JP2000135194A - Endoscope shape detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to constitute an endoscope system which is capable of detecting an endoscope shape with high accuracy, eliminates the laboriousness in an inspection chamber and is excellent in workability. SOLUTION: A coil unit 20 provided with a detecting surface, a transmission block 32 for supplying a drive signal to a source coil, a reception block 32 for receiving the signal detected by the detecting surface and a controller 30 containing a control block 34 having a CPU for executing calculation processing of the endoscope shape, etc., are integrally constituted via a strut 40. The strut 40 is erected with a stationary column 41 at the center on the front surface side of the device body section 31 of the controller 30. The transmission block 32 and the reception block 32 are so arranged as to exist on the flank 31s side of the device body section 31 apart a prescribed distance.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope shape detecting apparatus for detecting the position or shape of an endoscope using a magnetic field generating element and a magnetic field detecting element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in the medical and industrial fields. In particular, in an endoscope having a soft insertion portion, by inserting this insertion portion into a bent body cavity, it is possible to diagnose an organ deep in the body cavity without making an incision, or to provide the endoscope as necessary. It is possible to perform a treatment such as excision of a polyp by inserting a treatment tool into a certain treatment tool channel.

[0003] However, as in the case of examining the lower digestive tract from the anal side, for example, some skill is required to smoothly insert the insertion portion into a bent body cavity. In addition, during insertion, it is necessary to perform a smooth insertion by bending the bending portion provided in the insertion portion in accordance with the bending of the digestive tract, and for this purpose, the distal end position of the insertion portion must be within the body cavity. It is convenient to be able to know the position and the current insertion state of the insertion section. For this reason, various types of endoscope shape detection devices that detect the shape of the endoscope in the inserted state using a magnetic field have been proposed, and an endoscope system configured by combining the endoscope shape detection device with the endoscope device is configured. Have been.

[0004]

However, in the case of configuring the endoscope system, a light source device, a video processor, and the like, which are peripheral devices of the endoscope, are mounted on a cart and provided to an operator. The coil unit for detecting the magnetic field of the endoscope shape detecting device is disposed on the patient side. A control device incorporating a transmission block for supplying a drive signal to a magnetic field generating element provided on a probe inserted into the insertion portion of the endoscope and a reception block for receiving a signal detected by the coil unit is provided in the cart. In addition to the mounting, a monitor for displaying the shape of the endoscope was arranged side by side with an endoscope observation monitor mounted on a cart.

Therefore, in the examination room, in addition to various tubes and control cables used in the endoscope and the endoscope apparatus,
The probe and the marker cable extending from the control device of the endoscope shape detecting device are complicated, and the space is not good for the operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an endoscope system which can detect an endoscope shape with high accuracy, eliminates the complexity of an examination room, and is excellent in workability. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope shape detecting device which enables a configuration.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided an endoscope shape detecting apparatus comprising: a coil unit having a plurality of magnetic field detecting elements for detecting a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field generating element in an endoscope insertion portion; A coil unit in which a magnetic field generating element that emits a magnetic field detected by a magnetic field detecting element in the unit is arranged;
A transmission block for supplying a drive signal to the magnetic field generating element and a control device having a built-in reception block for receiving a signal detected by the magnetic field detection element are integrally configured via a support, and a transmission block in the control device. And the receiving block are disposed so as to be separated from each other with the support column interposed therebetween. Further, the reception block and the transmission block are housed in shield cases, respectively.

According to this configuration, the cables extending from the endoscope shape detecting device and the tubes and cables extending from the endoscope device are separately arranged to reduce complexity, and workability is improved. This makes it possible to configure the endoscope system with excellent performance.

In addition, since the transmission block and the reception block are spaced apart from each other with the support interposed therebetween, noise generated from the circuit in the transmission block is prevented from being mixed into the circuit in the reception block, and the control device is controlled. The weight balance inside is stable.

Further, by storing the receiving block and the transmitting block in the shield case respectively, an accurate endoscope shape image can be obtained.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an endoscope shape detecting device, FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the endoscope shape detecting device, FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the endoscope system is configured. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the endoscope shape detection device when viewed from the back, and FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the endoscope shape detection device when viewed from the top surface. is there.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, an endoscope shape detecting apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a probe (not shown) inserted into an endoscope insertion portion of an endoscope (not shown). A coil unit 20 having a detection surface 21 in which a plurality of sense coils (not shown) serving as magnetic field detection elements for detecting a magnetic field generated by a source coil (not shown) serving as a magnetic field generation element are provided; 31f and upper surface 31u
A transmission block 32 for supplying a drive signal to a source coil provided in the probe is provided inside the device main body 31. The source block includes: A receiving block 33 for receiving a signal transmitted from the sense coil for detecting a magnetic field to be emitted, and an endoscope shape calculating process based on the received signal detected by the receiving block 33 and the drive signal generated by the transmitting block 32 The control device 30 having a built-in control block 34 having a CPU (central processing unit) for performing the above-described operations is integrally formed via a support 40.

The support column 40 has a fixed column 41 erected at the center of the front side of the device main body 31 of the control device 30.
The coil unit 20 is disposed at the tip of a movable column 42 that slides up and down with respect to the fixed column 41. The support column 40 is provided with a height variable mechanism that allows the movable column 42 to be moved up and down to change the installation height of the coil unit 20. An endoscope shape display liquid crystal monitor (hereinafter, also referred to as a monitor) 5 for displaying an endoscope shape which is an insertion shape of the mirror insertion portion.
0 is detachably arranged. The control device 30 and the column 40 are fixed on a pedestal 62 formed of a rigid metal member or the like on which a plurality of casters 61 are arranged.

The front surface 31f of the main body 31 extends from a plurality of markers for indicating the positional relationship between the endoscope inserted into the patient's body cavity and the outside of the body cavity during the examination of the endoscope. Marker connector 35 to which marker cable is connected
A probe connector 36 to which a probe having a plurality of source coils for generating a magnetic field is connected is provided, and a power switch 37 for performing ON / OFF operation of a main power supply is provided on the side surface 31s.

Further, instead of providing a magnetic field generating element on a probe (not shown), a magnetic field detecting element for detecting a magnetic field is provided,
A configuration in which a magnetic field generating element is arranged in the coil unit may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the transmission block 32 and the reception block 33 have substantially the same shape.
Each of the blocks 32, 33 sandwiches a center line 40 a extending from the center of the device body 1.
It is arranged to be located on the s side. As a result, a distance L is provided between the two blocks 32 and 33 at which the influence of noise does not occur, so that the noise generated in the transmission block 32 is mixed into the reception signal transferred to the reception block 33 and detected. The precision is prevented from deteriorating.

In addition, a heavy power supply unit 38 and a drive mechanism 43 for a variable height mechanism of the support post 40 are disposed in the lower center between the transmission block 32 and the reception block 33, and the control block 34 in a direction orthogonal to the center line 40a,
And above the receiving block 33. With this, the position of the center of gravity of the control device 30 is lowered, and the weight balance of the entire endoscope shape detection device 10 is stabilized.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG.
1 includes an operation pad 70 that incorporates numerical keys for inputting a patient ID and the like, function keys for optimizing the position and display size of the endoscope shape display image with respect to the screen, and the like, and considering operability. Are located. Reference numeral 6
Reference numeral 3 denotes a handle arrangement hole for disposing a handle (not shown). By disposing the handle in the handle arrangement hole 63, the endoscope shape detecting device can be easily moved to a desired position. Further, a stopper is provided on the caster 61 so that the caster 61 can be held and fixed at a predetermined position.

The operation of the endoscope shape detecting device 10 configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the endoscope device 80 and the endoscope shape detection device 10 are arranged in the vicinity of the examination bed to form an endoscope system including the so-called endoscope shape detection device 10. A cart 82 equipped with a light source device, a video processor, and a monitor 81 for endoscopic observation, which are peripheral devices of the endoscope device 80, is arranged near the position where the surgeon stands. Endoscope 83
Then, the tubes and cables 84 are connected.

On the other hand, the endoscope shape detecting device 10 is moved and arranged at a position opposite to the operator with respect to the examination bed so that the detecting surface 21 of the coil unit 20 is located at an optimum position for a patient lying down. Perform positioning. And pedestal 6
2, the marker connector 35 is connected to a marker cable 12 extending from the plurality of markers 11 during endoscopy.
And a probe 13 having a plurality of source coils arranged therein is connected to the probe connector 36, and the probe 13 is inserted and arranged in the insertion section 86 via the operation section 85 of the endoscope 83.

Next, the insertion section 86 of the endoscope 83 is inserted into the body cavity. At this time, since the drive signal from the transmission block 32 is supplied to the source coil in the probe 13, a magnetic field is generated around the source coil to which the drive signal is applied. Then, the magnetic field generated around the source coil is detected by the sense coil in the coil unit 20 and transmitted to the receiving block 33.

Next, the signal obtained in the receiving block 33 is input to a control block 34 having a CPU for performing processing for calculating the shape of the endoscope and the like, and calculation of position detection or position estimation is performed from the input signal. The calculation is performed, the position information is transmitted to the shape image generation unit, graphic processing is performed, and an endoscope (insertion unit) shape image signal is generated and output to the monitor 50. Then, the endoscope shape image is displayed on the display surface 51 of the monitor 50.

As described above, since the coil unit and the control device are integrally formed via the support, the integrally formed endoscope shape detecting device is disposed at a desired position with respect to the endoscope device. can do. As a result, the cables and cables extending from the endoscope shape detecting device and the tubes and cables extending from the endoscope device are entangled, and the tubes and cables are concentrated on the operator's hand side. Thus, an endoscope system having excellent workability is configured.

Further, the transmission block and the reception block arranged in the control device are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other with the support interposed therebetween, so that noise generated from the transmission block can be prevented from getting on the reception block. . This prevents the endoscope shape image from deteriorating due to noise.

Further, a heavy power supply unit and a driving mechanism are disposed between the transmission block and the reception block which are disposed at a predetermined distance from each other with the support interposed therebetween, and a control block is disposed above the transmission block and the reception block. Thus, the weight of the entire endoscope shape detecting device can be balanced.
This prevents an unstable state when the moving column is raised to raise the position of the coil unit. Also, when the handle is attached and moved, it moves smoothly.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a transmission block and a reception block according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram when the receiving block is viewed from the back, and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram when the receiving block is viewed from the side. Since the configurations of the transmission block and the reception block are substantially the same, the configuration of the reception block will be described, and the description of the transmission block will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the receiving block 33 disposed in the apparatus main body 31 is covered by a shield case 91 as an exterior member. That is, the receiving block 33 includes a plurality of board units 93 arranged on a board base 92 and connects the board base 92 to the guide rails 9 provided in the shield case 91.
4 is disposed inside the shield case 91 by sliding, and the opening of the shield case 91 is closed by a cover member 95.

The cover member 95 seals the opening of the shield case 91 with a fixing screw 96.
The board base 92 is fixed to the guide rail 94 by fixing screws 97. Therefore, by removing the cover member 95 from the shield case 91, the board base 9 on which the plurality of
2 can be placed in the shield case 91 and removed from the shield case 91. The shield case 91 is fixed to the pedestal 62.

By thus arranging the board base on which the plurality of board units are arranged in the shield case to form the reception block and the transmission block, the generation of noise from the transmission block can be suppressed, while the circuit in the reception block can be suppressed. Can be further prevented, and a highly accurate endoscope shape image can be displayed.

Further, when the receiving block or the transmitting block breaks down, by removing the board base from the inside of the shield case, the board unit and the like can be easily inspected and replaced or repaired. Other functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the source coil is incorporated in the insertion portion of the endoscope by inserting and fixing the probe having the source coil disposed in the insertion portion of the endoscope. A source coil may be incorporated in the insertion section.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Appendix] According to the above-described embodiment of the present invention as described in detail above, the following configuration can be obtained.

(1) A coil unit in which a plurality of magnetic field detecting elements for detecting a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field generating element in an endoscope insertion section or a magnetic field generating a magnetic field detected by a magnetic field detecting element in an endoscope inserting section are provided. A coil unit in which elements are arranged, and a control device including a transmission block for supplying a drive signal to the magnetic field generation element and a reception block for receiving a signal detected by the magnetic field detection element are integrally formed via a support. An endoscope shape detecting device in which a transmission block and a reception block in the control device are arranged to be separated from each other with the support interposed therebetween.

(2) The endoscope shape detecting device according to appendix 1, wherein the reception block and the transmission block are respectively housed in a shield case. (3) The endoscope shape detecting device according to appendix 1, wherein the control device further includes a power supply unit, and the power supply unit is arranged between the transmission block and the reception block.

(4) The control device further includes a control block including a CPU for performing processing for calculating an endoscope shape, and the control block is disposed above the transmission block and the reception block. Endoscope shape detection device.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the shape of an endoscope with high accuracy, eliminate the complexity of an examination room, and configure an endoscope system excellent in workability. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an endoscope shape detecting device.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an endoscope shape detection device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the endoscope system is configured.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a transmission block and a reception block according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Endoscope shape detection apparatus 20 ... Coil unit 30 ... Control device 32 ... Transmission block 33 ... Reception block 40 ... Prop

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Chieko Aizawa 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Fumiyuki Onoda 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Sumihiro Uchimura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Akira Taniguchi 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Maruyama 4-51, Iguchi 4-chome, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo F-term (reference) 4C061 AA04 AA29 BB01 CC06 DD03 FF35 GG11 HH51 HH60 JJ15 JJ17

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A coil unit in which a plurality of magnetic field detecting elements for detecting a magnetic field generated by a magnetic field generating element in an endoscope insertion section or a magnetic field generating element for generating a magnetic field detected by a magnetic field detecting element in an endoscope inserting section are provided. And a control unit having a built-in transmission block for supplying a drive signal to the magnetic field generating element and a receiving block for receiving a signal detected by the magnetic field detection element are integrally configured via a support, An endoscope shape detection device, wherein a transmission block and a reception block in the control device are arranged so as to be separated from each other with the support interposed therebetween. 2. The endoscope shape detecting device according to claim 1, wherein said receiving block and said transmitting block are respectively housed in a shield case.