Applied Medical Resources Corporation

Eric J Weiss

Timothy M Hopkins

Matthew Michael Becerra

Steven Eric Decker

Atal C Patel

Babak D Jasemian

Christina N Reed

Andrew J McCarthy

Joshua M Schober

Jonathan R Nash

Erik D Nelson

Scott Zimmerman

Andrew Krasts

Kevin Hudson

Andy Pham

Zachary W Gyugyi

Jonathan Von Stein

Travis Bautista

Darci Darnall

Bruno Vu

Ata Kiraz

Isabella Hidalgo

Stephen Eldridge

Anay Pandit

Andrew J Mccarthy

A surgical stapling system can include a reload shaft. The shaft can include an elongate tubular member with have a jaw assembly at the distal end thereof and a coupling collar at the proximal end thereof. The shaft assembly also includes an articulation joint coupling the jaw assembly to the distal end. A drive member and an articulation member extend within the tubular body of the shaft from the proximal end to the distal end. A firing member is connected to the distal end of the drive member such that advancement of the drive beam advances the firing member to close the jaw assemblies and fire staples from a reload positioned in the jaw assembly. The shaft assembly can also include a lockout mechanism to prevent a firing operation on a previously-fired reload or no reload.

Reload shaft assembly for surgical stapler

Surface preparation for sliding surfaces can enhance wear performance for surgical instruments such as surgical staplers which include reusable mechanisms that are used multiple times with single use reload cartridges. To reduce the potential for galling wear in a metal-to-metal sliding engagement, a combination of surface hardening, surface finish, and surface coatings can be applied to metallic components of a surgical instrument. Surface hardening techniques can allow further manufacturing operations such as welding without compromising the strength of the underlying metal substrate. With stainless steel metal substrates, as surface or case hardening techniques can reduce corrosion resistance, a surface coating can be applied to inhibit surface oxidation as well as provide a barrier to metal-to-metal contact. A further lubricious coating layer such as a bone wax coating layer can enhance galling resistance.

Material combinations and processing methods for a surgical instrument

A handle assembly for a surgical stapler can comprise a rotatable actuation shaft. The actuation shaft can have a first rotational orientation in which it can actuate a jaw assembly in a staple firing mode, and a second rotational orientation in which it can actuate a jaw assembly in a reversing mode. The handle assembly can include an articulation mechanism including a ball screw to selectively articulate the jaw assembly relative to an elongate shaft. The handle assembly can include a mechanism to lock out selection of the staple firing mode and actuation of the articulation mechanism if a reload shaft is not securely coupled to the handle assembly.

Surgical stapler having shaft recognition mechanism

A powered handle for a surgical stapler has a drive system including an electric motor. The powered handle includes a shaft recognition mechanism such that when a reload shaft for use with the surgical stapler is installed, a control system can actuate the drive system with the recognized shaft. The powered handle further comprises a LED light ring driven by a light control scheme to display a handle status. The control system also includes a startup module to assess hardware and control system performance before use. The startup module assesses different criteria depending on whether the handle is new, previously used, or previously reset. The control system of the powered handle further includes a lockout module configured to identify when a lockout has been encountered. The lockout module applies different criteria depending on whether the motor is operating at a maximum speed state or less than a maximum speed state.

Surgical stapler having a powered handle

Growing community of inventors

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, United States of America

Eric J Weiss