JPH02224633A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an unnecessary slippage at the time of insertion and to improve an insertability by providing a non-lubricant processing part in one part of the outer surface of an inserting part in which a lubricant processing layer is formed. CONSTITUTION:An inserting part 3 is formed by successively connecting a curved tube part 12 and a head composing part 13 at the head side of a flexible tube part 11. On the outer surface of a curved tube part outer skin, a lubricant processing layer 17, in which the lubricant processing layer with a high lubricity is executed, is formed. On the outer surface of the inserting part 3, the lubricant processing layer 17, in which the lubricant processing with the high lubricity is executed only to the curved tube part 12, is formed, the outer surfaces of the flexible tube part 11 and head composing part 13 except for it are formed of a soft high polymer material, for example, an elastomer such as a synthetic resin rubber, and a non-lubricant processing part 22 for holding, in which the lubricant processing is not executed, is provided. By holding the non-lubricant processing part 22, the generation of the unnecessary slippage in the holding part of the inserting part 3 can be prevented, and the operability at the time of insertion can be increased.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an endoscope with an improved insertion section.

[Prior Art] Generally, an endoscope is used with its insertion portion inserted into a body cavity of a human body. In this case, especially with lower gastrointestinal endoscopes, so-called colonoscopes, the insertion section must be inserted into the body cavity against the physiological defecation movement of the intestines, so if the insertion section is difficult to insert, it may cause pain to the patient. There is a growing problem.

Therefore, in this type of endoscope, a curved section is provided at the tip of the insertion section, and this curved section is remotely controlled by the proximal operation section to match the shape of the body cavity. This makes the insertion process easier.

Incidentally, a flexible polymeric material, for example, an elastomer such as synthetic rubber, is often used for the outer skin of the insertion portion of an endoscope. However, since such an elastomer outer cover generally has a large frictional resistance on its outer surface, there is a problem that when it is inserted into a human body cavity, the patient may experience great pain during the insertion process of the endoscope insertion section. Ta.

Therefore, it is possible to improve the lubricity of the outer surface of the insertion part by applying a lubricant such as jelly to the outer surface of the insertion part during insertion work of the endoscope insertion part, or to improve the lubricity of the outer surface of the insertion part, or
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 9670, a water-soluble polymer is bonded to the entire outer surface of a gastrointestinal catheter to improve the lubricity of the outer surface of the insertion portion.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Generally, the insertion portion of an endoscope or the like is formed to have a relatively long overall length so that it can be inserted deeply into a body cavity. Therefore, when inserting the insertion section, a user such as a doctor must grasp the intermediate portion of the insertion section and insert the insertion section while applying an appropriate pushing force to this grasped section. However, in the conventional structure described above, a lubricant such as jelly is applied to the entire outer surface of the insertion portion, or
Since a water-soluble polymer is bonded to the entire outer surface of the insertion portion as in the No. 09670 publication, there is a problem that the entire outer surface of the insertion portion becomes slippery and slippery. Therefore,
When a user, such as a doctor, grasps the outer surface of the insertion section and inserts it, there is a risk that unnecessary slippage may occur, which may impair the operability of the insertion section during insertion work.

In addition, in the case of a configuration in which the lubricity of the outer surface of the insertion tube is increased by applying a lubricant such as jelly to the outer surface of the insertion tube during insertion work of the endoscope insertion tube, lubrication is applied from the outer surface of the insertion tube. Since the agent is easily peeled off, there is a problem that its effect does not last long, and it has been clinically confirmed that insertability gradually decreases as the agent is inserted deeper into the body cavity.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is possible to prevent unnecessary slipping of the grip portion during the insertion operation of the insertion section, improve operability during the insertion operation, and at the same time improve insertion efficiency. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope that can improve the performance.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a lubricating layer 1 that has been subjected to a lubricating treatment with high lubricity.
A non-lubricated portion 22 for gripping which is not lubricated is provided on a part of the outer surface of the insertion portion 3 on which the insertion portion 3 is formed.

[Function] By gripping the non-lubricated portion 22 on the outer surface of the insertion portion 3 during the insertion work of the insertion portion 3, unnecessary slippage is prevented from occurring in the grip portion of the insertion portion 3. The lubrication treatment layer 17 on the outer surface of the insertion portion 3 other than the non-lubrication treatment portion 22 improves the operability during the insertion operation.

[Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the entire endoscope 1, and 2 is an operating section.

This operating section 2 includes an insertion section 3 and a universal cord 4.
are each connected. This operating section 2 is connected to a light source device (not shown) via a connector 5 at the tip of a universal cord 4. Furthermore, this operation section 2
includes an air supply/water supply/suction switching button 6, vertical and horizontal bending operation knobs 7a and 7b, an eyepiece 8, and a forceps mouth body of a treatment instrument insertion channel that can be opened and closed by a forceps stopper 9. 10 etc. are provided respectively.

In addition, the insertion section 3 has a curved tube section 12 on the distal end side of the flexible tube section 11.
and the tip forming portion 13 are sequentially connected and formed. In this case, the bending tube section 12 is formed by sequentially laminating bending pieces 14, bending tube section blades 15, and bending tube section outer skin 16 from the inside as shown in FIG. This curved tube section 12 is connected to each curved operation knob 7a, 7b of the operation section 2.
It is possible to remotely bend it vertically and horizontally. In addition, various built-in items such as a light guide fiber, an image guide fiber, an air supply/water supply/suction tube, a treatment instrument insertion channel tube, etc. (not shown) are inserted into the internal space of the bending piece 14 of the bending tube section 12. has been done.

On the other hand, the curved tube section outer skin 16 of the curved tube section 12 is formed of a flexible polymeric material, for example, an elastomer such as synthetic rubber. Further, a lubrication treatment layer 17 is formed on the outer surface of the curved tube portion outer skin 16 and is subjected to a lubrication treatment with high lubricity. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, this lubricating layer 17 is made by covalently bonding hydrophilic polymer chains 18 to the outer surface of the elastomer of the curved tube outer skin 16 by chemical graft polymerization. A covalent bond layer 21 is formed by graft polymerization between the elastomer layer 19 of the tube outer skin 16 and the layer 2o of the hydrophilic polymer chains 18. The hydrophilic polymer chain 18 is preferably a polymer that is water-soluble at room temperature or under heating and does not contain an ionic group. Examples of such polymers include acrylamide-based polymers and methacrylamide-based polymers. polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, dextran, etc.

Further, on the outer surface of the insertion portion 3, a lubrication treatment layer 17 is formed which is subjected to a highly lubricating treatment only on the outer surface of the curved tube outer skin 16 of the curved tube portion 12. And this curved pipe part 1
The outer surfaces of the flexible tube portion 11 other than 2 and the tip component 13 are made of a flexible polymeric material, for example, an elastomer such as synthetic rubber, and a non-lubricated portion 22 for gripping that is not lubricated is formed. It is provided.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

First, when inserting the insertion section 3 of the endoscope 1, such as a colonoscope, into the large intestine 23 of a patient, a worker such as a doctor should ask the operator, such as a doctor, to The non-lubricated portions 22 on the outer surfaces of the flexible tube portion 11 and the tip structure portion 13 are gripped. Then, in this state, a pushing force is applied to the insertion section 3 as shown by arrow A in FIG. 5, and the insertion section 3 is inserted into the patient's rectum 24 from the distal end component 13. In this case, the outer surface of the non-lubricated portion 22 of the insertion portion 1 held by the operator is made of a flexible polymeric material, such as an elastomer such as synthetic rubber, and is not lubricated. This can prevent unnecessary slipping when a person grasps the insertion section 3.

In addition, in the part of the figure 8 colon 26 between the rectum 24 and the descending colon 25, the bending tube part 12 of the insertion section 3 is adjusted to the shape of the figure 8 colon 26 by operating the bending operation knobs 7a and 7b. A bending operation is performed as shown by arrow B in the figure. In this case, the outer surface of the curved pipe portion 12 is coated with a lubricating layer 17 that is impregnated by contact with water and is lubricated to increase the lubricity.
5, the insertion portion 3 can be smoothly inserted without the curved tube portion 12 strongly compressing the patient's lumen due to the pushing force shown by arrow A in FIG.

Furthermore, the curvature 2 between the descending colon 25 and the transverse colon 27
8, the bending tube portion 12 of the insertion portion 3 is bent in accordance with the shape of the curved tile 28 as shown by the arrow B in FIG. In this case as well, since the curved pipe portion 12 does not push up the curved tile 28 strongly,
As the bending tube portion 12 is bent, the tip portion 13 of the insertion portion 3 can be smoothly inserted in the direction shown by the arrow B by the pushing force shown by the arrow A.

Therefore, in the case of the above structure, the outer surface of the insertion section 3 other than the curved tube section 12 which has been subjected to a highly lubricating treatment, that is, the outer surface of the flexible tube section 11 and the tip structure section 13, is subjected to a lubrication treatment. Since the non-lubricated portion 22 for gripping is provided, the flexible tube portion 1 of the insertion portion 3 is
1 and the non-lubricated portion 22 on the outer surface of the tip component 13, it is possible to prevent unnecessary slipping of the gripping portion of the insertion portion 3 and improve operability during insertion work. can be increased. Further, since a lubrication layer 17 is formed on the outer surface of the curved tube section 12 of the insertion section 3, the insertability of the insertion section 3 is improved by the lubrication layer 17 on the outer surface of the curved tube section 12. You can also do that. In addition, in this case, since the lubrication layer 17 was formed only on the curved tube section 12, the lubrication layer 17 of the curved tube section 12 was formed on the flexible tube section 11 and the tip structure section 13 before the entire insertion section 3 was assembled. can be formed separately and singly, which facilitates manufacturing.

Further, FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. A solid-state image sensor (not shown) is mounted inside the tip component 13, and a video signal detected by the solid-state image sensor is sent to an external monitor 3 via a light source device 31.
The present invention is applied to an electronic endoscope 33 that transmits an image from the endoscope 1 to the external monitor 32 and displays the image from the endoscope 1 on the screen of the external monitor 32. In this case, the operating section 2 of the endoscope 33 is provided with a control switch section 34 . Further, the universal cord 4 is provided with a light guide cable 35 and a connection cord 36, and a video processor connector 37 at the tip of the connection cord 36 is connected to a video processor 38 of the light source device 31. There is. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, in the insertion section 3 of the endoscope 33, a lubrication treatment layer 17 is formed on the outer surface of the curved tube outer skin 16 of the curved tube section 12, which is subjected to a highly lubricating treatment. At the same time, a lubrication treatment layer 17 is formed on the distal end portion of the flexible tube portion 11 as well, which is subjected to a highly lubricating treatment similar to the curved tube portion 12 . In addition, in FIG. 8, E indicates the formation range of the lubrication treatment layer 17 in the insertion portion 3. Therefore, in this case as well, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

Further, FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. This is achieved by forming a lubrication treatment layer 17 on the outer surface of the curved tube section outer skin 16 of the curved tube section 12 in the insertion section 3 of the endoscope 1 of the first embodiment, and applying a lubrication treatment with high lubricity. , lubrication treatment layers 17 are formed in the intermediate portion of the flexible tube portion 11 at a plurality of locations at appropriate intervals and subjected to a highly lubricating treatment similar to the curved tube portion 12. In FIG. 9, F l *F2 and F3 indicate the formation range of the lubrication treatment layer 17 in the insertion portion 3. Therefore, in this case, the insertability when inserting the insertion portion 3 deeply can be further improved. Furthermore, in this case, a mark or the like may be printed to indicate a boundary line between the portion of the insertion portion 3 where the lubrication layer 17 is formed and the non-lubricated portion 22 for gripping which is not lubricated on the outer surface. , lubricating layer 17
By color-coding the and non-lubricated portions 22, it is possible to improve the operability of the − layer.

Further, FIG. 10 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This invention is applied to a rigid endoscope 43 that uses a combination of a mantle tube 41 and an optical viewing tube 42 inserted into the mantle tube 41. In this case, the optical viewing tube 4
2 is provided with an insertion section 44 and a hand observation section 45. Furthermore, the mantle tube 41 includes an insertion portion 46 and a proximal grip portion 4.
7 is provided. A guide hole 49 is formed in the hand side grip part 47, into which a connecting pin 48 protruding from the hand observation part 45 of the optical viewing tube 42 is inserted and removed. Then, when the optical sight tube 42 is attached to the mantle tube 41, the pin 48 is tightened with the tightening screw 50.
The optical sight tube 42 is fixed to the outer mantle tube 41.

Further, an optical viewing tube 42 is attached to the proximal grip portion 47 of the mantle tube 41.
A cylindrical space 51 is formed between the insertion portion 44 and the insertion portion 44 . The proximal end of the insertion portion 46 of the mantle tube 41 is connected to the proximal grip portion 47 while communicating with the space 51. Furthermore, a space 5 is provided in the hand grip portion 47.
A pair of flow pipes 52 and 53 communicating with the cap 5
They are connected via 4°55. A fluid such as water or air is made to flow into the space 51 of the mantle tube 41 and the insertion portion 46 through the flow tubes 52, 53 and the caps 54, 55.

Note that 56 is a base for connecting the light guide.

In addition, the insertion part 46 of @41 into the mantle is formed of a polymeric material, for example, an elastomer such as synthetic rubber, and the outer surface of the insertion part 46 on the distal end side is coated with a highly lubricating lubrication treatment. A treated layer 17 is formed, and a non-lubricated portion 22 in which no lubrication treatment is performed is formed in other portions. Therefore, in this case, the friction between the insertion portion 46 of the mantle tube 41 and the body cavity is reduced, so there is no risk of damaging the living body.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the first to third embodiments, the present invention is applied to a colonoscope, but it may also be applied to an endoscope for upper digestive organs or the trachea. Further, the present invention is not limited to medical endoscopes, but may be applied to industrial endoscopes. Furthermore, it goes without saying that various other modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a non-lubricated portion for gripping which is not subjected to lubrication treatment is provided on a part of the outer surface of the insertion portion on which a lubrication treatment layer having been subjected to a lubrication treatment with high lubricity is formed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary slipping of the grip portion during the insertion operation of the insertion portion, thereby improving the operability during the insertion operation, and at the same time, it is possible to improve the insertability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of the endoscope, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the main parts, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the lubricating layer, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the inserted part inserted into the figure 8 colon of the large intestine, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the insertion part inserted into the figure 8 colon of the large intestine. Schematic configuration diagram showing the state inserted into the transverse colon, No. 7
8 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of the endoscope, FIG. 8 is a side view of the main parts showing the insertion section, and FIG. The figure is a side view of essential parts showing a third embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the invention. 3.46... Insertion part, 17... Lubrication treatment layer, 22.
...Non-lubrication processing section. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Atsushi Tsuboi

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an endoscope in which a lubricated layer is formed on the outer surface of the insertion portion by applying a highly lubricating treatment, a portion of the outer surface of the insertion portion is subjected to non-lubrication treatment for gripping without the aforementioned lubrication treatment. An endoscope characterized by having a section.