Patent ID: 7758597
Filing Date: 2010-07-20
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A suturing device for use endoscopically, comprising: a first jaw member; a second jaw member, said first and second jaw members being disposed at a distal end of said suturing device; an actuator disposed at a proximal end of the suturing device, for actuating the first and second jaw members between a closed orientation, wherein distal ends of the jaw members are disposed in close proximity to one another, and an open orientation, wherein said distal jaw member ends are substantially spaced from one another; a hollow barrel disposed between said actuator and said first and second jaw members; a linking member disposed within said hollow barrel, connecting said actuator with one of said first and second jaw members; at least one needle disposed at the distal end of said suturing device, said at least one needle being movable between a retracted position and an extended position for passage through tissue grasped between said first and second jaw members wherein said extended position moves the needle through a channel which directs said needle through said first jaw member and through said tissue held between said first and second jaw members, and through an opening in said second jaw member, and wherein said needle is movable in said channel relative to said first jaw member independent of the orientation of said jaw members; and a capture member disposed on an outer surface of the second jaw member proximate the opening, the capture member having at least one slit corresponding to the at least one needle and the opening such that the at least one needle is operable to traverse the at least one slit through the opening, wherein a penetrating tip of the at least one needle is movable through a deflecting portion of the at least one slit, and wherein the at least one slit is configured to prevent the penetrating tip from passing back through the capture member such that the penetrating tip is trapped proximate the outer surface of the second jaw member.