| Patent application number | Description | Published |
| 20080249371 | Hand assisted laparoscopic seal assembly with detachable attachment ring - A seal assembly for permitting hand assisted laparoscopic procedures includes a seal cap having a central access opening allowing access to a body cavity as desired. The seal cap is provided with a housing in which a seal is positioned. The seal cap also includes an attachment ring that is selectively detachable therefrom for selective attachment of a retractor. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080284114 | Motor-driven laparoscopic seal assembly - A motor driven seal assembly for permitting hand assisted laparoscopic procedures. The seal assembly includes a seal cap having a seal positioned within a housing, the housing includes a lower seal ring having a track which supports an upper seal ring for rotational motion relative thereto. The seal is supported between the upper seal ring and the lower seal ring for rotation between an open orientation and a closed orientation. A motor-driven drive assembly is associated with the lower seal ring and the upper seal ring for controlling relative to movement thereof | 11-20-2008 |
| 20090131820 | Icon-Based User Interface On Biopsy System Control Module - A vacuum control module for use in a biopsy system includes a user interface that presents buttons and icons to control operation of a biopsy device. The icons may indicate, e.g., the position of a cutter relative to a transverse opening, whether the system is in a view sample mode, that an adjacent button is operable to reset the position of a rotatable tissue sample holder, whether the system is in a maintenance vacuum pulse mode, the level of vacuum provided by a vacuum source, the volume level of a speaker, that an adjacent button is operable to place the system in a standby mode, and that an adjacent button is operable to shut down the system. The icons may each have an associated button. The icons may be allocated among separate pages (e.g., a probe page and a system page). Another button may be used to switch between pages. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090131821 | Graphical User Interface For Biopsy System Control Module - A biopsy system includes a vacuum control module, a cannula with a transverse opening, a cutter within the cannula, and a rotatable tissue sample holder. The vacuum control module includes a speaker, a vacuum source, and a graphical user interface for controlling the biopsy system. The graphical user interface includes a display and capacitive switches that serve as buttons. The graphical user interface is operable to perform, e.g., the following functions: varying the position of the cutter relative to the transverse opening, activating a view sample mode, resetting the position of the rotatable tissue sample holder, activating a maintenance vacuum pulse mode, varying the level of vacuum provided by the source of vacuum, varying the level of volume of sounds emitted by the speaker, selectively placing the biopsy system in a standby mode, and selectively shutting the biopsy system down. | 05-21-2009 |
| 20090137877 | TISSUE RETRACTORS - Methods and devices are provided for performing surgical procedures using tissue retractors. In general, a surgical retractor device is provided that includes a flexible fabric tissue retractor configured to support tissue. At least one grasping element can be coupled to a perimeter of the flexible fabric, and the grasping elements can be manipulated to couple the flexible fabric to a surgical port, e.g., a trocar, inserted through a body wall and extending into a body cavity. The grasping element can also be configured to move the flexible fabric and thereby move the tissue. | 05-28-2009 |
| 20100160819 | Biopsy Device with Central Thumbwheel - A biopsy device comprises a probe and a holster. The probe has a distally extending needle and a central thumbwheel coupled with the needle. The needle has a transverse tissue receiving aperture. A cutter is translatable relative to the needle to sever tissue protruding through the aperture. The central thumbwheel is manually operable to rotate the needle to reorient the angular position of the aperture about the longitudinal axis defined by the needle. The central thumbwheel is positioned coaxially with the longitudinal axis. An elongate sleeve unitarily couples the needle with the central thumbwheel. A cable driven mechanism in the holster drives the cutter. A rotatable tissue sample holder is coupled with the probe, and has chambers configured to receive tissue samples communicated proximally through a lumen defined by the cutter. A piezoelectric motor in the holster drives the tissue sample holder. | 06-24-2010 |
| 20100312063 | METHODS AND DEVICES FOR ACCESSING A BODY CAVITY USING A SURGICAL ACCESS DEVICE WITH MODULAR SEAL COMPONENTS - Methods and devices are provided for providing access through tissue to a surgical site. In one embodiment, a surgical access device can include a hollow tubular member and a modular seal member. The modular seal member can be configured to radially span a lumen of the tubular member and can be removably and replaceably matable to a portion of the tubular member. The access device can also include a plurality of access ports, each of which can be configured to mate with the modular seal member at a respective desired location. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100312066 | INFLATABLE RETRACTOR WITH INSUFFLATION - Various methods and devices are provided for accessing a body cavity. In one embodiment, a surgical access device is provided and includes an elongate member having a proximal support member configured to rest against an external tissue surface, a flexible elongate central portion extending distally from the proximal support member and configured to extend through tissue, and an inflatable distal portion coupled to a distal end of the central portion. The distal portion is movable between an initial configuration, in which the distal portion is configured to be passed through an incision in tissue, and an inflated configuration in which the distal portion is expanded such that the central portion forms a working channel through the tissue for access to a body cavity. The distal portion can include an opening such that gas delivered to the distal portion can flow through the opening to insufflate a body cavity. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20110087159 | Trocar Assembly - A trocar assembly including a sleeve assembly having a cannula connected to a housing and an obturator assembly including a handle connected to an obturator, wherein the obturator assembly is receivable in the sleeve assembly to define a gripping portion that includes the housing and the handle, the gripping portion having an axial length and a maximum width, and wherein a ratio of the axial length to the maximum width ranges from about 2.5 to about 3.5. | 04-14-2011 |