LAPAROSCOPIC SUTURING INSTRUMENT WITH COAXIAL DRIVE SHAFTS

摘要

A suture needle driving instrument (10) comprises a shaft assembly (100), an end effector (200), and a grasping actuation assembly (20). The end effector is located at the distal end of the shaft assembly and includes a pair of grasping arms (210,250). Each grasping arm comprises a respective pair of jaws (220,230,260,270). Each pair of jaws is operable to cooperate to grasp and release a suture needle (50). The grasping actuation assembly is operable to drive one jaw of each pair in one direction while simultaneously driving the other jaw of the pair in an opposite direction, to selectively grasp or release the suture needle. The shaft assembly includes two pairs of parallel concentric shafts (240,244,280,284), which form part of the actuation assembly. Each shaft pair is operable to drive a respective internal drive shaft having separate threaded regions (246,248,286,288) with opposing pitch. The instrument may be used through a trocar during minimally invasive surgery. The instrument may include a handpiece (22) with an integral motor (28). The drive assembly is operable to drive the end effector assembly via the shaft assembly. The drive assembly is operable to convert a single rotary input into at least two rotary outputs. In some versions, the drive assembly comprises a plurality of shaft assemblies that include an input shaft, a first output shaft, a second output shaft, and a third output shaft. The drive assembly is operable to selectively rotate and hold the shaft assemblies in accordance with a predetermined sequence, such as to perform tissue suturing through a trocar in a minimally invasive surgical procedure.