Flexible Wrist for Surgical Tool
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a tool having a wrist mechanism that provides pitch and yaw rotation in such a way that the tool has no singularity in roll, pitch, and yaw. In one embodiment, a minimally invasive surgical instrument comprises an elongate shaft having a working end, a proximal end, and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end; and an end effector. A wrist member has a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall. The wall of the flexible tube includes a plurality of lumens oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube. The wrist member has a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector. A plurality of actuation cables have distal portions connected to the end effector and extend from the distal portion through the lumens of the wall of the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation.
105 Citations
45 Claims
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1-7. -7. (canceled)
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8. A minimally invasive surgical instrument comprising:
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an elongate shaft having a working end, a proximal end, and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end; an end effector; a wrist member having a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall, the wall of the flexible tube including a plurality of lumens oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube, the wrist member having a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector; and a plurality of actuation cables having distal portions connected to the end effector and extending from the distal portion through the lumens of the wall of the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27-37. -37. (canceled)
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38. A method comprising:
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actuating proximal portions of a plurality of actuation cables extending from a distal portion of a wrist member through the wrist member to an elongate shaft, distal portions of the plurality of actuation cables coupled to a distal portion of the wrist member; and actuating the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation in response to the actuating the proximal portions of the plurality of actuation cables, the wrist member having a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall, the wall of the flexible tube including a plurality of lumens oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube, the actuation cables running through the lumens, the wrist member having a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. An apparatus comprising:
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an elongate shaft having a working end, a proximal end, and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end; an end effector; flexible wrist means for moving the end effector relative to the working end of the elongate shaft by manipulating proximal portions of a plurality of cables, the plurality of cables running through a plurality of lumens disposed in the flexible wrist means.
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Specification