The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 15, 1999
Filed:
Jan. 29, 1998
Michael E Miller, Indianapolis, IN (US);
Dan C Ireland, Martinsville, IN (US);
SDGI Holidings, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US);
Abstract
A surgical cutting instrument for cutting tissue includes a flexible outer tubular assembly or cannula sized for percutaneous insertion into an anatomical space, such as a joint space in the spine. The outer tubular assembly has a cutting opening at its angle-tipped distal end, and the proximal end is supported by a handpiece. A cutting member is slidablv disposed within the outer tubular assembly and includes a tubular cutting head portion defining an end opening and a cutting edge at the end opening. In one specific embodiment, the outer tubular assembly includes a flexible segment connected between two more rigid segments by means of locking grooves. The cutting member includes a flexible drive portion attached to the cutting head portion in order to permit the cutting head portion to flex relative to the remainder of the cutting member and relative to the outer tubular assembly. The flexible segment and drive portion allow the cutting instrument to be pre-configured to navigate through tissue to the cutting site.