Patent ID: 7833206

Claim:
A method for providing an aspirator cassette system including a reusable primary cassette adapted for operation with a disposable secondary cassette, comprising the steps of: modifying an existing surgical cassette to provide a reusable primary cassette, including the steps of: removing an aspirator tube line between a chamber and a first vacuum port on a back portion of a housing of the existing surgical cassette; removing and sealing off a connection port of said chamber formerly used to connect one end of said aspirator tube line to said chamber; cutting a keyhole into an edge portion of said housing immediately proximate the area where said connection port was formerly located; cutting a slotway into a top edge portion of said housing where said first vacuum port of said housing was located; installing a primary aspirator port into said slotway, said primary aspirator port being adapted for selective securement into and removal from the slotway; and installing a primary vacuum port on said chamber on a front portion of said housing; providing a disposable secondary cassette, including the steps of: forming a main housing having an aspirated fluid receiving chamber, a sealed top end, and a sealed bottom end; installing a secondary aspirator port in the top end of said housing; and installing a secondary vacuum port in the top end of said housing; installing a first tubing between said primary vacuum port of said primary cassette, and said secondary vacuum port of said secondary cassette; installing a second tubing between said primary aspirator port of said primary cassette, and said secondary aspirator port of said secondary cassette, with a portion of the second tubing being tautly retained between the keyhole and primary aspirator port in substantially the same position as the previously removed aspirator tube line of the existing surgical cassette; and operating said cassette system by connecting an aspirator tube of an ophthalmic surgical device to said primary aspirator port, and plugging said primary cassette into an associated vitrectomy unit for activating the latter, thereby causing a vacuum to be produced in the chamber of said primary cassette, in turn causing a vacuum to be produced in the receiving chamber of said secondary cassette, for during ophthalmic surgery drawing aspirated fluid from the ophthalmic surgical device through a fluid path formed by said primary aspirator port, second tubing, and secondary aspirator port, for deposit into the receiving chamber of said secondary cassette, leaving said primary cassette uncontaminated by and free of aspirated fluid.