ARTICULATING APPARATUS FOR ENDOSCOPIC PROCEDURES

• Main Authors: SNIFFIN, Kevin, FISCHVOGT, Gregory
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 14.07.2021
• Subjects: DIAGNOSIS; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; IDENTIFICATION; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; SURGERY

An endoscopic surgical device, comprising a handle assembly including a handle housing and a trigger operatively connected to the handle housing, and a drive mechanism actuatable by the trigger, an endoscopic assembly including a proximal end portion extending from the handle assembly, a distal end portion pivotably connected to the proximal end portion of the endoscopic assembly at a pivot point and a rotatable inner actuation shaft extending from the handle assembly and into the distal end portion of the endoscopic assembly, the inner actuation shaft including a flexible portion extending across the pivot point, the inner actuation shaft being connected to the drive mechanism of the handle assembly such that an actuation of the trigger results in a rotation of the inner actuation shaft, and an end effector selectively connectable to the distal end portion of the endoscopic assembly and to a distal portion of the rotatable inner actuation shaft, the end effector includes an outer tube having a helical thread along an inner surface thereof, a splined inner tube rotatably supported in the outer tube, wherein the splined inner tube is defined by a pair of opposed longitudinally extending tines and a pair of opposed longitudinally extending channels, a proximal end of the splined inner tube being configured for non-rotatable selective connection to a distal end of the rotatable inner actuation shaft when the end effector is connected to the distal end portion of the endoscopic assembly and a plurality of surgical anchors loaded in the inner tube of the end effector, wherein each anchor includes a threaded body portion, and a head portion defining a pair of opposed radially outer threads and a pair of opposed radial recesses, wherein the pair of radial recess of each head portion receive respective tines of the inner tube and wherein the pair of opposed radially outer threads of each head portion project from the pair of opposed longitudinally extending channels of the inner tube and engage the inner helical thread of the outer tube, wherein the endoscopic assembly includes a support tube assembly having a proximal support tube portion extending from the handle assembly, and a distal support tube portion pivotally connected to proximal support tube portion thereby defining an articulation joint therebetween an articulation tube slidably supported in the support tube assembly, a proximal end of the articulation tube being connected to an articulation actuator supported on the handle assembly, and a distal end of the articulation tube being pivotably connected to an articulation link that is also pivotably connected to the distal support tube portion of the support tube assembly, the inner actuation shaft which is rotatably supported in the articulation tube, the inner actuation shaft including a proximal shaft portion operatively connected to the drive mechanism, a distal shaft portion non-rotatably connected to a distal end of the proximal shaft portion, and a coupling member non-rotatably connected to a distal end of the distal shaft portion, wherein the distal shaft portion of the inner actuation shaft is the flexible portion and wherein the inner actuation shaft is axially translatable within the articulation tube and a proximal end of the proximal shaft portion of the inner actuation shaft supports a pair of axially spaced apart radial flanges wherein the handle assembly includes a slider supported thereon, wherein a stem of the slider extends between the pair of axially spaced apart radial flanges supported on the inner actuation shaft, wherein the slider is movable between a proximal position and a distal position, and wherein movement of the slider between the proximal position and the distal position results in movement of the inner actuation shaft between a respective proximal position and a distal position.