Ultrasonic surgical instrument and processing method for ultrasonic surgical device

Abstract

An ultrasonic surgical instrument includes an ultrasonic transducer configured to vibrate ultrasonically, a probe configured to treat a living tissue by the ultrasonic vibration, a detector configured to detect a pressing force of the probe against the living tissue, a memory configured to store a predetermined value related to a pressing force in accordance with the living tissue, a comparing section configured to compare the pressing force detected by the detector with the predetermined value stored in the memory, and a notification section configured to perform a notification in response to a comparison result obtained by the comparing section.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
 an ultrasonic transducer configured to generate ultrasonic vibration;   a probe configured to treat a living tissue by transmitting the ultrasonic vibration to the living tissue; and   a controller including a memory configured to store a first threshold value and a second threshold value, the controller being configured to control the ultrasonic transducer,   wherein:
 the controller includes one or more circuits configured to:
 detect an output voltage for generating a drive current of the ultrasonic transducer, and 
 transmit a notification related to a pressing force of the probe against the living tissue when the detected output voltage is smaller than the first threshold value or larger than the second threshold value. 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit the notification to an operator of the ultrasonic surgical instrument to increase the pressing force of the probe against the living tissue when the detected output voltage is smaller than the first threshold value, and to decrease the pressing force of the probe against the living tissue when the detected output voltage is larger than the second threshold value. 
     
     
         3 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to stop outputting the output voltage when the detected output voltage is larger than the second threshold value for a predetermined time. 
     
     
         4 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the memory is further configured to store a third threshold value. 
     
     
         5 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to stop outputting the output voltage when the detected output voltage is equal to or larger than the third threshold value. 
     
     
         6 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 5 , wherein the third threshold value is an upper limit output value which the controller is configured to generate. 
     
     
         7 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the first threshold value is a lower limit output value at which the living tissue is appropriately excised. 
     
     
         8 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the second threshold value is an upper limit output value at which the living tissue is appropriately excised. 
     
     
         9 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit the notification by changing a phonetic pattern of a specific sound. 
     
     
         10 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to transmit the notification by controlling a speaker to generate a sound. 
     
     
         11 . The ultrasonic surgical instrument according to  claim 1 , wherein the first threshold value and the second threshold value are preset based on a value of a pressing force. 
     
     
         12 . A method for controlling a pressing force of an ultrasonic surgical instrument comprising:
 detecting an output voltage used for generating a drive current of the ultrasonic surgical instrument; and   transmitting a notification related to the pressing force of the ultrasonic surgical instrument against a living tissue when the detected output voltage is smaller than a first threshold value or larger than a second threshold value.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the notification is performed by notifying an operator of the ultrasonic surgical instrument to increase the pressing force of the probe against the living tissue when the detected output voltage is smaller than the first threshold value, and to decrease the pressing force of the probe against the living tissue when the detected output voltage is larger than the second threshold value. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 12 , further comprising stopping output of the output voltage when the detected output voltage is larger than the second threshold value for a predetermined time. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 12 , further comprising stopping output of the output voltage when the detected output voltage is equal to or larger than a third threshold value. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 15 , wherein the third threshold value is an upper limit output value which a power supply can generate. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the notification is transmitted by changing a phonetic pattern of a specific sound. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the notification is transmitted by controlling a speaker to generate a sound. 
     
     
         19 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the first threshold value and the second threshold value are preset based on a value of a pressing force. 
     
     
         20 . A control apparatus comprising:
 an output terminal configured to supply a drive current to a surgical instrument connected to the control apparatus; and   a controller including one or more circuits configured to:
 detect an output voltage for generating the drive current, and 
 transmit a notification related to a pressing force of the surgical instrument against a living tissue when the detected output voltage is smaller than a first threshold value or larger than a second threshold value. 
   
     
     
         21 . The control apparatus according to  claim 20 , wherein the controller includes a memory configured to store the first threshold value and the second threshold value.