Disclosed is a four-jawed combinational scissor-grasper surgical tool for use in laparoscopy. Cutting and grasping functionalities are respectively enabled via movement of a pair of such specially contoured jaw members sliding against or splaying apart from the other pair. Also disclosed are means for achieving selectable interlocking of jaw members and mechanical linkage for their actuation by human user.

A robotic surgical instrument, comprising: a shaft; an end effector element; an articulation at a distal end of the shaft for articulating the end effector element, the articulation comprising: a first and second joint permitting the end effector element to adopt a range of configurations relative to a longitudinal axis of the shaft, the first joint being driveable by a first pair of driving elements having a first positional accuracy requirement and the second joint being driveable by a second pair of driving elements having a second positional accuracy requirement lower than the positional accuracy requirement of the first pair of driving elements; and an instrument interface at a proximal end of the shaft, comprising: a chassis formed from the attachment of a first chassis portion to a second chassis portion, the first chassis portion comprising a mounting surface to which the shaft is mounted; wherein the first pair of driving elements are secured relative to the first chassis portion.

A robotic surgical instrument, comprising:a shaft; an articulation at a distal end of the shaft for articulating an end effector, the articulation being driveable by a pair of driving elements; and an instrument interface at a proximal end of the shaft, the instrument interface comprising:a chassis; an instrument interface element slideable along a guide bar for driving the pair of driving elements, wherein the pair of driving elements are fast with respect to the interface element so that a displacement of the instrument interface element with respect to the guide bar is transferred to the pair of driving elements; the chassis comprising a support element configured to interface the guide bar along at least a portion of its length; and a securing element for retaining the guide bar against the support element to thereby secure the guide bar to the chassis.

A robotic surgical instrument, comprising: a shaft; an end effector element; an articulation at a distal end of the shaft for articulating the end effector element, the articulation comprising a first joint permitting the end effector to adopt a range of configurations relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft, the first joint being driveable by a first pair of driving elements; and an instrument interface at a proximal end of the shaft, comprising: a chassis formed from the securement of a first chassis portion to a second chassis portion, wherein the first pair of driving elements are secured relative to the chassis, the chassis portions being configured to be secured together by sliding the chassis portions relative to each other in a longitudinal direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

An endoscopic bipolar forceps includes a housing having a shaft extending therefrom with an end effector disposed at a distal end thereof. The end effector assembly includes a first and second jaw members having cam slots defined therein with distal and proximal sections at different angles relative to a longitudinal axis. Upon initial actuation of a handle, a cam pin engages the distal cam section of the first jaw member causing it to move relative to the second jaw member while the second jaw member remains stationary. Upon continued actuation of the handle, the cam pin engages the proximal cam section of the first jaw member causing the first jaw member to remain stationary while the second jaw member cams relative to the first jaw member to close against tissue disposed between the first and second jaw members.

In the case of an electrosurgical instrument, provision is made for a tool (16), for the operation of which at least one, preferably two pull/thrust elements (39, 40) and a sliding element (56) are required. The sliding element (56) is held between a pull/thrust element (39) and a thrust bearing, wherein the thrust bearing can be formed by means of a further pull/thrust element (40). This arrangement utilizes the fact that the sliding element must only be activated, when the pull/thrust element is tensioned tightly. This concept of guiding the sliding element at the pull/thrust element provides for the simple design of instruments comprising long shafts, wherein separate measures for laterally reinforcing the sliding elements do not need to be taken.

This invention is directed to a medical device having a longitudinal axis, and including a handle and a catheter. The handle can include a body having a proximal end and a distal end, an actuator moveably coupled to the body, and a handle control member coupled to the actuator, wherein the actuator can be configured to move relative to the body to move the handle control member. The catheter can include a shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end of the shaft and the distal end of the body can be configured for releasable coupling. The catheter can also include a steering section located along the shaft and a catheter control member coupled to the steering section, wherein the catheter control member can be configured to move relative to the shaft to move the steering section relative to the longitudinal axis. The medical device can also include a securing member configured to move relative to at least one of the handle and the catheter to releasably couple the handle control member to the catheter control member.

A surgical robotic instrument comprising: a shaft; an end effector element; an articulation connecting the end effector element to the shaft, the articulation comprising: a first joint driveable by a first pair of driving elements, the first joint permitting the end effector element to rotate about a first axis transverse to a longitudinal axis of the shaft; a second joint driveable by a second pair of driving elements; a pulley arrangement around which the second pair of driving elements is constrained to move, the pulley arrangement comprising: a first set of pulleys rotatable about the first axis; and a second set of pulleys proximal to the first set of pulleys and comprising a first pulley rotatable about a second axis, and a second pulley rotatable about a third axis parallel to and offset from the second axis; and a clevis unit comprising two arms supporting the pulleys of the pulley arrangement, and a pulley guard extending from one of the arms for guarding one of the first and second pulleys.

A deployment mechanism for selectively deploying and retracting an energizable member and/an insulative member relative to an end effector assembly of a surgical instrument includes one or more actuators, a clutch assembly, and a drive assembly. The clutch assembly is configured to couple to the actuator(s) to provide rotational motion in the first direction in response to such rotation of the actuator(s) and to decouple from the actuator(s) in response to rotation thereof in the second direction. The drive assembly is operably coupled to the clutch assembly and is configured to convert the rotational motion provided by the clutch assembly into longitudinal motion to translate the energizable member and/or insulative member from a storage position to a deployed position and to translate the energizable member and/or the insulative member from the deployed position back to the storage position.

A surgical end effector includes a clevis and two jaws rotatably coupled to the clevis. A rocking pin in the form of a solid of revolution is pivotally supported by the clevis. The rocking pin may be pivotally supported by the clevis at the midpoint between the first and second ends. The opposite ends of the rocking pin engage the jaws to constrain the jaws to have opposite motions around the axes of rotation of the jaws. The clevis may be coupled to an elongate shaft to provide an endoscopic instrument. The first and second jaws may electrically isolated from one another for electrocautery and the rocking pin may be formed from a non-conductive material or electrically isolated from the first and second jaws by electrically non-conductive liners. The jaws may be opened and closed by pushing and pulling on wires coupled to the jaws.