A medical system includes a catheter and a vision probe that can be removed from the catheter and replaced with a medical probe. The vision probe can thus be used to steer and pose the catheter, and then be removed and replaced with the medical probe when a medical task such as a lung biopsy is performed. A sensor system in the catheter at least partly measures a pose of the catheter, and control logic controls actuation of the catheter to maintain the desired working configuration when the medical probe is used. A small diameter catheter can thus provide vision and biopsy functionality.

A modular endoscopic device includes a base portion, a driver provided in the base portion, and an endoscope module including an endoscope housing detachably provided in the base portion, an insertion tube including a bendable bending portion and connected to the endoscope housing to be inserted into a body of a subject, and a bending wire configured to transfer a force to bend the bending portion. The endoscope module is detachably attachable to the base portion. The driver is configured to transfer power to the bending wire when the endoscope module is attached to the base portion, and the driver is configured not to transfer power to the bending wire when the endoscope module is detached from the base portion.

Ultra-High-Strength (UHS) wires are suited to high strength wire, strands, cables and rope applications including robotics force transmission and other high-performance mono- and multifilament wire applications. The wires exhibit high strength, low stretch and fatigue durability. Exemplary UHS materials include binary molybdenum-rhenium or tungsten-rhenium alloys with between 20 and 50 wt. % rhenium. These alloys are processed from a moderate strength (<2 GPa) warm-drawn rod to drawn monofilament wire with extreme nanocrystalline grain refinement, high apparent fatigue durability, and ultimate strength levels exceeding 5 GPa in all cases, and up to 6.8 GPa at monofilament diameters ranging from 7 to 100 μm.

An elongated steerable system for guiding a catheter or an endoscope, comprising: an elongated flexible member including, along at least a part of its longitudinal axis, at least one projection which, in transversal section, projects from the elongated flexible member; the at least one projection having a distal end and a proximal end, and defining, in transversal section, two lateral sides projecting from the elongated flexible member; and a wire; wherein the at least one projection includes at least one transverse retaining and passing element near the distal end of the projection, the retaining and passing element extending transversely to the lateral sides of the projection; and the wire passes through the retaining and passing element alternatively from one lateral side of the projection to the other lateral side of the projection, where adherence between the wire and the retaining and passing element retains the wire.

A bending operation device includes a bending operation lever, a wire pulling member, bending operation wires, and tubular members. The bending operation lever is tiltably supported to have an angle with respect to a longitudinal direction of an operation unit of an endoscope. The wire pulling member includes arm portions displaced in conjunction with tilt motion of the bending operation lever. The bending operation wires are connected to the arm portions. The bending operation wires cause bending motion of a bendable part disposed in an insertion section of the endoscope. A respective one of bending operation wires is inserted in each of the tubular members. The tubular members (i) change extension directions of the plurality of bending operation wires and (ii) guide the plurality of bending operation wires to the plurality of arm portions.

An endoscope includes a first pulling section, an first elongated member, a restricting portion, a sliding surface, and a partition. The restricting portion is provided inside the operation section, and is configured to restrict a position of the first pulling section. The sliding surface is provided in the restricting portion, and allows the first pulling section to move along the axial direction. The partition covers at least a part of the sliding surface and the first pulling section, and is configured to partition the first elongated member and the first pulling section. The partition and the restricting portion are configured to restrict a moving range of the connection portion within a range of the sliding surface.

A placement device is provided for causing a catheter to be placed inside of a body. The placement device includes an insertion unit, a transmission unit and a supply member. The supply member includes a supply unit main body, and a projection. A through-hole is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the supply unit main body at a position closer to a distal end side of the supply portion main body than the projection, and the through-hole communicates with an inside of the supply unit main body at the distal end side of the supply unit main body.

An invasive/interventional device or probe includes a control handle operably connected to an imaging system and an insertion tube. The control handle includes a body, a movement control mechanism disposed at least partially within the body and having one or more control elements disposed on the body, one or more gears rotatably disposed within the body, operably connected to the control elements, and one or more cables engaged with the gears, the cables extending outwardly from the body and adapted to be engaged with a tip of the interventional medical device. The control handle further includes a motion locking mechanism disposed at least partially within the body, the motion locking mechanism having one or more brake rods biased into engagement with the gears and a release switch engaged with the brake rods to selectively position the brake rods into or out of engagement with the gears.

An endoscope includes a bending operation member provided at an operation portion and configured to bend a bending portion of an insertion portion, a plurality of bending operation wires configured to be pulled or relaxed by the bending operation member, a plurality of tubular members provided inside the operation portion, into which the plurality of bending operation wires are inserted respectively, and disposed in a deflected state so as to avoid an internal component provided inside the operation portion, and a tubular member fixing member provided inside the operation portion and enabled to optimally adjust end portions of the plurality of tubular members at different positions along a longitudinal axis of the operation portion in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

The present invention relates to a computer-vision based autonomous steerable catheter device and methods of using the same for targeted delivery of a liquid microvolume into the interior of a lung.