JP3344812B2 - Endoscope - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope having an insertion portion to be inserted into a very thin tube such as a blood vessel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an insertion section of an endoscope provided with an extremely thin insertion section to be inserted into an extremely thin tube such as a blood vessel has a flexible tube portion, a bending portion, and a distal end portion sequentially from a hand operation portion side. It is configured to be connected.

[0003] For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-281618 discloses an endoscope of this type, in which a linear body having elasticity is spirally wound to form a coil-shaped curved portion main body. 2 shows a curved portion structure that is easy to assemble. Both ends of the coil of the bending portion main body are connected to the flexible tube portion and the distal end portion, respectively. Further, one end of a bending operation wire is connected to the distal end. The other end of the bending operation wire is connected to a wire operation unit on the hand side.

[0004] When the bending operation wire is pulled by the wire operation unit, the distal end is pulled through the bending operation wire, and the coil-shaped bending portion main body is bent.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional structure, the coil-shaped bending portion main body is formed by a single coil spring having a coarsely wound coil portion. When pulling the part and bending the coil-shaped bending part body, the coarsely wound part of the coil spring expands in the outer part of the curve to widen the interval between adjacent coil rings, and in the inner part of the curve The coarsely wound portion of the coil spring shrinks in the axial direction of the insertion portion of the endoscope, and is deformed so that the interval between adjacent coil rings becomes smaller. In this case, particularly in the inside portion of the curve, the degree of shrinkage of the coarsely wound portion of the coil spring tends to be non-uniform, and the interval between adjacent coil rings tends to vary. There is a problem that it is difficult to bend at a bending radius.

Further, when a part of the bending portion main body is locally bent during the bending operation of the bending portion, the direction of the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion causes the entire bending portion main body to be bent with a uniform bending radius. In this case, it is difficult to accurately bend the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion in a desired direction since the distal end portion deviates from the direction of the distal end portion.

[0007] Further, when the bending portion main body is formed by a single coil spring, there is a problem that the resilience of the bending portion is weak. Therefore, there is also a problem that an operation of applying an external force to return the curved portion to the linear shape is required in order to restore the curved portion to the linear shape after the curved portion main body is deformed.

Further, since the bending portion formed of a single coil spring is soft, the bending portion may be relatively easily buckled during the operation of inserting the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion portion, for example, from a nipple into a biliary or pancreatic tube. There is a problem that is difficult to insert.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to perform a reliable bending operation with a uniform bending radius while having a bending portion structure which is inexpensive and easy to assemble. After the bending section body is bent and deformed,
An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope which can be surely restored to a linear shape only by the restoring force of the bending portion itself and does not easily buckle.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope in which an insertion portion formed by a flexible tube is provided with a flexible bending portion capable of performing a bending operation. And a curved shape shaping means for shaping the body of the curved portion into a uniform curved shape at the time of the bending operation of the curved portion.

[0011]

The outer shape of the curved portion is maintained by the coarsely wound coil spring in the curved portion main body, and the curved portion is prevented from shrinking in the axial direction by the densely wound spring when the curved portion is curved, so that the curved portion is uniformly curved when the curved portion is curved. The bending operation is performed by the bending radius.

[0012]

FIG. 1A shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1A shows an internal configuration of a curved portion 3 at the distal end of the insertion section 1 in an endoscope 2 having an insertion section 1 having an extremely small diameter inserted into an extremely thin tube such as a blood vessel.

The insertion section 1 of the endoscope 2 is provided with a flexible tube section 4, a bending section 3, and a distal end section 5 in this order from a hand operation section (not shown). Here, the entire insertion section 1 is covered with an outer tube 6 and integrally formed.

Further, a channel tube 7 is provided at the axial center of the insertion section 1. An observation optical system, an illumination optical system, a suction channel, and the like (not shown) are provided in the channel tube 7. Note that the channel tube 7 is arranged coaxially with the outer tube 6.

A distal end ring 8 in a ring state is fixed to the distal end portion 5 of the insertion portion 1 between the outer tube 6 and the channel tube 7. Similarly, a connecting member 9 in a ring state is fixed between the outer tube 6 and the channel tube 7 at the rear end position of the curved portion 3.

In the main body 3a of the bending portion 3, a coarsely wound coil spring 10 is provided on the outside and a closely wound coil spring 11 is provided on the inside and coaxially with substantially the same length. Here, the distal ends of the coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11 are fixed to the distal end ring 8, and the rear end side is fixed to the connecting member 9. A curved shape shaping means 12 for shaping the curved portion main body 3a into a uniform curved shape during the bending operation of the bending portion 3 is formed by the coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11. The coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11 are formed by metal wires having a circular cross section.

Further, two coil sheaths 13 and 14 are disposed between the outer tube 6 and the channel tube 7 of the flexible tube portion 4. These coil sheaths 1
The distal end portions 3 and 14 are fixed to the connecting member 9. Here, the connecting member 9 is formed with a fixing hole 9a for the coil sheaths 13 and 14, and a wire insertion hole 9b communicating with the fixing hole 9a. The distal ends of the coil sheaths 13 and 14 are fixedly inserted into the fixing holes 9 a of the connecting member 9.

Operation wires 15 and 16 are inserted into the coil sheaths 13 and 14, respectively. Operation wire 1
The distal ends of the coil springs 5 and 16 extend from the coil sheaths 13 and 14 into the wire insertion holes 9b of the connecting member 9 and pass between the coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11 to be fixed to the distal ring 8. ing. The base ends of the upper and lower operation wires 15 and 16 are fixed to a bending operation handle or the like (not shown) on the hand operation unit side.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
First, in a normal state in which the bending operation handle on the proximal side of the endoscope 2 is not operated, the bending portion main body 3a is moved by the spring force of the coarse coil spring 10 and the close winding coil spring 11 in the bending portion main body 3a as shown in FIG. As shown in A), it is held in a substantially linear initial state.

When one of the upper and lower operation wires 15, 16 such as the lower operation wire 16 is pulled by the operation of the bending operation handle on the proximal side of the endoscope 2, this operation wire is used. The lower end of the distal ring 8 in FIG. Therefore, a bending moment is generated in the bending portion main body 3a, and as shown in FIG. 1B, the entire bending portion main body 3a is bent in a substantially arcuate shape in the pulling direction of the operation wire 16.

At this time, the close-wound coil spring 11 in the bending portion main body 3a is located inside the bending portion main body 3a in the bending direction.
Is not changed, the entire length of the bending portion 3 does not change, and the entire bending portion main body 3a is bent in a substantially arc shape in a state where the entire length of the outer portion in the bending direction is extended.

Therefore, the above configuration has the following effects. That is, the curved shape shaping means 12 which coaxially arranges the coarsely wound coil spring 10 on the outside and the densely wound coil spring 11 on the inside, and shapes the bending portion main body 3a into a uniform bending shape when the bending portion 3 performs the bending operation. Since the bending portion 3 is provided in the bending portion main body 3a, the entire length of the close-wound coil spring 11 in the bending portion main body 3a does not change at the inner side in the bending direction of the bending portion main body 3a during the bending operation of the bending portion 3. As a result, the degree of shrinkage of the coarsely wound portion of the coil spring at the inside of the curved portion of the curved portion 3 becomes non-uniform as in the related art, and it is possible to prevent the interval between adjacent coil rings from varying, and thus the curved portion 3 can be prevented. 3 at the time of bending operation
a can be curved in a substantially arcuate shape with a uniform radius of curvature. As a result, the distal end portion 5 of the insertion section 1 of the endoscope 2 can be accurately bent in a desired direction.

Further, since the two coil springs of the coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11 are provided in the bending portion main body 3a, the spring property of the bending portion 3 can be enhanced. Therefore, the restoring force after the curved portion main body 3a is deformed by bending can be increased as compared with the conventional art. The troublesome operation of returning the curved portion 3 to the linear shape becomes unnecessary. Further, buckling when the insertion section 1 of the endoscope 2 is inserted can be prevented.

Further, since the coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11 are formed by wires having a circular cross section, the manufacturing cost of the endoscope 2 can be reduced, and the endoscope 2 can be manufactured at a low cost. .

Further, since the coarsely wound coil spring 10 and the densely wound coil spring 11 are formed of a metal wire having a circular cross section, the endoscope 2 having a high spring property of the bending portion 3 can be obtained. Recoverability from time can be improved. The manufacturing cost of the endoscope 2 can be reduced, and an inexpensive endoscope 2 can be manufactured.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. This is provided with a coarsely wound coil spring 21 and a densely wound coil spring 22 in which the cross-sectional shape of the coil spring element wire is changed to a substantially rectangular shape in the bending portion main body 3a of the first embodiment.

In view of the above, in the above-mentioned structure, the coarsely wound coil spring 21 and the densely wound coil spring 22 in which the cross-sectional shape of the coil spring wire is changed to a substantially rectangular shape are provided. While having the same inner and outer diameters as in the case of a circular shape, the resilience can be further enhanced, and the resilience and buckling resistance of the curved portion 3 can be enhanced. Therefore, the restoring force after the bending portion main body 3a is bent can be further smoothed, and buckling at the time of insertion of the insertion portion 1 of the endoscope 2 can be effectively prevented.

FIGS. 3A to 4D show a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows the patient H
1 shows a schematic configuration of an entire endoscope system in which a skin is cut and transvascularly inserted into a coronary artery. In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 31 denotes an endoscope, and 32 denotes a light source device of the endoscope 31.

The endoscope 31 has an insertion portion 33 to be inserted into the body of the patient H, an operation portion 34 on the proximal side connected to a proximal end of the insertion portion 33, and an operation portion 34 connected to the operation portion 34. A universal cord 35 is provided. here,
The operation unit 34 is provided with an eyepiece 34a for observation. Further, a connector 36 at the tip of the universal cord 35 is detachably connected to the light source device 32. The illumination light generated by the light source device 32 is sequentially transmitted through the universal cord 35, the operation unit 34, and the insertion unit 33 by a light guide (not shown) formed of an optical fiber disposed in the main body of the endoscope 31. The light is guided to the tip of 33. Note that a curved shape shaping means 12 having a coarsely wound coil spring 10 and a densely wound coil spring 11 having the same configuration as in the first embodiment is provided in the distal end portion of the insertion portion 33.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a fixing ring (fixing means) is provided near the distal end of the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31.
37 are attached. One end of an operation wire 38 disposed outside the insertion portion 33 is fixed to the fixing ring 37. The material of the fixing ring 37 is, for example,
High-density metals such as gold, platinum, and silver are used.

Further, the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31 and the operation wire 38 are integrally formed with the catheter 3 for controlling the amount of bending.
9. Then, the insertion section 3 of the endoscope 31
3 and the distal end side of the operation wire 38 pass through the distal end opening of the catheter 39 and extend forward. Since the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31 can move freely inside the catheter 39 integrally with the operation wire 38, the catheter 3
The projecting amount of the insertion portion 33 from the opening at the tip of the front end 9 can be freely set.

A wire handle 40 is attached to the proximal end of the operation wire 38 that extends outside the proximal end of the catheter 39. Then, as shown in FIG. 4A, with the distal end side of the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31 protruding from the distal end opening of the catheter 39, the insertion portion 33 is pulled by pulling the wire handle 40 on the hand side. As shown in FIG. 4 (B), the portion of the distal end portion protruding from the distal end opening of the catheter 39 bends in a substantially arcuate shape with the contact portion with the distal end opening of the catheter 39 as a fulcrum of bending. Has become.

Further, an inflatable substantially bag-shaped balloon 41 made of, for example, a synthetic resin material is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion of the catheter 39. The distal end of an air supply tube 42 shown in FIG. A base 43 on the hand side is connected to a base end of the air supply tube 42. The balloon 41 is inflated or deflated by injecting and discharging air into the balloon 41 through an air supply tube 42 by an air supply means such as a syringe connected to the base 43. As shown in FIG. 3B, the balloon 41 blocks or opens the blood flow in the inscribed blood vessel K in accordance with the inflation or deflation operation.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
First, in an actual use state of the endoscope system of the present embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (A), the patient H is cut, and the catheter 39 is transvascularly inserted into the coronary artery. Further, after the insertion of the catheter 39, the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31 and the operation wire 38 are integrally inserted into the catheter 39. Then, when the distal end of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 reaches a target site in the blood vessel K, the balloon 41 is inflated as shown in FIG. Blocks blood flow in the adjacent blood vessel K.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4A, the distal end side of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 is projected from the distal end opening of the catheter 39. In this state, when the operator pulls the wire handle 40 on the hand side, tension is applied to the operation wire 38, and the operation wire 38 and the fixing ring 3
Tension acts on the vicinity of the distal end of the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 21 via the. At this time, the passing position (bending position) of the operation wire 38 is regulated by the distal end opening of the catheter 39, and as a result, the operation wire 38 is
7 and stretched in a chord between the tip opening of the catheter 39,
The protruding portion of the distal end of the insertion portion 33 from the distal end opening of the catheter 39 is curved in a substantially arcuate shape with the contact portion with the distal end opening of the catheter 39 as a fulcrum of the curvature, as shown in FIG.

Further, by changing the amount of pulling of the wire handle 40, the fixing ring 37 and the catheter 3 are changed.
By changing the length between the distal end opening 9 and the distal end opening of the catheter 39, the amount of curvature of the protruding portion of the distal end of the insertion section 33 from the distal end opening of the catheter 39 can be changed.

Further, in the state shown in FIG. 4 (C) in which the amount of protrusion of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 protruding from the distal end opening of the catheter 39 on the distal end side is increased as compared with FIG. 4 (A). By pulling the wire handle 40 and performing the same operation, as shown in FIG. 4 (D), the length of the curved portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion 33 is changed.
Can be curved at the distal end side of the. Therefore, by changing the length of the curved portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion 33 and changing the amount of pulling of the wire handle 40, the entire coronary artery can be observed.

Further, since the fixing ring 37 is formed of a high-density metal such as platinum, gold, silver or the like, it is possible to determine at which position in the body the distal end of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 exists during the operation. It can be easily confirmed by X-ray fluoroscopy.

Therefore, in the above configuration, by changing the amount of projection of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 protruding from the opening of the distal end of the catheter 39, the distal end of the insertion section 33 is changed. Since the length of the curved portion on the side can be freely changed, various combinations of the radius of curvature and the angle of curvature are possible according to the expansion of the observation space, the shape, the observation direction, and the like, and the observation range of the endoscope 31 is expanded. be able to.

FIGS. 5A to 5D show the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. This is because the fixing ring 3 on the distal end side of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 of the third embodiment
A ring-shaped regulating member 51 movable along the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31 is provided closer to the hand than 7, and the operation wire 38 is inserted through the regulating member 51.

When the endoscope 31 having the above configuration is used, as shown in FIG. 5A, the distal end side of the insertion section 33 of the endoscope 31 is moved from the distal end opening of the catheter 39 to the regulating member 51.
To the rear position. In this state, when the operator pulls the wire handle 40 on the hand side, tension is given to the operation wire 38, and the operation wire 38 and the regulating member 51
And the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 21 via the fixing ring 37.
Tension acts on the vicinity of the tip of the.

At this time, since the passing position (bending position) of the operation wire 38 is regulated by the regulation member 51 on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 33, as a result, the operation wire 38 is moved between the fixing ring 37 and the regulation member 51. 5B, a portion of the distal end of the insertion portion 33 closer to the distal end than the position of the regulating member 51 is curved in a substantially bow shape with the position of the regulating member 51 as a fulcrum of curvature, as shown in FIG. You.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5C, the regulating member 51 on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 33 is moved in the axial direction of the insertion portion 33 in advance, and the distance between the fixing ring 37 and the regulating member 51 is changed. By changing the length of the curved portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion 33 by pulling the wire handle 40 and performing the same operation in a state where is changed as shown in FIG. The bending portion on the distal end side of the insertion portion 33 can be bent. Therefore, in this embodiment, the same effect as in the third embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 6 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. This is because two holes 61 and 62 are provided in the fixing ring 37 of the third and fourth embodiments, and the operation wire 38 is folded back through these holes 61 and 62, and the operation wire 3
Both ends of 8 are fixed to the wire handle 40 at the hand side. In this case, the fixing ring 37 is fixed to the insertion portion 33 of the endoscope 31 by caulking or bonding.

Therefore, in the above configuration, since the operation wire 38 is folded back on the fixing ring 37, even if the operation wire 38 is pulled strongly, the operation wire 38 is not fixed. It is hard to come off. Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the third embodiment, a safe endoscope 31 in which the operation wire 38 does not easily come off can be provided.

FIG. 7A shows an endoscope snare treatment tool 71 which is inserted into the body of a patient through a channel of the endoscope and cuts a living tissue (affected part) such as a polyp. The endoscope snare treatment tool 71 is provided with an insertion portion 72 to be inserted into a patient's body, and a hand-side operation portion 73 disposed on the base end side of the insertion portion 72.

Further, a channel tube 74 is provided on the center axis of the insertion portion 72 over the entire length. A torque tube 75 capable of transmitting a rotational torque is provided in the channel tube 74.

A snare loop 76 projects from the tip of the torque tube 75. This snare loop 7
The sixth operation wire 77 is inserted into the torque tube 75. The proximal end of the operation wire 77 protrudes from the rear end of the torque tube 75 and is attached to a snare handle 78 of the operation section 73. Then, the snare loop 76 is operated by the snare handle 78.

Further, the snare handle 78 is provided with an electrode 79 electrically connected to the snare loop 76. The external high frequency power supply 8
The ablation current from 0 is supplied to the snare loop 76.

A rotating handle 81 is attached to the rear end of the torque tube 75. By operating the rotary handle 81, the snare loop 76 is rotated together with the torque tube 75.

Further, at the outer peripheral portion of the channel tube 74 of the insertion portion 72, a skin tube 82 is coaxially arranged. The outer tube 82 and the channel tube 7
A ring-shaped front end member 83 is provided at the front end of the insertion section 72, and a ring-shaped rear end member 8 is provided at the rear end of the insertion section 72.
4. A ring-like connecting member 85 is fixed to the distal end side of the insertion portion 72 and closer to the hand side than the distal end member 83.

A coil spring 86 is coaxially disposed between the distal end member 83 and the connecting member 85 along the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube 82. The distal end of the coil spring 86 is the distal end member 83, and the proximal end is the connecting member 8.
5 respectively.

Further, two upper and lower angle wires 87 and 88 are inserted inside the coil spring 86. The tip side of each of the angle wires 87, 88 is a tip member 8
3 and is attached to the curved handles 89 and 90 of the operation section 73 through the connecting member 85 at the proximal side and further through the rear end member 84 at the proximal side. And
A portion between the distal end member 83 and the connecting member 85 in the insertion portion 72 forms a curved portion 91 that can be bent in a substantially arcuate shape as shown in FIG. 7B.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
First, when bending the bending portion 91 at the distal end of the insertion portion 72, the surgeon may arrange one of the bending handles 89 and 90 in a direction desired to be bent, for example, the bending handle 9.
0 is pulled. Thereby, the tip member 83 is pulled toward the hand side through the lower angle wire 88,
This tensile force bends as a moment. At this time, the coil spring 86 functions to maintain the outer shape of the bending portion 91 when bending and to obtain a restoring force for returning to the linear shape when bending is released.

When the operator operates the rotating handle 81 during rotation of the snare loop 76, the torque tube 75 rotates in the channel tube 74, and the snare loop 76 integrated with the torque tube 75 rotates.

Further, in order to tighten the snare loop 76, the surgeon pulls the snare handle 8 toward the operator, so that the operator can pull the torque tube 7
5 to reduce the diameter of the snare loop 76.

Here, the energization of the snare loop 76 is performed by turning on / off the output of the high-frequency power supply 80 using a foot switch or a hand switch (not shown). FIGS. 8A to 8C show a state in which the polyp P is actually excised in the body cavity by the endoscope snare treatment tool 71 having the above configuration.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, the insertion portion 72 of the endoscope snare treatment tool 71 having the above-described configuration is inserted into the body cavity. Subsequently, after checking the polyp P, the distal end of the insertion portion 72 of the snare treatment tool 71 is bent toward the polyp P. Further, the snare loop 76 is rotated so that the loop surface is perpendicular to the central axis of the polyp P, and FIG.
The snare loop 76 is placed over the polyp P as shown in FIG.

In this state, after pulling the snare handle 78 to bind the polyp P into the snare handle 78 as shown in FIG. 8C, a high-frequency current is applied to perform cautery resection.

Therefore, in the above configuration, since the surgeon can freely perform the bending and rotation of the snare treatment tool 71, the snare treatment tool 71 with good operability can be obtained.
Shortening of operation time is realized, and fatigue of the operator and pain of the patient can be reduced.

FIG. 9 shows the insertion section 102 of the endoscope 101.
1 shows a schematic configuration of a leading end portion of FIG. This insertion part 1
02, a flexible tube 103 from a hand operation unit side (not shown),
A curved portion 104 and a distal end hard portion 105 are sequentially provided.

Further, a channel tube 106 is provided at the axial center of the insertion portion 102 over the entire length.
The channel tube 106 has built-in optical functions such as an observation optical system and an illumination optical system (not shown).

The bending portion 104 has a bending coil 107.
Are arranged. The distal end side of the bending coil 107 is on the distal end member 108 of the distal end hard portion 105, and the rear end side is the connecting member 1 disposed between the flexible tube 103 and the bending portion 104.
09 respectively.

Further, the coil sheath 11 is provided between the flexible tube 110 of the flexible tube portion 103 and the channel tube 106.
1 is inserted. The distal end of the coil sheath 111 is fixed to the connecting member 109.

A microwire 112 made of a single metal wire is provided between the bending coil 107 and the channel tube 106. The tip of the microwire 112 is fixed to the tip member 108. Further, the microwire 112 passes through an axial hole provided in the connecting member 109, is inserted into the coil sheath 111, and extends to a not-shown hand side.

At the time of operation of the endoscope 101 having the above configuration, the microwire 112 is pulled toward the coil sheath 111 at the hand side, so that the distal end member 10 can be moved.
8 acts on the hand side in the axial direction. At this time, a buckling force is applied to the bending coil 107 by an axial tensile force acting on the tip member 108 and a moment using the distance between the central axis of the tip member 108 and the mounting position of the microwire 112 as a lever. Acting and bending coil 1
07 is curved substantially in a bow shape. In this case, since the single metal wire is used for the microwire 112, the bending coil 1
The wire diameter required for withstanding the traction force required for bending of the wire 07 can be further reduced. Table 1 below shows an example in which a single wire and a stranded wire are compared.

[0067]

[Table 1]

As is apparent from Table 1, a single line (SU
S) is a stranded wire (SUS) tensile stress of 160 kgf / mm ²
For high as 300 kgf / mm ² with respect to, Fai0.15Mm
An outer diameter of φ0.11 mm is sufficient to provide a cutting load equivalent to a cutting load of 2.8 kgf of a stranded wire (SUS) having an outer diameter of 0.11 mm. The material of the microwire 112 may be an ultrafine particle alloy, an amorphous metal, tungsten, or the like, in addition to SUS (stainless steel).

Therefore, in the above configuration, by using a single metal wire for the microwire 112, the outer diameter of the microwire 112 can be reduced. for that reason,
Since the diameter of the channel tube 106 can be increased while keeping the outer diameter of the insertion section 102 of the endoscope 101, a brighter optical system and an optical system with better resolution can be used, and there is no oversight of diagnosis. The endoscope 101 can be made safe and with little operator fatigue.

On the contrary, the outer diameter of the endoscope 101 can be reduced while keeping the diameter of the channel tube 106 unchanged, so that the endoscope 101 can be made less painful for a patient.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be variously modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. Next, other characteristic technical items of the present invention will be additionally described as follows.

(Note 1) The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the coarsely wound coil spring and the densely wound coil spring are made of a metal wire.

(Appendix 2) The endoscope according to claim 1 or 1, wherein the coarsely wound coil spring and the densely wound coil spring have a substantially circular cross section.

(Appendix 3) The endoscope according to claim 1 or 1, wherein the wire cross-sections of the coarsely wound coil spring and the densely wound coil spring are substantially square.

(Appendix 4) The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the coarsely wound coil spring and the densely wound coil spring are circular. (Additional Item 5) An operation wire disposed outside the insertion section of the endoscope main body, fixing means for fixing the distal end of the operation wire to the distal end of the insertion section, and a wire of the operation wire An endoscope comprising: a restricting means for restricting a passing position and determining a length of a curved portion at a distal end portion of the insertion portion during a pulling operation of the operation wire.

(Prior Art in Additional Item 5)
A conventional endoscope bending device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 933 has a wire inside a body of an endoscope and a guide tube for guiding the wire, and a distal end portion of the wire is formed of a bending portion of the endoscope. The distal end of the guide tube is fixed to the distal end on the proximal side of the bending portion of the endoscope. The endoscope is bent by pulling the wire against the guide tube at the hand side. However, in the conventional example, the length of the bending portion of the endoscope is uniquely determined by the fixing positions of the wire and the guide tube. However, in transvascular observations in coronary arteries, etc., in order to perform observations from various angles, various combinations of radius of curvature and angle of curvature are required according to the extent, shape, and observation direction of the observation space. Have been.

Further, since the conventional endoscope has a wire and a guide tube built in the endoscope main body,
The radial distance from the center axis of the insertion portion of the endoscope to the wire position was short. For this reason, especially in an ultra-fine diameter endoscope,
Since a large tension is required for the wire, a thick wire must be used to increase the strength of the wire.
The outer diameter of the endoscope had to be large.

(Object of Additional Item 5) The purpose of additional item 5 is
An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope having a thin outer diameter while having a bending mechanism capable of easily changing the length of a bending portion and using a thin wire to obtain sufficient tension necessary for bending.

(Effect of Supplementary Item 5) According to the supplementary item 5, by pulling the wire at the hand side with respect to the endoscope insertion portion, the wire tip buckles the endoscope insertion portion by the fixing means. Use force. On the other hand, the wire is running along the endoscope at a portion close to the position where the restricting means is attached by the restricting means. Thus, between the securing means and the regulating means, the wire acts as a string, and the endoscope bends in the shape of a bow. Therefore, since the length of the curved portion can be freely changed, an endoscope that can be combined with various bending angles and bending radii according to the expansion and shape of the observation space and the observation direction can be provided, and the observation range can be obtained. It is possible to provide an endoscope which is wide and has high safety with little oversight of diagnosis.

(Additional Item 6) The endoscope according to Additional Item 5, wherein the regulating means is movable along an insertion portion of the endoscope main body. (Additional Item 7) The endoscope according to Additional Item 5 or 6, wherein the restricting means comprises a catheter that passes through an insertion portion of the endoscope body.

(Additional Item 8) The fixing means is platinum,
8. The endoscope according to any one of additional items 5 to 7, wherein the endoscope is made of an X-ray opaque material such as gold or silver and a material containing an X-ray opaque material.

(Prior art of Supplementary Item 8) In the endoscope according to Supplementary Item 5, particularly when the outer diameter of the insertion portion is small, the material forming the insertion portion may be a resin such as polyurethane or glass. X-rays are relatively easy to transmit,
During use of the endoscope, it was difficult to confirm the position of the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope by X-rays. For this reason, it was very difficult to confirm the position of the distal end of the insertion portion with X-rays during use of the endoscope.

(Purpose of Supplementary Item 8) The purpose of Supplementary Item 8 is
An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope capable of easily confirming the position of the distal end portion of the insertion section of the endoscope by X-ray during operation. (Effects of Additional Item 8) The fixing means is made of platinum, gold,
Since an X-ray opaque substance such as silver is used as a material, the position of the distal end of the insertion portion of the endoscope can be easily ascertained from the image of the fixing means using X-rays.

(Additional Item 9) The endoscope according to any one of additional items 5 to 8, wherein the restricting means comprises a ring-shaped member through which an insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted. (Additional Item 10) The endoscope according to any one of additional items 5 to 9, wherein the wire is fixed back by the fixing means.

(Additional Item 11) The endoscope according to any one of Additional Items 5 to 10, wherein the fixing means is fixed by caulking to an insertion portion of the endoscope main body. (Additional Item 12) Additional Items 5 to 1, wherein the fixing means is adhesively fixed to an insertion portion of the endoscope main body.
0. The endoscope according to any one of 0.

[0086]

According to the present invention, a coarsely wound coil spring is disposed coaxially on the outside and a densely wound coil spring is disposed on the inside so that the body of the curved portion is shaped into a uniform curved shape during the bending operation of the curved portion. Since the shape shaping means is provided in the bending portion main body, it is possible to perform a reliable bending operation with a uniform bending radius while having a bending portion structure that is easy to assemble, and after bending the bending portion main body, bending the bending portion. It can be restored to a straight line shape only with its own restoring force,
Buckling at the time of insertion can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (A)
Is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the distal end bending portion of the endoscope,
(B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a bending state of the distal end bending portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which (A)
Is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the distal end bending portion of the endoscope,
(B) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a bending state of the distal end bending portion of the endoscope.

FIG. 3 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which (A)
1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the entire system showing an actual use state of an endoscope, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing a state in which the endoscope is transvascularly inserted into a coronary artery of a patient.

FIG. 4A is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which an insertion portion of an endoscope is protruded from an opening portion of a distal end of a catheter, and FIG. (C) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the amount of protrusion of the insertion portion of the endoscope projected from the distal end opening of the catheter is increased from (A), and (D) is a longitudinal sectional view showing the state. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the distal end bending portion of the endoscope is bent at the position of (C).

FIG. 5 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which (A)
Is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which the insertion portion of the endoscope is protruded from the distal end opening of the catheter, and (B) is a longitudinal section showing a state in which the distal end curved portion of the endoscope is curved at the position (A). Figure,
(C) is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state where the amount of protrusion of the insertion portion of the endoscope protruded from the distal end opening of the catheter is increased from (A), and (D) is an endoscope at the position of (C). FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a tip bending portion of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side view of an endoscope showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a longitudinal sectional view showing a configuration of a main part of a treatment tool for an endoscope, and FIG. 7B is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which a distal end curved portion of the treatment tool is curved.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of removing a polyp in a body cavity of a patient.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the distal end curved portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope in a partial cross section.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... insertion part, 3 ... bending part, 3a ... bending part main body, 10, 2
Reference numeral 1: coarse coil spring, 11, 22: dense coil spring, 12: curved shape shaping means.

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 1/00-1/32 G02B 23/24-23/26

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endoscope in which a flexible bending portion operable to perform a bending operation is provided in an insertion portion formed by a flexible tube. An endoscope, wherein a bending shape shaping means is provided in the bending portion main body, the bending shape shaping means being disposed above and configured to shape the main body of the bending portion into a uniform curved shape when the bending portion operates.