Contact
TU Delft Valorisation Centre
Mekelweg 2
2628 CD Delft
T 015 278 6751
E valorisationcentre@tudelft.nl
I-Flex
Try to cut a piece of paper with the paper in a horizontal and the scissors in a vertical position. You will soon discover that’s impossible. Almost the same problem occurs during eye operations.
In order to operate on the retina, located in the back of your eye, the instruments have to go through tiny tubes placed in incisions near the iris. Current instruments for eye surgery are rigid and can not be aimed parallel to the retina when inserted through these tubes. Steerable instruments do exist for other fields of surgery, but their mechanisms are too complex for miniaturization to less than 5 millimeters in diameter while allowing steering in all directions. |
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Therefore a new method had to be found to develop a simpler steering mechanism suitable for strong miniaturisation. This innovative mechanism is called I-Flex, an instrument inspired by the anatomy of squid tentacles. Transforming the biological solution to the technical domain resulted in an ingenious and simple steering mechanism, consisting of only seven cables and a spring to keep them together. Pulling at one cable while pushing at the opposite will cause the mechanism to bend. The I-Flex has a diameter of 0.9 millimeters and is the smallest medical instrument that can be steered in all directions and the first one with a pincer grip. The instrument is protected by an international patent.
