An instrument (203; 204) for endoscopic applications. The instrument is able to be guided through a curved shaped tube (201; 202) and has an intermediate cylindrical element (3) with a handling end portion with a flexible portion and actuating means located at an actuating end portion. The intermediate cylindrical element (3) has a first cylindrical part (31; 151) at the handling end portion, a second cylindrical part (35; 155) at the actuating end portion and a number of longitudinal elements (38; 60; 70; 80; 90; 100; 110; 130; 153) for transferring the movement of the actuating means to the handling end portion. The longitudinal elements are separated by longitudinal slits in the intermediate cylindrical element.

A medical device includes a medical device body, first and second operating lines inserted in axial direction of the device body, and a bending operating part that pulls the operating lines to perform bending operation of a distal end part of the device body. The device body has the distal end part in the axial direction such that the operating lines are gradually curved and approach each other in circumferential direction of the device body toward a distal end side in the distal end part. The device body has a curved region and a parallel region such that in the curved region, the operating lines gradually curve and approach each other in the circumferential direction toward the distal end side and that in a parallel region, the operating lines extend in parallel to each other between the distal end of the curved region and distal ends of the operating lines.

A steerable instrument for endoscopic and/or invasive type of applications, such as in surgery, which has an elongated tubular body having a proximal end part with a first actuation flexible zone having a first diameter and a distal end part having a first distal flexible zone having a second diameter that is different from the first diameter. A cylindrical diameter adaptation section is arranged to connect the proximal end part to the distal end part such that a flexion in a radial direction relative to a longitudinal center axis of the longitudinal tubular body of the first actuation flexible zone results in an amplified or attenuated flexion of the first distal flexible zone.

A steerable sheath includes an inner liner extending from a proximal end to a distal end of the steerable sheath. The inner liner includes a non-deflectable portion and a deflectable portion. The steerable sheath includes a first pull wire positioned along a first helical path around the circumference of the inner liner from a proximal end to a distal end of the non-deflectable portion of the inner liner and along a first straight path from a proximal end of the deflectable portion to a distal end of the deflectable portion. The steerable sheath includes a second pull wire positioned along a second helical path around the circumference of the inner liner from the proximal end to the distal end of the non-deflectable portion and along a second straight path from the proximal end of the deflectable portion to the distal end of the deflectable portion.

The present disclosure generally relates to systems, devices, and methods for delivery systems including deflectable elongate shafts. A delivery system may include a deflectable elongate shaft including a pull tether extending along the length of the elongate shaft and having a distal portion and a proximal portion and an intermediate portion, with the distal portion of the pull tether coupled to a portion of the elongate shaft such that the intermediate portion of the pull tether may variably move towards the first set of bi-directional cuts or the second set of bi-directional cuts. The pull tether may be configured to be pulled to deflect the hypotube.

A patterned tube for use with a scope or similar medical device can include at least one flexible section. The at least one flexible section can include a plurality of first cuts having a first thickness, a plurality of second cuts having a second thickness. Particular ones of the plurality of second cuts can be located substantially opposite particular ones of the plurality of first cuts. The at least one flexible section can further include a plurality of bending moment transfer portions. Particular ones of the bending moment transfer portions can be located between particular ones of the first cuts and particular ones of the second cuts.

A medical probe includes a shaft for navigation in a patient body, and first and second deflection mechanisms. The shaft ends with a flexible section and a spring, followed by a rigid distal tip having one or more medical devices coupled thereto. The first deflection mechanism is configured to deflect the flexible section relative to the shaft. The second deflection mechanism is configured to deflect the distal tip relative to the first flexible section by using the spring.

A delivery system includes a handle, a catheter shaft, and a steering mechanism. The catheter shaft extends from the handle to a flexible distal end portion. The steering mechanism is configured to steer the flexible distal end portion. The steering mechanism can include a steering element a control member, and one or more actuation elements. Actuating the control member can move the steering element to increase and/or decrease tension in one or more actuation elements.

A catheter can include a catheter main body and a sheath that covers the catheter main body and can move along the longitudinal axis with respect to the catheter main body. An operating unit can be disposed at a proximal end portion of the sheath and can move the sheath and the catheter main body with respect to one another. The catheter main body can include a slit on an outer peripheral surface of a distal end portion and can extend along the longitudinal axis from a slit distal end to a slit proximal end side. An outside diameter of the distal end portion of the catheter main body is larger than an inside diameter of a distal end portion of the sheath when the distal end portion of the catheter main body is housed in the sheath.

An apparatus includes a tube configured for insertion into a body of a subject, the tube comprising a plurality of strips, which are angled obliquely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the tube, by virtue of the tube being shaped to define a plurality of slits having respective oblique proximal ends and respective oblique distal ends. The distal end of each of the slits is nested between the proximal end of a first other one of the slits and the proximal end of a second other one of the slits such that (i) one of the strips is disposed between the distal end of the slit and the proximal end of the first other one of the slits, and (ii) another one of the strips is disposed between the distal end of the slit and the proximal end of the second other one of the slits.