An endoscope, cannula, and obturator. The endoscope has a handle and an insertion shaft. The insertion shaft has a solid state camera. The handle contains a circuit board with circuitry for control of and receipt of signals from the camera. The handle and its components are formed of biocompatible materials. The handle is formed of inner and outer shells concentric with each other, rotation of the shells relative to each other controlled via one or more resilient components frictionally engaged between the respective shells. The handle has no metal fasteners, no adhesives, and no detachable parts small enough to travel though fluid passages of the insertion shaft, except those encapsulated by overmolding or melt-fusing to prevent dislodgement. The cannula has a connector and locking feature designed to engage with mating connectors and locking features of the obturator and the endoscope, both successively.

An endoscope includes an active bending section and a passive bending section that are bendable and sequentially disposed from a distal tip; and a connection cylinder for connecting the active bending section and the passive bending section, wherein the active bending section and the passive bending section each include a plurality of articulated cylinders, a coil member, through which an operation wire to be operated for bending the active bending section is inserted, is fixed to the connection cylinder, and a cutout is formed in a vicinity of the coil member, the cutout enhancing a rotational freedom degree of an articulated cylinder, in the passive bending section, to be connected with the connection cylinder and to rotate.

An endoscope includes an active bending section and a passive bending section that are bendable and sequentially disposed from a distal tip; and a connection cylinder for connecting the active bending section and the passive bending section, wherein the active bending section and the passive bending section each include a plurality of articulated cylinders, a coil member, through which an operation wire to be operated for bending the active bending section is inserted, is fixed to the connection cylinder, and a cutout is formed in a vicinity of the coil member, the cutout enhancing a rotational freedom degree of an articulated cylinder, in the passive bending section, to be connected with the connection cylinder and to rotate.

A medical manipulator includes: an insertion portion, an end effector, a bend restraining unit, a position detector, an operation unit, a first drive unit, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to generate the first drive signal based on an output and the position of the bend restraining unit which is detected by the position detector. The output is output from the operation unit that operates the bending portion.

A medical manipulator includes: an insertion portion, an end effector, a bend restraining unit, a position detector, an operation unit, a first drive unit, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to generate the first drive signal based on an output and the position of the bend restraining unit which is detected by the position detector. The output is output from the operation unit that operates the bending portion.

An articulating medical device with a handle and an articulating elongate member extending from the handle. The handle has a cavity with at least one first rotatable member. The first rotatable member has a first lever arm and a first termination coupling. Coupled to the termination coupling is at least one first articulation cable. The first lever arm is arranged to limit displacement of slack in the at least one first articulation cable when the at least one first articulation cable is not under tension.

An articulating medical device with a handle and an articulating elongate member extending from the handle. The handle has a cavity with at least one first rotatable member. The first rotatable member has a first lever arm and a first termination coupling. Coupled to the termination coupling is at least one first articulation cable. The first lever arm is arranged to limit displacement of slack in the at least one first articulation cable when the at least one first articulation cable is not under tension.

An articulated tip part for an endoscope having a number of hingedly connected segments including a distal end segment and a second segment, wherein adjacent segments are interconnected by at least one hinge member, whereby the tip part can be bent by means of the hingedly connected segments, wherein the distal end segment comprises a first steering wire guide for accommodating and guiding a steering wire, and wherein the second segment comprises an insertion guide with an entry in an outer circumferential surface of the second segment and an exit aligned with an entry into the first steering wire guide, whereby an end of a steering wire can be guided into the entry of the first steering wire guide via the insertion guide.

An articulated tip part for an endoscope having a number of hingedly connected segments including a distal end segment and a second segment, wherein adjacent segments are interconnected by at least one hinge member, whereby the tip part can be bent by means of the hingedly connected segments, wherein the distal end segment comprises a first steering wire guide for accommodating and guiding a steering wire, and wherein the second segment comprises an insertion guide with an entry in an outer circumferential surface of the second segment and an exit aligned with an entry into the first steering wire guide, whereby an end of a steering wire can be guided into the entry of the first steering wire guide via the insertion guide.

The present invention is directed to a tool having a wrist mechanism that provides pitch and yaw rotation in such a way that the tool has no singularity in roll, pitch, and yaw. In one embodiment, a minimally invasive surgical instrument includes an elongate shaft having a working end, a proximal end, and a shaft axis between the working end and the proximal end; and an end effector. A wrist member has a flexible tube including an axis extending through an interior surrounded by a wall. The wall of the flexible tube includes a plurality of lumens oriented generally parallel to the axis of the flexible tube. The wrist member has a proximal portion connected to the working end of the elongate shaft and a distal portion connected to the end effector. A plurality of actuation cables have distal portions connected to the end effector and extend from the distal portion through the lumens of the wall of the wrist member toward the elongate shaft to proximal portions which are actuatable to bend the wrist member in pitch rotation and yaw rotation.