Flexible tube insertion apparatus
AssigneeOlympus Corporation
InventorsShuji Nakamura, Takeshi Takahashi
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Abstract
A flexible tube insertion apparatus includes an insertion section including a plurality of segments, a plurality of stiffness variable portions provided in the respective segments and configured to vary stiffness of the respective segments, and a state detector configured to detect a shape of the insertion section. The apparatus includes a state calculator configured to acquire a shape of a tube at a time when the insertion section advances into the tube, and configured to calculate a relative position of the segment to the tube, and a control device configured to control, based on the shape of the tube, the stiffness variable portion provided in the segment which is calculated the relative position to the tube by the state calculator.
Claims5
A flexible tube insertion apparatus comprising:
- an insertion section including a plurality of segments arranged along an axial direction of the insertion section, the insertion section being configured to be inserted into a body lumen;
- an actuator provided in each segment of the plurality of segments, each actuator being configured to vary a stiffness of a respective segment, the stiffness being a resistance to bending;
- a state sensor configured to detect a shape of the insertion section;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- acquire a shape of the body lumen at a time when the insertion section advances into the body lumen;
- calculate a position of a segment of the plurality of segments relative to the body lumen, based on the detected shape of the insertion section and the acquired shape of the body lumen;
- and
- vary, based on the acquired shape of the body lumen, the stiffness in the actuator corresponding to the calculated position of the segment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.