Apparatus And Method For Minimally Invasive Surgery
Patent No. US11298153 (titled "Apparatus And Method For Minimally Invasive Surgery") was filed by Axcess Instruments Ip Holdings Co on Oct 26, 2020.
What is this patent about?
’153 is related to the field of minimally invasive surgical procedures, specifically laparoscopic surgery. Traditionally, these procedures require multiple small incisions to insert instruments and a camera. This can lead to pain, longer recovery times, and a risk of infection. The patent addresses the need for a device that reduces the number of incisions while maintaining the necessary triangulation for effective surgery.
The underlying idea behind ’153 is to create a single port access device that allows multiple surgical instruments to be inserted through a single incision, while still achieving the triangulation necessary for depth perception and manipulation within the body cavity. This is achieved by incorporating multiple, specifically arranged passageways within a single anchor body.
The claims of ’153 focus on a one-piece anchor body with two parallel surgical instrument passageways extending continuously through it. These passageways are designed to facilitate the triangulation of surgical instruments . Claim 6 further specifies the inclusion of a guiding conduit associated with each passageway at the upper surface of the anchor body.
In practice, the surgeon makes a single incision and inserts the anchor body. The parallel passageways, potentially aided by guiding conduits, direct the instruments in such a way that their paths converge within the body cavity, creating the desired triangulation. This allows the surgeon to visualize and manipulate tissues effectively, similar to using multiple separate ports, but with the advantage of a single entry point.
This design differentiates itself from prior approaches that either use multiple separate ports or single-port devices with parallel, non-angling channels. By using parallel passageways in conjunction with guiding conduits, the invention aims to achieve effective triangulation through a single incision, reducing patient trauma and improving recovery. The one-piece anchor body provides a stable and integrated platform for the surgical instruments.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical landscape at the time
In the mid-2000s when ’153 was filed, minimally invasive surgical techniques were gaining popularity, and surgeons commonly relied on multiple small incisions to introduce instruments and a camera for visualization. At a time when triangulation was a key concept for creating depth of field, hardware constraints made it non-trivial to achieve this within a single access point, and systems commonly relied on multiple entry points rather than a single, multi-channel port.
Novelty and Inventive Step
The examiner approved the application because the prior art did not show or suggest an access device having a one-piece anchor body with parallel instrument passageways configured to facilitate triangulation of two instruments.
Claims
This patent contains 9 claims, with claims 1 and 6 being independent. The independent claims are directed to an access device with two parallel surgical instrument passageways for minimally invasive surgery. The dependent claims generally specify further details and variations of the access device, such as the inclusion, shape, or angle of guiding conduits, or the tapering of the anchor body.
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Date
Description
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US11298153
- Application Number
- US17080095
- Filing Date
- Oct 26, 2020
- Status
- Granted
- Expiry Date
- Feb 23, 2027
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO, Google Patents