Vacuum powered rotary devices and methods

Abstract

The present devices and methods relate generally to vacuum or suction powered medical devices and methods for cutting, resecting, excising, morcellating and/or evacuating tissue from various regions of a patient's body. In certain variations, the devices may produce a rotational motion by converting a linear reciprocating motion to a rotational motion, causing a cutting shaft or other tool to rotate to perform work on a tissue in various regions of the body.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A medical device for cutting tissue from the human body comprising:
 a shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and a lumen extending there between, wherein the shaft has an opening at the distal end and a sharpened edge surrounding at least a portion of a perimeter of the opening, wherein the shaft is rotatable about a central axis of the shaft;   a mechanism powered by suction from a vacuum source, wherein the mechanism is configured to produce a linear reciprocating motion; and   a component coupled to the mechanism and coupled to the shaft, wherein the component is configured to convert the linear reciprocating motion to rotary motion, thereby causing the shaft to rotate to cut tissue.