US Patent 11006975 Steerable extendable devices

The present invention is a Distally Assembled Steerable Cannula (DASC), a robotically-manipulated device that can be deployed and extended within a patient's body by growing from its distal end, or can be used in non-medical applications. In some embodiments, growth occurs by sequentially assembling segments that interlock to form a rigid tube with a complex 3-D shape. The segments are individually transported through the growing cannula, and then assembled at the distal end. A segment can be wedge-shaped in profile, allowing adjustment of the local radius and plane of curvature of the cannula to be controlled by relative segment orientation.