Self Orienting Instrument Handle

This invention relates in general to medical instruments and more particularly to hand held medical instruments that may be oriented to a desired position without the necessity for visually observing the instrument.

Medical instruments such as micro forceps and micro needle holders that are used to carry out delicate surgical procedures must be both precisely controllable and flexible in use. Heretofore, in order to allow the user to orient an instrument in any desired position, it has been the practice to provide the instrument with a substantially cylindrical handle that can be readily rotated in the hand to orient the tip of the instrument in the desired position. Such an instrument is very flexible to control in use and permits the user to manipulate needles or tissue easily by rotating the instrument with the fingers. However, the very structure that permits the desirable flexibility does not allow the user to determine how the instrument is oriented without looking at it. Once the tips are closed, the instrument feels the same in all positions. If the instrument is placed in the hand at other than the desired position, the user will not be aware of it until he observes it. At best this wastes time. At worst, the tip of the instrument may be obscurred during use and direct observation is then not possible.

In order to provide an instrument that can be oriented precisely without the need for direct visible observation, a flat handle is used. The flat handle allows the user to readily orient the tip of the instrument by feel alone. The most important disadvantage of the flat handle for instruments is that in order to rotate the tip of the instrument to either pick up a needle or to manipulate tissue, the user must rotate his hand if the tip is to be rotated more than a few degrees. Rotating the hand is awkward at best and may be impossible in tight situations as are often encountered during surgery.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved hand held medical instrument having an instrument tip having a preferred orientation, and rotatable to at least one other orientation the tip being attached to an instrument handle adapted to be held in the hand of the user, the handle having at least one substantially round body portion for facilitating rotation of said instrument, and an at least generally flat reference surface on said body portion, the reference surface engagable by the hand of the user for orienting said instrument in said preferred orientation.

While the novel aspects of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims, the invention itself together with further objects and advantages thereof may be more readily appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of micro vascular forceps in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a needle holder in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a pair of forceps having a handle in accordance with this invention is illustrated in a perspective view. FIG. 2 shows a section taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1. Forceps of the type illustrated, and particularly micro forceps having extremely fine tips, are used in a wide variety of surgical operations, such as the atraumatic handling of the internal mammary artery and other delicate tissues. The forceps may be made from any suitable sterilizable material, such as stainless steel, or, where weight is important, titanium alloy. The forceps indicated generally at 10 include first and second relatively movable legs 12 and 14 respectively that are fastened together by welding or the like at one end 16. The legs include a handle portion 18 adapted to be gripped by the user and a tip 20 that preferably tapers from the handle to an end that may be pointed, have a ring or platform formed thereat, or have teeth, as is required for the particular surgical procedure in which the forceps are to be employed.

As may be seen by referring now to FIG. 2, each of the legs 12 and 14 of the forceps 10 is rounded, and preferably semi-circular in cross-section and includes a reference portion, preferably a substantially flat reference portion for allowing the user to precisely orient the forceps in hand, without the necessity for direct visual observation. Preferably, the flat reference surface 22 covers at least one third the length of the rounded portion of each leg, and has a depth, measured from the outer surface of each leg, equal to approximately one fourth the radius of the leg as measured from the inner surface thereof. It will be understood that while the foregoing dimensions are presently deemed to be preferred, a wide latitude in the extent and depth of the reference surface will nevertheless provide the advantages of this invention.

Preferably, the outer surface of the handle portion 18 of the forceps 10 is provided with a non-slip surface, such as a scored surface. The reference surface is preferably smooth to tactily distinguish it from the remainder of the handle, but may also be scored with the same or a different pattern to minimize the chance of slippage.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a micro needle holder in accordance with this invention. The needle holder indicated generally at 30 has first and second pivotally attached portions 32 and 34, having opposable jaws 36 and 38 respectively, and reciprocally movable handles 40 and 42. Preferably, resilient members 44 and 46 extend from the ends of handles 40 and 42, to a point of engagement 48. The resilient portions adjustably maintain the needle holder with the jaws in an open configuration. The jaws may be closed by appropriate pressure on the handle portions. The handle portions themselves are configured substantially similarly to the handles of the forceps of FIG. 1. Each handle portion has a semi-circular cross-section and a reference surface 50 and 52 respectively, for allowing the user to precisely orient the needle holder and the needle held therein, without the need for direct visual observation while maintaining the ability to slightly rotate the needle holder to reposition the needle for fine suturing or the like. Preferably, the surface of the handles is provided with a non-slip surface, such as by scoring, which surface or a surface having a distinguishable tactile feel may also be applied to the reference surfaces 50 and 52.

While the invention has been decribed as it might be applied to forceps and needle holders, it has substantially wider application to any medical or other instrument that must be accurately held and oriented without direct visual observation.

Those skilled in the art will no doubt recognize that many modifications and changes may be made to the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein, without departing from the true spirit and scope thereof, which accordingly are intended to be limited solely by the appended claims.