CN112336291A

CN112336291A - Miniature endoscopic probe with multiple modes

Info

Publication number: CN112336291A
Application number: CN202011487388.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 孔冠岳; 赵晖; 谢会开
Original assignee: Foshan Light Micro Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Foshan Light Micro Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-16
Filing date: 2020-12-16
Publication date: 2021-02-09

Abstract

The invention discloses a multi-mode micro endoscopic probe, which enables an endoscopic lens to have a confocal mode and an OCT mode simultaneously by arranging a group of lenses, and enables the endoscopic lens with a certain volume limit to be simultaneously provided with three modes of wide-field white light, confocal microscopy and OCT; by arranging the PZT scanning tube, the size of the endoscopic probe is reduced compared with a mainstream galvanometer system, so that the whole endoscopic probe has practicability and compact volume; the size of the endoscopic probe is further reduced by adopting the miniature camera module with the size much smaller than that of the traditional camera module; the miniature endoscopic probe has the characteristics of interference resistance, simplicity, convenience, easy use, compact structure and quick switching.

Description

Miniature endoscopic probe with multiple modes

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, and more particularly, to a micro-endoscope probe having multiple modes.

Background

Currently, optical endoscopes have been commonly used for clinical disease detection, such as optical endoscopes using white light illumination CMOS or CCD imaging, but the method lacks biological morphology and structure imaging, and has limitations particularly on tissue tomography three-dimensional imaging. The Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) based on the optical weak coherence back scattering signal measurement has the advantages of high sensitivity, high resolution, non-invasion and the like, and can realize layered perspective imaging of biological tissues, blood vessel network detection, blood flow velocity measurement and other functional information three-dimensional imaging. The confocal laser scanning microscope features that pinhole technology is used to eliminate the interference of light signal beyond the focus to image, so greatly raising the image definition and detail resolution and possessing high axial contrast.

Generally, the single-mode imaging technology has inherent defects, and the multi-mode fusion imaging can make up for the defects of the single mode, which is the trend of modern biophotonic medicine development, and the multi-mode endoscopic probe is an indispensable structure. However, to realize the three modes of wide-field white light, confocal microscopy and OCT in the endoscopic probe, three sets of independent components need to be simultaneously arranged in the endoscopic probe to realize the three modes, and the conventional endoscopic probe cannot integrate the structure with the three modes of wide-field white light, confocal microscopy and OCT in one endoscopic probe due to the limitation of the probe volume, so that the conventional endoscopic probe has the following disadvantages:

1. the detection in the operation can be realized, but the OCT, confocal and white light channels are not provided, and the pathology in the operation of the cell level can not be realized.

2. The optical ultrasonic probe using OCT and ultrasound has a large detection depth, but the resolution is not sufficient to examine cells.

3. The dual mode probe using fluorescence confocal and OCT lacks wide field of view white light channel guidance and is bulky.

Therefore, the prior art still needs to be improved and developed.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a multi-mode micro endoscopic probe, which aims to solve the problem that the existing endoscopic probe cannot integrate structures with three modes of wide-field white light, confocal microscopy and OCT in one endoscopic probe simultaneously due to the limitation of volume.

The technical scheme of the invention is as follows: a micro-endoscope probe having a multi-modal structure, comprising:

the tube body is used for installing and protecting the whole miniature endoscopic probe;

the lens is arranged in the tube body, and the miniature endoscopic probe is switched between confocal microscopy and OCT by changing the focal length of the lens;

the optical fiber driving tube is arranged in the tube body and is used for scanning all the focal planes of the lenses;

the auxiliary assembly is arranged in the tube body and comprises a miniature camera module for wide-field white light imaging;

the lens is connected with the optical fiber driving tube, the optical fiber driving tube is connected with an upper computer, and the miniature camera module is connected with the upper computer.

The micro endoscopic probe with multiple modes comprises a tube body, a probe head and a probe head, wherein the tube body comprises a main tube and an outer tube used for protecting human tissues from being injured by the main tube, and the outer tube is wrapped outside the main tube; the lens, the optical fiber driving tube and the auxiliary assembly are arranged in the main body tube.

The micro endoscopic probe with multiple modes is characterized in that a gap is formed between the main tube and the outer tube by dispensing and fixing, and the gap is filled by dispensing.

The miniature endoscopic probe with multiple modes comprises a front lens, a focusing lens group and a rear lens which are sequentially arranged, wherein the front lens is fixedly arranged in a tube body, the focusing lens group and the rear lens are connected and arranged, the focusing lens group is connected with a cable, and the cable is driven to drive the focusing lens group to move back and forth in the tube body so as to switch the miniature endoscopic probe between confocal microscopy and OCT.

The micro endoscopic probe with multiple modes is characterized in that the front lens is a plano-convex thick lens.

The micro endoscopic probe with multiple modes comprises a focusing lens group and a double-cemented lens.

The lens also comprises a window sheet which is arranged on the front surface of the front lens and used for sealing the front end of the whole micro endoscopic probe to prevent water leakage, and the window sheet is provided with an opening for ensuring OCT imaging and application.

The micro endoscopic probe with the multiple modes comprises an optical fiber and a PZT driving tube, wherein the optical fiber is connected with a lens and connected with the PZT driving tube, and the PZT driving tube drives the optical fiber to perform spiral motion so as to realize the whole scanning of a focal plane of the lens.

The micro-endoscope probe with multiple modes is characterized in that the auxiliary assembly further comprises an air/water channel and a clamp channel.

The micro endoscopic probe with multiple modes integrates an LED for illumination, a CMOS light sensitive chip and an analog-to-digital conversion chip on a micro camera module.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: according to the micro endoscopic probe with multiple modes, when the micro endoscopic probe works, the micro camera module starts to illuminate and shoot, the micro endoscopic probe is guided to go to a lesion position, then the cable drives the focusing lens group to move in place, so that the lens enters an OCT (optical coherence tomography) mode, and the optical fiber driving tube starts to perform spiral scanning; after the focus is determined, the cable drives the focusing lens group to move, so that the lens enters a confocal mode, the optical fiber driving tube continues to perform spiral scanning, and the property of the focus is analyzed; by arranging a group of lenses, the endoscope lens has a confocal mode and an OCT mode at the same time, and the simultaneous arrangement of three modes of wide-field white light, confocal microscopy and OCT in the endoscope lens with a certain volume limit becomes possible; by arranging the PZT scanning tube, the size of the endoscopic probe is reduced compared with a mainstream galvanometer system, so that the whole endoscopic probe has practicability and compact volume; the size of the endoscopic probe is further reduced by adopting the miniature camera module with the size much smaller than that of the traditional camera module; the miniature endoscopic probe has the characteristics of interference resistance, simplicity, convenience, easy use, compact structure and quick switching.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a multi-modal miniature endoscopic probe according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of the optical path of the lens of the present invention in OCT mode.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the optical path of the lens of the present invention in the confocal mode.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like, indicate orientations and positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are used only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus, should not be considered as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; may be mechanically connected, may be electrically connected or may be in communication with each other; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

In the present invention, unless otherwise expressly stated or limited, "above" or "below" a first feature means that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact with each other via another feature therebetween. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly under and obliquely below the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser elevation than the second feature.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, the components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. Of course, they are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples, such repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. In addition, the present invention provides examples of various specific processes and materials, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize applications of other processes and/or uses of other materials.

As shown in fig. 1, a micro-endoscope probe having multiple modes includes:

the tube body 1 is used for installing and protecting the whole miniature endoscopic probe;

the lens 2 is arranged in the tube body 1, and the miniature endoscopic probe is switched between confocal microscopy and OCT by changing the focal length of the lens 2;

the optical fiber driving tube 3 is arranged in the tube body 1 and is used for scanning all the focal planes of the lens 2;

the auxiliary assembly 4 is arranged in the tube body 1 and comprises a miniature camera module 402 for wide-field white light imaging;

the lens 2 is connected with the optical fiber driving tube 3, the optical fiber driving tube 3 is connected with an upper computer at the rear end, and the miniature camera module 402 is connected with the upper computer at the rear end.

In some embodiments, the pipe body 1 includes a main pipe 100 and an outer pipe 101, and the outer pipe 101 is wrapped outside the main pipe 100; the lens 2, the optical fiber driving tube 3 and the auxiliary assembly 4 are disposed in the main body tube 100.

In some embodiments, the outer tube 101 is made of a flexible tube made of nylon or other plastics, and is used for protecting human tissues from being injured by the main body tube 100; the outer diameter of the outer tube 101 is 3.5 mm.

In some embodiments, the main tube 100 is made of corrosion-resistant metal such as 6061 aluminum alloy, titanium alloy or stainless steel, and is used for fixing and accommodating other components. Wherein, the 6061 aluminum alloy belongs to AL-Mg-sI alloy, has medium strength, good plasticity and excellent corrosivity, and particularly has no stress corrosion cracking tendency; the alloy has the advantages of excellent weldability, corrosion resistance, easy cold processing and wide application, and can be anodized to further improve the corrosion resistance.

In some embodiments, the main tube 100 and the outer tube 101 are fixed by dispensing and fill the gap to prevent water from damaging the precision parts. In addition, when the micro endoscopic probe is designed to be used as a soft endoscope, the length of the outer tube 101 is much longer than that of the main tube 100, and functions to support and support the main tube 100, whereas when the micro endoscopic probe is designed to be used as a hard endoscope, the main tube 100 and the outer tube 101 are equally long.

In some embodiments, the lens 2 includes a front lens 203, a focusing lens assembly 201, and a rear lens 200 arranged in sequence, the front lens 203 is fixedly installed in the tube 1, the focusing lens assembly 201 and the rear lens 200 are installed in a connected manner, the focusing lens assembly 201 is connected to a cable 202, and the cable 202 is driven to drive the focusing lens assembly 201 to move back and forth in the tube 1, so as to switch the micro endoscopic probe between confocal microscopy and OCT.

In some embodiments, the front lens 203 is a plano-convex thick lens.

In some embodiments, the focusing lens assembly 201 includes a self-focusing lens and a double-cemented lens, a stainless steel cable 202 is bonded to a side surface of the focusing lens assembly 201, and a driving mechanism at a rear end of the cable 202 moves back and forth to switch the lens 2 between OCT and confocal states.

In some embodiments, the lens 2 further comprises a window sheet 204 disposed on the front surface of the front lens 203 for sealing the front end of the entire micro endoscopic probe from water leakage, the window sheet 204 is made of K9 glass, and the window sheet 204 is provided with an opening for imaging and applying OCT.

In the lens 2, as shown in fig. 2, when the incident light angle changes relative to the optical axis of the lens 2, the lens 2 as a scanning lens can also generate a flat imaging surface, and the spot size distortion is extremely small; changing the incidence angle to enable the focal spot to scan the image plane in the whole field of view; the low f-theta distortion produces a geometrically corrected image without extensive post-image processing. The scanning lens can also maximally couple the light signal scattered or emitted by the sample into the detection system; in addition, the spot size of the image plane is almost the same over the entire field of view, so the imaging resolution is also almost constant over the entire scanned sample, the angular magnification of the lens 2 in this state is 0.67, and the working distance is 1.32 mm. In the confocal state, as shown in fig. 3, the lens 2 is a microscope objective lens having an achromatic microscope objective lens with 3.3X magnification, and the working distance is 0.2 mm; it provides diffraction limit performance in a wide field range, and the whole field has no vignetting effect; the lens 2 comprises an optical element coated with an antireflection film to improve the transmittance; however, the characteristics of the objective lens greatly reduce the field of view in this mode, and the short working distance makes it possible to perform only surface analysis, and it is necessary to conduct the intra-operative non-invasive pathological analysis of the tissue at the cellular level by means of the guidance of the lesion discovered by the 3D scan in the OCT mode provided by the aforementioned scanning lens.

Wherein, table 1 is a lens design table of the lens 2 in the OCT state:

#

type of noodle

Radius of curvature

Thickness of

Glass

Radius of

Coefficient 0

Coefficient of 1

0

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

3.00E-01

6.00E-01

0.00E+00

1

Standard noodle

5.10E-01

1.50E+00

H-K9L

6.63E-01

0.00E+00

2

Standard noodle

4.37E-01

2.00E-01

6.29E-01

0.00E+00

3

GRINSUR9

0.00E+00

1.72E+00

SLW-1.8

6.41E-01

0.00E+00

5.00E-01

4

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

6.56E-01

0.00E+00

5

Standard noodle

3.63E-01

4.00E-01

H-K9L

6.49E-01

0.00E+00

6

Standard noodle

-7.31E-01

1.00E+00

SF10

6.26E-01

0.00E+00

7

Standard noodle

-4.02E-01

3.56E+00

5.62E-01

0.00E+00

8

Standard noodle

4.19E-01

1.80E+00

H-K9L

9.91E-01

0.00E+00

9

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

1.00E-01

H-K9L

9.35E-01

0.00E+00

10

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

1.32E+00

9.32E-01

0.00E+00

11

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

Tissue of

8.84E-01

0.00E+00

Table 1 lens design table of lens 2 in OCT state

Wherein, table 2 is a lens design table of the lens 2 in a confocal state:

#

type of noodle

Radius of curvature

Thickness of

Glass

Radius of

Coefficient 0

Coefficient of 1

0

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

3.00E-01

6.00E-01

0.00E+00

1

Standard noodle

5.10E-01

1.50E+00

H-K9L

6.63E-01

0.00E+00

2

Standard noodle

4.37E-01

3.56E+00

6.27E-01

0.00E+00

3

GRINSUR9

0.00E+00

1.72E+00

SLW-1.8

1.01E+00

0.00E+00

5.00E-01

4

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

9.60E-01

0.00E+00

5

Standard noodle

3.63E-01

4.00E-01

H-K9L

9.28E-01

0.00E+00

6

Standard noodle

-7.31E-01

1.00E+00

SF10

9.68E-01

0.00E+00

7

Standard noodle

-4.02E-01

0.00E+00

8.88E-01

0.00E+00

8

Standard noodle

4.19E-01

1.80E+00

H-K9L

7.59E-01

0.00E+00

9

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

1.00E-01

H-K9L

2.76E-01

0.00E+00

10

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

2.00E-01

2.51E-01

0.00E+00

11

Standard noodle

0.00E+00

Tissue of

1.82E-01

0.00E+00

Table 2 lens design table of lens 2 in confocal state

In some specific embodiments, the optical fiber driving tube 3 includes an optical fiber 301 and a PZT driving tube 300, the optical fiber 301 is connected to the lens 2, the optical fiber 301 is connected to the PZT driving tube 300, and the PZT driving tube 300 drives the optical fiber 301 to perform a helical motion, so as to realize a complete scan of the focal plane of the lens 2.

In some embodiments, the optical fiber 301 receives/emits OCT or confocal signal laser, and the optical fiber 301 is a single-mode or multi-mode or double-clad optical fiber. The optical fiber 301 generally adopts 9/125 single-mode optical fiber, and the end face is plated with an antireflection film, so that the optical fiber is very suitable for a system sensitive to back reflection; polishing the fiber at the tip by an angle of 8 degrees to ensure that the typical return loss is 60 dB; the length of the optical fiber 301 depends on the speed at which the helical scan is performed, and the weight of the optical fiber 301 should be such that the optical fiber 301 is in a resonant motion when performing the helical scan, and if the weight is insufficient, a stainless steel weighted tube is sleeved over the optical fiber 301.

In some embodiments, the PZT driving tube 300 employs a piezoelectric ceramic scanning tube, and the piezoelectric ceramic scanning tube scanner is a piezoelectric ceramic tube capable of three-dimensional motion, and is used for three-dimensional micro-scanning and positioning; the piezoelectric ceramic tube scanner is a piezoelectric ceramic tube with thinner wall thickness, a radial structure, four electrodes on the outer wall and an integrated or partitioned electrode on the inner wall, when a voltage is applied to a certain area from the outside, the ceramic tube contracts in the vertical direction, the top of the ceramic tube is inclined greatly, and the piezoelectric ceramic tube scanner can expand and contract in the axial direction or the radial direction by applying the voltage. The whole optical fiber driving tube 3 does helical motion during working, and the whole focal plane of the lens 2 is scanned.

In some embodiments, the auxiliary assembly 4 further comprises a gas/water channel 400 and a vice channel 401: when the laparoscopic surgery is performed, the air/water channel 400 is connected with a pneumoperitoneum machine, stacked tissues are jacked up by blowing air, the surgical field of view is provided for an operator, the movable space of the miniature endoscopic probe is expanded, and the diameter of the air/water channel 400 is 0.86 mm; when hemorrhage during operation obstructs the visual field of a lens or respiratory tract operation is carried out to find that the visual field of a large amount of sputum is fuzzy, instruments such as a electrotome ultrasonic knife and a sampling clamp are inserted through a clamp channel 401, and the diameter of the clamp channel 401 is 1.23 mm.

The miniature camera module 402 is integrated with an LED, a CMOS photosensitive chip and an analog-to-digital conversion chip for illumination, so that the miniature camera module 402 can directly output digital signals to an upper computer at the rear end; the micro-endoscopic probe is guided to enter a lesion position through the micro-camera module 402; the size of the miniature camera module 402 is 0.65mm 1.1 mm.

The micro camera module 402 can be replaced by a near-infrared camera module, and high-power laser is input through the optical fiber 301, so that fluorescence excitation imaging of tissues can be realized.

In the technical scheme, when the miniature endoscopic probe works, the miniature camera module 402 starts to illuminate and shoot, guides the miniature endoscopic probe to go to a lesion position, then the cable 202 drives the focusing lens group 201 to move in place, so that the lens 2 enters an OCT mode, and the optical fiber driving tube 3 starts to perform spiral scanning; after the focus is determined, the cable 202 drives the focusing lens group 201 to move, so that the lens 2 enters a confocal mode, and the optical fiber driving tube 3 continues to perform helical scanning to analyze the property of the focus.

In the description herein, references to the description of the terms "one embodiment," "certain embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples," etc., mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the examples described above, but that modifications and variations may be effected thereto by those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description, and that all such modifications and variations are intended to be within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A micro-endoscope probe having a multi-modality, comprising:

2. The micro-endoscopic probe having multiple modalities according to claim 1, wherein the tube body comprises a main body tube and an outer tube for protecting human tissues from the main body tube, the outer tube being wrapped around the main body tube; the lens, the optical fiber driving tube and the auxiliary assembly are arranged in the main body tube.

3. The micro endoscopic probe having multiple modes according to claim 2, wherein a gap between the main tube and the outer tube is fixed by dispensing and filled with dispensing.

4. The micro-endoscope probe with multiple modalities according to claim 1, wherein the lens comprises a front lens, a focusing lens set and a rear lens arranged in sequence, the front lens is fixedly installed in the tube, the focusing lens set and the rear lens are installed in a connected manner, the focusing lens set is connected with a cable, and the cable is driven to drive the focusing lens set to move back and forth in the tube so as to switch the micro-endoscope probe between confocal microscopy and OCT.

5. The micro endoscopic probe having multiple modalities according to claim 4, wherein the anterior lens is a plano-convex thick lens.

6. The micro-endoscopic probe with multiple modalities according to claim 4, wherein said focusing lens set comprises a self-focusing lens and a double cemented lens.

7. The micro-endoscope probe with multiple modalities according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the lens further comprises a window sheet provided on the front face of the front lens for sealing the front end of the entire micro-endoscope probe against water leakage, and the window sheet is provided with an opening for ensuring imaging and application of OCT.

8. The micro-endoscope probe with multiple modalities according to claim 1, wherein the optical fiber driving tube comprises an optical fiber and a PZT driving tube, the optical fiber is connected with the lens, the optical fiber is connected with the PZT driving tube, the PZT driving tube drives the optical fiber to perform helical motion, and the whole scanning of the focal plane of the lens is realized.

9. The miniature endoscopic probe provided with multiple modalities according to claim 1, wherein said accessory module further comprises an air/water channel and a clamp channel.

10. The micro endoscopic probe having multiple modalities according to claim 1, wherein the illumination LED, CMOS light sensing chip and analog-to-digital conversion chip are integrated on the micro camera module.