JP4967096B2 - Endoscope, endoscope attachment, and endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope, an endoscope attachment, and an endoscope apparatus, and in particular, an endoscope that can simultaneously observe an anterior direction that is an operative field direction and a side that is perpendicular to the operative field direction. The present invention relates to an endoscope attachment and an endoscope apparatus.

  Conventionally, an endoscope is used when examining the state of the body or performing an operation. In particular, in recent years, laparoscopic surgery using a laparoscope has been actively performed. Laparoscopic surgery has various merits, such as a smaller wound, less patient burden and faster postoperative recovery than open surgery.

Japanese Patent No. 2556514 Japanese Patent No. 3724083

  However, the conventional technique has the following problems. In the case of a conventional endoscope, in the case of a rigid endoscope, there is a problem that the observation is only performed in the insertion direction of the rigid endoscope. For example, when a forceps is inserted, it is difficult to confirm the position. In the case of a flexible endoscope, the tip can be freely bent so that any direction can be observed. However, there is a problem that the tip may come into contact with the affected area that is not actually desired to be touched. As a result, the neck may not bend. In order to solve these problems, it is not realistic to insert a plurality of endoscopes.

  In addition, as a potential requirement, it is desirable that the thickness of the endoscope be as small as possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and is an endoscope, an endoscope attachment, and an endoscope that are not more than the same size as a conventional endoscope and can observe the front and the side at the same time. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope apparatus.

  The endoscope according to claim 1 is an endoscope in which a lens optical system is accommodated in an inner cylinder, a light source is accommodated between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, and the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are inscribed. Then, a truncated two-lobe hyperboloid mirror whose axis is aligned with the optical axis of the lens optical system is arranged at the distal end of the operative field facing the lens optical system, and the truncated two-lobe hyperboloid mirror is arranged on the outer cylinder. It is cut according to the size, and the two-leaf hyperboloid shape, the truncated position, and the light source position are positioned so that no halation occurs. The feature is that the image in the circumferential direction is captured.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is capable of performing forward view and high-definition side view without causing halation using a truncated two-lobe hyperboloidal mirror while maintaining the thickness of a conventional endoscope. It becomes possible to observe at the same time. Although the invention according to claim 1 cannot observe the entire circumference at once, if the endoscope is rotated, a side view in a desired direction is possible. It should be noted that “inscribed” is only required to be substantially inscribed, and does not hinder a mode in which a slight gap is left due to the thickness of the cylinder and design problems. That is, inscribed means that it is not concentric in this sense. Although it is assumed that the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are aligned, the inner cylinder is not necessarily aligned and the inner cylinder may protrude.
Further, not causing halation means that the light emitted from the light source does not reach the focal point through the truncated two-leaf hyperboloid mirror.

  Further, the endoscope according to claim 2 is the endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the truncated position is set in a range of operative field area: lateral area = 3: 7 to 9: 1. It is characterized by having been adjusted in.

  That is, the invention according to claim 2 makes it possible to satisfactorily observe the front and sides. In addition, since a high-definition side view is possible, even if the area in the operative field direction: the area in the lateral circumferential direction = 9: 1, it can sufficiently withstand practical use.

  In the endoscope attachment according to claim 3, the lens optical system is housed in the inner tube and the light source is housed between the inner tube and the outer tube, the inner tube and the outer tube are inscribed, and the tip surface is a tube. An endoscope attachment applied to an endoscope, which is formed perpendicular to the axis of the lens, and has an axis that coincides with the axis of the lens optical system when attached, and faces the tip surface. A two-leaf hyperboloid mirror and a joint to be joined to the endoscope tip, and the truncated two-lobe hyperboloid mirror is cut according to the size of the outer cylinder, And the truncated position are in a positional relationship in which no halation occurs.

  That is, the invention according to claim 3 realizes the forward view and the high-definition side view at the same time without causing halation just by being attached to the existing non-concentric endoscope. The tip surface is not necessarily a flat surface, and may be a spherical surface or a shape in which a step is formed by protruding the inner cylinder. In this case, the fact that the tip surface is formed perpendicular to the axis means that the center of the spherical surface is on the axis. Further, the inscribed state is only required to be substantially inscribed, and does not hinder a mode in which a slight gap is left due to the thickness of the cylinder or a design problem. That is, inscribed means that it is not concentric in this sense.

  Further, the endoscope attachment according to claim 4 is the endoscope attachment according to claim 3, wherein the truncated position is defined as the area in the operative field direction: the area in the lateral direction = 3: 7 to 9: 1. It is characterized by having been adjusted in the range of.

  That is, the invention according to claim 4 makes it possible to observe the front and the side well.

  Further, the endoscope device according to claim 5 is taken in by the endoscope according to claim 1 or 2 or the endoscope to which the endoscope attachment according to claim 3 or 4 is joined. The image in the lateral direction is converted into a panoramic image and displayed on the image output device together with the image in the operative field direction.

  That is, the invention according to claim 5 makes it possible to intuitively grasp an image captured in a side view. Here, the panoramic image means an image corrected so as not to be distorted vertically and horizontally because the image in the lateral direction is originally a donut shape or a fan shape and is distorted. Further, the panoramic image does not have to be developed horizontally and integrally, and may be finally divided.

  According to the present invention, an endoscope that is not more than the size of a conventional endoscope and that can observe the side simultaneously with the front without causing halation even though the light source is an essential configuration. An endoscope attachment and an endoscope apparatus can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<Embodiment 1>
In the first embodiment, a concentric endoscope will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an endoscope apparatus including the endoscope according to the present embodiment. The endoscope apparatus 1 includes an endoscope 2, a processing device 3 that processes and converts an image captured from the endoscope 2, a monitor 4 that outputs an image processed by the processing device 3, and a light source unit 5. Is composed of. The processing device 3 is a general-purpose personal computer, and, as will be described later, performs panoramic development of an image captured as a donut shape, and processes it so that the doctor can recognize the state of the patient's body together with the image in the operative field direction.

  2A and 2B are schematic views showing the distal end portion of the endoscope 2 shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA. It is a top view. Here, for convenience of explanation, the distal end portion of the endoscope 2 is referred to as an endoscope 100. The endoscope 100 includes a lens system 101, a truncated two-lobe hyperboloid mirror 102, a light source 103, a transparent protective cylinder 104, a transparent flat plate 105, an inner cylindrical body 106, and an outer cylindrical body 107. Is done.

  The lens system 101 is held by an inner cylindrical body 106, and sends out a surgical field direction image and a lateral direction image (doughnut-shaped image) from the truncated head 108 to the eyepiece side (image capturing side). The image in the lateral direction (the image of the side surface 360 ° of the transparent protective cylinder 104) is taken into the lens system 101 via the truncated two-lobe hyperboloid mirror 102 as illustrated. The lens system 101 is determined relatively to the eyepiece side lens system (not shown), and is not necessarily limited to the illustrated configuration, and various configurations can be employed.

  The reason for using the two-leaf hyperboloid is that an image in the lateral direction can be obtained from a single focal point, and can be converted into a panoramic image without distortion by mathematical conversion. The two-leaf hyperboloid is characterized in that the light collected at the imaginary focal point is reflected by the curved surface and reaches the real focal point. Although the actual actual focal point is moved by the lens system, the actual focal point when there is no lens system is marked in the figure.

  The light source 103 is provided between the outer cylinder body 107 and the inner cylinder body 106 and emits light in the operative field direction. The emitted light is reflected by the truncated two-lobe hyperboloidal mirror 102, but the shape of the truncated two-lobe hyperboloidal mirror 102 is prevented so that direct light does not reach the focal point, that is, no halation occurs. The cutting position of the cut head 108 and the diameter of the outer cylinder 107 are adjusted. Further, at this time, by performing optical design in the range of 3: 7 to 7: 3, the ratio of the information amount (area) in the operative field direction and the ratio of the information amount (area) in the lateral direction, the operative field direction It is possible to appropriately grasp the surrounding situation while emphasizing the image of the image.

  Since the image in the lateral direction captured from the lens system 101 is a donut-shaped distorted image, it is converted into a panoramic image by an image conversion unit (not shown) in the processing device 3 (see FIG. 1). When outputting to the monitor 4, it is difficult to grasp the positional relationship with a 360 ° panoramic image, so, for example, it is divided into four parts, an upper image, a right image, a lower image, a left image, a central image (operative field image), As shown in FIG. 1, the divided screens may be arranged and displayed (see FIG. 1).

  Here, the design of the optical system will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the design of the optical system. Here, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the thickness of the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder is 0, and the diameter of the bottom surface of the two-leaf hyperboloid mirror and the diameter of the outer cylinder are the same.

なお、焦点ｆとａ、ｃとの関係は、ｆ^２＝ａ^２＋ｃ^２である。 The radius of the outer cylinder is r ₁ , and the distance between the tip of the lens optical system and the actual focal point F (see FIG. 3) is d. The shape-determining equation of the two-leaf hyperboloid mirror when the radial variable r and the axial variable z of the two-leaf hyperboloid mirror are z can be expressed by the following equations as parameters for determining a and c.

The relationship between the focal point f and a and c is f ² = a ² + c ² .

従って、ｒ_ｍｉｎ≦ｒ_ｃｕｔであるように各種パラメータを設定し、かつ、０．３≦ｔ^２≦０．７になるように適宜ｔを決定することにより、所望の光学系を設計できる。 At this time, a small truncated radius at which light emitted from the light source does not reach the focal point F is r _min , and the ratio of the area in the operative field direction to the total area (area in the operative field direction + area in the lateral direction) With t ² : 1, the truncation radius r _cut with t as a parameter can be expressed by the following equations, respectively.

Therefore, a desired optical system can be designed by setting various parameters such that r _min ≦ r _cut and appropriately determining t so that 0.3 ≦ t ² ≦ 0.7.

  The example in which the front end surface of the lens system 101 and the front end surface of the light source 103 are aligned has been described above. However, the lens system 101 has a configuration in which the front end surface of the light source 103 is retracted (the inner cylinder 106 protrudes from the outer cylinder 107). Configuration). In this way, the light in the direction of the focus F is blocked by the inner cylinder 106, so that the degree of freedom in design can be increased.

  As described above, according to the endoscope apparatus of the first embodiment, the surgical field direction and the lateral view can be performed simultaneously, and for example, the insertion state of forceps can be grasped in real time. In addition, when the affected area is large, it is possible to grasp the situation other than the surgical field.

<Embodiment 2>
In the second embodiment, an endoscope that is not in the same center, that is, in which an inner cylinder enclosing an optical system and an outer cylinder enclosing a light source are inscribed will be described. Hereinafter, this endoscope will be referred to as an inscribed endoscope. Here, an endoscope in which an endoscope attachment is attached to a commercially available inscribed endoscope will be described. In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as in the first embodiment unless otherwise specified.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a distal end portion of the endoscope according to the second embodiment. Among these, Fig.4 (a) is sectional drawing, FIG.4 (b) is the top view seen from the BB cross section. FIG. 5 is a perspective view schematically showing an endoscope attachment. The endoscope attachment 201 includes a truncated two-leafed hyperboloid mirror 102, a transparent protective cylinder 104, and a transparent curved plate 205. The endoscope 200 includes a lens system 101, a light source 103, an inner cylindrical body 106, and an outer cylindrical body 107. The endoscope attachment 201 is configured to be screwed and joined to a screw thread 202 provided at an outer peripheral end of the outer cylinder body 107 by a screw thread 203 formed at an inner end portion of the transparent protective cylinder 104. .

  By attaching the endoscope attachment 201, the endoscope 200 captures an image in the operative field direction from the truncated head 108, and simultaneously sends out an image in the lateral direction on the right side of the drawing to the eyepiece side. Unlike the endoscope 200 to which the endoscope attachment 201 is attached, the entire circumference cannot be seen, but if it is rotated appropriately, the direction to be seen can be seen, and the resolution is relatively higher than the whole circumference. It has the advantage of increasing (high definition).

  The light source 103 is provided between the outer cylinder 107 and the inner cylinder 106 and emits light in the direction of the surgical field. However, halation occurs in the shape of the two-leaf hyperboloid mirror 102 and the cutting position of the cut head 108. It has a configuration adjusted appropriately so that there is no.

  Note that an image captured from the lateral direction is distorted, and the end portion of the image is narrow and cannot be used. Therefore, the end portion is appropriately cut off and converted to an image without distortion by an image conversion unit. As a guide, the image is extracted and converted so that the surrounding image is 90 ° or more, preferably about 180 °.

The optical system can be designed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. However, 0.3 ≦ t ² ≦ 0.9 can be satisfied. This is because the area in the direction of the surgical field can be divided because the video portion from the direction is high definition because the lateral direction is substantially limited.

  The above explanation is for a two-leaf hyperboloid mirror with the top and bottom parts cut off, but since the image from the narrower lateral direction is not used, this part of the two-leaf hyperboloid mirror is further shaved. You may take a wider view of the front view. FIG. 6 (a) is an explanatory diagram for explaining this relationship, and a two-leaf hyperboloid mirror and an outer cylinder that can be viewed from the front while ensuring a viewing angle of 180 ° as a side view. It is the top view which showed the diameter of the body. In FIG. 4, when the optical axis is moved to the left and the truncated portion 108 and the outer cylindrical body 107 are inscribed, the narrow circumferential direction is the minimum configuration (see FIG. 6B). .

  The above description has been mainly made with a rigid endoscope as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a flexible endoscope.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of an endoscope apparatus including an endoscope according to a first embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which showed the front-end | tip part of the endoscope shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the design of an optical system. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a distal end portion of an endoscope according to a second embodiment. It is the perspective view which represented the endoscope attachment typically. It is the top view which showed the diameter of the 2 leaf hyperboloid mirror and the outer cylinder which enabled forward view otherwise ensuring the viewing angle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope apparatus 2 Endoscope 3 Processing apparatus 4 Monitor 5 Light source unit 100 Endoscope 101 Lens system 102 Truncated bilobal hyperboloid mirror 103 Light source 104 Transparent protection cylinder 105 Transparent flat plate 106 Inner cylinder body 107 Outer cylinder body 108 Cut head 200 Endoscope 201 Endoscope attachment 202 Screw thread 203 Screw thread 205 Transparent curved plate

Claims (5)

An endoscope in which a lens optical system is housed in an inner tube, a light source is housed between the inner tube and the outer tube, and the inner tube and the outer tube are inscribed,
A truncated two-lobe hyperboloidal mirror with the optical axis of the lens optical system coinciding with the optical axis of the operative field side is placed facing the lens optical system
The truncated two-leaf hyperboloid mirror is cut to fit the size of the outer cylinder,
As a positional relationship in which the halation does not occur between the two-leaf hyperboloid shape, the truncated position, and the light source position,
An endoscope characterized in that an image in the operative field direction is taken in from the truncated portion, and an image in the lateral direction is taken in from the hyperboloidal mirror.   The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the truncated position is adjusted in a range of area in the operative field direction: area in the lateral circumferential direction = 3: 7 to 9: 1. An endoscope in which the lens optical system is housed in the inner cylinder and the light source is housed between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder are inscribed, and the tip surface is formed perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder. An endoscope attachment applied to
A truncated two-lobed hyperboloid mirror having an axis that coincides with the axis of the lens optical system when attached and facing the tip surface;
A joint to be joined to the endoscope tip;
Comprising
The truncated bilobal hyperboloid mirror is cut to the size of the outer cylinder,
An endoscope attachment characterized in that a two-leaf hyperboloid shape and a truncated position are in a positional relationship in which no halation occurs. The endoscope attachment according to claim 3, wherein the truncated position is adjusted in a range of area in the operative field direction: area in the lateral circumferential direction = 3: 7 to 9: 1. A lateral image captured by the endoscope according to claim 1 or 2 or the endoscope to which the endoscope attachment according to claim 3 or 4 is joined is converted into a panoramic image to be operated. An endoscope apparatus, characterized by being displayed on an image output device together with an image of a direction.

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