Patent ID: 11969205
Assignee: MINERVA SURGICAL, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 9:
10. A system for treating uterine tissue, said system comprising:
an elongated shaft having a proximal end, a distal end, and a longitudinal axis extending between said proximal and distal ends;
an elongate extension member having a proximal end and a distal end and being mounted to slide axially in the elongated shaft;
an energy applicator coupled to the distal ends of the elongated shaft and the elongate extension member, wherein longitudinal translation of the elongate extension member relative to the elongate shaft actuates said energy applicator between a non-expanded shape to be inserted through a patient's cervical canal and an expanded shape to conform to the walls of the patient's uterus; and
a handle coupled to a proximal end of the elongated shaft, the handle having a proximally disposed first moveable grip and a distally disposed second moveable grip coupled to move the energy applicator between the non-expanded shape and the expanded shape wherein an upper end of the first moveable grip is attached to the proximal end of the elongate extension member and coupled to the proximal end of the elongate shaft by an upper spring, an upper end of the second moveable grip is pivotally attached to the proximal end of the elongate shaft, and lower ends of the first and second moveable grips are coupled by a lower spring;
wherein the upper and lower springs are configured to urge upper and lower portions of the first and second moveable grips to simultaneously move apart in an axial direction to cause the energy applicator to assume its non-expanded shape while allowing a user to manually close the first and second movable grips together to simultaneously compress the upper and lower springs to cause the energy applicator to assume its expanded shape;
wherein the lower ends of the first and second moveable grips are slidably coupled to each other by a sliding member having a first end fixedly attached to one of the first and second movable grips and a second end opposite the first end slidably disposed within an interior of the other of the first and second movable grips.