Surgical instrument with extended reach for use in minimally invasive surgery
First Claim
1. A surgical instrument comprisingan elongate shaft defining opposed ends;
- an end effector mounted at one of the ends of the shaft, the end effector having two fingers pivotally connected relative to each other to be angularly displaceable relative to each other about an end effector pivot axis at the one end of the shaft, each finger defining a free end remote from the end effector pivot axis and being of a length defined between its free end and the end effector pivot axis of at least 18 mm; and
a robotic control system coupled to the shaft for effecting movements and actuation of the end effector.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved surgical instrument, which can advantageously be used in the field of minimally invasive surgery, is provided. A method of performing a surgical procedure with such an improved surgical instrument is also provided. The improved surgical instrument includes an elongate shaft defining opposed ends. An end effector is mounted on one of the ends of the shaft. The end effector has at least one finger pivotally connected at the one end of the shaft selectively to be displaceable angularly about an end effector pivot axis at the one end of the shaft, such that a free end of the finger is displaceable about the end effector pivot axis. The finger has a length, defined between its free end and the end effector pivot axis, of at least 18 mm.
-
Citations
28 Claims
-
1. A surgical instrument comprising
an elongate shaft defining opposed ends; -
an end effector mounted at one of the ends of the shaft, the end effector having two fingers pivotally connected relative to each other to be angularly displaceable relative to each other about an end effector pivot axis at the one end of the shaft, each finger defining a free end remote from the end effector pivot axis and being of a length defined between its free end and the end effector pivot axis of at least 18 mm; and
a robotic control system coupled to the shaft for effecting movements and actuation of the end effector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A method of performing a surgical procedure, the method comprising
passing a surgical instrument having an elongate shaft, at one end of which an end effector is mounted, through an entry port in a patient body into a position in which the end effector is positioned within the patient body and an opposed end of the shaft is positioned outside the patient body, the end effector having at least one working member pivotally connected at the one end of the shaft to be angularly displaceable about an end effector pivot axis, the working member defining a free end remote from the end effector pivot axis and being of a length defined between its free end and the end effector pivot axis of at least 18 mm; -
connecting the surgical instrument in a robotically controlled system; and
actuating the end effector from outside the patient body by means of the robotically controlled system so as to cause the working member selectively to displace angularly about the end effector pivot axis thereby to perform at least part of the surgical procedure. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
-
-
25. A surgical instrument comprising
an elongate shaft defining opposed ends; - and
an end effector mounted at one of the ends of the shaft, the end effector defining a working member pivotally connected at the one end of the shaft to be angularly displaceable relative to the shaft about an end effector pivot axis at the one end of the shaft, the working member defining a free end remote from the end effector pivot axis and being of a length defined between its free end and the end effector pivot axis of at least 18 mm. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
- and
-
28. A surgical instrument comprising
an elongate shaft defining opposed ends; -
a wrist member pivotally connected at one end of the shaft to be angularly displaceable relative to the shaft about a wrist pivot axis at the one end of the shaft; and
an end effector defining at least one working member, the working member being pivotally connected on the wrist member about an end effector pivot axis, spaced from the wrist pivot axis, to be angularly displaceable relative to the wrist member, the working member defining a free end remote from the end effector pivot axis, the distance between the free end of the working member and the end effector pivot axis being at least about twice as large as the distance between the end effector pivot axis and the wrist pivot axis.
-
Specification