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US 11,117,197 B2Granted
Instrument couplings and related methods
AssigneeMedos International Sarl
InventorsPhilippe Lindenmann, Felix Aschmann, Daniela Wehrli
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Instrument couplings and related methods are disclosed herein, e.g., for coupling a surgical instrument to a navigation array or other component. The coupling can reduce or eliminate movement between the instrument and the navigation array, improving navigation precision. The coupling can be quick and easy to use, reducing or eliminating the need for extra steps or additional tools to attach or detach the instrument from the coupling. In some embodiments, the single step of inserting an instrument into the coupling can automatically lock the instrument within the coupling in a toggle-free manner.
Claims27
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having proximal and distal ends and a central longitudinal axis A1 extending therebetween;
- a clamp having a plurality of clamping elements and defining an instrument channel, the clamp being longitudinally-slidable within the housing between an unclamped position in which the clamping elements are free to move radially outward away from the axis A1 and a clamped position in which the clamping elements are urged radially-inward towards the axis A1;
- and
- a slider laterally translatable relative to the housing between a first position in which an engagement feature of the slider is disposed in the instrument channel and a second position in which the engagement feature is radially offset from the instrument channel;
- wherein the slider in the second position maintains the clamp in the unclamped position and wherein the slider in the first position allows the clamp to move to the clamped position.
2 more elements
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having proximal and distal ends and a central longitudinal axis A1 extending therebetween;
- a clamp having a plurality of clamping elements and defining an instrument channel, the clamp being longitudinally-slidable within the housing between an unclamped position in which the clamping elements are free to move radially outward away from the axis A1 and a clamped position in which the clamping elements are urged radially-inward towards the axis A1;
- a slider movable relative to the housing between a first position in which the clamp is allowed to move to the clamped position and a second position in which the clamp is maintained in the unclamped position;
- and
- an ejector that holds the slider in the first position when no instrument is inserted in the instrument channel and is configured to eject an instrument from the instrument channel, wherein insertion of an instrument into the instrument channel displaces the ejector to allow the slider to move to the second position.
2 more elements
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having proximal and distal ends and a central longitudinal axis A1 extending therebetween;
- and
- a clamp having a plurality of clamping elements and defining an instrument channel, the clamp being longitudinally-slidable within the housing between an unclamped position in which the clamping elements are free to move radially outward away from the axis A1 and a clamped position in which the clamping elements are urged radially-inward towards the axis, wherein the plurality of clamping elements include at least one of:
- (i) a roller having an axle supported by a cage portion of the clamp;
- and
- (ii) a chuck jaw slidably mounted in a track formed in the housing, the track having a central longitudinal axis that extends at an oblique angle relative to the axis A1.
3 more elements
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having proximal and distal ends and a central longitudinal axis A1 extending therebetween;
- and
- a clamp having a plurality of clamping elements and defining an instrument channel, the clamp being longitudinally-slidable within the housing between an unclamped position in which the clamping elements are free to move radially outward away from the axis A1 and a clamped position in which the clamping elements are urged radially-inward towards the axis A1
- wherein the clamp includes a first cage portion in which a first plurality of the clamping elements are disposed and a second cage portion in which a second plurality of the clamping elements are disposed.
1 more element
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having proximal and distal ends and a central longitudinal axis A1 extending therebetween;
- a clamp having a plurality of clamping elements and defining an instrument channel, the clamp being longitudinally-slidable within the housing between an unclamped position in which the clamping elements are free to move radially outward away from the axis A1 and a clamped position in which the clamping elements are urged radially-inward towards the axis A1;
- and
- a handle assembly in which the coupling is rotatably mounted, wherein the handle assembly includes a bias element that biases the coupling distally along the axis A1 relative to the handle assembly.
1 more element
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having proximal and distal ends and a central longitudinal axis A1 extending therebetween;
- a clamp having a plurality of clamping elements and defining an instrument channel, the clamp being longitudinally-slidable within the housing between an unclamped position in which the clamping elements are free to move radially outward away from the axis A1 and a clamped position in which the clamping elements are urged radially-inward towards the axis A1;
- and
- a handle assembly in which the coupling is rotatably mounted, wherein the handle assembly includes a locking element engaged with one or more teeth of the coupling to selectively maintain the coupling in a fixed rotational position about the axis A1 relative to the handle assembly.
1 more element
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having an instrument channel and a clamp;
- and
- a slider movable relative to the housing between a first position in which the clamp is allowed to move to a clamped position and a second position in which the clamp is maintained in an unclamped position,
- wherein insertion of an instrument into the instrument channel causes the clamp to translate longitudinally with respect to the instrument channel within the housing from the unclamped position to the clamped position to lock radial movement of the instrument relative to the housing, and
- wherein insertion of an instrument into the instrument channel also causes the slider to translate laterally with respect to the instrument channel within the housing from the second position to the first position to lock axial movement of the instrument relative to the housing.
2 more elements
A coupling device, comprising:
- a housing having an instrument channel and a clamp;
- a slider movable relative to the housing between a first position in which an engagement feature of the slider is disposed in the instrument channel and a second position in which the engagement feature is offset from the instrument channel, and
- an ejector;
- wherein insertion of an instrument into the instrument channel displaces the ejector to causes the clamp to translate longitudinally within the housing to lock radial movement of the instrument relative to the housing,
- wherein displacement of the ejector from the instrument channel causes the slider to move from the second position to the first position,
- wherein the clamp translates longitudinally within the housing to lock axial movement of the instrument relative to the housing.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.