JP2013027432A - Endoscope apparatus and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope apparatus capable of reducing heat generation at an endoscope distal end part.SOLUTION: The endoscope apparatus includes: an endoscope insertion part 19 to be inserted to a subject; a light emitting part 59 provided on a distal end part 33 of the endoscope insertion part 19 and including a phosphor; and light sources LD2 and LD3 for supplying light to the light emitting part 59. The light source LD 2 emits blue light, the light source LD 3 emits red light, the light emitting part 59 is formed of one kind of phosphor which mainly emits green light with the blue light as excitation light, and the content of the phosphor occupying the light emitting part 59 is determined such that the intensity of the green light emitted from the light emitting part 59 and the intensity of the blue light transmitted through the light emitting part 59 roughly match.

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus and a manufacturing method thereof.

  As an endoscope apparatus that obtains an endoscopic image in a body cavity by irradiating illumination light, a light source that emits excitation light and a phosphor that is disposed at the distal end of the endoscope and that converts the wavelength of excitation light from the light source There has been proposed one that can be irradiated with white light in combination (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The endoscope apparatus described in Patent Document 1 excites a phosphor with blue light, converts part of the blue light into green to red light, and transmits the green to red light and the phosphor. Combined with blue light, white light is generated.

  As phosphors for generating white light by such a method, Patent Document 2 discloses various phosphors.

JP 2009-297313 A JP 2005-205195 A

  In general, the emission efficiency of a phosphor decreases as the emission wavelength is farther from the excitation light wavelength due to a fundamental loss called Stokes loss. That is, the use of a phosphor having a high intensity of red light emission with respect to blue excitation light is a factor that reduces the light emission efficiency. A decrease in luminous efficiency means that heat generation in the phosphor increases. In a thin endoscope such as an endoscopic device, particularly a transnasal endoscope, it is difficult to ensure heat dissipation at the distal end portion, and thus it is important how heat generated at the distal end portion can be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope apparatus that can reduce heat generation at an endoscope distal end portion and a manufacturing method thereof.

  An endoscope apparatus according to the present invention supplies an endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into a subject, a light emitting portion including a phosphor provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion, and light to the distal end portion. A first semiconductor light source and a second semiconductor light source, wherein the first semiconductor light source is for irradiating the light emitting part with blue light, and the second semiconductor light source emits red light. The light emitting part is formed of one type of phosphor that emits mainly green light using the blue light as excitation light, and the content of the phosphor in the light emitting part is the light emission The intensity of the green light emitted from the light emitting portion and the intensity of the blue light from the first semiconductor light source that passes through the light emitting portion are determined to be substantially the same.

  An endoscope apparatus manufacturing method according to the present invention includes an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject, a light emitting portion that includes a phosphor provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion, and a light beam that is emitted to the distal end portion. A first semiconductor light source and a second semiconductor light source, the first semiconductor light source for irradiating the light emitting part with blue light The second semiconductor light source emits red light, and the light-emitting portion is formed using one type of phosphor that mainly emits green light using the blue light as excitation light, and The phosphor content in the light emitting part is adjusted so that the intensity of the green light emitted from the light emitting part and the intensity of the blue light from the first semiconductor light source that passes through the light emitting part are substantially the same. To do.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the endoscope apparatus which can reduce the heat_generation | fever in an endoscope front-end | tip part, and its manufacturing method can be provided.

1 is an external view of an endoscope apparatus 100 for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the internal structure of the endoscope apparatus 100 shown by FIG. The figure which showed the relationship between the light source used for an endoscope, and the RGB output of an image pick-up element when image | photographing by irradiating illumination light to a white board using this light source The figure which showed the relationship between the ratio of the light quantity of the fluorescence emitted from the light emission part 59 with respect to the light quantity of blue laser light, and the light emission efficiency of the light emission part 59 The figure which showed the characteristic of the light radiate | emitted from the light emission part 59, when performing white light illumination in the endoscope apparatus 100 The figure which shows the modification of the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of an endoscope apparatus 100 for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

  The endoscope apparatus 100 includes an endoscope 11, a control device 13, a display unit 15 such as a liquid crystal display device, and an input unit 17 such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting information to the control device 13.

  The control device 13 includes a light source device 45 and a processor 47 that performs signal processing of a captured image signal output from the endoscope 11.

  The endoscope 11 includes an endoscope insertion portion 19 that is inserted into a subject, an operation portion 23 that performs an operation for bending and observing the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 19, and the endoscope 11. Connector portions 25 and 27 are detachably connected to the control device 13.

  The endoscope insertion portion 19 includes a flexible soft portion 29, a bending portion 31, and a distal end portion (hereinafter also referred to as an endoscope distal end portion) 33.

  Although not shown, various channels such as a forceps channel for inserting a tissue collection treatment instrument and the like, a channel for air supply / water supply, and the like are provided inside the operation unit 23 and the endoscope insertion unit 19. .

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the endoscope apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

  The endoscope distal end portion 33 includes illumination windows 35 and 37 for irradiating light to the observation region, a light emitting portion 59 disposed to face each of the illumination windows 35 and 37, and reflected light from the observation region. An image sensor 21 such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, and an observation window 40 for receiving reflected light from the observation area on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 21. And an objective lens unit 39 provided between the observation window 40 and the image sensor 21.

  The bending portion 31 is provided between the soft portion 29 and the distal end portion 33, and can be bent by a turning operation of an angle knob 43 (see FIG. 1) disposed in the operation portion 23.

  The bending portion 31 can be bent in an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary angle according to the part of the subject in which the endoscope 11 is used, and the illumination windows 35 and 37 and the observation window 40 of the endoscope distal end portion 33. Can be directed to a desired observation site.

  The control device 13 includes a light source device 45 that generates illumination light to be supplied to the illumination windows 35 and 37 of the endoscope distal end portion 33, and red (R), green (G), and blue (B And a processor 47 that performs signal processing on the captured image signal. The light source device 45 and the processor 47 are connected to the endoscope 11 via the connector portions 25 and 27.

  The display unit 15 and the input unit 17 are connected to the processor 47. The processor 47 performs signal processing on the captured image signal transmitted from the endoscope 11 according to an instruction from the operation unit 23 or the input unit 17 of the endoscope 11, generates display image data, and displays the display unit 15. The endoscope observation image based on the display image data is displayed on the screen, or the storage image data is generated and stored in the storage unit 71.

  The light source device 45 includes a light source control unit 49, a violet laser light source LD1 having a center wavelength of 405 nm, a blue laser light source LD2 having a center wavelength of 445 nm, a red laser light source LD3 having a center wavelength of 635 nm, a combiner 51, and a coupler 53. .

  The light source LD1 is a light source for narrowband light observation. The light sources LD2 and LD3 are light sources for normal observation (white light observation). The laser beams emitted from the light sources LD1, LD2, and LD3 are individually controlled by the light source control unit 49. The light source controller 49 controls the light quantity ratio of the emitted light from the violet laser light source LD1, the emitted light from the blue laser light source LD2, and the emitted light from the red laser light source LD3.

  Each of the light sources LD1, LD2, and LD3 includes a semiconductor light source such as an LD (laser diode) or an LED (light emitting diode).

  As the laser diode, a broad area type InGaN laser diode or the like can be used, and an InGaNAs laser diode, a GaNAs laser diode, or the like can be used.

  The light emitting unit 59 includes only one type of phosphor as a phosphor. This phosphor emits mainly green fluorescence using blue laser light supplied from the light source LD2 as excitation light. This phosphor has a fluorescence emission peak wavelength in the range of 500 nm to 550 nm, and the fluorescence emission intensity at a wavelength of 600 nm or more is sufficiently smaller than the peak emission intensity (for example, 30% or less of the peak emission intensity). . The phosphor transmits most of the red laser light supplied from the light source LD3 and the violet laser light supplied from the light source LD1. As described above, the phosphor used in the light emitting unit 59 only needs to have a very low (for example, 30 or less) red special color rendering index (R9) when irradiated with the blue laser light supplied from the light source LD2. .

  The light emitting portion 59 is formed by mixing the above-described one type of phosphor (hereinafter referred to as G phosphor) and a covering member such as resin or inorganic glass.

As the G phosphor, YAG phosphor, Ca ₃ Sc ₂ Si ₃ O ₁₂ , (BaSr) ₂ SiO ₄ , (Sr, Ba) Si ₂ O ₂ N ₂ , β sialon, or the like is used. Detailed characteristics of the light emitting unit 59 will be described later.

  Laser light emitted from each of the light sources LD1, LD2, and LD3 is input to an optical fiber by a condensing lens (not shown), and passes through a combiner 51 that is a multiplexer and a coupler 53 that is a demultiplexer. It is transmitted to the connector unit 25.

  The laser light transmitted to the connector portion 25 is propagated to the distal end portion 33 of the endoscope 11 through the optical fibers 55 and 57, respectively. Part of the blue laser light propagated through the optical fibers 55 and 57 is a phosphor that is a wavelength conversion member included in the light emitting portion 59 disposed at the light emitting end of the optical fibers 55 and 57 of the endoscope distal end portion 33. To emit fluorescence (green light).

  Further, the remaining light of the blue laser light passes through the light emitting unit 59 as it is. The red laser light propagated through the optical fibers 55 and 57 is transmitted without strongly exciting the phosphor contained in the light emitting unit 59. Thereby, the green fluorescent light emitted by the blue laser light and the blue laser light transmitted without being absorbed by the light emitting unit 59 and the red laser light transmitted through the light emitting unit 59 are combined to form white illumination light.

  Further, the violet laser light propagated through the optical fibers 55 and 57 is transmitted without strongly exciting the phosphor contained in the light emitting unit 59, and becomes illumination light with a narrow band wavelength.

  White light generated by blue laser light, red laser light, and light emitted from the light emitting unit 59 or narrow band light generated by violet laser light is transmitted from the illumination windows 35 and 37 of the distal end portion 33 of the endoscope 11 to the subject. Irradiation toward the observation area. The reflected light from the observation region irradiated with the illumination light is incident on the image sensor 21 by the objective lens unit 39 disposed behind the observation window 40, and a captured image signal corresponding to the reflected light is output from the image sensor 21. Is done.

  The captured image signal output from the image sensor 21 is transmitted to the A / D converter 63 in the endoscope 11 through the scope cable 61 and is converted into a digital signal here. Further, the captured image signal is input to the image processing unit 65 of the processor 47 via the connector unit 27. Then, the image processing unit 65 processes this digital signal to generate display and storage image data.

  Note that the light source control unit 49 can simultaneously irradiate illumination light (the white light) during normal observation and the narrow band light of the light source LD1 at a predetermined light amount ratio. In this way, the capillaries and fine patterns on the mucous membrane surface layer can be displayed more clearly together with surrounding images.

  As described above, the endoscope apparatus 100 uses a phosphor that hardly emits red fluorescence (not including an R phosphor) as the phosphor included in the light emitting unit 59. In addition, the red laser light source LD 3 provided in the light source device 45 compensates for the insufficient intensity of the red light emitted from the illumination windows 35 and 37 due to the use of the light emitting unit 59 that does not include the R phosphor.

  In this configuration, the concentration of the G phosphor contained in the light emitting section 59 (the content of the G phosphor in the entire light emitting section 59) is prepared, whereby blue light transmitted through the light emitting section 59 and the light emitting section 59 are prepared. Is substantially the same as the intensity of the green light emitted.

  FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the light source used for the endoscope and the RGB output of the image sensor when the white plate is used to illuminate and illuminate the white plate.

  As a light source, a Xe light source that emits light of a xenon lamp as white light from a lighting window without using a phosphor, a red light source, a blue excitation light source, and a G phosphor (here, a YAG phosphor) described in the present embodiment The result of having examined about the (green fluorescence) light source which produces | generates white light with the light emission part containing) is shown.

  For the (green fluorescence) light source, data is shown when a white plate is photographed without irradiation with red laser light. For the (green fluorescence) light source, the concentration of the G phosphor contained in the light emitting section is changed, and the “green fluorescence (density 1)” shown in FIG. 3 moves toward “green fluorescence (density 4)”. 4 shows that the concentration of the G phosphor is increased. Specifically, in the “green fluorescence (concentration 4)” with the highest concentration, the concentration of the G phosphor is about 30%, in the “green fluorescence (concentration 3)”, the concentration is about 28%, and the “green fluorescence (concentration). 2) The density is about 26% in "" and the density is about 24% in "green fluorescence (density 1)". In FIG. 3, the R output intensity and the B output intensity are normalized so that the G output intensity of the image sensor becomes 1 for all light source types.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the endoscope apparatus 100, when the concentration of the G phosphor included in the light emitting unit 59 is low, there is a large gap in the RGB output of the image sensor. As the density increases, the R output of the image sensor hardly changes, but the G output and the B output approach each other. In the case of “green fluorescence (density 4)”, the G output and the B output substantially coincide with each other, and the G output and the B output can have the same relationship as when the Xe light source is used.

  Under the conditions of the G phosphor concentration of “green fluorescence (concentration 1)” and “green fluorescence (concentration 2)”, the divergence angle of the light emitted from the light-emitting portion is such that the blue light is the fluorescent light and the blue light However, since the scattering is small, it becomes narrow, resulting in in-plane color unevenness. The divergence angle of the fluorescent light does not change according to the concentration of the G phosphor, but when the concentration is higher than the concentration of “green fluorescence (concentration 3)”, scattering of blue light in the G phosphor increases, and blue light and fluorescence The light divergence angle is close. It is particularly important for an endoscope that observes at a wide angle that the spread angles of blue light and fluorescent light become equal. In order to increase the divergence angle of the fluorescent light, the particle size of the phosphor is also important. In the present embodiment, a G phosphor having a particle size of about 0.5 to 5 μm is used.

  Although not shown in FIG. 3, if the concentration of the G phosphor is increased as compared with the case of “green fluorescence (concentration 4)”, the B output approaches the R output this time. The difference from the G output increases. In the endoscope apparatus, considering the color rendering properties during white light observation, the G output, B output, and R output of the image sensor are ideally 1: 1: 1. For this reason, it is possible to form the light emitting portion 59 by adjusting the concentration of the G phosphor contained in the light emitting portion 59 so that the output of the G light and the B light emitted from the light emitting portion 59 substantially match. Color rendering can be realized.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the ratio of the amount of fluorescent light emitted from the light emitting unit 59 to the amount of blue laser light and the light emission efficiency of the light emitting unit 59.

  The ratio of the amount of fluorescent light emitted from the light emitting unit 59 to the amount of blue laser light corresponds to the concentration of the G phosphor contained in the light emitting unit 59. That is, the larger the ratio, the higher the concentration of the G phosphor. The luminous efficiency of the light emitting unit 59 is a value indicating what percentage of the blue laser light incident on the light emitting unit 59 is emitted from the light emitting unit 59.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the light emission efficiency of the light emitting portion 59 improves as the concentration of the G phosphor decreases. The luminous efficiency of the “green fluorescence (density 4)” light source shown in FIG. 3 is about 63%. On the other hand, a phosphor is formed by mixing a G phosphor and a phosphor (R phosphor) that mainly emits yellow to red light so that the G signal and the B signal of the image sensor substantially coincide with each other. The data at the time of preparing the concentration is the code 40a shown in FIG. 4, and the luminous efficiency at this time is about 58%.

  That is, when the light emitting part is formed only with the G phosphor as in this embodiment, and the light emitting part is formed by adjusting the concentration of the G phosphor, the two kinds of phosphors, the G phosphor and the R phosphor, are used. As compared with the case where the light emitting portion is formed, the luminous efficiency can be increased while the color rendering properties are made equal. For this reason, in the light emitting unit 59 in the present embodiment, the concentration of the G phosphor is adjusted so that the intensities of the B light and the G light emitted from the light emitting unit 59 are substantially the same.

  Note that the endoscope apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the light emitting unit 59 does not emit much red fluorescence, and the light source LD3 supplements the amount of red light. For this reason, by controlling the output of the light source LD3, the RGB output ratio of the image sensor 21 during white light observation can be made close to 1: 1: 1. As a result, the color rendering property of R light can be ensured to be equal to or higher than that of the Xe light source.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating characteristics of light emitted from the light emitting unit 59 when white light illumination is performed in the endoscope apparatus 100. In FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the wavelength, and the vertical axis indicates the light intensity.

  In FIG. 5, the reference numeral 50 </ b> A indicates a characteristic when the light emitting portion 59 formed by adjusting the concentration of the G phosphor so that the B light intensity and the G light intensity substantially coincide with each other. Further, instead of the light emitting portion 59, a light emitting portion formed by mixing a G phosphor and an R phosphor, and the concentrations of the G phosphor and the R phosphor so that the B light intensity and the G light intensity substantially coincide with each other. The characteristic when using the light emitting part formed by preparing is shown by reference numeral 50B.

  Reference numeral 50A indicates characteristics when light is emitted from the light sources LD1 and LD3, and reference numeral 50B indicates characteristics when light is irradiated only from the light source LD1.

  As can be seen from FIG. 5, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, the intensity of red light having a wavelength of 600 nm or more can be reduced as compared with the case where two types of phosphors, that is, G phosphor and R phosphor are used. In addition, since the red laser light source LD3 is provided, the decrease in the intensity of the red light can be sufficiently compensated by the intensity of the wavelength of 635 nm. Also, in the wavelength range of 455 nm to 600 nm, the light intensity is higher than when two types of phosphors, G phosphor and R phosphor, are used. As can be seen from this data, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, the light emission efficiency of the light emitting unit 59 can be improved, and the heat generation at the endoscope distal end portion 33 can be suppressed. Some R phosphors emit useless light that does not contribute to normal diagnosis on the long wavelength side (infrared). When such R phosphors are used, heat generation at the distal end of the endoscope or diagnosis target There is concern about temperature rise. However, since the endoscope apparatus 100 uses a light emitting unit that has low intensity of long-wavelength light that causes heat generation at the endoscope tip and temperature rise of the diagnosis target, the endoscope tip also from this point. Heat generation and temperature rise of the diagnosis target can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, since only the G phosphor is used as the phosphor constituting the light emitting unit 59, the Stokes loss with respect to the blue laser light can be reduced. As a result, the light emission efficiency can be improved, and heat generation at the endoscope distal end portion 33 can be suppressed. Further, since the output of the red laser light for compensating for the red light can be lower than that for emitting the phosphor, the energy efficiency of the entire system can be increased.

  In addition, in the light emitting unit 59, the concentration of the G phosphor is adjusted at some sacrifice of the light emission efficiency so that the intensities of the B light and the G light emitted from the light emitting unit 59 are approximately the same. However, even if the luminous efficiency is sacrificed, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, the luminous efficiency can be improved as compared with the case where the light emitting part is formed using the G phosphor and the R phosphor. For this reason, with respect to the color rendering properties, the light emission efficiency can be improved as compared with the case where the light emitting portion including the G phosphor and the R phosphor is used while realizing the same color as the Xe light source.

  In addition, the endoscope apparatus 100 is configured to assist the red light by the red laser light source LD3, but the light emitted from the red laser light source LD3 is highly straight and difficult to diffuse. For this reason, there is a concern about unevenness of the illumination area illuminated from the illumination window 35. However, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, since the concentration of the G phosphor in the light emitting unit 59 is adjusted to be high, the R emission light is easily diffused by the light emitting unit 59 in the same manner as the blue excitation light. It is possible to make the area uniform. There is a correlation between the concentration of the phosphor contained in the light emitting portion and the light scattering property in the light emitting portion, and the scattering property tends to be improved as the concentration of the phosphor increases. As described above, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, the luminous efficiency of the light emitting unit 59 is improved, the illumination area is uniformized due to the high concentration of the G phosphor contained in the light emitting unit 59, and the light emitting unit 59 is included. It is possible to achieve both improvement in color rendering by adjusting the concentration of the G phosphor.

  Moreover, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, since the effect of improving the scattering characteristics by increasing the concentration of the G phosphor in the light emitting unit 59 can be obtained, glass or alumina which is a light scattering unit for scattering light is used. Scattering characteristics can be made sufficiently good without mixing fillers made of beads or the like in the light emitting portion 59. Since it is not necessary to mix the filler in the light emitting portion 59, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the visible region, red having a long wavelength has little absorption in the living body and appears blurred due to scattering inside the living body. In particular, since the penetration depth and the degree of scattering inside the living body vary depending on the wavelength of the illumination light, it is difficult to ensure resolution with light having a wide emission width of about 580 nm to 750 nm. With respect to such a phenomenon, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, since a red laser beam having a narrow emission wavelength width is used, a good resolution can be obtained. As a result, it is possible to find a region where the number of new blood vessels is excessive or a region where the difference in reflectance is large from a greater distance.

  The endoscope apparatus 100 uses two light sources LD2 and LD3 having different emission colors when performing white illumination. Therefore, in order to stabilize the output of white light, it is preferable to control the light quantity ratio of the light emitted from the light sources LD2 and LD3 with high accuracy.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing a modification of the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG. The endoscope apparatus 200 shown in FIG. 6 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 2 except that a coupler 81 and a light detection unit 82 are added to the light source apparatus 45.

  The coupler 81 further divides one of the two lights demultiplexed by the coupler 53 into two. For example, the coupler 81 causes 95% of the incident light to enter the connector 25 and the remaining 5% to the light detection unit 82.

  The light detection unit 82 detects the light amounts of the blue component and the red component of the light incident from the coupler 81. For example, the light quantity of the blue component and red component of the light incident from the coupler 81 is detected by an optical sensor having sensitivity at a wavelength of 445 nm and an optical sensor having sensitivity at a wavelength of 635 nm.

  The control unit 69 of the endoscope apparatus 200 controls the light emission amounts of the light source LD2 and the light source LD3 to be constant based on the blue light amount and the red light amount detected by the light detection unit 82.

  With the configuration as described above, it becomes possible to stably irradiate white light from the illumination window 35, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in diagnostic accuracy due to a change in color tone.

  In the endoscope apparatuses 100 and 200, the light source LD1 is not essential and may be omitted.

  2 and 6, the emitted light of the red laser light source LD3 is emitted from the illumination window 35 through the light emitting unit 59, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an illumination window dedicated to red light may be added to the distal end portion 33, and the emitted light of the red laser light source LD3 may be guided to this illumination window.

  2 and 6, the R light, G light, and B light constituting the white illumination light are all emitted from the light emitting unit 59, and thus color unevenness is unlikely to occur. There is an advantage that color unevenness does not occur sometimes.

  As described above, the following items are disclosed in this specification.

  The disclosed endoscope apparatus supplies an endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into a subject, a light emitting portion including a phosphor provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion, and light to the distal end portion. A first semiconductor light source and a second semiconductor light source, wherein the first semiconductor light source is for irradiating the light emitting part with blue light, and the second semiconductor light source emits red light. The light emitting part is formed of one type of phosphor that emits mainly green light using the blue light as excitation light, and the content of the phosphor in the light emitting part is the light emission The intensity of the green light emitted from the light emitting portion and the intensity of the blue light from the first semiconductor light source that passes through the light emitting portion are determined to be substantially the same.

  The disclosed endoscope apparatus does not include a light scattering unit for the light emitting unit to scatter light.

  The disclosed endoscope apparatus includes one in which the second semiconductor light source irradiates the red light to the light emitting unit.

  In the disclosed endoscope apparatus, the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source are each a laser diode.

  In the disclosed endoscope apparatus, the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source are each a light emitting diode.

  The disclosed method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus includes: an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject; a light emitting portion that includes a phosphor provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion; A first semiconductor light source and a second semiconductor light source, the first semiconductor light source for irradiating the light emitting part with blue light The second semiconductor light source emits red light, and the light-emitting portion is formed using one type of phosphor that mainly emits green light using the blue light as excitation light, and The phosphor content in the light emitting part is adjusted so that the intensity of the green light emitted from the light emitting part and the intensity of the blue light from the first semiconductor light source that passes through the light emitting part are substantially the same. To do.

  In the disclosed method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, the light emitting unit is formed without mixing a light scattering unit for scattering light in the light emitting unit.

  In the disclosed method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, the second semiconductor light source supplies the red light to the light emitting unit.

  In the disclosed method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source are each a laser diode.

  In the disclosed method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source are each a light emitting diode.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Endoscope apparatus 19 Endoscope insertion part 33 Tip part 59 Phosphor LD2 Blue laser light source LD3 Red laser light source

Claims (10)

An endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into the subject;
A light emitting unit including a phosphor provided at a distal end of the endoscope insertion unit;
A first semiconductor light source and a second semiconductor light source for supplying light to the tip,
The first semiconductor light source is for irradiating the light emitting part with blue light,
The second semiconductor light source emits red light,
The light emitting unit is formed of a single type of phosphor that mainly emits green light using the blue light as excitation light,
The phosphor content in the light emitting part is such that the intensity of the green light emitted from the light emitting part and the intensity of the blue light from the first semiconductor light source that passes through the light emitting part substantially coincide. Endoscope equipment that has been decided. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1,
The said light emission part is an endoscope apparatus which does not contain the light-scattering part for scattering light. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The second semiconductor light source is an endoscope apparatus that irradiates the red light to the light emitting unit. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An endoscope apparatus in which each of the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source is a laser diode. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An endoscope apparatus in which each of the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source is a light emitting diode. An endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into a subject; a light emitting portion including a phosphor provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion; a first semiconductor light source that supplies light to the distal end portion; A method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus including a semiconductor light source,
The first semiconductor light source is for irradiating the light emitting part with blue light,
The second semiconductor light source emits red light,
The light emitting part is formed using one type of phosphor that mainly emits green light using the blue light as excitation light, and the phosphor content in the light emitting part is emitted from the light emitting part. A method of manufacturing an endoscope apparatus in which the intensity of green light and the intensity of blue light from the first semiconductor light source that passes through the light-emitting portion are substantially matched. It is a manufacturing method of the endoscope apparatus according to claim 6,
A method of manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, wherein the light emitting unit is formed without mixing a light scattering unit for scattering light in the light emitting unit. It is a manufacturing method of the endoscope apparatus according to claim 6 or 7,
The method of manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, wherein the second semiconductor light source supplies the red light to the light emitting unit. It is a manufacturing method of the endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The method for manufacturing an endoscope apparatus, wherein the first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source are each laser diodes. It is a manufacturing method of the endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
The first semiconductor light source and the second semiconductor light source are each a manufacturing method of an endoscope apparatus that is a light emitting diode.

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