JP2003180617A - System for fluoroscopic diagnosis - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for fluoroscopic diagnosis which can irradiate excited light having enough intensity for spectrophotometry to a sample. <P>SOLUTION: The system for fluoroscopic diagnosis is provided with an endoscope 1, a device 2 for illumination light source, a device 3 for excited light source, an optical path switch 4, a television camera 5, and a system 6 for spectrophotometry. The endoscope 1 is provided with a light guide 14 for guiding illumination light, an image guide 15 for transmitting the image of the sample, and a forceps channel 13 in which a probe 31 for illumination from the device 3 for excited light source is drawn and passed. The optical path switch 4 slidably holds a right-angle prism having an inclined plane which is a mirror finished surface, in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis of an ocular 16. The prism 42 reflects transmissive light toward the tip of a light guide probe 61 extended from a spectrometer 62 when the prism 42 is fitted into the optical path of the transmissive light of the ocular 16. When the prism 42 is retreated from the optical path of the transmissive light of the ocular 16, the image of the sample is picked up with a television camera 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluorescence diagnostic system that obtains diagnostic information by an operator based on autofluorescence emitted from a living body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known that when a living tissue is irradiated with light of a specific wavelength, the living tissue is excited to emit fluorescence (generally called autofluorescence). It is also well known that the autofluorescence emitted from a living tissue having a lesion such as a tumor or cancer has a property different from that of a normal living tissue.

The specific description of this property is as follows. That is, the intensity of the green band in the autofluorescence from the diseased tissue is smaller than that from the normal tissue, but the intensity of the red band in the autofluorescence from the diseased tissue is similar to that from the normal tissue. Therefore, the ratio of the intensity of the green band and the intensity of the red band of autofluorescence from the diseased tissue is smaller than that of normal tissue.

Based on such knowledge, a fluorescence diagnostic system has been developed which obtains the ratio of the intensity of the autofluorescence in the green band to the intensity of the red band as useful information for diagnosis.

In one of the fluorescence diagnostic systems,
There is one that utilizes a conventional endoscope apparatus. This type of fluorescence diagnostic system is configured so that a filter that transmits only ultraviolet light can be selectively inserted into the optical path of the illumination light, so that only ultraviolet light is emitted from the tip of the endoscope into the body cavity. You can do it. In addition, a measurement probe (optical fiber) extending from the spectroscope is drawn through the forceps channel of the endoscope, and the autofluorescence emitted from the wall of the body cavity is guided by the measurement probe and the autofluorescence is emitted by the spectroscope. The spectrum of can be detected.
Further, the spectroscope is connected to a computer, and the computer calculates the ratio between the intensity of the green band and the intensity of the red band of the autofluorescence based on the spectral distribution of the autofluorescence detected by the spectroscope, and The calculation processing is performed and the calculation result is displayed on the screen as a chart or a graph. Because the fluorescence diagnostic system is configured in this way,
An operator can obtain useful information for fluorescence diagnosis from a computer, and can diagnose whether the body cavity wall (subject) is diseased tissue or normal tissue.

[0006]

However, in the conventional endoscope apparatus, normal observation is possible if the white light in the visible region can be radiated to the wall of the body cavity, and if the living tissue is constantly radiated with ultraviolet light, A light source that emits almost no light having a wavelength in the ultraviolet region is used because the tissue may be destroyed. However, the material of the light guide that guides the light to the tip of the endoscope has a property of not transmitting ultraviolet light on the short wavelength side, particularly ultraviolet light in the region around 365 nm that emits autofluorescence most strongly. have. Therefore, there is a problem that the intensity of the ultraviolet light applied to the subject cannot be obtained satisfactorily. Since the intensity of the autofluorescence is proportional to that of the ultraviolet light, if the ultraviolet light with which the subject is irradiated is weak, the autofluorescence, which originally has a low intensity ratio to the ultraviolet light, becomes even weaker. As a result, autofluorescence cannot be detected by the spectroscope.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. The problem is that the excitation of sufficient intensity is achieved despite the use of the endoscope having the conventional configuration. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fluorescence diagnostic system capable of irradiating an object with light and, as a result, acquiring autofluorescence of sufficient intensity to be detected by a spectroscope.

[0008]

The fluorescence diagnostic system of the present invention, which is configured to solve the above-mentioned problems, includes a tube through which various kinds of inserters are inserted according to the treatment to be performed on the subject.
An endoscope having a built-in light guide for guiding illumination light for illuminating the subject, and an objective optical system for forming an image of the subject having an insertion portion incorporated in the vicinity of its tip; Excitation light source that emits excitation light for exciting autofluorescence by exciting the, and having a thickness smaller than the inner diameter of the tube, when inserted into the tube, from the excitation light source The irradiation probe that irradiates the subject with excitation light and the light that has passed through the objective optical system is the first or the second.
Switching means for switching so as to face the direction, imaging means arranged on the optical path of the light directed in the first direction by the switching means, and for imaging the image formed by the objective optical system, A spectroscope arranged on the optical path of the light directed in the second direction by the switching means and detecting the intensities of several wavelengths of the light transmitted through the objective optical system. .

With this structure, the excitation light is applied to the subject facing the tip of the endoscope by the irradiation probe inserted through the tube of the endoscope. Therefore, it is not necessary to guide the excitation light by the light guide of the endoscope. For this reason,
The subject can be irradiated with excitation light of sufficient intensity for spectroscopic measurement. This irradiation probe may have an excitation light source at its tip or may be a fiber probe having an excitation light source connected at its base. In the latter case, the irradiation probe is preferably composed of a material that most easily transmits the excitation light.

In the fluorescence diagnostic system of the present invention,
Although the operator can also directly calculate the intensity of each wavelength obtained from the spectroscope to obtain information useful for diagnosis, the fluorescence diagnostic system of the present invention can detect the intensity of each wavelength detected by the spectroscope. A diagnostic information generation unit that calculates a value and generates information useful for diagnosis may be further provided. The diagnostic information generation means may be a computer that stores a predetermined arithmetic processing program in an executable manner.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A fluorescence diagnostic system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the fluorescence diagnostic system according to this embodiment. This fluorescence diagnostic system includes an endoscope 1, an illumination light source device 2, an excitation light source device 3, an optical path switching device 4, a television camera 5, a monitor M, and a spectroscopic measurement system 6.

<Endoscope> First, the endoscope 1 will be described. The endoscope 1 has a flexible tubular insertion portion that is inserted into a living body. However, the detailed shape of this endoscope is not shown in FIG. A bending portion is incorporated at the tip of the insertion portion, and a tip portion made of a hard member is fixed to the tip of the bending portion. Further, the operation portion is connected to the base end of the insertion portion. The operation section is provided with a dial and various operation switches for bending the bending section.

At the tip of the endoscope 1, at least 3
One through hole is bored, and the light distribution lens 11 and the objective lens 12 are respectively fitted into the pair of through holes. The other one through hole is used as the forceps port 13a. Further, a tube connecting the forceps opening 13a and the forceps opening 13b formed in the operation portion is drawn through the endoscope 1, and both forceps openings 13a, 1 are provided through this tube.
The tube formed between 3b functions as a forceps channel 13 for inserting a treatment tool such as an electric knife.

Further, the endoscope 1 has a light guide 14 and an image guide 15. Both of these guides 14 and 15 are flexible fiber bundles in which a large number of optical fibers are bundled. The light guide 14 is drawn through the inside of the endoscope 1 with its tip end surface facing the light distribution lens 11. In addition, the base end is drawn through the inside of the light guide flexible tube extending from the side surface of the operation portion, and is fixed to the tip of a connector (not shown) provided at the tip of the light guide flexible tube. Then, when the connector (not shown) is connected to the illumination light source device 2, the base end face of the light guide 14 enters the illumination light source device 2.

The image guide 15 is drawn through the endoscope 1 with its front end face facing the objective lens 12, and its base end is fixed in the operating portion. The distal end surface of the image guide 15 is disposed near the position where the objective lens 12 forms an image of the subject when the distal end portion of the endoscope 1 is disposed to face the subject. Then, the image guide 15 transmits the subject image by the objective lens 12 to the base end surface.

Further, the endoscope 1 includes an eyepiece lens 16,
Have The eyepiece lens 16 is arranged in the vicinity of the end portion of the operation portion on the side opposite to the side where the insertion portion is connected, and faces the base end surface of the image guide 15. The eyepiece lens 16 magnifies the image of the subject transmitted to the base end surface of the image guide 15.

The objective lens 12 and the image guide 1
5, and the eyepiece lens 16 correspond to an objective optical system.

<Illumination Light Source Device> Next, the illumination light source device 2 will be described. The illumination light source device 2 includes a white light source 21 and a condenser lens 22. The white light source 21 emits white light as parallel light. Condensing lens 2
2 is arranged on the optical path of the white light emitted by the white light source 21. Further, the condensing lens 22 is a white light emitted from the white light source 21 when a connector (not shown) provided at the tip of the flexible tube of the light guide is connected to a connector receiver (not shown) of the device 2. The light guide 14
Converge on the proximal end face of. Then, the white light that has entered the proximal end surface of the light guide 14 is guided through the endoscope 1 by the light guide 14 and diffused by the light distribution lens 11.
The subject facing the tip of the endoscope 1 is illuminated.

<Excitation Light Source Device> Next, the excitation light source device 3 will be described. The excitation light source device 3 includes an irradiation probe 31, an ultraviolet light source 32, and a condenser lens 33.
Is equipped with. The irradiation probe 31 is a flexible optical fiber having a large number or a single unit capable of transmitting ultraviolet light. In addition,
The irradiation probe 31 is preferably made of quartz glass or plastic. The tip of the irradiation probe 31 has a length that allows it to be drawn into the forceps channel 13 from the forceps port 13b of the operation portion of the endoscope 1 and further protrude from the forceps port 13a at the tip of the endoscope 1. ing. Moreover, the base end is inserted and fixed in the excitation light source device 3. The base end of the irradiation probe 31 may be removably attached to the housing of the excitation light source device 3 via a connector (not shown), like the base end of the light guide 14.

The ultraviolet light source 32 emits an ultraviolet light of 365 nm, which is one of the bright lines emitted by the mercury lamp, as parallel light. The condenser lens 33 is arranged on the optical path of the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source 32, and focuses the ultraviolet light on the base end surface of the irradiation probe 31. Then, the ultraviolet light incident on the base end surface of the irradiation probe 31 is
The irradiation probe 31 guides the inside of the endoscope 1, emits from the tip of the irradiation probe 31, and irradiates a subject facing the tip of the endoscope 1.

<Optical Path Switch> Next, the optical path switch 4 will be described. The optical path switching device 4 includes a prism 42, a prism frame 43, a switching lever 44,
And a condenser lens 45.

The casing 41 is detachably attached to the end portion of the operation portion of the endoscope 1 in which the eyepiece lens 16 is incorporated. A television camera 5 is detachably attached to the side surface opposite to the side on which the endoscope 1 is attached. Then, when the housing 41 is mounted on the operation portion of the endoscope 1 and the television camera 5 is mounted on the housing 41, the eyepiece 16 moves to the 0 diopter position and the eyepiece 16 The taking lens (not shown) of the television camera 5 is coaxially arranged, and the image of the subject transmitted from the front end face to the base end face of the image guide 15 is
The television camera 5 is relayed to the image pickup surface of the image pickup device (not shown). The image of the subject formed on the image pickup surface is picked up by the image pickup element and converted into a video signal, and the video signal is output to the monitor M. The TV camera 5
It corresponds to an imaging means.

The prism 42 is a right-angled prism, and its slope is coated so as to be a mirror surface.
The prism 42 is fixed in the prism frame 43 in a state where the inclined surface is inclined by 45 ° with respect to the optical axis of the eyepiece lens 16.

The prism frame 43 is held so as to be slidable only in the direction orthogonal to the optical axis of the eyepiece lens 16. In addition, in this prism frame 43, a columnar switching lever 44 is formed so as to project from one of the side surfaces perpendicular to the sliding direction, and the tip of the switching lever 44 projects through the outside of the housing 41. There is.

Then, when the switching lever 44 is pulled out to the outermost side (upward in FIG. 1) by the operator who picks up the portion protruding from the housing 41, the prism 4 on the prism frame 43 is pulled out.
2 is retracted from the optical path of the transmitted light of the eyepiece lens 16. In this state, the light diffused from the base end surface of the image guide 15 and converted into parallel light by the eyepiece lens 16 enters the television camera 5. On the contrary, when the operator pushes the switching lever 44 to the innermost position, the prism 42 on the prism frame 43 is inserted into the optical path of the parallel light from the eyepiece lens 16, and the parallel light is inclined at a right angle by the inclined surface of the prism 42. Is reflected. In this way, the condenser lens 45 is arranged on the optical path of the parallel light reflected by the prism 42. The condenser lens 45 converges the parallel light reflected by the prism 42. The prism 42, the prism frame 43, and the switching lever 44 correspond to switching means.

Further, a tip of a light guide probe 61, which will be described later, extending from a spectrometer 62, which will be described later, of the spectroscopic measurement system 6 is detachably attached to the optical path switching device 4.
When the light guide probe 61 is attached to this optical path switching device 4,
The tip of the light guide probe 61 faces the condenser lens 45, and the tip surface thereof is arranged at the convergence point of the condenser lens 45.

<Spectroscopic Measurement System> Next, the spectroscopic measurement system 6 will be described. This spectroscopic measurement system 6
The light guide probe 61, the spectroscope 62, the computer 63, and the monitor 64 are provided.

The light guide probe 61 is a flexible optical fiber, which has a large number or a single unit, capable of transmitting ultraviolet light. As described above, the tip of the light guide probe 61 is detachably attached to the optical path switching device 4, and in the attached state, the light converged by the condenser lens 45 is introduced to the tip surface thereof. .
Moreover, the base end is inserted and fixed in the spectroscope 62.

Since the spectroscope 62 is generally used, its detailed description will be omitted. The outline is that the intensity of several wavelengths of the light detected by the optical sensor is measured and the measurement result is shown. It is a device for converting into electronic data. The spectroscope 62 is connected to a computer 63 and outputs its electronic data to the computer 63.

The computer 63 is generally commercially available and has a CPU, a RAM, a storage device and the like. The computer 63 stores the electronic data output from the spectroscope 62 in a storage device and performs arithmetic processing based on the electronic data according to a predetermined processing program. Then, the computer 63 generates screen data of a screen showing a chart, graph or the like that can be used as information useful for diagnosis based on the calculation result. The generated screen data is output to the monitor 64, and the screen based on the screen data is displayed on the monitor 64. In addition,
The computer 63 corresponds to diagnostic information generating means.

<Operation of Embodiment> In the fluorescence diagnostic system having the above-described configuration, when white light is emitted from the white light source 21, the white light is guided by the light guide 14 to the tip of the endoscope 1. Illuminate the facing subject. The image of the subject formed by the objective lens 12 is transmitted by the image guide 15 and enlarged by the eyepiece lens 16. At this time, when the switching lever 44 is operated and the prism 42 is retracted from between the eyepiece lens 16 and the television camera 5, the subject image transmitted to the proximal end surface of the image guide 15 is the eyepiece lens 16 and The image is relayed by the photographing lens in the television camera 5, photographed by the image sensor, and displayed on the monitor M.

The operator observes the image of the subject displayed on the monitor M in this way, and if there is a portion that seems to be an abnormal portion in the subject, the operator of the operation section of the endoscope 1 A handle (not shown) is operated to bring the tip of the endoscope 1 closer to the position. Then, the operator inserts the irradiation probe 31 into the forceps channel 13, turns off the white light source 21 and turns on the ultraviolet light source 32, and pushes the switching lever 44 deeply.

Then, the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light source 32 is guided by the irradiation probe 31 and applied to the subject facing the tip of the endoscope 1. The subject irradiated with the ultraviolet light is excited to emit autofluorescence, and a part of the autofluorescence enters the objective lens 12 and the image guide 1
5 and the eyepiece lens 16 in order, and after being reflected by the inclined surface of the prism 42, they are converged by the condenser lens 45 and enter the tip surface of the light guide probe 61. Then, the fluorescence guided by the light guide probe 61 is spectroscopically measured by the spectroscope 62 and converted into electronic data. After that, the electronic data is arithmetically processed according to a predetermined program in the computer 63, and the arithmetic result is displayed on the monitor M as a chart or a graph on the screen.

Based on the image thus displayed on the monitor M, the operator can diagnose whether the part facing the tip of the endoscope 1 is an abnormal part or a normal part. You can

<Summary> As described above, this fluorescence diagnostic system does not guide the ultraviolet light to the light guide 14 for the illumination light, but guides the ultraviolet light by the irradiation probe 31 that is passed through the forceps channel 13. It is shining. Therefore, if the irradiation probe 31 made of a material that most easily transmits ultraviolet light, especially a material that most easily transmits ultraviolet light of 365 nm that strongly emits autofluorescence, is prepared, the endoscope 1 having the conventional configuration will be described.
Despite the use of, the subject can be irradiated with excitation light of sufficient intensity for spectroscopic measurement.

Further, the operator turns on the light source of the light used for observation and operates the switching lever 44 to display either the image for normal observation or the calculation result obtained from the spectroscopic measurement result. It can be displayed on the monitor M or the monitor 64.

[0037]

As described above, according to the fluorescence diagnostic system of the present invention, even when the endoscope having the conventional structure is used, the excitation light of sufficient intensity for spectroscopic measurement is received. The specimen can be irradiated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram schematically showing a fluorescence diagnostic system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 endoscope 11 Light distribution lens 12 Objective lens 13 forceps channel 14 Light guide 15 Image guide 16 eyepiece 2 Illumination light source device 21 White light source 3 Excitation light source device 31 Irradiation probe 32 UV light source 4 Optical path switch 42 prism 43 Prism frame 44 Switch lever 45 condensing lens 5 TV camera 6 Spectroscopic measurement system 61 Light guide probe 62 spectroscope 63 computer 64 monitors

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G02B 23/26 G02B 23/26 BF term (reference) 2G043 AA03 BA16 CA09 EA01 FA01 FA05 GA01 GB01 GB02 GB18 GB21 HA01 HA05 JA01 KA02 KA03 KA05 LA03 NA01 2H040 BA10 CA02 CA11 CA13 CA21 CA27 CA29 DA12 GA01 GA11 4C061 CC07 DD03 FF46 FF47 GG01 HH51 LL03 NN01 QQ04 QQ09 VV04 WW15

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tube in which various kinds of inserters are inserted according to a treatment to be performed on a subject, and a light guide for guiding illumination light for illuminating the subject are built-in and the An endoscope having an insertion section in which an objective optical system for forming an image is incorporated in the vicinity of its tip, an excitation light source for emitting excitation light for exciting a living body to emit autofluorescence, and an inner diameter of the tube. Also has a small diameter, and when it is inserted into the tube, an irradiation probe that irradiates the subject with the excitation light from the excitation light source, and the light transmitted through the objective optical system is the first or Switching means for switching so as to face the second direction, and image pickup means arranged on the optical path of light directed in the first direction by the switching means and for picking up an image formed by the objective optical system. , In the second direction by the switching means Is disposed on the optical path of the light, the fluorescence diagnostic system characterized in that it comprises a spectroscope for detecting the number of intensity of the wavelength of the light transmitted through the objective optical system. 2. The fluorescence diagnosis according to claim 1, further comprising diagnostic information generating means for calculating an intensity value of each wavelength detected by the spectroscope to generate information useful for diagnosis. System.