Patent ID: 8702732

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: (a) a shaft, wherein the shaft has a distal end; (b) an end effector located at the distal end of the shaft, wherein the end effector comprises: (i) a first needle grasping member, and (ii) a second needle grasping member, wherein the first and second needle grasping members are operable to cooperatingly grasp and release a suture needle; and (c) a grasping actuation assembly, wherein the grasping actuation assembly comprises a drive shaft rotatably disposed within the shaft, wherein the first needle grasping member and the second needle grasping member are disposed about a distal portion of the drive shaft such that an interior surface of the first needle grasping member and an interior surface of the second needle grasping member mechanically engage an exterior surface of the drive shaft, wherein the drive shaft is operable to rotate to thereby simultaneously drive the first needle grasping member distally relative to the shaft and the second needle grasping member proximally relative to the shaft to grasp a suture needle.