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US 8,133,224 B2Granted
Medical instrument
AssigneeErbe Elektromedizin GmbH
InventorFranz Geiselhart
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A medical tubular shaft instrument for gripping and cutting tissue which provides a safe mode of operation. The instrument includes electrodes by which a mechanical contact between a blade and an associated cutting surface can be electrically determined. This determination allows the operating physician to be provided with sufficient information to determine whether the tissue that is to be severed has been successfully severed.
Claims18
A medical instrument comprising:
- a first mouth part and a second mouth part, each mouth part having at least one clamping surface for fixing and/or positioning tissue in a fixing plane;
- a cutting device having a blade, which is disposed opposite one of the mouth parts for cutting tissue and is displaceable along a predetermined cutting path that is substantially parallel to the fixing plane;
- a first electrode and a second electrode, disposed on the cutting device and/or the clamping surface, such that a mechanical contact between blade and clamping surface may be ascertained by a processing unit connected to the electrodes;
- a tubular shaft joined to the first and second mouth parts;
- an actuating device whereby the blade is displaceably guided substantially parallel to the fixing plane;
- and
- a preloading device whereby the blade is preloaded by a flexible element against a fixing plane during cutting.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.