Controllable micro-endoscope

A controllable endoscope comprising a hollow tube having a distal end and a proximal end, the hollow tube comprising a tube wall surrounding a tube lumen having a lumen axis;

• a controllable section of the tube comprising an alternance of long-segments of the tube and flexible sections of the tube wherein:
• the long-segments of the tube comprise a distal long-segment, a proximal long-segment, and n intermediate long-segments, wherein n is an integer at least equal to 1;
• each long-segment having a first axial length;
• in each flexible section, the tube wall comprises a plurality of cuts along a series of planes perpendicular to the lumen axis, the cuts being arranged such that the tube wall forms a series of short-segments of the tube, each attached to the next and previous segments of the tube by at least one attachment section of the tube, the at least one attachment section of the tube comprising at least one radial portion of the tube wall in the same plane as said cut but not removed by said cut;
• each attachment section having a second axial length and each short-segment of the tube having a third axial length, wherein the first axial length is equal to or greater than three times the third axial length plus two times the second axial length;
• wherein
• the n intermediate long-segments and the proximal long-segment comprise each at least one loop structure protruding from the tube wall into the lumen, each loop structure having a loop opening parallel to the lumen axis, arranged to form at least one series of loop openings aligned in a direction parallel to the lumen axis when the controllable section of the tube is in an unbent state;
• at least one tensioning wire having a distal end and a proximal end, the tensioning wire slidingly passing through the opening of the at least one series of loop structures, the distal end of the at least one tensioning wire being secured inside the lumen to the distal long-segment of the tube, such that controllably pulling the proximal end of the tensioning wire results in controllably bending the controllable section of the tube by flexing said attachment sections.