Patent ID: 11857283
Assignee: CILAG GMBH INTERNATIONAL
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 18:
19. A method of operating a surgical instrument, the surgical instrument having (a) an end effector and (b) a shaft assembly, including (i) a proximal shaft portion longitudinally extending along a proximal axis, (ii) a distal shaft portion longitudinally extending along a distal axis, wherein the end effector distally extends from the distal shaft portion, (iii) a first elongate member extending from the proximal shaft portion and toward the end effector, wherein the first elongate member is operatively connected to at least one of the distal shaft portion or the end effector and configured to be selectively moved, and (iv) an articulation section extending between the proximal and distal shaft portions and configured to articulate about a first articulation axis and about a second articulation axis distal of the first articulation axis to thereby respectively deflect the end effector along a first plane and a second plane, wherein the first articulation axis intersects the proximal axis at a first intersection point, wherein the second articulation axis intersects the distal axis at a second intersection point, and wherein the articulation section includes a first lumen radially offset at a predetermined distance from each of the proximal and distal axes at each of the first and second intersection points when the end effector is in a straight configuration with the distal axis longitudinally aligned with the proximal axis, wherein the first lumen movably supports the first elongate member therethrough such that the radial spacing of the first elongate member is maintained at the predetermined distance at each of the first and second intersection points when the end effector is deflected to a deflected configuration along at least one of the first and second planes, the method comprising:
(a) actuating the first elongate member through each of the first articulation axis and the second articulation axis thereby operating the surgical instrument.