CN113520325A - High-resolution optical scanning probe with quickly replaceable protective sleeve - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a high-resolution optical scanning probe capable of quickly replacing a protective sleeve, which comprises: a probe base; the probe tube is fixedly connected to the probe seat; the probe comprises a probe tube, a protective sleeve and a connecting component, wherein the probe tube is sleeved with the protective sleeve and made of hard materials, the outer end of the protective sleeve is fixedly connected with a window, the probe seat is provided with the connecting component, and the inner end of the protective sleeve can be detachably clamped with the connecting component. Through improving the protective sheath into the stereoplasm structure, establish the window of former probe pipe tip and protective sheath as overall structure to make between protective sheath and the probe seat through coupling assembling detachably be connected, can guarantee the imaging quality when cutting off cross infection.

Description

High-resolution optical scanning probe with quickly replaceable protective sleeve

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of medical equipment screens, in particular to a high-resolution optical scanning probe capable of quickly replacing a protective sleeve.

Background

In clinical medicine, in order to make an accurate diagnosis of a diseased region, it is often necessary to take out a part of diseased tissue from a patient by means of cutting, clamping, or puncturing, and the like, to prepare a section through procedures such as fixing, embedding, sectioning, staining, and the like, and to make a pathological diagnosis by observing under a microscope. This type of examination is called biopsy. Biopsy provides important basis for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis judgment of clinicians. However, biopsy is an invasive examination method, cannot be used as a conventional screening means, and has a complicated process and a long result time. In addition, biopsy has a certain miss rate due to the limited location available for sampling. In recent years, advanced optical image detection means, such as Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and confocal imaging, have been rapidly developed, and resolution close to that of pathological examination has been obtained. The optical imaging detection method does not need to cut or specially process a tissue sample, and can noninvasively acquire a high-resolution image of in-vivo tissue in real time, so that a doctor is helped to quickly and accurately acquire a diagnosis basis, unnecessary biopsy is reduced, or the biopsy accuracy is improved, and the optical imaging detection method has great clinical application value.

OCT is a high-resolution noninvasive optical imaging technology, and the basic principle of the OCT is a low-coherence light interference technology, and the OCT utilizes low-coherence near-infrared light to irradiate biological tissues and obtains two-dimensional cross-sectional images or three-dimensional reconstruction images with micron-scale resolution of the biological tissues by carrying out interference measurement on scattered light signals. In OCT, image contrast is generated by the optical refractive index mismatch of tissue structures, without the need for exogenous contrast agents, and the depth of imaging in tissue is about 2-3 mm. OCT is well suited for surface applications such as retinal imaging, and with the development of OCT probe catheter technology in recent years, OCT is increasingly being used in endoscopic fields including cardiovascular, digestive tract, lung, laryngeal and urogenital systems, among others.

Confocal microscopy is an optical imaging technique for front-side (en face) imaging that obtains high resolution and high contrast images by using pinholes to restrict the passage of off-focus light. Confocal microscopy can also reconstruct images of three-dimensional structures by changing the position of the focal plane in the sample. In general, confocal microscopy is superior to OCT in lateral resolution, but inferior to OCT in longitudinal resolution and imaging depth. Because OCT generally uses a single-mode fiber as an optical transmission device, and the single-mode fiber has a very small core diameter and can function as a pinhole, OCT and confocal microscopy have some similar characteristics in imaging. Similar to the OCT technique, the confocal imaging technique can also be applied to the endoscopic field, and the two techniques have certain commonality in the internal snooping head hardware technique. In addition, on the basis of hardware of common confocal scanning, a spectrum technology can be added to realize confocal autofluorescence imaging or fluorescence imaging of exogenous fluorescent dye and the like.

In order to apply these optical detection techniques to screening and diagnosis of various diseases, an important step is to transmit and focus a light beam to a target tissue region, and collect a returned light signal and transmit the light signal to a collection device. In the process, the quality of light beam transmission and focusing directly determines important indexes such as resolution, signal-to-noise ratio and the like of the optical image. To achieve this goal, we have previously designed an optical scanning probe for gynecological examinations (utility model patent publication No.: CN 212261344U; invention patent publication No.: CN 111568377A). The probe has micron-scale high resolution, and cell-level imaging is obtained in living tissues for the first time. The probe can be applied to gynecological examination, and can also be applied to examination of all body epidermis or mucosa tissues which can be touched by the probe, such as skin, oral cavity and the like. In practice, in order to avoid possible cross infection among patients, the protection method commonly used at present is to cover a thin disposable transparent latex protective sleeve outside the probe for isolation, and the thin disposable transparent latex protective sleeve is replaced once every patient is done. There are problems with the use of such a protective sheath: firstly, in order to not influence the imaging quality too much, the protective sleeve is very thin and has certain damage risk; secondly, even if the protective sleeve is thin, the latex material is difficult to be completely transparent, and still has some influence on the imaging quality, which shows that the transverse resolution is obviously reduced, and the reduction degree is directly related to the thickness of the protective sleeve; thirdly, two reflecting surfaces are added to the protective sleeve, each added reflecting surface can introduce some stray light (noise), although the stray light introduced by the reflecting surface can be reduced by smearing a coupling agent, the stray light cannot be completely eliminated, in addition, the complete contact between the probe and the protective sleeve is difficult to ensure in practical use, and the bright stray light reflection still has a larger chance to be seen, so that the observation of the sample tissue is influenced. To solve this problem, we invented a probe that includes a hard protective sheath. The original integrated high-resolution optical scanning probe is divided into an inner part and an outer part, wherein the inner part is an optical lens with a core and a corresponding tubular mechanical structure, and the outer part is a hard probe protective sleeve with a plano-convex window. The protective sleeve and the probe seat interface are designed, so that the protective sleeve can be conveniently disassembled and assembled, and can be quickly replaced before the patient is checked at every time, and the purpose of avoiding cross infection is achieved. The protective sleeve is made of biocompatible materials, has simple structure and low cost, is suitable for large-scale production and disinfection, and can be used as a disposable product or repeatedly disinfected and used as required. Because the original probe window and the protective sleeve are integrated, the imaging quality can not be reduced while the cross infection is prevented.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving, at least to some extent, one of the technical problems presented in the related art.

Therefore, the invention aims to provide a high-resolution optical scanning probe with a quick replaceable protective sleeve, which can ensure the imaging quality while preventing cross infection.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a high resolution optical scanning probe with a fast replaceable protective cover, comprising: a probe base; the probe tube is fixedly connected to the probe seat; the probe comprises a probe tube, a protective sleeve and a connecting component, wherein the probe tube is sleeved with the protective sleeve and made of hard materials, the outer end of the protective sleeve is fixedly connected with a window, the probe seat is provided with the connecting component, and the inner end of the protective sleeve can be detachably clamped with the connecting component.

According to the high-resolution optical scanning probe capable of quickly replacing the protective sleeve, the protective sleeve is improved into a hard structure, the window at the end part of the original probe tube and the protective sleeve are designed into an integral structure, and the protective sleeve and the probe seat are detachably connected through the connecting component, so that cross infection is prevented, and meanwhile, the imaging quality is guaranteed.

In addition, the optical scanning probe with high resolution and capable of rapidly replacing the protective sleeve provided by the invention can also have the following additional technical characteristics:

further, the connection assembly includes: the fixed sleeve is fixedly connected to the probe seat and sleeved on the probe tube, and the periphery of the fixed sleeve is clamped with the balls; the movable sleeve is sleeved on the fixed sleeve, a compression ring which is abutted against the outer wall of the fixed sleeve is arranged on the inner periphery of the movable sleeve, and a first spring is fixedly connected between the compression ring and the fixed sleeve; the supporting plate is embedded in the fixed sleeve and sleeved on the probe tube, and a second spring is fixedly connected between the supporting plate and the probe seat; when the movable sleeve moves towards the probe seat side, the first spring is compressed, the press ring is separated from the ball, the support plate is driven by the second spring to be away from the probe seat side to push the protective sleeve, and the ball relieves the limitation on the protective sleeve.

Furthermore, a clamping groove clamped with the ball is arranged on the protective sleeve.

Furthermore, the end of the fixing sleeve is provided with a limiting groove, and the protective sleeve is provided with a limiting block clamped with the limiting groove.

Furthermore, the fixed sleeve is connected with a limiting ring in a clamping mode, and the limiting ring is arranged on the outer side of the ball.

Furthermore, the fixing sleeve is provided with a through hole for clamping the ball, and the diameter of the port at the inner side of the through hole is smaller than that of the ball.

Furthermore, a fastening sleeve is screwed on the probe seat, and the fixing sleeve is clamped on the inner side of the fastening sleeve.

Further, the protective sheath is coaxial with the probe tube.

Further, the fixing sleeve is coaxial with the protective sheath.

Drawings

The foregoing and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective covers according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the protective sheath of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the protective sheath of FIG. 1 installed;

reference numerals:

100. a high-resolution optical scanning probe capable of quickly replacing a protective sleeve;

101. a probe base;

102. a probe tube;

110. a connecting assembly;

111. fastening sleeves; 112. fixing the sleeve; 1121. a limiting groove; 1122. a protrusion; 1123. a through hole; 113. a movable sleeve; 1131. pressing a ring; 114. a support plate; 115. a first spring; 116. a second spring; 117. a ball bearing; 118. a limiting ring;

130. a protective sleeve; 131. a limiting block; 132. a window; 133. a clamping groove.

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 or similar 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 drawings are illustrative and intended to be illustrative of the invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

A high resolution optical scanning probe 100 with quick change of protective covers according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the present invention provides a high resolution optical scanning probe 100 capable of fast replacing a protective sheath, which comprises a probe holder 101, a probe tube 102 and a protective sheath 130.

Specifically, the probe tube 102 is fixedly connected to the probe holder 101 according to a predetermined light path, the protective sleeve 130 is sleeved outside the probe tube 102, the protective sleeve 130 is detachably connected to the probe holder 101 through the connecting assembly 110, and the outer port of the protective sleeve 130 is fixedly connected to the window 132.

Compared with the optical probe in the related art, the protective sleeve 130 in the embodiment is made of a hard material and is detachably and fixedly connected with the probe holder 101, so that the protective sleeve 130 has certain reusability; the window 132 at the end of the probe tube is moved to the end of the protective sheath 130 in the related art, thereby preventing cross infection and ensuring the imaging quality.

In this embodiment, the connection assembly 110 includes a fastening sleeve 111, a fixed sleeve 112, a movable sleeve 113, and a support plate 114.

The fastening sleeve 111 is screwed to the probe holder 101, and the fastening sleeve 111 is disposed coaxially with the probe tube 102, for example.

The fixed sleeve 112 is clamped and fixed on the probe seat 101 by the fastening sleeve 111, the fixed sleeve 112 and the probe tube 102 are coaxially arranged, the fixed sleeve 112 is sleeved outside the probe tube 102 and keeps a certain gap with the probe tube 102 for inserting the protective sleeve 130.

In the present embodiment, the fixing sleeve 112 is provided with a plurality of through holes 1123 along the circumferential direction, and the balls 117 are engaged with the through holes 1123.

The through hole 1123 is arranged in the radial direction of the fixing sleeve 112, and in order to prevent the ball 117 from slipping down to the inner cavity of the fixing sleeve 112 through the through hole 1123, the inner port of the through hole 1123 is designed to have a diameter smaller than that of the ball 117.

In the present embodiment, an annular protrusion 1122 is provided on the inner periphery of the fixing sleeve 112, the through hole 1123 penetrates the protrusion 1122, and the protrusion 1122 abuts against the outer periphery of the protective cover 130.

The ball 117 partially protrudes from the protrusion 1122 and the ball 117 can move along the through hole 1123 to disengage from the protective sleeve 130.

A limiting ring 118 is further clamped on the outer periphery of the fixed sleeve 112, the limiting ring 118 is located outside the through hole 1123, and the limiting ring 118 extends to the outer side of the fixed sleeve 112 for limiting the balls 117 and the movable sleeve 113.

A limiting groove 1121 is formed at a port of the fixing sleeve 112, and the limiting groove 1121 extends along the axial direction of the fixing sleeve 112.

In addition, the movable sleeve 113 is sleeved on the fixed sleeve 112, the inner circumference of the movable sleeve 113 is provided with a press ring 1131 abutted against the outer wall of the fixed sleeve 112, and a first spring 115 is fixedly connected between the press ring 1131 and the fixed sleeve 112.

Specifically, the length of the movable sleeve 113 is smaller than that of the fixed sleeve 112, the inner diameter of the movable sleeve 113 is larger than the outer diameter of the fixed sleeve 112, the first spring 115 is sleeved outside the fixed sleeve 112, and the two ends of the first spring 115 are fixed between the press ring 1131 and the fixed sleeve 112.

The pressing ring 1131 and the movable sleeve 113 are of an integral structure, and the pressing ring 1131 is slidably abutted against the outer wall of the fixed sleeve 112.

In the present embodiment, the stopper ring 118 abuts on an outer side wall of the pressing ring 1131 for restricting the axial displacement of the movable sleeve 113.

When the pressing ring 1131 abuts against the limiting ring 118, the pressing ring 1131 is located on the through hole 1123, and the ball 117 is ejected out to the inner side of the through hole 1123, so that the ball 117 is clamped with the clamping groove 133 on the protective sleeve 130, at this time, the limiting block 131 on the protective sleeve 130 is clamped in the limiting groove 1121, and the limiting block 131 is used for limiting the axial position of the protective sleeve 130.

As an example, the movable sleeve 113 is coaxially arranged with the probe tube 102.

In addition, the supporting plate 114 is embedded in the fixing sleeve 112 and sleeved outside the probe tube 102, and a second spring 116 is fixedly connected between the supporting plate 114 and the probe holder 101.

Specifically, the supporting plate 114 is in a ring plate shape as a whole, the outer periphery of the supporting plate 114 abuts against the inner wall of the fixing sleeve 112, the second spring 116 is sleeved outside the probe tube 102, two ends of the second spring 116 are fixed on the supporting plate 114 and the probe holder 101 respectively, and the second spring 116 is in a compressed state between the supporting plate 114 and the probe holder 101.

In this embodiment, the supporting plate 114 is located inside the protrusion 1122, and the protrusion 1122 is used to limit the axial position of the supporting plate 114.

When the movable sleeve 113 moves toward the probe holder 101, the first spring 115 is compressed, the pressing ring 1131 disengages from the balls 117, the support plate 114 is driven by the second spring 116 to push the protective cover 130 away from the probe holder 101, the balls 117 release the restriction on the protective cover 130, and the protective cover 130 is ejected out of the fixed sleeve 112 by the support plate 140.

As an example, the protective sheath 130 and the probe tube 102 remain coaxially disposed.

In this embodiment, when the protective sheath 130 is installed: the protective sleeve 130 is sleeved on the probe tube 102, the protective sleeve 130 is pushed inwards under the condition that the limiting blocks 131 are aligned with the limiting grooves 1121, the balls 117 are pressed into the clamping grooves 133 on the protective sleeve 130, axial limiting to the protective sleeve 130 is formed, at the moment, the limiting blocks 131 are clamped in the limiting grooves 1121, circumferential limiting to the protective sleeve 130 is formed, and the protective sleeve 130 is installed completely.

When the protective sheath 130 is removed: the movable sleeve 113 is pushed inwards, the pressing ring 1131 is separated from the balls 117, the radial limit of the balls 117 is released, the supporting plate 114 pushes the protective sleeve 130 to move outwards, the balls 117 are pushed into the through holes 1123 by the protective sleeve 130, the axial limit of the protective sleeve 130 is released by the balls 117, the protective sleeve 130 is pushed out of the fixed sleeve 112 by the supporting plate 114, and the protective sleeve 130 is completely detached.

It should be noted that, after the protective sheath 130 is detached, a sealing cover (not shown) can be screwed on to seal the protective sheath 130, so as to facilitate soaking, cleaning or disinfection. The inside of the sealing cover can be provided with a waterproof sealing structure to avoid water entering the protective sleeve 130 during cleaning.

According to the high-resolution optical scanning probe 100 with the quick replaceable protective sleeve, the protective sleeve 130 is improved into a hard structure, the window 132 at the end part of the original probe tube and the protective sleeve 130 are designed into an integral structure, and the protective sleeve 130 is detachably connected with the probe seat 101 through the connecting component 110, so that the imaging quality can be ensured while the cross infection is prevented.

It can be understood that the probe according to the embodiment of the application can satisfy high resolution in vivo tissue optical scanning imaging, and solves the problems that the fixed probe structure is not easy to clean and sterilize, the external latex protective sleeve is easy to damage, and the image quality can be reduced. The probe innovatively adopts a mode of integrating the optical window element and the external protective sleeve into a whole, and the hard probe protective sleeve not only plays the roles of isolating cross infection and protecting the internal optical element, but also plays the role of an optical window. Because an additional protective sleeve is not needed, the imaging quality of the probe is not reduced, and the characteristic of high resolution is kept. The hard probe protective sleeve has the advantages of simple structure, low cost, suitability for large-scale production, convenience in quality control and capability of sterilizing in batches. The probe protective sleeve connecting structure has the advantages of simplicity in disassembly and assembly, stability and reliability. The probe sleeve is replaced by a new probe before each patient is examined, and the matching mode of the probe sleeve and the probe inner tube ensures that the consistency and the stability of the structure are maintained when the probe sleeve is replaced.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it should be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and not to be construed as limiting the present invention, and that changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the above embodiments by those of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (9)

1. A high resolution optical scanning probe with a quick replaceable protective cover, comprising:

a probe base;

the probe tube is fixedly connected to the probe seat;

the probe comprises a probe tube, a protective sleeve and a connecting component, wherein the probe tube is sleeved with the protective sleeve and made of hard materials, the outer end of the protective sleeve is fixedly connected with a window, the probe seat is provided with the connecting component, and the inner end of the protective sleeve can be detachably clamped with the connecting component.

2. The high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective cover of claim 1, wherein said attachment assembly comprises:

the fixed sleeve is fixedly connected to the probe seat and sleeved on the probe tube, and the periphery of the fixed sleeve is clamped with the balls;

the movable sleeve is sleeved on the fixed sleeve, a compression ring which is abutted against the outer wall of the fixed sleeve is arranged on the inner periphery of the movable sleeve, and a first spring is fixedly connected between the compression ring and the fixed sleeve;

the supporting plate is embedded in the fixed sleeve and sleeved on the probe tube, and a second spring is fixedly connected between the supporting plate and the probe seat;

when the movable sleeve moves towards the probe seat side, the first spring is compressed, the press ring is separated from the ball, the support plate is driven by the second spring to be away from the probe seat side to push the protective sleeve, and the ball relieves the limitation on the protective sleeve.

3. The high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective cover of claim 2, wherein said protective cover has a slot for engaging said ball.

4. The high-resolution optical scanning probe capable of rapidly replacing the protective sleeve as claimed in claim 2, wherein a limit groove is formed at an end of the fixing sleeve, and a limit block engaged with the limit groove is formed on the protective sleeve.

5. The high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective cover of claim 2, wherein the fixing sleeve is clamped with a limiting ring, and the limiting ring is the outer side of the ball.

6. The high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective cover of claim 2, wherein the fixing sleeve has a through hole for engaging the ball, and the diameter of the inner port of the through hole is smaller than the diameter of the ball.

7. The fast-replaceable protective cover high-resolution optical scanning probe head of claim 2, wherein a fastening sleeve is screwed on the probe base, and the fixing sleeve is clamped inside the fastening sleeve.

8. The high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective cover of claim 1, wherein said protective cover is coaxial with said probe tube.

9. The high resolution optical scanning probe with quick replaceable protective cover of claim 2, wherein said retaining sleeve is coaxial with said protective cover.

Images