Patent ID: 8317805

Claim:
A suturing device for use with a suturing needle, the device comprising: a body having a proximal end and a distal end; a first clamp near the distal end of the body; a second clamp near the distal end of the body; a handle disposed near the proximal end of the body, the handle actuatable from a first configuration to a second configuration and back to the first configuration so as to define an actuation cycle; a linkage coupling the handle to the clamps and configured for effecting an alternating movement of the first and second clamps between a grasping configuration and a displaced configuration in response to repeated actuation cycles of the handle during suturing, each clamp grasping the needle at an associated grasping location in the grasping configuration and laterally displaced from the needle in the displaced configuration, the grasping locations fixed relative to the body, wherein the alternating movement of the first and second clamps comprises alternating between: the first clamp in the grasping configuration and the second clamp in the displaced configuration, and the second clamp in the grasping configuration and the first clamp in the displaced configuration such that the needle remains at a substantially fixed location relative to the body when supported by the first and second clamps during the alternating movement.