CN117653333A - Joint motion assembly and surgical instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the specification discloses an articulation assembly and a surgical instrument, wherein the articulation assembly comprises an inner joint and an outer joint sleeved outside the inner joint; one of the inner joint and the outer joint is connected with a rotating piece, and the other one is provided with a deflection mechanism; the joints connected with the rotating piece in the inner joint and the outer joint can rotate around the axis of the rotating piece relative to the joints provided with the deflection mechanism; the joint provided with the deflection mechanism can deflect under the drive of the deflection mechanism, and drives the joint connected with the rotating piece to deflect.

Description

Joint motion assembly and surgical instrument

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of medical devices, and more particularly to an articulation assembly and a surgical device.

Background

Minimally invasive surgery refers to the diagnosis or treatment of a focal site in a patient by a doctor or surgical robot making a small incision in the surface of the patient and then extending surgical instruments into the patient. Among other things, surgical instruments generally include an actuation tip that may be used to perform surgical procedures such as cutting, clamping, stapling, etc. of a focal site. During surgery, the distal end of the implement needs to undergo at least a yaw motion and/or a rotational motion to adjust its pose. However, since the joints for controlling the yaw movement and the rotation movement of the execution end in the surgical instrument are generally coupled, the yaw movement and the rotation movement of the execution end are coupled, which causes the yaw movement and the rotation movement of the execution end to affect each other, for example, when the execution end is controlled to perform the rotation movement after being deflected in a certain direction, the joints for controlling the execution end to perform the yaw movement are also rotated, so that the deflection direction of the execution end is changed, which increases not only the movement space of the execution end, but also the difficulty of adjusting the pose of the execution end and the burden of an operator when using the surgical instrument.

It is therefore desirable to provide an articulation assembly for controlling rotational and yaw movement of an implement tip to address the problem of coupling between rotational and yaw movement of the implement tip.

Disclosure of Invention

One of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides an articulation assembly that includes an inner joint and an outer joint that is sleeved outside the inner joint; one of the inner joint and the outer joint is connected with a rotating piece, and the other one is provided with a deflection mechanism; the joints connected with the rotating piece in the inner joint and the outer joint can rotate around the axis of the rotating piece relative to the joints provided with the deflection mechanism; the joint provided with the deflection mechanism can deflect under the drive of the deflection mechanism, and drives the joint connected with the rotating piece to deflect.

In some embodiments, the inner joint is connected with the rotating member, and the outer joint is provided with the deflection mechanism.

In some embodiments, the swivel comprises an inner tube, and the yaw mechanism comprises an outer tube and a wire rope; the outer tube is sleeved outside the inner tube, and the inner tube can be driven to rotate around the axis of the outer tube.

In some embodiments, the proximal end of the inner joint is connected to the distal end of the inner tube and the proximal end of the outer joint is connected to the distal end of the outer tube; one end of the steel wire rope is fixed at the far end of the outer joint, and the other end of the steel wire rope penetrates from the far end of the outer joint to the near end of the outer tube.

In some embodiments, a bearing connection is provided between the distal end of the inner joint and the distal end of the outer joint.

In some embodiments, a barrier is disposed between the inner joint and the outer joint, the barrier comprising a wear resistant material.

In some embodiments, the barrier is tubular in structure and fits over at least a portion of the inner joint.

In some embodiments, the barrier is sleeved outside the inner joint.

In some embodiments, the inner joint comprises at least two inner joint units connected in series; alternatively, the outer joint comprises at least two outer joint units connected in series.

In some embodiments, adjacent two of the at least two tandem internal joint units (111) are connected by an internal joint unit connector.

In some embodiments, the outer joint is provided with a rigid member that is threaded onto the outer joint along a length of the outer joint.

One of the embodiments of the present disclosure provides a surgical instrument comprising an actuation tip, an articulation assembly of any of the embodiments described above, and a control mechanism; the control mechanism comprises a rotation operation piece and a deflection operation piece; the actuating tip is connected to a distal end of a joint in the articulation assembly that performs rotational motion; the rotation operating member is coupled to a rotation member in the articulation assembly; the rotary operation piece is used for driving the execution tail end to perform rotary motion; the deflection operating piece is connected with a deflection mechanism in the articulation assembly; the deflection operation piece is used for driving the execution end to perform deflection movement.

Drawings

The present application will be further illustrated by way of example embodiments, which will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are not limiting, in which like numerals represent like structures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an articulation assembly shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the inner and outer joints after a yaw motion according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the connection of an inner joint to a rotating member according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the connection of an outer joint to an outer tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the structure of an inner joint unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the configuration of an intra-articular unit connector shown according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the structure of an outer joint unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a surgical instrument according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial view of area A of FIG. 8;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of a surgical instrument illustrating the interior of a control mechanism, according to some embodiments of the present description.

Detailed Description

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are required to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly described below. It is apparent that the drawings in the following description are only some examples or embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present application may be applied to other similar situations according to the drawings without inventive effort. Unless otherwise apparent from the context of the language or otherwise specified, like reference numerals in the figures refer to like structures or operations.

With the development of industrial manufacturing technology and medical technology, minimally invasive operations such as laparoscopic surgery and thoracoscopic surgery have been widely used in surgical operations. Depending on the type of minimally invasive procedure, the surgical instruments used have different types (e.g., forceps, scissors, hooks, punctures, etc.) of actuating tips that may be used to perform cutting, clamping, stapling, pulling, and freeing of the focal site.

Taking laparoscopic surgery as an example, the execution end of a surgical instrument (simply referred to as a laparoscopic instrument) used in laparoscopic surgery is a clamp-type execution end. To meet the surgical demands, the distal end of laparoscopic instruments typically include four actions, jaw open and close, jaw rotation, jaw up and down deflection, and jaw side-to-side deflection. In some embodiments, these four actions may be driven by one traction wire each. For example, the pull wire may be connected in series with a joint that controls movement of the distal end, and by pulling or releasing the pull wire, the distal end may be controlled to perform a corresponding action. In some embodiments, when the laparoscopic instrument is manually operated by an operator (e.g., a doctor), the motion of the hand and wrist of the operator in any direction is mapped to the motion of the laparoscopic instrument in the corresponding direction, for example, the operator may drive the actuating end of the laparoscopic instrument to perform the actions of jaw rotation, jaw up and down deflection, jaw left and right deflection, etc. in the patient through the motion of the wrist and arm. Since several movements of the distal end are driven by the arm and the wrist, the rotational movement (jaw rotation) and the yaw movement (jaw up and down yaw and jaw side to side yaw) of the distal end are coupled, for example, the operator needs to control the entire surgical instrument to perform the rotational movement to control the distal end, which may result in a change in the result (e.g., yaw direction) of the yaw movement of the distal end, increase the operation space of the operator outside the patient, increase the movement space of the distal end inside the patient, and make it difficult for the distal end to reach when the focal site is at some specific position, increasing the burden on the operator. In some embodiments, when the laparoscopic instrument is operated by the surgical robot, the surgical robot may separately drive four actions of the execution end of the laparoscopic instrument, and although the problem that occurs when the laparoscopic instrument is manually operated by an operator can be effectively solved, the rotation movement and the yaw movement of the execution end are not decoupled when the execution end performs the rotation movement, and the rotation movement of the execution end also needs to control the joint participation of the yaw movement of the execution end, so that the purpose of rotating the execution end can be achieved, and the structure and the algorithm design of the surgical robot are more complex.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an articulation assembly that includes an inner joint and an outer joint that is sleeved outside the inner joint; one of the inner joint and the outer joint is connected with a rotating piece, and the other is provided with a deflection mechanism; the joints connected with the rotating piece in the inner joint and the outer joint can rotate around the axis of the joint relative to the joint provided with the deflection mechanism under the drive of the rotating piece, and the joint provided with the deflection mechanism can deflect under the drive of the deflection mechanism and drive the joint connected with the rotating piece to deflect. According to the embodiment of the specification, the execution end is connected with the joint capable of performing rotary motion (namely, the joint connected with the rotary piece) in the inner joint and the outer joint, so that the execution end can perform rotary motion relative to the other joint (namely, the joint provided with the deflection mechanism) under the driving of the joint connected with the execution end, and the joint connected with the execution end can passively perform deflection motion under the driving of the other joint, so that the execution end can perform deflection motion under the driving of the joint connected with the execution end, and decoupling between the rotary motion and the deflection motion of the execution end is achieved, namely, the execution end cannot deflect during rotary motion or cannot rotate during deflection motion. When the articulation component provided by the embodiment of the specification is applied to a corresponding surgical instrument, the movement space required by the execution end can be effectively reduced by decoupling the rotation movement and the deflection movement of the execution end, and when the surgical instrument is applied to manual operation, the operation space of an operator is reduced, the execution end can conveniently reach a special position, and the operation burden of the operator is reduced. In addition, when the surgical instrument is applied to the operation of the surgical robot, the difficulty in designing the structure and algorithm of the surgical robot can be reduced.

The articulation assemblies provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of an articulation assembly shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description. Fig. 2 is a schematic illustration of the inner and outer joints after a yaw motion according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 1, the articulation assembly 100 includes an inner joint 110 and an outer joint 120 that is sleeved outside the inner joint 110. One of the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120 is connected with a rotating member 130, and the other is provided with a deflection mechanism 140. The joints connected with the rotating member 130 in the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120 can rotate around the axis of the joint around the rotating member 130 relative to the joint provided with the deflection mechanism 140, and the joints provided with the deflection mechanism 140 in the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120 can deflect under the drive of the deflection mechanism 140 and drive the joint connected with the rotating member 130 to passively deflect. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the yaw motion of the inner joint 110 and/or the outer joint 120 may refer to a wobble (or bending) of the inner joint 110 and/or the outer joint 120 in a radial direction thereof. By this arrangement, it is possible to make both a rotational movement and a yaw movement possible for the joint of the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120, which is connected to the rotary member 130, and the rotational movement and yaw movement of the joint are decoupled, i.e. the joint does not simultaneously perform a rotational movement for the other joint when performing the rotational movement. Further, when the joint provided with the yaw mechanism 140 swings at a certain angle in a certain direction under the driving of the yaw mechanism 140 to drive the joint connected with the rotating member 130 to swing at the same angle in the same direction, the swinging direction and the swinging angle of the joint are not affected by the rotation of the joint connected with the rotating member 130 under the driving of the rotating member 130. Specifically, since the yaw movement of the joint connected to the rotating member 130 among the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120 is driven by the other joint (i.e., the joint provided with the yaw mechanism 140), that is, the yaw movement of the joint connected to the rotating member 130 is passively adaptive to the yaw movement of the other joint, the yaw direction and the yaw angle of the joint connected to the rotating member 130 are not changed as long as the yaw direction and the yaw angle of the other joint are not changed. In this way, when the articulation assembly 100 is applied to a surgical instrument to control movement of the execution end, the articulation of the articulation assembly 100 that is connected to the rotation member 130 may be connected to the execution end to drive the execution end to perform rotation and yaw movements, so that the rotation and yaw movements of the execution end are uncoupled, thereby reducing a movement space required for the execution end, reducing an operation space of an operator when the surgical instrument is applied to manual operation, facilitating the execution end to reach a specific position, and reducing an operation load of the operator. In addition, when the surgical instrument is applied to the operation of the surgical robot, the difficulty in designing the structure and algorithm of the surgical robot can be reduced.

In some embodiments, the inner joint 110 may have a swivel 130 attached thereto, and the outer joint 120 may have a yaw mechanism 140 attached thereto. The inner joint 110 can rotate around its axis relative to the outer joint 120 under the driving of the rotating member 130, and the outer joint 120 can perform a yaw motion under the driving of the yaw mechanism 140, and drives the inner joint 110 to perform a yaw motion. Further, the inner joint 110 is capable of decoupled rotational and yaw motion. In practice, the inner joint 110 may be coupled to the distal end of the actuator, thereby enabling uncoupled rotational and yaw movement of the distal end of the actuator.

In some embodiments, the outer joint 120 may have a swivel 130 attached thereto and the inner joint 110 may have a yaw mechanism 140 attached thereto. The outer joint 120 can rotate around its axis relative to the inner joint 110 under the driving of the rotating member 130, and the inner joint 110 can perform a yaw motion under the driving of the yaw mechanism 140, and drives the outer joint 120 to perform a yaw motion. The outer joint 120 is capable of decoupled rotational and yaw motion. In practice, the outer joint 120 may be coupled to the distal end of the implement so that the distal end of the implement may be subjected to decoupled rotational and yaw movements.

It should be understood that in the articulation assembly 100 shown in fig. 1, the inner joint 110 is connected to the rotating member 130, and the outer joint 120 is provided with the yaw mechanism 140. For convenience of description, the present disclosure will mainly describe the articulation assembly 100 in which the inner joint 110 is connected to the rotating member 130 and the outer joint 120 is provided with the yaw mechanism 140 in detail. While for more description of the articulation assembly in which the outer joint 120 is coupled to the swivel 130, the inner joint 110 is provided with a yaw mechanism, reference may be made to the inner joint 110 coupled to the swivel 130 shown in fig. 1, and the outer joint 120 is provided with a corresponding description of the articulation assembly 100 of the yaw mechanism 140.

Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of the connection of an inner joint to a rotating member according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 4 is a schematic illustration of the connection of an outer joint to an outer tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 1, the swivel 130 may include an inner tube 131 and the yaw mechanism 140 may include an outer tube 141 and a wire rope 142. The outer tube 141 is sleeved outside the inner tube 131, and the inner tube 131 can be driven to rotate around its own axis relative to the outer tube 141. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the proximal end of the inner joint 110 may be coupled to the distal end of the inner tube 131 such that when the inner tube 131 is driven for rotational movement about its axis relative to the outer tube 141, the inner joint 110 is driven for rotational movement about its axis relative to the outer joint 120. In some embodiments, the distal end of the inner tube 131 may be connected to the proximal end of the inner joint 110 by a snap fit, weld, glue, or the like.

In some embodiments, as shown in connection with fig. 1 and 4, the proximal end of the outer joint 120 may be coupled to the distal end of the outer tube 141. In some embodiments, the distal end of the outer tube 141 may be connected to the proximal end of the outer joint 120 by a snap fit, weld, threaded connection, glue, or the like. In some embodiments, the outer joint 120 may be moved in a yaw motion by pulling the wire rope 142. Specifically, one end of the wire rope 142 may be fixed to the distal end of the outer joint 120, and the other end of the wire rope 142 is threaded from the distal end of the outer joint 120 toward the proximal end of the outer tube 141. By pulling the other end of the wire rope 142, the outer joint 120 can be driven to perform a yaw motion (or bending) toward the side where the wire rope 142 is located (for example, in the X direction shown in fig. 4), and the inner joint 110 can passively adapt to the yaw motion of the outer joint 120, so that the outer joint 120 can perform a yaw motion in the same yaw direction. In some embodiments, one end of the wire rope 142 may be provided with a fixing terminal 1421, the distal end of the outer joint 120 may be provided with a mounting groove 1201 adapted to the fixing terminal 1421, and one end of the wire rope 142 may be fixed to the distal end of the outer joint 120 by mounting the fixing terminal 1421 in the mounting groove 1201. In some embodiments, the number of wires 142 may be multiple, e.g., two, four, etc., by providing multiple wires 142, the outer joint 120 may be enabled for yaw movement in multiple directions. In some embodiments, the number of the steel wires 142 may be two, and one ends of the two steel wires 142 are respectively fixed at two radial sides of the distal end of the outer joint 120, that is, the two steel wires 142 are opposite in the radial direction of the outer joint 120, and by respectively pulling the other ends of the two steel wires 142, the outer joint 120 can be driven to perform the yaw motion in two different directions. For example, pulling the other ends of the two wires 142 may drive the outer joint 120 to swing in the X direction and the X' direction in fig. 4, respectively. In some embodiments, the number of the steel wires 142 may be four, one end of two of the four steel wires 142 may be respectively fixed at two sides of a first radial direction of the distal end of the outer joint 120, and one end of the other two steel wires may be respectively fixed at two sides of a second radial direction of the distal end of the outer joint 120, wherein the first radial direction and the second radial direction may be any two mutually perpendicular radial directions of the distal end of the outer joint 120. By pulling the other ends of the four wire ropes 142, the outer joint 120 is driven to perform a yaw motion in four different directions, for example, in the X direction, the X 'direction, the Y direction, and the Y' direction in fig. 4, respectively. Wherein the X, X ', Y, and Y' directions are parallel to a radial direction with respect to the distal end of the outer joint 120, e.g., the X and X 'directions are parallel to a first radial direction and the Y and Y' directions are parallel to a second radial direction.

It should be noted that references herein to "proximal" and "distal" may refer to the surgical instrument and the articulation assembly 100 and the components or members thereof (e.g., the inner joint 110, the outer joint 120, etc.) being proximate to and distal from the operator, respectively, when the surgical instrument having the articulation assembly 100 is manipulated.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to FIG. 1, a bearing connection 150 may be provided between the distal end of the inner joint 110 and the distal end of the outer joint 120. The bearing connection piece 150 not only can be used for connecting the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120, so that the outer joint 120 can drive the inner joint 110 to perform the yaw motion together, but also can reduce the friction force between the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120, so that the inner joint 110 can perform the rotary motion around the axis of the outer joint 120, and the outer joint 120 is prevented from being driven by the inner joint 110 to perform the rotary motion. In some embodiments, the bearing connector 150 may include a rolling bearing such as a deep groove ball bearing, an angular contact ball bearing, a self-aligning ball bearing, a thrust ball bearing, a needle bearing, or the like. In some embodiments, bearing connector 150 may also include a sliding bearing. In some embodiments, taking the bearing connector 150 as a rolling bearing, the rolling bearing may include a bearing outer race and a bearing inner race, and rolling bodies (e.g., balls, needles, etc.) disposed therebetween, which may be coupled to the distal ends of the outer knuckle 120 and the inner knuckle 110, respectively, to couple the distal ends of the outer knuckle 120 and the inner knuckle 110 together. In some embodiments, the bearing inner race may be sleeved outside of the distal end of the inner knuckle 110, and the distal end of the outer knuckle 120 may be sleeved outside of the bearing outer race, thereby connecting the distal ends of the outer knuckle 120 and the inner knuckle 110 together.

In some embodiments, as shown with reference to fig. 3, the inner joint 110 may include at least two inner joint units 111 connected in series. In some embodiments, adjacent two inner joint units 111 of at least two inner joint units 110 connected in series may be connected by an inner joint unit connector 112.

Fig. 5 is a schematic illustration of the structure of an intra-articular unit shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present description. Fig. 6 is a schematic illustration of the configuration of an intra-articular unit connector shown according to some embodiments of the present description.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, two receiving portions 1111 are provided at both ends of the inner joint unit 111, respectively. Wherein a line between the two receiving parts 1111 at the same end is parallel to a radial direction of the inner joint unit 111, and a line between the two receiving parts 1111 at one end (e.g., distal end) of the inner joint unit 111 is parallel to a line between the two receiving parts 1111 at the other end (e.g., proximal end) of the inner joint unit 111.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6, the inner articulation unit link 112 may include four protrusions 1121. Wherein, the included angle between the connecting line of two adjacent protruding parts 1121 of the four protruding parts 1121 and the center of the inner joint unit connector 112 is 90 °.

In some embodiments, as shown in connection with fig. 3, when two adjacent ones of the inner joint units 111 in the inner joint 110 are connected by the inner joint unit connector 112, two of the protrusions 1121 of the inner joint unit connector 112 that are 180 ° in angle with the line of the centers of the inner joint unit connectors 112 are respectively located in two of the receiving portions 1111 of one end (e.g., the proximal end) of one of the two adjacent inner joint units 111, and the other two of the protrusions 1121 of the inner joint unit connector 112 that are 180 ° in angle with the line of the centers of the inner joint unit connectors 112 are respectively located in two of the receiving portions 1111 of one end (e.g., the distal end) of the other one of the two adjacent inner joint units 111. In some embodiments, the protruding portion 1121 may be provided in a cylindrical shape, and the receiving portion may be provided in an arc-shaped groove that is adapted to the cylindrical shape of the protruding portion 1121. By the arrangement, the two adjacent inner joint units 111 in the inner joint 110 can relatively rotate around the axis of the protruding part 1121 of the inner joint unit 112, so that the inner joint 110 can perform deflection movement in at least a first direction and a second direction, and each inner joint unit 111 can still perform rotation movement around the axis when performing rotation movement after the inner joint 110 deflects a certain angle, and the deflection angle of the inner joint 110 is prevented from being influenced. Wherein the first direction and the second direction may be parallel to a line between two protrusions 1121 (an included angle between the two protrusions 1121 and a line of the center of the inner joint unit connector 112, respectively, is 180 °).

In some embodiments, the inner joint unit connector 112 may be provided with at least one functional hole 1123, and the at least one functional hole 1123 may be provided for a wire rope or a lead to pass through to connect or electrically connect with an execution end connected to the distal end of the inner joint 110, thereby controlling the execution end to perform a corresponding surgical operation. For example, when the distal end of the execution end is a clamp-type or scissor-type structure requiring opening and closing, one end of at least one wire may be connected to the distal end of the execution end, and the other end may pass through the at least one functional hole 1123 and exit from the proximal end of the inner joint 110 (into the inner tube 131), and pulling the other end of the at least one wire may control the distal end to open and close the execution end to perform the corresponding surgical operation (e.g., separating tissue from or shearing tissue from a focal site of the patient). For another example, when the delivery tip includes a cut filament, the guidewire may be electrically coupled to the cut filament through the at least one functional aperture 1123, and the cut filament may be heated by energizing the guidewire such that the cut filament is capable of cutting tissue at a focal site of the patient.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the inner joint 110 may further include a series member 113, the series member 113 being disposed through the inner joint 110 along the length of the inner joint 110. Further, as shown in connection with fig. 6, the center of the inner joint unit link 112 may be provided with a serial hole 1122, and the serial member 113 may be inserted through the serial hole 1122 of each inner joint unit link 112 and the inner cavity of each inner joint unit 111 to serially assemble each inner joint unit 111 and each inner joint unit link 112 together to form the inner joint 110.

It should be noted that, since the distal end and the proximal end of the inner joint 110 need to be connected to other components, for example, the distal end of the inner joint 110 needs to be connected to the performing end, and the proximal end of the inner joint 110 needs to be connected to the inner tube 131, the performing end and the inner tube 131 may also be connected to the inner joint unit 111 located at the distal end and the proximal end of the inner joint 110 through the inner joint unit connector 112. For example, as shown in fig. 3, one end of the inner tube 131 may be connected to the inner joint unit 111 located at the proximal end of the inner joint 110 through the inner joint unit connector 112. Specifically, two receiving portions 1311 may be provided on one end of the inner tube 131, the two receiving portions 1311 may be disposed opposite to each other, and two protruding portions 1121 of the inner joint unit connector 112 having an angle of 180 ° with respect to a line connecting centers of the inner joint unit connector 112 may be respectively located in the two receiving portions 1311.

In some embodiments, referring to fig. 4, the outer joint 120 may include at least two outer joint units 121 connected in series.

Fig. 7 is a schematic illustration of the structure of an external joint unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, two connection portions 1211 are provided at both ends of the outer joint unit, respectively. Wherein a line between the two connection parts 1211 located at the same end is parallel to a radial direction of the outer joint unit 121, and a line between the two connection parts 1211 at one end (e.g., distal end) of the outer joint unit 121 is perpendicular to a line between the two connection parts 1211 at the other end (e.g., proximal end) of the outer joint unit 121.

In some embodiments, as shown in connection with fig. 4, when two adjacent ones of the external joint units 1211 in the external joint 120 are connected, two connection portions 1211 of one end (e.g., a proximal end) of one of the external joint units 121 may be respectively connected with two connection portions 1211 of one end (e.g., a distal end) of the other external joint unit 121. In some embodiments, the connecting portions 1211 on the outer joint units 121 may have a tooth structure, and the two connecting portions 1211 of two adjacent outer joint units 121 may be connected by meshing with each other through the tooth structure, so that the two adjacent outer joint units 121 can relatively rotate, thereby ensuring that the outer joint 120 can perform a yaw motion.

It should be noted that, since the distal end and the proximal end of the outer joint 120 need to be connected to other components, for example, the distal end of the outer joint 120 needs to be fixed to one end of the wire rope 142, and the proximal end of the outer joint 120 needs to be connected to the outer tube 141, the outer joint unit 121 belonging to the distal end and the proximal end of the outer joint 120 may be provided with two connection portions 1211 at only one end. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the distal end of the outer joint unit 121 at the distal end of the outer joint 120 may be provided with an installation groove 1201 for installing the fixing terminal 1421 of the wire rope 142 instead of the connection portion 1211. For another example, the proximal end of the outer joint unit 121 at the proximal end of the outer joint 120 is provided with the engagement portion 1212 engaged with the engagement groove 1411 of the outer tube 141 without providing the connection portion 1211.

In some embodiments, with continued reference to fig. 4, the outer joint 120 may further be provided with a rigid member 122, and the rigid member 122 may be threaded onto the outer joint 120 along the length of the outer joint 120. Further, the outer joint units 121 are provided with rigid piece through holes 1213 through which the rigid pieces 122 pass, and the rigid pieces 122 can pass through the rigid piece through holes 1213 on each outer joint unit 121 to pass through the outer joint 120 to provide a certain rigidity for the outer joint 120, so that the outer joint 120 can have better rigidity, and the outer joint 120 is prevented from S-shaped torsion during deflection, so that a desired deflection movement result (such as a deflection direction or a deflection angle) cannot be achieved. In some embodiments, the rigid member 122 may be made of a shape memory material having a certain elasticity, so as to ensure that the outer joint 120 can return to its original shape (e.g., a straight line) under the elastic force of the rigid member 122 after being deflected. In some embodiments, the material of the rigid member may include, but is not limited to, metallic materials such as stainless steel, nickel titanium alloy, iron platinum alloy, and the like, polymeric materials such as polyurethane, polyolefin, epoxy, and the like, and shape memory ceramic materials, and the like, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the number of rigid members 122 threaded onto the outer joint 120 may be 2-4. Preferably, the number of the rigid members 122 penetrating the outer joint 120 may be 4, and correspondingly, the number of the rigid member penetrating holes 1213 provided on the outer joint unit 121 may be 4, wherein the 4 rigid members 122 are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the outer joint 120, which may provide better rigidity to the outer joint 120, ensuring that the outer joint 120 returns to its original shape more quickly and better after deflection. In some embodiments, a rigid member similar to the rigid member 122 on the outer joint member 120 may also be provided on the inner joint member 110 to provide rigidity to the inner joint member 110 to provide better rigidity to the inner joint member 110.

In some embodiments, the outer joint unit 121 is provided with at least two wire rope perforations 1214 through which the wire rope 142 passes, and both ends of the wire rope 142 may pass through the wire rope perforations 1214 on the outer joint unit 121 from the distal end of the outer joint 120 to the proximal end of the outer joint 120.

In some embodiments, a barrier (not shown in the figures) may also be provided between the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120. In some embodiments, the barrier may comprise a wear resistant material, which may comprise nylon, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethylene, or the like, or a combination thereof, which may not only reduce friction between the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120, further ensuring that the inner joint 110 may rotate about its own axis relative to the outer joint 120 without driving the outer joint 120 to rotate together, but may also avoid wear from direct contact between the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120 during movement, and increase the service life of the articulation assembly 100.

In some embodiments, the barrier may be sleeved outside of the inner joint 110. Illustratively, the barrier may comprise a tubular structure made of a wear resistant material that may be sleeved over the exterior of the entire inner joint 110. In some embodiments, the barrier may comprise a plurality of tubular structures made of a wear resistant material, each of which is sleeved outside the inner articulation unit 111. In some embodiments, the barrier may be provided in the form of a coating between the inner joint 110 and the outer joint 120. As an exemplary illustration, the wear resistant material may be applied directly to the outer surface of the inner articulation unit 111.

The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a surgical instrument that can decouple the yaw and rotation motions of the implement tip by employing the articulation assembly 100 to drive the yaw and rotation motions of the implement tip, reducing the motion space of the implement tip, and enabling an operator to control the yaw and rotation motions of the implement tip without requiring too much operating space when operating the surgical instrument. The surgical instrument provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below in connection with the articulation assembly 100 and FIG. 8 provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a schematic view of a surgical instrument according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 9 is a partial enlarged view of the area a in fig. 8.

As shown in fig. 8, a surgical instrument 1000 may include an articulation assembly 100, an implement tip 200, and a control mechanism 300. As shown in connection with fig. 9, the implement tip 200 may be coupled to an articulation in the articulation assembly 100 for rotational movement. In some embodiments, the delivery tip 200 may be a clamp, scissor, hook, piercing, or the like. For example, the distal end may be a distal surgical instrument such as a cutting forceps, scissors, retractor, and a puncture needle. In some embodiments, the joint in the articulation assembly 100 that performs rotational motion may be an inner joint 110. Further, the inner joint 110 may be connected to the rotating member 130 (the inner tube 131), and the executing end 200 may be connected to the distal end of the inner joint 110, so as to be driven by the inner joint 110 to perform a rotational motion relative to the outer joint 120, by performing a rotational motion relative to the outer joint 120 around its own axis under the driving of the rotating member 130; the outer joint 120 may be driven by the yaw mechanism 140 to perform a yaw motion, so as to drive the inner joint 110 to perform a yaw motion, so as to drive the execution end 200 to perform a yaw motion. In some embodiments, the joint in the articulation assembly 100 that performs rotational motion may be the outer joint 120. Further, the outer joint 120 may perform a rotational movement about its own axis with respect to the inner joint 110, and the performing tip 200 may be connected to the distal end of the outer joint 120 to be rotated by the outer joint 120 with respect to the inner joint 110; the inner joint 110 may perform a yaw motion and drive the yaw motion, so as to drive the inner joint 110 to perform a yaw motion, so as to drive the execution end 200 to perform a yaw motion. By connecting the distal end of the execution end 200 with the distal end of the joint (the inner joint 110 or the outer joint 120) performing rotational movement in the articulation assembly 100, the execution end 200 may perform uncoupled rotational movement and yaw movement under the driving of the articulation assembly 100, and an operator may drive the joint (e.g., the inner joint 110) connected to the rotation member 130 in the articulation assembly 100 to perform rotational movement by separately driving the rotation member 130 to perform rotational movement, thereby driving the execution end 200 to perform rotational movement without the operator operating the whole surgical instrument 1000 or the whole articulation assembly 100 to perform rotation or swing to drive the execution end 200, so that the movement space of the execution end and the operation space of the operator can be effectively reduced, the execution end 200 is convenient to reach a specific position in the patient, and the burden of the operator is reduced. The following will describe in detail mainly the connection of the execution end 200 with the inner joint 110.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural view of a surgical instrument illustrating the interior of a control mechanism, according to some embodiments of the present description.

As shown in fig. 10, the control mechanism 300 may include at least a rotation operation member 310 and a yaw operation member (not shown in the drawings). Further, the control mechanism 300 may also include a handle 320.

In some embodiments, the rotary operation member 310 may be connected to the rotary member 130 (the inner tube 131) for bringing the performing end 200 into a rotary motion. In some embodiments, the rotational operation member 310 may include a first reel 311, a second reel 312 disposed inside the handle 320, a pull wire 313 wound on the first reel 311 and the second reel 312, and a wheel 314 disposed on the handle 320. Wherein the rotating wheel 314 is connected with the first winding wheel 311 through a transmission shaft 315, and the second winding wheel 312 is connected with the proximal end of the inner tube 131. Illustratively, when the operator is using the surgical instrument 1000, the rotation of the first reel 311 may be transmitted to the second reel 312 via the pull wire 313 by pulling the wheel 314 to rotate the first reel 311, thereby rotating the second reel 312 to drive the inner tube 131 to rotate, thereby rotating the inner joint 110 and thus the distal end 200.

In some embodiments, the yaw manipulation member may be coupled to the yaw mechanism 140 (the cable 142) for imparting a yaw motion to the actuation end 200. Illustratively, the yaw manipulation member may include at least one reel, which may be disposed inside and outside of the handle 320. The other end of the wire 142 may be wound around at least one reel, and the handle 320 may be provided with a wheel connected to the at least one reel. When the operator uses the surgical instrument 1000, the turning wheel is turned to drive at least one reel to rotate, so that the other end of the wire rope 142 can be pulled to drive the outer joint 120 to perform the yaw motion, so as to drive the inner joint 110 to passively perform the yaw motion, and further drive the execution end 200 to perform the yaw motion. In some embodiments, when the number of the wire ropes 142 is two, and one end of the two wire ropes 142 is fixed at two radial sides of the distal end of the outer joint 120, the number of the reels may be one, and the other ends of the two wire ropes 142 may be wound on the reels, and the winding directions are opposite, by rotating the reels around a designated direction (for example, clockwise or counterclockwise), the other end of one wire rope 142 is continuously wound on the reels, and the other wire rope 142 is released from the reels, so that the other end of one wire rope 142 is pulled, and the outer joint 120 is driven to perform a yaw motion toward the side where the one wire rope is located. In some embodiments, when the number of the wire ropes 142 may be four, and one end of two of the wire ropes 142 is fixed to the first radial side of the distal end of the outer joint 120, respectively, and one end of the other two of the wire ropes 142 is fixed to the second radial side of the distal end of the outer joint 120, respectively, the number of the reels may be two, and the other ends of two of the wire ropes 142 opposite in the radial direction of the outer joint 120 (i.e., the two wire ropes 142 having one end fixed to the first radial side of the distal end of the outer joint 120) may be wound together around one of the reels, and the winding directions are opposite, and the other ends of the other two wire ropes 142 opposite in the radial direction of the outer joint 120 (i.e., the two wire ropes 142 having one end fixed to the second radial side of the distal end of the outer joint 120) may be wound together around the other reel, and around the winding directions are opposite. For further description of how the reel is to pull the other end of the wire rope 142 when the wire rope 142 is four, reference is made to the description of the two wire ropes 142, and the description is omitted here.

In some embodiments, when the execution end 200 is in a clamp-type or scissor-type structure, the execution end 200 needs to perform an opening and closing action, and correspondingly, the control mechanism 300 may further include an operation member for driving the execution end to perform the opening and closing action. In some embodiments, the opening and closing action of the execution end can be carried out by pulling or releasing at least one wire rope. Therefore, the operating member for driving the execution end to execute the opening and closing operation can be designed with reference to the swing operating member.

Possible benefits of embodiments of the present description include, but are not limited to: (1) The joint for performing rotary motion in the joint motion assembly provided by the embodiment of the specification can perform uncoupled rotary motion and yaw motion, and the execution end is connected with the joint to drive the execution end to perform uncoupled rotary motion and yaw motion, so that an operator can control the execution end to perform rotary motion without rotating or swinging the whole instrument, the motion space of the execution end and the operation space of the operator are effectively reduced, the difficulty of the execution end reaching a special position is reduced, and the burden of the operator is reduced; (2) The bearing connecting piece is arranged between the distal ends of the inner joint and the outer joint, so that the inner joint and the outer joint can be connected, one joint can be driven to perform deflection movement, the other joint can be prevented from rotating when rotating relative to the other joint, and decoupling of terminal rotation movement and deflection movement can be realized; (3) The blocking piece is arranged between the outer joint and the inner joint, so that abrasion between the inner joint and the outer joint can be reduced, the service life of the joint movement assembly is prolonged, friction force between the inner joint and the outer joint can be reduced, and further, when one joint rotates relative to the other joint, the other joint cannot rotate, and decoupling of executing terminal rotation movement and deflection movement is facilitated; (4) The outer joint is provided with the rigid piece and/or the inner joint is internally provided with the serial piece, so that the rigidity of the outer joint and/or the inner joint can be improved, the rigidity of the joint movement assembly is improved, the S-shaped torsion phenomenon of the joint movement assembly is avoided, and the joint movement assembly can be restored to the original shape (the axis is a straight line) under the elastic action of the rigid piece and/or the serial piece after the joint movement assembly performs the deflection movement.

It should be noted that, the advantages that may be generated by different embodiments may be different, and in different embodiments, the advantages that may be generated may be any one or a combination of several of the above, or any other possible advantages that may be obtained.

While the basic concepts have been described above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing detailed disclosure is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting. Although not explicitly described herein, various modifications, improvements, and adaptations of the present application may occur to one skilled in the art. Such modifications, improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested within this application, and are therefore within the spirit and scope of the exemplary embodiments of this application.

Meanwhile, the present application uses specific words to describe embodiments of the present application. Reference to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," and/or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is associated with at least one embodiment of the present application. Thus, it should be emphasized and should be appreciated that two or more references to "an embodiment" or "one embodiment" or "an alternative embodiment" in various positions in this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, certain features, structures, or characteristics of one or more embodiments of the present application may be combined as suitable.

Likewise, it should be noted that in order to simplify the presentation disclosed herein and thereby aid in understanding one or more inventive embodiments, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof. This method of disclosure, however, is not intended to imply that more features than are presented in the claims are required for the subject application. Indeed, less than all of the features of a single embodiment disclosed above.

In some embodiments, numbers describing the components, number of attributes are used, it being understood that such numbers being used in the description of embodiments are modified in some examples by the modifier "about," approximately, "or" substantially. Unless otherwise indicated, "about," "approximately," or "substantially" indicate that the number allows for a 20% variation. Accordingly, in some embodiments, numerical parameters set forth in the specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the individual embodiments. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should take into account the specified significant digits and employ a method for preserving the general number of digits. Although the numerical ranges and parameters set forth herein are approximations that may be employed in some embodiments to confirm the breadth of the range, in particular embodiments, the setting of such numerical values is as precise as possible.

Finally, it should be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the embodiments of the present application. Other variations are also possible within the scope of this application. Thus, by way of example, and not limitation, alternative configurations of embodiments of the present application may be considered in keeping with the teachings of the present application. Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited to only the embodiments explicitly described and depicted herein.

Claims (11)

1. An articulation assembly, characterized in that the articulation assembly (100) comprises an inner joint (110) and an outer joint (120) that is sleeved outside the inner joint (110); wherein one of the inner joint (110) and the outer joint (120) is connected with a rotating piece (130), and the other is provided with a deflection mechanism (140);

the joints connected with the rotating piece (130) in the inner joint (110) and the outer joint (120) can rotate around the axis of the rotating piece (130) relative to the joints provided with the deflection mechanism (140);

the joint provided with the deflection mechanism (140) can deflect under the drive of the deflection mechanism (140) and drive the joint connected with the rotating piece (130) to deflect.

2. The articulation assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said inner joint (110) is connected to said rotating member (130), said outer joint (120) being provided with said deflection mechanism (140).

3. The articulation assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that the swivel (130) comprises an inner tube (131), the yaw mechanism (140) comprising an outer tube (141) and a wire rope (142); the outer tube (141) is sleeved outside the inner tube (131), and the inner tube (131) can be driven to rotate around the axis of the outer tube (141).

4. An articulation assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that the proximal end of the inner joint (110) is connected to the distal end of the inner tube (131), the proximal end of the outer joint (120) being connected to the distal end of the outer tube (141); one end of the steel wire rope (142) is fixed at the distal end of the outer joint (120), and the other end of the steel wire rope (142) penetrates from the distal end of the outer joint (120) to the proximal end of the outer tube (141).

5. The articulation assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that a bearing connection (150) is provided between the distal end of the inner joint (110) and the distal end of the outer joint (120).

6. The articulation assembly according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that a barrier is provided between the inner joint (110) and the outer joint (120), the barrier comprising a wear resistant material.

7. The articulation assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that the barrier is of tubular structure and is housed outside the inner joint (110).

8. The articulation assembly according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the inner joint (110) comprises at least two inner joint units (111) connected in series; alternatively, the outer joint (120) comprises at least two outer joint units (121) connected in series.

9. The articulation assembly according to claim 8, characterized in that adjacent two of said at least two inner articulation units (111) in series are connected by an inner articulation unit connection (112).

10. The articulation assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that the outer joint (120) is provided with a rigid element (122), the rigid element (122) being threaded on the outer joint (120) along the length of the outer joint (120).

11. A surgical instrument, characterized in that the surgical instrument (1000) comprises an actuation tip (200), an articulation assembly (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, and a control mechanism (300); wherein the control mechanism (300) comprises a rotation operation member (310) and a yaw operation member;

The actuation tip (200) is connected to a distal end of a joint in the articulation assembly (100) that performs rotational motion;

the rotational operator (310) is coupled to a rotational element (130) in the articulation assembly (100); the rotary operating piece (310) is used for driving the executing tail end (200) to perform rotary motion;

the yaw manipulation member is coupled to a yaw mechanism (140) in the articulation assembly (100); the deflection operation piece is used for driving the execution end (200) to perform deflection movement.