Patent ID: 8784435

Claim:
A surgical system, comprising: a plurality of instrument manipulators operably coupled to a distal link of the surgical system, the plurality of instrument manipulators being rotatable as a group about a roll axis; a cannula having a longitudinal axis; an entry guide positioned in and rotatable within the cannula, the entry guide comprising a plurality of channels extending longitudinally through the entry guide, and the entry guide having a longitudinal axis aligned with the longitudinal axis of the cannula; and a plurality of surgical instruments, wherein each of the plurality of surgical instruments is coupled to a corresponding instrument manipulator of the plurality of instrument manipulators, wherein each of the plurality of surgical instruments comprises a shaft that passes through a corresponding channel in the plurality of channels of the entry guide, the shaft of at least one individual surgical instrument being configured to impinge against an interior surface of the corresponding channel when the or each individual surgical instrument is moved around the roll axis by rotation of the or each corresponding instrument manipulator about the roll axis as the plurality of instruments manipulators rotate as a group about the roll axis, and wherein rotation of the plurality of instrument manipulators about the roll axis causes the shaft of the or each surgical instrument to impinge against the interior surface of the corresponding channel of the entry guide and rotate the entry guide within the cannula.