CN114903538A

CN114903538A - Growable instrument and surgical robot system

Info

Publication number: CN114903538A
Application number: CN202110175942.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 徐凯; 唐奥林
Original assignee: Beijing Surgerii Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Surgerii Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-09
Filing date: 2021-02-09
Publication date: 2022-08-16
Also published as: WO2022170989A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of instruments, and discloses a growable instrument and surgical robot system, the growable instrument includes: a growable tube includes an inner layer, an outer layer, and a fluid chamber between the inner layer and the outer layer for containing a fluid. The growable tube comprises a turnover area positioned at the far end, and the inner layer and the outer layer are connected in the turnover area and can be turned over. The growth instrument can be better adapted to complex cavities, so that the touch and friction with the cavities are reduced or avoided.

Description

Growable instrument and surgical robot system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of instruments, and more particularly, to a growable instrument and a surgical robot system.

Background

The conventional diagnosis and surgical treatment of diseases are mainly divided into open diagnosis and surgery and intraluminal interventional diagnosis and treatment. The intracavity interventional diagnosis or treatment is to form a channel on a blood vessel and skin by incision under the condition of exposing a focus without operation, or reach a target position through an original cavity of a human body under the guidance of an imaging device to diagnose or treat the local focus, and has the characteristic of small wound.

The traditional intracavity intervention operation is mainly manually operated by a doctor. In order to reduce the burden of doctors and improve the efficiency and safety of the intraluminal intervention, a method of performing interventional diagnosis or operation with the aid of an intraluminal interventional instrument is becoming an industry research hotspot. The intracavity interventional instrument has the advantages of accurate movement, high repeated positioning precision, remote control and the like, and can eliminate the danger caused by misoperation during physical trembling and fatigue of doctors in the manual operation process.

However, the currently adopted method for assisting interventional diagnosis or surgery has the following problems: 1. the interventional instrument has larger volume, so that the further popularization of the instrument for assisting the intracavity interventional diagnosis or the operation is limited; 2. the interventional instrument has relatively poor flexibility, cannot adapt to a bent and complicated human body cavity, and can cause damage to the cavity.

Disclosure of Invention

Based on the above problems, the present disclosure provides a device and a surgical robot system capable of growth, which have good flexibility, can realize controllable growth extension, and can be well adapted to complex cavity channels.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a growable instrument, comprising: the device comprises a growable tube, a heat source and a controller, wherein the growable tube comprises an inner layer, an outer layer and a fluid cavity positioned between the inner layer and the outer layer, and the fluid cavity is used for containing fluid; the growable tube includes a reversible region at a distal end, where the inner layer and the outer layer are connected and reversible.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a surgical robotic system comprising a system controller and an advanceable instrument as described above, the system controller configured to control the motion of the advanceable instrument.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be briefly described below, and it is apparent that the drawings in the following description only illustrate some embodiments of the present disclosure, and those skilled in the art will be able to obtain other embodiments based on the contents of the embodiments of the present disclosure and the drawings without any inventive effort.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic structural view of a distal portion of a growable instrument according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic structural view of a distal portion of the growable instrument positioned within a body lumen, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3(a) shows a cross-sectional view of a growable tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 3(b) shows another cross-sectional view of a growable tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4(a) shows a schematic view of a distal end structure of a graded growable tube, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 4(b) shows a schematic view of the distal end structure of another graded growable tube, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5(a) shows a schematic view of a distal end structure of a step-wise growable tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 5(b) shows a schematic view of a distal end structure of another step-wise growable tube according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6(a) shows a partial schematic structural view of a tube drive mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6(b) shows a partial schematic structural view of another tube drive mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 7 illustrates a schematic structural view of a growable instrument, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 8 illustrates a schematic structural view of another growable instrument, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic structural view of a guide according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 10(a) shows a schematic structural view of a guide drive mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 10(b) shows a schematic structural view of another guide drive mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a schematic structural view of another introducer, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a schematic structural view of another introducer, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates a schematic structural view of a turning member of a guide according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

fig. 14 shows a schematic structural view of a turn unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 shows a schematic structural view of another turning member of a guide according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 shows a schematic structural view of a slit unit according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

figure 17 illustrates a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another turning member of a guide according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

In order to make the technical problems solved, technical solutions adopted, and technical effects achieved by the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments disclosed herein without making any inventive step, fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of describing and simplifying the present disclosure, but do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. In the description of the present disclosure, it should be noted that, unless explicitly stated or limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "coupled" are to be construed broadly and may include, for example, fixed and removable connections; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood in a specific case to those of ordinary skill in the art.

In the present disclosure, the end close to the operator (e.g., doctor) is defined as proximal, proximal or posterior, and the end close to the surgical patient is defined as distal, distal or anterior, anterior. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the growable devices according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in the medical field, as well as in other non-medical fields.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a distal portion of a growth-enabled device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and fig. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a distal portion of a growth-enabled device 100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure positioned within a lumen 115 (e.g., a blood vessel, trachea, esophagus, vagina, intestine, etc.) in a body (e.g., a human body or an animal body). The growable instrument 100 may enter the channel 115 through an opening (e.g., an incision or natural opening). As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the growable instrument 100 may include a growable tube 110. The growable tube 110 may include a flexible material. The growable tube 110 includes an inner layer 111, an outer layer 112, and a fluid chamber 113 located between the inner layer 111 and the outer layer 112. The fluid chamber 113 is for containing a fluid 140. The growable tube 110 also includes a invertible region 114 at the distal end, and the inner layer 111 and the outer layer 112 are joined and invertible in the invertible region 114. In some embodiments, the radial dimension of the proximal end of the outer layer 112 is greater than the radial dimension of the distal end of the outer layer 112, as shown in FIG. 1, to accommodate a narrowing lumen. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that in some embodiments, the radial dimension of the proximal end of the outer layer 112 may be equal to or less than the radial dimension of the distal end of the outer layer 112. Inner layer 111 may be everted in invertible region 114 to form outer layer 112, or outer layer 112 may be everted in invertible region 114 to form inner layer 111. By everting between the inner layer 111 and the outer layer 112, the growable tube 110 may be grown (e.g., extended or stretched) or retracted distally to facilitate the growth of the growable instrument 100 within the lumen 115 to a target location or the retraction from the lumen 115. For example, the inner layer 111 is moved distally by a length L, the inner layer 111 of length L is everted in the evertable region 114 to form the outer layer 112, and the fluid 140 fills the fluid chamber 113 grown by everting the inner layer 111 so that the growable tube 110 can grow anteriorly. Inner layer 111 is moved proximally by length L 'and outer layer 112, having length L', is inverted in invertible region 114 to form inner layer 111 so that growth tube 110 may be retracted.

In some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 may also include a guide 170 that is deflectable in at least one degree of freedom in the distal end. The inner layer 111 of the growth tube 110 surrounds a channel 1111, and the guide 170 is disposed within the channel 1111, such that the distal end of the guide 170 can cause the growth tube 110 to bend when it is bent. Turning of the growable tube 110 to accommodate curved, complex lumens 115 may be accomplished by turning guidance of the guide 170. Thus, the growable tube 110 can grow distally through the lumen 115 to a target location. In some embodiments, the radial dimension of the proximal end of the outer layer 112 may be greater than the radial dimension of the distal end of the outer layer 112. In this way, the growable instrument 100 is able to accommodate the narrowing of the lumen 115 to reduce or avoid contact and friction with the lumen 115. In some embodiments, guide 170 may comprise an endoscope, surgical implement, applicator, or the like, at the distal end.

Fig. 3(a) and 3(b) respectively illustrate cross-sectional views of a growable tube 110, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3(a), the cross-section of the growable tube 110 may be circular. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3(b), the cross-section of the growable tube 110 may be elliptical. It should be understood that the cross-section of the growable tube 110 includes, but is not limited to, the configuration of the above-described embodiments, and may include other shapes, such as rectangular, polygonal, and the like. In some embodiments, the growable tube 110 comprises a flexible material, including, but not limited to, plastic, rubber, or the like, such as low density polyethylene, silicon-containing polymers, or fluoropolymers, or the like. The flexible growable tube 110 may avoid damage to the lumen 115.

Fig. 4(a) and 4(b) show schematic illustrations of the distal end portion of the graded

growable tubes

110 and 210, respectively, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 4(a), in some embodiments, the radial dimension of the outer layer 112 may gradually decrease in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The profile of the outer layer 112 may be straight, curved, or a combination thereof. It is understood that the morphology of the

growable tubes

110 and 210 shown in fig. 4(a) and 4(b) may be a morphology during growth or a morphology when growth is stopped. The inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 may remain substantially constant from the proximal to the distal extent, and the fluid lumen 113 may have a thickness that gradually decreases from the proximal to the distal extent in a state in which the eversion has ceased (e.g., a fully grown state, or near the lesion site). Inner layer 111 surrounds channels 1111, the radial dimension of channels 1111 remains substantially constant from the proximal end to the distal end, and channels 1111 may be used to receive introducer 170. Either the inner layer 111 or the outer layer 112 may be driven to move distally or proximally. For example, the inner layer 111 is moved distally by a length L, the inner layer 111 of length L is everted in the evertable region 114 to form the outer layer 112, and the fluid 140 fills the fluid chamber 113 grown by everting the inner layer 111 so that the growable tube 110 can grow anteriorly. Inner layer 111 is moved proximally by length L 'and outer layer 112, having length L', is inverted in invertible region 114 to form inner layer 111 so that growth tube 110 may be retracted.

As shown in fig. 4(b), the radial dimension of the outer layer 212 may gradually decrease in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end. The profile of the outer layer 212 may be straight, curved, or a combination thereof. The inner layer 211 of the growable tube 210 may taper from the proximal end toward the distal end such that the thickness of the fluid lumen 213 remains substantially constant or tapers from the proximal end toward the distal end in a state where the eversion ceases (e.g., in a fully grown state, or near the lesion site). Inner layer 211 surrounds channels 2111, with channels 2111 having a radial dimension that decreases from a proximal end to a distal end. The channel 2111 may be used to receive the introducer 170. Inner layer 111 or outer layer 112 may be driven to move distally or proximally so that inner layer 211 may evert over invertible region 214 to form outer layer 212, or outer layer 212 may evert over invertible region 214 to form inner layer 211.

Fig. 5(a) and 5(b) illustrate schematic distal end portion configurations of stepwise

growable tubes

310 and 510, respectively, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5(a) and 5(b), the radial dimension of the

outer layers

312 and 512 may decrease in a step-like manner from the proximal end to the distal end. In this disclosure, stepwise refers to a sharp change in the slope of the profile of the layer at the step region. It is understood that the morphology of the

growable tubes

310 and 510 shown in fig. 5(a) and 5(b) may be a morphology during growth or a morphology when growth is stopped. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 5(a), the outer layer 312 may include a proximal segment 3121 and a distal segment 3122, the proximal segment 3121 having a radial dimension that gradually decreases from the proximal end to the distal end, the distal segment 3122 having a radial dimension that gradually decreases from the proximal end to the distal end, a profile slope of the proximal segment 3121 at a junction and a profile slope of the distal segment 3122 at the junction being different to form a stepped profile. Inner layer 311 of growable tube 310 may remain substantially unchanged in the direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end. In a state where eversion ceases (e.g., a fully grown state, or near a lesion site), the thickness of fluid lumen 313 decreases stepwise in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end. Inner layer 311 surrounds channel 3111, and channel 3111 has a radial dimension that remains substantially constant in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end, and channel 3111 is configured to receive guide 170. Inner layer 311 or outer layer 312 may be driven to move distally or proximally. For example, inner layer 311 is moved distally by length L, inner layer 311 of length L is everted in evertable region 314 to form outer layer 312, and fluid 340 fills fluid chamber 313 grown by everting inner layer 311 so that growth tube 310 can grow anteriorly. Inner layer 311 is moved proximally by length L ', and outer layer 312 of length L' is inverted in invertible region 314 to form inner layer 311 so that growth tube 310 may be retracted.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the outer layer 512 may include a stepped profile composed of multiple segments having different radial dimensions. As shown in fig. 5(b), the outer layer 512 may sequentially include a proximal segment 5121a, a proximal segment 5121b, a distal segment 5122a and a distal segment 5122b, which have different radial dimensions, wherein the radial dimensions of the proximal segment 5121a and the distal segment 5122a are substantially constant, and the radial dimensions of the proximal segment 5121b and the distal segment 5122b are gradually reduced from the proximal end to the distal end. The proximal segment 5121a and the proximal segment 5121b may be in a gradual or abrupt connection at the connection region, the proximal segment 5121b and the distal segment 5122a may be in a gradual or abrupt connection at the connection region, and the distal segment 5122a and the distal segment 5122b may be in a gradual or abrupt connection at the connection region to form a multi-step stepped profile. The radial dimension of inner layer 511 of growable tube 510 may remain substantially constant or gradually decrease in the direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end. In a state where the eversion has ceased (e.g., a fully grown state, or near the lesion site), the thickness of the fluid chamber 513 decreases from the direction in which the proximal segment 5121a, the proximal segment 5121b, the distal segment 5122a, and the distal segment 5122b extend. Inner layer 511 surrounds and forms a channel 5111, the radial dimension of channel 5111 remaining substantially constant from the proximal end to the distal end, channel 5111 being configured to receive introducer 170. Inner layer 511 or outer layer 512 may be driven to move distally or proximally so that inner layer 511 may evert over invertible region 514 to form outer layer 512, or outer layer 512 may evert over invertible region 514 to form inner layer 511.

The growable instrument 100 may include one of the

growable tubes

110, 210, 310, 510. In some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 may further include a tube drive mechanism 120. Fig. 6(a) shows a partial schematic structural view of a tube drive mechanism 120 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 6(a), the tube driving mechanism 120 is coupled to the growable tube 110 (or 210, 310, 510), and the tube driving mechanism 120 is linearly movable for driving movement of the outer layer 112 or the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110. In some embodiments, the tube drive mechanism 120 may be coupled to the outer layer 112 of the growable tube 110 to drive movement of the outer layer 112 of the growable tube 110. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6(a), a tube driving mechanism 120 may be coupled to the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 to drive the movement of the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6(a), the pipe driving mechanism 120 may include two

rollers

121a and 121b arranged side by side, a moving rod 122 arranged between the two rollers 121a-b, and driving units (not shown) connected to the two rollers 121a-b, respectively. The inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 (or 210, 310, 510) is sealingly attached to the distal circumference of the travel rod 122. The driving unit drives the two rollers 121a-b to synchronously rotate in opposite directions at a constant speed so as to drive the movable rod 122 to linearly move, so that the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 is driven to move by the movable rod 122. Travel rod 122 drives inner layer 111 distally, everting inner layer 111 to form outer layer 112 at evertable region 114, allowing fluid 140 to fill fluid chamber 113 which grows as inner layer 111 everts. In some embodiments, the distance that the growable tube 110 is extended by the inner layer 111 being everted is approximately the same as the distance traveled by travel bar 122. In some embodiments, the distance that the growable tube 110 is extended by the inner layer 111 being everted is less than the distance traveled by travel bar 122.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6(a), the guide 170 is disposed within the channel 1111, the proximal end of the guide 170 passes through the lumen of the travel rod 122 and is coupled to a guide drive mechanism (not shown), and the guide 170 is moved distally under the drive of the guide drive mechanism, in synchronization with the growth of the growable tube 110. The distal end of the introducer 170 may be bent under the drive of an introducer drive mechanism, which may cause the growable tube 110 to bend. Steering of the growable tube 110 to accommodate the complex-curved lumen 115 may be accomplished by the guide 170.

The growable instrument 200 may include one of the

growable tubes

110, 210, 310, 510, and a tube drive mechanism 220. Fig. 6(b) shows a partial schematic structural view of the tube drive mechanism 220 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6(b), the tube driving mechanism 220 may include a lead screw slider module 221 and a moving bar 222 driven by the lead screw slider module 221. The lead screw slider module 221 may include a lead screw 223 and a slider 224 which are connected by a screw, a moving rod 222 fixedly connected to the slider 224, and a driving unit (not shown) connected to the lead screw 223. In some embodiments, the lead screw slider module 221 can further include a guide rod 225 slidably disposed through the slider 224. Outer layer 112 or inner layer 111 of growable tube 110 (or 210 and 610) is sealingly coupled to travel bar 222. The driving unit drives the screw 223 to rotate, the slider 224 can linearly move along the guide rod 225, and the moving rod 222 fixedly connected with the slider 224 is driven to linearly move, so that the outer layer 112 or the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 is driven to move.

It is to be understood that the tube drive mechanism of the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, the structure of the above-described embodiments, as long as the drive mechanism capable of linear motion is not departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 illustrates a schematic structural view of the growable instrument 100 (or 200), in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 7, in some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 (or 200) further includes a fluid controller 130. The fluid controller 130 is used to pressurize the fluid 140 to drive the fluid 140 to gradually fill the fluid chamber 113 between the outer layer 112 and the inner layer 111. In some embodiments, the fluid 140 may be a liquid fluid, such as saline, or a gaseous fluid, such as air, carbon dioxide gas, or other inert gas. In some embodiments, the fluid controller 130 may include a gas pump or a liquid pump, or the like.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, the growable instrument 100 (or 200) may further include a fluid tank 150. The fluid reservoir 150 may include a fluid outlet passage 151 and a fluid control passage 152, with the fluid controller 130 communicating with the fluid reservoir 150 through the fluid control passage 152. Control passage 152 may include fluid conduits, switches, and the like. In some embodiments, the outer layer 112 of the growth tube 110 may be sealingly attached to the periphery of the fluid outlet channel 151, and the inner layer 111 of the growth tube 110 may extend proximally through the fluid outlet channel 151 toward the fluid chamber 150 and sealingly attach to the travel rod 122 of the tube drive mechanism 120. The tube driving mechanism 120 may drive the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 to move distally or proximally. The fluid controller 130 may control the fluid pressure in the fluid tank 150 and the fluid chamber 113, for example, to maintain the pressure in the fluid tank 150 and the fluid chamber 113 at a predetermined value or interval. In some embodiments, fluid controller 130 may control fluid 140 to fill the growing fluid cavity 113 or withdraw from the withdrawn fluid cavity 113 when outer layer 112 or inner layer 111 is actuated by tube actuation mechanism 120 to unfold in invertible region 114. For example, the tube drive mechanism 120 drives the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 distally a length L, and the inner layer 111 everts the length L in the evertable region 114 to form the outer layer 112, allowing the fluid lumen 113 to grow distally. The fluid controller 130 pressurizes (e.g., injects) fluid into the fluid chamber 150 to fill the fluid chamber 113 of the growth tube 110 with fluid 140, thereby filling the fluid chamber 113 grown in the invertible region 114. As another example, tube drive mechanism 120 drives inner layer 111 of growth tube 110 proximally a length L ', outer layer 112 everts a length L' within evertable region 114, forming inner layer 111 such that fluid chamber 113 is retracted proximally. The fluid controller 130 depressurizes (e.g., withdraws) the fluid within the fluid chamber 150, withdrawing the fluid 140 from the fluid chamber 113 of the growth tube 110 to the fluid chamber 150, thereby proximally withdrawing the growth tube 110. In some embodiments, the distance to abduct growth or withdrawal is substantially the same as the distance moved by the tube drive mechanism 120. In some embodiments, the distance to abduct growth or withdrawal is less than the distance moved by the tube drive mechanism 120.

In some embodiments, the tube drive mechanism 120 may be disposed outside the fluid enclosure 150, and the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110 may extend through the fluid enclosure 150 to connect with the tube drive mechanism 120. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 7, at least a portion of the travel bar 122 of the tube drive mechanism 120 may be disposed inside the fluid chamber 150 in connection with the inner layer 111 of the growable tube 110.

In some embodiments, the introducer 170 is disposed within the channel 1111, the proximal end of the introducer 170 is coupled to an introducer drive mechanism (not shown) via the lumen of the travel bar 122 of the tube drive mechanism 120, and the distal end of the introducer 170 is bent under the drive of the introducer drive mechanism, thereby allowing the bendable growth tube 110.

In some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 further includes a system controller (not shown) by which to control the distance the tube drive mechanism 120 is moved and the pressure exerted by the fluid controller 130 within the fluid chamber 113 so that the growable instrument 100 may be controllably grown. In some embodiments, the system controller may control the fluid controller 130, for example, sending pressurization, depressurization instructions to the fluid controller 130. In some embodiments, the system controller may also control the bending of the guide 270 for growth direction control of the growable instrument 200.

As shown in fig. 7, in some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 also includes a pressure sensor 160. A pressure sensor 160 may be disposed on the fluid chamber 150 for sensing the pressure within the fluid chamber 150. The pressure sensor 160 may be connected to the fluid controller 130 to send a fluid pressure signal within the fluid tank 150 to the fluid controller 130. The fluid controller 130 may control the fluid pressure in the fluid chamber 150 and the fluid chamber 113 based on the fluid pressure signal.

Fig. 8 illustrates a schematic structural view of a growable instrument 200 (or 100), in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 8, the growable instrument 200 (or 100) may further include a fluid tank 250, the fluid tank 250 including a fluid outlet channel 251 and a fluid control channel 252, the fluid controller 230 being in communication with the fluid tank 250 via the fluid control channel 252. At least one seal 253 may be disposed within the fluid chamber 250, the outer periphery of the seal 253 sealingly engaging the inner wall of the fluid chamber 250. Fluid outlet channel 251 is annular, inner layer 211 of growable tube 210 is sealingly attached to the inside or outside of the inner annular wall of fluid outlet channel 251, outer layer 212 of growable tube 210 extends proximally through fluid outlet channel 251 toward fluid chamber 250 and is sealingly attached to seal 253, and seal 253 is fixedly attached to movable rod 222 of tube drive mechanism 220 by at least one attachment rod 226. At least a portion of the moving rod 222 of the pipe driving mechanism 220 is disposed inside the fluid tank 250 and connected to the sealing ring 253 to drive the sealing ring 253 to linearly move in the longitudinal direction of the fluid tank 250. The sealing ring 253 can prevent the fluid 240 within the fluid chamber 250 from leaking out of the gap between the outer layer 212 of the growable tube 210 and the inner layer of the fluid chamber 250. For example, tube drive mechanism 220 drives outer layer 212 of growable tube 210 distally a length L, with outer layer 212 of length L everted in evertable region 214 to form inner layer 211, and fluid 240 fills fluid chamber 213 grown by everting outer layer 212 so that growable tube 210 can grow forward. Outer layer 212 is moved proximally by length L 'and inner layer 211 of length L' is everted in evertable region 214 to form outer layer 212 so that growth tube 210 can be withdrawn. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, a pressure sensor 260 is disposed on the fluid tank 250 for sensing the pressure within the fluid tank 250. The pressure sensor 260 may be connected to the fluid controller 230 to send a fluid pressure signal within the fluid tank 250 to the fluid controller 230. The fluid controller 230 may control the fluid pressure in the fluid chamber 250 and the fluid chamber 213 based on the fluid pressure signal.

In some embodiments, the introducer 270 is disposed within the passageway 2111, the proximal end of the introducer 270 is coupled to an introducer drive mechanism (not shown) via the lumen of the travel bar 222 of the tube drive mechanism 220, and the distal end of the introducer 270 is deflected by the introducer drive mechanism, which causes the flexible tube 210 to deflect. In some embodiments, the growable instrument 200 further includes a system controller (not shown) by which to control the distance the tube drive mechanism 220 is moved and the pressure exerted by the fluid controller 230 within the fluid chamber 213 so that the growable instrument 200 may operate accurately. In some embodiments, the system controller may control fluid controller 230, for example, sending pressurization, depressurization commands to fluid controller 230. In some embodiments, the system controller may also control the bending of the guide 270 for growth direction control of the growable instrument 200.

Fig. 9 illustrates a schematic structural view of a guide 170 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 9, the introducer 170 may include at least one distal continuum 172. The distal continuum 172 includes a distal base plate 1721, a distal stop plate 1722, and a plurality of first structural bones 1723. The distal base plate 1721 and the distal stop plate 1722 are spaced apart, a distal end of the first plurality of structural bones 1723 is fixedly attached to the distal stop plate 1722, and a proximal end of the first plurality of structural bones 1723 extends through the distal base plate 1721. In some embodiments, distal ends of a first plurality of structural bones 1723 are securely disposed on the distal end stop 1722 at circumferentially spaced intervals. For example, the first plurality of structural bones 1723 can be uniformly spaced or regularly and symmetrically disposed. In some embodiments, the first plurality of structural bones 1723 may be nitinol wires, steel wires, or the like. In some embodiments, the number of first structural bones 1723 may be 4, and the flexion of distal continuum 172 to the first degree of freedom may be achieved in coordination with pushing and pulling two correspondingly disposed structural bones, and the flexion of distal continuum 172 to the second degree of freedom may be achieved in coordination with pushing and pulling two correspondingly disposed structural bones, such that guide 170 has at least one degree of freedom in one direction. In some embodiments, the number of first structural bones 1723 may also be 6, 8, 12, and so on. The number of first structural bones 1723 may include, but is not limited to, the number in the above-described embodiments.

As shown in fig. 9, in some embodiments, the introducer 170 may include a series of distal continuations 172, 172'. Distal base plate 1721 of distal continuum 172 becomes distal stop plate 1722 'of proximal distal continuum 172'. Providing two or more distal continuations 172 may increase the flexibility of the steering of the guide 170.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 9, the distal continuum 172, 172 ' may further include at least one distal spacer disc 1724, 1724 ' disposed between the distal base disc 1721 and the distal stop disc 1722, between the distal base disc 1721 ' and the distal stop disc 1722 ', with proximal ends of the first structural bones 1723 passing through the at least one distal spacer disc 1724, the distal base disc 1721, the distal spacer disc 1724 ' and the distal base disc 1721 ', and proximal ends of the first structural bones 1723 ' passing through the at least one distal spacer disc 1724 ' and the distal base disc 1721 ', respectively. The provision of the distal spacer plates 1724, 1724 'may enhance the stability of the first plurality of structural bones 1723, 1723' during push-pull.

In some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 (or 200) may further include an introducer drive mechanism, which may be coupled to the plurality of first structural bones 1723, 1723 ' by pushing and pulling the first structural bones 1723, 1723 ' to cause the distal continuum 172, 172 ' to bend in space in different directions. Fig. 10(a) shows a schematic structural view of a guide drive mechanism 180 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 10(a), in some embodiments, the guide driving mechanism 180 may include at least one set of double-threaded screw modules 181, and the double-threaded screw modules 181 may include a double-threaded screw 182, a pair of

sliders

183a and 183b threadedly coupled to the double-threaded screw 182, and a driving unit (not shown) coupled to the double-threaded screw 182. In some embodiments, the double-ended screw module 181 can include guide

rods

184a and 184b slidably disposed through the

slides

183a and 183b, respectively. At least one pair of first

structural bones

1723a and 1723b are fixedly attached to

blocks

183a and 183b, respectively. The drive unit drives the double-headed screw 182 to rotate, and drives the

sliders

183a and 183b to synchronously and oppositely linearly move (e.g., along the

guide rods

184a and 184b), respectively, so as to cooperatively push and pull the first

structural bones

1723a and 1723 b. The first plurality of structural bones 1723 can be pushed and pulled in concert by at least one set of double-threaded rod modules 181 to effect flexion of the distal continuum 172 or 172'.

In some embodiments, the growable instrument 100 (or 200) may also include an introducer drive mechanism. Fig. 10(b) shows a schematic structural view of the introducer drive mechanism 280 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 10(b), the guide driving mechanism 280 may include at least one set of lead screw nut module 281, and the lead screw nut module 281 may include a lead screw 282 and a nut 283 that are threadedly coupled, a guide bar 284 slidably disposed on the nut 283, and a driving unit (not shown) coupled to the lead screw 282. At least one first structural bone 1723 or 1723' is fixedly attached to the nut 283. The drive unit drives the lead screw 282 to rotate and the drive nut 283 moves linearly (e.g., along the guide rod 284), thereby pushing or pulling the first structural bone 1723 or 1723'. The bending of distal continuum 172 is achieved by at least one set of feed screw nut modules 281 pushing and pulling in tandem a plurality of first structural bones 1723 or 1723'. It is understood that the introducer drive mechanism of the present disclosure includes, but is not limited to, the structures described in the above embodiments, as long as a drive mechanism capable of pushing and pulling a structural bone is achieved without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 11, the introducer 170 may further include at least one proximal continuum 173 including a proximal base plate 1731, a proximal stop plate 1732, and a plurality of second structural bones 1733. The proximal base plate 1731 and the proximal stop plate 1732 are spaced apart, the proximal base plate 1731 is adjacent to the distal base plate 1721, the proximal ends of the second structural bones 1733 are fixedly connected to the proximal stop plate 1732, and the distal ends of the second structural bones 1733 can be fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the proximal ends of the first structural bones 1723 through the proximal base plate 1731. In some embodiments, the second plurality of structural bones 1733 may be nitinol wires, steel wires, or the like.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 11, the proximal continuum 173 can further include at least one proximal spacer 1734 disposed between the proximal base plate 1731 and the proximal stop plate 1732, with the proximal ends of the second plurality of structural bones 1733 passing sequentially through the at least one proximal spacer 1734 and the proximal base plate 1731. The provision of the proximal spacer 1734 may enhance the stability of the second plurality of structural bones 1733 during push-pull.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 11, the guide drive mechanism 380 may be coupled to the proximal stop 1732 for driving the proximal stop 1732 to evert, thereby pushing and pulling the second structural bone 1733 disposed on the proximal stop 1732, and pushing and pulling the first structural bone 1723 through the second structural bone 1733 to induce the bending of the distal continuum 172 in different directions in space. In some embodiments, the second structural bone 1733 and the first structural bone 1723 may be the same structural bone fixedly attached or integrally formed. In some embodiments, a second plurality of structural bones 1733 are securely attached to proximal stop 1732 and pass through proximal stop 1732, and introducer drive mechanism 180 (or 280) may be attached to second plurality of structural bones 1733 by cooperatively pushing and pulling second plurality of structural bones 1733 to induce flexion of distal continuum 172 in different directions in space.

Fig. 12 illustrates a schematic structural view of a director 270 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 12, the guide 270 can further include at least one proximal continuum 273 including a proximal base disc 2731, a first proximal stop disc 2732a, a second proximal stop disc 2732b, and a plurality of second structural bones 2733. A proximal base plate 2731, a first proximal stop plate 2732a and a second proximal stop plate 2732b are spaced apart, the proximal base plate 2731 is adjacent to the distal base plate 2721, a plurality of second structural bones 2733 are fixedly attached at their proximal ends to the second proximal stop plate 2732b and at their distal ends to the proximal base plate 2731 through the first proximal stop plate 2732a, and a plurality of first structural bones 2723 are fixedly attached at their proximal ends to the first proximal stop plate 2732a through the proximal base plate 2731.

In some embodiments, the guide driving mechanism 480 can be coupled to the second proximal end stop disc 2732b to drive the second proximal end stop disc 2732b to rotate and invert so that the proximal base disc 2731 and the second proximal end stop disc 2732b are misaligned to cause the plurality of second structural bones 2733 to rotate and to drive the first proximal end stop disc 2732a to rotate cooperatively therewith, thereby pushing and pulling the plurality of first structural bones 2723 fixed to the first proximal end stop disc 2732a to drive the distal continuum 272 to rotate in different directions in space. In some embodiments, the second plurality of structural bones 2733 are securely attached to the second proximal stop plate 2732b proximally and through the second proximal stop plate 2732b and coupled to the introducer drive mechanism 180 (or 280) by pushing and pulling the second structural bones 2733 to cause the first proximal stop plate 2732a to cooperatively evert, thereby pushing and pulling the first plurality of structural bones 2723 to induce flexion of the distal continuum 272 in different directions in space.

In some embodiments, the guide may include: a turning member and a drive wire connected to the turning member. Fig. 13 illustrates a schematic structural view of the turning member 371 of the director 370 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, the distal end of the driving wire 373 is fixedly connected to the distal end of the turning member 371, and the driving wire 373 can be driven by the guide driving mechanism (e.g., the guide driving mechanism 180 or 280) to turn the turning member 371 in at least one degree of freedom, so as to drive the direction of the growable tube 110 (or 210, 310, 510) to be steered to fit the curved complex lumen 115.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 13, the turning member 371 may comprise a serpentine structure 372. Fig. 14 illustrates a schematic diagram of a structure of a turn unit 3721, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 13 and 14, the snake bone structure 372 may include a plurality of hollow bamboo-like turning units 3721 connected end to end, and a radially bendable kinematic pair may be formed between two adjacent turning units 3721 by the mutually nested connecting grooves 3722 and connecting protrusions 3723. The driving wire 373 can be disposed through each of the turning units 3721 or through the tube wall of each of the turning units 3721 (refer to fig. 13), the distal end of the driving wire 373 is fixedly disposed at the distal end of the serpentine structure 372, and the guide driving mechanism pushes or pulls the driving wire 373 to turn the serpentine structure 372, so as to drive the growing tube 110 to turn. In some embodiments, the number of the driving wires 373 may be multiple, and the bending direction of the snake bone structure 372 can be adjusted by pushing, pulling or cooperatively pushing and pulling the multiple driving wires 373 at intervals along the circumferential direction, so as to realize the bending of the growable tube 110 in multiple degrees of freedom.

In some embodiments, the turning member may be a flexible sleeve. Fig. 15 illustrates a structural schematic view of the turning member 471 of the guide 470 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and fig. 16 illustrates a structural schematic view of the slit unit 473 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 15 and 16, the flexible sleeve 472 may be provided with a plurality of slit units 473 at intervals along the extending direction thereof, and each slit unit 473 may include at least one slit 4731 extending circumferentially along the flexible sleeve 472. In some embodiments, the slit unit 473 may include a plurality of slits 4731, the plurality of slits 4731 being spaced apart axially of the flexible sleeve 472, and the plurality of slits 4731 being sequentially offset circumferentially of the flexible sleeve 472. The drive wire 474 may be disposed through the flexible sleeve 472 or through the wall of the flexible sleeve 472 (see fig. 15), with the distal end of the drive wire 474 fixedly disposed at the distal end of the flexible sleeve 472. An introducer drive mechanism (e.g., introducer drive mechanism 180 or 280) pushes or pulls the drive wire 474 to cause the flexible sleeve 472 to bend, thereby driving the bendable growth tube 110 to bend. In some embodiments, the number of drive wires 474 may be multiple and circumferentially spaced apart, and the direction of the bend in the flexible sleeve 472 may be adjusted by pushing, pulling, or cooperatively pushing and pulling the multiple drive wires 474. In some embodiments, the flexible sleeve 472 is axially rotatable such that the direction of bending of the flexible sleeve 472 can be adjusted to achieve bending of the growable tube 110 in multiple degrees of freedom.

Fig. 17 illustrates a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the turn member 571 of the guide 570 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 17, in some embodiments, the turning member 571 may further comprise a bellows 572, the drive wire 573 may be disposed through the bellows 572 or through a wall of the bellows 572 (see fig. 17), a distal end of the drive wire 573 is fixedly disposed at a distal end of the bellows 572, and the introducer drive mechanism (e.g., the introducer drive mechanism 180 or 280) pushes or pulls the drive wire 573 to bend the bellows 572, thereby driving the growable tube 110 (or 210, 310, 510) to bend. It should be understood that the turning member includes, but is not limited to, the above-described structure, and any structure that can be turned is within the scope of the present disclosure.

The growable device 100 (or 200) may include any of the

guides

170 and 570. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide 170 (or 270 and 570) may further comprise a medical instrument 171, and the medical instrument 171 may be fixedly disposed at a distal end of the guide 170, including, for example, an endoscope, an end-surgical effector, an ultrasound probe, a probe, and the like. In some embodiments, the medical instrument 171 may be disposed in an internal passage of the introducer 170, such as an applicator that provides a drug or the like.

The present disclosure also provides a surgical robotic system (not shown) that may include a system controller configured to control movement of the growth instrument, such as controlling growth or retraction of the growth tube 100, or controlling advancement, steering, retraction, etc. of the guide 170, and the growth instrument 100 (or 200) described above. The apparatus has good flexibility, and can grow and extend in real time, so that the apparatus can be well adapted to curved complicated cavity channels, and can be widely applied to interventional diagnosis and treatment of various cavity channels.

The present disclosure also discloses the following:

1. a growable device, comprising:

a growable tube comprising an inner layer, an outer layer, and a fluid chamber between the inner layer and the outer layer for containing a fluid;

the growable tube comprises a foldable area positioned at the far end, and the inner layer and the outer layer are connected in the foldable area and can be folded.

2. The growable instrument of claim 1, wherein the proximal end of the outer layer has a radial dimension that is greater than or equal to a radial dimension of the distal end of the outer layer.

3. The growable device of claim 1, wherein the outer layer has a radial dimension that remains constant, decreases gradually, or decreases in a step-wise manner in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end.

4. The growable instrument of claim 1, wherein the inner layer has a radial dimension that remains constant or decreases in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end.

5. The growable device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the outer layer is everted inwardly at the evertable region or the inner layer is everted outwardly at the evertable region.

6. The growable device of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising: the tube driving mechanism is connected with the tube capable of growing and is used for driving the outer layer or the inner layer of the tube capable of growing to move.

7. The growable instrument of claim 6, the tube drive mechanism comprising: drive unit, carriage release lever and with drive unit with the drive unit that the carriage release lever is connected, the carriage release lever with but the inlayer or the outer sealing connection of growth pipe, drive unit be used for with drive unit's rotary motion turns into linear motion, in order to drive the carriage release lever drives but growth pipe grows or withdraws.

8. The growable instrument of claim 7, the transmission unit comprising: the first and second rollers are arranged in parallel;

the proximal end of the moving rod is arranged between the first roller and the second roller and is abutted against the first roller and the second roller, and the distal end of the moving rod is hermetically connected with the inner layer or the outer layer of the growable tube;

the driving unit is respectively connected with the first roller and the second roller and is used for driving the first roller and the second roller to synchronously rotate at a constant speed and reversely rotate so as to drive the movable rod to linearly move.

9. The growable instrument of claim 7, the transmission unit comprising: the screw rod sliding block module comprises a screw rod and a sliding block which are connected through threads;

the near end of the moving rod is fixedly connected with the sliding block, and the far end of the moving rod is hermetically connected with the inner layer or the outer layer of the tube capable of growing; and

the driving unit is connected with the screw rod and used for driving the screw rod to rotate so as to drive the moving rod to move linearly.

10. The growable instrument of claim 6, further comprising a fluid controller;

the fluid controller is used for pressurizing or depressurizing the fluid to drive the fluid to fill the fluid cavity of the reversible area or drive the fluid to be withdrawn from the fluid cavity.

11. The growable instrument of claim 10, further comprising: a fluid chamber comprising a fluid outlet passage, said outer layer of said growable tube being sealingly attached at an outer or inner periphery of said fluid outlet passage, said inner layer of said growable tube extending proximally through said fluid outlet passage toward said fluid chamber for attachment to said tube actuation mechanism.

12. The growable instrument of claim 10, further comprising: fluid tank, fluid tank includes annular fluid outlet channel, be equipped with at least one sealing washer in the fluid tank, the sealing washer periphery with the sealed laminating of inner wall of fluid tank, but the growth pipe inlayer sealing connection is in on the rampart of fluid outlet channel's inner ring, but the growth pipe the skin is passed fluid outlet channel to the fluid tank near-end extend with sealing washer fastening connection, the sealing washer with pipe actuating mechanism fastening connection, pipe actuating mechanism is used for the drive the sealing washer linear movement is in order to drive but the growth pipe is grown or is withdrawn.

13. The growable instrument of claim 10, wherein the tube drive mechanism is disposed outside of the fluid tank or at least partially inside of the fluid tank.

14. The growable device of claim 11 or 12, wherein the fluid tank includes a pressurization passage, and the fluid controller is in communication with the pressurization passage for pressurizing or depressurizing the fluid tank.

15. The growable instrument of claim 14, further comprising a pressure sensor to sense a pressure within the fluid tank.

16. The growable device of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the fluid is a liquid fluid or a gaseous fluid.

17. The growable device of any of claims 1-4, wherein the growable tube is made of a flexible material.

18. The growable instrument of any of claims 1-4, wherein the growable tube is circular or elliptical in cross-section.

19. A surgical robotic system comprising a system controller and the growable instrument of any one of claims 1-18, the system controller configured to control movement of the growable instrument.

It is noted that the foregoing is only illustrative of the embodiments of the present disclosure and the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein and that various obvious changes, rearrangements and substitutions will now be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Therefore, although the present disclosure has been described in greater detail with reference to the above embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and may include other equivalent embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure, the scope of which is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A growable device, comprising:

the growable tube comprises a turnover area at the far end, and the inner layer and the outer layer are connected in the turnover area and can be turned over.

2. The growable instrument of claim 1, wherein a radial dimension of the proximal end of the outer layer is greater than or equal to a radial dimension of the distal end of the outer layer.

3. The growable instrument of claim 1, wherein the outer layer has a radial dimension that remains constant, decreases gradually, or decreases stepwise in a direction extending from the proximal end to the distal end.

5. The growable device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the outer layer is everted inwardly at the evertable region or the inner layer is everted outwardly at the evertable region.

6. The growable instrument of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising: the tube driving mechanism is connected with the tube capable of growing and is used for driving the outer layer or the inner layer of the tube capable of growing to move.

7. The growable instrument of claim 6, wherein the tube drive mechanism comprises: drive unit, carriage release lever and with drive unit with the drive unit that the carriage release lever is connected, the carriage release lever with but the inlayer or the outer sealing connection of growth pipe, drive unit be used for with drive unit's rotary motion turns into linear motion, in order to drive the carriage release lever drives but growth pipe grows or withdraws.

8. The growable instrument of claim 7, wherein the transmission unit comprises: the first and second rollers are arranged in parallel;

the driving unit is respectively connected with the first roller and the second roller and is used for driving the first roller and the second roller to synchronously rotate at a constant speed in a reverse direction so as to drive the movable rod to linearly move.

9. The growable instrument of claim 7, wherein the transmission unit comprises: the screw rod sliding block module comprises a screw rod and a sliding block which are connected through threads;

the driving unit is connected with the screw rod and used for driving the screw rod to rotate so as to drive the movable rod to move linearly.

10. The growable instrument of claim 6, further comprising a fluid controller;