Abstract:
A laparoscopic needle manipulator includes a shaft, a handle at a first end of the shaft, and a grasper to hold an object at a second end of the shaft, where the handle controls opening and closing of the grasper.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/513,297 filed on Oct. 21, 2003. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Embodiments of the invention are generally related to the field of medicine, and, in particular, to laparoscopic surgery.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     When performing laparoscopic (i.e., minimally invasive) suturing, a curvilinear needle (also referred to herein simply as a needle) is typically used. During laparoscopic suturing, a needle driver is typically used to insert the needle into tissue, while a tissue grasper is used to receive the needle as it passes through the tissue, grasp the tissue into which the needle is being inserted, and help tie the knot in suture material (such as thread) when suturing is complete. In addition, a surgeon frequently encounters a needle that is not at a proper angle and/or orientation relative to the tissue through which the needle is to be driven. In that case, the tissue grasper is used to orient the needle so that it is in the correct position for the needle driver to insert it into the tissue.  
         [0004]     A disadvantage of a tissue grasper is that in order to change the orientation of a curvilinear needle, the needle must be flipped over and then turned right side up. For example, this may involve rotating the needle on its Z-axis and then on its X-axis. Once properly oriented, the needle driver is used to take the needle from the jaws of the tissue grasper and drive the needle through tissue.  
         [0005]     Changing the directional orientation of the needle, as well as using the needle driver to take the needle from the jaws of the tissue grasper, is often difficult to accomplish without having the needle fall from the tissue grasper. A needle that falls from the tissue grasper typically lands on top of or between the folds of an organ, for example, the small bowel. Using a tissue grasper to retrieve a fallen needle is often challenging because of the difficulty in retrieving the needle without grasping some of the tissue and/or injuring an organ while picking up the needle.  
         [0006]     Another disadvantage of using the tissue grasper is that it cannot cut suturing material. Consequently, a cutting instrument is needed. The cutting instrument may be used while the ends of other instruments are still in the body, in which case another access point is made to accommodate the end of the cutting instrument, in addition to the access points for the needle driver and the tissue grabber. Alternatively, the cutting instrument may replace the needle driver or the tissue grasper, in which case the end of one of those instruments is removed from the body and replaced with the end of the cutting instrument. Among other things, the disadvantages of the instruments described above increase the amount of time and the risk of injury involved in performing laparoscopic surgery.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]     Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawing.  
         [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a laparoscopic needle manipulator.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0009]     A laparoscopic needle manipulator is described. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the understanding of this description.  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a laparoscopic needle manipulator. Needle manipulator  100  includes handle  102 , shaft  104 , articulating joint  106 , needle grasper  108  and scissors  110 . Handle  102  may be coupled with or integrated as part of one end of shaft  104 . Handle  102  may be a permanent part of shaft  104 , or may be removable from shaft  104  in whole or in part. Grasper  108  and scissors  110  may be coupled with or integrated as part of another end of shaft  104 . Grasper  108  and scissors  110  may be a permanent part of shaft  104 , or may be removable from shaft  104  in whole or in part.  
         [0011]     Handle  102  controls the opening and closing of grasper  108  and scissors  110 . Articulating joint  106  enables shaft  104  to bend in any number of directions perpendicular to the axis of shaft  104 . For this purpose, one embodiment of needle manipulator  100  includes wheel  122 , which causes articulating joint  106  to bend, thereby enabling shaft  104  to bend in any number of directions perpendicular to shaft  104 .  
         [0012]     In addition, an end of shaft  104  may rotate in whole or in part. For this purpose, one embodiment of needle manipulator  100  further includes wheel  120 , which when rotated causes grasper  108  and scissors  110  to rotate. Further, needle manipulator  100  includes locking plunger  124 , which causes wheel  120  and/or wheel  122  to be held in a particular position so that they cannot be rotated.  
         [0013]     Grasper  108  may be used, among other things, to receive curvilinear needle  150  as it passes through tissue, set curvilinear needle  150  so that a needle driver can grasp curvilinear needle  150  in a proper orientation for inserting it into tissue, grasp the tissue through which curvilinear needle  150  is being driven, and tie a knot when laparoscopic suturing is complete. Among other things, scissors  110  may be used cut suturing material.  
         [0014]     Grasper  108  and/or scissors  110  are magnetized. Because grasper  108  and/or scissors  110  are magnetized, curvilinear needle  150  can be attached to needle manipulator  100  without using a tissue grasper to grasp the needle  150 . Moreover, because an end of needle manipulator  100  can rotate, grasper  108  and scissors  110  will rotate. Thus, curvilinear needle  150  will also rotate, thereby enabling control of the orientation of curvilinear needle  150 , keeping the tip of curvilinear needle  150  pointing in the same direction (for example, up or down).  
         [0015]     For example, the end of needle manipulator  100  having grasper  108  and scissors  110  can be rotated along the Y-axis of curvilinear needle  150 . This eliminate the need to rotate curvilinear needle  150  while grasping it with a tissue grasper and avoids having to rotate curvilinear needle  150  first on its Z-axis and then on its X-axis to change the directional orientation of curvilinear needle  150 . A needle driver can then be used to take curvilinear needle  150 , which is at the proper directional orientation, off of needle manipulator  100  and drive it through tissue.  
         [0016]     In addition, because grasper  108  and/or scissors  110  is magnetized, they may be used to pick up curvilinear needle  150  or other metallic objects off of an organ, or from between the folds of an organ, without the need of a tissue grasper. This can prevent the inadvertent grasping and/or injury of an organ. Moreover, scissors  110  can be used to cut suturing material without having to remove needle manipulator  100  from the body and replace it with a cutting instrument, or create another access point for the cutting instrument. These advantages of needle manipulator  100  will improve the efficiency and safety of laparoscopic suturing and reduce the amount of time used to perform laparoscopic surgery.  
         [0017]     Another embodiment of the needle manipulator includes adding a magnet to a conventional laparoscopic instrument, which would then have one or more of the following additional applications: rotating the needle in the same directional orientation, or magnetically picking up metallic objects such as needles, clips, or staples. In yet another embodiment, the needle manipulator is not magnetized and only has the grasper/scissor combination without the magnet.  
         [0018]     Reference in the foregoing specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.  
         [0019]     In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.