Systems and methods for robotic bronchoscopy

1 . A robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus to be inserted into a subject comprising:

a disposable flexible elongate member comprising:

a proximal end and a distal end, wherein the proximal end is removably attached to a robotic arm via a handle, wherein the distal end is integrated with an imaging device, a position sensor and an illumination device;

and a flexible bending section that is articulated by one or more pull wires,

wherein the handle is configured to removably couple to an instrument driving mechanism attached to the robotic arm, and

wherein at least a portion of the disposable flexible elongate member is prevented from buckling by an anti-buckling device, wherein a distal end of the anti-buckling device is configured to travel along a linear trajectory prior to inserting the disposable flexible elongate member into the subject, wherein an alignment feature is configured to align the anti-buckling device in a collapse state to a connector that is not located on the subject thereby ensuring the linear trajectory, and

wherein upon alignment, the anti-buckling device is extended such that the distal end of the anti-buckling device travels along the linear trajectory until it is connected to the connector.

2 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the distal end of the disposable elongate member comprises a structure to receive the imaging device, the position sensor, and the illumination device.

3 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the imaging device, the position sensor, and the illumination device are arranged into a compact configuration.

4 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle includes one or more components configured to process image data, provide power to the imaging device, the position sensor and the illumination device, or establish communication with an external device.

5 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises an interface configured to couple the handle to the instrument driving mechanism.

6 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the interface includes an electrical interface and a mechanical interface and wherein the mechanical interface is configured to releasably couple the handle to the instrument driving mechanism.

7 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the alignment feature is configured to assist in creating the alignment between the instrument driving mechanism and the connector at the target site prior to connecting the anti-buckling mechanism to the instrument driving mechanism.

8 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the alignment feature includes a magnetic component, a laser or a click button.

9 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the anti-buckling mechanism comprises a series of connected cylinders each including a lip structure.

10 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the lip structure of each cylinder has a hole with same diameter.

11 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein both the handle and the disposable elongate member are single-use.

12 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the one or more pull wires are individually attached to the bending section according to a selected configuration pattern.

13 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 12 , wherein a control of the articulation of the robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus is updated based at least in part on a mapping relationship between the selected configuration pattern and an updated configuration pattern upon a change of state of the one or more pull wires.

14 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the alignment feature comprises a mechanical alignment feature.

15 . The robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 14 , wherein at least part of the mechanical alignment feature is located on the connector.

16 . A robotic endoscopic system comprising the robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus of claim 1 and a user control interface device configured for a user to control a movement of the robotic flexible endoscopic apparatus.

17 . The robotic endoscopic system of claim 16 , wherein the user control interface device is personalized with aid of a machine learning algorithm trained model that is trained based on past user behavior.

18 . The robotic endoscopic system of claim 16 , further comprising a display interface configured to display image data captured by the imaging device overlaid with virtual renderings of one or more anatomical structures.

19 . The robotic endoscopic system of claim 18 , wherein a display of the virtual renderings of the one or more anatomical structures is selectively enabled or disabled by the user via the display interface.