JP2010172651A - Endoscope and endoscope system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope and an endoscope system by which uniform illumination light not hindering the observation of an affected site can be obtained by preventing the generation of intensity variation and speckle noise. <P>SOLUTION: In the endoscope 100 having a fluorescent body 35 arranged at the distal end of an endoscope inserting part 11 for inserting it into an subject and activated and emitting light by laser light with a specific wavelength, an optical fiber 19 arranged along the endoscope inserting part 11 and irradiating with the laser light the fluorescent body 35 from a light emitting end, and an image taking part 17 for taking an image of the inside of the subject irradiated with the illumination light from the fluorescent body 35, a vibration applying means 21 for vibrating the optical fiber 19 is arranged in the endoscope inserting part 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope and an endoscope system in which laser light is guided to a phosphor provided at the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion by an optical fiber and excited to emit light.

  As a light source for an endoscope, Patent Document 1 discloses a light source that guides a blue semiconductor laser through an optical fiber and emits a phosphor disposed at a distal end portion of an endoscope insertion portion. This light source has both the fineness and brightness required for endoscopes, but the semiconductor laser that is the excitation source of the phosphor has mode hopping noise, return light noise, and speckle on the irradiated surface as intensity noise. It is known that noise occurs. In particular, in a light source as described in Patent Document 1, so-called speckle interference, in which speckle noise is generated on the irradiated surface while fluctuating in accordance with the unevenness of the irradiated surface, is conspicuously generated. When a semiconductor laser is used as illumination light for an endoscope or the like, this minute fluctuation hinders observation of the affected area, and various techniques for preventing fluctuation have been studied.

  For example, as a countermeasure for preventing the fluctuation, there is a filtering process using a “median filter” or a “Gaussian low-pass filter” that removes sudden noise by an arithmetic process. However, in these methods, information such as edges and shading that are originally targeted for observation may be lost, and in order to prevent this, it is necessary to perform more precise calculation. In particular, when handling a moving image such as an endoscope, continuous sequential processing is required, so that a high processing capacity of the arithmetic processing system is required, and the system becomes large and expensive.

  On the other hand, in a technique called spectroscopic diagnosis using an endoscope, endoscopic examinations such as diagnosing the presence or absence of cancer by observing new blood vessels, etc., generated in the mucosal layer or submucosal layer with narrow-band light Diagnosis is performed. As an endoscope used in this case, for example, an endoscope apparatus that observes with illumination light of a specific narrow wavelength band that has passed through a narrow band filter is described in Patent Document 2. However, even in this case, speckle noise is generated in the observation target, which hinders observation of the affected area.

As a method for suppressing the above speckle noise, for example, there is a method for changing the optical fiber length described in Patent Document 3. In this method, noise is reduced by a fiber bundle in which a plurality of optical fibers having an optical path difference length equal to or greater than the coherence length are bundled. However, since the configuration is such that optical fibers having different lengths are bundled, an increase in the size of the apparatus is inevitable.
Non-Patent Document 1 describes a method for suppressing speckle noise by applying vibration to an optical fiber. However, when applied to an endoscope, the place to vibrate moves away from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion where the phosphor is arranged. Therefore, the electric field distribution (so-called “lateral mode”) due to the optical fiber itself is biased. Occurs, and unevenness in strength and speckle change. In addition, when the endoscope soft part is moved, the intensity unevenness and speckle change, and uniform illumination light suitable for the affected part observation cannot be obtained.

JP 2005-205195 A Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-40174 JP 2008-43493 A

IEICE technical report LQE2003-173 “Examination of speckle noise reduction method for POF FFP”

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an endoscope and an endoscope system that can prevent generation of unevenness of intensity and speckle noise and obtain uniform illumination light that does not interfere with observation of an affected area. It is aimed.

The present invention has the following configuration.
(1) a phosphor that is arranged at the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into a subject and that emits excitation light by a laser beam having a specific wavelength;
An optical fiber that is disposed along the endoscope insertion portion and that irradiates the phosphor with laser light from a light emitting end;
An imaging unit for imaging the inside of the subject irradiated with illumination light from the phosphor;
An endoscope comprising:
An endoscope in which excitation means for vibrating the optical fiber is disposed in the endoscope insertion portion.
(2) the endoscope of (1),
A light source for supplying laser light to the optical fiber;
A controller that controls driving of the excitation means and imaging by the imaging unit;
A display unit for displaying captured image information;
Endoscope system equipped with.

  According to the endoscope and the endoscope system of the present invention, it is possible to prevent generation of intensity unevenness and speckle noise and obtain uniform illumination light that does not interfere with the observation of the affected area.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope system for describing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the front-end | tip part of an endoscope insertion part. It is explanatory drawing which shows one structural example and its drive circuit of a piezoelectric material. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the front-end | tip of the endoscope insertion part showing the structure by which the piezoelectric material was wound around the optical fiber. It is a schematic sectional drawing of the front-end | tip of the endoscope insertion part showing the structure which wound the optical fiber around the forceps channel. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the vibration means after application of vibration and the distance from the light emitting end on the horizontal axis and the RMS value representing the noise of illumination light on the vertical axis.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope system for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.
The endoscope system 1 shown in the figure mainly includes an endoscope 100, a control device 200, and a display unit 300.
The endoscope 100 is a long endoscope insertion portion 11 that is inserted into a body cavity, and is arranged on the proximal end side of the endoscope insertion portion 11 so as to perform various operations such as a bending operation on the distal end side and an air supply / water supply operation. And an operation unit 13 for performing an operation. The bending operation on the distal end side is performed by bending the portion of the bending portion 20 in one or two axial directions. An illumination light source 15 and an imaging unit 17 are disposed at the distal end of the endoscope insertion unit 11. The illumination light source 15 has a light emitter that emits and emits light with a specific wavelength light (hereinafter referred to as a phosphor), and irradiates the phosphor with laser light that serves as excitation light. It arrange | positions along the endoscope insertion part 11. FIG. A piezoelectric body 21 is attached to the optical fiber 19 as vibration means for vibrating the optical fiber. In addition, a forceps channel 23 for inserting a treatment instrument or the like from the operation unit 13 side is formed in the endoscope insertion unit 11 along the axial direction of the endoscope insertion unit 11.

  The control device 200 includes a laser light source 25 that introduces laser light into the optical fiber 19 and a control unit 27 that controls each unit such as the imaging unit 17. The display unit 300 displays image information generated by the control unit 27. To project. As the laser light source 25, for example, a blue laser light source having a wavelength of 445 nm can be used. However, the laser light source 25 is not limited to this and may be configured to emit a plurality of types of laser light.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion.
The distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 11 has a distal end hard portion 31 made of ceramics or a metal material, and the illumination light source 15 is disposed in an opening hole 31 a formed in the distal end hard portion 31. Similarly, the lens barrel 17a in which the condensing optical system of the imaging unit 17 is accommodated is inserted into the opening hole of the other hard tip 31 (not shown). The imaging unit 17 is configured to bend the optical axis of the lens barrel 17a at a right angle by the prism 17b and form an image on the imaging element 17d mounted on the substrate 17c. An imaging signal from the imaging element 17d is transmitted from the substrate 17c to the control unit 27 through the cable 33.

  The illumination light source 15 is disposed on the front side of the image capturing unit 17 in FIG. 2, and the phosphor 35 disposed at the light emitting end of the optical fiber 19, and the light emitted from the phosphor 35 is emitted from the distal end of the endoscope insertion unit 11. Lenses 37a and 37b that emit light in the direction and a translucent member 39 that covers the opening hole 31a are provided. The light emitted from the phosphor 35 is emitted forward of the optical path by the lenses 37a and 37b, and is irradiated to the observation region in the body cavity through the translucent member 39.

  Further, the distal end hard portion 31 has an opening hole 31b, and a metal forceps pipe 41 is fixed to the opening hole 31b. A tube 43 is connected to the end of the forceps pipe 41 opposite to the opening hole 31 b side, and the forceps pipe 41 and the tube 43 form a forceps channel 23. The forceps channel 23 communicates from the opening hole 31 b at the tip of the endoscope insertion portion 11 to the forceps opening 45 on the operation portion 13 side.

Here, the configuration for vibrating the optical fiber 19 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, a piezoelectric body 21 is attached to an optical fiber 19 on the near side of the illumination light source 15 over a predetermined length along the axial direction of the optical fiber 19. The piezoelectric body 21 may be bonded to a part of the outer periphery of the optical fiber 19 as an elongated sheet, or may be bonded to the optical fiber 19 as a block body. When the optical fiber 19 and the piezoelectric body 21 are in close contact with each other, distortion due to voltage application of the piezoelectric body 21 is reliably propagated to the optical fiber 19 with high efficiency.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the piezoelectric body 21 distorts the piezoelectric material layer 47 by sandwiching a piezoelectric material layer 47 such as aluminum nitride between the electrode layers 49 and applying an electric field between the electrode layers 49. Yes. The piezoelectric body 21 can be adjusted to an arbitrary vibration frequency by adjusting the electric field application period and the polarity reversal period, and the amplitude can be adjusted by the applied voltage, which has an advantage of excellent controllability. Furthermore, the shape can be variously formed from a thin plate shape to a thick wall shape, and the installation flexibility can be increased according to the purpose. In addition to the above materials, the piezoelectric material layer 47 is made of so-called ferroelectric material such as quartz, lithium niobate, lithium tantalate, langasite, zirconate titanate, Rochelle salt, tourmaline, polyfukka vinylidene, etc. Is possible. The electrode layer 49 is connected to the control unit 27 by connecting a voltage application lead 51 (see FIG. 1).

  The piezoelectric body 21 basically has the configuration and the drive circuit shown in FIG. 3 and generates vibration in the axial direction A (see FIG. 2) with respect to the optical fiber 19. That is, the piezoelectric body 21 is attached so that the stacking direction of the piezoelectric material layer 47 and the electrode layer 49 matches the axial direction of the optical fiber 19, and the piezoelectric body 21 receives a drive voltage signal from the control unit 27 shown in FIG. Generates vibration when The drive voltage signal is generated at least during observation. Due to this vibration, when the laser light transmitted through the optical fiber 19 is irradiated as illumination light from the illumination light source 15, it is possible to prevent unevenness in intensity and speckle noise from occurring in the illumination light. Note that FIG. 3 shows a five-layer structure as an example, but the number of layers may be arbitrary.

  Further, by arranging the piezoelectric body 21 on the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion 11, intensity unevenness and speckle noise are caused by the bias of the electric field distribution caused by the optical fiber itself in front of the excitation portion by the piezoelectric body 21 in the optical path. Are prevented from being superimposed again. In addition, since the sufficient prevention effect is obtained even with a slight amplitude of vibration, the vibration performance of the piezoelectric body 21 can be minimized and the size can be reduced. In addition, by placing the piezoelectric body 21 on the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion 11 rather than the bending portion 20 that makes the endoscope insertion portion 11 bendable, an optical fiber can be used when the bending portion 20 is bent. Even when a stress is applied and a change occurs in the intensity distribution of the transmitted light, uniform illumination light is obtained by the vibration of the piezoelectric body 21 arranged at the tip of the bending portion 20.

  Speckle noise is more prominent for longer wavelengths such as green and red lasers than short wavelengths such as blue lasers, and semiconductor lasers that can easily reduce coherency by expanding the half-width of light emission, such as high-frequency superposition Rather, it occurs more noticeably with a solid-state laser green laser. Furthermore, it occurs more significantly in multimode optical fibers than in single mode optical fibers. However, with the endoscope configuration described above, it is possible to obtain illumination light with uniform intensity while suppressing the influence of speckle noise in any of the above cases. Even when the endoscope insertion portion 11 is moved with an external force applied, the illumination light is not disturbed and can always be observed under good illumination light.

  Furthermore, according to this configuration, since the optical fiber 19 is supported by the piezoelectric body 21 in the endoscope insertion portion 11, when the endoscope insertion portion 11 is deformed by an external force during the operation of the endoscope, It is possible to prevent stress concentration from occurring at a connection portion such as between the light emitting end of the fiber 19 and the phosphor 35. In addition, by disposing at the distal end side from the bent portion, it is possible to prevent the influence of speckle due to the stress on the fiber at the bent portion during the operation of the endoscope, that is, the effect of so-called mode change in the fiber. Note that the piezoelectric body 21 may be joined via another intermediate member without being brought into direct contact with the optical fiber 19. In that case, by changing the shape of the intermediate member to a shape having a semicircular groove along the outer diameter shape of the optical fiber 19 or a shape having a communication hole through which the optical fiber 19 is inserted and supported, etc. The contact area can be increased, and the adhesion and vibration propagation can be further enhanced.

Next, another configuration example of the endoscope will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion showing a configuration in which a piezoelectric body is wound around an optical fiber. Here, the description of the same members as those shown in FIG. 2 is omitted or simplified.
As shown in FIG. 4, at the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion 11, a flexible tape-like piezoelectric body 21 </ b> A is spirally wound and bonded to the optical fiber 19 on the near side of the illumination light source 15. . In this case, the optical fiber 19 receives torsional vibration including vibration in the axial direction A due to vibration generated by the piezoelectric body 21. That is, the tape-like piezoelectric body 21 generates vibration whose longitudinal direction is the amplitude direction, and the optical fiber 19 vibrates in the axial direction A while being twisted by the expansion and contraction behavior in the axial direction A. Since the optical fiber 19 is supported and excited in a suspended state by the piezoelectric body 21A, a larger amplitude can be obtained with less vibration energy.

  Further, as described above, the piezoelectric body 21 </ b> A is spirally wound around the optical fiber 19 and the rear end side is wound around the outer periphery of the tube 43 of the forceps channel 23 and fixed. By bonding and fixing the rear end side of the piezoelectric body 21 </ b> A to the tube 43, the joining state with the small-diameter optical fiber 19 can be made less susceptible to external force. A stable bonding state can be maintained. A voltage applying lead wire 51 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the electrode layer 49 of the piezoelectric body 21A to supply a drive signal from the control unit 27 to the piezoelectric body 21A.

  According to the configuration in which the tape-shaped piezoelectric body 21A is wound around the optical fiber 19, the outer peripheral surface of the optical fiber 19 is uniformly expanded and contracted over the entire circumference, so that unevenness in strength and generation of speckle noise are high over the entire irradiation surface. It can be prevented with accuracy, and illumination light with a more uniform light amount distribution can be irradiated.

  Further, since the optical fiber 19 is supported in a suspended state in the endoscope insertion portion 11, the optical fiber 19 is slightly bent by an external force acting on the endoscope insertion portion 11, and the intensity of illumination light is also affected by this bending deformation. Unevenness and speckle noise can be reduced.

Next, still another configuration example of the endoscope will be described.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion showing a configuration in which an optical fiber is wound around a forceps channel. Here, the description of the same members as those shown in FIG. 2 is omitted or simplified.
As shown in FIG. 5, at the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion 11, the connection portion of the forceps pipe 41 shown in FIG. 2 with the tube 43 is a tubular piezoelectric body 21 </ b> B having substantially the same inner and outer diameters as the forceps pipe 41. Forming. One end of the tubular piezoelectric body 21 </ b> B is abutted and joined to the forceps pipe 41 and the other end is connected to the tube 43, thereby forming a part of the forceps channel 23.

  The tubular piezoelectric body 21B generates vibrations that repeatedly expand and contract. The optical fiber 19 on the near side of the illumination light source 15 is wound around the outer periphery of the piezoelectric body 21B and is fixed by an adhesive or the like, so that vibration generated by the piezoelectric body 21B is propagated to the optical fiber 19, and the optical fiber 19 is axial. It vibrates in the direction A. As shown in the example, the optical fibers 19 are bundled and overlapped (in a state where the optical fibers 19 are wound a plurality of times along the axial direction of the forceps channel 23), thereby synergistically preventing occurrence of intensity unevenness and speckle noise. can do. In particular, by matching the direction along the winding surface of the lap winding, that is, the axial direction of the optical fiber 19, to the vibration direction, the light intensity on the irradiation surface can be made uniform with high efficiency.

  Further, when the optical fiber 19 is wound around the tubular piezoelectric body 21 </ b> B, if the optical fibers 19 are overlapped and wound so as to intersect with each other, a pressing force is applied to the overlapped optical fibers 19. The refractive index changes due to the compressive stress (strain) generated thereby, and the effect of uniforming the intensity of the illumination light is enhanced. Further, the optical fiber 19 is wound while being fastened to the piezoelectric body 21B so that a tensile stress remains in the optical fiber 19 after being wound, and the effect of making the light intensity uniform can be achieved by fixing the optical fiber 19 by adhesion or the like in a state where tension is applied. Is increased.

  In addition to the above-described configuration provided in place of a part of the forceps pipe 41 constituting the forceps channel 23, the piezoelectric body 21B is provided on the outer periphery of the forceps pipe 41 to have a double tube structure, It is good also as a structure provided in a part of circumferential direction on an outer peripheral surface.

  According to the endoscope 100 described above, the optical fiber 19 that guides the laser light to the illumination light source 15 at the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 11 is vibrated on the distal end side in the endoscope insertion portion 11. The light intensity distribution of the illumination light emitted from the illumination light source 15 can be made uniform. In other words, the intensity unevenness and speckle noise of the laser light itself are reduced, and vibration is applied in the vicinity of the light emitting end of the optical fiber 19 so that the region between the excited portion and the light emitting end in front of the optical path is increased. Thus, the intensity unevenness and speckle noise due to the bias of the electric field distribution caused by the optical fiber 19 itself are not superimposed on the guided laser beam.

  The location of the piezoelectric bodies 21, 21 </ b> A, and 21 </ b> B is preferably closer to the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 11, and is preferably between the light emitting end of the optical fiber 19 and the operation portion 13. In particular, it is preferably within 2 m from the light exit end, and more preferably within 1 m. That is, the vibration means is preferably disposed within a range of 2 m from the light emitting end of the optical fiber 19 toward the base end side opposite to the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion 11.

  Excitation means for vibrating the optical fiber 19 is not limited to the piezoelectric bodies 21, 21A, and 21B described above. For example, if the vibration source is small and can be remotely operated, an electrodynamic type such as a voice coil motor, piston drive, etc. Various types such as a hydraulic type by an unbalanced type, an unbalanced mass type, and the like can be used.

  Further, as a particularly preferable vibration generation condition of the vibration means, a vibration frequency that is several times to several tens of times the frame frequency of image acquisition by the image sensor 17d (see FIG. 2) is preferable. In addition, if a large amplitude is generated at the time of image acquisition, heat is generated at the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion 11, and if the amplitude is insufficient, the noise reduction effect of the illumination light is diminished. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress the amplitude within a predetermined range. is there.

  For example, under the condition where the core diameter of the multimode optical fiber is 30 to 116 μm and the emission wavelength of the laser light is 375 to 850 nm, the amplitude of the excitation means is preferably in the range of 0.001 to 0.1 mm, and the vibration frequency is 50 A range of ˜100 Hz is preferred. Further, when the degree of vibration is expressed by acceleration, for example, it is preferable to set the range from 0.1 G (equivalent to an amplitude of 0.01 mm and a vibration frequency of 50 Hz) to 5 G.

  If the core diameter of the optical fiber is less than 30 μm, the width of the light emitting portion of the semiconductor laser is about 10 to 30 μm, so that the lens coupling efficiency to the optical fiber is lowered or the position accuracy is sensitive. The inner diameter of a ferrule used for a general connector is 125 μm, and the outer diameter of the optical fiber including the cladding layer is preferably set to be equal to or smaller than the inner diameter of the ferrule. Therefore, since the cladding layer needs to be several μm at a minimum, the core diameter of the optical fiber is preferably 116 μm or less.

  As the laser beam, a green laser beam having a wavelength of 532 nm can be suitably used. In addition, a near ultraviolet to violet laser (emission wavelength of about 375 nm or more) and a near infrared laser (emission wavelength of about 850 nm) can be used. is there.

Here, the result of measuring the uniformity of the illumination light in the case of using the green second harmonic solid-state laser as the laser light with the configuration of the vibration means shown in FIG. 2 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the vibration means after application of vibration and the distance from the light emitting end on the horizontal axis and the RMS value representing the noise of illumination light on the vertical axis. The vibration applied to the optical fiber was a vibration frequency of 500 Hz and an amplitude of 0.001 mm. As shown in the figure, when the distance to the light emitting end of the vibration means exceeds 100 cm, the increase rate of the illumination light noise increases. Moreover, even after exceeding 200 cm, noise continues to increase until reaching 500 cm.

  When the RMS value is about 3700, the noise of the illumination light hardly becomes a problem, and when it is about 3900, the noise can be clearly recognized visually. Therefore, it is preferable to suppress it to 3800 or less. Note that the RMS value is a numerical value obtained by defining the root mean square obtained by monochromatic extraction of the RGB 16-bit value of the acquired image (RMS when the QL maximum value is 65416).

As described above, the following items are disclosed in this specification.
(1) a phosphor that is disposed at the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into a subject and emits light by excitation with a laser beam having a specific wavelength;
An optical fiber that is disposed along the endoscope insertion portion and that irradiates the phosphor with laser light from a light emitting end;
An imaging unit for imaging the inside of the subject irradiated with illumination light from the phosphor;
An endoscope comprising:
An endoscope in which excitation means for vibrating the optical fiber is disposed in the endoscope insertion portion.
According to this endoscope, the optical fiber in the endoscope insertion portion is vibrated by the vibration means, thereby preventing unevenness in the intensity of illumination light and speckle noise from occurring, and preventing uniform observation of the affected area. Illumination light can be obtained.

(2) The endoscope according to (1),
An endoscope in which the optical fiber is a multimode optical fiber.
According to this endoscope, since a multimode optical fiber is used, when the light is transmitted while reflecting in the core, the light transmitted due to external factors such as deformation and stress of the optical fiber is not transmitted. Although easily affected, by vibrating the optical fiber, it is possible to reliably prevent unevenness in intensity and speckle noise from occurring in the illumination light.

(3) The endoscope according to (1) or (2),
An endoscope in which the vibration means is disposed on the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion with respect to a bending portion that allows the endoscope insertion portion to be bent.
According to this endoscope, even if a change occurs in the intensity distribution of the transmitted light due to stress applied to the optical fiber by the bending portion, the endoscope is homogenized by the excitation means disposed at the tip of the bending portion. Illumination light.

(4) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (3),
An endoscope in which the vibrating means is disposed immediately before the light emitting end of the optical fiber.
According to this endoscope, by vibrating the optical fiber immediately before the light emitting end, a sufficient uniforming effect can be obtained even with a small vibration, and the vibration means can be downsized. In addition, by shortening the optical fiber optical path length after vibration, it is possible to suppress intensity unevenness and speckle noise from being superimposed on the optical fiber again due to the deviation of the electric field distribution caused by the optical fiber itself.

(5) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (4),
An endoscope in which the vibration means has a vibration direction in a direction along the axial direction of the optical fiber.
According to this endoscope, the effect of uniformizing the illumination light can be further enhanced by vibrating in the axial direction of the optical fiber.

(6) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (5),
An endoscope in which the vibration means is made of a piezoelectric body.
According to this endoscope, the vibration can be generated by the piezoelectric body, so that the controllability can be improved and the installation flexibility can be increased.

(7) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (6),
An endoscope in which the vibration means is disposed in contact with the optical fiber.
According to this endoscope, the vibration of the vibration means can be more reliably propagated to the optical fiber by arranging the vibration means and the optical fiber in contact with each other.

(8) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (7),
An endoscope in which the excitation means is formed in a flexible tape shape and is wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber.
According to this endoscope, a tape-like vibration means is wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber in a spiral shape, so that the optical fiber can be vibrated while being supported by the vibration means, and a large amplitude is obtained with less vibration energy. Can be obtained.

(9) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (7),
The excitation means is formed in a part of a conduit constituting the forceps channel;
An endoscope in which a part of the optical fiber is wound and fixed around a region including the excitation means of the forceps channel.
According to this endoscope, by winding the optical fiber around the vibration means provided in the forceps channel, the light uniformity effect can be further enhanced by the deformation of the optical fiber and the vibration by the vibration means.

(10) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (8),
An endoscope in which an overlapped portion in which the optical fibers are bundled is provided in the middle of the optical path of the optical fiber.
According to this endoscope, the effect of uniformizing the illumination light can be further enhanced by forming the overlapping winding portion in the optical path of the optical fiber.

(11) The endoscope according to any one of (1) to (10),
The core diameter of the optical fiber is 30 to 116 μm, the emission wavelength of the laser light is 375 to 850 nm, the amplitude of vibration by the vibration means is 0.001 to 0.1 mm, and the vibration frequency is 50 to 1000 Hz,
An endoscope in which the vibration means is disposed within a range of 2 m from the light emitting end of the optical fiber toward the proximal end opposite to the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion.
According to this endoscope, it is possible to acquire a good observation image while suppressing noise of illumination light.

(12) the endoscope according to any one of (1) to (11);
A light source for supplying laser light to the optical fiber;
A controller that controls driving of the excitation means and imaging by the imaging unit;
A display unit for displaying captured image information;
Endoscope system equipped with.
According to this endoscope system, it is possible to acquire a good observation image with uniform illumination light free from intensity unevenness and speckle noise, and display it on the display unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Endoscope insertion part 13 Operation part 15 Illumination light source 17 Imaging part 19 Optical fiber 21 Piezoelectric body (vibration means)
23 Forceps Channel 25 Laser Light Source 27 Control Unit 33 Cable 35 Phosphor 37a, 37b Lens 41 Forceps Pipe 43 Tube 45 Forceps Port Opening 47 Piezoelectric Material Layer 49 Electrode Layer 100 Endoscope 200 Control Device 300 Display Unit

Claims (12)

A phosphor that is disposed at the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion to be inserted into a subject and is excited and emitted by laser light of a specific wavelength;
An optical fiber that is disposed along the endoscope insertion portion and that irradiates the phosphor with laser light from a light emitting end;
An imaging unit for imaging the inside of the subject irradiated with illumination light from the phosphor;
An endoscope comprising:
An endoscope in which excitation means for vibrating the optical fiber is disposed in the endoscope insertion portion. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein
An endoscope in which the optical fiber is a multimode optical fiber. The endoscope according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
An endoscope in which the vibration means is disposed on the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion with respect to a bending portion that allows the endoscope insertion portion to be bent. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An endoscope in which the vibrating means is disposed immediately before the light emitting end of the optical fiber. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An endoscope in which the vibration means has a vibration direction in a direction along the axial direction of the optical fiber. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An endoscope in which the vibration means is made of a piezoelectric body. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An endoscope in which the vibration means is disposed in contact with the optical fiber. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An endoscope in which the excitation means is formed in a flexible tape shape and is wound around the outer periphery of the optical fiber. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The excitation means is formed in a part of a conduit constituting the forceps channel;
An endoscope in which a part of the optical fiber is wound around and secured to a region including the excitation means of the forceps channel. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An endoscope in which an overlapped portion in which the optical fibers are bundled is provided in the middle of the optical path of the optical fiber. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
The core diameter of the optical fiber is 30 to 116 μm, the emission wavelength of the laser light is 375 to 850 nm, the amplitude of vibration by the vibration means is 0.001 to 0.1 mm, and the vibration frequency is 50 to 1000 Hz,
An endoscope in which the vibration means is disposed within a range of 2 m from the light emitting end of the optical fiber toward the proximal end opposite to the distal end side of the endoscope insertion portion. The endoscope according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
A light source for supplying laser light to the optical fiber;
A controller that controls driving of the excitation means and imaging by the imaging unit;
A display unit for displaying captured image information;
Endoscope system equipped with.

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