Platform for fixing surgical instruments during surgery
AssigneeMini-Lap Technologies, Inc.
InventorsSundaram Ravikumar, H. Allan Alward, Steven J. Wysocki, Guy L. Osborne
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A medical assembly includes a platform which is securely mountable to an operating room fixture, and a plurality of arms or arm modules coupled to the platform and each with a grasper for holding a surgical instrument or port. The medical assembly is particularly applicable for laparoscopic surgery although it is not limited thereto.
Claims22
A medical assembly for use in conjunction with a fixture, the medical assembly for holding medical devices extending into a patient in a fixed position relative to the patient, comprising:
- a) a platform having coupling means for coupling to the fixture, said platform supported by said fixture;
- and
- b) a plurality of flexible arms removably coupled to said platform and extending therefrom, said arms each capable of being fixed in a tortuous path and each having a proximal arm mount and a distal grasping means for grasping the respective medical devices;
- wherein said platform includes a first side disposed opposite a second side, said first side including first attachment means for removable direct coupling to an arm mount of one of said plurality of arms, said second side including second attachment means for removable direct coupling to an arm mount of another of said plurality of arms, and the arm mount of each one of said plurality of arms defining a third side opposite a fourth side, said third and fourth sides including third and fourth attachment means, respectively, that are adapted for removable direct coupling to said first and second attachment means of said platform as well as for removable direct coupling to an arm mount of another arm of the assembly.
A method for holding a plurality of medical devices extending into a patient in fixed positions relative to a patient, said method comprising:
- a) providing an assembly including a platform and a plurality of flexible arms, the platform having coupling means for coupling to a fixture that supports the platform, the plurality of flexible arms capable of being removably coupled to the platform and extending therefrom, said arms each capable of being fixed in a tortuous path and each having a proximal arm mount and a distal grasping means for grasping the respective medical devices, wherein the platform includes a first side disposed opposite a second side, said first side including first attachment means for removable direct coupling to an arm mount of one of said plurality of arms, said second side including second attachment means for removable direct coupling to an arm mount of another of said plurality of arms, and the arm mount of each one of said plurality of arms defining a third side opposite a fourth side, said third and fourth sides including third and fourth attachment means, respectively, that are adapted for removable direct coupling to said first and second attachment means of said platform as well as for removable direct coupling to an arm mount of another arm of the assembly;
- b) coupling the platform to a fixture such that the platform is supported by the fixture;
- c) removably coupling a respective arm mount for one of the plurality of arms directly to the platform using the first attachment means of the platform and one of the third and fourth attachment means of the respective arm mount;
- d) removably coupling a respective arm mount for another of the plurality of arms directly to the platform using the second attachment means of the platform and one of the third and fourth attachment means of the respective arm mount;
- e) manipulating the arms whose arm mounts where removably coupled to the platform in c) and d) into desired positions;
- and
- f ) manipulating the graspers of the arms whose arm mounts where removably coupled to the platform in c) and d) in order to grasp the respective medical devices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.