JPS59149121A - Guide pipe for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a guide tube, such as an operating wire, disposed in an insertion section of an endoscope.

Generally, a medical endoscope such as a gastrofiberscope is used to observe and treat an affected area by inserting its flexible body cavity into a patient's body cavity. An example of the configuration of such an endoscope is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. That is,
The endoscope 1 is composed of an operating section 2, an insertion section 3, and a light guide cable 4. The insertion section 3 can be inserted into the operating section 2 by operating an angle knob 8 connected to the operating section 2 and provided on the operating section 2. It is configured to be operated in a curved manner. Further, an observation window and an illumination window (both not shown) are provided on the outer surface of the distal end 7, and an opening formed in the distal end 7 is provided inside the operating section 2 and the insertion section 3. An insertion channel (not shown) for treatment, etc., communicating with the portion 11 is formed.

A proximal end of the insertion channel on the proximal side is connected to an insertion opening I2 formed in the operation section 2 for inserting a treatment instrument or the like. A treatment tool 13 such as forceps is inserted through the insertion port 12, passes through the insertion channel, and is made to protrude from the opening 11 into the body cavity. Further, within the opening 11, a treatment instrument raising table 4 for adjusting the protrusion direction of the treatment instrument 13 such as forceps is pivotally mounted with a pivot pin 15.

A tip of an operating wire 16 for raising and lowering the raising table 14 is connected to one end of the raising table 14.

This elevator operating wire 16 is connected to the operating section 2 and the insertion section 3.
An operating mechanism 18 that is guided by a wire guide tube 17 that is inserted over the
It has been derived. The wire guide tube 17 is a tube member 1 disposed across the flexible tube 5 and the operating section 2.
9, a tube member 20 disposed within the curved tube 6, and a guide pipe 21 inserted and fixed within the distal end portion 7.
It is made up of. The tube member 20 disposed inside the curved tube 6 is made of a metal spiral tube 22 formed by closely winding stainless steel wire into a coil shape in order to match the characteristics of the curved tube 6 and particularly improve its bendability. It is constructed by covering the outer periphery with a plastic tube 23. As shown in FIG. 2, the operating mechanism 18 for the operating wire 16 is composed of a combination of a pinion 24 and a rack 25, and the operating wire 16 is connected to the rack 25. Further, the - pinion 24 is provided with an operating knob 26 that partially projects outside the operating section 2. By operating this operating knob 26, the pinion 24 is rotated and the rack 25 is moved up and down. , are configured to push and pull the operating wire 16.

In the endoscope 1 configured as described above, the insertion section 3 is inserted into a patient's body cavity, the bending tube 6 is bent by operating the angle knob 8, and the distal end section 7 is directed toward the affected area. When using a treatment tool 13 such as forceps, insert it into the insertion channel from the insertion port 12, project it into the body cavity from the opening 11, and operate the elevator operation knob 26. The operator pushes and pulls the operating wire 16 to change the raising angle of the treatment instrument raising table 14 and adjust the protruding direction of the treatment instrument 13 so as to direct it toward the affected area.

By the way, in such an endoscope, the metal spiral tube 22 constituting the guide tube 14 eup member 20 of the elevator operation wire 16, together with the guide pipe 21, absorbs gastric juice (P) present in the body cavity when the endoscope is used. )12) When contacting physiological saline, enzymes (trypsin), cell aggregates, bacteria and other germs, blood, etc., and during disinfection cleaning after use, do not use isodine (iodine solution), nitrogen amines, or alcohol. It also comes into contact with disinfectant cleaning solutions such as

When these liquids come into contact with the metal spiral tube 22 that constitutes the flexible guide tube, the liquids rise due to capillary action or the like along the gaps in the strands 27 that form the spiral tube 22. At the same time, the rising liquid remains in the gap for a long time, corroding the metal wire 27 that constitutes the metal spiral tube 22, and eventually causing the metal wire 27 to be cut.

In particular, when the metal spiral tube 22 is manufactured by plastically deforming a wire made of stainless steel, a large stress remains inside the wire, and acidic or alkaline liquid,
Also, there is a risk of stress corrosion cracking, which is unique to stainless steel, which occurs when iodine solution or the like adheres to it.

Further, foreign matter 28 that is carried along with the rising liquid or that has entered through the gap between the operating wire 16 and the guide pipe 21 is removed from the metal spiral tube 22 as shown in FIG.
There is a disadvantage that it gets into the space 27' between the strands 27 on the inner surface of the endoscope, and is difficult to remove even when cleaning the endoscope after use.

The present invention was made in order to eliminate such drawbacks of the conventional flexible metal guide tube of an endoscope. Filling the body with the agent prevents foreign matter from remaining in the body cavity, prevents the rise of liquid or disinfectant solution in the body cavity due to capillary action, prevents its retention, and prevents cutting etc. due to corrosion of metal materials. An object of the present invention is to provide a guide tube for an endoscope having the following structure.

The present invention will be explained below based on Examples. FIG. 4 relates to the present invention. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a guide tube for an endoscope. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 31 denotes a metal spiral tube constituting a guide tube through which the elevator operating wire, etc. is inserted, and is formed by tightly winding a wire 32 of stainless steel or the like into a coil, and the space between adjacent wires is 32' includes a flexible filler 33, e.g.
Adhesive rubber, urethane, soft plastic, etc.
Alternatively, it is filled with a flexible material such as rubber, urethane, or soft plastic that has adhesive properties through vulcanization, and is made to adhere tightly. Note that the flexible filler 33 may be provided over the entire outer surface of the metal spiral tube 31 as shown in the figure.

When the voids 32' between the wires of the metal spiral tube 31 constituting the guide tube are filled with a flexible filler, the rise of fluid in the body cavity along the gaps between the wires due to capillarity is prevented. Also, the gaps or voids between the wires 3
Retention of the liquid in 2' is also prevented. Furthermore, since a flexible material is used as the filler to fill the voids 32' between the individual wires, the flexibility of the metal spiral tube itself is not impaired, and it is sufficient as a flexible guide tube. It can be used.

In addition, in the above examples, the flexible filler is
We have shown rubber, urethane, and soft plastics that have adhesive properties, or rubber, urethane, and soft plastics that have adhesive properties through vulcanization, but other materials with similar properties can also be used. It is. Further, in the above embodiment, the metal spiral tube constituting the guide tube of the elevator operating wire is shown, but the application is not limited to this, but can also be applied to a guide tube for inserting a treatment tool such as forceps. It can be applied to various guide tubes used in endoscopes.

In addition, in the above embodiment, a guide tube was shown in which a flexible filler was applied to a metal spiral tube formed using a metal wire with a circular cross section, but a metal wire with an elliptical or polygonal cross section was used. A guide tube can also be constructed by forming a spiral tube and applying a flexible filler thereto.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, a metal spiral tube 35 can be formed using a metal strip 34,
The guide tube can also be constructed by filling the voids 34' between the spirally wound strips with a flexible filler 33. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, the metal wires 36 are knitted into a mesh tube shape to form a mesh tube 37, and the mesh portion 37' of the mesh tube 37 is filled with a flexible filler 33. A flexible guide tube can also be provided.

As described above in detail based on the embodiments, the present invention provides a guide tube for an endoscope by filling a flexible filler into the voids in each adjacent portion of the metal material forming the flexible metal guide tube. Because of this structure, without impairing the flexibility of the guide tube, it is possible to prevent the rise and accumulation of liquids or disinfectants present in the body cavity due to capillary action, etc., and to prevent cuts, etc. due to corrosion of the material. In addition, effects such as being able to prevent foreign matter such as cell aggregates from remaining in the spaces between the materials can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an external view of a general endoscope, Fig. 2 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view thereof, Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the guide tube portion of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is an illustration of the present invention. A sectional view of one embodiment of the guide tube for an endoscope, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views of other embodiments of the present invention, respectively. In the figure, 1 is an endoscope, 2 is an operating section, 3 is an insertion section, and 5
is a flexible tube, 6 is a curved tube, 7 is a tip, 1] is an opening, 1
4 is a lifting platform, 16 is an operating wire, ] 7 is a guide tube, 2]
is a guide pipe, 22 is a metal spiral tube, 23 is a plastic tube, 27 is a metal wire, 28 is a foreign object, 31 is a metal spiral tube, 32 is a metal wire, 32' is a void, 33 is a flexible filling 34 is a metal strip plate, 35 is a metal spiral tube, 3
6 indicates a metal wire, and 37 indicates a mesh tube.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A flexible metal guide tube disposed within the insertion section of an endoscope, characterized in that a flexible filler is filled in the voids in each adjacent portion of the metal material forming the guide tube. Among them, a guide tube for an endoscope. (2) The flexible metal guide tube is constructed of a metal spiral tube formed by winding a metal wire or a metal strip plate into a coil shape. Guide tube for endoscopy. (3) The guide tube for an endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the flexible metal guide tube is constituted by a metal mesh tube in which metal wires are knitted into a mesh tube shape.