Patent ID: 8454628

Claim:
A surgical instrument, comprising: a tubular control shaft having proximal and distal ends; a first control element extending through said control shaft and having proximal and distal ends; a distal end effector coupled to said distal ends of said control shaft and said first control element, said end effector having first and second arms, at least one of said arms being rotatable, with respect to the other, around a central axis, between open and closed positions, said distal end effector having at least one second control element operably connected to said at least one arm; an actuator independently connected to said proximal ends of said control shaft and said first control element for effecting a relative movement between said control shaft and said first control element and, thereby, effecting a corresponding rotation of said at least one arm around said central axis between said open and closed positions, said actuator comprising at least a bell crank having first and second sides, said first side being coupled to said distal end of said first control element and said second side being coupled to said second control element, relative movement of said first control element and said shaft causes said first control element to apply a force in a first direction to said bell crank to rotate said bell crank and to apply a force in an opposite second direction to said second control element to rotate said at least one arm; and an alignment marker disposed on said distal end effector, said alignment marker having at least two portions, a first of said at least two portions disposed on one of the group consisting of said distal end effector, said first arm, and said second arm, said second portion disposed on another one of said group, an alignment of said first portion and said second portion providing a marked indication of a respective rotational alignment of said first and second arms with respect to one another.