Insertable robot for minimally invasive surgery

Inventors

Hendrick, Richard • Dillon, Neal • Blum, Evan

Assignees

Virtuoso Surgical Inc

Abstract

An insertable robot for minimally invasive surgery includes a tube array having a guide tube housed within a straightening tube. The guide tube includes a curved working end. The guide tube may be axially translated and rotated relative to the straightening tube such that the curved working end is constrained inside the straightening tube, causing the curved working end to achieve a smaller dimension. The tube array is inserted into a working channel on an endoscope, resectoscope or trocar. Once the tube array is inserted, the curved working end of the guide tube is translated forward beyond the distal end of the working channel, allowing the curved working end to return to its pre-formed shape. A surgical tool is inserted through the guide tube for an operation. The straightening tube allows the guide tube curved working end to be temporarily straightened during insertion and removal of the tube array.

Core Innovation

The invention relates to an apparatus for performing surgery that includes a shaft having a longitudinal working channel with a proximal end opening and a distal end opening defining an inner working channel diameter. An insertable tube assembly is configured for axial insertion into the longitudinal working channel and includes a guide tube having a curved working end and a linear straightening tube with an outer diameter, where the curved working end has a resting orientation biased away from a longitudinal axis of the linear straightening tube.

When the curved working end of the guide tube is housed inside the linear straightening tube, the linear straightening tube constrains and forces the curved working end away from its resting orientation toward the longitudinal axis of the linear straightening tube. The effective outer diameter of the insertable tube assembly is defined based on the outer diameter when the guide tube is housed inside the linear straightening tube, and is configured to be less than the inner working channel diameter.

In this constrained state, the insertable tube assembly is straight along the longitudinal axis of the linear straightening tube and may be translated axially inside the longitudinal working channel. The concept further supports configuring relative motion between the guide tube and the working channel, including axially moveable translation of the guide tube relative to the linear straightening tube and angular rotation of the guide tube relative to the working channel.

Claims Coverage

The independent claim provides apparatus-level coverage with four inventive features centered on a shaft with a longitudinal working channel and an insertable concentric-tube-style assembly that reversibly straightens a curved working end during axial translation.

Overall claim coverage is anchored on an apparatus where an insertable tube assembly includes a curved guide tube biased to a resting orientation away from a longitudinal axis, and a linear straightening tube that, when housing the curved working end, forces it toward the longitudinal axis so the effective outer diameter is less than the longitudinal working channel inner diameter, enabling straight axial translation within the working channel.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found