Surgical Apparatus
First Claim
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1. A guide for a surgical instrument, comprising:
- an instrument holder for holding the surgical instrument; and
a support for the instrument holder;
wherein;
one of the instrument holder and the support comprises a bearing presenting at least three contact points that are arranged to be coincident with the surface of a sphere;
the other of the instrument holder and the support comprises a partial spherical surface having substantially the same radius as the sphere;
and wherein, in use, the contact points are placed in contact with the spherical surface, the orientation of said surgical instrument thereby being adjustable by relative movement of the contact points and the spherical surface.
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Abstract
A guide for a surgical instrument has a support and an instrument holder. One of the support and the instrument holder has a partial spherical surface, and the other has three of more contact points arranged to be coincident with the surface of a sphere having substantially the same radius as the spherical surface. In use, the spherical surface and the contact points are placed in contact with each other, and the orientation of a surgical instrument can be adjusted by relative movement of the contact points and the spherical surface.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A guide for a surgical instrument, comprising:
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an instrument holder for holding the surgical instrument; and a support for the instrument holder; wherein; one of the instrument holder and the support comprises a bearing presenting at least three contact points that are arranged to be coincident with the surface of a sphere; the other of the instrument holder and the support comprises a partial spherical surface having substantially the same radius as the sphere; and wherein, in use, the contact points are placed in contact with the spherical surface, the orientation of said surgical instrument thereby being adjustable by relative movement of the contact points and the spherical surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of performing surgery on a patient, the patient having an internal target for surgery and an insertion point, the method comprising the steps of:
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fixing a guide to the patient at the site of the insertion point, the guide comprising an instrument holder and a support for the instrument holder, one of the instrument holder and the support comprising a bearing presenting at least three contact points that are arranged to be coincident with the surface of a sphere, the other of the instrument holder and the support comprising a partial spherical surface having substantially the same radius as the sphere; placing the contact points in contact with the spherical surface; adjusting the relative position of the contact points and the spherical surface to define a satisfactory path through the insertion point to the internal target; and inserting a surgical instrument along said path. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification