Patent ID: 6817972
Filing Date: 2004-11-16
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A heart stabilizer, comprising:an end effector having at least two paddles in parallel alignment with each other, wherein each paddle has a paddle shaft which has at least one bend and a tip section distal to the bend; a first linkage that has a distal end and a proximal end; a wrist that couples said proximal end of first linkage to said end effector to allow said end effector to move between a position parallel with said first linkage to a position oblique to said first linkage; and, at least two manually actuated levers, each lever coupled to an associated paddle and said distal end of said first linkage, wherein actuation of each lever rotates the associated paddle so that its tip section moves toward or away from another of the at least two paddles while maintaining parallel alignment.