An endoscope includes: an insertion portion including a bending portion bendable at least in a vertical direction on a distal end portion side; an operation portion to which a proximal end portion of the insertion portion is connected; a traction wire including a first end and a second end, connected to the insertion portion at the first end, and configured to bend the bending portion by being pulled; a fixing member fixed to the second end of the traction wire; a holding member configured to hold the fixing member; and a pulley turnably provided inside the operation portion and including a disposing portion where the holding member is disposed.

A device includes first and second sheets of first and second elastic materials, respectively, and a control wire. The first sheet has a first thickness and a first length and is shaped to have a first cross-section having a first inner periphery and a first outer periphery. The second sheet has a second thickness and a second length and is shaped to have a second cross-section having a second inner periphery and a second outer periphery. One of the first sheet and the second sheet has a spacing disposed in along one of the first length and the second length, respectively. The first outer periphery is less than or equal to the second inner periphery. The second sheet surrounds the first sheet. The control wire has an end constrained to one of the first sheet the first material and the second sheet. The control wire is disposed within the spacing.

An endoscope achieves favorable advancing and retracting motion without causing disturbance in displacement of built-in components in bending of a bending tube by covering, out of an image pickup cable and a conduit that are cross-symmetrical built-in components disposed to intersect with each other in a radial direction of the bending tube, an outer circumference of the conduit with a second heat-shrinkable tube serving as a protective member, and removing the second heat-shrinkable tube from a partial region that includes a region (an intersection region) where the image pickup cable and the conduit intersect with each other, even when the built-in components in the bending tube are intersected with each other.

This invention relates to a robot to improve the inspection of a pipe or lumen. More particularly, this invention relates to a soft-pneumatic robot for endoscopy that is suitable for performing colonoscopy procedures. The robot of this invention comprises leading and tailing balloons configured for selective inflation to anchor a portion of the robot within the pipe or lumen and a soft-pneumatic actuator that is located between the leading balloon and the trailing balloon. The soft-pneumatic actuator is operable to extend or contract the robot in a longitudinal direction, in addition to positioning the leading balloon in a 360 degree circumference around the longitudinal direction by pneumatically controlling a fluid within a plurality of chambers within the soft-pneumatic actuator.

Several embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to medical visualization systems that comprise combinations of disposable and resuable components, such as catheters, functional handles, hubs, optical devices, etc. Other embodiments of the present invention are generally directed to features and aspects of an in-vivo visualization system that comprises an endoscope having a working channel through which a catheter having viewing capabilities is routed. the catheter may obtain viewing capabilities by being constructed as a vision catheter or by having a fiberscope or other viewing device selectively routed through one of its channels. The catheter is preferably of the steerable type so that the distal end of the catheter may be steered from its proximal end as it is advanced with the body. A suitable use for the in-vivo visualization system includes but is not limited to diagnosis and/or treatment of the duodenum, and particularly the biliary tree.

A mechanical transmission system, MTS (100), for a steerable tool (500) which steerable tool (500) has a proximal end (20) and distal end (40) and comprises a shaft region (532), a bendable proximal part, BPP (534) that is omnidirectionally moveable, and a bendable distal part, BDP, (530) that is omnidirectionally moveable and moves responsive to movement of the BPP (534), which MTS (100) comprises a plurality of longitudinal members, LM (110) each having a proximal (20) and distal end (40), arranged in a longitudinal direction around a fictive tube (120), and has a corresponding transmission shaft region, TSR (132), transmission bendable proximal part, TBPP (134) and transmission bendable distal part, TBDP (130), wherein a plane section (114) of at least one LM (110) demonstrates an anisotropic area moment of inertia, and the majority of the LMs (110) are each axially rotationally constrained at 1 or more constraining points along the TBDP (130) or along the TSR (132) wherein the LMs are longitudinally slidable with respect to each discrete constraining point, and the MTS (100) is configured such that the BDP (530) tip is axially rotationable in a bent position by a complementary rotation of the BPP (534).

The disclosed technology is directed to a treatment instrument that comprises a sheath main body having opposed respective distal and proximal end regions. The sheath main body includes an outer diameter such that the sheath main body capable of being fit into the channel for insertion of the treatment instrument of the endoscope. The sheath main body includes a lumen extending along a longitudinal axis in the distal end region. A wire-shaped incising portion is configured to engage with the sheath main body so as to protrude from an outer circumferential surface of the sheath main body in the distal end region and extending along the longitudinal axis of the sheath main body. The wire-shaped incising portion is used to incise a tissue. A wire is attached to at least a portion of the sheath main body and having a region in which the wire has different bending resistances.

An articulating flexible endoscope is provided. The endoscope comprises: a distal tip portion that is steerable via a driving mechanism; a bending section connected to the distal tip portion at a first end, and connected to a shaft portion at a transition interface, the bending section is articulated by one or more pull wires; and the shaft portion comprising one or more load transmission tubes for reducing at least a portion of the articulation force applied to the bending section by the one or more pull wires thereby improving stability of the shaft portion, the one or more load transmission tubes are anchored to the transition interface and have a length greater than the length of the shaft portion.

A visual inspection device includes a housing, a handle coupled to the housing that is grasped by a user while the device is in use, an articulating camera unit coupled to the housing, and a display unit coupled to the housing to display an image transmitted by the articulating camera unit.

A medical device configured to be actuated using a first hand may include a handle comprising a proximal handle portion and a distal handle portion, an elongate shaft extending distally from the distal handle portion, wherein the elongate shaft includes a distal tip that is deflectable using a first actuation mechanism secured to the proximal handle portion, wherein the handle includes a port in communication with the elongate shaft, and an actuatable medical instrument configured to be slidably disposed within the elongate shaft and the port. A proximal end of the actuatable medical instrument may be operably connected to a second actuation mechanism secured to the proximal handle portion. The first actuation mechanism may be configured to be actuated by a thumb of the first hand. The second actuation mechanism may be configured to be actuated by the thumb of the first hand.