Patent ID: 8118732

Claim:
An endoscopic system, comprising: an endoscope including a shaft and a distal tip; at least one actuator configured to deflect the distal tip of the endoscope in at least one direction away from an axis of the shaft; a directional controller configured to direct the at least one actuator; and a processor in communication with the directional controller and configured to: actuate the at least one actuator to dither the distal tip of the endoscope in a number of different directions away from the axis of the shaft; obtain a resistance against the distal tip in each of the number of different directions; identify a force applied on the shaft of the endoscope based on the resistances against the distal tip in the number of different directions; and identify a force applied on the distal tip of the endoscope based on the resistances against the distal tip in the number of different directions; and a feedback mechanism in communication with the processor and the directional controller and configured to provide feedback to a user of only the force applied on the distal tip.