Abstract: Apparatus for performing a minimally-invasive procedure, the apparatus comprising: a tool comprising: a shaft having a distal end and a proximal end; a handle attached to the proximal end of the shaft; and an end effector attached to the distal end of the shaft; wherein the shaft comprises a flexible portion extending distally from the proximal end of the shaft, and an articulating portion extending proximally from the distal end of the shaft, and wherein the articulating portion comprises a flexible spine; wherein a plurality of articulation cables extend through the shaft from the handle to the flexible spine, such that when tension is applied to at least one of the plurality of articulation cables, the flexible spine bends; wherein a rotatable element extends through the shaft from the handle to the end effector, such that when the rotatable element is rotated, the end effector rotates; and wherein an actuation element extends through the shaft from the handle to the end effector, such that when the actuat

Abstract: Apparatus for performing a minimally-invasive procedure, the apparatus comprising: a tool comprising: a shaft having a distal end and a proximal end; a handle attached to the proximal end of the shaft; and an end effector attached to the distal end of the shaft; wherein the shaft comprises a flexible portion extending distally from the proximal end of the shaft, and an articulating portion extending proximally from the distal end of the shaft, and wherein the articulating portion comprises a flexible spine; wherein a plurality of articulation cables extend through the shaft from the handle to the flexible spine, such that when tension is applied to at least one of the plurality of articulation cables, the flexible spine bends; wherein a rotatable element extends through the shaft from the handle to the end effector, such that when the rotatable element is rotated, the end effector rotates; and wherein an actuation element extends through the shaft from the handle to the end effector, such that when the actuat

Abstract: Apparatus comprising a sleeve adapted to be slid over the exterior of an endoscope, the sleeve having a distal end and a proximal end; an aft balloon secured to the sleeve; a fore balloon movably mounted to the sleeve so that the fore balloon may be advanced relative to the sleeve; and a locking assembly for releasably securing the distal end of the sleeve to the endoscope.

Abstract: Apparatus comprising: a sleeve adapted to be slid over the exterior of an endoscope; an aft balloon secured to the sleeve; an inflation/deflation tube carried by the sleeve and in fluid communication with the interior of the aft balloon; a pair of hollow push tubes slidably mounted to the sleeve, the pair of hollow push tubes being connected to one another at their distal ends with a raised push tube bridge, the raised push tube bridge being configured to nest an endoscope therein; and a fore balloon secured to the distal ends of the pair of hollow push tubes, the interior of the fore balloon being in fluid communication with the interiors of the pair of hollow push tubes, wherein the fore balloon is capable of assuming a deflated condition and an inflated condition, and further wherein (i) when the fore balloon is in its deflated condition, an axial opening extends therethrough, the axial opening being sized to receive the endoscope therein, and (ii) when the fore balloon is in its inflated condition, the ax