Patent · US Expired

Accessories for minimally invasive robotic surgery and methods

US6309397A · kind A · utility

1,385Cited by
9References
44Claims
0Family size

Assignees

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 2, 1999
Grant dateOct 30, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 2, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B2034/305
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Surgical accessories are presented in vivo and used by surgical tools in the surgical site to perform additional tasks without the need to remove the tools from the surgical site for tool change or instrument loading. Examples of in vivo accessories include fastening accessories such as surgical clips for use with a clip applier, single working member accessories such as a blade which can be grasped and manipulated by a grasping tool for cutting, sheath accessories that fit over working members of a tool, flow tubes for providing suction or introducing a fluid into the surgical site, and a retraction member resiliently biased to retract a tissue to expose an area in the surgical site for treatment. The accessories can be introduced into the surgical site by a dedicated accessory introducer, or can be supported on the body of a surgical tool inserted into the surgical site and be manipulated using another surgical tool in the surgical site. The accessory introducer can be resiliently biased to bias the accessories toward a predetermined position in the surgical site.

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