JP2000070269A - Magnetic sensor and active endoscope induced to virtual reality by pressure sensitive sensor and its manipulation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remote control curving, advancing and retreating by analyzing an active endoscope which executes a curving action by using a shape memory alloy coil as three-dimensional shape information by a magnetic sensor and a CPU circuit. SOLUTION: An advancing/retreating mechanism C is mounted at the active endoscope contg. the shape memory alloy coil 2, a pressure sensitive sensor G and a receiving coil F. This mechanism as well as a finger manipulation unit B and a transmission coil E are electrically connected to a control unit D5 contg. a finger manipulation unit input circuit, advancing/retreating mechanism drive circuit, magnetic sensor circuit, pressure sensitive input circuit, shape memory alloy coil power feed circuit and CPU circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) As medical applications, optical endoscopes (flexible endoscopes), ultrasonic endoscopes, intraperitoneal treatment instruments, catheters for angiography, intraurethral catheters, drug delivery systems, etc. Technical field that guides the patient to complex body tracts. (2) As an industrial application field, a technical field for guiding an industrial endoscope, a flaw detection probe for an in-pipe inspection system, a pipe inner wall processing tool, a coating nozzle, a fiberscope, various wiring instruments, and the like into a pipe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 13, a conventional method of bending an endoscope or rotating an ultrasonic vibrator includes a method using a contra-rotating spiral coil. However, this method has a disadvantage that the rotation operation is not performed smoothly due to the twisting of the coil over a long span because the mechanism of the operation unit for operating the rotation is located at the root end of the endoscope. Although a dimensional analysis image can be obtained, it is difficult to obtain a three-dimensional analysis image including an axis and to detect a dead end (end) of a lumen.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The active bending function and the diameter reduction of the endoscope described in "Prior Art" are realized, and the rotation of the ultrasonic endoscope in the ultrasonic radiation direction is smooth and accurate. The computer system analyzes and expresses the two-dimensional image in question as three-dimensional spatial information in virtual reality using a computer, accurately guides the endoscope, etc., to the required spatial position in the duct, ensuring the proper rotation angle. It is an object of the present invention to accurately and quickly accomplish various inspection processes and operations not only in a cavity but also in a pipeline such as an industrial workpiece.

[0004]

(A) One end of a cylinder is cut at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to its axis to form an ultrasonic reflecting surface, and the other end is cut vertically to form a radial Fix the mirror with the striped pattern on the axis of the ultrasonic motor. An ultrasonic transducer is arranged facing the ultrasonic reflection plate, and an optical fiber is arranged facing the stripe pattern of the mirror, and the ultrasonic wave rotates and irradiates the lumen wall by the rotation of the mirror by the ultrasonic motor,
The rotation angle can be detected by an optical fiber that counts the stripe pattern. A receiving coil of a pressure sensor for palpation and a magnetic sensor for detecting a spatial position of the distal end of the endoscope are provided at the distal end of the endoscope as necessary.

[0005] One to three shape memory alloy coils are attached outside the liner coil connected to the ultrasonic motor in parallel with the axis of the liner coil, and the shape memory alloy coil is supplied to a position where it is divided into several current-carrying sections. An electric wire is connected, and power is supplied to each energized section so that it can bend in a desired direction.

(A) An active sliding door mirror using a finger operation unit having a plurality of pressure-sensitive sensors arranged on the inner periphery of a circular hole of a block having a bottomed circular hole, and having forward and backward pressure-sensitive sensors mounted on the bottom surface. Is bent up and down and left and right, and the entire active endoscope is moved back and forth so that a three-dimensional operation can be operated with a fingertip inserted into a circular hole.

(C) In order to insert the active endoscope into the lumen and move the endoscope forward and backward, a forward and backward movement mechanism sandwiching the active endoscope between two pulleys driven by a motor is mounted on the active endoscope. To make the operation more convenient.

(D) There are the following six methods for guiding and operating an active endoscope inserted into the body from outside the body. (1) An active endoscope equipped with a forward and backward movement mechanism and a finger operation unit are connected to a finger operation unit input circuit, a forward and backward movement mechanism drive circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a CPU.
Remote control by finger operation unit by connecting through a control unit with a number of paths (Fig. 7) (2) Finger operation with an active endoscope equipped with a forward and backward movement mechanism and a pressure-sensitive sensor for palpation The unit consists of a finger operation unit input circuit, a forward and backward drive mechanism drive circuit, a pressure-sensitive sensor input circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a CPU.
A method of remote control by a finger operation unit while palpating by connecting via a control unit with a built-in circuit (Fig. 8). (3) An active endoscope equipped with a forward / reverse mechanism and having a receiving coil of a magnetic sensor, and a finger operating unit and a transmitting coil of a magnetic sensor are connected to a finger operating unit input circuit, a forward / backward mechanism driving circuit, and a magnetic sensor circuit. The shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, connected via a control unit with a built-in CPU circuit, analyze the three-dimensional position of the receiving coil, and control the forward and backward movement mechanism and the shape memory alloy coil by the finger operation unit based on the information. How to remotely control virtual reality (Fig. 9). (4) An active endoscope having a forward / backward moving mechanism, a receiving coil of the magnetic sensor, a receiving coil (F2) of the magnetic sensor and a transmitting coil of the magnetic sensor attached to a fingertip or the like and held in space. Are connected via a control unit including a forward / backward mechanism driving circuit, a magnetic sensor circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a CPU circuit, the three-dimensional position of the receiving coil is analyzed, and the receiving coil (F
Method 2) to control the forward / backward movement mechanism and the shape memory alloy coil to perform remote control to virtual reality (FIG. 10). (5) An active endoscope equipped with a forward and backward movement mechanism and having a receiving coil for a pressure sensor and a magnetic sensor for palpation, a finger operating unit and a transmitting coil for a magnetic sensor,
It is connected via the finger operation unit input circuit, forward and backward mechanism drive circuit, magnetic sensor circuit, pressure-sensitive sensor circuit, shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and control unit with a built-in CPU circuit, and analyzes the three-dimensional position of the receiving coil. Based on the information, the finger operation unit controls the forward / backward movement mechanism and the shape memory alloy coil to remotely control the virtual reality (Fig. 1).
1). (6) An active endoscope equipped with a forward and backward movement mechanism, a pressure sensor for palpation and a receiving coil of a magnetic sensor, and a receiving coil (F2) of a magnetic sensor mounted on a fingertip and held in a space, and The transmission coil of the magnetic sensor is connected to the forward and backward mechanism drive circuit, the magnetic sensor circuit, the pressure-sensitive sensor circuit, the shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and the control unit incorporating the CPU circuit, and the three-dimensional position of the reception coil is A method of controlling the forward and backward movement mechanism and the shape memory alloy coil by the receiving coil (F2) based on the analyzed information and performing remote control to virtual reality (FIG. 12).

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which an embodiment of the system of the present invention is applied to an ultrasonic endoscope will be described with reference to the drawings. First, referring to FIG. 4, an active endoscope according to the present invention will be described. One end of an aluminum round bar is cut at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the axis thereof to finish the cross section smoothly and to form an ultrasonic reflecting surface 7, and the other end is vertical. The mirror 9 is formed by cutting a radial stripe pattern on the cross section and attached to the rotating shaft of the ultrasonic motor 6. An ultrasonic transducer 8 is arranged on the axis of the mirror 9 so as to face the ultrasonic reflection surface 7, and an optical fiber 10 is arranged so as to face the stripe pattern portion of the mirror 9. Further, the ultrasonic transducer 8
A reception sensor F, which is a component of the magnetic sensor, and a pressure-sensitive sensor G for palpation at the end of the endoscope section are disposed adjacent to the outside, and these are arranged in a thin cylindrical outer shape made of a material that transmits ultrasonic waves. The ultrasonic endoscope body is housed in the cylinder 11.

Three shape memory alloy coils 2 are fixed to the outside of the conductive liner coil 1a connected to the ultrasonic motor 6 with a non-conductive adhesive along the axial direction of the liner coil 1a. A power supply line is adhesively connected to the part where the coil 2 is divided into several parts by a conductive adhesive 4. Furthermore, a non-conductive liner coil 1b is wound around the outside, and a flexible portion 5 is coated thereon to form a bent portion.
To form an active endoscope as an integral structure with the ultrasonic endoscope body.

As shown in FIG. 5, a finger operation unit for bending and moving the active endoscope forward and backward with the fingertip is a forward sensor b2 formed by a pressure-sensitive sensor at the bottom of a block b1 having a flat bottom circular hole, and a reverse sensor. The sensor b3 has six direction sensors b4 embedded in the inner periphery of the circular hole and connected to signal lines.

As shown in FIG. 6, the forward / reverse mechanism for pulling out and inserting the active endoscope fixes a motor c5 having a pulley c2 attached to a machine base c1 and swings an arm c6 having a pulley c3 rotatably attached thereto up and down. Attached to the machine c1 so that it can move,
A spring c4 is stretched between the arm c6 and the machine base c1 so that the active endoscope is sandwiched between the pulleys c2 and c3.

FIG. 12 shows an example of an operation system for an active endoscope.
To be more specific, an active endoscope body incorporating a receiving coil F of a magnetic sensor and a pressure-sensitive sensor G and a forward / backward moving mechanism C,
The receiving coil F2 of the magnetic sensor attached to the fingertip, the transmitting coil E placed at a fixed position, control the forward / backward mechanism drive circuit, magnetic sensor circuit, pressure-sensitive sensor circuit, shape memory alloy coil feeding circuit, CPU circuit built-in It is configured to be electrically connected to the unit D6.

The magnetic transmitter 7 is arranged near a region of interest to be scanned. The magnetic flux density of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic transmitter 7 is 600 mG (the geomagnetism is 500 mG or less),
Thus, the spatial coordinates (X, Y, Z) of the receiving coil and the angles (α, β, γ) on the respective coordinate planes are detected. When constructing a three-dimensional image, it is necessary to calibrate the positional relationship between the receiving coil and the cross section of the ultrasonic image (when the in-line processing instrument is an ultrasonic endoscope). It does not operate and receives only the spatial magnetic field (mainly geomagnetism) of the receiving coil. Next, X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis magnetic fields are generated from the porcelain transmitter, and absolute coordinates are obtained by subtracting the first acquired spatial magnetic field. This one
Perform 100 times per second. The receiving coil senses the deviation of the magnetic field and sends information on the movement and rotation of the probe to the control unit together with the tomographic image. Since an ultrasonic image directly captures a TV signal, an image of 30 frames is stored per second. Since a single three-dimensional scan takes about 10 seconds, the number of images captured by the computer is reduced from 300 to 500.

[0015]

According to the conventional image diagnosis and the two-dimensional image, it is necessary to infer a three-dimensional structure in the mind, but in the system of the present invention, a three-dimensional image can be obtained directly.
This makes it easier for doctors and laboratory technicians to grasp objectively about lesions, and contributes to accurate informed consent for patients. In addition, in the application to industry, there is an effect that various inspections and operations in complicated complicated pipes which could not be performed so far can be efficiently performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an active endoscope according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the active endoscope according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the active endoscope according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an active endoscope according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the finger operation unit according to claim 5;

FIG. 6 is a front view and a side view of the forward / reverse mechanism according to claim 6;

FIG. 7 is an operation system diagram of the active endoscope according to claim 7;

FIG. 8 is an operation system diagram of the active endoscope according to claim 8;

FIG. 9 is an operation system diagram of the active endoscope according to claim 9;

FIG. 10 is an operation system diagram of the active endoscope according to the tenth aspect.

FIG. 11 is an operation system diagram of the active endoscope according to claim 11;

FIG. 12 is an operation system diagram of the active endoscope according to claim 12;

FIG. 13 is an operation principle diagram of an ultrasonic endoscope according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a kidney into which an active endoscope has been inserted.

[Description of Signs] 1a, 1b Liner coil 2 Shape memory alloy coil 3 Non-conductive adhesive 4 Conductive adhesive 5 Skin 6 Ultrasonic motor 7 Ultrasonic reflecting surface 8 Ultrasonic transducer 9 Mirror 10 Optical fiber 11 External cylinder A Active endoscope B Finger operation unit C Forward / reverse mechanism D1-6 Control unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G01B 17/00 G01B 17/00 Z G01L 11/04 G12B 1/00 S G12B 1/00 G01L 11/00 C (72) Inventor Seiji Chonan Minami 35, Kawauchi Motosho, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Pref. 8-204 F-term (reference) EE13 EE14 FF04 GD01

Claims (12)

[Claims] (1) An ultrasonic motor (6) has a shape in which one end of a cylinder is obliquely cut on an axis thereof, an inclined surface thereof serves as an ultrasonic reflection surface (7), and the other end has a shape in which it is cut vertically. A mirror (9) engraved with a radial stripe pattern is attached to the end face. Ultrasonic transducer (8) facing ultrasonic reflection surface (7)
And an optical fiber (10) facing the striped surface to form a thin cylindrical outer cylinder (1) made of a material that transmits ultrasonic waves.
The ultrasonic endoscope is housed in 1). (A) Liner coil (1a) fixedly connected to ultrasonic motor (6)
One or more shape memory alloy coils (2) are fixed to the outer circumference of the liner coil (1a) in parallel with the axis of the liner coil (1a), and the shape memory alloy coil (2) is divided into arbitrary energized sections at a plurality of locations. Are connected to each other, and a liner coil (1b) is wound around the outside thereof, and furthermore a flexible outer skin (5) is coated thereon and connected to an outer cylinder (11) to form a bent portion. An active endoscope comprising (a) and (a) as described above (FIG. 1). 2. The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising an ultrasonic endoscope having a pressure-sensitive sensor (G) attached to a distal end thereof, and a bent portion according to (a). Active endoscope (Fig. 2). 3. The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising: an ultrasonic endoscope having a receiving coil (F) attached to a distal end thereof; and a bent portion according to (a). Active endoscope (Fig. 3). 4. The ultrasonic endoscope according to claim 1, wherein a receiving coil (F) and a pressure-sensitive sensor (G) are attached to a tip portion of the ultrasonic endoscope. An active endoscope (FIG. 4) composed of a bent portion of FIG. 5. A block (b1) having a bottomed circular hole, a forward sensor (b2) using a pressure sensor or an electrostatic sensor on the inner surface of the hole, a reverse sensor (b3) on the bottom surface, and a plurality of direction sensors (b4). ) On the inner peripheral surface of the hole at even intervals (Fig. 5) 6. A motor (c) to which a pulley (c2) is attached.
5) is fixed on the machine base (c1). An arm (c6) is swingably attached to the upper end of the pillar portion of the machine base (c1), and a pulley (c3) is rotatably attached to the tip of the arm (c6). A spring (c4) is attached between the arm (c6) and the machine base (c1). The forward / reverse mechanism configured as described above (FIG. 6). 7. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a forward / reverse mechanism (C).
Active endoscope described above and a finger operation unit (B)
And an operation system for an active endoscope configured by electrically connecting a finger operation unit input circuit, a forward and backward movement mechanism drive circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a control unit (D1) containing a CPU circuit. (FIG. 7). 8. The vehicle according to claim 2, further comprising a forward / reverse mechanism (C).
Active endoscope described above and a finger operation unit (B)
And a control unit (D2) having a finger operation unit input circuit, a forward / reverse mechanism drive circuit, a pressure-sensitive sensor input circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a CPU circuit. Endoscope operation system (FIG. 8). 9. A back-and-forth forward mechanism (C) is attached.
The active endoscope described above, a finger operation unit (B),
A control unit (D3) including a transmission coil (E) of a magnetic sensor, a finger operation unit input circuit, a forward / reverse mechanism driving circuit, a magnetic sensor circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a CPU circuit is electrically connected. The operation system of the active endoscope to be used (FIG. 9). 10. The active endoscope according to claim 3, further comprising a forward and backward movement mechanism (C), a receiving coil (F2) of a magnetic sensor held in an arbitrary space, and a transmitting coil (E) of the magnetic sensor. And an active endoscope operation system (FIG. 10) configured by electrically connecting a control unit (D4) including a forward / backward mechanism driving circuit, a magnetic sensor circuit, a shape memory alloy coil feeding circuit, and a CPU circuit. 11. The active endoscope according to claim 4, further comprising a forward and backward movement mechanism (C), and a finger operation unit (B).
And a control unit (D5) incorporating a transmission coil (E) of the magnetic sensor and a finger operation unit input circuit, a forward and backward mechanism driving circuit, a magnetic sensor circuit, a pressure-sensitive sensor input circuit, a shape memory alloy coil power supply circuit, and a CPU circuit. An operation system for an active endoscope configured by electrically connecting the electronic endoscope (FIG. 11). 12. The active endoscope according to claim 4, further comprising a forward / reverse mechanism (C), a receiving coil (F2) of a magnetic sensor and a transmitting coil (E) of a magnetic sensor held in an arbitrary space. Forward / reverse mechanism drive circuit, magnetic sensor circuit,
Pressure-sensitive sensor input circuit, shape memory alloy coil feeding circuit,
An operation system for an active endoscope configured by electrically connecting a control unit (D6) containing a CPU circuit (FIG. 12).