Patent ID: 7682307

Claim:
An articulating mechanism for remote manipulation of a surgical or diagnostic tool comprising: a continuous flexible member having multiple pairs of segments, each segment of each pair being maintained in a spaced apart relationship relative to the other segment of the pair, each pair having one segment in a proximal segment set and the other segment in a distal segment set, all of the segments in the proximal segment set being located proximally from all of the segments in the distal segment set, a proximal most active segment of the proximal segment set forming a segment pair with the distal most active segment of the distal segment set, a distal most active segment of the proximal segment set forming a segment pair with the proximal most active segment of the distal segment set, and any intervening active segments following this same segment pair ordering, and multiple sets of cables, with each set connecting the segments of an independent, discrete pair to one another by way of the cables of the set being affixed to both segments of the pair, such that movement of one segment of a pair causes corresponding relative movement of the other segment of the pair directly through movement of the cables interconnecting the pair of segments.