摘要 |
A surgical system (10) having a cassette (14) with an aspirant collection reservoir or chamber (28) and an aspiration vent line (24) that draws fluid from the aspirant collection chamber is provided. The pressure within the collection chamber is maintained near ambient so that when the aspiration vent line is open, fluid flows from the collection chamber and into an aspiration line (20). Such a system does not require a second source of irrigation fluid, minimizes pressure surges into the irrigation fluid line and does not affect the fluidic performance of the aspiration system. In addition, various vent pressures can be achieved by varying the vertical position of the reservoir (28) relative to the aspiration line (20). <IMAGE> |