GB2617408A

GB2617408A - A colonoscope device

Info

Publication number: GB2617408A
Application number: GB2205253.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Aker Medhat
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-04-08
Filing date: 2022-04-08
Publication date: 2023-10-11
Also published as: GB202205253D0; WO2023194748A1

Abstract

A colonoscope comprises a head 1 with plural sensors and a light source, and an articulated elongate body with plural segments 3 joined at discrete motor driven joints 5. The motorised joints may have rotation axes that are sequentially offset by 90 degrees. The colonoscope may be automatically steered along the colon using the distal acoustic or optical sensors to detect and follow the path of the lumen, which may be insufflated via an air channel of the endoscope body. External motorised rollers may be used to advance the colonoscope in synchrony with the steering control. Imaging of the colon may be used to generate a three-dimensional or surface model of the colon to be displayed as a two-dimensional map.

Description

A COLONOSCOPE DEVICE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a colonoscope device, more particularly but not exclusively it relates to a system and method to perform and to drive colonoscopes.

Background

Many societies across many countries are increasingly equipped medically with a variety of tools for medical intervention or diagnosis. Colonoscopy is one of the most commonly utilised investigations in health care. It aims to look for abnormalities in the colon, ranging from simple inflammation, to polyps, to cancer. The bowel cancer screening program (BCSP) perform millions of those procedures per year. Demand is expected to rise by 44% in 5 years.

A colonoscopy is done with a colonoscope and is often done to diagnose causes of bowel symptoms, such as bleeding, anaemia, diarrhoea or constipation, weight loss or inexplicable fatigue.

Lots of people have growths in their bowels, referred to as polyps or adenomas, and sometimes these may need monitoring or removal as they may become cancerous. It is important to check these fully and/or frequently and/or remove tissue samples for biopsies. Those growths or polyps can only be removed by the colonoscope.

A colonoscope comprises a flexible tube, with lighting and a camera mounted at the tip, and gas is put into the bowel to help see all the bowel lining. The colonoscope tube is inserted through the patient's anus, and is pushed through the tortuous bends of the colon by the endoscopist's hand from outside. Currently, colonoscopy is one of the most difficult procedures to learn and perform in healthcare, with a learning curve as high as 300 procedures. It is difficult to perform and requires 200+ hours of training to become qualified and able to perform the procedure independently. It also requires 4 staff members per procedure. A single procedure with no interventions can take up to 45-60 minutes to perform. Therefore, a single session (am or pm) can only perform only up to 4 or 5 procedures per session in expert hands.

Colonoscopy is uncomfortable for the patient due to excessive air insufflation and due to the pressure and tension from the endoscopist's hand pushing on the scope. This can also cause significant complications such as perforations and bleeding.

Prior Art

WO 2006 127 874 (GEIGER et al) discloses a method for displaying unseen areas in guided two dimensional (2D) colon screening, comprising: calculating segmentation and colon surface for a colon; calculating a centreline for said colon; designating as a first current focus point a current point of intersection of a first current portion of said centreline and a first current cross-sectional image of a colon in a first current image plane; and extracting a first colon surface portion in a first connected colon component containing said first current focus point marking voxels of said first colon surface portion as a first "seen" area.

US 5 337 732 (GRUNDFEST etal) discloses an endoscopic robot utilising an inflatable balloon for progression, corn prising: a plurality of segments, including a lead segment and an end segment; a plurality of pivoting joints each positioned in between and connecting adjacent segments; at least one actuator link extending through substantially through each pivoting joint and connecting to an adjacent segment; means for advancing and retracting the actuator links, to move the links together and apart for locomotion of the robot; an inflatable balloon supported around substantially each segment; and means for selectively inflating and deflating the balloons.

DE 3 707 787 (GRUENDLER, 1987) discloses an endoscope with a bendable continuous body of a plurality of successive segments by means of joints connected to each other and of a tubular casing. However only the distal tip is motorized.

The present invention arose in order to overcome problems suffered by existing devices.

Summary of the Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a colonoscope system and device comprising an articulated elongated body with a head, which body comprises a plurality of segments joined at discrete motor driven joints, the head providing a plurality of sensors, cameras, and a light source.

In some embodiments the device as a whole is also pushed or propelled from outside 5 the body, for example with roller propellers motors, for example from an end of the body distal the head, combining with the joints so as to provide an undulating movement through the colon in use.

In some embodiments the sensor comprises high-definition cameras and acoustic or 10 optic sensors adapted to provide data for composition of three-dimensional imaging of the surroundings of the head and lumen information.

In this way the sensors mounted on the head provide a means of identifying the direction of the lumen, insufflate a small amount of air to do so, and as to control movement and to angulate the head in that direction, and passing that angle to the consequent joint. This occurs in the same speed the device is propelled from the outside, therefore maintaining the location of the angle or the bend of the colon.

In some embodiments the device camera provides a mean of recording and mapping a colon in three dimensions, so as to allow the device to record and provide information about the colon, and how to navigate through it. In particular, the information enables machine learning about the colon, as well as enabling movement to be effective of the head, and subsequently of the shaft/body, whereby the shaft is enabled to move as the head. The recording or map of the colon is then presented on a computer screen enabling to scroll down the colon map for scrutiny and searching for small polyps or lesions by the endoscopist.

In some embodiments each joint is adapted to rotate about an axis which is orthogonal (rotated 90 degrees) to the sequential joint, such that the joints enable the body to 30 move around corners with undulatory movement possible.

In some embodiments the head comprises an air supply, so as to enable the device to provide standard procedures, as known in the art.

In some embodiments the head comprises a water supply, so as to enable the device to provide standard procedures, as known in the art.

In some embodiments the head comprises a tool port, enabling passage of a tool such as a wire to remove polyps, as known in the art.

In some embodiments the body includes a silicone covering. Other embodiments may be provided with other materials, so as to comprise a low-friction surface for this may provide a more comfortable and/or less damaging surface to the device within the colon.

In some embodiments the device comprises a displaceable or single-use covering over the body.

In some embodiments the device comprises service line. Such service lines may be wrapped around the body in a helical format so as to limit interference with mobility of 15 the device.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a device substantially as described herein, wherein the device is (1) enabled to mapthe three dimensional surroundings of the head and recorded surroundings and movement of the head, (2) operate the head in accordance with the dimensional surroundings of the head, and (3) sequential segments and joints of the body are operated to replicate movement of the head based upon the information from the sensors, (4) the rollers pushing the device from the outside advance the inserted shaft in a speed equal to but in the opposite direction to the propagation of the wave down the shaft.

According to a still further aspect of the present invention there is provided software for operating the method described herein.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the Figures in which:

Brief Description of Figures

Figure 1 shows an isometric view of an embodiment of the device according to the present invention; bar from outside propellers Figure 2 shows a reverse isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in 5 Figure 1; Figure 3 shows an isometric view of the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1, with covering removed; Figures 4 show isometric views of the embodiment of the head from the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figures 5 show isometric views of the embodiment of a segment from the embodiment of the device shown in Figure 1; Figure 6 shows an exploded isometric view of the embodiment of the segment shown in Figures 5; and Figure 7 shows a stepper motor mounted inside the segments shown in figure 5.

Detailed Description of Figures

With referenceto the figures there is generally shown an embodiment of an endoscope device for colonoscopy generally comprising an articulated elongated body 2 with a head 1, which body comprises a plurality of segments 3 joined at joints 5, the head 1 providing a plurality of sensors and a light source.

In particular reference to the pictured embodiment the embodiment comprises a multi-segment body comprised of a plurality of rigid segments 3, each segment comprising a spur part 19 and a receiving part 91, the two parts joined to form a joint at a pivot pin 53 fitting into a receiving hole 18 in the spur part 19.

The parts extend to either end of a tubular torso, wherein the two parts interconnect at a pin 53.

The pin is driven by a dedicated motor 54, as shown in Figure 7 with intermediate gearing.

The two parts face in orthogonal directions and the parts extend sufficiently from the torso so as to allow movement about the pin through 90 degrees, where other embodiments may envisage 180 degrees of movement. As a result sequential segments form sequential orthogonally arranged joints, enabling full movement of the body in totality as the embodiment moves through the colon.

Each torso contains a 2 phase stepper motor 54 which controls the pin 53. It may be envisaged that other types of motor are possible.

Supply lines for the electrical connection between the motors run alongside the body 15 2 up to the head. The supply lines at the head are passed through flexible channels 51.

The body is covered with a silicone covering 4.

The head includes a flat circular cylindrical end 20.

The head includes a right camera 16 and a left camera 17, located close to one spaced circumferentially.

The cameras are capable of wide angle 235 degree capture.

This enables the device two perspectives so as to effectively enable mapping of the head surroundings in the colon, and identify its pathway.

It also includes two light sources provided by light emitting diodes (LEDs) 12,14. The LEDs and dual cameras allow 3D mapping of the colon to greatly improve analysis of the colon.

The device also has a 'path memory' wherethe route the surgeon articulates the device 35 is memorised and even displayed visually in 3D. This will use a combination of information from sensors mounted at the head and from each motor within the device as well as image recognition of where the device sits within the colon. This means the device can articulate through the colon with greater ease and much less discomfort to the patient.

Further to this the head includes standard ports known in the art, namely water supply 16, for cleaning purposes, air supply 17, for insufflation purposes, located close together circumferentially, and tool port 14, for biopsies and tools, located distally on the circumference.

The supply lines for the electrical connection of the motors, and the water supply and the air supply are provided in two polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubes that are arranged to the exterior of the body, between the body and covering.

In other embodiments it may be envisaged that the supply lines of electrical and tool 15 connection are inline.

The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of protection as defined by the claims.

Claims

Claims 1. A colonoscope device comprising an articulated elongated body with a head, which body comprises a plurality of segments joined at discrete motor driven joints, the head providing a plurality of sensors and a light source.
2. A colonoscope device according to claim 1 wherein the sensors comprise cameras adapted to provide data composition of three-dimensional imaging of the surroundings of the head, and to provide a recording or mapping of the whole colon on a 2 dimensional screen.
3. A colonoscope device according to claim 1 and 2 wherein acoustic or optic sensors are mounted at the head of the device to gather information on the surroundings of the head, in order to identify the lumen by automatically insufflating a small amount of air to identify the lumen, and automatically point the head in the that direction.
4. A colonoscope device according to claims 1 or 2, or 3 wherein each joint is adapted to rotate about an axis orthogonal (at 90 degrees) to the sequential joint.
5. A colonoscope device according to claim 1, 2 or 3 or 4 wherein the head comprises an air supply channel running through the body.
6. A colonoscope device according to any preceding claim wherein the head comprises a water supply channel running through the body.
7. A colonoscope device according to any preceding claim wherein the head comprises at least one tool port running through the body of the device for instrumentation.
8. A colonoscope device according to any preceding claim comprising a silicone covering.
9. A colonoscope device according to any preceding claim comprising a displaceable covering over the body.
10. A colonoscope device according to any preceding claim comprising an additional roller motors placed outside the body to push and advance the scope in the human cavity in a controlled speed and torque, then to pull and retrieve the device after the procedure is done.
11. Method of providing an examination of a colon comprising a device according to any of the preceding claims.
12. Software for a device according to any o claims Ito 7 or methods thereof.
13. The system of automatically double controlled (outside propellers and retrievers in addition to the individualised motors inside the body). Which aim to move the colonoscope inside the colon in an undulatory movement in order to advance through the colon.
14. The system by which the map of the colon is presented after the procedure on a 2 dimensional screen to be scrolled down by the endoscopist for scrutiny.