Patent ID: 8579822

Claim:
A probe, comprising: a shaft having a distal end; a distal section having a proximal end and a transducer; a bending section with a flexible proximal portion engaging the shaft distal end and a flexible distal portion engaging the distal section proximal end, the bending section having a plurality of vertebrae disposed end to end along a longitudinal axis of the bending section, each vertebra having a proximal face and a distal face and an internal surface defining a vertebra internal passage extending through each vertebra, the vertebra internal passages of the plurality of vertebrae aligned to define a bending section passage extending through the bending section; a sheath surrounding the bending section; and at least one stiffening member having a proximal section and a distal section extending through at least a portion of the bending section passage, the at least one stiffening member having a stiffness at the proximal section that is less stiff than a stiffness at the distal section.