Ultrasonic wound treatment apparatus and associated method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9872697-B2
Application number	US-201514797660-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2015
Priority date	Jul 13, 2015
Publication date	Jan 23, 2018
Grant date	Jan 23, 2018

Abstract

An ultrasonic medical treatment probe has a head with a distal-most circular rim extending along an endless uninterrupted perimeter around a broad recess and formed with a series of serrations or teeth. The rim is thin in comparison to the width of the recess. The serrations or teeth preferably extend continuously along an entire circumference or length of the rim. The probe head is provided along the rim with a plurality of notches or openings communicating with the recess.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic medical treatment probe comprising:
a shaft or shank having a longitudinal axis;
a connector at one end of said shaft or shaft configured for coupling to a source of ultrasonic vibratory energy; and
a probe head at an end of said shaft or shank opposite said connector, said probe head including a recess opening onto a distal end plane oriented perpendicularly to said longitudinal axis, said probe head having a distal-most rim or edge extending in said distal end plane along an endless uninterrupted perimeter around said recess, said distal-most rim or edge being formed with a series of serrations or teeth, said distal-most rim or edge being further formed with a plurality of notches or openings communicating with said recess, said notches or openings being substantially larger than said serrations or teeth, said serrations or teeth extending continuously along said distal-most rim or edge between said notches or openings, said serrations or teeth being spaced from one another by gaps substantially smaller than said notches or openings.

2. The probe defined in claim 1 wherein said distal-most rim or edge is circular.

3. The probe defined in claim 2 wherein said probe head has a cup-shaped configuration.

4. The probe defined in claim 1 wherein said probe head has a cup-shaped configuration.

5. The probe defined in claim 1 wherein said probe head is provided along said distal-most rim or edge with exactly four said notches or openings communicating with said recess.

6. The probe defined in claim 1 wherein said serrations or teeth project in a distal direction from said distal-most rim or edge and are disposed only on a side of said distal-most rim or edge facing in said distal direction.

7. The probe defined in claim 1 wherein said distal-most rim or edge is circular and a multiplicity of said serrations or teeth are disposed between consecutive or successive ones of said notches or openings along said distal-most rim or edge.

8. A wound debridement method comprising:
providing an ultrasonic probe having a shaft or shank, a connector at one end of said shaft or shaft configured for coupling to a source of ultrasonic vibratory energy, and a probe head at an end of said shaft or shank opposite said connector, said probe head including a recess opening onto a distal end plane, said probe head having a distal-most rim or edge extending along an endless uninterrupted perimeter around said recess, said distal-most rim or edge being formed with a series of serrations or teeth, said distal-most rim or edge being further formed with a plurality of notches or openings communicating with said recess, said notches or openings being substantially larger than said serrations or teeth, said serrations or teeth extending continuously along said distal-most rim or edge between said notches or openings, said serrations or teeth being spaced from one another by gaps substantially smaller than said notches or openings;
placing said distal-most rim or edge including said serrations or teeth in contact with a target surface of a patient;
moving said probe so that said distal-most rim or edge moves in a predetermined pattern parallel to and along said target surface while said distal-most rim or edge including said serrations or teeth is in contact with said target surface; and
during the moving of said probe, generating an ultrasonic standing wave in said probe to vibrate said distal-most rim or edge and thereby debride said target surface.

9. The method defined in claim 8 wherein during the moving of said probe, said distal-most rim or edge is moved laterally within a plane constituting at least a portion of said target surface.

10. The method defined in claim 8 wherein said plane is oriented perpendicularly to an axis of said shaft or shank.

11. The method defined in claim 8 wherein said distal-most rim or edge is vibrated at velocities of 10 to 18 m/s RMS.

12. An ultrasonic medical treatment probe comprising:
a shaft or shank;
a source of ultrasonic vibratory energy;
a connector at one end of said shaft or shank operatively coupling same to said source of ultrasonic vibratory energy; and
a probe head at a distal end of said shaft or shank opposite said connector, said probe head including a recess opening onto a distal end plane, said probe head having a distal-most rim or edge extending along an endless uninterrupted perimeter around said recess and in said distal end plane, said distal-most rim or edge being formed with a series of serrations or teeth that point or taper in a distal direction from said distal end plane.

13. The probe defined in claim 12 wherein said distal-most rim or edge is further formed with a plurality of notches or openings communicating with said recess, said notches or openings being substantially larger than said serrations or teeth, a plurality of said serrations or teeth extending along said distal-most rim or edge between consecutive or successive ones of said notches or openings.

14. The probe defined in claim 13 wherein said distal-most rim or edge is circular.

15. The probe defined in claim 12 wherein said distal end plane is oriented perpendicularly to an axis of said shaft or shank.

Assignees

• Misonix Inc

Inventors

• Voic Dan

Classifications

• A61B2017/00761

  Removing layer of skin tissue, e.g. wrinkles, scars or cancerous tissue · CPC title

• A61N7/00

  Ultrasound therapy (lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 {; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092}) · CPC title

• A61B2217/007

  with irrigation system · CPC title

• A61B2017/320072

  Working tips with special features, e.g. extending parts · CPC title

• A61B2017/320008

  Scrapers · CPC title