SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS WITH ARTICULATING SHAFTS
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
- an ultrasonic blade, the ultrasonic blade comprising;
a proximally positioned straight section extending along a longitudinal axis; and
a distally positioned curved section coupled to the straight section and curved away from the longitudinal axis, wherein the curved section defines a radius of curvature, wherein the curved section subtends a first angle, and wherein a point of tangency between the curved section and the straight section is located at a predetermined position.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments described herein are directed to ultrasonic blades. For example, an ultrasonic blade may comprise a proximally positioned straight section extending along a longitudinal axis and a distally positioned curved section coupled to the straight section and curved away from the longitudinal axis. The curved section may define a radius of curvature and subtend a first angle. A point of tangency between the curved section and the straight section may be positioned at either a node of the ultrasonic blade or an anti-node of the ultrasonic blade.
-
Citations
35 Claims
-
1. A surgical instrument comprising:
an ultrasonic blade, the ultrasonic blade comprising; a proximally positioned straight section extending along a longitudinal axis; and a distally positioned curved section coupled to the straight section and curved away from the longitudinal axis, wherein the curved section defines a radius of curvature, wherein the curved section subtends a first angle, and wherein a point of tangency between the curved section and the straight section is located at a predetermined position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
8. An articulatable surgical instrument comprising:
-
an end effector to treat tissue, wherein the end effector comprises an ultrasonic blade; a shaft extending proximally from the end effector along a longitudinal axis wherein the shaft comprises a flexible portion; a waveguide acoustically coupled to the ultrasonic blade and extending proximally through the shaft, wherein the waveguide comprises a bendable waveguide portion at about the flexible shaft portion, and wherein the waveguide comprises; a first flange positioned at a node of the waveguide distal from the bendable waveguide portion and coupled to an interior of the shaft; a second flange positioned at a node of the waveguide proximate from the bendable waveguide portion and coupled to an interior of the shaft; a first control member coupled to the first flange and extending proximally through the second flange and shaft, such that proximal translation of the first control member pulls the first flange proximally, causing the shaft and waveguide to pivot away from the longitudinal axis towards the first control member. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. An articulatable surgical instrument comprising:
-
an end effector to treat tissue; an outer shaft extending along a longitudinal axis; an inner shaft at least partially within the outer shaft, the inner shaft extending proximally from the end effector, wherein the inner shaft comprises a biased portion that is biased to bend away from the longitudinal axis in a first direction; wherein the inner shaft and the outer shaft are translatable relative to one another to a first position where the biased portion of the inner shaft is within the outer shaft and the inner shaft is substantially straight along the longitudinal axis; and wherein the inner shaft and the outer shaft are translatable relative to one another to a second position where the biased portion of the inner shaft is outside of and distally positioned from the outer shaft such that the biased portion of the inner shaft is bent away from the longitudinal axis in the first direction. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A surgical instrument comprising:
-
a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis; an ultrasonic blade positioned within the shaft, wherein the ultrasonic blade comprises a proximally positioned straight section and a distally positioned curved section; wherein the ultrasonic blade is translatable along the longitudinal axis relative to the shaft from a first position where the curved section of the blade extends from a distal end of the shaft to a second position where the curved section of the blade is at least partially contained within the shaft. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
-
Specification