Certain aspects relate to systems and techniques for articulating medical instruments. In one aspect, the instrument includes a wrist having at least two degrees of freedom of movement, and an end effector coupled to the wrist. The end effector can include an upper jaw, a lower jaw, and a firing mechanism configured to form staples in tissue. Actuation of the firing mechanism can be decoupled from the movement of the wrist in the at least two degrees of freedom.

A cartridge assembly of a surgical stapling instrument includes a housing having an arcuate configuration, a knife disposed within the housing, and a staple actuator configured to eject staples. A longitudinally-extending cutting edge of the knife is configured to advance through tissue after the staple actuator ejects all of the staples from the cartridge assembly.

Disclosed are medical devices for surgical procedures, especially procedures that involve the manipulation of surgical instrument end effectors close to the skin surface at an incision site. In accordance with some embodiments, an instrument access device is configured to couple to a wound retractor at a distal end of the device and to receive a multiple instrument entry guide in a port at the proximal end of the instrument access device, with an envelope between the distal and proximal ends defining a sealed cavity for maintaining insufflation pressure. Various embodiments provide means for rotating an assistant port in the envelope about a port that receives the instrument entry guide without twisting the envelope. Also disclosed are various envelope shapes. Also disclosed is an instrument entry guide that aligns surgical instrument shafts.

A surgical system includes a gripping robot that holds a treatment tool, a storage, and a controller. The storage stores relationship information of a relationship between condition information of a surgery and a position of the gripping robot. The controller sets, based on the relationship information from the storage, an initial position of the gripping robot, and generates a control signal to control the gripping robot to move to the initial position and outputs the control signal to the gripping robot.

A surgery-assisting device includes a robot arm that includes plural movable bodies that are operably connected in order in a connecting direction, a surgical instrument connected to a distal end of the robot arm, and one or more actuators that generate a driving force that operates one or more of the movable bodies. The movable bodies include one or more distal-side movable bodies that is provided distally in the connection direction, and one or more proximal-side movable bodies that is provided proximally in the connection direction. An operation tolerance of the one or more distal-side movable bodies is higher than an operation tolerance of the one or more proximal-side movable bodies.

A method for controlling an articulating surgical instrument is disclosed. The instrument includes a manipulator and a positioner actuable to position a distal segment within an instrument workspace. The manipulator is attached to the distal segment and includes a distal end configured for mounting an operational tool for performing an operation within the instrument workspace, the manipulator being actuable to manipulate the distal end of the manipulator. The method involves receiving input including position input signals representing a position within an input workspace and orientation input signals representing an orientation within the input workspace and causing generating position control signals for actuating the positioner to move the distal segment within the instrument workspace to a physical position represented by the position input signal and generating manipulation control signals based on the orientation input signals for actuating the manipulator to orient the distal end within the instrument workspace.

Disclosed herein are various medical device components, including components that can be incorporated into robotic and/or in vivo medical devices. Also disclosed are various medical devices for in vivo medical procedures. Included herein, for example, is a surgical robotic device having an elongate device body, a right robotic arm coupled to a right shoulder assembly, and a left robotic arm coupled to a left shoulder assembly.

A hybrid, direct-control and robotic-assisted surgical system may have a stabilizing apparatus configured to at least partially support the weight of the surgical device and having comprising a device attachment unit configured to removably receive a surgical device having an elongate shaft and a distal tip. The stabilizing apparatus can be configured to constrain movement of the device attachment unit about a remote centre of motion. A handle may be mechanically attached to the device attachment unit and manual, Cartesian movement of the handle may results in corresponding Cartesian movement of the distal tip of the surgical device. A robotic assist system may include a sensor assembly configured to monitor at least a first attribute of the handle and generate a corresponding sensor signal, a controller communicably linked to the sensor assembly to receive the sensor signal and generate a corresponding primary control signal and a powered actuation unit communicably linked to the controller to receive the primary control signal and configured to actuate an end effector of the surgical device received in the device attachment unit based on the primary control signal.

There is provided a computer implemented method of providing a surgical controller with instructions to restrict a manipulation of an endoscopic tool during an endoscopic medical procedure in an intrabody cavity, comprising: inputting into classifier(s), indication(s) of instructions for manipulation of the endoscopic tool outputted by sensor(s), classifying by the classifier(s), the indication of instructions into an envelope defining a volume that restricts therein manipulation of the endoscopic tool, wherein the classifier(s) classifies the envelope based on previously obtained indications of instructions for manipulation of endoscopic tools during other endoscopic medical procedures performed in intrabody cavities of other patients, analyzing the indication of instructions for manipulation of the endoscopic tool according to the envelope to determine when the instructions are for manipulation of the endoscopic tool externally to the envelope, and providing the surgical controller with an indication of inappropriate manipulation according to the analysis.

A suturing device includes a clamshell body having a first side coupled to a second side by a hinge at a hinge end. The first side and the second side each have a cantilevered end opposite the hinge end. The clamshell body is configured to actuate between an open position and a closed position. A suture retainer is positioned within the claim shell body and is configured to receive a suture. An opening is formed in a wall of the of the second side of the clamshell body.