Patent ID: 9402679
Filing Date: 2016-08-02
CPC Classification: A61B

Claim Text:
1. A surgical instrument comprising: an elongated body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a bore extending between the distal and proximal ends, an external surface of the elongated body comprising an electrically insulative material; a surgical device including a tissue contact region comprising electrically conductive material, the surgical device is mounted on the distal end of the body; a handle coupled to the proximal end of the elongated body, the handle including a proximal end, a distal end, and a manual control moveably mounted thereon, the handle comprising a housing; a linkage disposed within the bore, wherein the linkage couples the manual control to the surgical device, and is configured for actuating movement of the surgical device in response to manipulation of the manual control; and a contact region of electrically conductive material disposed at the handle and physically accessible to a distal electrode region of a hand-held energy delivery device at a location away from the manual control and on the housing, wherein the contact region is electrically connected to the surgical device and capable of establishing electrical conductivity with the electrically conductive material of the tissue contact region through an electrically conductive path passing at least partially within a region internal to the external surface of the elongated body; wherein in a first mode of operation, the electrically conductive material of the tissue contact region of the surgical device is configured to provide heat, and in a second mode of operation, the electrically conductive material of the tissue contact region of the surgical device is configured to provide RF energy when RF energy is directly applied to the contact region via the distal electrode region of the hand-held energy delivery device.