Patent ID: 8266940

Claim:
A machine for precisely bending an elongate, bendable medical device from an initial shape into a desired new shape, comprising: a compact, stiff bending apparatus; wherein the bending apparatus comprises a compact, movable first manipulator and a compact, movable second manipulator separate from the first manipulator; wherein the bending apparatus further comprises a first gripping tool affixed to the first manipulator and a second gripping tool affixed to the second manipulator, each of the gripping tools having a gripping structure for releasably holding the medical device; wherein the bending apparatus further comprises at least three revolute joints, each defining a controlled rotation axis; wherein the rotation axes collectively are arranged relatively to each other in such a way that they are not parallel to each other and do not lie in one plane; wherein the bending apparatus further comprises at least three prismatic joints, each defining a controlled translation axis; wherein the translation axes collectively are arranged relatively to each other in such a way that they are not parallel to each other and do not lie in one plane; wherein the at least three revolute joints and the at least three prismatic joints are divided between the first and the second manipulators; wherein the first and the second manipulators are arranged in such a way that the first and the second gripping tools are able to move relative to each other in at least six degrees of freedom; wherein the bending apparatus further comprises a control unit generating commands for moving the revolute and the prismatic joints the desired amount thereby forming a bend and/or twist in the medical device; for opening and closing the gripping tools thereby gripping and releasing the medical device; and for advancing the medical device to a new position for forming a successive bend and/or twist in the medical device; and a handling robot, separate from the first gripping tool and the second gripping tool, inserting the medical device into either the first gripping tool or the second gripping tool at the beginning of a bending process and removing the medical device from either the first gripping tool or the second gripping tool at the end of the bending process.