Patent ID: 7578786

Claim:
A medical device comprising: a shaft having a distal end, a proximal end and one or more control cables therein that selectively tighten to steer the distal end in a desired direction, and an articulation joint at or adjacent the distal end of the shaft, the articulation joint including: a number of ring links, each including a first pair of forwardly extending tabs that extend from a first rim of the ring link, wherein each forwardly extending tab has an integrally formed pin that extends radially inwards from the tab, and a second pair of rearwardly extending tabs that extend from a second rim of the ring link, wherein each rearwardly extending tab has a hole therein that is configured to receive an integrally formed pin of a forwardly extending tab of an adjacent ring link, wherein the forwardly extending tabs have an arcuate outer edge and the rearwardly extending tabs have a thickness that is less than the thickness of the ring link and extend rearwardly from an inner circumference of the ring link to form arcuate recesses in a wall of the ring link that cooperate with the arcuate outer edges of the forwardly extending tabs from an adjacent ring link, and wherein the rearwardly extending tabs have a beveled leading edge.