A steerable medical instrument (136) includes a control handle (144), a shaft (140), steering control wires, and an end effector (100) at the distal end of the shaft. The end effector is a separate component engineered to distribute the stress and strain of bending moments along the length of the end effector to achieve predicable, repeatable, fine motion control over the distal end of the instrument. The end effector may be customized for any medical application. For example, the end effector may comprise a grasping device, a cutting devise, a snare, a specimen retrieval device, or a wound closure device (such as a stapler).
A61M 25/01 - Introduction, guidage, avance, mise en place ou maintien en position des cathéters
A61B 17/00 - Instruments, dispositifs ou procédés chirurgicaux
A61B 10/00 - Instruments pour le prélèvement d'échantillons corporels à des fins de diagnostic Autres procédés ou instruments pour le diagnostic, p. ex. pour le diagnostic de vaccination ou la détermination du sexe ou de la période d'ovulationInstruments pour gratter la gorge
Methods and apparatus are provided for measuring movement of an elongated instrument. The apparatus including a guide adapted to receive the elongated instrument and a sensor module that includes an optical image sensor or an optical rotary encoder to sense the received elongated instrument moving within the guide. In particular, the elongated instrument is a medical instrument like an endoscope, and its axial and optionally angular movement is sensed indirectly by a tracking wheel or ball, or directly by optically tracking microstructures on the elongated instrument.
A61B 19/00 - Instruments, outillage ou accessoires pour la chirurgie ou le diagnostic non couverts par l'un des groupes A61B 1/00-A61B 18/00, p.ex. pour stéréotaxie, opération aseptique, traitement de la luxation, protecteurs des bords des blessures(masques de protection du visage A41D 13/11; blouses de chirurgien ou vêtements pour malades A41D 13/12; dispositifs pour retirer, traiter ou transporter les liquides du corps A61M 1/00)
