System and method for inhibiting injury to a patient during laparoscopic surgery

摘要

This group of inventions provides means and methods for preventing the damaging portions of surgical tools, such as laparoscopic devices, from adversely contacting tissues and organs that are not in the desired field of surgery. As such, the present disclosure pertains to any form of a warning or positioning device or methods, including those that are facilitated via software that are adapted and arranged for use in tracking portions of surgical instruments during laparoscopic surgery or other medical procedures. Such systems include those that are adapted and arranged to provide a warning to the surgeon or other medical personnel regarding the positional status of an instrument, and those that are adapted and arranged for disabling or attenuating the portions of those instruments that might be dangerous to a patient when a dangerous portion of the instrument is near or outside the desired, or denominated, field of surgery. Data relating to the position and orientation of the instrument and of the position of a safe zone within which the instrument can be kept safely is optionally (preferably) stored throughout a medical procedure for later playback for training purposes or for ensuring that a patient was not injured during a medical procedure.

主权项

1. A method of using a surgical system on a body of a patient, comprising:
(a) providing a probe including an interior portion that is configured to be at least partially inserted into the body of the patient during use, a probe body to which the interior portion of the probe is connected, wherein the probe body is configured to be outside the body of the patient during use, wherein the interior portion of the probe includes a probing portion; (b) providing a surgical instrument including an interior portion that is configured to be at least partially inserted into the body of the patient during use, an instrument body to which the interior portion of the surgical instrument is connected, wherein the instrument body is configured to be outside the body of the patient during use, wherein the interior portion of the surgical instrument includes a functional element; (c) providing a laparoscope including an interior portion that is configured to be at least partially inserted into the body of the patient during use, a laparoscope body to which the interior portion of the laparoscope is connected, wherein the laparoscope body is configured to be outside the body of the patient during use, wherein the interior portion of the laparoscope includes an image receiving element, wherein, during use, the image receiving element is positionable in a surgical field in the body of the patient to receive images of the probing portion when the probing portion is in the surgical field and to receive images of the functional element when the functional element is in the surgical field; and, (d) providing the patient in a stationary position in a surgical theatre; (e) pre-defining a three-dimensional safe zone in a target region within the body of the patient while the patient remains in the stationary position by using the probe to define a denominated surgical field in the target region; and (f) while keeping the patient in the stationary position after step (e), inserting the interior portion of the surgical instrument into the patient and performing a surgery therewith in the surgical theatre.