FLEXIBLE AND STEERABLE ELONGATE INSTRUMENTS WITH SHAPE CONTROL AND SUPPORT ELEMENTS
First Claim
1. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
- an elongate body having a first lumen and a second lumen within the elongate body,a flex member disposed within the second lumen; and
a pull wire disposed within the flex member, wherein a distal portion of the pull wire being coupled to a distal location or portion of the elongate body and a proximal portion of the pull wire being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An instrument having a flexible and elongated body includes at least a lumen and a flex member disposed within the lumen. The flex member may be capable of providing steering control to a first portion of the elongate body while providing load bearing support to a second portion of the elongate body. A pull wire may be disposed within the flex member, and at least a distal portion of the pull wire may be coupled to the elongate body and a proximal portion of the pull wire may be operatively coupled to a control unit. The control unit may be coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body. In addition, a control member may be operatively coupled to the control unit such that a distal portion of the control member may be positioned near a proximal portion of the flex member. The control member may be configured to support the flex member and control the movement or displacement of the flex member. Furthermore, the flex member may be configured to selectively decouple articulation or steering forces of a first portion of the elongate body away from a second portion of the elongate body; thereby, preventing compression of the second portion of the elongate body while maintaining elasticity or flexibility of the second portion of the elongate body.
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Citations
40 Claims
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1. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
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an elongate body having a first lumen and a second lumen within the elongate body, a flex member disposed within the second lumen; and a pull wire disposed within the flex member, wherein a distal portion of the pull wire being coupled to a distal location or portion of the elongate body and a proximal portion of the pull wire being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
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an elongate body having a primary lumen and a plurality of secondary lumens within the elongate body; a plurality of flex members, each of the plurality of flex members being respectively disposed within each of the plurality of secondary lumens; and a plurality of pull wires, each of the pull wires being respectively disposed within each of the flex members, wherein distal portion of each of the pull wires being coupled to different locations or portions of the elongate body and proximal portion of each of the pull wires being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body.
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16. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
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an elongate body having a plurality of lumens within the elongate body; a plurality of flex members, each of the flex members being respectively disposed within each of the lumens; and a plurality of pull wires, each of the pull wires being respectively disposed within each of the flex members, wherein distal portion of each of the pull wires being coupled to different locations or portions of the elongate body and proximal portion of each of the pull wires being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body.
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17. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
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an elongate body having a first lumen and a second lumen within the elongate body; a flex member disposed within the second lumen, and the flex member is configured to provide steering control to a first portion of the elongate body and load bearing support to a second portion of the elongate body; and a pull wire disposed within the flex member, wherein a distal portion of the pull wire being coupled to a distal portion of the elongate body and a proximal portion of the pull wire being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body and the control unit configured to operate the pull wire for applying forces to articulate or steer the first portion of the elongate body. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
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an elongate body having a primary lumen and a plurality of secondary lumens within the elongate body; a plurality of flex members, each of the flex members being respectively disposed within each of the plurality of secondary lumens, the flex members configured to provide steering control to different distal portions of the elongate body and load bearing support to different proximal portions of the elongate body; and a plurality of pull wires, each of the plurality of pull wires being respectively disposed within each of the flex members, wherein distal portion of respective pull wires being coupled to different distal locations or portions of the elongate body and proximal portion of respective pull wires being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body and the control unit configured to operate the pull wires for applying forces to articulate or steer the different distal portions of the elongate body.
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32. A steerable elongate instrument, comprising:
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an elongate body having a plurality of lumens within the elongate body; a plurality of flex members, each of the flex members being respectively disposed within each of the plurality of lumens, the flex members configured to provide steering control to different distal portions of the elongate body and load bearing support to different proximal portions of the elongate body; and a plurality of pull wires, each of the pull wires being respectively disposed within the each of the flex members, wherein distal portion of respective pull wires being coupled to different distal locations or portions of the elongate body and proximal portion of respective pull wires being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body and the control unit configured to operate the pull wires for applying forces to articulate or steer the different distal portions of the elongate body.
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33. An instrument, comprising:
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a flexible and elongate body including at least a lumen; a flex member disposed within the lumen, the flex member configured to provide steering control to a first portion of the elongate body while providing load bearing support to a second portion of the elongate body; and a pull wire disposed within the flex member, wherein at least a distal portion of the pull wire being coupled to the elongate body and a proximal portion of the pull wire being operatively coupled to a control unit, wherein the control unit being coupled to a proximal portion of the elongate body. - View Dependent Claims (34)
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35. A method of shape control of an elongate instrument, comprising:
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inserting at least a first portion of an elongate instrument into a patient through either an incision or orifice; advancing at least the first portion of the elongate instrument through a pathway inside the patient; manipulating at least a second portion of the elongate instrument to conform, adopt, or match a shape or curvatures of the pathway as the elongate instrument is being advanced through the pathway; and steering at least the first portion of the elongate instrument around other curvatures of the pathway. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37)
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38. A method of shape control of an elongate instrument, comprising:
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inserting at least a portion an elongate instrument into a patient through either an incision or orifice; advancing at least a first portion of the elongate instrument through a pathway inside the patient; steering at least the first portion of the elongate instrument around a curvatures in the pathway; and decoupling articulation or steering forces of the first portion of the elongate instrument from a second portion of the elongate instrument. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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Specification