Radial support assembly for a trocar assembly
AssigneeEthicon, Inc.
InventorsJoshua Young, Stephanie Toy
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A trocar assembly includes a trocar housing that defines a working chamber, and a cannula having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the cannula is coupled to the trocar housing at the proximal end to facilitate communication between the cannula and the working chamber. A radial support assembly is arranged at or near the distal end and includes a plurality of radial support members that extend radially inward toward a centerline of the cannula to center a surgical tool within the cannula and thereby minimize unintended oscillation and vibration of the surgical tool.
Claims20
A trocar assembly, comprising:
- a trocar housing that defines a working chamber;
- a cannula having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the cannula is coupled to the trocar housing at the proximal end to facilitate communication between the cannula and the working chamber;
- and
- a radial support assembly arranged at or near the distal end and including a plurality of radial support members that extend radially inward toward a centerline of the cannula to center a surgical tool within the cannula and thereby minimize unintended oscillation and vibration of the surgical tool.
A method of using a trocar assembly, comprising:
- introducing a surgical tool into a working chamber defined by a trocar housing that communicates with a cannula coupled to the trocar housing, wherein a radial support assembly is arranged at or near a distal end of the cannula and includes a plurality of radial support members that extend radially inward toward a centerline of the cannula;
- extending the surgical tool into the cannula;
- and
- engaging an outer surface of the surgical tool with the plurality of radial support members and thereby centering the surgical tool within the cannula and minimizing unintended oscillation and vibration of the surgical tool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.