Patents Assigned to Karl Storz SE & Co. KG
  • Patent number: 12109080
    Abstract: A clamping device and method for human-medicine or veterinary-medicine applications for the frictionally engaged locking of at least two holding segments, the clamping device has a first holding segment, a second holding segment; a driveable spindle, via which a rotational movement can be converted into an axial longitudinal movement for spindle-locking the second holding segment, and a threaded plate. In this case, the threaded plate can be moved axially in the opposite direction during the spindle movement, wherein, by counter-movement of the threaded plate, at least one wedge body is moveable in a ramp system, in order to clamp the first holding segment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG
    Inventors: Jochen Stefan, Sven Grüner
  • Publication number: 20240325040
    Abstract: A surgical instrument includes an actuation device. The surgical instrument includes a hollow shaft having a tool at the distal end of the shaft. The tool includes two jaw parts, and the actuation device is operatively connected to an actuation rod mounted in the shaft so as to and move and close the jaw parts. The actuation device includes a cam wheel that is operatively connected to the actuation rod by a connection portion. The actuation device includes a bearing device that provides forced guidance of a cam-follower pin along a longitudinal axis, such that, when the cam wheel is rotated about a rotational axis of the cam wheel, a linear movement of the cam-follower pin, guided in the cam track, and the actuation rod operatively connected thereto is provided along the longitudinal axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Publication date: October 3, 2024
    Applicant: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Dominik LÄNGLE, Janosz SCHNEIDER, Jochen STEFAN, Sven Axel GRÜNER
  • Patent number: 12103206
    Abstract: A method for supplementing a shaft tube and an assembly of a medical instrument with a plastic component comprises a step of providing a shaft tube with a distal end; a step of mechanically connecting an assembly to the distal end of the shaft tube by way of a connecting device; a step of inserting the shaft tube with the assembly into a casting mold and closing the casting mold, a predetermined region of the outer surface of the assembly contacting a mold surface of the casting mold; a step of supplying a liquid plastic into the casting mold, the liquid plastic wetting the distal end of the shaft tube and the outer surface of the assembly; and a step of solidifying the liquid plastic, the solidified plastic forming the plastic component and creating a further mechanical connection of the assembly to the end of the shaft tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & Co KG
    Inventors: Lars Hedemann, Andreas Heni, Markus Kupferschmid
  • Patent number: 12108128
    Abstract: A device for capturing an image of an object of medical interest in remitted or reflected illumination light and for capturing an image of the object in fluorescent light generated by Cy5.5 and/or SGM-101 and for capturing an image in fluorescent light generated OTL38 and/or indocyanine green (ICG). The device includes an image sensor for detecting blue, green and red light, another image sensor for detecting fluorescent light of Cy5.5 and/or SGM-101 and OTL38 and/or ICG, a beam splitter guiding light having a wavelength smaller than a predetermined cutoff wavelength to the first sensor and guiding light having a wavelength greater than the predetermined cutoff wavelength to the second sensor, and filters upstream of the second sensor for partially, substantially or completely suppressing light having a wavelength exciting Cy5.5 and/or SGM-101 and for partially, substantially or completely suppressing light having a wavelength suitable for exciting fluorescence of OTL38 and/or ICG.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & Co KG
    Inventor: Christin Baumann
  • Patent number: 12100565
    Abstract: The present application provides a foot actuation system for controlling one or more medical devices using a foot. The foot actuation system includes a communications unit and a number of actuation units. Each actuation unit includes a user interface for receiving an actuation information item generated by means of a foot, a mechanical connection apparatus for releasable mechanical connection to the communications unit, and a signal transmitter for transmitting a signal representing the actuation information item. The communications unit includes a mechanical connection apparatus for releasable mechanical connection to the actuation units, a signal receiver for receiving the signals representing the actuation information items, and a control signal transmitter for transmitting a control signal to a medical device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Marco Zeller, Alexander Sabo
  • Publication number: 20240296654
    Abstract: A computing device includes: an input interface configured to receive a plurality of images of a medical scene; an image embeddings generating module configured to receive, as its input, the plurality of images and to generate a data array as an image embedding for each image; a clustering module configured to determine a plurality of clusters within the plurality of images based on the generated image embeddings; a replacement determining module configured to determine, for each cluster of the determined plurality of clusters, a replacement image; and an output module configured to generate output data wherein, for each determined cluster, all images of that cluster are replaced with the replacement image for that cluster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 29, 2024
    Publication date: September 5, 2024
    Applicant: KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG
    Inventors: Hisham ALWANNI, Antonia STERN, Lars MÜNDERMANN
  • Publication number: 20240285161
    Abstract: A surgical laryngoscope blade made of a metallic base material with a shaft having an elongate base body is presented. The base body extends between a proximal and distal end and forms a central main channel and an auxiliary channel. The main channel comprises a proximal end profile and a distal end profile. The proximal end profile has an approximately oval design. The distal end profile is geometrically adapted to a vocal cord apparatus. The major axis of the proximal end profile and the major axis of the distal end profile are oriented orthogonal to one another. The auxiliary channel is spaced apart from the main channel in a proximal end region adjacent to the proximal end of the base body. The auxiliary channel opens into the main channel in a distal end region. A method serves to produce such a surgical laryngoscope blade.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2024
    Publication date: August 29, 2024
    Applicant: KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG
    Inventors: Johannes Fangmann, Kamilla König-Urban, Fabienne Riester
  • Patent number: 12070185
    Abstract: An observation device and method its operation is disclosed. The device includes an instrument with a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end; objective optics disposed at the shaft and having a field of view; an imaging sensor arranged to capture image data, the imaging sensor having a sensor array of evenly distributed elements; and an image processing unit. The objective optics is arranged to capture a scene in the field of view on the imaging sensor. The objective optics define at least a central imaging region and a peripheral imaging region, where the differing focal lengths of the objective optics result in the central imaging region having a higher digital resolution than that of the peripheral region, resulting in more pixels dedicated to the region of interest, while the peripheral regions have adequate resolution to monitor the introduction of surgical tools and other valuable information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO KG
    Inventors: Harald Baumann, Benjamin Häsler, Marcel Hofstetter, Hans-Georg Mathe
  • Publication number: 20240280137
    Abstract: A bearing assembly of a swash plate in a steering gear component of a surgical instrument is disclosed. The swash plate being rotatable about an axis of rotation in a receiving opening of the steering gear component. The swash plate has an outer peripheral surface which provides a peripheral inner bearing surface, and the steering gear component has an inner peripheral surface in the receiving opening, which inner peripheral surface provides a peripheral outer bearing surface. The bearing assembly also comprises a plurality of rolling elements which are peripherally distributed between the peripheral inner bearing surface of the swash plate and the peripheral outer bearing surface of the steering gear component such that an integrated rolling element of the bearing assembly is provided by the swash plate, the steering gear component, and the plurality of rolling elements.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Publication date: August 22, 2024
    Applicant: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Janosz SCHNEIDER, Sven Axel GRÜNER, Dominik LÄNGLE, Jochen STEFAN
  • Patent number: 12064132
    Abstract: A shaft according to the application for an endoscopic instrument has a connecting section arranged in a distal end region of the shaft, with a connecting device for connection, in particular in the manner of a bayonet connection, with a replaceable working insert being formed at said connecting section, the connecting device having a first engagement structure for a connection engagement of an engagement element of a working insert of a first type, and the connecting device having a second engagement structure for a connection engagement of an engagement element of a working insert of a second type, wherein the first and the second engagement structures are arranged and/or formed differently. The application also relates to an endoscopic instrument and an endoscopic system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Daniel Kärcher, Jochen Stefan, Tobias Unger
  • Publication number: 20240271659
    Abstract: A surgical instrument and a bearing arrangement includes a wobble plate having a main shaft. The wobble plate is rotatable about two axes and to the main axes of the main shaft. An intersection of the two axes defines a pivot center of the wobble plate and is located on the main axis. The main shaft has a spherical coupling portion. The wobble plate includes a hollow spherical outer bearing opening. A bearing arrangement includes rolling bearing balls and a ball cage movably arranged in the outer bearing opening and delimits a hollow spherical inner bearing opening. The ball cage includes window openings in which the rolling bearing balls are arranged. The coupling portion has first round grooves for the rolling bearing balls and the outer bearing opening has second round grooves for the rolling bearing balls.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 8, 2024
    Publication date: August 15, 2024
    Applicant: KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG
    Inventor: Sven Axel GRÜNER
  • Patent number: 12053153
    Abstract: An endoscope having an elongate shaft, an objective arranged in a distal end region of the shaft for generating an image of an object field in an image plane. The objective having a beam splitter, and an image recorder for recording the image of the object field and an optical waveguide for forwarding illumination radiation from a proximal region to the distal end region of the shaft. The endoscope being embodied as a contact endoscope, a sensor area of the image recorder arranged in the image plane and an emergence portion of the optical waveguide adapted to forward at least some of the illumination radiation to the beam splitter to illuminate the object field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignees: Karl Storz SE & Co. KG, GRINTECH GmbH
    Inventors: Werner Goebel, Bernhard Messerschmidt
  • Patent number: 12042130
    Abstract: A light source configured for fluorescence diagnosis comprises a first semiconductor-illuminant based light emission unit configured to emit first light in a broadband first wavelength spectrum, a second semiconductor-illuminant based light emission unit configured to emit second light in a narrowband second wavelength spectrum for excitation of fluorescence, a spectral filter for the first light emission unit that is configured to block spectral components of the first wavelength spectrum which are assigned to a color channel of a camera the fluorescence is to be detected with, and to transmit remaining spectral components of the first wavelength spectrum, a brightness control for the first light emission unit configured to dim the intensity of the emitted first light, and an optical intensity attenuator for the first light emission unit that is configured to reduce the intensity of the emitted first light below the minimum intensity obtainable through the brightness control without the intensity attenuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Werner Goebel, Henrik Spath, Franz Bauer, Costantino Pascale
  • Patent number: 12042128
    Abstract: A tubular working channel sheath that includes a working channel, a first sheath layer that defines the working channel and includes at least one plastic material. The first sheath layer has a constant layer thickness along an entire length of the working channel. The tubular working channel sheath includes a second sheath layer that includes at least one further plastic material different than the plastic material of the one sheath layer. The second sheath layer has a tapered layer thickness along a length of the working channel, and the tapered layer thickness tapers between a proximal end and a distal end of the working channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Indrek-Toomas Polluks, Craig Fitzpatrick
  • Publication number: 20240237883
    Abstract: The invention relates to an optical instrument having a housing (12), wherein situated in the housing (12) is a light source (14) which is designed to generate a first light flux which exits at a first interface (16) inside the housing (12), and a light supply (18) which is designed to guide a second light flux from outside the housing (12) into an interior of the housing (12) and to allow said light flux to exit at a second interface (22) inside the housing (12); wherein situated in the housing (12) is a light guide (24) which is designed to receive, either from the first interface (16) or from the second interface (22), light at a first end (26) via a third interface (28).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 19, 2022
    Publication date: July 18, 2024
    Applicant: Karl Storz SE & Co. KG
    Inventors: Jonas Forster, Andreas Heni, Pascal Heni, Marcus Kupferschmid, Daniel Ulmschneider
  • Patent number: 12035883
    Abstract: An endoscope with a rotation drum or a rotation module and an elongated rigid and/or flexible shaft tube which, at a distal end, by means of a bearing fork, rotatably bears the rotation drum about a first axis of rotation, and wherein an optical imaging system is disposed within the rotation drum. The bearing fork here has at least one first fluid conduit and at least one nozzle in order to clean and/or to cool the imaging system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventor: Peter Schwarz
  • Patent number: 12036077
    Abstract: The present application provides a sensor-based surgery set and a method for determining the position of a holding device for a surgical instrument. The surgery set includes at least one holding device, an initialization station, and a number of sensors. The initialization station has a number of sensor slots, wherein each sensor is assigned to one sensor slot and wherein the initialization station is coupled to a storage unit in which initialization information is assigned to each sensor slot. A number of sensor slots are arranged on the holding device, wherein each sensor slot is assigned to one sensor slot of the initialization station. In an initialization arrangement, a specific number of sensors is in engagement with the sensor slots of the initialization station and are coupled to the storage unit for initialization and data transmission. In use, however, the sensors are in engagement with the sensor slots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2024
    Assignee: KARL STORZ SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Yaokun Zhang, Chunman Fan
  • Patent number: 12029402
    Abstract: Handling device for the formation of a disassemblable medical instrument comprises a first component, a second component, which can be moved relative to the first component, a coupling device on the second component, wherein the coupling device is designed and arranged in order to be coupled to a corresponding coupling device at the proximal end of a force transmission device within a working range of positions of the second component and in order not to be coupled to a corresponding coupling device at the proximal end of a force transmission device in a release position of the second component, and a guiding device on the first component for guiding a corresponding coupling device at the proximal end of a force transmission device within a transitional range between one end of the working range and the release position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2024
    Assignee: Karl Storz SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Daniel Kaercher, Robin Merz, Jochen Stefan
  • Patent number: D1035878
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2024
    Assignee: Karl Storz SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Thore Zantop, Wolf Petersen, Andreas Weiler, Hannes Biedermann, Patrick Burki
  • Patent number: D1039144
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Karl Storz SE & CO. KG
    Inventors: Katharina Endress, Daniel Ulmschneider