An endoscope and an illuminator are safely placed in a body cavity without generating a noticeable postoperative scar. A method of placing medical insertion instruments into a body cavity includes a first step of inserting, into the body cavity through a first opening formed on a body wall, an endoscope together with a first illuminator; and a second step of inserting, into the body cavity through a second opening formed at a position different from the first opening, a second illuminator. Preferably, the method further includes a third step of pulling out the first illuminator from the first opening and inserting the first illuminator into the body cavity through a third opening formed at a position different from the first and second openings.

In an endoscope, a flexible device of an elongated tube has a variable stiffness device. The variable stiffness device includes a movable control wire and a coil spring, to which compression force is applied to change stiffness. There occur changes in stiffness of the flexible device in plural radial directions of the coil spring at an equal point in an axial direction. The variable stiffness device is so constructed that a difference between maximum and minimum levels of stiffness of the variable stiffness device is set at most 0.2 time as much as stiffness of the flexible device with internal structures other than the variable stiffness device. Thus, unexpected grip feeling in manipulation of an operator at the time of advance can be removed in relation to undulating motion of the coil spring.

A laryngeal access system includes a laryngeal blade with a proximal portion and a distal portion, an inner channel extending longitudinally through the laryngeal blade, wherein an outer wall of the laryngeal blade has an opening therethrough extending from the proximal portion to the distal portion of the blade through which an object can pass through the outer wall into the inner channel, an articulating member provided at the distal portion of the blade, and an actuator provided at the proximal portion of the blade and coupled to the articulating member, wherein the actuator moves the articulating member from a first position, in which the articulating member has a first longitudinal axis, to a second position, in which the articulating member extends at an angle relative to the first longitudinal axis.

An endoscope including a handle and an insertion tube connected to the handle and having a bending section with a first elongate bending section part and a second elongate bending section part. The first elongate bending section part includes first annular members arranged in a row and interconnected by first bridges so as to form a first comb-like structure. The second elongate bending section part includes second annular members arranged in a row and interconnected by second bridges so as to form a second comb-like structure. An outer circumferential surface includes a groove adapted to receive a first bridge and a groove adapted to receive a second bridge of the first bending section part.

A manipulator includes: an operating unit, and a bending assembly that is bent by operation of the operating unit, wherein: the bending assembly includes: a first link member having a first arc portion, a second link member having a second arc portion, an intermediate link member that includes a first intermediate arc portion and a second intermediate arc portion in opposition to the first intermediate arc portion, and is mounted between the first link member and the second link member.

The present invention relates to a controlling apparatus for bending the tube of an endoscope, in which the tube of the endoscope is consisted of different rigid and soft parts. The tail portion of the tube is provided at least with a soft foldable ring and other rigid portion becomes a support base. A slot is formed in the tube for receiving a controlling slice, which has an elastic end being bent in tenseness and the other end extending into a handle to engage with a teeth piece. A gear set provided within the handle engages with the teeth piece. By turning the gear set, it can move the teeth piece as well as the controlling slice toward the tail portion of the tube to control the tail portion being bent under simple operation. When the controlling slice moves towards the handle and is apart from the soft foldable ring of the tube, the tail portion will be recovered flatly because of being lack of elastic force. It therefore obtains improvement and utility that the present invention is capable of bending the tail portion of the tube easily.

A method of molding an endoscope component has a step of forming a covering portion (150), in which a gap filling member (152) that fills a gap formed between a plurality of elemental wires (40a) is disposed, at one end portion of a stranded wire (40); a step of inserting and disposing the one end portion of the stranded wire (40) into a cavity (106) of a mold (100) such that the covering portion (150) is disposed at a boundary portion between an inner side and an outer side of the endoscope component; a step of injecting a formation material (108), which is a material of the endoscope component, into the cavity (106) and filling the cavity (106) with the formation material (108) to integrally mold the endoscope component and the stranded wire (40); and a step of removing the endoscope component integrally molded with the stranded wire (40) from the mold (100).

One or more embodiments of a continuum robot may include a bendable body having linear members provided along a first pitch circle, and motors respectively having output shafts provided along a second pitch circle offset outside from the first pitch circle and being configured to respectively drive linear members to bend the bendable body; intermediate supporting shafts provided along a third pitch circle offset outside from the first pitch circle and offset inside from the second pitch circle; first connection members respectively connecting end portions of the linear members and the intermediate supporting shafts to each other; and second connection members respectively connecting the intermediate supporting shafts and the output shafts to each other and configured to convert rotation of each of the output shafts into rectilinear motion to cause each of the intermediate supporting shafts to rectilinearly move.

An articulated tip part suitable for an endoscope, where the articulated tip part includes a distal end segment, a proximal end segment and a number of intermediate segments arranged between the distal end segment and the proximal end segment, the segments being joined together to form an articulated assembly of segments, a passage running along the length of the articulated tip part, and a bending element, the bending element being fastened to at least two segments and being arranged along a path which is essentially parallel to a centerline of the articulated tip part.

Aspects of articulating devices and methods are disclosed. An exemplary articulating device may comprise an interior core with a reinforcing extending along a central axis, an exterior layer bonded to the interior core by an interface, and a lumen extending through the exterior layer, exterior of the reinforcing element, and parallel to the central axis. A steering wire may be moveable in the lumen to articulate a distal end of the device relative to the central axis in response to a force applied to the steering wire. Related methods of manufacturing an articulating device are also described.