97/15952), the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference, to determine the operating characteristics of handpiece  10 . FFT DSP  38  determines the electrical response of handpiece  10  on broad spectrum signal  4  and provides signal  42  to DSP  39  which generates adjusting signals  60  and  61  to adjust the frequencies and/or output voltage of sources  32  and  30 , respectively so as to adjust drive signals  5  and  6 . 
     As shown in FIG. 3, two conventional drive signal sources, such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,664, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference, or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/769,257 (corresponding to PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US97/15952), may be used. For example, source  44  may generate drive signal  45  for torsional crystals  18  and source  46  may generate driving signal  47  for longitudinal crystals  20 . Drive signals  45  and  47  are combined in amplifier  134  and drive signal  136  delivered to handpiece  110 . Handpiece feedback signal  140  is filtered through separator  48  to provide adjusting signals  50  and  52  to sources  44  and  46 . Separator  48  may be any number of commercially available analog or digital devices such low pass or high pass filters or heterodyne receiver. 
     The torsional motion of horn  16  may cause cutting tip  12  to loosen. In order to reduce the chances of cutting tip  12  becoming loose, tip  12  may be asymmetrically shaped, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. This asymmetric shape can be accomplished by cutting spiral thread  13  in tip  12  to increase the hydrodynamic forces on tip  12  in the manner more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,649, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference. 
     While certain embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these descriptions are given for purposes of illustration and explanation. Variations, changes, modifications and departures from the systems and methods disclosed above may be adopted without departure from the scope or spirit of the present invention.