Russell H. Taylor;Robert James Webster;Allison M. Okamura;Noah J. Cowan
发明人:
Robert James Webster,Allison M. Okamura,Noah J. Cowan,Russell H. Taylor
申请号：
US12084979
公开号：
US08152756B2
申请日:
2006.11.15
申请国别(地区):
US
年份:
2012
代理人:
摘要：
Disclosed is a surgical needle, or active cannula, that is capable of following a complex path through cavities and tissue within a patient's anatomy. The needle has a plurality of overlapping flexible tubes, each of which has a pre-formed curvature and a pre-determined flexibility. Each of the plurality of flexible tubes is selected based on their respective preformed curvature and flexibility so that a given overlap configuration causes the combination of overlapping flexible tubes to form a predetermined shape that substantially matches a desired path through the anatomy. By individually controlling the translation and angular orientation of each of the flexible tubes, the surgical needle may be guided through the anatomy according to the desired path.
