| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide methods and apparatus for accessing and treating regions of a body.SOLUTION: Using an endoscopic device 100 having an automatically controllable proximal portion 106 and a selectively steerable distal portion 104, the device generally may be advanced into the body through an opening. The distal portion is selectively steered to assume a selected curve along a desired path within the body which avoids contact with tissue, while the proximal portion is automatically controlled to assume the selected curve of the distal portion. The endoscopic device can then be used for accessing various regions of the body which are typically difficult to access and treat through conventional surgical techniques because the device is unconstrained by "straight-line" requirements. Various applications include accessing regions of the brain, the thoracic cavity, including regions within the heart, the peritoneal cavity, etc., which are difficult to reach using conventional surgical procedures. |
