Stryker Corporation

Earl G Phillips

Robert W Insalaco

William M Booth, Iii

Dee B Ranger

A continuous vacuum drainage system for wound drainage. A base unit has apparatus responsive to releasable attachment thereto of a drain reservoir for evacuating the reservoir to a subatmospheric pressure in a predetermined range. The drain reservoir is continuously operable before, during and after release from the base unit for uninterrupted suction draining of a wound.

Continuous vacuum wound drainage system

An irrigation-suction handpiece assembly, for dental and surgical use at an operating site, includes a handle containing longitudinally extending, side-by-side suction and irrigant passageways respectively connectible to a source of subatmospheric pressure (i.e., a vacuum source) and an irrigant fluid source. An irrigant valve is actuable for alternately opening and blocking flow of irrigant from the irrigant source through the irrigant passageway. An air pressure conduit includes a third passageway in the handle and connectible to an air pressure source which is not atmospheric pressure and not influenced by pressure changes in the suction passageway. This air pressure source is either a further subatmospheric pressure source or a compressed gas source. The third passageway has a relief opening in the handle selectively openable or closable by the hand of the operator for effecting a change in the pressure within the third passageway. The irrigant valve has a control input coupled with the air pressure conduit and third passageway and responsive to such change in air pressure therein for shifting between its open and blocking states to thereby control the flow of irrigant fluid to the operating site.

Irrigation and suction handpiece

A fluid control for powering and supplying coolant liquid to gas operated surgical and dental tools and for supplying irrigant to a suction-irrigation handpiece, selectively by remove control from a surgical or dental operating site. A console remote from the operating site has a pressurized gas source. The tool and an operator valve actuable for turning on the tool are located at the operating site, remote from the console. A tool gas supply at the console is actuable for supplying pressurized gas from the source to the remote operator valve and tool. A coolant supply at the console is actuable for delivering coolant liquid to an outlet tip located at the tool. Gas circuitry in the console responds to the drop in gas pressure in the tool gas supply resulting from turning on of the tool and thereby causes the coolant supply to supply liquid to the tip while the tool is running. A low pressure gas tube connects from the console to the handpiece and operator controlled means on the handpiece control flow and this pressure therein. An irrigant supply in the console is actuable for supplying irrigant liquid to the handpiece at the operating site. Further gas circuitry responds to a change in pressure in the low pressure gas tube to cause the liquid supply to supply irrigant liquid to the handpiece.

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Kalamazoo, MI, United States of America

Earl G Phillips