Adjustable stiffener for surgical instruments
AssigneeAlcon Inc.
InventorsBill Chen, James Y. Chon, John R. Underwood
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure generally relates to microsurgical instruments having variable stiffness such as microsurgical instruments having variable stiffness for ophthalmic surgical procedures. In one embodiment, a surgical instrument includes a probe and a stiffener assembly. The stiffener assembly further includes a stiffener formed of a hollow tubular member substantially surrounding at least a portion of a length of the probe. Actuation of the stiffener along the length of the probe adjusts the stiffness of the probe, thus providing a user better control of the surgical instrument.
Claims7
A surgical instrument, comprising:
- a base unit, the base unit configured to be held by a user;
- a probe disposed through a first opening in a distal end of the base unit, the probe having a length parallel to a longitudinal axis thereof;
- and
- a stiffener assembly, the stiffener assembly comprising:
- a stiffener disposed through the first opening in the base unit, the stiffener formed of a hollow tubular member slidably coupled to and surrounding at least a portion of the probe;
- an actuation mechanism configured to move the stiffener along the length of the probe, the actuation mechanism comprising a control member coupled to the stiffener;
- a rod coupled to the control member, the rod disposed through a second opening in the base unit and oriented parallel to the probe;
- and
- a coupling arm coupling the rod to a distal end of the stiffener external to the base unit, the coupling arm oriented nonparallel to the length of the probe,
- wherein:
- in a fully retracted position, a majority of the hollow tubular member is retracted within the base unit,
- the control member is partially disposed within a linear channel formed in the base unit and parallel with the probe,
- moving the control member along the linear channel actuates the rod and the coupling arm, and
- actuation of the rod and the coupling arm moves the stiffener along the length of the probe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.