JP2010051440A - Endoscope system, and method and instrument for determining breakage state of light guide - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope system preventing a misdiagnosis caused by breakage of an optical fiber constituting a light guide; and to provide a method and instrument for determining the breakage state of the light guide provided in the endoscope system. <P>SOLUTION: A light source device 14 controls the actuation of a light source 52 to start the illumination of an illumination light. When a light receiving device 17 is mounted to an endoscope 12, the illumination light from the light source 52 enters a light receiving element 47 through an illumination window 31. The illumination light entering the light receiving element 47 is converted into an electric signal and is inputted in a voltmeter 56. The voltmeter 56 measures a voltage value of the electric signal outputted from the light receiving element 47. The measurement result is inputted in the determination section 58. The determination section 58 determines whether a difference when the endoscope 12 is connected in the past is within a predetermined range or not. The determination result is inputted in a system control section 51. The system control section 51 switches a lighting or blinking state of a pilot lamp 25 based on the determination result. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope system including an endoscope having a light guide that guides illumination light to a distal end of an insertion portion, and a method and an apparatus for determining a breakage state of a light guide included in the endoscope system.

  In the medical field, medical diagnosis using an endoscope is actively performed. The endoscope includes an elongated insertion portion that is inserted into a body cavity of a patient, an operation portion that is connected to a proximal end portion of the insertion portion, and a universal cord that is connected to a processor device and a light source device. The distal end of the insertion portion is a rigid portion in which an imaging unit having a solid-state imaging element is incorporated.

  The rigid part is provided with an illumination window for irradiating the observation site with light, an objective lens for taking the light applied to the observation site into the imaging unit, and an observation window for protecting the objective lens. Illumination light from the light source device is guided to the illumination window through a light guide that is inserted into the insertion portion, the operation portion, and the universal cord (hereinafter referred to as “each portion of the endoscope”). The light taken in through the observation window and the objective lens is imaged by the imaging unit and output as an image signal. The image signal is transmitted to the processor device via a signal cable inserted into each part of the endoscope. The processor device generates an endoscopic image based on the image signal transmitted from the imaging unit and outputs it to the monitor. The doctor performs an examination while viewing the endoscopic image displayed on the monitor.

  In addition to the light guide and signal cable, each part of the endoscope is inserted with an air / water supply tube that guides water and air to the air / water supply nozzle, and treatment tools such as forceps and injection needles used to treat the affected area. A plurality of cables and tubes such as forceps tubes are inserted.

  In the insertion portion, the proximal end side of the rigid portion is a bending portion configured by connecting a plurality of (for example, 16) annular bending pieces in series, and the proximal end side of the bending portion is flexible. It has a soft part. Adjacent bending pieces are connected so as to be freely rotatable. In the bending piece, a pair of operation wires for operating in the vertical and horizontal directions are provided. By pushing and pulling each operation wire, adjacent bending pieces rotate to bend the entire bending portion.

  The operation section is provided with an angle knob for pushing and pulling the operation wire. By operating the angle knob, the bending portion is bent up and down or left and right, and the rigid portion is directed in a desired direction. Due to the bending of the bending portion, the cable and the tube inserted through the bending portion are bent and also move in the longitudinal direction and the radial direction (direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction). As a result, the cable and the tube may be twisted or entangled. The optical fiber constituting the light guide is vulnerable to bending and may be broken by twisting or tangling.

Accordingly, various inventions have been made to prevent the optical fiber constituting the light guide from being broken. For example, in the invention described in Patent Literature 1, the maximum bending angle of the bending portion that bends in two directions is made different from each other in two directions, and the forceps tube is placed on the same side as the direction of bending at a small maximum bending angle, and vice versa. A light guide is provided on each side.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-181880 (FIGS. 1 and 2)

  According to the invention described in Patent Document 1, the impact applied to the light guide is suppressed, and the possibility that the optical fiber is broken is reduced. However, as long as the bending portion is bent, it is not possible to completely prevent the optical fiber from being broken no matter what measures are taken. In addition, optical fibers tend to deteriorate with time, such as curing with time, and the optical fibers may break with time.

  When the number of optical fibers to be broken increases, the amount of illumination light applied to the observation site decreases, and an effect such as an unclear endoscope image occurs. However, since the number of optical fibers to be broken increases gradually rather than suddenly, it is slow that the endoscope image becomes unclear. For this reason, an examination may be performed without noticing that the endoscopic image is unclear and a misdiagnosis may occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an endoscope system that prevents misdiagnosis caused by breakage of an optical fiber that constitutes a light guide, and a breakage state of a light guide included in the endoscope system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a determination method and apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope system according to the present invention can be detachably attached to the distal end of an insertion portion of an endoscope, and is provided with a sensor that receives illumination light guided by a light guide. And a determination means for determining a breakage state of an optical fiber constituting the light guide based on an output from the sensor.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the determination means determines whether or not the light amount of the illumination light guided to the distal end of the insertion portion by the light guide satisfies a predetermined standard, thereby determining the light guide. Is determined.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a notifying means for notifying a determination result by the determining means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a memory for storing the output from the sensor is provided, and the determination unit makes a determination based on a difference between the output stored in the memory and a real-time output.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a diaphragm mechanism that adjusts the amount of illumination light before entering the light guide is provided, and the memory stores an output from the sensor in association with a diaphragm amount by the diaphragm mechanism. The determination unit corrects the output stored in the memory and the real-time output in accordance with the amount of aperture by the aperture mechanism and performs the determination.

  In the invention according to claim 6, the sensor is a light receiving element. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the sensor is a heat quantity sensor.

  The light guide breakage determination device according to the present invention can be detachably attached to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope, and includes a light receiving means including a sensor that receives illumination light guided by the light guide, Determination means for determining a breakage state of an optical fiber constituting the light guide based on an output from the sensor.

  The light guide breakage determination method according to the present invention includes a photoelectric conversion step of receiving the illumination light guided to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope by the light guide with a sensor, converting the light into an electrical signal, and outputting the electrical signal. And a determination step of determining a breakage state of an optical fiber constituting the light guide based on an output from the sensor.

  According to the endoscope system of the present invention, it is possible to know the breakage state of the optical fiber constituting the light guide, so that the endoscopic image becomes unclear due to the breakage of the optical fiber, and the unclear endoscope. Misdiagnosis due to images is prevented.

[First Embodiment]
As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope system 11 according to the first embodiment includes an endoscope 12 that captures an image of a body cavity, a processor device 13 that generates an endoscopic image, and light that illuminates the body cavity. A light source device 14 to be supplied to the endoscope 12, a monitor 15 for displaying an endoscope image, and a light receiving device 17 for determining a breakage state of a light guide 33 (see FIG. 2) provided in the endoscope 12. It is composed of The endoscope system 11 is used with each set of devices mounted on a cart (not shown).

  The endoscope 12 is connected to a flexible insertion portion 18 that is inserted into a body cavity, an operation portion 19 that is connected to a proximal end portion of the insertion portion 18, a processor device 13, and a light source device 14. Universal cord 20. The processor device 13 is electrically connected to the endoscope 12 and the light source device 14, and comprehensively controls the operation of the entire endoscope system 11.

  At the distal end of the insertion portion 18, a distal end portion 16 incorporating a CCD (charge coupled device) 35 (see FIG. 2) as an image sensor is provided. Behind the distal end portion 16 is provided a bending portion 21 connecting a plurality of bending pieces (not shown). The bending portion 21 is bent vertically and horizontally by operating an angle knob 22 provided in the operation portion 19 and pushing and pulling a wire (not shown) inserted in the insertion portion 18. Thereby, the front-end | tip part 16 is orient | assigned to the desired direction in a body cavity.

  The base end of the universal cord 20 is connected to the connector 23. The connector 23 is of a composite type, and the processor device 13 and the light source device 14 are connected to the connector 23.

  The processor device 13 receives the imaging signal output from the CCD 35 (see FIG. 2), performs various signal processing on the received imaging signal, and converts it into image data. The image data converted by the processor device 13 is displayed as an endoscopic image on a monitor 15 connected to the processor device 13 by a cable 24.

  The light source device 14 is provided with a pilot lamp 25 for confirming the connection state of the endoscope 12. The pilot lamp 25 is turned on, blinks, or turned off to notify the ON / OFF state of the power source of the light source device 14 and the connection state of the endoscope 12 to the light source device 14. When the power is OFF, the light is turned off. Specifically, it lights up in red when the endoscope 12 is not connected, and lights up in green when the endoscope 12 is connected. However, even when the endoscope 12 is connected, if the endoscope 12 has a problem, it flashes in red. Further, in a standby state (for example, 5 seconds) from when the power is turned on to when it is in a steady state, it is lit in orange in any state.

  The light receiving device 17 can be detachably attached so as to face the end surface 26 of the distal end portion 16 of the endoscope 12, and is connected to the light source device 14 via the cable 27 and the connector 23.

  In FIG. 2, the endoscope 12 includes an illumination window 31, an observation window 32 into which image light of an observation site is incident on an end surface 26 (see FIG. 1) of the distal end portion 16, a forceps outlet (not shown), and air supply. It has a water supply nozzle (not shown). From the illumination window 31, the illumination light guided from the light source device 14 via the light guide 33 and the illumination lens 34 is irradiated to the observation site.

  The forceps outlet is connected to a forceps channel (not shown) provided in the insertion portion 18 and communicates with a forceps port 28 (see FIG. 1) provided in the operation portion 19. Various types of treatment tools having an injection needle, a high-frequency knife or the like disposed at the tip are inserted into the forceps port 28, and the tips of the various types of treatment tools are exposed from the forceps outlet. The air / water supply nozzle is a cleaning water supplied from an air / water supply mechanism (not shown) built in the light source device 14 in response to an operation of an air / water supply button 29 (see FIG. 1) provided in the operation unit 19. And air are jetted toward the observation window 32.

  The CCD 35 built in the endoscope 12 is disposed at the imaging position of the objective optical system 36 provided to face the observation window 32. In addition to the CCD 35, the endoscope 12 is provided with a correlated double sampling / programmable gain amplifier (hereinafter referred to as “CDS / PGA”) 37. The CCD 35 images the image light of the observation site incident through the observation window 32 and the objective optical system 36, and outputs an imaging signal corresponding to the image light. The CDS / PGA 37 performs noise removal and amplification on the imaging signal output from the CCD 35.

  The processor device 13 includes a system control unit 41, a timing generator (hereinafter referred to as “TG”) 42, a CCD driver 43, an A / D converter (hereinafter referred to as “A / D”) 44, and an image generation unit 45. Is provided. The system control unit 41 communicates with the system control unit 51 of the light source device 14 and comprehensively controls each unit of the processor device 13.

  The TG 42 inputs a timing signal (clock pulse) to the CCD driver 43 under the control of the system control unit 41. The CCD driver 43 inputs a drive signal to the CCD 35 based on the input timing signal, and controls the readout timing of the accumulated charge of the CCD 35, the electronic shutter speed of the CCD 35, and the like.

  The A / D 44 converts the analog imaging signal output from the CDS / PGA 37 into digital image data. The image generation unit 45 performs various types of image processing on the image data digitized by the A / D 44 to generate an endoscopic image. The image generation unit 45 converts the generated endoscopic image into a video signal (component signal, composite signal, etc.) corresponding to the format of the monitor 15, and outputs the video signal to the monitor 15. Thereby, an endoscopic image is displayed on the monitor 15.

  The light receiving element 47 built in the light receiving device 17 is disposed at a position for receiving illumination light from the light source device 14 guided by the light guide 33 when the light receiving device 17 is attached to the endoscope 12. . The light receiving element 47 converts the illumination light incident through the light guide 33 into an electrical signal and outputs the electrical signal. The voltage value of the electrical signal output from the light receiving element 47 is proportional to the luminance of the received illumination light.

  The ROM 38 stores the model number of the endoscope 12. Although described in detail later, the model number stored in the ROM 38 is used when detecting breakage of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33.

  The light source device 14 includes a system control unit 51, a light source 52, a light source driver 53, a diaphragm mechanism 54, a condenser lens 55, a voltmeter 56, a memory 57, a determination unit 58, and the like. The system control unit 51 comprehensively controls each unit of the light source device 14.

  The light source 52 includes a xenon lamp or a halogen lamp, and is driven and controlled by a light source driver 53. The aperture mechanism 54 is disposed on the light emission side of the light source 52. The aperture mechanism 54 is controlled by the system control unit 51 and adjusts the amount of illumination light incident on the condenser lens 55. The condenser lens 55 condenses the light that has passed through the aperture mechanism 54 and guides the light to the incident end of the light guide 33 of the endoscope 12 connected to the light source device 14. The light guide 33 has a configuration in which a plurality of optical fibers are bundled, and is inserted from the proximal end of the endoscope 12 to the distal end portion 16. The exit end of the light guide 33 is connected to the illumination window 31 via the illumination lens 34.

  The voltmeter 56 measures the voltage value of the electrical signal output from the light receiving element 47. The measurement result by the voltmeter 56 is input to the memory 57 and the determination unit 58 in association with the model number of the endoscope 12 read from the ROM 38 and the aperture amount of the aperture mechanism 54. The memory 57 stores one measurement result for each model number of the endoscope 12. When the measurement result of the model number of the endoscope 12 that is not stored in the memory 57 is input, the measurement result is stored in association with the model number of the endoscope 12 and the aperture amount. On the other hand, when the already stored measurement result of the model number of the endoscope 12 is input, the measurement result is not stored. That is, the memory 57 stores the measurement result at the first use for each endoscope.

  The determination unit 58 determines whether the difference between the real-time measurement result and the measurement result stored in the memory 57 is within a predetermined range for the measurement result obtained by the voltmeter 56. At the time of determination, the measurement result is corrected to a value when the light amount is not reduced by the diaphragm mechanism 54. The aperture amount of the aperture mechanism 54 is controlled by the system control unit 51 and is sequentially detected by the system control unit 51. The difference in the measurement result is generated based on the breakage of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33. That is, the matter determined by the determination unit 58 is the presence or absence of breakage of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33. The determination unit 58 outputs the determination result to the system control unit 51 after performing the above determination. The system control unit 51 outputs a signal to the pilot lamp 25 based on the determination result by the determination unit 58.

  The pilot lamp 25 receives a signal from the system control unit 51 and lights up or blinks. During the period from when the power is turned on to the steady state (for example, 5 seconds), it is lit in orange.

  When the power supply is turned on and becomes a steady state, the determination by the determination unit 58 is not performed because there is no measurement by the voltmeter 56 (when the endoscope 12 is not connected to the light source device 14 or the light receiving device 17). ) Is illuminated in red).

  When the determination unit 58 determines that the difference between the measurement results obtained by the voltmeter 56 is within a predetermined range (for example, within 5% from the measurement results stored in the memory 57) (light constituting the light guide 33) Lights green when the fiber breakage is determined to be below the reference value.

  When the determination unit 58 determines that the difference between the measurement results obtained by the voltmeter 56 is not within the predetermined range (when it is determined that the breakage state of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 exceeds the reference value) ) Flashes red.

  Next, the processing procedure of the endoscope system 11 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The doctor turns on the power of the endoscope system 11 when performing an examination with the endoscope system 11.

  When the power supply of the endoscope system 11 is turned on, that is, when the light source device 14 is turned on, the pilot lamp 25 is switched from the unlit state to the lit state in orange to notify that it is in a standby state.

  The doctor operates an examination start button (not shown) provided on the processor device 13. This instructs each part of the endoscope system 11 to start the examination.

  The light source device 14 drives and controls the light source 52 to start irradiation with illumination light. The illumination light from the light source 52 is guided to the distal end portion 16 of the endoscope 12 through the light guide 33, and is irradiated onto the observation site from the illumination window 31 during the examination. On the other hand, when the light receiving device 17 is attached to the endoscope 12, the light enters the light receiving element 47 from the illumination window 31. The illumination light incident on the light receiving element 47 is converted into an electrical signal and input to the voltmeter 56.

  The voltmeter 56 measures the voltage value of the electrical signal output from the light receiving element 47. The measurement result by the voltmeter 56 is input to the determination unit 58. Based on the measurement result output from the voltmeter 56, the determination unit 58 determines whether or not the difference from the previous connection stored in the memory 57 is within a predetermined range. . The determination result is input to the system control unit 51.

  The system control unit 51 switches the lighting or blinking state of the pilot lamp 25 based on the determination result by the determination unit 58. In the steady state, when the endoscope 12 is not connected or when the light receiving device 17 is not attached to the endoscope 12, the lighting is switched to red and the endoscope 12 is not connected. Or that the connection state of the endoscope 12 is defective, or that the light receiving device 17 is not attached to the endoscope 12. When the endoscope 12 is connected to the light source device 14 and the light receiving device 17 is attached to the endoscope 12, the light source device 14 is switched to green in principle, and the endoscope 12 is connected to the light source device 14. It is informed that the light receiving device 17 is connected and attached to the endoscope 12. However, when the breakage state of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 exceeds the reference value as compared with that used in the past, the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 is switched to blinking in red. It is notified that the breakage status of exceeds the reference value.

  In addition, when receiving an instruction to start an inspection, the system control unit 41 of the processor device 13 controls the TG 42 and starts driving the CCD 35 by the CCD driver 43. The CCD 35 captures image light incident through the observation window 32 and the objective optical system 36 in accordance with the driving of the CCD driver 43, and outputs an image signal corresponding to the image light.

  The output image pickup signal is subjected to noise removal and amplification by the CDS / PGA 37. The imaging signal subjected to noise removal and amplification is input to the A / D 44, converted into digital image data, and then input to the image generation unit 45. The image generation unit 45 performs various types of image processing on the input image data, and generates an endoscope image from the image data. The image generation unit 45 converts the generated endoscopic image into a video signal corresponding to the format of the monitor 15 and outputs the video signal to the monitor 15. Thereby, an endoscopic image is displayed on the monitor 15.

  When the endoscopic image is displayed on the monitor 15, the doctor can insert the distal end portion 16 of the endoscope 12 into the body cavity of the patient and start observation in the body cavity. When the examination in the endoscope system 11 is finished, the power supply of the endoscope system 11 is turned off.

  When the power supply of the endoscope system 11 is turned off, that is, when the light source device 14 is turned off, the pilot lamp 25 is switched from a lighting or blinking state to a light-off state to notify that the power supply is off.

  As described above, the light amount of the irradiation light from the light source 52 output through the light guide 33 is detected, and the difference from the detection result when used in the past is calculated, and the difference becomes the reference value. If it is determined that the pilot lamp 25 is exceeded, the pilot lamp 25 blinks in red to notify the doctor, so that the doctor can know that the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 is broken. That is, it is possible to prevent the endoscopic image from becoming unclear due to the broken optical fiber and misdiagnosis due to the unclear endoscopic image.

  In the first embodiment, a decrease in the amount of illumination light due to deterioration with time of the light source 52 is ignored, but this may be taken into account. For example, the lighting time of the light source 52 is measured and stored, and the measurement result input from the voltmeter 56 to the determination unit 58 is corrected according to the lighting time of the light source 52. Since the breakage state of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 is determined after eliminating the decrease in the amount of illumination light due to deterioration with time of the light source 52, more accurate determination is possible.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the measurement result by the voltmeter 56 is stored in the memory 57, and the measurement result when used in the past is read from the memory 57 and compared with the current measurement result. It is not limited to. In the endoscope system 61 of the second embodiment to be described next, the amount of illumination light from the light source 52 before entering the light guide 33 is predicted, and the predicted value is compared with a real-time measurement value. Thus, the breakage state of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 is detected.

  FIG. 4 shows an endoscope system 61 according to the second embodiment. The system control unit 51 inputs the amount of illumination light from the light source 52 to the determination unit 58 based on the control state of the light source driver 53 and the diaphragm mechanism 54. The determination unit 58 determines whether or not the difference between the real-time measurement result by the voltmeter 56 and the voltage value predicted from the illumination light quantity from the light source 52 is within a predetermined range. Note that the description of the same configuration and processing procedure as in the first embodiment is omitted.

  According to the endoscope system 61 of the second embodiment, past measurement results are not required, and it is not necessary to provide the memory 57 in the light source device 14. In the endoscope system 11 of the first embodiment, when the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 is broken from the first use, the broken state cannot be determined. This can be determined by the endoscope system 61 of the embodiment.

  In each of the above embodiments, when the determination unit 58 determines that the measurement result by the voltmeter 56 exceeds the reference value, the pilot lamp 25 is switched to blink in red. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is not something. The measurement result may be determined by a plurality of reference values, and the lighting or blinking state of the pilot lamp 25 may be switched stepwise. For example, when the difference exceeds 3%, the pilot lamp 25 blinks in green, and when the difference exceeds 5%, the pilot lamp 25 blinks in red. Thereby, a doctor or the like can know the breakage status of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 step by step.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the pilot lamp 25 is used as means for notifying the breakage state of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a display that outputs a notification screen (or the monitor 15 is acceptable), a speaker that outputs a notification sound, or the like may be used.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the breakage status of the optical fiber constituting the light guide 33 is notified by the pilot lamp 25. However, it is only necessary that a doctor or the like can grasp the breakage status of the optical fiber, and the present invention is not limited thereto. There is nothing. For example, the optical fiber breakage state may be stored in the memory 57 so that it can be freely read out when desired.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, when the light guide 33 cannot endure use, it alert | reports with the pilot lamp 25, However, What alert | reports is not restricted to this. For example, the number of optical fiber breaks may be estimated based on the difference between the measurement results and displayed on a display or the like.

  In addition to notifying the user, safety measures may be taken when the endoscope 12 is used ignoring the warning. For example, when the endoscope 12 has been used for a predetermined time after the notification is started, the notification is made by changing the mode. Alternatively, it is stored in the internal storage device of the endoscope 12 that the light guide 33 has determined that it cannot be used, and a warning is given that it cannot be used the next time the endoscope 12 is used. Or it may be disabled.

  In each of the above embodiments, the light source device 14 used for the endoscopic examination is used to determine the breakage state of the light guide 33. However, a dedicated determination device (light guide) to which the endoscope 12 can be connected is used. May be used. In this case, the dedicated determination device has a configuration corresponding to each of the pilot lamp 25, the system control unit 51, the light source 52, the light source driver 53, the condenser lens 55, the voltmeter 56, the memory 57, and the determination unit 58. Just do it.

  In each of the above embodiments, the light guide 33 detects the amount of light guided to the distal end portion 16 by using the light receiving element 47 to determine the breakage state of the light guide 33. However, this is only an example. Instead of the light receiving element 47, a heat quantity sensor may be used to determine the breakage status based on the heat quantity. The heat amount sensor outputs the heat generated by the incident illumination light after converting it into an electrical signal. The voltage value of the electrical signal output from the heat amount sensor is proportional to the amount of heat generated by the received illumination light.

  In each of the above embodiments, the light source device 14 is separated from the processor device 13. However, the light source device 14 may be integrated with the processor device 13.

  Further, the endoscope systems 11 and 61 shown in the above embodiments are merely examples, and can be appropriately changed to any form without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the endoscope system of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical and optical structure of the endoscope system of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the endoscope system of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical and optical structure of the endoscope system of 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 61 Endoscopy system 12 Endoscope 14 Light source device 16 Tip part 17 Light receiving device 18 Insertion part 25 Pilot lamp (notification means)
33 Light guide 38 ROM
47 Light receiving element (sensor)
51 System Control Unit 52 Light Source 54 Aperture Mechanism 56 Voltmeter 57 Memory 58 Judgment Unit (Judgment Unit)

Claims (9)

A light receiving means that is detachably attachable to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope and includes a sensor that receives illumination light guided by the light guide;
An endoscope system comprising: determination means for determining a breakage state of an optical fiber constituting the light guide based on an output from the sensor.   The determination means determines whether or not the optical fiber constituting the light guide is broken by determining whether the amount of illumination light guided to the distal end of the insertion portion by the light guide satisfies a predetermined standard. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope system is determined.   The endoscope system according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies a determination result by the determination unit. A memory for storing an output from the sensor;
The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit performs determination based on a difference between an output stored in the memory and a real-time output. A diaphragm mechanism for adjusting the amount of illumination light before entering the light guide,
The memory stores an output from the sensor in association with an aperture amount by the aperture mechanism,
The endoscope system according to claim 4, wherein the determination unit performs determination by correcting an output stored in the memory and a real-time output in accordance with a diaphragm amount by the diaphragm mechanism.   The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a light receiving element.   The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a heat amount sensor. A light receiving means that is detachably attachable to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope and includes a sensor that receives illumination light guided by the light guide;
An apparatus for determining a breakage state of a light guide, comprising: a determination unit that determines a breakage state of an optical fiber constituting the light guide based on an output from the sensor. A photoelectric conversion step of receiving the illumination light guided to the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope by the light guide with a sensor, converting the light into an electrical signal, and outputting the electrical signal;
And a determination step of determining a breakage state of an optical fiber constituting the light guide based on an output from the sensor.

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