CATHETER OR ENDOSCOPE TYPE STEERABLE STRUCTURE Russian patent published in 2013 - IPC G02B23/24 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed is a steerable structure of the catheter or endoscope type, for observing or treating a masked object via a narrow and/or sinuous passage, the structure comprising an elastically deformable longitudinal body (22, 28) having at least one actuator (16, 38) of material with shape memory incorporated longitudinally in the longitudinal body (22, 28), as well as together with Joule-effect heater means enabling the actuator (16, 38) to be cut longitudinally in order to cause the longitudinal body (22, 28) to bend, wherein the actuator (16, 38) is placed on at least one portion of the longitudinal body (22, 28) with varying stiffness, and the steerable structure has resilient means (52, 58) at its distal end exerting a longitudinal thrust force and connected to a head (54, 56) that is provided with non-destructive inspection means.

EFFECT: design of a catheter or endoscope type structure which is simple, efficient and cheap, and which enables to penetrate parts of a system that are inaccessible for existing equipment, achieved owing to varying stiffness of the longitudinal body while providing small bends in areas where stiffness is considerable, and larger bends in areas with less stiffness, which enables to obtain the curvature profile of the structure with varying radii of curvature along the structure.

21 cl, 12 dwg