received by the International Bureau on 23 August 2017 (23.07.2017)

In the Claims What is claimed is:

1. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments with channels therein; and

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend,

the steerable member comprising at least one lumen through which the bending actuation wires pass, and

the lumen being partially open outward.

2. The surgical apparatus of claim 1 configured such that when the steerable member is bent, the length of contact between the bending actuation wire near the center of curvature and the bending segments is shorter than the length of contact between the bending actuation wire on the other side of the center of curvature and the bending segments.

3. The surgical apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lumen in each bending segment is at a distance from the center of the bending segment, and each lumen is configured such that a wall near the center of the bending segments is longer than a wall near the outer side thereof.

4. The surgical apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lumen in each bending segment comprises a closed lumen portion and an open lumen portion, the open lumen portion being provided on at least one end of the lumen.

5. The surgical apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lumen in each bending segment has a stumbling portion on one side along the length, and configured such that when the steerable member is bent, the stumbling portion increases the length of contact between the wire on the other side of the center of curvature and the bending segments.

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6. The surgical apparatus of claim 1 configured such that when the steerable member is bent, the path along which the bending actuation wire near the center of curvature passes through two adjacent bending segments is longer than the distance between the two adjacent bending segments near the center of curvature, and the path along which the bending actuation wire on the other side of the center of curvature passes through the two adjacent bending segments is equal to the distance between the two adjacent bending segments on the other side of the center of curvature.

7. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments with channels therein;

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend, and

the steerable member comprising at least one lumen through which the bending actuation wires pass;

wherein the surgical apparatus further comprises:

a flexible member comprising a flexible material that is provided at the proximal end of the steerable member; and

at least one sleeve forming a path of travel of a wire passing through the steerable member or the flexible member, both ends of which are fixed to the inside thereof.

8. The surgical apparatus of claim 7, wherein the body of the sleeve is longer than the distance between two points at which both opposite ends of the sleeve are fixed, in order to minimize the effect of the bending of the steerable member or flexible member on the movement of the wire in the sleeve.

9. The surgical apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

an end effector provided at the distal end of the steerable member; and

an effector actuation wire that is arranged to pass through the steerable member and the flexible member and connected to the end effector to actuate the end effector, wherein both opposite ends of a first sleeve out of the at least one sleeve are fixed at the distal end of the steerable member and the proximal end of the flexible member and form a path along which the effector actuation wire is placed.

10. The surgical apparatus of claim 7, wherein the steerable member comprises a distal end steerable portion and a proximal end steerable portion, which bend separately, wherein the distal end steerable portion is configured to bend with a distal end bending actuation wire provided along the lumens in the distal end steerable portion, and the proximal end steerable portion is configured to bend with a proximal end bending actuation wire provided along the lumens in the proximal end steerable portion.

11. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments with channels therein;

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend, and

the steerable member comprising at least one lumen through which the bending actuation wires pass;

a flexible member comprising a flexible material that is provided at the proximal end of the steerable member and forms a path along which the bending actuation wires pass; and

a manipulating part that is provided at the proximal end of the flexible member for actuating the bending actuation wires,

wherein the proximal ends of the bending actuation wires are attachable to or detachable from the manipulating part.

12. The surgical apparatus of claim 11, wherein the proximal end of each bending actuation wire is magnetically connected to the manipulating part and at least either a proximal end module provided at the proximal end of each bending actuation wire or a coupler fastened to the proximal end module comprises a magnetic body.

13. The surgical apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

an end effector provided at the distal end of the steerable member; and

an effector actuation wire that is connected to the end effector and is moveable by the manipulating part so as to actuate the end effector, wherein the proximal end of the effector actuation wire is detachably connected to the manipulating part.

14. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable;

an end effector provided at the distal end of the steerable member; and

an effector actuation wire that is arranged to pass through the steerable member and connect to the end effector to actuate the end effector,

the end effector comprising an elastic body that produces an elastic force in the opposite direction to the force applied by the effector actuation wire.

15. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable;

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend; and

a wire termination member provided at the distal end of the steerable member to fix the bending actuation wires,

wherein the wire termination member has a thread for engaging with the distal end of the steerable member, such that the bending actuation wires are fixed by screwing the wire termination member and the steerable member together.

16. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable;

a first bending actuation wire that is arranged to pass through the steerable member to cause the steerable member to bend in a first direction;

a second bending actuation wire that is arranged to pass through the steerable member to cause the steerable member to bend in a second direction which is opposite to the first direction; and

at least one screw member to which the proximal end of the first bending actuation wire and the proximal end of the second bending actuation wire are coupled,

such that the steerable member bends in the first or second direction by rotating the at least one screw member.

17. The surgical apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one screw member comprises: a first lead screw with a first thread; and

a second lead screw with a second thread, wherein the first lead screw and the second lead screw are configured to move in sync with each other by at least a gear and rotate simultaneously by a single driving part.

18. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable; and

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through lumens in the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend,

wherein the steerable member has a geometric shape configured such that the steerable member bends more easily closer to its distal end.

19. The surgical apparatus of claim 18, wherein the steerable member comprises a plurality of connecting parts located between the bending segments, wherein the bending segments and/or the connecting parts have a geometric shape configured such that the steerable member bends more easily closer to its distal end.

20. The surgical apparatus of claim 18, wherein the bending segments have lumens formed at a distance from the center of a cross-section of the steerable member, through which the bending actuation wires pass, and the closer to the distal end of the steerable member, the more distant the lumens in the bending segments get from the center of the cross-section of the steerable member.

21. The surgical apparatus of claim 19, wherein the connecting parts are configured to have a smaller sectional width toward the distal end of the steerable member so that the corresponding parts of the steerable member bend more easily.

22. The surgical apparatus of claim 19, wherein the connecting parts are configured to grow longer along the length toward the distal end of the steerable member so that the corresponding parts of the steerable member bend more easily.

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23. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments with channels therein;

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend; and

a lateral supporting member that comprises an elastic material and exerts a restoration force for returning the steerable member to the initial position after bending.

24. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments, wherein each bending segment includes at least an intermediate joint having a first link portion and a second link portion and wherein the intermediate joint is arranged along a longitudinal axis direction of each bending segment;

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member for causing the steerable member to bend;

wherein the steerable member further comprises at least one lumen through which the bending actuation wires pass; and

the intermediate joint further comprises a tension-regulating member which is coupled to the first link portion and the second link portion and is configured to regulate the tension of bending actuation wires by compensating the elongation of the bending actuation wires when bending segments bend, whereby the length of bending actuation wires is altered and kept in a predetermined tension.

25. The surgical apparatus of claim 24, wherein the tension-regulating member comprises two off-axis hinges coupled to each other, each off-axis hinge extending across the first link portion and the second link portion in a direction parallel to a central, longitudinal axis of the intermediate joint and further comprising:

a first interfacing half coupled to the first link portion; and

a second interfacing half coupled to the second link portion,

wherein the first interfacing half and the second interfacing half pivot with respect to each other to form a pivot point that is offset from the central, longitudinal axis of the intermediate joint, so that the intermediate joint is allowed to bend about a single axis through the pivot point.

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26. A surgical apparatus, comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments and a plurality of lumens;

a bending actuation member, comprising a first bending actuation wire and a second bending actuation wire that are arranged to pass through each lumen separately and cause the steerable member to bend;

a tension monitoring member, comprising:

a first sensor that is coupled to the first bending actuation wire and configured to provide a first feedback signal responsive to sensing change in tension force of the first bending actuation wire between the pre-bending and the desired bending motion of the steerable member;

a second sensor that is coupled to the second bending actuation wire and configured to provide a second feedback signal responsive to sensing change in tension force of the second bending actuation wire between the pre-bending and the desired bending motion of the steerable member;

a drive member, comprising:

a first motor, coupled to the first bending actuation wire and adapted to actuate the first bending actuation wire;

a second motor coupled to the second bending actuation wire and adapted to actuate the second bending actuation wire;

a control member that is electrically connected to the tension monitoring member and the drive member, wherein the control member is configured to provide:

a first output signal responsive to the first feedback signal, so that the first motor is driven to adjust the length of the first bending actuation wire to maintain a predetermined tension; and

a second output signal responsive to the second feedback signal, so that the second motor is driven to adjust the length of the second bending actuation wire to maintain a predetermined tension.

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27. The surgical apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising:

a communication member that is configured to transmit the instruction signal; and a surgeon station that is configured to display an information which represents resistance force or vibration in response to the instruction signal, wherein the surgeon station further comprises a user's interface that is configured to show the information in the form of graphical information or acoustic information.

28. The surgical apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the drive member further comprises:

a first motion transmitting unit connected with the first bending actuation wire, wherein the first motion transmitting unit is configured to transmit a power provided from the first motor to the first bending actuation wire; and

a second motion transmitting unit connected with the second bending actuation wire and the second motor, wherein the second motion transmitting unit is configured to transmit a power provided from the second motor to the second bending actuation wire.

29. A personalized master controller for a surgical apparatus, comprising:

a control platform that is configured to define and input one or more movement signals to the surgical robot, wherein the control platform comprises:

an input handle that is translatable in a first plurality of degrees of freedom to provide a plurality of position parameters and/or rotatable in a second plurality of degrees of freedom to provide a plurality of orientation parameters;

a plurality of first sensors that are coupled to the input handle and configured to generate first movement signals in response to the position parameters and/or the orientation parameters of the input handle;

a connecting part mounted to the input handle and electrically connected to the input handle; and

an interchangeable grip, comprising:

a detachable handle that is electrically connected the connecting part; one or more grip levers pivoted with respect to the detachable handle, wherein each grip lever is moveable in a third degree of freedom relative to the detachable handle so as to provide a gripping motion parameter; and

54 a second sensor that is coupled to the detachable handle and configured to generate a second movement signal to the control platform in response to the gripping motion parameter.

30. The personalized master controller according to claim 29, wherein the first plurality of degrees of freedom comprises no more than three translational degrees of freedom and the second plurality of degrees of freedom comprises no more than three rotational degrees of freedom.

31. A surgical apparatus comprising:

a steerable member that is bendable and comprises a plurality of bending segments with channels therein and a plurality of connecting segments located between the bending segments; and

a plurality of bending actuation wires that are arranged to pass through the steerable member and cause the steerable member to bend,

wherein two ends of each connecting segment are hinged to different bending segments.

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