Steerable probes

摘要

A steerable probe comprises a body and drive means arranged to drive the probe through a sample. The body comprises at least three body sections extending parallel to each other along the probe and each movable relative to the others along the probe. The drive means is arranged to move each of the body sections in turn relative to the others thereby to drive the probe through the sample.

主权项

1. A steerable probe comprising: a body and a drive mechanism arranged to drive the probe through a sample, wherein the body comprises at least three body sections extending parallel to each other along the probe and each movable relative to the others along the probe, wherein at least two of the body sections are steering sections each of the steering sections being arranged to steer in a respective direction if the steering section is moved forwards of the other body sections, and the drive mechanism is configured to define a desired direction of steering along a curved path through the sample, is configured to move the body sections in a series of step cycles to drive the probe through the sample along the curved path, is configured to move each of the body sections at least one step in each cycle, and is configured to select one of the sections to move first in each cycle, the one of the sections being selected steering the probe in the desired direction along the curved path.