Insufflation needle

Abstract

A medical apparatus which comprises a sharpened outer cannula and a blunt inner cannula slidingly disposed within the outer cannula is configured to allow one-hand operation by user to operate the medical apparatus. The apparatus also contains a visual position indication system adapted to indicate the position of the inner cannula.

1 . A method of performing a medical procedure comprising the steps of:
 providing a puncturing apparatus comprising nested hollow tubes in sliding relationship to one another, the nested hollow tubes comprising an outer cannula and an inner cannula,   urging the inner cannula to an extended position wherein a distal end of the inner cannula extends beyond a distal end of the outer cannula,   applying a force against the distal end of the inner cannula to urge the inner cannula to a retracted position wherein the distal end of the inner cannula does not extend beyond the distal end of the outer cannula, and   providing a visual position indication system having a first indicating member and a second indicating member, the first indicating member including a plurality of teeth arranged around a circumference of the second indicating member, wherein the visual position indication system provides a first indication when the inner cannula extends beyond the outer cannula and a second indication when the inner cannula does not extend beyond the distal end of the outer cannula.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first indicating member is slidably coupled to the second indicating member to indicate a position of the inner cannula relative to the outer cannula. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising a step of actuating a gas actuating switch by (i) forcing the gas actuating switch forwardly away from a heel of a user's hand using a thumb or other digit of a user by pressing a cradle portion against the heel of the user's hand to introduce a gas flow through the inner cannula to a body cavity, and (ii) forcing the gas actuating switch backwardly toward the heel of the user's hand using the thumb or other digit of the user to halt the gas flow. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first indicating member comprises a positive indicating member and the second indicating member comprises a negative indicating member, the positive indicating member is perceptible when a blunt tip exposed beyond a sharpened tip, and the negative indicating member is perceptible when the sharpened tip is exposed beyond the blunt tip and includes a plurality of teeth arranged around a circumference of the second indicating member. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the first indicating member is slidably coupled to the second indicating member to indicate a position of the inner cannula relative to the outer cannula, the second indicating member is stationary and is affixed at an operative end of a handle. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the positive indicating member is a first color and the negative indicating member is a second color that is different than the first color. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the positive indicating member comprises a shaped puncture which extends through the positive indicating member thereby exposing a part of the second color of the negative indicating member positioned beneath the shaped puncture. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a gas actuating switch is configured to control gas flow of a medical apparatus by engaging a resilient tube operatively connecting the distal end and the operative end of the handle to conduct gas, a sliding member of the gas actuating switch is slidably movable between a first position and a second position along the handle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a gas activation system is positioned on a superior surface of the handle to allow a one-hand operation. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a handle of the apparatus is ergonomically designed such that the distal end of the handle is tapered and angled toward a floor so that an apparatus is held by a user's fingers pressing the medical device against a heel of a hand, leaving the thumb free for movement to control the gas actuating switch. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each tooth has an arrow shape with an arrowhead pointing to the sharpened tip of the outer cannula. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising an ergonomically designed handle coupled to a stopcock switch opposite a position indication system. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of teeth are evenly spaced apart from one another over the circumference of the second indicating member. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of teeth are evenly spaced apart from one another over the circumference of the second indicating member. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each tooth is independently shaped as a circle, semicircle, oval, crescent, star, heart, hourglass, triangle, rectangle, diamond, hexagon, and octagon.