JP5087254B2 - Ultrasound endoscope - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic endoscope in which an ultrasonic probe, an observation window for optical observation, and an illumination window are provided at the distal end of an insertion portion.

  In general, an ultrasonic endoscope has an ultrasonic signal connector and a light guide connector at the distal end of an ultrasonic signal line guide tube and a light guide guide tube that are extended from an operation unit connected to a proximal end of an insertion unit. They are attached and connected to an external ultrasonic signal processing device and a light source device.

  A plurality of ultrasonic signal lines, one end of which is connected to the ultrasonic probe disposed at the distal end of the insertion section, passes from the insertion section through the operation section and further through the ultrasonic signal line guide tube to the ultrasonic signal connector. It is connected.

In the case of considering the disassembly and repairability of the ultrasonic signal connector, the ultrasonic signal line guide tube, etc., an intermediate connector for connecting the ultrasonic signal line in a separable manner is provided in the operation unit, and the ultrasonic signal line is provided. The guide tube is detachably connected to the operation unit (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-41333 A

  General endoscopes that do not have an ultrasonic probe at the distal end of the insertion section must be cleaned after each use, and in order to make the effort as easy as possible, an automatic cleaning device dedicated to the endoscope is used. Widely used.

  Ultrasound endoscopes are used by being inserted into the human body in the same way as general endoscopes, so they must be cleaned after each use, but they are not provided in general endoscopes. Since there is no ultrasonic signal connector that is very large with a built-in circuit board etc., it cannot be stored in an automatic cleaning machine for endoscopes, and very laborious work of chemical immersion and hand washing is required It was.

  Also in the case of the ultrasonic endoscope described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary for the general user to separate the ultrasonic signal connector, such as the need to remove the cover of the operation unit in order to separate the ultrasonic signal line in the middle. Since the structure cannot be performed easily, the situation is quite the same for the troublesome cleaning work.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic endoscope that can be easily cleaned by being stored in an automatic cleaning device for cleaning a general endoscope.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ultrasonic endoscope according to the present invention includes an ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave, an observation window for optical observation, and an illumination at the distal end of an insertion portion having an operation portion coupled to a proximal end. An ultrasonic signal line guide tube in which a plurality of ultrasonic signal lines for transmitting signals input / output to / from the ultrasonic probe are inserted, and a light guide for illumination are inserted. The light guide guide tube extends from the operation unit, and an ultrasonic signal connector connected to an external ultrasonic signal processing device is provided at the tip of the ultrasonic signal line guide tube. In an ultrasonic endoscope provided with a light guide connector connected to an external light source device at the tip, an ultrasonic signal line is superposed at an intermediate position in the middle or end of the ultrasonic signal line guide tube. An intermediate connector that is separably connected to the sound wave signal line guide tube. It is provided with a Kuta.

  According to the present invention, the ultrasonic signal line guide tube is provided with an intermediate connector that is detachably connected to the ultrasonic signal line guide tube together with the ultrasonic signal line guide tube at the midway position or at the end portion thereof. The user can easily disconnect the signal connector from other parts, and the ultrasonic endoscope can be stored and cleaned in an automatic washer for cleaning a general endoscope.

  An ultrasonic probe for ultrasonic transmission / reception, an observation window for optical observation, and an illumination window are provided at the distal end of the insertion part with the operation part connected to the base end to transmit signals input to and output from the ultrasonic probe. An ultrasonic signal line guide tube in which a plurality of ultrasonic signal lines are inserted, and a light guide guide tube in which a light guide for illumination is inserted are arranged to extend from the operation unit. An ultrasonic signal connector connected to an external ultrasonic signal processing device is provided at the tip of the guide tube, and a light guide connector connected to an external light source device is provided at the tip of the light guide guide tube. In the ultrasonic endoscope thus provided, an intermediate connector is provided in the middle or end of the ultrasonic signal line guide tube so as to be detachably connected to the ultrasonic signal line together with the ultrasonic signal line guide tube at the midway position.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the ultrasonic endoscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and the base end of the flexible insertion portion 1 is connected to the lower end of the operation portion 2.

  A so-called radial scanning ultrasonic probe 3 that emits and receives ultrasonic waves radially around the axis is arranged at the distal end of the insertion portion 1, and is input to and output from each ultrasonic transducer constituting the ultrasonic probe 3. A plurality of (for example, 200 or more) ultrasonic signal lines 4 for transmitting electrical signals are inserted into the insertion portion 1.

  An observation window (not shown) and an illumination window (not shown) for optical observation are arranged on the distal end surface of the insertion section 1, and a light guide fiber (not shown) for transmitting illumination light is inserted into the insertion section 1. The exit end is located inside the illumination window.

  A flexible ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5 and a light guide guide tube 6 are both extended from a position near the upper end of the rear surface of the operation unit 2. Then, the ultrasonic signal line 4 passes from the insertion portion 1 through the operation portion 2 and is inserted into the ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5, and the light guide fiber passes from the insertion portion 1 through the operation portion 2 to the light guide. It is inserted in the guide tube 6.

  A known ultrasonic signal connector 7 connected to an external ultrasonic signal processor (not shown) is attached to the tip of the ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5, and the tip of the light guide guide tube 6 is attached to the tip of the light guide guide tube 6. A known light guide connector 8 connected to an external light source device (also a video processor) not shown is attached.

  At an intermediate position of such an ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5, an intermediate connector 10 is provided for detachably connecting the ultrasonic signal lines 4 together with the ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5 at the intermediate position. FIG. 1 shows a state where the intermediate connector 10 is separated, and FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the intermediate connector 10 in a separated state.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the connection pin terminal 11 is provided on one side (side connected to the ultrasonic signal connector 7) and the other side (side connected to the operation unit 2) of the intermediate connector 10. And the connection hole terminal 12 are attached in alignment. The ultrasonic signal line 4 in the ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5 is connected to each of the connection pin terminal 11 and the connection hole terminal 12.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the connection pin terminals 11 are viewed from the front, and a plurality of (for example, 200 or more) connection pin terminals 11 are arranged side by side. Each connection pin terminal 11 is individually electrically connected to a connection hole terminal 12 provided in the same array as the connection pin terminal 11.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a C-ring 13 serving as a click spring and an O-ring 14 for sealing are attached to the outer peripheral portion on one side of the intermediate connector 10 provided in a divided manner, On the side, a receiving tube 15 in which receiving portions of the C ring 13 and the O ring 14 are formed on the inner peripheral portion is disposed so as to protrude forward in a cylindrical shape from the outer peripheral portion of the connection hole terminal 12. In FIG. 3, only the connection hole terminal 12 and the receiving tube 15 are shown in cross section.

  With such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the intermediate connector 10 is connected, the ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5 divided in half is integrally connected, and this state Is click-fixed by the C-ring 13 and sealed by the O-ring 14 so as not to leak inside. At the same time, the connection pin terminal 11 and the connection hole terminal 12 are electrically connected individually, and the ultrasonic probe 3 and the ultrasonic signal connector 7 are electrically connected. FIG. 5 shows a cross section of only the connecting portion.

  Then, if a force is applied so as to pull the intermediate connector 10 away from the intermediate position on both sides in the axial direction, the intermediate connector 10 is separated as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. The portion near 7 is mechanically and electrically separated from the other portions including the ultrasonic signal connector 7. In order to connect the intermediate connector 10 from this state, an operation of aligning and pushing the connection pin terminal 11 and the connection hole terminal 12 may be performed.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, an appropriate waterproof plug 20 is attached to the receiving tube 15 of the intermediate connector 10 on the side connected to the operation unit 2 (or the intermediate connector 10 itself may have a waterproof structure). The insertion portion 1, the operation portion 2, the light guide connector 8 and the like other than the separated ultrasonic signal connector 7 can be stored in an endoscope automatic cleaner and easily cleaned.

FIG. 7 is a reference example (outside the scope of the present invention) in which an intermediate connector 10 similar to that of the first embodiment is provided at the end of the ultrasonic signal line guide tube 5 near the operation section 2 .

As shown in FIG. 8, the ultrasonic probe 3 disposed at the distal end of the insertion portion 1 is provided with a convex type that operates in a fan shape in the front-rear direction (vertical direction in the figure). The present invention may be applied to an endoscope.

It is a side view showing the whole composition of the state where the middle connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of the 1st example of the present invention was separated. It is a side view showing the whole composition of the state where the middle connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of the 1st example of the present invention was connected. It is side surface fragmentary sectional view of the intermediate | middle connector of the state which the ultrasonic endoscope of 1st Example of this invention isolate | separated. It is the elements on larger scale which looked at the connection pin terminal of the intermediate connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of 1st Example of this invention from the front. It is side surface fragmentary sectional view in the state where the intermediate connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of the 1st example of the present invention was connected. It is side surface fragmentary sectional view in the state where the waterproof plug was attached to the separated intermediate connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of the 1st example of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the whole structure of the state in which the intermediate connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of the reference example of this invention was isolate | separated. It is a side view showing the whole composition of the state where the middle connector of the ultrasonic endoscope of the 2nd example of the present invention was separated.

Explanation of symbols

2 Operation unit 3 Ultrasonic probe 4 Ultrasonic signal line 5 Ultrasonic signal line guide tube 6 Light guide guide tube 7 Ultrasonic signal connector 8 Light guide connector 10 Intermediate connector 11 Connection pin terminal 12 Connection hole terminal 13 C ring 14 O ring 15 Receptacle 20 Waterproof stopper

Claims (1)

An ultrasonic probe for transmitting and receiving an ultrasonic wave, an observation window for optical observation, and an illumination window are provided at the distal end of an insertion part connected to the operation part at the base end, and signals input to and output from the ultrasonic probe An ultrasonic signal line guide tube in which a plurality of ultrasonic signal lines for transmission are inserted and a light guide guide tube in which a light guide for illumination is inserted extend from the operation unit, and An ultrasonic signal connector connected to an external ultrasonic signal processing device is provided at the tip of the acoustic signal line guide tube, and a light connected to an external light source device is provided at the tip of the light guide guide tube. In an ultrasonic endoscope provided with a guide connector,
Above the middle of a ultrasonic signal wire guide tube, the intermediate connector is provided for connecting the ultrasonic signal line freely separated with its middle position the ultrasonic signal line guide tube,
An ultrasonic endoscope , wherein a length between the operation portion of the ultrasonic signal line guide tube and the intermediate connector is shorter than that of the light guide guide tube .

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