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:
Apr. 24, 2001
Filed:
Oct. 28, 1999
Paul W. Mayer, Miami, FL (US);
Other;
Abstract
A suture needle holder (or stapler), especially for a heart operation such as anastomosis, has a free-floating armature (,) with a tip (,) having a rough anti-skid surface. Friction force between the tip and the surface of the heart drives the armature and keeps the tip at the site where it rests relative to the moving heart surface. The friction force, plus the force of a weak spring (,) pushing the armature forward, overcome the weight and inertia of the armature so that it remains at the operation site. The armature is slidably coupled to a handle barrel (,) through a bearing guide (,) but a slot (,) and pin (,) prevent axial rotations; the arm is unrestrained in the angle it makes with the axis of the barrel, but the arm cannot rotate about the barrel axis. Jaws (,) at the tip of the arm may be used to grip a suture needle and the needle can be manipulated by rolling the barrel,so that the tip,rolls over the surface of the heart. One of the jaw (,) is actuated through a flexible cable (,) which does not affect the orientation or extension of the armature.