Patent ID: 8142473

Claim:
A surgical instrument, comprising: a shaft housing including distal and proximal ends, the distal end of the shaft housing generally defining a distal shaft axis and the proximal end of the shaft housing generally defining a proximal shaft axis; a torsion member extending through the shaft housing and including distal and proximal ends, the distal end of the torsion member configured for rotational movement in response to rotational movement of the proximal end of the torsion member; an end effector coupled to the distal end of the shaft housing, the end effector moveable between open and closed configurations in response to rotational movement of the distal end of the torsion member; and a handle coupled to the proximal end of the shaft housing, the handle including an actuation mechanism configured to selectively induce rotational movement at the proximal end of the torsion member; wherein the torsion member comprises a flexible shaft having a plurality of generally radial slots defined in spaced longitudinal orientation along a length of the flexible shaft.