JP2008023102A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope which keeps an opening of a conduit for supplying liquid to a balloon arranged on the peripheral surface of a distal part of an insertion section, and with which downsizing of the distal part of the insertion section can be realized, and damages to a content can be prevented. <P>SOLUTION: The endoscope 10 comprises the insertion section 12, an observation optical system 52 arranged on the distal part 44 of the insertion section 12, its conduits (a tube 70, a pipe 69 and a pore 68) for supplying liquid to the balloon 60 arranged on the peripheral surface of the insertion section 12, and the opening 64 of the conduits arranged on the peripheral surface of the distal part 44 of the insertion section 12. When an orthogonal section of the distal part 44 with respect to a central axis C is divided at a line (M1-M1) passing through the central axis C, the opening 64 is located on a region opposite to a region where the observation optical system 52 is arranged. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope, and more particularly to an endoscope in which an insertion portion is inserted into a deep digestive tract such as a small intestine or a large intestine for observation.

  When inserting the insertion part of the endoscope into the deep digestive tract such as the small intestine, simply pushing the insertion part makes it difficult for force to be transmitted to the distal end of the insertion part due to the complicated bending of the intestinal tract. Have difficulty. For example, if excessive bending or bending occurs in the insertion portion, the insertion portion cannot be inserted further deeper. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which an insertion aid is put on the insertion portion of the endoscope and inserted into the body cavity, and the insertion portion is guided by this insertion aid to prevent excessive bending or bending of the insertion portion. Yes.

Patent Document 1 discloses an endoscope apparatus in which a first balloon is provided at a distal end portion of an insertion portion of an endoscope and a second balloon is provided at a distal end portion of an insertion assisting tool (also referred to as an overtube or a sliding tube). Are listed. By inflating the first balloon and the second balloon, the insertion portion and the insertion aid can be fixed in the intestinal tract such as the small intestine. Accordingly, by alternately inserting the insertion portion and the insertion assisting tool while repeatedly expanding and contracting the first balloon and the second balloon, the insertion portion can be inserted into a deep portion of the intestinal tract that is bent in a complicated manner, such as the small intestine. .
JP 2005-334475 A

  By the way, in the endoscope of Patent Document 1, an air supply conduit for supplying and sucking air to the balloon is opened on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion (also referred to as a distal end rigid portion or a distal end configuration portion) of the insertion portion.

  The distal end of the insertion part is usually an observation optical system, a CCD disposed behind the observation optical system, an air / water supply nozzle for injecting water or air to the observation window of the observation optical system, an irradiation window for irradiating the observation range, Furthermore, a forceps hole (which may also serve as a suction channel) for inserting an endoscope treatment tool is provided.

  For this reason, the filling portion has a high filling density at the distal end portion of the insertion portion, and if the conduit communicating with the balloon is opened at the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, the distal end portion becomes large. Arise. Further, since the filling density is further increased by the pipe line, there is a possibility that the signal cable connected to the CCD and the light guide connected to the irradiation window are pressed by the pipe line and disconnected. Therefore, in the case where the opening of the pipe line communicating with the balloon is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, the arrangement becomes very important. However, Patent Document 1 describes the arrangement of the opening of the pipe line. There is no detailed description.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in an endoscope in which an opening of a conduit for supplying a fluid to a balloon is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, the distal end portion of the insertion portion is reduced in size. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope that can be reduced and can prevent damage to contents.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is attached to an insertion portion to be inserted into the body, an observation optical system provided at a distal end portion of the insertion portion, and an outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion. In an endoscope provided with a conduit in the insertion portion for supplying fluid to the balloon and an opening in the conduit disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the insertion portion, the endoscope is orthogonal to the central axis of the distal end portion. When the inside of the cross section of the tip is divided by a line passing through the central axis, the opening of the duct is arranged in a region opposite to the region where the observation optical system is arranged.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the opening of the duct is provided in the opposite region of the observation optical system. The area on the opposite side of the observation optical system has a smaller filling rate than the area on the observation optical system side. Therefore, by arranging the opening of the duct in the region opposite to the observation optical system, a space with a small filling rate can be used effectively, and the distal end portion of the insertion portion can be reduced.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cable connected to the observation optical system is arranged away from the pipe by arranging the opening of the pipe in the region opposite to the observation optical system. Therefore, it is possible to prevent interference between the pipe and the cable, and it is possible to prevent the cable from being pressed by the pipe and being disconnected.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the insertion portion is provided with a bending portion to be bent, and a push-pull operation is performed inside the insertion portion to bend the bending portion. The plurality of operation wires are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the insertion portion, and the opening of the conduit is arranged at a substantially intermediate position of the extension of the operation wire. .

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the opening of the pipe line is disposed at a substantially intermediate position of the extension of the operation wire, the pipe line and the operation wire can be prevented from interfering with each other. Therefore, the pipeline can be prevented from being crushed by the operation wire, and the fluid can be reliably supplied to the balloon.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, an illumination optical system is disposed in a region where the observation optical system is disposed. According to the invention of claim 3, since the illumination optical system is arranged in the region on the observation optical system side, the light guide connected to the illumination optical system and the pipe line are arranged apart from each other. Therefore, according to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to prevent the light guide from being pressed by the pipe line and being disconnected.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the air supply / water supply channel for supplying air and / or water to the nozzle at the distal end of the insertion portion. And a forceps channel through which the endoscope treatment tool is inserted, and the duct is disposed between the air / water supply channel and the forceps channel. According to the invention of claim 4, since the pipe is disposed between the forceps channel and the air / water supply channel, it is more reliable that the cable connected to the observation optical system is pressed by the pipe and disconnected. Can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, the opening of the duct is disposed in the region opposite to the observation optical system, which is a region with a low filling rate, so that the space can be used effectively and the distal end of the insertion portion is made small. be able to.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an endoscope according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of an endoscope apparatus to which an endoscope according to the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope apparatus mainly includes an endoscope 10 and a balloon control device 100.

  The endoscope 10 includes a hand operation unit 14 and an insertion unit 12 connected to the hand operation unit 14 and inserted into the body. A universal cable 16 is connected to the hand operation unit 14, and an LG connector 18 is provided at the tip of the universal cable 16. The LG connector 18 is detachably connected to the light source device 20, whereby illumination light is sent to an illumination optical system (not shown) provided at the distal end of the insertion portion 12. In addition, an electrical connector 24 is connected to the LG connector 18 via a cable 22, and the electrical connector 24 is detachably coupled to the processor 26.

  The hand operating unit 14 is provided with an air / water supply button 28, a suction button 30, a shutter button 32, and a function switching button 34, and a pair of angle knobs 36 and 36. A balloon air supply port 38 is formed at the proximal end portion of the hand operation unit 14 by a tube bent in an L shape. By supplying or sucking fluid such as air to the balloon air supply port 38, a balloon 60 described later can be inflated or deflated.

  The insertion portion 12 includes a flexible portion 40, a bending portion 42, and a distal end portion 44 in order from the hand operating portion 14 side. The soft portion 40 is a portion having sufficient flexibility, and is continuously provided on the proximal end side of the bending portion 42.

  The bending portion 42 is configured to be bent remotely by rotating the angle knobs 36, 36 of the hand operating portion 14. For example, the bending portion 42 rotatably connects a plurality of cylindrical node rings 78 (see FIG. 3) with a guide pin 79 (see FIG. 3), and a plurality of operation wires 71 inside the node ring 78. , 71... (See FIG. 3) are inserted and guided by the guide pin 79, and the operation wire 71 is pushed and pulled to rotate the node rings 78 and 78 to bend the bending portion 42. It is like that. By bending the bending portion 42, the distal end portion 44 can be directed in a desired direction.

  The distal end portion 44 is a hard portion formed at the distal end portion of the insertion portion 12, and as shown in FIG. 3, a substantially cylindrical distal end portion main body 65, a sleeve 66 externally fitted to the distal end portion main body 65, and a distal end It is comprised with the cap 67 with which the front end side of the part main body 65 is mounted | worn. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 44 is provided with an observation optical system 52, illumination optical systems 54 and 54, an air / water supply nozzle 56, and a forceps port 58 on the distal end surface 45.

  A CCD 74 shown in FIG. 3 is disposed behind the observation optical system 52, and a signal cable 76 is connected to a substrate 75 that supports the CCD 74. The signal cable 76 is inserted into the insertion section 12, the hand operating section 14, the universal cable 16, and the like of FIG. 1, extends to the electrical connector 24, and is connected to the processor 26. Therefore, the observation image captured by the observation optical system 52 is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD 74 and converted into an electric signal. This electric signal is output to the processor 26 in FIG. Converted. Thereby, an observation image is displayed on the monitor 50 connected to the processor 26.

  The illumination optical systems 54 and 54 in FIG. 2 are provided with the light guide 77 (see FIG. 4) on the rear side thereof, and the light guide 77 is connected to the insertion section 12, the hand operation section 14, and the universal cable 16 in FIG. The incident end is disposed in the LG connector 18 by being inserted. Therefore, by connecting the LG connector 18 to the light source device 20, the illumination light emitted from the light source device 20 is transmitted to the illumination optical systems 54 and 54 in FIG. It is irradiated forward.

  The air supply / water supply nozzle 56 communicates with a valve (not shown) operated by the air supply / water supply button 28 in FIG. 1 via a tube 73 (see FIG. 4), and the valve is provided in the LG connector 18. The air / water connector 48 is communicated. An air / water supply means (not shown) is connected to the air / water connector 48 to supply air and water. Accordingly, by operating the air / water supply button 28, air or water can be ejected from the air / water supply nozzle 56 toward the observation optical system.

  In the forceps port 58 of FIG. 2, a tube 72 (see FIG. 4) communicates with the forceps insertion portion 46 of FIG. Therefore, the treatment tool can be led out from the forceps port 58 by inserting a treatment tool such as a forceps from the forceps insertion portion 46. The forceps port 58 communicates with a valve operated by the suction button 30, and this valve is connected to the suction connector 49 of the LG connector 18. Therefore, by connecting a suction means (not shown) to the suction connector 49 and operating the valve with the suction button 30, a lesioned part or the like can be sucked from the forceps opening 58.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a balloon 60 made of an elastic material such as rubber is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 12. The balloon 60 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape whose both ends are narrowed, and includes a distal end portion 60A and a proximal end portion 60B having a small diameter, and a central bulging portion 60C. The balloon 60 is inserted into the insertion portion 12 by inserting the insertion portion 12 into a predetermined position of the insertion portion 12 and then fitting a rubber ring 61 and a rubber ring 62 into the distal end portion 60A and the base end portion 60B, respectively. Fixed. At this time, the distal end portion 60A of the balloon 60 is disposed on the distal end portion 44 of the insertion portion 12, and the proximal end portion 60B of the balloon 60 is disposed on the bending portion 42 and fixed. The means for fixing the distal end portion 60A and the proximal end portion 60B of the balloon 60 is not limited to the rubber rings 61 and 62. For example, the distal end portion 60A and the proximal end portion 60B are fixed by winding a thread. May be.

  3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the distal end portion 44 of the insertion portion 12, and shows a cross section taken along the line 3-3 in FIG.

  As shown in the figure, a hole 68, a pipe 69 and a tube 70 are provided inside the insertion portion 12 as a conduit for supplying fluid to the balloon 60. The hole 68 is formed in the sleeve 66 of the distal end portion 44 of the insertion portion 12, and the sleeve 66 is formed so that the portion of the hole 68 is thicker than the other portions. Moreover, the hole 68 is inclined and opened on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion 44 toward the distal end side of the insertion portion 12, thereby forming an opening 64. Thus, by opening the hole 68 so as to be inclined toward the distal end side, a cleaning tool such as a brush can be smoothly inserted into the hole 67 from the opening 64.

  The pipe 69 is made of a hard member such as metal, and is fitted into the hole 68 and fixed. Further, the pipe 69 is curved in the middle, and the proximal end 69 </ b> A is disposed in the direction of the central axis C of the insertion portion 12. A distal end portion of a tube 70 having flexibility is connected to the proximal end portion 69A. The tube 70 is inserted into the insertion portion 12, and an end portion (not shown) on the proximal end side is connected to the balloon air supply port 38 of the hand operation portion 14 in FIG. A balloon control device 100 to be described later is connected to the balloon air supply port 38 via a tube 110. Therefore, air can be supplied and sucked from the opening 64 of the hole 68 by supplying and sucking air by the balloon control device 100.

  By the way, the opening 64 of the hole 68 is disposed at the proximal end portion of the distal end portion 44 in the direction of the central axis C of the insertion portion 12. The distal end portion 60 </ b> A of the balloon 60 is disposed on the distal end side of the opening 64, and the proximal end portion 60 </ b> B is disposed on the proximal end side of the opening 64. Therefore, since the opening 64 is disposed inside the balloon 60, the balloon 60 can be inflated by supplying air from the opening 64, and the balloon 60 can be deflated by sucking air from the opening 64. . The balloon 60 expands into a substantially spherical shape by supplying air, and sticks to the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 12 by sucking air.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the opening 64 of the hole 68 is disposed in a region opposite to the observation optical system 52 across the central axis C of the insertion portion 12 on a surface orthogonal to the central axis C of the insertion portion 12. . Specifically, when divided by a line (M1-M1) passing through the central axis C, the observation optical system 52 is arranged in the upper half region of the line (M1-M1), whereas the hole 68 is provided. The opening 64 is arranged in the lower half region.

  Further, the opening 64 of the hole 68 is disposed at a substantially intermediate position between the extension lines of the operation wires 71 and 71 shown in FIG. 5 in the circumferential direction of the insertion portion 12. That is, the operation wires 71, 71... Are arranged at 90 ° intervals in the vertical and horizontal directions as shown in FIG. 5. The openings 64 of the holes 68 are extended lines of the lower operation wire 71 and the left operation wire 71. It is arrange | positioned in the substantially middle position. In other words, when the line connecting the left and right operation wires 71, 71 is M1-M1, and the line connecting the upper and lower operation wires 71, 71 is M2-M2, the opening 64 of the hole 68 is a line (M1-M1). And arranged at a substantially intermediate position away from the line (M2-M2).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the hole 68 is formed toward the central axis C of the insertion portion 12, and the pipe 69 of FIG. 5 is fitted and fixed to the hole 68. Therefore, the pipe 69 is disposed toward the central axis C. That is, the pipe 69 is disposed in the radial direction of the insertion portion 12 when viewed in the direction of the central axis C. Accordingly, the base end side end portion 69 </ b> A of the pipe 69 is disposed on the central axis C side of the insertion portion 12. Further, the proximal end portion 69A of the pipe 69 is disposed at a substantially intermediate position between the tube 72 serving as a forceps channel and the tube 73 serving as an air / water feeding channel. Accordingly, the tube 70 connected to the proximal end portion 69 </ b> A of the pipe 69 is disposed between the tube 72 and the tube 73 inside the insertion portion 12.

  The balloon control device 100 in FIG. 1 is a device that supplies and sucks fluid such as air to the balloon 60. The balloon control device 100 mainly includes a device main body 102 and a hand switch 104 for remote control.

  On the front surface of the apparatus main body 102, a power switch SW1, a stop switch SW2, and a pressure display unit 106 are provided. The pressure display unit 106 is a panel that displays the pressure value of the balloon 60, and an error code is displayed on the pressure display unit 106 when an abnormality such as balloon breakage occurs.

  A tube 110 that supplies and sucks air to and from the balloon 60 is connected to the front surface of the apparatus main body 102. A connection portion between the tube 110 and the apparatus main body 102 is provided with a backflow prevention unit 112 for preventing backflow of body fluid when the balloon 60 is broken. The backflow prevention unit 112 is configured by incorporating a gas-liquid separation filter in a hollow disk-like case (not shown) that is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 102, and liquid is contained in the apparatus main body 102. Inflow is prevented by a filter.

  On the other hand, the hand switch 104 is provided with various switches. For example, a stop switch similar to the stop switch SW2 on the apparatus main body 102 side, an ON / OFF switch for instructing pressurization / depressurization of the balloon 60, a pause switch for holding the pressure of the balloon 60, and the like are provided. The hand switch 104 is electrically connected to the apparatus main body 102 via a cord 130. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the hand switch 104 is provided with a display unit that indicates an air supply state or an exhaust state of the balloon 60.

  The balloon control device 100 configured as described above supplies air to the balloon 60 to inflate it, and controls the air pressure to a constant value to hold the balloon 60 in an inflated state. In addition, air is sucked from the balloon 60 and contracted, and the air pressure is controlled to a constant value to hold the balloon 60 in a contracted state.

  The balloon control device 100 is connected to the balloon dedicated monitor 82 and displays the pressure value and the inflated / deflated state of the balloon 60 on the balloon dedicated monitor 82 when the balloon 60 is inflated and deflated. The pressure value and the inflated / deflated state of the balloon 60 may be superimposed on the observation image of the endoscope 10 and displayed on the monitor 50.

  As an example of the operation method of the endoscope apparatus configured as described above, the insertion portion 12 is pushed and the balloon 60 is inflated as necessary to insert the insertion portion 12 into the body (for example, the large intestine). Fix it. Then, after pulling the insertion portion 12 to simplify the tube shape of the body (for example, the large intestine), the balloon 60 is deflated and the insertion portion 12 is further inserted into the deep portion of the intestinal tract. For example, the insertion portion 12 is inserted from the subject's anus, and when the distal end of the insertion portion 12 passes the sigmoid colon, the balloon 60 is inflated to fix the insertion portion 12 to the intestinal tract, and the insertion portion 12 is pulled. The sigmoid colon is made substantially straight. Then, the balloon 60 is deflated and the distal end of the insertion portion 12 is inserted into the deep portion of the intestinal tract. Thereby, the insertion part 12 can be inserted in the deep part of an intestinal tract.

  Next, the operation of the endoscope 10 configured as described above will be described.

  As described above, the opening 64 for supplying the fluid to the balloon 60 is disposed in the opposite region of the observation optical system 52. A CCD 74, a substrate 75, and a signal cable 76 are provided behind the observation optical system 52. Further, illumination optical systems 54 and 54 are provided so as to sandwich the observation optical system 52, and light guides 77 and 77 are provided behind the illumination optical systems 54 and 54. These contents (the CCD 74, the substrate 75, the distal end portion of the signal cable 76, the illumination optical systems 54 and 54, and the distal end portions of the light guides 77 and 77) must be provided close to the observation optical system 52, and Since it is a hard member, the content filling rate is high in the region on the observation optical system 52 side (that is, the upper region in FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, in the region opposite to the observation optical system 52 (that is, the lower region in FIG. 4), the forceps port 58 and the tube 72 serving as the forceps channel, and the air / water feeding nozzle 56 serving as the air / water feeding channel. And a tube 73 is provided. The arrangement of these contents is relatively free, and the area on the opposite side of the observation optical system 52 has a low content filling rate.

  In the present embodiment, the opening 64 is disposed in a region opposite to the observation optical system 52. Therefore, the hole 68, the pipe 69, and the tube 70 serving as a conduit are arranged in a region with a low filling rate, that is, a region opposite to the observation optical system 52. Therefore, the area | region with a low filling rate can be utilized effectively, and the diameter increase of the front-end | tip part 44 of the insertion part 12 can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the opening 64 is formed at a substantially intermediate position between the extended lines of the operation wires 71, 71, so that the tube 70 communicating with the opening 64 is connected to the operation wire 71. , 71 are arranged apart from each other. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operation wires 71 and 71 from interfering with the tube 70 and pressing the tube 70. Thereby, since the tube 70 can be prevented from being crushed by being pressed by the operation wires 71, 71, the fluid can be reliably supplied to the balloon 60.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the tube 70 is disposed between the air / water supply tube 73 and the forceps channel tube 72. Thus, by arranging the tube 70 between the tubes 72 and 73, the tube 70 can be arranged away from the signal cable 76 and the light guide 77. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the signal cable 76 and the light guide 77 from being pressed by the tube 70 and disconnected.

System configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus to which an endoscope according to the present invention is applied The perspective view which shows the front-end | tip part of an insertion part Sectional view showing the tip of the insertion section Sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. Sectional drawing which follows the 5-5 line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Endoscope, 12 ... Insertion part, 14 ... Hand operation part, 40 ... Soft part, 41 ... Main part, 42 ... Bending part, 43 ... Sleeve, 44 ... Tip part, 46 ... Opening, 60 ... Balloon, 60A ... Tip portion, 64 ... opening, 68 ... hole, 69 ... pipe, 70 ... tube, 71 ... operation wire

Claims (4)

An insertion portion to be inserted into the body, an observation optical system provided at a distal end portion of the insertion portion, a conduit in the insertion portion for supplying a fluid to a balloon attached to an outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion, and the insertion In an endoscope provided with the opening of the duct arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the part,
When the inside of the cross section of the tip perpendicular to the central axis of the tip is divided by a line passing through the central axis, the opening of the conduit is disposed in a region opposite to the region where the observation optical system is disposed. An endoscope characterized by being made. The insertion portion is provided with a bending portion to be bent,
Inside the insertion portion, a plurality of operation wires that are pushed and pulled to bend the bending portion are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the insertion portion, and
The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the opening of the conduit is disposed at a substantially intermediate position of the extension of the operation wire.   The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein an illumination optical system is disposed in a region where the observation optical system is disposed. In the insertion portion, an air / water supply channel for supplying air and / or water to the nozzle of the distal end portion, and a forceps channel through which an endoscope treatment tool is inserted are inserted and arranged,
The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the pipe line is disposed between the air / water supply channel and the forceps channel.

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