Pneumatic motor for medical instruments

Claim 1

A pneumatic turbine powered surgical motor apparatus for rotating a medical instrument comprising, in combination, an elongated housing having a longitudinal axis, an input end and an output end, a shaft rotatably mounted in said housing concentric with said axis and projecting from said output end adapted to drive a cutting instrument, a pressurized gas connection and an exhaust gas connection defined on said housing at said input end, an axial flow turbine having a rotor rotatably mounted in said housing concentric thereto and drivingly connected to said shaft, said turbine having an inlet disposed toward said housing output end and an exit disposed toward said housing input end, first passage means longitudinally defined in said housing concentrically extending about the periphery of said turbine and communicating with said pressurized gas connection and said turbine inlet, and second passage means defined in said housing communicating with said exhaust gas connection and said turbine exit whereby pressurized gas entering said pressurized gas connection and first passage flows toward said housing output end to said turbine inlet, enters said turbine inlet and reverses its direction of flow to flow through said turbine toward said housing input end and from said turbine exit to said exhaust gas connection.