Importance

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Abstract

A surgical instrument is described for use with a flexible endoscope. The instrument includes a tubular member such as a catheter, in which a surgical tool is placed. The tool is formed of a working end and a control wire connected thereto and formed of a helically twisted flat ribbon sized to slidingly fit within the lumen of the tubular member. With a helically twisted control wire, the instrument may be bent and flexed in any plane without breakage, yet preserving accurate axial positional control substantially without longitudinal backlash. A distal end of the tubular member has a predetermined bend, with a channel cut therein in a manner selected to enable the working end of the tool, such as a knife, to be automatically moved into the channel and thus reliably extended from a side of the distal end of the catheter. A manipulator is used at the proximal end of the endoscope to precisely control the position of the working end of the surgical tool.

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First Claim