Arthroscopic shaver with rotatable collet and slide aspiration control

Abstract

A rotatable surgical shaver handpiece having a rotating elongated inner member within a fixed outer member is provided with a means for varying the cutting window orientation of the outer tubular member. The window orientation is adjusted by providing a rotatable collet assembly which has a hollow, outer, longitudinally movable body to which the outer hub member is keyed. The outer collet member is concentrically situated about an inner collet body and is fixed to an annular, toothed locking surface which is movably biased against an identical toothed locking surface fixed to the inner collet body. The teeth have sloped sides and are shallow such that the pre-loaded force compressing the two locking surfaces together is easily overcome by rotating the outer collet body to cause the teeth of one locking surface to slide along the teeth of the mating locking surface. In another embodiment, the invention is provided with a blade recognition means for identifying a code associated with a particular blade assembly regardless of the window orientation of the outer tubular member of the blade assembly. In another embodiment of the invention the handpiece is provided with an extruded body fitted with a longitudinally slidable aspiration control switch.