Heart stabilizer
View Patent ↗A heart stabilizer that may include a wrist which couples an end effector to a first linkage. The end effector and wrist may be inserted through an incision in the chest of a patient to assist in performing a minimally invasive coronary procedure. The wrist provides dexterity so that the end effector can be placed on the heart to stabilize the same. The end effector may include a pair of paddles that are moved between open and closed positions by a pair of manually actuated levers. The paddles may have cleats that allow sutures to be attached to the stabilizer during a minimally invasive procedure.
1. A surgical instrument, comprising:
a linkage;
a first shaft extending through the linkage;
a second shaft extending through the linkage; and
an end effector;
wherein the end effector comprises a first paddle and a second paddle, the first and second paddles being substantially parallel;
wherein the end effector is coupled to the linkage via a first universal joint;
wherein the first paddle is coupled to the first shaft via a second universal joint;
wherein the second paddle is coupled to the second shaft via a third universal joint;
wherein translation of the first shaft, translation of the second shaft, or translation of both the first and the second shaft moves the end effector;
wherein rotation of the first shaft moves the first paddle; and
wherein rotation of the second shaft moves the second paddle.
2. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the end effector comprises a heart stabilizer.
3. The surgical instrument of claim 1 further comprising an opening in at least one of the paddles, the opening being configured to provide suction.
4. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the end effector comprises a retractor.
5. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the rotation of the first shaft is motor driven.
6. The surgical instrument of claim 5 , wherein the motor is voice activated.
7. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the rotation of the first shaft is manually actuated.
8. The surgical instrument of claim 1 , wherein the rotation of the first shaft turns a pinion gear engaged with a rack.
9. The surgical instrument of claim 1 further comprising a locking pin that locks a position of the end effector.