Articulating needle
AssigneeSmith & Nephew, Inc.
InventorsBernard J. Bourque, David J. Callaghan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An arthroscopic needle having partial cuts or serrations along one side of a circular, hollow needle shaft allows the needle to bend, or articulate, by drawing a pull strip bar, defined by a thin strip along the interior side closet to the serrations in the hollow shaft, for compressing along the cuts to draw uncut segments into closer arrangement for curving the needle in the direction of the compressed side. The selectively articulating, or “bendable” needle that curves in response to a rotating knob provides for insertion of surgical attachment anchors in difficult-to-reach areas of meniscal tissue. The disclosed articulating needle has the ability to bend and access more anterior and posterior zones of meniscal repairs than conventional rigid needle approaches.
Claims12
A surgical tool comprising:
- a circular, hollow needle shaft, an articulating portion on the needle shaft having serrations defined by partial cuts;
- a needle tip secured in a hollow portion at an end of the needle shaft adjacent the articulating portion;
- a pull strip bar attached to the needle tip on a side corresponding to the serrations and adapted to closely draw the serrations together by closing a gap defined by the cuts, the closely drawn serrations causing the needle tip to articulate in the direction of the cuts;
- and
- an actuator extending through a cannulation in the needle shaft and configured for driving a surgical anchor through a channel in the needle tip.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.