Patent Document ID: 9895163
Application ID: 12439840
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. An active cannula configuration system comprising: a device adapted to generate a plurality of concentric telescoping tubes cooperatively configured and dimensioned to reach a target location relative to an anatomical region through a set of arcs, wherein each arc is determined between a point associated with the anatomical region and the target location, wherein the device is further adapted to define a configuration of the plurality of concentric telescoping tubes by components of a framework, relative to the anatomical region, that include a discretized configuration space that comprises a span of possible parameters describing a state of the plurality of concentric telescoping tubes represented by discrete quantities of both x,y,z locations and rx,ry,rz orientations of a tip of the active cannula, forbidden states, start or stop states that include an orientation defined for seed point locations, and neighborhoods which encapsulate sets of fundamental motions of the active cannula that can be performed in free space based on its available controls and mechanical properties, further wherein responsive to the defined components, the active cannula configuration system is adapted to generate a shortest collision-free path from a seed point location based on (i) a set of available component tube curvatures or shapes and (ii) motions permitted with a corresponding tube that are encapsulated in a given neighborhood, wherein generating the shortest collision-free path includes using a search technique to compute all possible paths from the seed point location in the given neighborhood, wherein each respective neighborhood governs locations and orientations considered as subsequently reachable neighbors along corresponding tubes, wherein neighbors become open nodes for subsequent rounds of expansion, wherein the locations and orientations of the open nodes are expanded with a new neighborhood oriented to match a corresponding node's home orientation.