JPH0385133A - Endoscope equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an insert operation easy and to reduce operator's fatigue by controlling at least one of control devices through a fuzzy inference device. CONSTITUTION:An insert part 2 is inserted into a body cavity, made to pass through a descending colon 53, inhibited its advance by a splenic flexure 54 and is deflected into an alpha-turn at a sigmoid colon 52 as a result. This condition is picked up by an X-ray camera tube 11, displayed on a X-ray monitor 14 and detected by a splenic flexure detection circuit 13 through a insert condition detection circuit 12. The detector 13 puts out a control signal to a switch 23, which changes over an input terminal of a bending and advance-retreat control circuit 24 to the splenic flexure pass control circuit 22. The control circuit 22 controls the control circuit 24 through an output signal from the detection circuit 12. The control circuit 24 controls an operation part 6 to turn round in the reverse direction to that of the inserting time so that the alpha-turn is dissolved, the insert part 2 is made linear and can be advanced. The insert part 2 can be inserted into a transverse colon 55 by a fuzzy inference device 21 and the control signal from the splenic flexure pass control circuit 22, resulting in a reduction of operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an improvement in an endoscope device that uses a motor as a means for bending a curved portion of an endoscope, inserting or twisting an insertion portion.

[Prior Art] Fuzzy theory was proposed by Professor L.A. Zadeh of the University of California in 1965, and
In my fourth year, I studied at Mamdah (E, 口) at the University of London.
Professor Anl) demonstrated the possibility of practical use, and various implementation means have been proposed since then. Typical examples include: JP-A-58-192407 describes a train operation tilItII in which the number of notch fluctuations is reduced by software inference. Tokukai Showa 6
No. 1-20428 describes an analog fuzzy circuit realized by a current circuit. The October 3, 1988 issue of Nikkei Electronics (No. 457) describes the memory method implemented at Hosei University, the University of North Carolina, etc., and the writing of inference data into instruction memory by Togai Infralogic, etc. A dedicated processor for fuzzy controllers is described.

This fuzzy inference is an inference using fuzzy rules (fuzzy inference rules) expressed in vague words that humans use in their daily lives. Fuzzy ◆The rule is “ir
A-BIG and B-NORMAL then
It can be written like X.5HALLJ. A, B in Figure 8
is an input variable, and X is an output variable. The part where the conditions for the rule to be established “HA-BIG andB-N
ORMAL J is the antecedent part, and the resultant part is X-8HA.
LL is called the consequent. In fuzzy inference, each input variable is O
The calculation is performed by converting it into a value of ~1, and the membership function (antecedent membership function) defines this conversion. The membership function is a proposition handled by fuzzy rules (B
IG, NORMAL, 5HALL, etc.). The degree to which the input variables satisfy each proposition is calculated by referring to the membership function. If there are multiple propositions in the antecedent part, find the minimum value among them. This is the minimum value (M
It is called IN) operation.

Next, the membership values for each rule are combined.

This is done by comparing the consequents of each rule and taking the maximum value to create a new membership function. The centroid value of this combined membership function becomes the inference result (output (11)), and subsequent control is performed based on this.The inference method shown in Figure 8 is a typical example, but there are several others. An inference method has been proposed.

Incidentally, conventionally, a scope or a fiber scope has been widely used, which is capable of diagnosing or inspecting internal organs in a body cavity by inserting an elongated insertion portion into the body cavity. Moreover, it is used not only for medical purposes but also for industrial purposes to observe and inspect objects such as inside pipes of boilers, machines, chemical plants, etc., or inside machines.

Furthermore, various endoscopes are also used that use solid-state imaging devices such as charge-coupled devices (CODs) as both imaging means.

As the bending operation means for bending the bending section provided in the insertion section of the endoscope, for example, vertically/leftwardly, a bending operation knob is provided on the operation section, and the bending operation knob is rotated by the operator's hand. There is something to be operated, and it has been considered to use, for example, a motor provided within the operating section as the bending operation means.

However, at present, it is the operator who inserts the insertion section of the endoscope into, for example, a body cavity.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, when inserting the insertion section of the endoscope into a particularly complicatedly curved part of the body cavity, such as the large intestine, there is a problem that the insertion operation causes severe fatigue for the operator. There is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope device that reduces operator fatigue due to insertion operations.

[! ! Means and operation for solving the problem] In the present invention,
A fuzzy inference means is provided, and by the fuzzy inference means,
ill (11 means), and this control means controls the motor of at least one of the bending means of the bending section, the insertion means of the insertion section, or the twisting means of the insertion section.

[Example 1 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 5 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the membership function, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are explanatory diagrams of the insertion method.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope 1 that is elongated so that it can be inserted, for example, into a body cavity;
A controller equipped with a video processor 19 to be described later, to which the universal cord 7 of A11 is connected by a connector 8.
+ device 9;
An X-ray m-image device 11 that creates an m-image of the insertion state using rays, and this X-ray mm device! An insertion section state detection circuit 12 that detects the state of the insertion section from the output signal of the insertion section state detection circuit 111, a tile curvature detection circuit 13 that detects the tile bending section from the output signal of the insertion section state detection circuit 12, and the XS imaging device [11 The Xa monitor 14 displays the output signal of the Xa monitor 14, and the motor 25 for inserting the insertion section 2 of the endoscope 11.

The internal view 1111 includes an elongated insertion section 2, a large-diameter operation section 6 connected to the rear end of the insertion section, and a universal cord 7 extending to the side of the operation section 6. A connector 8 is provided at the end of the universal cord 7. The insertion section 2 includes a tip structure section 3 in which an objective lens 17 and a C0D 18 that is a solid-state image sensor, etc. are disposed, and a curved section that can be bent vertically/horizontally and connected to the rear end of this tip structure section 3. 4, and a flexible tube section 5 connected to the rear end of the curved section 4.

The operation section 3 is provided with a motor 27 for driving the bending section 4 in a curved manner, and the motor 27 includes a pulley 28.
is provided. This pulley 28 has a curved wire 29
is fixed, and the bending wire 29 is pushed and pulled so that the bending portion 4 is bent.

The control device 9 includes a video processor 19 to which the ft image signal from the C0D 18 is input, a center position/acceleration detection circuit 20 that detects the center position and acceleration, which will be described later, from the output signal of the video processor 19, and a fuzzy inference means 21 that performs inference from the output signal of the position/acceleration detection circuit 20; and the insertion part shape flIi detection circuit 1.
The tile curving passage control circuit 22 performs tile curving passage control from the output signals of the tile curving passage control circuit 22, and the output signals of the fuzzy inference means 21 and the tile curving passage control circuit 22 are transmitted to the tile curving detection circuit 13.
A switch 23 for switching by controlling the bending section 4 and the insertion section 2, a bending/advancing/retracting control circuit 24 for controlling the insertion of the bending section 4 and the insertion section 2, and supplying illumination light to the light guide 16 installed inside the endoscope lt1. It consists of a lamp 15 for

The motor 25 is provided with a drum 26 that is arranged to move forward and backward through the insertion section 2.

The motor 25 and the motor 27 are driven by a drive signal from the bending/advancing/retracting control circuit 24.

The operation of the endoscope apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

The insertion portion 2 of the endoscope 11 is inserted into the anus 51 shown in FIG. 5(a).
5(b), the sigmoid colon 52 is
It is inserted while turning the operating part 6 so as to make a turn. Further, the illumination light from the lamp 15 is transmitted to a light guide 16.
The light is supplied to the incident end surface of the light guide 16 , and is irradiated into the body cavity from the output end surface of the light guide 16 disposed in the distal end component 3 . The inside of the body cavity irradiated with this illumination light is
7, the image is formed on the photoelectric conversion surface of the CG018, and is input to the video processor 19 as a carrier signal. Furthermore, this m1ll signal is subjected to various processing by a video processor 19, converted into a video signal, and inputted to a monitor 10, which displays an image inside the body cavity.

Further, the video processor 19 outputs a processed signal to a center position/acceleration detection circuit 20. The center position/acceleration detection circuit 20 determines from the processed signal the coordinates of the center position of the body cavity channel in the distal direction of the distal end component 3, and the center position determines the bending of the bending part 4 or the advancement and retreat of the insertion part, which will be described later. Detects the acceleration at what speed the tip moves on the front coordinate in the tip direction and outputs it to the fuzzy inference means 21.

The fuzzy inference means 21 is shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b).
By substituting the vertical coordinate data and acceleration data of the center position described above into the antecedent part of the membership function shown in , and the horizontal coordinate data of the center position described above into the antecedent part of the membership function not shown, From the consequent part of the membership function shown in (C) and (d), the vertical bending direction and bending angle of the bending part 4, the forward/backward movement and the forward/backward speed of the insertion part 2, and the consequent part of the membership function (not shown) Obtaining control data regarding the left-right bending direction and bending angle of the bending portion 4 from
A control signal is output to the bending/advancing/retracting control circuit 24 via the break contact and transfer end of the switch 23. Note that the method for obtaining the control data may use the aforementioned fuzzy inference rules, or may use other fuzzy inference rules.

The bending/advancing/retreating control circuit 24 controls the bending portion 4 by controlling a control signal based on the control data.

The motor 27 is driven or braked so that the insertion section 2 is moved forward and backward or stopped, and the motor 25 is driven or braked so that the insertion section 2 is moved forward or backward or stopped.

The insertion status described above is carried by the xlIi imaging device 11, displayed on the X-ray monitor 14, and outputted to the insertion section status detection circuit 12. The insertion section state detection circuit 1
2 is a tile curvature detection circuit 1 that detects the insertion state of the insertion section 2 described above.
3 and is output to the tile bending control circuit 13.

The insertion section 2 is inserted into the body cavity to some extent, and as shown in FIG.
As shown in B), it passes through the descending colon 53 and enters the poetic section 5.
When the number reaches 4, the progress is stopped by the poetic music section 54,
Deflection occurs in the α-turn of the sigmoid colon portion 52. Furthermore, even if the insertion section 2 continues to advance, the α-turn will only bend and become larger, and the insertion section 2 will not move beyond the transverse colon 55.
cannot be reached. This condition is caused by
1, and is displayed on the X-ray monitor 14.
The tile bending portion detection circuit 13 is connected to the insertion portion state detection circuit 12 via the insertion portion state detection circuit 12.
Detected in

The tile bending portion detection circuit 13 outputs a control signal to the switch 23 by detecting the above-described state. This control signal causes the switch 23 to bend, move forward and backward! 1ltl
Pass the input end of 1 circuit 24 through the curved part υItl! ]Circuit 2
Switch to 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, the n-bending section passage control circuit 22 controls the bending/advance/retreat υ control circuit 24 based on the output signal of the insertion section state detection circuit 12. That is, first, Figure 4 (
As shown in a), (b) and FIG. The insertion section 2 is hooked onto the site and further controlled so as to be retracted. At this time, the operator rotates the operating section 6 in the opposite direction to the direction when inserting the insertion section 2 described above, thereby eliminating the alpha turn of the sigmoid colon 52, as shown in FIG. 4(C). The insertion portion 2 has a straight shape. Next, as shown in FIG. 4(d), in order to detect the direction in which the curved section 4 becomes straight, the curved section 4 is controlled to curve upward, downward, left, and right. Then, when the direction in which the curved portion 4 becomes straight is detected,
The insertion section 2 is controlled to advance at the same time as it is curved in this direction.

Note that the control signal for switching the switch 23 may not be based on the control signal of the tile curvature detection circuit 13, but may be switched manually based on the operator's judgment.

That is, according to the control signals of the fuzzy inference means 21 and the curved portion passage control circuit 22, the insertion section 2 can be inserted into the transverse colon 55 by mechanical means, and the surgeon's funeral 111
This has the effect of reducing the operational work required.

FIGS. 6 and 7 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the internal mirror device, and FIG. ff17 is an explanatory diagram of the membership function. Note that the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations and functions as in the first embodiment, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope 1, a control device 61 provided with a video processor 19 (described later) to which the universal cord 7 of the endoscope It1 is connected via a connector 8, and a monitor. 10, an X-ray carrier W111, an insertion section state detection circuit 12, a tile curvature detection circuit 13,
It is composed of an X-ray monitor 14, a motor 25, and a motor 64 for rotating the insertion portion of the endoscope 1 in a twisting manner.

The control device 61 switches the output signals of the video processor 19, the center position/acceleration detection circuit 20, the center position/acceleration detection circuit 20, and the insertion state detection circuit 12 according to the output signal of the tile curvature detection circuit 13. a fuzzy inference means 62 for inference, a bending/twisting/advance/retreat control circuit 63 for υJail the twisting and insertion of the bending section 4 and the insertion section 2 based on the output signal of the fuzzy inference means 62; and a lamp 15. It is configured.

The motor 64 is provided with a drum 65 arranged to rotate the operating section 6 .

The motor 25, the motor 27, and the motor 64 are driven by a drive signal from the bending/twisting/advancing/retreating control circuit 24.

The operation of the endoscopic 81 mirror device configured as described above will be explained.

Until the poetic section is reached, the same operation as in the first embodiment is performed, so a description thereof will be omitted.

As in the first embodiment, when the tile curvature detection circuit 13 detects that the poetic part has been reached, the tile curvature detection circuit 13 outputs a detection signal to the fuzzy inference means 62.

Based on this detection signal, the fuzzy inference means 62 switches the membership function from the first membership function shown in FIG. 2 to the second membership function shown in FIG. That is, the insertion part state of the insertion part 3 and the vertical bending angle of the bending part 3 are included in the antecedent part of the second membership function shown in FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b). The horizontal bending angle of the bending part 3 is substituted into the antecedent part of the function, and the vertical bending angle of the bending part 4 is calculated from the consequent part of the second membership function shown in FIGS. 7(C) to (e). direction and bending angle, the forward/backward movement and forward/backward speed of the insertion section 2, the twisting and twisting angle of the insertion section 2, and the left/right bending direction of the bending section 4 from the consequent of the second membership function (not shown). Obtain control data for bending angle, bend, twist, move forward or backward 1
A control signal is output to the 111 circuit 63.

This IIJ control data first bends the bending section 4, hooks the distal end component 3 of the insertion section 2 to the connection site between the transverse colon and the poetic section, and then withdraws the insertion section 2. , the operating section 6 is rotated in the direction in which the α-turn of the insertion section 2 described above is eliminated, and the operation section 6 is controlled so that the α-turn is eliminated and the insertion section 2 becomes straight. In order to detect the direction in which the curved part 4 becomes straight, the curved part 4 is controlled to curve upward, downward, left, and right, and when the direction in which the curved part 4 becomes straight is detected, This is to control the insertion portion 2 so that it is curved in the direction and at the same time moves forward. Note that the method for obtaining the control data is as follows:
The fuzzy inference/rules mentioned above may be used, and
Other fuzzy inference rules may also be used.

Moreover, in the antecedent part of the second fuzzy function shown in FIG. 7 of the fuzzy inference means 62, upper and lower.

When the curvature angle in the left and right directions is 0 degrees, this is a privileged mode, which takes priority over all other antecedent conditions and returns the membership function to the first membership function shown in Figure 2. ing.

The bending/twisting/forward/backward control circuit 63 controls the motor 27 to bend the bending portion 8 upward, downward, to the left, to the right, or to stop the bending, based on a control signal based on the control data.
The motor 25 is driven or braked to move the insertion section 2 forward, backward or stopped, and the motor 64 is driven or braked to rotate the operating section 6 left and right or stop it.

In this embodiment, the insertion section 2 can be inserted into the transverse colon by mechanical means according to the control signal of the fuzzy inference means 62, and the operation work of the operator I11 can be reduced.

Note that the membership functions used in the first and second embodiments are simplified, and by appropriately determining the membership functions, this endoscopic device can be used in other parts of the body cavity. Good too.

Furthermore, it may be used for industrial purposes.

Further, the present invention can also be applied to an endoscope apparatus using an endoscope television camera.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the insertion operation of the endoscope insertion portion is facilitated, and the operator is less fatigued.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 5 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The figure is a configuration diagram of the endoscope device, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the membership function, Figures 3 to 5 are explanatory diagrams of the insertion method, and Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the insertion method.
7 and 7 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope device, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of membership functions, and FIG. 8 is related to the conventional technology and uses fuzzy inference. FIG. 1...Endoscope 20...Center position/acceleration detection circuit 21...Fuzzy inference means 23...Switch 24...Bending/backward control circuit 1 Fig. 2(a) (1) ) (C) (d) Middle C position acceleration 3 songs and 3rd rlA (a) Figure 4 (b) Figure 5 (C) (a) (1)) Insertion part failure 1 Lagoon horse No. 7 Figure (C) (d) (e) Curved and twisted

Claims (1)

[Claims] A motor is used for the bending means of the bending part, and at least one of the insertion means of the insertion part and the twisting means of the insertion part,
An endoscope apparatus that controls the motor by a control means, characterized in that at least one of the control means is controlled by a fuzzy inference means.