Patent · US Expired

Laparoscopic surgical instrument

US5496317A · kind A · utility

2,552Cited by
16References
28Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 3, 1994
Grant dateMar 5, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 3, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B2018/146
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A laparoscopic surgical instrument which may be in the form of forceps or a cutter has, at the end of a hollow tube for introduction through the body cavity wall, a housing, a pair of pivotally mounted metallic jaws, a reciprocable control rod in the tube, and an actuator secured to the control rod. The actuator has a pair of guide grooves which are oppositely inclined with respect to a longitudinal axis of the instrument, and each jaw has a lug which fits in a respective groove, the lugs being spaced from the jaw pivots so that reciprocation of the control rod causes opening and closing of the jaws. The housing and the actuator are electrically insulating and the jaw pivots are spaced apart to achieve electrical isolation of one jaw from the other, for applying a radio frequency voltage across the jaws for bipolar electrosurgery.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.