Abstract:
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an apparatus and method for reducing surgical smoke. An exemplary apparatus includes trocar comprising a tubular hollow body circumscribing a cavity extending through a longitudinal axis of the trocar with a gasket at a first end and an exit port at a second end, the tubular hollow body comprising a first wall circumscribing the cavity and a concentrically spaced apart second wall. The apparatus further includes a first plate operable to maintain an electric charged disposed within the cavity on the first wall, and a second plate operable to maintain an electric charge disposed between the first wall and the spaced apart second wall.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
       [0001]    The present invention relates generally to smoke evacuation, and, more specifically, to a smoke collecting trocar for smoke evacuation during medical procedures. 
       Description of Related Art 
       [0002]    Surgical smoke and aerosol, or plume, is created in connection with surgery. For example, when laser or electrosurgical energy is delivered to a cell, heat is created. This heat vaporizes the intracellular fluid, which increases the pressure inside the cell and eventually causes the cell membrane to burst. In this example, a plume of smoke containing water vapor is released into the atmosphere of the operating room or doctor&#39;s office. At the same time, the heat created may char the protein and other organic matter within the cell, and may cause thermal necrosis in adjacent cells. The charring of cells may also release other harmful contaminants, such as carbonized cell fragments and gaseous hydrocarbons. 
         [0003]    Electrostatic smoke precipitators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 895,729 issued to Cottrell; U.S. Pat. No. 2,397,197 issued to Newman; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,540 issued to Lidums, which are all hereby incorporated by reference. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide a method and apparatus for reducing surgical smoke and for removing gas. 
         [0005]    A first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for reducing surgical smoke. The apparatus includes trocar comprising a tubular hollow body circumscribing a cavity extending through a longitudinal axis of the trocar with a gasket at a first end and an exit port at a second end, the tubular hollow body comprising a first wall circumscribing the cavity and a concentrically spaced apart second wall. The apparatus further includes a first plate operable to maintain an electric charged disposed within the cavity on the first wall, and a second plate operable to maintain an electric charge disposed between the first wall and the spaced apart second wall. 
         [0006]    A second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for reducing surgical smoke. The apparatus includes a trocar comprising a tubular hollow body circumscribing a cavity extending through a longitudinal axis of the trocar with a gasket at a first end and an exit port at a second end, the tubular hollow body maintaining a first plate operable to maintain an electric charged and a second plate operable to maintain an opposite electric charge. The apparatus further comprises an insufflator operable to provide gas to the cavity, a charging controller operable to provide an electric charge to the first plate and the second plate, and a flow meter in fluid connection between the insufflator and the trocar, the flow meter operable to measure a flow of gas from the insufflator to the cavity. 
         [0007]    A third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of removing gas. The method includes providing a trocar comprising a tubular hollow body circumscribing a cavity extending through a longitudinal axis of the trocar with a gasket at a first end and an exit port at a second end, the tubular hollow body maintaining a first plate operable to maintain an electric charged and a second plate operable to maintain an opposite electric charge, an insufflator operable to provide gas to the cavity, a charging controller operable to provide an electric charge to the first plate and the second plate, and a flow meter in fluid connection between the insufflator and the trocar, the flow meter operable to measure a flow of gas from the insufflator to the cavity. The method further includes inserting the trocar into a surgical cavity, and electrically charging the first plate and the second plate by the charging controller to ionize particles within the surgical cavity and attract the particles toward one of the first plate and the second plate. 
         [0008]    The following will describe embodiments of the present disclosure, but it should be appreciated that the present disclosure is not limited to the described embodiments and various modifications of the invention are possible without departing from the basic principles. The scope of the present disclosure is therefore to be determined solely by the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional perspective view of a first embodiment of the smoke collecting trocar of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a system including the smoke collecting trocar of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an alternative embodiment of the system shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is an alternative embodiment of a smoke collecting trocar system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    At the outset, it should be clearly understood that like reference numerals are intended to identify the same structural elements, portions or surfaces consistently throughout the several drawing figures, as such elements, portions or surfaces may be further described or explained by the entire written specification, of which this detailed description is an integral part. Unless otherwise indicated, the drawings are intended to be read (e.g., cross-hatching, arrangement of parts, proportion, debris, etc.) together with the specification, and are to be considered a portion of the entire written description of this invention. As used in the following description, the terms “horizontal”, “vertical”, “left”, “right”, “up” and “down”, as well as adjectival and adverbial derivatives thereof, (e.g., “horizontally”, “rightwardly”, “upwardly”, etc.), simply refer to the orientation of the illustrated structure as the particular drawing figure faces the reader. Similarly, the terms “inwardly” and “outwardly” generally refer to the orientation of a surface relative to its axis of elongation, or of rotation, as appropriate. 
         [0014]    Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to  FIG. 1  thereof, a trocar  20  has a body  21  with an inlet  23  for receiving air from an insufflator  26  ( FIGS. 2-3 ). The air passes through a central passageway  29  disposed in the trocar  20 . The trocar  20  has a tool entry port  32  with a one way gasket  35  disposed therein. The trocar  20  has a tool exit port  38  at a distal end  41 . In use, the trocar  20  is inserted through an incision in a patient to provide a pathway to a cavity  44  inside the body  45  of a patient. The insufflation air and the tool pass through the central passageway to a surgical area inside a cavity  44  of the patient. The insufflation air keeps the cavity  44  pressurized to enlarge the surgical area for a surgical or diagnostic procedure conducted through an entry site established by the trocar  20 . Surgical and/or diagnostic tools may be introduced into the cavity  44  through the trocar  20 . A scope inserted through the trocar  20  may provide imaging of the area inside the cavity  44 . An electrosurgical device may be inserted through the trocar  20  to enable the user to perform a surgical procedure inside the cavity  44 . The removal of surgical smoke from the cavity  44  may be desired in the case of electrocautery or electrosurgical procedures that produce surgical smoke. 
         [0015]    The air from the insufflator  26  passes through the central passageway  29  in the trocar  20  where it is conveyed through an area that may be surrounded by an ionizer/negative charge plate  4   7 . The incoming air is thereby provided with a negative charge when it enters the cavity  44  to provide an insufflation fluid. When smoke particles are generated by the procedure taking place inside the cavity  44 , the negatively charged air in the cavity  44  causes the smoke particles to become negatively charged according to the principles of electrostatic smoke precipitation. 
         [0016]    A concentric channel  50  is formed in the trocar  20  and is defined by a wall  53  surrounding the central passageway and an outer wall  56  having a plurality of perforations  59  defined therein. A positively charged collection plate  62  is disposed in the concentric channel  50 . The gap between the ionizer/negative charge plate  47  and the collector  62  is tightly controlled to eliminate the possibility of an electrostatic discharge. The arrangement of the plates  4   7  and  62  and the charging of the insufflation air provides an electrostatic smoke precipitator as described below. 
         [0017]    During operation, negatively charged smoke particles inside the cavity  44  are drawn from the cavity  44  through the perforations  59  onto the positive collection plate  62  which acts as a smoke collector inside the trocar  20 . The smoke particles are removed from the patient and may be disposed of at the end of the procedure through disposal of the trocar  20 . Also, the collector plate  62  may be self-cleaning in several ways. The trocar  20  may be capped underneath the collection plate  62  to provide a “particle cup” to receive smoke particles. The charge may be removed from the collector plate  62  and then the plate  62  may be vibrated to remove the particles. Also, the charge may be removed from the collector plate  62  and then a vacuum applied to the area where the plate  62  is located. 
         [0018]    This passive smoke removal reduces the need for additional insufflation gas. The benefits include reduced procedural cost, reduced patient temperature loss, and reduced patient tissue dehydration. 
         [0019]    The concentric channel  50  is disposed in fluid communication with an air exhaust port  65 . If additional smoke evacuation is needed, the air exhaust port  65  may be connected to a vacuum source (not shown). 
         [0020]    The two plates  4   7  and  62  may be used to electrically detect the amount of particles on the collector plate  62 . This principle would be similar to how a capacitor operates. 
         [0021]    Turning to  FIG. 2 , the entire system  100  is shown with a flow meter  110 , the insufflator  26 , and a charged trocar controller  115 . The flow meter  110  may be disposed between the insufflator  26  and the trocar  20  to measure the flow from the insufflator  26  to the cavity of the patient. The air from the insufflator  26  is conveyed through a conduit  113 . 
         [0022]    The charged trocar controller  115  may be electrically connected to the trocar  20  by means of a conduit  120 . The electrical lines are connected to the plates  47  and  62  by metal strips  125 ,  130  extending inside the trocar  20 . 
         [0023]    In an alternate embodiment shown in  FIG. 3 , the electrical connection between the charged trocar controller  110  and the plates  4   7  and  62  in the electrostatic precipitator of the present invention is electrically connected to the flow meter  110  such that the ionizer/negative charge plate  4   7  is only charged when the insufflation gas is entering the patient as detected by the flow meter  110 . 
         [0024]    Turning to  FIG. 4 , in yet another embodiment of the invention, a system  200  may include two trocars  205  and  210 . The first trocar  205  may include an ionizer/negative charge plate  215 , and the second trocar  210  may include a positive charge collector plate  220 . The first trocar  205  has an inlet port  225  for receiving insufflation gas which is conveyed across the ionizer/negative charge plate  215  to provide a negatively charged air stream entering the cavity. 
         [0025]    The second trocar  210  has a outer surface  230  with a plurality of openings  235  for receiving negatively charged smoke particles from inside the cavity. The negatively charged smoke particles are attracted to the positive charge collector plate  220 . The smoke particles leave the cavity and enter the second trocar  210  through openings  235  where the smoke particles become attached to the collector plate  220 . The second trocar  210  may be provided with an exhaust airflow outlet  240  that may be connected to a vacuum source to provide for removal of some of the smoke by suction. 
         [0026]    While the invention has been described in connection with a negative charge plate and a positive collection plate, it will be evident to persons of ordinary skill in the art based on this disclosure that the polarity of the plates may be reversed. Accordingly, the collection plate may be provided with a negative charge, and the charge plate may be provided with a positive charge. The components may be described as an electrically charged collection plate and an electrically charged plate having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the electrically charged collection plate. 
         [0027]    The present invention contemplates that many changes and modifications may be made. Therefore, while the presently-preferred form of the smoke collecting trocar has been shown and described, and several modifications and alternatives discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that various additional changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.