Patent ID: 9232936
Filing Date: 2016-01-12
CPC Classification: A61B,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. A surgical instrument comprising an elongate retractor having a handle connected to an elongate rigid rod, a plurality of continuous, elongate linear segments positioned along the retractor, at least two articulating joints positioned along the retractor such that the articulating joints interconnect the elongate rigid rod and the plurality of continuous, elongate linear segments, each articulating joint further comprising a plurality of asymmetrical segments when viewed in cross section that are positioned uniformly along the retractor and are movable relative to one another and the plurality of continuous, elongate linear segments; a control that is a stiffening member configured to control movement of the articulating joints and continuous, elongate linear segments; and an actuator arranged separately from the control, wherein: a first and a second articulating joint of the at least two articulating joints having at least one of the plurality of continuous, elongate linear segment positioned therebetween such that the first and second articulating joints are spaced apart relative to each other along the elongate retractor; the first articulating joint being positioned closer to the handle than the second articulating joint and the second articulating joint being positioned closer to a distal end of the surgical instrument than the first articulating joint; the stiffening member comprises a plurality of elongate wires positioned internally along a longitudinal axis of the surgical instrument in which an end of a first elongate wire of the plurality of elongate wires has a larger diameter than an end of a second elongate wire of the plurality of elongate wires; the end of the first elongate wire of the plurality of elongate wires is configured to contact the end of the second elongate wire of the plurality of elongate wires to move the surgical instrument; the stiffening member and the plurality of asymmetrical segments are configured to work in concert to restrict movement of the surgical instrument such that only a predetermined range of movement is achieved by moving the surgical instrument from a first configuration to a second configuration; and the plurality of elongate wires proximal the first articulating joint affords a greater resistance to pivotal motion than the plurality of elongate wires proximal the second articulating joint such that the second articulating joint is configured to pivotably move before the first articulating joint from the first configuration to the second configuration, wherein the second configuration is pretzel shaped.