Claims:We claim:
1. A foot-switch for controlling surgical equipment, said foot-switch comprising:
a dongle:
a plurality of actuators coupled with said foot-switch via a plurality of input ports, said plurality of actuators facilitating operation of said foot-switch;
an encoder connected to said plurality of input ports and configured to receive a plurality of mechanical inputs, said encoder further configured to encode said plurality of mechanical inputs to generate encoded mechanical input signals using a lookup table; and
a first wireless device connected to said encoder, said first wireless device configured to receive said encoded mechanical input signals and transmit said encoded mechanical input signals to an Electro Surgical Generator (ESG) via said dongle.
2. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said encoder is selected from a group consisting of a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a processor, an ASIC device, FPGA, and combinations thereof.
3. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said plurality of actuators are reed switches for reducing debouncing and providing isolation.
4. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first wireless device communicates with said dongle via wireless communication.
5. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dongle includes:
a second wireless device configured to receive said encoded mechanical input signals;
a decoder connected to said second wireless device and configured to decode said encoded mechanical input signals to generate decoded mechanical/electronic input signals, said decoder further configured to transmit said decoded mechanical input signals to said ESG for controlling the operation of said ESG.
6. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said foot-switch employs IP68 standard.
7. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said foot-switch operates a regular operation theatre (OT) load of 9600 presses or releases per day for a minimum of 5 years.
8. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 4, wherein said wireless communication is bluetooth low energy communication.
9. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dongle includes a display communicatively coupled with said encoder, wherein said display is selected from a group consisting of LED, OLED, LCD, and combinations thereof.
10. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein said foot-switch and said dongle are configured to be usable for a host of varied applications other than use with said Electro Surgical Generator.
11. The foot-switch as claimed in claim 1, wherein in case of communication failure between the said dongle and the said foot-switch, said dongle is configured to switch off outputs after 1 second.
, Description:FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates to the field of surgical equipment.
BACKGROUND
[0002] During surgeries, using ESG (Electro surgical generator) and various other equipment, the OT(operation theater) hosts various wires ranging from those used to cut/coagulate human tissues, power supply cables, and the like. Amongst all those wires were, the wired foot switches. The conventional wired foot switches have been used invariably for enabling and disabling the cut/coagulation of tissues. When complex situations arise, there must be provisions of switching on/turning off multiple outputs using lesser inputs. The configuration of the conventional wired foot switches is complex having many switches and wires associated with the switches that establish connection between the ESG and the switches. Reducing even a single wire from this set up at the operation theatre contributes to reducing the hassle associated with the setting up of the operation theatre.
[0003] Hence, there is need of a foot switch that has a simple configuration which is also easy and convenient to operate.

SUMMARY
[0004] The present subject matter envisages a foot-switch for controlling surgical equipment during surgeries using an electrico-surgical generator (ESG). The foot-switch is coupled to the ESG via a dongle. The foot-switch is further coupled with a plurality of actuators via a plurality of input ports. The foot-switch comprises an encoder communicatively connected to the plurality of input ports and configured to receive a plurality of mechanical inputs. The encoder is further configured to encode the plurality of mechanical inputs to generate encoded mechanical input signals using a lookup table. A first wireless device is communicatively connected to the encoder and is configured to receive the encoded mechanical input signals and transmit the encoded mechanical input signals to the ESG via the dongle.
[0005] In an embodiment, the encoder is selected from a group consisting of a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a processor, an ASIC device, FPGA, and combinations thereof.
[0006] In an embodiment, the plurality of actuators are reed switches for reducing debouncing and providing isolation.
[0007] In an embodiment, the first wireless device communicates with the dongle via wireless communication.
[0008] In an embodiment, the dongle includes a second wireless device configured to receive the encoded mechanical input signals. The dongle further includes a decoder communicatively connected to the second wireless device and configured to decode the encoded mechanical input signals to generate decoded mechanical input signals. The decoder further configured to transmit the decoded mechanical input signals to the ESG for controlling the operation of the ESG.
[0009] In an embodiment, the foot-switch employs IP68 standard. The foot-switch operates a regular operation theatre (OT) load of 9600 presses or releases per day with a battery life of 5 years.
[0010] In an embodiment, the wireless communication is Bluetooth Low Energy communication.
[0011] In an embodiment, the dongle includes a display communicatively coupled with the encoder, wherein the display is selected from a group consisting of LED, OLED, LCD, and combinations thereof.
[0012] In an embodiment, the foot-switch and the dongle are configured to be usable for a host of varied applications other than use with the Electro Surgical Generator.
[0013] In an embodiment, in case of communication failure between the dongle and the foot-switch, the dongle is configured to switch off outputs after 1 second.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING
[0014] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of foot-switch in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] During surgeries, using ESG (Electro surgical generator) and various other equipment, the OT(operation theater) hosts various wires ranging from those used to cut/coagulate human tissues, power supply cables, and the like. Amongst all those wires were, the wired foot switches. The conventional wired foot switches have been used invariably for enabling and disabling the cut/coagulation of tissues. When complex situations arise, there must be provisions of switching on/turning off multiple outputs using lesser inputs. The configuration of the conventional wired foot switches is complex having many switches and wires associated with the switches that establish connection between the ESG and the switches. As systems become complex, having secure and reliable communication becomes a challenge.
[0016] In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, the present subject matter envisages a foot-switch that relies on wireless communication to achieve the functions and operation of the foot-switch that is co-operating with an Electro-surgical generator (ESG).
[0017] Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of foot-switch 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The foot-switch 100 is for controlling the surgical equipment during surgeries using an electrico-surgical generator (ESG) 150. The foot-switch is coupled to the ESG 150 via a dongle 102. The foot-switch 100 is further coupled with a plurality of actuators 104 via a plurality of input ports. In an embodiment, the plurality of actuators are reed switches for reducing debouncing and providing isolation. The foot-switch 100 comprises an encoder 106 that is communicatively connected to the plurality of input ports and is configured to receive a plurality of mechanical inputs from the plurality of actuators 104. More specifically, the mechanical inputs are generated when the plurality of actuators are actuated by a user who may be a surgeon. The encoder 106 is further configured to encode the plurality of mechanical inputs to generate encoded mechanical input signals using a lookup table, wherein the lookup table includes a database of the plurality of mechanical inputs and the corresponding action therefore in accordance of which the plurality of mechanical inputs are encoded. A first wireless device 108 is communicatively connected to the encoder 106 and is configured to receive the encoded mechanical input signals and transmit the encoded mechanical input signals to the ESG 150 via the dongle 102. It is to be noted that although the dongle 102 takes power from ESG 150 and sends decoded signals to the ESG 150. The dongle 102 can also be used for devices other than the ESG 150.
[0018] In an embodiment, the first wireless device 108 communicates with the dongle via wireless communication. In an embodiment, the wireless communication is Bluetooth Low Energy communication. The reason for selecting Bluetooth Low Energy communication is because it has advantages such as encrypted data, proper pairing mechanism, good range, and low power consumption.
[0019] In accordance with an embodiment, the number of actuators in the plurality of actuators is four. This number is not to be construed as limiting, and other embodiments having more or less than four switches are well within the ambit of the present subject matter.
[0020] In accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter, the encoder 106 is selected from a group consisting of a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a processor, an ASIC device, FPGA, and combinations thereof.
[0021] In an embodiment, the dongle 102 includes a second wireless device 110 that is configured to receive the encoded mechanical input signals. The dongle 102 further includes a decoder 112 communicatively connected to the second wireless device 110 and configured to decode the encoded mechanical input signals to generate decoded mechanical/electronic input signals. The decoder 112 is further configured to transmit the decoded mechanical input signals to the ESG 150 for controlling the operation of the ESG 150.
[0022] In accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter, the decoder 112 is selected from a group consisting of a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a processor, an ASIC device, FPGA, and combinations thereof. Since the decoder 112 can be a micro-controller, visual aids such as LEDs and displays can be used to show that the data has been received at by the dongle 102. In accordance with another embodiment, in case of power failure/noise issues at the transmitter side for any unforeseen reason, the decoder 112 has been specially configured so as to switch itself off. This power off time can be hardcoded to be 1 second. This also means that if a switch has been pressed, and then the problem occurs, the decoder 112 will send disable signal to the ESG 150 within a pre-determined time period. In accordance with one embodiment, this pre-determined time period is 1 second. Other embodiments are within the ambit of the present subject matter, where the pre-determined time period is configured as per application requirement and can be more or less than 1 second. Similarly, if power is off at the dongle side, the first wireless device will disable its pairing and go into sleep mode. In another embodiment, in case of communication failure between the dongle and the foot-switch, the dongle is configured to switch off outputs after 1 second.
[0023] In an embodiment, the foot-switch employs IP68 standard. The foot-switch operates a regular operation theatre (OT) load of 9600 presses or releases per day with a battery life of 5 years. The conformance with the IP68 standard provides the foot-switch 100 water-proofability. This protects the foot-switch 100 when there is saline spillage, etc. IP68 standard also means dust proof, which helps in the longevity of the instrument.
[0024] In an embodiment, the dongle includes a display (not shown in Fig. 1) communicatively coupled with the encoder 106, wherein the display is selected from a group consisting of LED, OLED, LCD, and combinations thereof. The display provides the information related to the signals being encoded and the corresponding actions related thereto.
[0025] During surgeries, using the ESG 150 and various other equipment, the OT(operation theater) hosts various wires ranging from those used to cut/coagulate human tissues, power supply cables, and others. Amongst all those wires were the conventional wired foot switches. Foot-switches have been used invariably for enabling and disabling cut/coagulation of tissues. When complex situations arise, there must be provisions of switching on/turning off multiple outputs using lesser inputs. The conventional wired foot-switches are complex to operate and an inadvertent error by the surgeon can risk the life of the patient. Furthermore, a reliable communication is a must for the proper operation of the foot-switches. To this end, the foot-switch 100 of the present subject matter overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks since it has a wireless configuration which is simple to operate, and the wireless communication also increases the reliability of the foot-switch 100. However, it should also be noted that the application of the foot-switch and dongle, as disclosed in present subject matter, is not only limited to use with the ESG. In another embodiment, the foot-switch and the dongle are configured to be usable for a host of varied applications other than use with the Electro Surgical Generator.
[0026] Different characteristics and beneficial particulars are unfolded fully with reference to the embodiments/aspects which are exemplified in the accompanying drawing and detailed in the preceding description. Descriptions of techniques, methods, components, and equipment that a person skilled in the art is well aware of or those form common general knowledge in the field pertaining to the present subject matter is not described and/or introduced for the purpose of focusing on the present subject matter and not to obscure the present subject matter and advantageous features thereof. At the same time the present subject matter and its features that are explained herein in the detailed description and the specific examples, are given by way of illustration only, and not by way of limitation. It is to be understood that a person skilled in the art may and can think of various alternative substitutions, modifications, additions, and/or rearrangements which are considered to be within the spirit and/or scope of the underlying inventive concept.
[0027] In the present specification the word "comprise", or variations thereof, such as "comprises" or "comprising", imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or steps.
[0028] Further, the use of the expression "at least" or "at least one" suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use can be in the embodiment of the invention to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.