Patent ID: 8647362

Claim:
An end effector apparatus comprising: a flexible insertion section, a distal portion of which is configured for insertion to a target site within a living body; a handle at a proximal end of the insertion section which remains outside the body when the distal portion of the insertion section is inserted into the body to the target site; a deflecting mechanism at a distal end of the insertion section, the deflecting mechanism having a proximal member and a distal member pivotally coupled to one another and open to one another via a proximal end gap in the proximal end of the distal member and a distal end gap in the distal end of the proximal member, the proximal and distal members including proximal and distal side gaps, respectively, the proximal side gap extending to the distal end of the proximal member laterally of the distal end gap and the distal side gap extending to the proximal end of the distal member laterally of the proximal end gap to form a continuous opening with the proximal side gap; an end effector assembly coupled to the distal end of the deflecting mechanism; a first actuator member extending from the handle through the insertion section to couple to the distal member so that actuation of the first actuator member pivots the distal member relative to the proximal member between a longitudinally aligned configuration and a deflected configuration; and a second actuator member extending from the handle through the insertion section to the end effector assembly to actuate the end effector assembly a proximal opening and a side gap defined by the deflecting mechanism, wherein each of the first and second actuator members extends between the proximal and distal members via the distal and proximal end gaps when the proximal and distal members are in the longitudinally aligned configuration and extend therebetween via the proximal and distal side gaps when the proximal and distal members are in the deflected configuration.