Patent Publication Number: US-2011077645-A1

Title: Electrosurgical Pencil with Synchronous Evacuation Function

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an electrosurgical pencil, and more particularly to an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     During surgery, surgeons may use an electrotome to cut the tissue, including muscle tissue, lymphatic tissue, and blood vessels, etc. Sometimes massive bleeding could happen during surgery and it might result in difficulty in performing the operation because the blood may make the operation field obscure. The electrosurgical pencil can be adapted to coagulate bleeding according to the principles of high frequency current. Therefore, electrosurgical pencil is provided in the surgery for cutting tissue and stopping bleeding (coagulation). 
     Surgical smoke and aerosol are typically produced during procedures utilizing electrosurgical pencil. The smoke and aerosol can occlude the vision of the surgeon and the rest of team. The electrosurgical smoke is potentially hazardous if inhaled by the operation personnel. If the smoke is not evacuated in time, it may be inhaled. Thus, when the surgeon utilizes the electrosurgical pencil to cut tissue or stop bleeding during surgery, the surgeon needs another assistant or nurse to hold a suction device, including a metal tip and a tube, to evacuate the smoke, remove the blood clots, and stop bleeding. Furthermore, the surgeon and his assistant (or scrubing nurse) have to cooperate for a long period of time to become familiar before they can cooperate and perform well. Therefore, the conventional electrosurgical pencil results in a difficult operation and surgical labor waste. 
     Moreover, the smoke may occlude the vision, lengthen the procedure, and hamper the performance of the electrosurgical pencil. The smoke could be harmful to the whole team of operation, including surgeon and the rest of team, if inhaled. Conventional metallic suction tip is connected to a soft tube that is connected to a suction instrument equipped with a motor. The suction instrument typically is mounted in the operating room for evacuating smoke and blood. Thus, the need for improvement still exists. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the present invention is to provide an improved electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function includes a pencil body defined with a first containing space and a second containing space therethrough. The first containing space is adapted to contain an electropencil. The second containing space is adapted to be an evacuation passage. A first front end of the electropencil is mounted with a replaceable electrode include blade, extended blade, needle, extended needle, and ball configurations. A first rear end of the electropencil is adapted to connect to an electric wire connected to a current generator. A second front end of the second containing space is integrally formed a tubular body having an opening. The opening closes to an end portion of the electrode. A second rear end of the second containing space is mounted with a connector. The connector is connected to a suction instrument with a negative pressure via a soft tube; wherein when the electrode is used to cut tissue, the opening of the evacuating passage draws smoke and blood at the same time. 
     By utilizing the invention, the following advantages are obtained. First, the present invention provides an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function, the surgeon doesn&#39;t need another assistant or nurse to hold a suction tube to evacuate the smoke. Thus, the present invention can effectively prevent surgical labor from wasting. Second, the opening of suction tubular body is mounted close to the electrode of electrosurgical pencil. Therefore, surgical smoke can be evacuated quickly to keeping the surgical team healthy because the surgical smoke may contain toxic components. 
     Third, the surgical smoke that is created during surgical may occlude the vision to lengthen the procedure and hamper the performance of the electrosurgical pencil. Therefore, combined suction tube and electrosurgical pencil apparatus proposed in the present invention can effectively solve the problem of being lack of visibility and to improve the efficiency of the surgery. 
     Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of the first embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3   a  is a partial perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of the first embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3   b  is a partial perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of a second embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4   a  is a partial perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of a third embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4   b  is a partial perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of a fourth embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 5   a  is a partial perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of a fifth embodiment in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 5   b  is a partial perspective view of an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function of a sixth embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view to show various kinds of hard connectors in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-5   b , an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function includes a pencil body  10  defined with a first containing space  11  and a second containing space  12  therethrough. The first containing space  11  is adapted to contain an electropencil  20 . The second containing space  12  is adapted to be an evacuation passage. A first front end of the electropencil  20  is mounted with a replaceable electrode  30 . A first rear end of the electropencil  20  is adapted to connect to an electric wire  21  connected to a current generator. A second front end of the second containing space  12  is integrally formed a tubular body  121  having an opening  1211 . The opening  1211  is close to an end portion of the electrode  30 . A second rear end of the second containing space  12  is mounted with a connector  122 . The connector  122  is connected to a suction instrument with a negative pressure via a soft tube  40 . When the end portion of the electrode  30  is operated, the opening  1211  of the evacuating passage draws smoke and blood at the same time. Thus, the surgeon does not need another assistant or nurse to hold a suction tube to evacuate the smoke and stop bleeding (coagulation). Moreover, the present invention can effectively prevent surgical labor from wasting and surgical smoke can be evacuated quickly for keeping the surgical team healthy. 
     The first containing space  11  and the second containing space  12  do not communicate with each other. 
     During surgery, a patient has to be stuck with an electrode sticker on his foot. The electrode sticker is electrically connected to an instrument for producing current. Thus, combined electropencil and electrode sticker apparatus can be adapted to cut and stop bleeding. 
     Preferably, the electrode  30  is directly connected to the electropencil  20  in the first containing space  11  (as shown in  FIG. 3   a ). 
     Preferably, a third front end of the first containing space  11  is integrally formed with a connecting tube  111 ; the electrode  30  is connected to the electropencil  20 ; and the electrode  30  is covered and mounted in the connecting tube  111  (as shown in  FIG. 3   b ). 
     Preferably, a third rear end of the first containing space  11  is provided with a hole  112  formed at a side of the pencil body  10 ; the hole  112  is provided for the electric wire  21  extending from; and the connector  122  is connected to the soft tube  40  (as shown in  FIG. 4   a ). 
     Preferably, a third rear end of the first containing space  11  is provided with a hole  123  for the electric wire  21  extending from and the connector  122  is connected to the soft tube  40  (as shown in  FIG. 4   b ). 
     Preferably, the second rear end of the second containing space  12  is mounted with a hard connector  50  connected to a soft tube  40  and the harder connector  50  is directly connected to the soft tube  40  (as shown in  FIG. 5   a ). 
     Preferably, the second rear end of the second containing space  12  is mounted with a soft connector  51  connected to a soft tube  60  and the soft tube  60  has a taper and protruding portion  61  for preventing the soft tube  60  from coming off (as shown in  FIG. 5   b ). 
     Preferably, the opening  1211  of the tubular body  121  includes an inclined plane or a plane. Various kinds of hard connectors  50  can be used in accordance with the present invention (as shown in  FIG. 6 ). 
     By utilizing the invention, the following advantages are obtained. First, the present invention provides an electrosurgical pencil with synchronous evacuation function and the surgeon does not need another assistant or nurse to hold a suction tube to evacuate the smoke. Thus, the present invention can effectively prevent surgical labor from wasting. Second, the opening of suction tubular body is mounted close to the electrode. Therefore, surgical smoke can be evacuated quickly for keeping the surgical team healthy because the surgical smoke may contain harmful toxic components. Third, smoke generated during surgical may block vision to adversely increase procedure time and decrease the performance of the electrosurgical pencil. Therefore, the combined suction tube and electrosurgical pencil apparatus proposed in the present invention can effectively solve the problem of poor visibility and increase the efficiency of the surgery. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.