Articulating ultrasonic surgical instruments and systems
An ultrasonic surgical instrument includes a housing, an elongated shaft extending distally from the housing, an end effector extending distally from the elongated shaft, and a transducer assembly disposed at least partially within the elongated shaft. The end effector includes a jaw and an ultrasonic blade. The jaw is configured to pivot relative to the ultrasonic blade from an open position to a clamping position for clamping tissue therebetween. The transducer assembly is distally-spaced from the housing and includes proximal and distal transducers interconnected by a connector. The ultrasonic blade is connected to the distal transducer such that ultrasonic energy produced by the proximal transducer is transmitted along the connector and the distal transducer to the ultrasonic blade and such that ultrasonic energy produced by the distal transducer is transmitted to the ultrasonic blade.
1 . An ultrasonic surgical instrument, comprising:
a housing;
an elongated shaft extending distally from the housing, wherein the elongated shaft includes an articulating portion;
an end effector extending distally from the elongated shaft, the end effector including a jaw and an ultrasonic blade, wherein the jaw is configured to pivot relative to the ultrasonic blade from an open position to a clamping position for clamping tissue therebetween; and
a transducer assembly disposed at least partially within the elongated shaft, the transducer assembly distally-spaced from the housing and including proximal and distal transducers interconnected by a connector, wherein the connector extends through the articulating portion such that the proximal transducer is disposed proximally of the articulating portion and the distal transducer is disposed distally of the articulating portion,
wherein the ultrasonic blade is connected to the distal transducer such that ultrasonic energy produced by the proximal transducer is transmitted along the connector and the distal transducer to the ultrasonic blade and such that ultrasonic energy produced by the distal transducer is transmitted to the ultrasonic blade.
2 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the connector is a flexible connector configured to articulate in at least one direction.
3 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 2 , wherein the flexible connector is formed as a band of material.
4 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the elongated shaft defines an outer diameter of less than about 15 mm.
5 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the elongated shaft defines an outer diameter of less than about 8 mm.
6 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the elongated shaft defines an outer diameter of between about 5 mm and about 8 mm.
7 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein each of the proximal and distal transducers defines an outer diameter of less than about 15 mm.
8 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein each of the proximal and distal transducers defines an outer diameter of less than about 8 mm.
9 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein each of the proximal and distal transducers defines an outer diameter of between about 5 mm and about 8 mm.
10 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein each of the proximal and distal transducers includes:
a proximal mass;
a distal mass;
a stack of piezoelectric elements held under pre-compression between the proximal and distal masses; and
first and second electrodes electrically coupled to the stack of piezoelectric elements.
11 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic blade defines a cylindrical configuration.
12 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 11 , wherein the jaw is configured to rotate about the ultrasonic blade such that the jaw is capable of clamping tissue between the jaw and blade at any rotational orientation of the jaw relative to the blade.
13 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the proximal transducer and the distal transducer are disposed around vibration node points.
14 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is adapted to connect to a robotic arm of a robotic surgical system.
15 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the housing includes at least one manual control.
16 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , wherein the proximal and distal transducers are driven by independent electrical drive signals.
17 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 16 , wherein, in a first mode of operation, both of the proximal and distal transducers are activated and wherein, in a second mode of operation, only one of the proximal or distal transducers is activated.
18 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to claim 1 , further comprising an ultrasonic horn connecting the distal transducer with the ultrasonic blade.