JP2000102502A - Digit-mounting endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope device which can minimize the restriction on the movement of operator's finger joints when the endoscope is mounted on the finger and can firmly fix the endoscope, and which enables the operator to carry out the palpation as well as the endoscopic examination smoothly and precisely by forming a notch on the endoscope main body and connecting a fingerstall with a tightening band to the endoscope main body. SOLUTION: A fingerstall part 2 is connected to an endoscope main body 1 which has an examination means. An upper part of the fingerstall part 2 is a cable inserting part which is a passage for a light guide 16 and a wire 17, and the lower part of the fingerstall part 2 is a finger inserting part into which an operator's finger is inserted. A notch 20 is formed from the edge toward the main body 1 on the lower side of the finger inserting part, and a tightening band 21 is attached to the notch 20 along the opening edge of the finger inserting part. The tightening band 21 is made of a highly elastic thin band piece. The free end of the tightening band 21 is detachably fastened on the outer surface of the finger inserting part with hook and loop fasteners.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a finger-mounted endoscope apparatus which is mounted on a finger of an operator or the like and is preferably used for examining a shallow part of a body cavity such as a rectum. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An endoscope is used for examining and diagnosing the inside of a body cavity. The endoscope has an insertion portion into the body cavity. And a flexible endoscope, most of which have a flexible structure. In the case of a flexible endoscope, an angle portion is continuously provided to the distal end main body provided with the observation means, and by bending the angle portion by remote control, the observation field of view can be directed in any direction. Has become. On the other hand, in the case of a rigid endoscope, the observation field of view can be changed by tilting the insertion section left and right and up and down, but the direction of the observation field cannot always be finely adjusted. For this reason, there is known a rigid endoscope in which an angle portion is provided at a distal end portion.

[0003] When an examination site is located deep inside a body cavity, for example, an intraduodenal examination and an intragastric examination as an upper digestive organ, and a large intestine examination as a lower digestive organ, the examination is performed accordingly. Inspection, diagnosis, and the like are performed using an endoscope having a flexible insertion portion having a length. On the other hand, when examining a shallow part, such as an intrarectal examination or an intrauterine examination, the length of the insertion part may be a hindrance, making it impossible to perform a smooth examination or diagnosis. is there.

For example, the rectum is a site to which a finger can be reached when a finger is inserted from an anus, and a desired site can be observed by moving a finger joint. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 4-33626 discloses an observation apparatus in which an observation means corresponding to an endoscope is configured to be attached to a finger in order to effectively inspect an extremely shallow position in a body cavity. In this known observation apparatus, a distal end side is a housing provided with a condenser lens and an image sensor for forming an optical image by the condenser lens, and a socket into which a finger can be inserted at a proximal end side of the housing is provided. It is configured to be connected. The housing and the socket are made of a flexible elastic member, and the socket portion is completely inserted to a portion of the finger beyond the second joint so as to cover the finger almost completely. This allows the observation device to be stably held when the socket is attached to the finger, and prevents the observation device from deviating from the finger during the observation of the inside of the body cavity performed by inserting into the body cavity. . In addition, a means for irradiating illumination light is provided in the housing in consideration of a case where external light cannot be obtained.

[0005]

As described above, if the finger inserted into the socket of the observation device is directly inserted into the body cavity,
By moving this finger, an arbitrary position can be observed, so that inspection in a desired direction can be performed very easily. However, there are still problems with this prior art configuration.

First, stability cannot be obtained only by inserting a finger into the socket. Of course, when inserting the finger into the body cavity, the surgeon wears surgical gloves. If the glove is worn with the observation device attached to the finger, the socket is completely removed from the finger. Not necessarily,
Gloves may be displaced during operation because of their elasticity. In particular, since the socket slips when fingers are sweated while wearing gloves for a long time, the possibility of displacement of the observation device is further increased. As a result, the observation device cannot be stably held, which hinders observation. In particular, if the observation device is rotated around the finger, matching between the position and direction of the finger and the observation direction is lost, and accurate observation may not be performed. If the finger is inserted into the socket and the finger is strongly tightened, the stability of the observation device is increased.However, this not only makes it difficult to insert and remove the finger from the socket, but also restricts the movement of the finger. ,
There is a problem that it is difficult to perform operations such as subtle changes in the observation field of view.

[0007] In addition, for example, in the examination of the rectum, the examination by touch of the fingers, that is, the palpation is extremely important.
For example, when there is an affected area on the inner wall of the body cavity, when the abdomen of the finger is pressed against the site, the feeling obtained with the finger, that is, the change in the flexibility of the inner wall of the body cavity or the change in unevenness, etc., finds the affected area. It is an important factor in doing so. Therefore, when inserting the finger wearing the observation device into the body cavity, not only the information on the optical image of the inner wall of the body cavity obtained by this observation device but also the palpation with the fingers can be performed at the same time. And is very useful for diagnosis. However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the finger pad for palpation is covered with the socket, it cannot be inspected by the tactile sensation, or at least a subtle change in the tactile sensation cannot be obtained. There are also problems. In particular, if a strong clamping force of the socket is applied to the finger pad, it is extremely difficult to obtain a delicate touch.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to limit the movement of joints of a worn finger in an endoscope which is worn on a finger to perform inspection and diagnosis. To ensure that the fixation of the endoscope is sufficiently obtained while minimizing the risk of trauma, and to enable smooth and accurate palpation in addition to endoscopy. It is in.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an endoscope provided with an illuminating means and an imaging means for imaging an image of a portion to be inspected under illumination of the illuminating means. A finger sack member formed of a flexible thin member in a cylindrical shape is continuously provided on the main body. The finger sack member is formed with a notch extending from the opening end thereof to a predetermined range. And a stretchable tightening band portion is provided over the elastic band.

Specifically, the notch portion of the finger sack member is formed so as to be located at a position corresponding to the finger pad when a finger is inserted, and the tightening band portion is formed on the finger. The tightening band and the finger are provided at a position corresponding to a part beyond one joint, and include a stretchable strip having one free end, and the free end is detachably fastened. It is desirable to provide a fastening portion between the outer surface of the sack member and the sack member.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a finger-mounted endoscope. In the figure, 1 is an endoscope main body,
Reference numeral 2 denotes a finger sack portion, respectively. The endoscope body 1 is shown in FIG.
As is clear from the cross-section shown in FIG. 2, the end portion 1b is provided at the tip of the cylindrical portion 1a, and the inside of the cylindrical portion 1a is a chamber 3. The chamber 3 has a flat portion 3a formed therein. I have. Therefore, the endoscope main body 1 has a certain degree of rigidity so as not to be deformed even when an external force is applied.

On the other hand, the finger sack portion 2 is made of a soft elastomer such as urethane resin, for example, and its tip has a thick connecting portion 4 connected to the cylindrical portion 1a of the endoscope main body 1. The portion 4 has a cylindrical shape facing the side opposite to the chamber 3, and a finger insertion portion 5 is connected to the lower portion, and a cable insertion portion 6 is connected to the upper portion. The connecting portion 4 has a through hole 4a formed on an upper side thereof.
Communicates with the inside of the chamber 3 of the endoscope main body 1 through the through hole 4a. Further, a portion of the distal end portion 4 corresponding to the end surface of the finger insertion portion 5 is a concave curved surface portion 4b.

Here, the endoscope main body 1 and the finger sack 2 are configured as separate members and are connected to each other. However, they may be configured as an integral body. A finger insertion portion 5 and a cable insertion portion 6 which constitute the finger sack portion 2
Can be constituted by independent cylindrical members, respectively, or a part of their outer peripheral surfaces can be fixed or constituted by an integral member. In the configuration of FIG. 2, the finger insertion unit 5 and the cable insertion unit 6 are integrated. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, the cable insertion portion 6 has a crescent shape above the finger insertion portion 5, and at least the upper surface is thicker than the cable insertion portion 6.

An observation window 1 is provided on an end surface 1b of the endoscope body 1.
0 and illumination windows 11 and 11 are formed.
Reference numerals 1 and 11 are arranged at positions on both left and right sides of the observation window 10. The observation window 10 is provided with an objective optical system 12 including a cover lens 12a, and a prism 13 is joined to a position behind the objective optical system 12 so as to bend the optical path of the objective optical system 12 by 90 °. . Further, a solid-state image sensor 14 is joined to the prism 13, and the solid-state image sensor 14 is arranged at an image forming position of the objective optical system 12 and fixed to the flat portion 3 a of the chamber 3. A diverging lens 15 is mounted on the illumination window 11, and the diverging lens 15 faces an emission end face of a light guide 16 made of an optical fiber bundle.

As is apparent from FIG. 3, the light guide 1
6 and the wiring 17 connected to the solid-state imaging device 14 are loosely bound with a flexible tape or a tubular sheet,
That is, in a state in which the cable can be easily bent, the cable is guided from the chamber 3 of the endoscope body 1 to the cable insertion portion 6 through the through hole 4 a provided in the connecting portion 4 constituting the finger sack portion 2. The cord 18 is unified after being led out of the cable insertion section 6. The cord 18 is detachably connected to a light source device (not shown) and a video signal processing device provided integrally with or separately from the light source device.

The finger insertion portion 5 of the finger sack portion 2 is located on the opposite side to the side where the cable insertion portion 6 is continuously provided, that is, on the lower side, from the opening end side toward the endoscope main body 1 side. A notch portion 20 having a predetermined size is formed at a position on the opening end side of the finger insertion portion 5 in the notch portion 20, and a fastening band portion 21 made of a thin strip having good elasticity is provided. Installed. The tightening band 21
One end is provided integrally with or fixed to the finger insertion portion 5 at the position of the approximate opening end of the finger insertion portion 5, and the other end is a free end. The tightening band portion 21 is provided integrally with the finger sack portion 2, and is made to have elasticity by thinning a soft elastomer such as urethane resin which constitutes the tightening band portion 21.
A hook-and-loop fastener 22 such as a Velcro (registered trademark) is fixed to the free end side. In addition, a hook-and-loop fastener 23 to which a hook-and-loop fastener 22 provided at a free end of the tightening band portion 21 is engaged is provided on an outer surface of the finger insertion portion 5. Therefore, the fastening portion of the fastening band portion 21 is constituted by the double-sided fasteners 22 and 23. In addition, besides the hook-and-loop fastener, a detachable locking mechanism, for example, a hook having an appropriate configuration such as a hook can be adopted as the fastening portion.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the finger-mounted endoscope thus configured is mounted on the operator's finger. As is apparent from the figure, the finger is inserted into the finger insertion portion 5 of the finger sack portion 2.
For example, when the index finger is inserted, the fingertip comes into contact with the concave curved surface portion 4b formed on the connecting portion 4. Accordingly, by making the shape of the concave curved surface portion 4b a shape corresponding to the fingertip, the portion of the fingertip is stably fitted to the finger insertion portion 5. In addition, the open end of the finger insertion section 5 is located beyond the first joint of the finger and before the second joint. Therefore, the tightening band 21 is wound around a constricted portion between the first joint and the second joint. Then, the hook-and-loop fastener 22 provided at the free end of the tightening band portion 21 is engaged with the hook-and-loop fastener 23 provided on the outer surface of the finger insertion portion 5. Then, the finger-mounted endoscope comes to be mounted on the finger in an extremely stable state. Here, a cutout portion 20 is formed in the finger insertion portion 5,
The notch portion 20 is completely open at a portion forward of the portion where the fastening band portion 21 is provided, and when the fingertip is inserted into the finger insertion portion 5 until the fingertip contacts the concave curved surface portion 4b,
The finger pad is located in the space opened by the notch 20, so that the finger pad is exposed to the outside.

When the finger sack portion 2 of the endoscope for finger mounting is mounted on a finger as described above, the cable insertion portion 6 is located on the side of the nail. Here, in order to easily bend the entire finger sack portion 2, the light guide 16 and the wiring 17 are inserted into the cable insertion portion 6 in a substantially flattened shape. The size of the cable insertion portion 6 is set so that the wiring 17 is inserted with some allowance in the cable insertion portion 6. Further, since the cable insertion portion 6 is formed integrally with the finger insertion portion 5, the upper surface side of the cable insertion portion 6 is made thicker than the finger insertion portion 5, so that the fastening band portion 21 It is desirable that the tension is set so as not to reach the cable insertion portion 6.

Thus, the tightening band 21 is the first finger.
Since the first joint is located between the joint and the second joint, and the site of the first joint is located inside the notch 20 in the finger insertion section 5, the first joint located in the finger sack 2 is Although it has some resistance, it can be bent relatively easily, and the second part located outside the finger sack portion 2 can be bent.
The joint can be flexed freely. Further, when the first joint is bent, the cable insertion portion 6 also follows and bends. However, the light guide having good shape retention of the passage in the cable insertion portion 6 and a bendable state. Since the 16 and the wiring 17 are inserted with a margin, there is no possibility that the light guide 16 and the wiring 17 are severely pressed by the first joint and disconnected.

In a state in which the finger sack portion 2 of the finger-mounted endoscope is mounted on a finger, surgical gloves are worn and the finger is inserted into the rectum, for example, to perform an examination in the rectum. . Here, although the finger is inserted into the finger sack portion 2, the finger pad is located in the notch portion 20 and is not covered with the finger sack portion 2, so that the finger pad is pressed against the inner wall of the body cavity. Palpation can be performed smoothly, accurately and with high precision. In addition, by turning the fingertip in a desired direction as required, the distal end surface of the endoscope main body 1 can face any position on the inner wall of the body cavity, and the inner wall of the body cavity can be observed under illumination from the illumination window 11. It can be in the field of view of the window 10. Then, an optical image of the inner wall of the body cavity is formed on the solid-state imaging device 14 and converted into an electric signal. The electric signal is taken out through the wiring 17 and subjected to predetermined signal processing. An image of the inner wall of the body cavity is displayed. When the gloves for surgery are worn, the light guide 16 and the wiring 17 are unified at a portion near the back of the hand so as to form the cord 18, so that the light that has come out of the glove and is in a free state is obtained. There is no possibility that the guide 16 or the wiring 17 will be entangled, and there is no possibility that the guide 16 or the wiring 17 will interfere with the hands.

As described above, by performing the observation with the endoscope and the palpation with the fingers of the operator, the accuracy of the examination and diagnosis is remarkably improved. In addition, the second joint of the finger can be freely moved, and the first joint has some resistance to the movement, but its freedom is not particularly deprived. Can be performed smoothly and easily.

As described above, despite the degree of freedom given to the movement of the finger, the finger-mounted endoscope is extremely stably held by the fastening of the tightening band portion 21 to perform diagnosis and the like. There is no risk of misalignment during the operation. In other words, in the direction deviating from the finger of the finger insertion portion 5, the tightening band portion 21 can be almost completely regulated by tightening a constricted portion on the base side from the first joint. The fingers are not generally circular, but rather flat, and the finger sack portion 2 connected to the circular endoscope main body 1 has a cable insertion portion substantially half of the upper portion thereof. The finger insertion part 5 is a part corresponding to the part 5 and substantially half of the lower side, so that the finger insertion part 5 is flat according to the shape of the finger inserted therein. Therefore, the movement in the rotation direction is completely restricted. In particular, when the endoscope body 1 is displaced in the rotation direction, the top and bottom of the image displayed on the monitor do not match the directions of the fingernail side and the finger pad side,
Since it becomes difficult to grasp the position of the image, the fact that the endoscope main body 1 is held so as not to be displaced in the rotation direction
This is extremely advantageous in performing a diagnosis.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, a notch is formed on a finger sack member connected to an endoscope body so as to reach a predetermined range from the opening end side thereof. The configuration is such that an elastic band is attached to the end of the endoscope. After the suppression, the fixation of the endoscope can be sufficiently obtained, and the effect of performing the palpation in addition to the endoscopic examination simultaneously, smoothly, and with high accuracy can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a finger-mounted endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the endoscope for finger mounting shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view showing a state where a finger is mounted on the endoscope for finger mounting.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope main body 2 Finger suck part 3 Chamber 4 Connecting part 5 Finger insertion part 6 Cable insertion part 10 Observation window 11 Illumination window 14 Solid-state image sensor 16 Light guide 17 Wiring 18 Code 20 Notch part 21 Fastening band parts 22, 23 Hook and loop fastener

Claims (2)

[Claims] A finger sack member having a flexible thin member formed in a cylindrical shape is provided on an endoscope body provided with an illuminating means and an imaging means for imaging an image of a portion to be inspected under illumination of the illuminating means. The finger sack member is continuously formed, and a cutout portion is formed in a predetermined range from an opening end side thereof, and an elastic tightening band portion is provided over the cutout portion. An endoscope apparatus for wearing a finger. 2. A notch portion of the finger sack member is formed so as to be located at a portion corresponding to a finger pad portion when a finger is inserted, and the tightening band portion is provided at a portion of a first joint of the finger. It is provided at the position corresponding to the part that exceeded,
A configuration in which a fastening portion is provided between the fastening band portion and the outer surface of the finger sack member so that the free end is made of a stretchable strip having a free end, and the free end is detachably fastened. The endoscope device for finger mounting according to claim 1, wherein