The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 25, 2025
Filed:
Jul. 25, 2023
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (US);
University of Tennessee Research Foundation, Knoxville, TN (US);
Katherine E. Riojas, Nashville, TN (US);
Robert J. Webster, Nashville, TN (US);
Daniel Caleb Rucker, Knoxville, TN (US);
Kaitlin Oliver Butler, Knoxville, TN (US);
Ryan Ponten, Issaquah, WA (US);
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN (US);
University of Tennessee Research Foundation, Knoxville, TN (US);
Abstract
A small diameter surgical tool implements an agonist-antagonist deflectable joint. The deflectable joint is an actuatable bendable structure that uses push-pull, agonist-antagonist action of a pair of nested tubes to actuate the joint. The tubes are designed to have non-central, offset neutral axes, and they are fixed together at locations distal to the deflectable joint, such as at their distal ends. Axial translations of the tubes relative to each other causes a push-pull, agonist-antagonist action between the tubes, which causes the deflectable joint to bend. In one implementation, a deflectable joint can be created in nested tubes by configuring radial portions of the tube sidewalls extending along the joint to have an axial region of reduced stiffness. As a result, axial agonist-antagonist motion between the tubes can cause bending of the deflectable joint.