US Patent 9913639 Laparoscopic suturing instrument with dual-action needle graspers

A suture needle driving instrument comprises a shaft and an end effector. The end effector is located at the distal end of the shaft and includes a pair of grasping arms. Each grasping arm comprises a respective pair of jaws. Each pair of jaws is operable to cooperate to grasp and release a suture needle. Each jaw has a needle grasping member operable to align a suture needle along a predetermined arc path. The end effector is further operable to pass the needle from one arm to the other arm during a suturing procedure. The instrument may be used through a trocar during minimally invasive surgery.