Spring scissor blade

Abstract

An endoscopic instrument includes an elongate hollow member, an actuator that moves axially through the hollow member, and first and second end effectors with respective tissue engaging edges. At least one of the end effectors is rotatably coupled to the hollow member adjacent its distal end. At least one of the end effectors includes a base supporting a resilient leaf-spring portion that includes a respective cutting edge. The resilient leaf-spring portion extends from the base in a cantilevered arrangement and generates a spring force acting on the respective cutting edge such that in a loaded state there is an automatic preload force imparted between the cutting edges of the end effectors to maintain a consistent and continuous mating force between the two opposed tissue engaging edges preferably over the complete range of rotational movement of the end effectors.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to surgical scissors instruments, and more particularly to endoscopic scissors instruments with small sized scissor blades. Background technique [0002] Endoscopy is a minimally invasive diagnostic medical procedure that uses an endoscope to gain access to the inside of the human body. Endoscopes typically include a rigid or flexible tube; a fiber optic illumination system to direct light provided by a light source through the tube of the endoscope to illuminate the organ or object under examination; and a viewing system to collect the organ or object under examination and record the image on an internal CCD device (video-endoscopy) or for transmitting the image via a fiber optic bundle through the tube to an external video processor for observation (fiber-optic-endoscopy). Endoscopes may include one or more "operating" channels (typically 2-4 mm in diameter) that provide for the delivery of specialized medical instrumen...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This last design approach involves different and expensive assembly and manufacturing processes

Furthermore, the effectiveness of using prior art rigid cams or similar features in small endoscopic scissor designs is limited by how far the cam surface is from the cutting edge, and there is little improvement in the problem of maintaining edge-to-edge contact due to constant component "overflow"

These designs have historically failed to give small surgical scissors instruments the responsive feel and cutting performance that surgeons need and expect through their experience with larger hand-held surgical scissors in open surgery.

Images