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:
Oct. 08, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 08, 2000
Joel F. Jensen, Redwood City, CA (US);
John W. Hill, Palo Alto, CA (US);
SRI International, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Abstract
The invention is directed to a system and method for releasably holding a surgical instrument ( ), such as an endoscopic instrument configured for delivery through a small percutaneous penetration in a patient. The instrument comprises an elongate shaft ( ) with a pair of mounting pins ( ) laterally extending from the shaft between its proximal and distal ends. An instrument holder comprises a support having a central bore ( ) and an axially extending slot ( ) for receiving the instrument shaft and the mounting pins. A pair of locking slots ( ) are cut into the support transversely to and in communication with the axial slot so that the mounting pins can be rotated within the locking slots. The instrument support further includes a latch assembly for automatically locking the mounting pins within the locking slots to releasably couple the instrument to the instrument holder. With this twist-lock motion, the surgeon can rapidly engage and disengage various instruments from the holder during a surgical procedure, such as open surgery, laparoscopy or thoracoscopy.