Vacu-SL

In order to fully benefit from the functionalities of flexible endoscopes in surgery, a simple shaft-guide that can be used to support the flexible endoscope shaft is required. Such a shaft-guide must be flexible during insertion into the human body and rigidified when properly positioned to support the flexible endoscope shaft. A shaft-guide called ‘Vacu-SL’ was designed.

The Vacu-SL rigidity control mechanism utilizes the flexural rigidity increase that is achieved by vacuuming foil tubes filled with small particles. In this prototype the influence of particle hardness, size, and shape on the flexural rigidity of vacuumed foil tubes filled with these particles is investigated. Experiments show that the flexural rigidity increases with the hardness and irregularity of the particles and that there may be an optimal particle size in the low particle diameter region.