Cautery Tip Cleaner and Holder

A better understanding of the invention and its advantages will be apparent from the detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective top external view of a cautery tip cleaner of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a cautery tip cleaner of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of a cautery tip cleaner of the present invention taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2; and,

FIG. 4 is a perspective top external view of a cautery tip cleaner and holder of the present invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a cautery tip cleaner of the present invention. The cautery tip cleaner comprises a base 10 on which is mounted a pad 11 having a compressible portion 12 and a fibrous, abrasive portion 14.

Base 10 is preferably constructed from a hard, generally noncompressible material such as hard plastic or metal. Base 10 is most preferably resistant to penetration by cautery needles. Base 10 can also be adapted for mounting the cautery tip cleaner to a surface within easy reach of a surgeon or other user, such as a surgical drape, by providing an adhesive strip or patch 18 on the bottom of the base 10 for attaching the cautery tip cleaner to the surface. In addition, or in lieu of the adhesive 18, holes 16, 16' may be provided in the base for pinning the cautery tip cleaner to the surgical drape.

Abrasive portion 14 is constructed from a fibrous abrasive material such as 3M's SCOTCHBRITE.RTM. cleaning and polishing material. Abrasive portion 14 is provided with one or more elongated cuts 20, 20' which penetrate the surface of the abrasive portion to a depth sufficient to permit the cleaning of the tip of the cautery blade without exceeding the thickness of the abrasive portion. Thus, the fibrous abrasive portion should be sufficiently thick to provide in each elongated cut 20, 20' opposing abrasive surfaces 22, 22' for cleaning the sides of a cautery blade and an abrasive floor 24 for cleaning the edge of a cautery blade. Optionally, a portion of the top surface of abrasive portion 14 can include coarse sandpaper 15 for removing the most resistant coagulum from the cautery tip.

Compressible portion 12 is preferably constructed from sponge, or other similar elastically compressible material. In this embodiment pad 11 is formed by attaching a pad of fibrous abrasive material of the desired thickness on top of a similarly sized pad of sponge. Attachment can be made using any suitable adhesive Alternatively, compressible portion 12 may consist of an additional thickness of fibrous abrasive material underlying abrasive portion 14. Such a pad can be constructed from a single thickness or piece of fibrous, abrasive material divided into an upper portion or zone for cleaning and a lower portion or zone for providing compression if the fibrous, abrasive material is sufficiently elastically compressible so that the downward pressure of the cautery blade on the floor 24 of an elongated cut 20 in the upper portion will compress the underlying fibrous material in the lower portion against the hard base 10, deforming the floor 24 and drawing the opposing abrasive surfaces 22, 22' down and against each side of the cautery blade. Further, by making the pad from one piece of fibrous, abrasive material the production costs involved in assembling the cautery tip cleaner should be reduced.

Pad 11 is preferably from about 1.25 to about 1.5 inches thick. The length and width (or diameter) of the pad 11 will vary depending upon the use. This size makes it easy for the user to olean cautery tips quickly with minimal distraction from the operating field. Although the general shape of the pad 11 is shown as being round, one skilled in the art will recognize that many different shapes can be used including oval, rectangular, pyramidal, and polygonal.

As shown additionally in FIG. 3, to clean a cautery blade, the blade is pressed down into an elongated cut 20 and drawn through the cut 20 towards the other end of the elongated cut 20. As the flat edge of the blade is pressed against floor 24, the underlying material compresses against the hard base 10 and the floor 24 deforms, drawing the opposing abrasive surfaces 22, 22' down and together against the sides of the blade. The dual motion of downward compression and lateral movement through the elongated cut 20 efficiently and quickly removes coagulum and debris from a cautery blade and can be easily accomplished using only one hand.

To clean a cautery needle, the user simply plunges the needle through the abrasive portion 14 and then retracts it. Because the abrasive portion 14 is a fibrous abrasive which surrounds and scours off all sides of the needle as the needle penetrates the abrasive portion 14, no rotation of the needle is required; therefore the surgeon need not rotate or twist his wrist during the cleaning process. In the preferred embodiment, where compressible portion 12 is constructed from sponge, the scouring action of the abrasive portion 14 is supplemented by the wiping action of the compressible portion 12. Because the compressible portion 12 is mounted on a hard base 10, there is no danger of a needle accidentally penetrating the compressible portion 12 and puncturing the patient.

FIG. 4 shows a cautery tip cleaner and holder of the present invention in which pad 11 is comprised of fibrous, abrasive material mounted on hard base 10. In this embodiment, pad 11 is preferably at least about 1.5 inches thick and of a large enough size to hold a plurality of sharp cautery tips or other surgical instruments 28, 30 point down and base up when they are plunged into the fibrous abrasive pad 11. For example, a pad 11 of ten or twelve inches in diameter would be sufficient to hold many cautery tips or other sharp instruments point down. The act of plunging these instruments into the pad for holding, and the later withdrawal of the instruments, also serves to clean them. Pad 11 may optionally contain a shallow, bowl-like depression 26 to provide a safe place for holding cautery tips or other surgical instruments 30' which cannot be plunged into pad 11 before or after use.

In this embodiment, as well as in the other embodiments disclosed above, accidental needle sticks or cuts from other sharp instruments can be drastically reduced or eliminated altogether by providing a safe zone for cleaning and holding sharp instruments point down. With the appearance of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and the possibility of transmitting other blood-borne diseases, the prevention of accidental sticks or cuts has become of increasing concern to medical personnel. The instant invention is designed to help alleviate that concern by providing a device having a puncture resistant base for cleaning and holding the sharp instruments in the safest configuration, with the point down.

One skilled in the art will recognize at once that it would be possible to construct the various components of the present invention from a variety of materials which are sterilizable. The present invention can be constructed so that it is either reusable or disposable after a first use. While the preferred embodiment and alternative variations have been described in detail and shown in the accompanying drawings, it will be evident that other and various further modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention as embodied in the claims.