Surgical Tools

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Summary Vanderbilt researchers have developed a novel system for allowing surgical instruments to navigate around tighter corners and access difficult-to-reach areas in the body. This system uses pre-curved elastic elements added on to the existing instrument. Current surgical instruments are manufactured in a straight-line configuration, which means they must bend in order to reach around obstructions in surgery. By adding pre-curved sections, some of the bending is already accomplished, allowing the instrument to bend around tighter corners. Technology The key new idea in this invention is the idea of adding pre-curved elastic elements to surgical instruments. This pre-curvature can be applied to the structural or actuation elements of the surgical device. Pre-curving the structure allows the surgical instrument or robot to navigate through winding lumens or cavities. Adding a pre-curved element to the actuation area of the instrument provides additional degrees of freedom of movement and more control over the instrument’s behavior. This idea applies to a wide variety of tools, including standard endoscopes, robotic endoscopes, and multi-backbone continuum robots.