Flexible Endoscopic Tube

Background: In performing, through an anatomical channel inside the body, a diagnostic or surgical procedure, the surgeon or operator may need to rotate with precision the distal end inside the body, from the proximal end outside the body. Precise transfer of angular rotation from the proximal to the distal end, without loss, or amplification, of angular rotation, would give the surgeon, or operator, the ability to orient the distal end in space inside the body. That way, they can rotate the instrument inside the body in the direction of the tissue of interest. Technology: Researchers at the University of California have developed a tube, which allows the operator to control the orientation of the distal end from outside the body, while undergoing a procedure inside the body. The invention is a tube of metal, or other suitable high-modulus material, that can transfer angular rotation along the tube, without loss or amplification of that rotation. So, the tube does not twist, but does bend as it moves through an anatomical channel. Application: The purpose of this invention is to give spatial orientation control inside the body, from outside the body, to the operator of endoscopies and other technologies that require to access a target organ or tissue inside the body by navigating through narrow anatomical channels like an artery, vein, bronchus, intestinal tract, biliary tract, cranial base, etc. This tube enables surgeons or operators to orient their focus within a surgical or diagnostic site inside the human body, to perform procedures that require spatial orientation control.

Type of Offer: Licensing



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