Side looking minimally invasive surgery instrument assembly

摘要

Two surgical instruments are inserted through a guide tube. The surgical instruments exit at an intermediate position of the guide tube and are oriented to be substantially parallel to the guide tube's longitudinal axis as they exit. A stereoscopic image capture component is on the guide tube between the intermediate position and the guide tube's distal end. The image capture component's field of view is generally perpendicular to the guide tube's longitudinal axis. The surgical instruments and the guide tube are telemanipulatively controlled.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
extending a U-turn mechanism of a first surgical instrument from a distal end of a guide tube to move the first surgical instrument into a field of view of an image capture component, the field of view of the image capture component being positioned generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the guide tube, the U-turn mechanism including a constant fixed U-shaped portion, the U-shaped portion having a first end and a second end, the first end and second end of the U-shaped portion being ends of the U-shape, the first surgical instrument including a shaft, a joint, and an end effector, the first end of the U-shaped portion being coupled to the shaft, the joint being coupled between the second end of the U-shaped portion and the end effector; extending a second surgical instrument from the guide tube toward the field of view, the second surgical instrument extending from the guide tube generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the guide tube; and moving a flexible segment of the guide tube, wherein the flexible segment is between the distal end of the guide tube and an intermediate portion of the guide, and wherein the flexible segment is proximal to a location where the image capture component is positioned on the guide tube.