Patent ID: 8663226

Claim:
A medical device for treating a hard tissue, comprising: a handle having an actuating portion mechanically coupled to a working end of a shaft; the shaft comprising a first sleeve located concentrically within a second sleeve and a third sleeve located concentrically about the second sleeve, the shaft having a distal portion comprising the working end capable of moving reversibly between a linear configuration and an articulated configuration in response to movement of the actuating portion, where the articulated configuration is limited to a single plane, and where each sleeve comprises a series of slots or notches to limit deflection of the working end to the articulated configuration, where the respective series of slots or notches are radially offset in adjacent sleeves; wherein the actuating portion is ratchetable relative to the handle to permit temporary locking of the working end in a certain degree of rotation with respect to a longitudinal axis of the shaft; and a sharp tip located at a distal tip of the working end, the sharp tip adapted to penetrate bard tissue and a point of the sharp tip is offset to engage hard tissue when advanced therein to assist in deflecting the working end.