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US 9,801,618 B2Granted
Laparoscopic surgical scaffold
AssigneeVicarious Surgical Inc.
InventorsAdam David Sachs, Sammy Mohsen Khalifa, Barry Stuart Greene
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A collapsible scaffolding can collapse for deployment to a laparoscopic surgical site through a trocar or the like, and can expand to provide a surface for organ retraction within a body cavity. In the expanded state, the scaffolding may assist a surgical procedure in a variety of ways, such as by providing a rigid structure upon which to secure retracted organs or surgical tools such as lights, cameras, and so forth.
Claims21
A device comprising:
- a primary member having:
- a front end and a back end;
- a front hinge and a back hinge, that collectively articulate in a plane of articulation;
- an ancillary member movably connected to the primary member via the front hinge and the back hinge;
- wherein
- the primary member and ancillary member are:
- constructed from a surgical material;
- and
- individually flexible in a direction perpendicular to the plane of articulation to a degree substantially conforming to a human abdomen;
- and further wherein
- the device is configured to transition between a first state and a second state by articulating the hinges, in which the first state is characterized by minimizing a distance between the primary member and the ancillary member and the second state is characterized by maximizing the distance between the primary member and the ancillary member, in which a maximum device cross section in the first state is suitable for insertion through a trocar in a laparoscopic procedure on a human;
- and
- a number of independent flexural structures in each of the primary member and ancillary member to facilitate flexure in the direction perpendicular to the plane of articulation, each independent flexural structure including an opposing pair of axial protrusions extending toward one another across a gap within the plane of articulation when the flexural structure is unflexed, wherein the opposing pair of axial protrusions impose a flexural limit at a point where a deflection of a corresponding one of the independent flexural structures causes the opposing pair of axial protrusions to come in contact across the gap.
10 more elements
A device comprising:
- a primary member having:
- a front end and a back end;
- a front hinge, a back hinge, that collectively articulate in a plane of articulation;
- an ancillary member movably connected to the primary member via the front hinge and the back hinge;
- wherein
- the primary member and ancillary member are:
- constructed from a surgical material;
- and
- individually flexible in a direction perpendicular to the plane of articulation and configured to inhibit deflection greater than five degrees;
- and further wherein
- the device is configured to transition between a first state and a second state by articulating the hinges, in which the first state is characterized by minimizing a distance between the primary member and the ancillary member and the second state is characterized by maximizing the distance between the primary member and the ancillary members, in which a maximum device cross section in the first state is suitable for insertion through a trocar in a laparoscopic procedure on a human;
- and
- a number of independent flexural structures in each of the primary member and ancillary member to facilitate flexure in the direction perpendicular to the plane of articulation, each independent flexural structure including an opposing pair of axial protrusions extending toward one another across a gap within the plane of articulation when the flexural structure is unflexed, wherein the opposing pair of axial protrusions impose a flexural limit at a point where a deflection of a corresponding one of the independent flexural structures causes the opposing pair of axial protrusions to come in contact across the gap.
10 more elements
An expandable structure having an expanded state forming a plane shaped and sized to support an organ during a minimally-invasive surgical procedure and a collapsed state shaped and sized to fit through a trocar for delivery to a surgical site for the minimally-invasive surgical procedure, the expandable structure comprising:
- two or more axial members, each individually flexible in a direction perpendicular to the plane to conform to an abdominal cavity;
- two or more lateral support members;
- a number of hinges coupling the two or more lateral support members to the two or more axial members to facilitate a movement of the axial members and lateral support members within the plane between the expanded state and the collapsed state;
- and
- a number of independent flexural structures in each of the two or more axial members to facilitate flexure in the direction perpendicular to the plane, each independent flexural structure including an opposing pair of axial protrusions extending toward one another across a gap within the plane when the flexural structure is unflexed, wherein the opposing pair of axial protrusions impose a flexural limit at a point where a deflection of a corresponding one of the independent flexural structures causes the opposing pair of axial protrusions to come in contact across the gap.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.