Importance

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Abstract

An apparatus is disclosed which automatically controls the suctioning of materials from a surgical zone, such as the human eye, which may function as a counterpart to an apparatus for automatically regulating the pressure of fluid in the same surgical zone. The apparatus incorporates a pressure transducer which continuously senses the vacuum level of a debris receptacle when the suctioning of material from the surgical zone into the receptacle is desired. The receptacle may be maintained at a certain predetermined maximum vacuum level by a vacuum source, and the vacuum may vary depending on the application. To control the vacuum of the debris bottle, the pressure transducer communicates with the control electronics which can vary the vacuum level in the receptacle by either increasing the vacuum level by opening a valve, located between the vacuum source and the debris receptacle, where the vacuum level in the receptacle is insufficient to properly suction materials from the surgical zone. On the other hand, the vacuum level in the debris receptacle may be decreased where the vacuum level in the receptacle level is above that required to properly suction materials from the surgical zone, by opening a bleed or an atmospheric valve to allow the vacuum in the receptacle to decrease to the desirable level. The vacuum level of the receptacle may be controlled by a manually operated potentiometer which may be in the form of a foot pedal to be operated by the surgeon doing surgery.

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First Claim