AU2003203694B2

AU2003203694B2 - Clip

Info

Publication number: AU2003203694B2
Application number: AU2003203694A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Mark Verschuur
Original assignee: KILLARA Pty Ltd
Current assignee: KILLARA Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2002-04-15
Filing date: 2003-04-15
Publication date: 2008-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 2023-04-15
Also published as: AU2003203694A1

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: Clip The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: Freehills Carter Smith Beadle Sydney\004393621 Printed 15 April2003 (14:29) page 2 Freehills Carter Smith Beadle Sydney\004393621 Printed 15 April 2003 (14:29) page 2 004373179 2 Clip Field of the invention The present invention relates to a clip for supporting an endoscope or the like. The clip is particularly suitable for supporting an endoscope or other medical instrument during sterilisation.

Background of the invention In our co-pending Australian patent application no. 45241/00, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by cross reference, we describe a container that is particularly suitable for use in the sterilisation and subsequent storage of endoscopes that are used in laparoscopic surgical procedures. In a particularly preferred embodiment, this sterilisation container comprises a container that has an outside shape somewhat similar, but of large dimension, to the outer surface of the endoscope to be sterilised. The container was closed with a closure that includes a fluid permeable membrane that allowed steam or other sterilising fluid to enter the container during sterilisation. The container also included a portion that allowed the ends of the container to be collapsed together to thereby cause the sterilised endoscope (or other medical instrument) inside the container to pop out of the container without the necessity of having a sterile nurse having to come into contact with the non-sterile outer surface of the container. Thus, a non-sterile nurse could expose the endoscope (or other medical instrument) from the container and a sterile scrub nurse could subsequently remove the sterilised endoscope (or other medical instrument) from the container without breaching the sterile field.

The present invention provides a clip for supporting an endoscope or other medical instrument. The clip is especially suitable for use in conjunction with the sterilisation container described in our co-pending Australian patent application no.

45241/00. However, it will be appreciated that the clip is capable of wider application than that and the clip should not be considered to be restricted solely to that particular use.

005135314v3 3 00 It is to be understood that a reference herein to a prior art document does not Sconstitute an admission that the document forms part of the common general knowledge Sin the art in Australia or in any other country.

In the claims which follow and in the following description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" and grammatical variations thereof, is used in the sesense of "including" i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

Summary of the invention N 10 In a first aspect, the present invention provides a clip for supporting an endoscope including an endoscope receiving portion and an inwardly projecting projection being configured such that in use, the inwardly projecting projection contacts an endoscope positioned within the endoscope receiving portion to thereby space the endoscope from an inner part of the endoscope receiving portion, the clip being adapted to support the endoscope on a support surface. Preferably, the inwardly projecting projection spaces the endoscope from at least one inner wall of the endoscope receiving portion of the clip.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a clip for supporting an endoscope including an endoscope receiving portion, characterised in that the endoscope receiving portion includes at least one inner wall and that, in use, the at least one inner wall is not in continuous contact with an outer penriphery of an endoscope positioned in the endoscope receiving portion, the clip being adapted to support the endoscope on a support surface.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides a clip for supporting an endoscope including an endoscope receiving portion, characterised in that the clip includes at least one external surface that is substantially flat, to thereby provide a support for an endoscope positioned in the endoscope receiving portion when the clip is located on a support surface. Preferably, the clip will stably rest on the support surface.

In this aspect of the invention, by "stably rest on a support surface", it is meant that the clip will not roll when an endoscope is placed in the endoscope receiving portion and the clip is placed on its substantially flat external surface on the supporting surface. It will 004373179 4 also be appreciated that the supporting surface, in its general context of use, will typically be an essentially horizontal supporting surface, such as a tray, shelf, table or the like.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a clip for supporting an endoscope, said clip including an endoscope receiving portion for receiving an endoscope and at least one projecting member projecting from said clip for supporting a connection element used with said endoscope. Preferably, the connection element is adapted in use to connect a light source to the endoscope.

In all aspects of the present invention, it will be appreciated that the term "clip for supporting an endoscope" refers to a clip that may be used to support an endoscope or indeed to support a large variety of other medical instruments. Thus, the term "endoscope", as used throughout this specification, is to be construed broadly, such that it makes reference to endoscopes and to any other medical instrument that can advantageously be supported by such a clip. In other words, the term "endoscope" should be taken to include other medical instruments besides endoscopes.

In a preferred embodiment, the clip of the present invention further includes an endoscope contacting portion for contacting the endoscope. Preferably, the endoscope contacting portion comprises an inwardly projecting member having an end positioned in the endoscope receiving portion, said end contacting said endoscope when the endoscope is positioned in the endoscope receiving portion. Preferably, the endoscope contacting portion has an end region of relatively small size when compared to the periphery of the endoscope.

Preferably, the clip is arranged such that the endoscope receiving portion allows the sterilising fluid to flow around and contact a substantial portion of a periphery of the endoscope that is received within the endoscope receiving portion. In this way, adequate sterilisation of the endoscope can be achieved. It is further preferred that the endoscope receiving portion allows a sterilising fluid to come into contact with all but a relatively small area of the outer periphery of the outer surface of the endoscope.

Preferably, the endoscope receiving portion comprises a first arm and a second arm interconnected by an intermediate member to define an open mouthed receiving 004373179 portion. The endoscope is suitably inserted into the open mouthed receiving portion by moving the endoscope in a transverse direction through the open mouth. Preferably, the width of the opening of the open mouth is less than the diameter of the part of the endoscope that is inserted therethrough. In this embodiment, the arms are suitably made from a flexible resilient material so that the arms can move aside as the endoscope passes through the open mouth and then the arms can snap back or move towards each other after the endoscope has fully passed through the open mouth to thereby assist in retaining the endoscope within the endoscope receiving portion.

The clip is preferably made from a resilient material, more preferably from a resilient plastics material.

The ends of the arms may flare outwardly or be provided with outwardly extending flanges to provide a guide means to assisting guiding entry of the endoscope into the open mouth.

Preferably, the clip includes two or more projecting members adapted to support two or more connection elements for use with the endoscope. Preferably, the connection elements are adapted in use to connect a light source to the endoscope. The connection elements may comprise generally cylindrical elements. They may have an internal screw thread for screw engagement with a complementary thread on the endoscope. The connection elements are suitably used to connect an optical fibre to a light inlet port of the endoscope.

In this embodiment, it is especially preferred that at least one projecting member is shaped such that it does not contact all of an inner surface of the connection element. In this way, a sterilising fluid can come into contact with an inner surface of the connection element.

The at least one projecting member may comprise an outwardly projecting member.

The at least one projecting member for supporting the connection element(s) preferably comprises a series of spaced projections grouped together such that a connection element can be supported thereon. In this fashion, spaces exist between the 004373179 6 spaced projections, thus allowing a sterilisation fluid to flow around the spaced projections. Also, not all of the inner surface of the connection element that is supported on the space projections comes into contact with the projections, thus allowing a sterilising fluid to contact at least part of the inner surface of the connection element.

The clip preferably has at least one flat external surface to allow the clip to stably rest on a supporting surface when an endoscope is positioned in the endoscope receiving portion. This assists in preventing the endoscope from rolling when it is placed on a supporting surface, such as a storage shelf or a surgical tray.

The clip of at least some embodiments of the present invention can be used to stably hold an endoscope and its associated connection elements during sterilisation.

Furthermore, the clip raises the endoscope slightly above a supporting surface to thus assist in allowing a sterilising fluid to come into contact with substantially all of the outer surface of the endoscope. Preferred embodiments of the present invention minimise the contact area between the receiving portion of the clip and the outer periphery of the endoscope, again to increase contact between the sterilising fluid and the outer surface of the endoscope.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 shows a side view, partly apart for assembly, of an endoscope that may be used with a clip in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a front view of a clip in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 shows a plan view of the clip shown in figure 2; Figure 4 shows a cross section taken along line 4 to 4 of figure 2, showing the construction of a projecting member for holding a connection element; Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the clip of figure 2 supporting an endoscope; and 004373179 7 Figure 6 shows a view generally similar to that of figure 4, but showing diagrammatically a connection element supported on the projection means.

Detailed description of the embodiments It would be appreciated that the drawings accompanying this specification have been provided for the purposes of illustrating the present invention. Thus, the invention should not be considered to be limited to the specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a side view of an endoscope 10 that may be used in accordance with the clip with the present invention. The endoscope 10 is of conventional construction that will be known to a person of skill in the art.

Endoscope 10 includes an elongate barrel 12. Elongate barrel 12 is generally hollow and includes a clear window 14 closing a distal end thereof. The proximal end 16 of endoscope 10 includes a flared annular end 18 that is adapted to be connected to a C mounting (not shown). Flared annular end 18 provides a convenient connection point for connecting a video camera to proximal end 16 of endoscope Flared annular end 18 is itself connected to a generally tubular portion 20. This generally tubular portion 20 leads into intermediate housing 22. Housing 22 includes a transversely extending projection 24. Projection 24 is also an essentially hollow projection that includes a clear window 26 that closes a distal end thereof. Projection 24 provides a light path for providing light from a light source that is in optical connection with clear window 26. In this fashion, the light source provides light through window 26 and into the barrel of endoscope Projection 24 includes a shoulder 28 and an external screw thread 30 located in close proximity to shoulder 28. The distal end of external screw thread 30 provides a further shoulder 32 that leads into a region of reduced diameter 34.

The endoscope 10 is also provided with a first connection element 36, which is in the form of a hollow, generally cylindrical body having an internal screw thread shown 004373179 8 schematically at 38. First connection member 36 can be threadably screwed onto external screw thread 30 to thereby retain the first connection member in place.

The endoscope further includes a second connection member 40 having an internal screw thread, shown schematically at 42. In this fashion, second connection member 40 can be placed into threaded engagement with external screw thread Second connection member 40 also includes a shoulder 44 leading into an area of reduced diameter 46. Area of reduced diameter 46 is provided with an external screw thread 48 to enable an optical fibre connecter to be joined thereto.

It would be appreciated that assembly of the endoscope involves first connecting connection member 36 onto external screw thread 35, followed by positioning second connection member 40 over first connection member 36 and screwing second connection member 40 onto external screw thread In use of the endoscope 10 shown in figure 1 in a laparoscopic procedure, the distal end of endoscope 10 is inserted through an incision in the skin of the patient. Light from an optical fibre light source is provided through clear window 26 and the light passes along barrel 12 and through window 14 to eliminate the sight of the operation. A video camera mounted to flared annular end 18 images the site of the operation and the site of the operation can be displayed on a television screen or monitor.

It would be appreciated that endoscopes are relatively expensive pieces of medical equipment. Consequently, it is desirable that the endoscope be able to be sterilised so that it may be re-used in further procedures. In order to sterilise the endoscope, it has been common practice to disconnect the endoscope from the light source and the endoscopic video camera. The first and second connection members 36, 40 are then disassembled from the endoscope and the endoscope 10, the first connection member 36 and the second member 40 are then placed in an autoclave or another sterilising environment to sterilise the endoscope. Such procedures have suffered from one or more of the following disadvantages: the endoscope, in being a generally cylindrical object, has tended to roll around somewhat during sterilisation; 004373179 9 certain surfaces of the endoscope may become occulded to the flow of sterilising fluid during the sterilising process, thereby reducing the efficiency of sterilisation; and the first and second connection members 36, 40 could frequently be separated from the endoscope 10, thereby causing difficulties in locating the first and second connection members when it is desired to use the endoscope.

A clip in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention for supporting an endoscope is shown in figures 2 and 3. The clip shown in figures 2 and 3 is preferably made from a resilient plastics material, which allows the clip to be made inexpensively. Thus, the clip may be disposable. Alternatively, it may also be possible to manufacture the clip from a more robust or more expensive resilient material, such as stainless steel having a suitable thickness to allow the clip to receive an endoscope. The person skilled in the art will really appreciate that the clip may be made from a number of different materials.

Turning now to figures 2 and 3, the clip 50 comprises an endoscope receiving portion 52. Endoscope receiving portion 52 is defined by a first arm 54, a second arm 56 and an interconnecting intermediate member 58. As it can be seen from figure 2, first arm 54 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 60. Similarly, second arm 56 is also provided at its upper end with an outwardly extending flange 62. Outwardly extending flanges 60, 62 form a guide means for guiding entry of the endoscope into the endoscope receiving portion 52.

Endoscope receiving portion 52 is also provided with an upwardly extending portion 64.

Upwardly extending projection 64 projects upwardly from intermediate connecting number 58. In particular, upwardly projecting portion 64 is suitably in the form of a relatively thin rib that extends substantially along the entire length of the clip This is best shown in figure 3.

As can also be seen from figure 2, the outer surface 66 of intermediate connecting member 58 is essentially flat. Thus, the outer surface 66 provides a flat surface upon 004373179 which the clip can rest when an endoscope is inserted into the endoscope receiving portion 52.

The clip 50 is also provided with a first outwardly extending projection 68 and a second outwardly extending projection 70. Outwardly extending projection 70 may be mounted upon a housing extension 72 which is formed on to arm 56.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, first outwardly extending projection 68 and second outwardly extending projection 70 each comprise a plurality of separate, spaced projecting members, as best shown in figure 4. In particular, figure 4 shows a cross sectional view looking along an axis of second outwardly extending projection 70. It can be seen that the outwardly extending projection comprises three separate projections 74, 76, 78. First outwardly extending projection 68 may be of a similar structure. The outwardly extending projections are preferably made in this fashion in order to minimise the contact area of the inner surfaces of connection members 36 and 40 on the respective outwardly extending projections 68, 70. This assists in facilitating contact of the inner surface of the connection members 36, 40 with the sterilising fluid.

In use of the clip 50 shown in figures 2 and 3, the endoscope is positioned such that the generally tubular portion 20 is inserted through the open mouth 80 of endoscope receiving portion 52. This causes the arms 54, 56 to bow outwardly until the tubular portion 20 has passed through the innermost extent of arms 54 and 56, which are represented in figure 5 by reference numerals 54A and 56A. Once the tubular portion has passed the innermost extent of arms 54A and 56A, the arms 54, 56 snap back or move towards each other to thereby assist in retaining the endoscope in the endoscope receiving portion 52.

First connecting member 36 is then placed over first outwardly extending projection 68 and second connection member 40 is placed over second outwardly extending projection 70. Again, this is shown in figure The positioning of the projections 74, 76, 78 which together make up second outwardly extending projection 70, with respect to second connection member 40, is 004373179 11 shown in figure 6. As can be seen from figure 6, the projections 74, 76, 78 only contact a relatively small proportion of the inner surface of second connection member The clip of the present invention can be used to support an endoscope during sterilisation of the endoscope or even during storage or use of the endoscope. The clip can assist in stopping the endoscope from rolling around on its storage surface, such as a shelf or a surgical tray. The clip may also assist in raising an end of the endoscope above a surface during sterilisation. The area of contact between the clip and the outer periphery of the endoscope that is received within the endoscope receiving portion of the clip is relatively minimal, thereby minimising the likelihood that incomplete sterilisation will be achieved. Moreover, preferred embodiments of the clip also provide for convenient mounting of the first and second connection members to the clip. This minimises the possibility of misplacing those connection members.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein may be subject to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. In particular, the exact shape of the endoscope receiving portion may vary widely from that shown in the embodiments of the present invention. Moreover; the outwardly extending projections 68, 70 are not necessarily made from a combination of space projections.

It will be understood that the present invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope.

Claims

3. The clip as claimed in claim2, further including an endoscope contacting portion for contacting the endoscope, the endoscope contacting portion comprising: an inwardly projecting member having an end positioned in the endoscope receiving portion, said end contacting said endoscope when the endoscope is positioned in the endoscope receiving portion.
4. The clip according to any one of the preceding claims, the clip further including at least one external surface that is substantially flat to thereby provide a support for an endoscope positioned in the endoscope receiving portion when the clip is located on a support surface. The clip according to any one of the preceding claims, the clip further including at least one projecting member projecting from said clip, said at least one projecting member adapted to support a connection element used with said endoscope.
6. The clip as claimed in claim 5, wherein the connection element comprises a connection element for connecting a light source to the endoscope.
7. The clip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 3, wherein the inwardly projecting member has an end region that is smaller than the periphery of the endoscope. 005135314v3 13 00 8. The clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the endoscope Sreceiving portion is configured such that in use, sterilising fluid is able to flow around Sand contact a substantial portion of a periphery of the endoscope that is received within the endoscope receiving portion.
9. The clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the endoscope receiving portion comprises a first arm and a second arm interconnected by an Sintermediate member to define an open mouthed receiving portion. The clip as claimed in claim 9, wherein the open mouthed receiving portion is configured such that in use the endoscope is able to be inserted into the open mouthed receiving portion by moving the endoscope in a transverse direction through the open mouth.
11. The clip as claimed in claim 10, wherein the width of the opening of the open mouth is less than the diameter of the part of the endoscope that is inserted therethrough.
12. The clip as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the arms are suitably made from a flexible resilient material such that the arms move aside as the endoscope passes through the open mouth and wherein the arms snap back or move towards each other after the endoscope has fully passed through the open mouth to thereby assist in retaining the endoscope within the endoscope receiving portion.
13. The clip as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the ends of the arms flare outwardly to assist in guiding entry of the endoscope into the open mouth in use.
14. The clip as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the ends of the arms include outwardly extending flanges to provide a guide means to assist in guiding entry of the endoscope into the open mouth. The clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the clip includes two or more projecting members adapted to support two or more connection elements for use with the endoscope.
16. The clip as claimed in claim 15, wherein the connection elements are adapted to connect a light source to the endoscope in use.
17. The clip as claimed in any one of claims 15 or 16, wherein at least one of said projecting members is shaped such that it does not contact all of an inner surface of the 005135314v3 14 00connection elements to thereby allow a sterilising fluid to come into contact with an inner 0 surface of the connection elements.
18. The clip as claimed in claim 17, wherein the at least one projecting member comprises an outwardly projecting member to provide a support for the connection elements.
19. The clip as claimed in claim 18, wherein the at least one projecting member NO comprises a series of spaced projections grouped together such that a connection element Sis supported thereon in use. A clip substantially as herein described with reference to the accompany S 10 drawings.