Patent ID: 9521995
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: A61B

Claim Text:
1. A device for approximating and fastening tissue comprising: a longitudinal tube assembly holding at least one tissue fastener, a proximal handle assembly rotatable about the longitudinal tube assembly, a distal tool assembly actuatable from the handle assembly, and a mechanism for feeding and deploying the at least one tissue fastener, wherein: the distal tool assembly comprises at least two flexible extendible members, each flexible extendible member has a tissue engagement mechanism located at a distal end, and each tissue engagement mechanism is capable of piercing and retracting tissue at a contacted tissue site; the extendible members are adjustable between a collapsed configuration in which the extendible members are positioned inside the longitudinal tube assembly and an expanded pre-shaped configuration in which the extendible members extend beyond and away from the distal tool assembly and each tissue engagement mechanism is positioned to contact and selectively retract a tissue site spaced-apart from another tissue site; a first operator-actuated control feature is provided on the handle assembly and is capable of reversibly moving the extendible members between the collapsed configuration and the expanded configuration; a second operator-actuated control feature is positioned on the handle assembly and is configured to deploy the tissue fastener to secure the contacted tissue sites to one another; and the mechanism for feeding and deploying the at least one tissue fastener comprises a staple forming assembly having pistons positioned at a distal end of a staple forming shaft and a stationary anvil.