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Interchangeable instrument

  • US 6,860,878 B2
  • Filed: 03/15/2002
  • Issued: 03/01/2005
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1998
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A remotely controllable medical apparatus comprising:

  • a master side including a user interface manually manipulable by a user for sending operation command signals to a signal processor, the signal processor processing the command signals and sending processed signals;

    a slave side having instruments controlled from said master side and including;

    an instrument driver; and

    an instrument exchange mechanism mechanically intercoupled to the instrument driver;

    the instrument exchange mechanism comprising;

    a plurality of separate instrument members each capable of assisting in a medical procedure to be performed at an operative site; and

    an instrument storage chamber for releasably receiving said plurality of instrument members, accommodated in separate storage locations within the instrument storage chamber;

    said instrument driver constructed and arranged for cooperative positioning relative to the instrument storage chamber, for selective alignment with one of said instrument members at a time, and for displacing the aligned instrument member from the instrument storage chamber toward the operative site;

    at least one of said instrument driver and instrument storage chamber being positionally controllable so as to provide relative displacement therebetween to selectively align said instrument driver with a selected instrument member;

    the instrument driver being remotely drivable via the user interface to insert and withdraw selected instruments.

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