Surgical evacuation sensor arrangements

Abstract

Surgical systems can include evacuation systems for evacuating smoke, fluid, and/or particulates from a surgical site. A surgical evacuation system can be intelligent and may include one or more sensors for detecting one or more properties of the surgical system, evacuation system, surgical procedure, surgical site, and/or patient tissue, for example.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A surgical evacuation system, comprising:
 a pump;   a motor operably coupled to said pump;   a flow path fluidically coupled to said pump;   a sensor system, comprising:
 a first pressure sensor positioned along said flow path; and 
 a second pressure sensor positioned along said flow path upstream of said first pressure sensor; and 
   a control circuit configured to:
 determine a pressure differential between said first pressure sensor and said second pressure sensor; and 
 adjust an operational parameter of said motor based on the pressure differential. 
   
     
     
         2 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a receptacle; and   a filter installed in said receptacle, wherein said first pressure sensor is positioned downstream of said filter, and wherein said second pressure sensor is positioned upstream of said filter.   
     
     
         3 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 2 , wherein said control circuit is configured to increase the speed of said motor when the pressure differential increases above a threshold amount. 
     
     
         4 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 1 , further comprising a fluid trap, wherein said first pressure sensor is positioned downstream of said fluid trap, and wherein said second pressure sensor is positioned upstream of said fluid trap. 
     
     
         5 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 4 , wherein the pressure differential is indicative of said flow path relative to said fluid trap. 
     
     
         6 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet, wherein said flow path extends between said inlet and said outlet, wherein said first pressure sensor is positioned adjacent to said outlet, and wherein said second pressure sensor is positioned adjacent to said inlet. 
     
     
         7 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 6 , wherein said control circuit is configured to maintain a suction load on said pump below a maximum suction load. 
     
     
         8 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 1 , wherein said control circuit comprises:
 a processor communicatively coupled to said sensor system; and   a memory communicatively coupled to said processor, wherein said memory stores instructions executable by said processor.   
     
     
         9 . A surgical evacuation system, comprising:
 a pump comprising a motor;   a flow path fluidically coupled to said pump;   a sensor system, comprising:
 a first pressure sensor positioned along said flow path to detect a first pressure; and 
 a second pressure sensor positioned along said flow path upstream of said first pressure sensor to detect a second pressure; 
   a control circuit configured to:
 determine a ratio of said second pressure to said first pressure; and 
 determine an operating condition of the surgical evacuation system based on said ratio. 
   
     
     
         10 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 9 , wherein said control circuit is further configured to adjust an operational parameter of said motor based on said operating condition of the surgical evacuation system. 
     
     
         11 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a receptacle; and   a filter installed in said receptacle, wherein said first pressure sensor is positioned downstream of said filter, and wherein said second pressure sensor is positioned upstream of said filter.   
     
     
         12 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 11 , wherein said control circuit is further configured to increase the speed of said motor in proportion to said ratio. 
     
     
         13 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 9 , further comprising a fluid trap, wherein said first pressure sensor is positioned downstream of said fluid trap, wherein said second pressure sensor is positioned upstream of said fluid trap, and wherein said operating condition corresponds to said flow path relative to said fluid trap. 
     
     
         14 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 9 , further comprising a housing comprising an inlet and an outlet, wherein said flow path extends between said inlet and said outlet, wherein said first pressure sensor is positioned adjacent to said outlet, wherein said second pressure sensor is positioned adjacent to said inlet, and wherein said control circuit is further configured to maintain a suction load on said pump below a maximum suction load. 
     
     
         15 . The surgical evacuation system of  claim 9 , wherein said control circuit comprises:
 a processor communicatively coupled to said sensor system; and   a memory communicatively coupled to said processor, wherein said memory stores instructions executable by said processor.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to:
 receive a first signal from a first sensor positioned along a flow path through a surgical evacuation system;   receive a second signal from a second sensor positioned along the flow path through the surgical evacuation system;   determine an operating condition of the surgical evacuation system based on the first signal and the second signal; and   adjust an operational parameter of the surgical evacuation system based on the operating condition.   
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the first sensor comprises a first pressure sensor, and wherein the second sensor comprises a second pressure sensor. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the operating condition corresponds to a state of a filtering system of the surgical evacuation system. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium  claim 18 , wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to increase the speed of a pump motor for the surgical evacuation system when the state of the filtering system comprises a partially blocked state. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 16 , wherein the computer readable instructions, when executed, cause the machine to redirect the flow path through the surgical evacuation system.