CN114305289A

CN114305289A - Endoscope handle, endoscope and endoscope system

Info

Publication number: CN114305289A
Application number: CN202011044769.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘丹; 李中华; 刘畅; 刘民; 管鑫
Original assignee: Microport Urocare Jiaxing Co Ltd; Microport Urocare Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Microport Urocare Jiaxing Co Ltd; Microport Urocare Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-28
Filing date: 2020-09-28
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Also published as: WO2022062514A1

Abstract

The invention relates to an endoscope handle, an endoscope and an endoscope system. The endoscope comprises a handle body, wherein a wire outlet used for leading out an external cable is formed in the handle body, the handle body is provided with a holding area, and the wire outlet is formed in one side, facing the far end of the handle body, of the holding area. The invention has the advantages of reducing the burden of a user when holding the handle of the endoscope, increasing the holding stability, reducing the wiring difficulty of the internal signal wire and improving the quality of image signal transmission.

Description

Endoscope handle, endoscope and endoscope system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of medical instruments, in particular to an endoscope handle, an endoscope and an endoscope system.

Background

Endoscopes are a common medical device that may be used for a variety of examination and surgical procedures. Functional minimally invasive surgery with medical endoscopes has gained widespread acceptance by physicians and patients compared to traditional surgical procedures. As long as the medical endoscope utilizes natural holes of a human body or opens small holes when necessary, a doctor can perform the operation of the closed operation in the body by skillfully inserting the endoscope lens into the body.

In the traditional endoscopic surgery, a doctor manually controls an endoscope to reach a specified position through a handle body and then performs corresponding surgical operation. An endoscope such as that shown in fig. 1 includes a handle body 3, the handle body 3 is connected to a light guide connector 2 through a cable 4, the light guide connector 2 is also connected to a video connector 1 through a cable 4, wherein the light guide connector 2 is used for connecting to an output socket of a light source to transmit light from the light source to the endoscope, the video connector 1 is used for connecting to an output socket of an image processor to observe an image of the endoscope, and the handle body 3 is used for controlling the operation of the entire endoscope. In addition, during the operation, as shown in fig. 2a to 2c, the doctor needs to hold the handle body 3 to operate, and the endoscope is in a substantially vertical state, and the thumb holding the handle body 3 is put on the operation hand wheel 31 (i.e., the rotation mechanism) of the handle body 3 to control the bending of the insertion portion 5. However, in view of the commonly used hand-holding posture of the doctor and the posture of the operating handwheel for operating the endoscope handle, when the cable 4 is led out from the upper part of the handle body 3, and the cable 4 is usually a relatively heavy optical fiber (or light beam), the cable 4 is easy to interfere with the operating hand or arm of the doctor, and the center of gravity of the holding part of the handle is easy to move upwards, which not only causes unstable holding, but also increases the operating burden of the doctor, and is not beneficial to the operation. In addition, the operation handwheel 31 and the corresponding pull wires 33 are basically concentrated on the upper portion of the handle, and therefore, the signal wires 32 in the handle body 3 need to be routed from the operation handwheel 31 by finding gaps, which not only causes the narrow wiring space of the signal wires 32 and difficulty in routing, but also increases the difficulty of structural design, and the signal wires 32 are also easily interfered with the pull wires 33. In addition, for a disposable endoscope, the cable 4 is usually inseparably provided on the handle body 3, resulting in the cable 4 being discarded together with the handle body 3, significantly increasing the cost. In addition, the image signal of the conventional endoscope is transmitted by an analog signal, and there is a problem that the image quality is not good due to a long transmission distance.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope handle, an endoscope, and an endoscope system for reducing the operation burden on a user from a handle body, avoiding the influence of an external cable on the operation of the user, reducing the difficulty of routing a signal line inside the handle body, and reducing the interference with a pull line.

To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention provides an endoscope handle, including a handle body including an outlet for leading out an external cable; the handle body is provided with a holding area, and the wire outlet is arranged on one side of the holding area facing to the far end of the handle body.

To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention also provides an endoscope including an insertion section and an endoscope handle; the insertion part is connected with the distal end of the endoscope handle; the endoscope further includes an image capturing element disposed at a distal end of the insertion portion and configured to capture an image.

To achieve the above and other related objects, the present invention also provides an endoscope system comprising an endoscope, an image processor, and a display; the endoscope is in communication connection with the image processor through a cable, and the image processor is in communication connection with the display.

Optionally, an included angle is formed between the axis of the outlet and a predetermined direction, the included angle is smaller than or equal to 90 °, and the predetermined direction is a direction in which the proximal end of the handle body points to the distal end.

Optionally, the outlet is provided with a connector for plugging with an external cable.

Optionally, the handle body further comprises a multi-way interface, the multi-way interface and the holding area are arranged on the same side of the handle body, and the wire outlet and the multi-way interface are arranged on two opposite sides of the handle body;

the outlet is arranged at a position corresponding to the multi-way interface, or the outlet is arranged between the multi-way interface and an anti-breaking part, or the outlet is arranged on the anti-breaking part;

the anti-break part is positioned at the far end of the handle body.

Optionally, the material of the fracture-preventing portion is a polymer material and is configured into a tapered structure, and the large-diameter end of the fracture-preventing portion is connected with the distal end of the handle body.

Optionally, the endoscope handle further comprises a signal adapter plate disposed in the inner cavity of the handle body; the signal adapter plate is used for converting an analog signal of an image acquired by the endoscope into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal; the connector is used for receiving and outputting the digital signal output by the signal adapter plate; the signal adapter plate is connected with the connector through a signal line, or the connector is arranged on the signal adapter plate.

Optionally, the endoscope further comprises a signal adapter plate, and the image acquisition element is connected with the signal adapter plate through a coaxial signal line and is used for transmitting an analog signal of the acquired image to the signal adapter plate; the signal adapter plate is used for converting the analog signal of the image into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal; the signal patch panel is disposed in the inner cavity of the insertion portion, or the signal patch panel is disposed on an external cable.

Optionally, an amplifier is disposed on the coaxial signal line.

Optionally, the cable comprises an inner cable and an outer cable, the image capturing element of the endoscope is connected with a connector at the outlet through the inner cable, the connector is connected with the outer cable;

the endoscope system further comprises a sterile device, wherein the sterile device is used for arranging part of the external cable, and one end of the sterile bag is used for being fixed on the connecting outlet.

Optionally, an anti-falling structure for preventing the sterile device from falling off is arranged on the outlet, and/or a limiting structure for limiting the sterile device is arranged on the outlet.

Optionally, the aseptic device comprises an aseptic bag, the anti-drop structure comprises a protrusion formed on an outer surface of the outlet, the protrusion is used for increasing friction force of the aseptic bag contacting with the surface of the outlet, and/or,

the limiting structure comprises a ring of annular bulges formed on the outer surface of the outlet, and the annular bulges are used for being arranged inside the sterile bag and positioned on one side of one fixed end of the sterile bag.

Optionally, the sterile device comprises a sterile bag, one end of which is ligated and secured to the outlet.

Optionally, the sterile device further includes a sealing cover disposed at the outlet to seal a position where the outlet is connected to the cable.

The endoscope handle, the endoscope and the endoscope system have the following advantages:

firstly, the wire outlet is arranged at one side of the holding area of the endoscope handle facing to the far end of the handle, so that the influence of a cable on the hand or the arm of an operator is reduced, the burden of the holding part of the endoscope on the operator is relieved, the holding stability is improved, meanwhile, the signal wires are easier to arrange and route in the handle, the routing difficulty is reduced, the structural design in the handle is simplified, and the interference between the signal wires and the pull wires is reduced;

secondly, the connector which is used for being plugged with an external cable is arranged at the outlet, so that the external cable can be conveniently and detachably arranged on the endoscope, the external cable and the endoscope can be conveniently separated, and the cost of the disposable endoscope is reduced;

thirdly, the analog signal of the image is converted into the digital signal through the signal adapter plate for transmission, so that the stability of the image signal is improved, the anti-interference performance of the image signal is improved, and the imaging quality of the output image signal is better;

and fourthly, the connector is arranged on the signal adapter plate, so that the connector and the signal adapter plate are integrated, the structure is simplified, and the manufacturing difficulty of a transmission line is reduced.

Drawings

The drawings are included to provide a better understanding of the invention and are not to be construed as unduly limiting the invention. Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art endoscope;

FIG. 2a is a schematic view of a prior art endoscope at the handle body;

FIG. 2b is a schematic view of a prior art grip handle body;

FIG. 2c is a schematic view of the internal structure of the handle body in a holding state according to the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the construction of an endoscope system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4a is a schematic view of the body of the grip handle in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4b is a schematic view of the internal structure of the handle body in a gripping state according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial view of the handle body in the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of image signal transmission in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of image signal transmission in another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The reference numerals are explained below:

1-video connector; 2-an optical connector; 3-a handle body; 31-operating a hand wheel; 32-signal lines; 33-pulling the wire; 4-a cable; 5-an insertion portion;

1000-endoscope;

1001-handle body;

1002-an insertion portion; 1021-an image capture element;

1003-operation control section; 1031-operating a hand wheel; 1032-a stay wire;

1004-outlet port; 1041-a first projection; 1042 — a second projection;

1005-a gripping area;

1006-a multi-pass interface;

1007-a break-resistant portion;

1008 connector

2000-an image processor;

3000-display;

4000-a cable; 4010 — external cable; 4020 — inner cable;

5000-sterile devices; 5001-sterile bag;

6000-signal adapter plate.

Detailed Description

The embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to specific embodiments, and other advantages and effects of the present invention will be easily understood by those skilled in the art from the disclosure of the present specification. The invention is capable of other and different embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways, and its several details are capable of modification in various respects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be noted that the drawings provided in the present embodiment are only for illustrating the basic idea of the present invention, and the components related to the present invention are only shown in the drawings rather than drawn according to the number, shape and size of the components in actual implementation, and the type, quantity and proportion of the components in actual implementation may be changed freely, and the layout of the components may be more complicated.

Furthermore, each of the embodiments described below has one or more technical features, and thus, the use of the technical features of any one embodiment does not necessarily mean that all of the technical features of any one embodiment are implemented at the same time or that only some or all of the technical features of different embodiments are implemented separately. In other words, those skilled in the art can selectively implement some or all of the features of any embodiment or combinations of some or all of the features of multiple embodiments according to the disclosure of the present invention and according to design specifications or implementation requirements, thereby increasing the flexibility in implementing the invention.

As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents, and the plural forms "a plurality" includes more than two referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification, the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and/or" unless the content clearly dictates otherwise, and the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected. Either mechanically or electrically. 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.

To further clarify the objects, advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. It is to be noted that the drawings are in a very simplified form and are not to precise scale, which is merely for the purpose of facilitating and distinctly claiming the embodiments of the present invention. The same or similar reference numbers in the drawings identify the same or similar elements.

As used herein, the terms "proximal" and "distal" refer to the relative orientation, relative position, and orientation of elements or actions with respect to one another from the perspective of a clinician using the medical device, and although "proximal" and "distal" are not intended to be limiting, the term "proximal" generally refers to the end of the medical device that is closer to the clinician during normal operation, and the term "distal" generally refers to the end that is first introduced into a patient.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic view of the construction of an endoscope system in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the endoscope system includes an endoscope 1000, an image processor 2000, and a display 3000. The endoscope 1000 is communicatively coupled to the image processor 2000 via a cable 4000. The image processor 2000 is communicatively coupled to the display 3000. The image signal collected by the endoscope 1000 is transmitted to the image processor 2000 through the cable 4000 for processing, and after processing and restoration, the image is displayed on the display 3000 for the doctor to observe and diagnose. The endoscope 1000 is mainly an electronic endoscope, and may be a reusable electronic endoscope or a disposable electronic endoscope.

The endoscope 1000 includes a handle body 1001 and an insertion portion 1002. The insertion portion 1002 is connected to the distal end of the handle body 1001. The endoscope 1000 further includes an image pickup element (not shown) provided at the distal end of the insertion portion 1002 and adapted to pick up an image. In this embodiment, the image capturing element is a CMOS element or a CCD element. The proximal end of the handle body 1001 includes an operation control portion 1003, the operation control portion 1003 includes an operation handwheel 1031 (see fig. 4b) for controlling the bending of the front end of the insertion portion 1002, and the operation handwheel 1031 can rotate to drive a pull wire 1032 (see fig. 4b) fixed thereon to move so as to control the bending of the front end of the insertion portion 1002. It will be appreciated that in practice, the endoscope 1000 is held in a substantially upright position, as shown in figures 4a and 4b, with the proximal end of the handle body 1001 in an upper position and the distal end in a lower position.

The handle body 1001 further includes an outlet 1004, and the outlet 1004 is used for leading out an external cable 4010 (see fig. 4a and 4 b). Here, it should be understood that, herein, the aforementioned cable 4000 is divided into the outer cable 4010 and the inner cable 4020, the outer cable 4010 is provided outside the handle, and the inner cable 4020 is provided inside the handle, but both may be integral or separate in structure without requirement. It should also be understood that the exiting of the external cable 4010 through the outlet 1004 includes allowing the entire cable 4000 to exit the outlet 1004, and also includes allowing the connection of the internal cable 4020 inside the handle with the external cable 4010 outside the handle at the outlet 1004, all of which enable wired communication of the endoscope 1000 with the image processor 2000.

In addition, the handle body 1001 has a holding area 1005 (see fig. 4a), and the outlet 1004 is disposed on a side of the holding area 1005 facing the distal end of the handle body 1001. The holding area 1005 is a portion of the handle body 1001 for holding a hand or an arm of a user. Further, the axis of the outlet 1004 forms an included angle with a predetermined direction, the included angle is smaller than or equal to 90 °, and the predetermined direction is a direction in which the proximal end of the handle body 1001 points to the distal end. More preferably, the included angle formed by the axis of the outlet 1004 and the predetermined direction is less than 90 ° and is arranged at an acute angle, so that the advantage of this arrangement is that, when holding, the direction of the outlet 1004 is directed obliquely downward, and thus after leading out the external cable 4010, the external cable 4010 is facilitated to avoid the holding area 1005 better, and further the center of gravity of the handle is facilitated to be further lowered, and the holding burden is reduced.

Further, the specific position of the outlet 1004 is not particularly limited in the present invention, and for example, the outlet 1004 may be disposed at a position corresponding to a multi-way interface 1006, the outlet 1004 and the multi-way interface 1006 are disposed at opposite sides of the handle body 1001, or the outlet 1004 is disposed between the multi-way interface 1006 and a breakage preventing portion 1007, or the outlet 1004 is directly disposed on the breakage preventing portion 1007. The multi-way interface 1006 and the grip 1005 are disposed on the same side of the handle body 1001. The multi-way interface 1006 is mainly a three-way interface, and the three-way interface is connected with an instrument channel in the insertion portion 1002, so that the multi-way interface not only can provide a channel for the surgical instrument to enter and exit the handle, but also can provide a liquid inlet channel or other functions. The anti-break portion 1007 is disposed at the distal end of the handle body 1001 for connection with the insertion portion 1002, and the anti-break portion 1007 functions to provide a structural buffer made of a polymer material with a slight hardness, including but not limited to polyurethane and silicone. The break-off prevention portion 1007 is generally of a tapered configuration with a larger diameter end connected to the distal end of the handle body 1001 and a smaller diameter end connected to the proximal end of the insertion portion 1002. Since the present invention does not relate to the improvement of the breakage preventing portion 1007 and the multi-way interface 1006, their structures will not be described in detail. Furthermore, it should be understood that the outlet 1004 cannot be too close to the holding area 1005, and a certain distance is usually required, for example, the outlet 1004 is preferably disposed above 10055 cm from the holding area.

The advantage of the present invention that the outlet 1004 is configured as above is that, as shown in fig. 4a, when actually holding, since the outlet 1004 is disposed at the lower part of the handle body 1001 and the direction is preferably directed obliquely downward, after the external cable 4010 is drawn out, not only is the interference between the external cable 4010 at the outlet 1004 and the hand or arm of the operator avoided, but also the external cable 4010 naturally hangs down due to its own weight, and the operation of the operator is not substantially interfered. In addition, since the outlet 1004 is disposed at the lower portion of the handle body 1001, the center of gravity of the handle portion can be moved downward, so that the handle is more stable to hold, the operation burden is greatly reduced, and the operation of the doctor is more comfortable. Not only here, as shown in fig. 4b, when actually holding, because the outlet 1004 is disposed at the lower portion of the handle body 1001, the internal cable 4020 (i.e. signal line) inside the handle body 1001 does not need to find a gap from the upper hand wheel 1031 for routing, so that the routing arrangement is easier, thereby also simplifying the structure designed for facilitating routing inside the handle, and greatly reducing the risk of interference with the pull wire 1032.

In this embodiment, the internal cable 4020 and the external cable 4010 may be an integrated cable, that is, a signal line formed by integrating the two cables, one end of the signal line enters the endoscope 1000 through the outlet 1004 and is connected to the image capturing element, and the other end of the signal line is disposed outside the endoscope 1000 and is connected to the image processor 2000. In this case, the outlet 1004 provides only a passage for the entire signal line to enter and exit the handle, and the cable 4000 is not separable from the endoscope 1000, and the endoscope 1000 in this case may be a reusable endoscope or a disposable endoscope, and is preferably a reusable endoscope.

In other embodiments, the internal cable 4020 and the external cable 4010 may also be a split cable, that is, the two cables are separately manufactured and finally connected together, and at this time, the outlet 1004 is provided with a connector, where one end of the internal cable 4020 is connected to the image capturing element, the other end of the internal cable is connected to the connector, one end of the external cable 4010 is used for being plugged into the connector, and the other end of the external cable 4010 is connected to the image processor 2000. In this case, the external cable 4010 is separable from the endoscope 1000, and is applicable to a reusable endoscope, particularly, a disposable endoscope. It will be appreciated that for a disposable endoscope, the whole cable is led out directly from the handle body, which results in the need to dispose of the insertion portion 1002 entering the human body together with the handle body 1001 connected thereto, so that the cost of the material to be disposed of is greatly increased, and for the user using the disposable endoscope, the cost reduction is put at a higher priority, so that reasonable material saving and cost reduction are the primary requirements. In the invention, the external cable 4010 and the handle body 1001 are detachably arranged, so that the use cost of the disposable endoscope is greatly reduced. The invention is not limited to the type of connector, for example, the connector may be a conventional cable connector, such as a male connector or a female connector. For example, the cable connector can be selected from a common aviation plug in the industry, a spring thimble type connector, a PCB plug, a USB and other universal plug interfaces.

Further, if the external cable 4010 is provided separately from the handle body 1001, the external cable 4010 can be reused, and at this time, necessary protection needs to be performed on the external cable 4010 in consideration of an actual use scenario. Since the endoscope is usually used in a sterile operating room, it is necessary to sterilize the endoscope before use in order to prevent cross infection due to contamination of surgical instruments, and therefore, it is necessary to protect the reusable external cable 4010 from being inserted therein.

As shown in fig. 5, the endoscopic system further includes a sterile device 5000 for placement over an external cable 4010, typically a portion of the external cable 4010. Thereby creating a sterile barrier through the sterile apparatus 5000, isolating the location where the external cable 4010 is connected to the connector and the connector from the external environment. Generally, the sterile device 5000 is provided from the end of the external cable 4010 connected to the connector, and the length of the external cable 4010 is sterile-isolated, which is usually 1 meter or more, to protect the cable part in the operating room. Further, the sterile apparatus 5000 may include a sterile bag 5001, and one end of the sterile bag 5001 is hermetically fixed to the outlet 1004. Preferably, as shown in fig. 5, one end of the sterile bag 5001 is sealed and fixed on the outlet 1004 in a ligation manner, wherein the position shown by the hatching is the ligation site S. Furthermore, the outlet 1004 is preferably provided with an anti-falling structure for preventing the aseptic bag 5001 from falling off. The anti-falling structure may include first protrusions 1041 formed on the outer surface of the outlet 1004, and the number and arrangement of the first protrusions 1041 are not required, for example, one or more rows of the first protrusions are provided. The first protrusion 1041 functions to increase the contact friction between the aseptic bag 5000 and the outlet 1004, and effectively reduces the risk of falling off of the aseptic bag 5001. Furthermore, the outlet 1004 is provided with a limiting structure, which can limit the two sides of the fixed part of the aseptic bag 5000, thereby further preventing the aseptic bag 5001 from falling off. Further preferably, the limiting structure and the anti-falling structure can be configured into a structure, which plays a role in both anti-falling and limiting. For example, the position-limiting structure includes a second protrusion 1042, the second protrusion 1042 is disposed inside the sterile bag 5001 and disposed on one side of the ligation site S of the sterile bag 5001, and preferably, the first protrusion 1042 is disposed on the other side of the ligation site S, so that the position-limiting structure is limited by the first protrusion and the second protrusion on both sides of the ligation site S of the sterile bag 5001. Optionally, the first protrusions 1041 are arranged at intervals along the circumference of the outlet 1004, and the second protrusion 1042 is a continuous ring of annular protrusions. It should be understood that the positioning and anti-dropping manner is only illustrative and not limiting. Further, the sterilization apparatus 5000 further includes a sealing cap (not shown) for being disposed at the outlet 1004 to seal a position where the outlet 1004 is connected with an external cable, so as to enable an underwater cleaning or sterilization operation.

Further, the inventor considers that the electronic endoscope is different from the conventional optical endoscope, and generally collects an image by using a CCD element or a CMOS element, and converts the collected optical signal into an electric signal for transmission. However, the electrical signals are divided into analog signals and digital signals, and in general, the analog signals are easily attenuated and distorted during transmission and are also easily interfered by external signals. In view of the practical application scenario of the endoscope, a portion of the endoscope entering the human body is slender, and the endoscope is also connected to the image processor 2000 at the rear side through the long cable 4000, and therefore, it can be considered that the length of the transmission line from the image signal acquisition of the head-end image pickup element of the endoscope is long. It will be understood that the transmission line length is the endoscope length, plus the sum of the transmission lengths to the image processor. Generally, the length of a transmission line of an electronic endoscope is more than 3 meters, the problems of attenuation and disturbance of analog signals in the transmission process are particularly obvious, and the image quality can be directly influenced, and the endoscopes are commonly a bronchoscope, a gastroscope, a duodenoscope, a choledochoscope, an enteroscope, a nephroscope and the like. Therefore, when the endoscope employs a CMOS element or a CCD element based on an analog signal output, it is also necessary to solve a problem that the analog signal is attenuated and easily subjected to external disturbance when transmitting the image signal to the image processor 2000 over a long distance.

In the following description, although the image signal transmission line is described by taking a CMOS element as an example, a person skilled in the art should be able to replace the CMOS element with a CCD element or another element based on the disclosure of the present application. In the present embodiment, a CMOS element is considered as a typical output analog signal, and for this reason, the problem of long-distance high-quality transmission of the analog signal of the CMOS element is considered to be solved, so that the attenuation and interference of the signal are reduced.

The inventors have found that in CMOS devices based on analog signals, the image signal needs to be transmitted via a signal line, which is about 4 meters from the image processor 2000 receiving the signal. In this situation, if the image transmission signal is transmitted only by using a conventional signal line, the analog signal is very easily attenuated and disturbed by external noise, so that the image quality of the image output to the display 3000 is very poor, and the problems of snowflake screen, black screen, and the like are easily caused.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the long-distance transmission of the image signal by the analog signal, in some embodiments, the analog signal may be transmitted by using a coaxial signal line. For example, the internal cable 4020 and/or the external cable 4010 adopt a coaxial signal line (i.e., a coaxial cable), which can protect an analog signal well, thereby reducing signal attenuation, avoiding external noise interference, and improving image quality. However, coaxial signal lines are expensive and are not well suited for use with coaxial cables throughout the entire transmission line in special settings, such as where cost control is required or where a single use endoscope is required.

Preferably, a signal conversion board 6000 is designed in the transmission line to convert the analog signals which are not beneficial to long-distance transmission into digital signals for transmission, so that the problems of attenuation and noise interference in the long-distance transmission of the analog signals can be effectively solved.

As shown in fig. 6, the endoscope 1000 includes an image capturing element 1021, the image capturing element 1021 is connected to a signal adapting board 6000 through a coaxial signal line, and is configured to transmit an analog signal of a captured image to the signal adapting board 6000, the signal adapting board 6000 converts the analog signal of the image into a digital signal and outputs the digital signal, and the digital signal output by the signal adapting board 6000 is transmitted to the image processor 2000 through an external cable 4010. Further, the signal adapter board 600 is configured to convert the analog signal of the image into a serial signal or a parallel signal and output the serial signal or the parallel signal, and the signals can be transmitted over a long distance. The structure and the mode of converting the analog signal into the digital signal by the signal adapter plate 6000 are not limited, and the implementation mode of the analog/digital conversion can adopt the existing analog/digital converter. In addition, the signal conversion board 6000 is preferably located as close to the signal source as possible. In the embodiment of the present invention, the signal adapting board 6000 may be disposed in the inner cavity of the handle body 1001, the inner cavity of the inserting portion 1002, or the external cable 4010 and disposed close to the signal source. Preferably, the signal adapter plate 6000 is disposed in the inner cavity of the handle body 1001, which not only is close to the signal source, but also has enough space for installing the signal adapter plate 6000. More preferably, the signal adapter plate 6000 is disposed at the outlet 1004, and is preferably integrated with the connector 1008, that is, the connector 1008 is disposed on the signal adapter plate 6000, and if a USB interface is disposed on the PCB, the connector 1008 and the signal adapter plate 6000 can be integrated, so that the structure of the transmission line is simplified, and the design difficulty is reduced. In other embodiments, the connector 1008 may also be connected to a signal patch panel 6000 in the handle via signal wires.

As shown in fig. 7, the image capturing element 1021 is connected to a signal adapting board 6000 through a coaxial signal line, the signal adapting board 6000 is connected to a connector 1008, and the connector 1008 is plugged in an external cable 4010, so that a digital signal can be directly transmitted to the image processor 2000 through the external cable 4010. Further, it is to be understood that, in the signal transmission line, the connector 1008 is actually disadvantageous for signal transmission, and if the connector 1008 is in the analog signal transmission section, it is necessary to consider the consistency of the characteristic impedances of the connector 1008 and the signal line and the image pickup element 1021; this problem is not present if the connector 1008 is in the digital signal transmission section, so the difficulty of design can be reduced. Preferably, as shown in fig. 7, the signal adapting board 6000 and the connector 1008 are in a digital signal transmission manner, so that the problem of considering the consistency of the characteristic impedances of the connector 1008, the signal lines and the image capturing element 1021 can be avoided. In addition, the signal adapter plate 6000 is not suggested to be arranged in the inner cavity of the insertion part 1002, because the lens tube of the insertion part 1002 is thin, the inner cavity is small in size, the space is limited, and if a chip with small size is selected and the signal conversion plate 6000 is integrated, the signal adapter plate 6000 is more suitable to be placed in the lens tube of the insertion part 1002 close to the signal source.

Furthermore, the present invention also proves the advantages of performing the signal transfer processing through experiments, such as poor image quality of the image output by the image processor 2000 after long-distance transmission, stable signal, less interference and better output image quality after signal transfer processing. In the contrast experiment, the endoscope optical angle resolution is adopted as an imaging quality evaluation method.

Further, in order to reduce the problem of attenuation during transmission, it is preferable to provide an amplifier on the coaxial signal line, for example, to arrange an amplifier on the coaxial signal line between the image pickup element 1021 and the signal transfer board 6000. Further, the signal conversion board 6000 may be configured with other auxiliary functions besides the analog-to-digital conversion function, such as configuring an RFID circuit for recording product use data or production data, for example, configuring PWM control of an illumination line, or configuring one-time-use encryption information of a disposable endoscope, or configuring writing of a product identification number (i.e., UDI information).

Although the present invention is disclosed above, it is not limited thereto. Various modifications and alterations of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the present invention and its equivalent technology, it is intended that the present invention also include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An endoscope handle is characterized by comprising a handle body, wherein the handle body comprises an outlet for leading out an external cable; the handle body is provided with a holding area, and the wire outlet is arranged on one side of the holding area facing to the far end of the handle body.

2. The endoscope handle of claim 1, wherein the axis of the outlet is angled from a predetermined direction, the angle being less than or equal to 90 °, the predetermined direction being a direction in which the proximal end of the handle body points distally.

3. An endoscope handle according to claim 1 or 2 and wherein said outlet is provided with a connector for plugging with an external cable.

4. The endoscope handle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the handle body further comprises a multi-way interface, the multi-way interface and the gripping region are disposed on the same side of the handle body, and the outlet and the multi-way interface are disposed on opposite sides of the handle body;

the anti-break part is positioned at the far end of the handle body.

5. The endoscope handle of claim 4, wherein the material of the break-off prevention portion is a polymer material and is configured in a tapered structure, and a large-diameter end of the break-off prevention portion is connected with the distal end of the handle body.

6. The endoscopic handle according to claim 3, further comprising a signal patch panel disposed in the lumen of the handle body; the signal adapter plate is used for converting an analog signal of an image acquired by the endoscope into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal; the connector is used for receiving and outputting the digital signal output by the signal adapter plate; the signal adapter plate is connected with the connector through a signal line, or the connector is arranged on the signal adapter plate.

7. An endoscope, comprising an insertion portion and an endoscope handle according to any of claims 1-5; the insertion part is connected with the distal end of the endoscope handle;

the endoscope further includes an image capturing element disposed at a distal end of the insertion portion and configured to capture an image.

8. The endoscope of claim 7, further comprising a signal patch panel;

the image acquisition element is connected with the signal adapter plate through a coaxial signal line and is used for transmitting an analog signal of an acquired image to the signal adapter plate; the signal adapter plate is used for converting the analog signal of the image into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal;

the signal adapter plate is arranged in an inner cavity of the endoscope handle, or the signal adapter plate is arranged in an inner cavity of the insertion part, or the signal adapter plate is arranged on an external cable;

when the signal adapter plate is arranged in the inner cavity of the endoscope handle, a connector for being plugged with an external cable is arranged at an outlet of the endoscope handle; the connector is used for receiving and outputting the digital signal output by the signal adapter plate; the signal adapter plate is connected with the connector through a signal line, or the connector is arranged on the signal adapter plate.

9. An endoscope system comprising the endoscope of claim 7 or 8, an image processor and a display; the endoscope is in communication connection with the image processor through a cable, and the image processor is in communication connection with the display.

10. The endoscopic system of claim 9, wherein the endoscope further comprises a signal patch panel, the image capture element being connected to the signal patch panel by a coaxial signal line for transmitting analog signals of the captured image to the signal patch panel; the signal adapter plate is used for converting the analog signal of the image into a digital signal and outputting the digital signal; and an amplifier is arranged on the coaxial signal wire.

11. An endoscope system according to claim 9 or 10 and wherein said cable comprises an inner cable and an outer cable, the image capturing element of said endoscope being connected by said inner cable to a connector at said exit port, said connector being connected to said outer cable;

the endoscope system also comprises a sterile device which is used for being arranged on part of the external cable, and one end of the sterile device is used for being fixed on the outlet.

12. The endoscope system according to claim 11, wherein the outlet is provided with an anti-falling structure for preventing the aseptic device from falling off, and/or wherein the outlet is provided with a limiting structure for limiting the aseptic device.

13. An endoscope system according to claim 12 and wherein said sterile means comprises a sterile bag, said drop prevention structure comprises a protrusion formed on an outer surface of said outlet for increasing a frictional force of said sterile bag in contact with a surface of said outlet, and/or,

14. The endoscopic system of claim 11 wherein the sterile device comprises a sterile bag having one end ligated and secured to the outlet.

15. The endoscopic system of claim 14 wherein the sterile device further comprises a sealing cap disposed at the outlet port to seal the location where the outlet port and the cable are connected.