JPH04303411A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To recognize the bending state of each portion of a conduit simply and accurately without using a fluoroscope in inspection with an endoscope. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of bend detectors 5 comprising in combination a plurality of sets of displacement sensors for receiving bending stress applied to a conduit 4 concentrically at a point through a wire 6 disposed movably only in the axial direction of the conduit 4 are characteristically provided at properly selected intervals in the axial direction of the conduit 4.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Purpose of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope used for inserting a guiding tube into a body cavity of a subject and observing the inside of the body cavity, and particularly to improvements in the guiding tube.

0002

[Prior Art] Generally, when observing the inside of a body cavity of a subject using an endoscope, and especially when observing the large intestine using a colonoscope, guidance is carried out from the viewpoint of protecting the subject or specifying the observation site. It is required to repeatedly recognize the bending state of each part of the pipe.

[0003] Conventionally, therefore, images of the subject and the guiding tube have been photographed using, for example, an X-ray fluoroscope at each point in time when it is considered necessary to recognize the bent state of each part of the guiding tube within the body cavity of the subject. The bent state of each part of the conduit was recognized by referring to X-ray fluoroscopic images.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, there are problems in that it is troublesome to repeatedly perform X-ray fluoroscopic imaging, and the amount of X-ray exposure to which the subject is exposed cannot be ignored.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to easily and accurately recognize the bending state of each part of the conduit tube without the need for X-ray fluoroscopic photography during endoscopy. Our goal is to provide an endoscope that can [Structure of the invention]

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method in which the bending stress applied to the guide pipe is concentrated at one point by a wire disposed so as to be movable only in the axial direction of the guide pipe. The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of bend detectors each consisting of a plurality of sensors are provided at appropriately selected intervals in the axial direction of the guiding tube.

[0007]

[Operation] With the configuration of the endoscope according to the present invention, the bending state of each part of the guide tube can be detected by the plurality of bend detectors provided at appropriately selected intervals in the axial direction of the guide tube. If this detection data can be recognized on the endoscope body side, the bending state of each part of the guide tube can be easily and accurately recognized without the need for X-ray fluoroscopic imaging of the guide tube together with the subject. Can be done.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a structural diagram schematically showing an endoscope 1 and an endoscope main body 2 combined with the endoscope 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The endoscope 1 includes an operating section 3 and a guide tube 4, and a plurality of bend detectors 5 are provided at appropriately selected intervals in the tube axis direction of the guide tube 4.

The state in which the bend detector 5 is attached to the guiding pipe 4 shown in FIG. 2 (corresponding to section A in FIG. 1), and the state in which the wires 6 are arranged to each displacement sensor in the bend detector 5 shown in FIG. The bending detector 5 has the following relationships: (corresponding to section A in FIG. 1) and the attachment state of the wire 6 to each displacement sensor 7 in the bending detector 5 shown in FIG. 4 (corresponding to section B in FIG. 3). . That is, the bending detector 5 uses the wire 6 (see FIGS. 1, 2, and 3), which is disposed so as to be movable only in the axial direction of the guiding tube 4, to reduce the bending stress applied to the guiding tube 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the displacement sensor 7 is configured to be a combination of a plurality of displacement sensors 7 which are arranged equally in each direction perpendicular to the pipe axis of the guiding pipe 4. From the viewpoint of displacement detection, it is preferable to arrange the bending detector 5 as far outside the guide pipe 4 as possible, but from the viewpoint of hygiene and protection, in this embodiment, the rubber in the guide pipe 4 is The mounting structure is such that the metal shell is stacked on the lower part of the metal shell and on the upper part of the metal shell.

By providing a plurality of bend detectors 5 at appropriate intervals in the axial direction of the guide pipe 4 in this way, the bending state of each part of the guide pipe 4 can be detected as described below.

For example, if the length of a section (referred to as section X) measured by two bending detectors 5 is 100 mm, and the maximum bending radius of this section
In the case of 2 mm, the displacement amount (movement amount) of the wire 6 at the location where each bending detector 5 is arranged falls within a range of about 6 mm in both positive and negative directions. The displacement sensor 7 that detects this amount of displacement receives the bending stress applied to the guide tube 4 concentrated at one point by the wire 6, so the resistance value changes depending on the bending state of the guide tube 4. By providing a functional structure that allows the guide pipe 4 to bend, the bending state of each part of the conduit 4 can be detected based on the magnitude of the resistance value.

For simplicity of explanation, the number of bend detectors 5 provided in the guiding pipe 4 is assumed to be three, C1 to C3, and the number of displacement sensors 7 in each bend detector 5 is three, D1 to D3. An example is given below.

[0013] The resistance value of the displacement sensor 7 provided in each of the bending detectors 5 of C1 changes in nine steps within the range of one digit,
The displacement sensor 7 provided in each of the bending detectors 5 of C2 is
It is assumed that the resistance value changes in 9 stages within the range of 10 digits, and the resistance value of the displacement sensor 7 installed at each position C3 changes in 9 stages within the range of 100 digits, and that the resistance value changes in 9 stages within the range of 100 digits. It is assumed that the combined resistance value of the three bending detectors 5 is determined for each of the orthogonal directions E1 to E3.

In this example, the combined resistance value of E1 is 357Ω.
If so, the bend detector 5 of C1 detects a bend of 7 levels in the direction of E1, the bend detector 5 of C2 detects a bend of 5 levels in the direction of E1, and the bend detector 5 of C3 detects a bend of 5 levels in the direction of E1. This means that three stages of bending were detected in the direction of E1. Curves can be similarly detected in each of the other directions E2 and E3.

In this embodiment, the resistance values obtained by the plurality of bending detectors 5 are applied from the endoscope 1 to the endoscope main body 2 through the wire 6, thereby controlling the CPU (CPU) which is the control center of the entire system. By the function of the bend recognition means 8 (not shown), the bend state of each part of the guiding pipe 4 is recognized and the recognition result is displayed on the display 9.

[0016] For this reason, according to this embodiment,
At each point in time when it is deemed necessary to recognize the bending state of each part of the guide tube 4 in the subject's body cavity (not shown), the guide tube 4 can be easily recognized by simply looking at the bend condition recognition result on the display 9. The bending state of each part of 4 can be recognized with high accuracy. As a result, the conventional inconvenience of having to perform X-ray fluoroscopic imaging of the guiding tube together with the subject can be solved at once. This also eliminates the X-ray exposure that the subject receives during endoscopy.

[0017]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the bending state of each part of the guiding tube can be detected according to the amount of displacement indicated by each displacement sensor of the bending detector, thereby eliminating the need for troublesome X-ray fluoroscopic imaging. It is possible to easily and accurately recognize the bending state of each part of the guiding tube within the body cavity of the subject.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention and an endoscope main body combined therewith.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a bending detector is attached to a guiding tube.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how wires are arranged for each displacement sensor in the bending detector.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how wires are attached to each displacement sensor in the bending detector.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Endoscope 2 Endoscope body 3 Operation section 4 Conduit pipe 5　Bending detector 6 Wire 7 Displacement sensor 8 Bending recognition means 9 Display

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A bending detector comprising a plurality of displacement sensors that receive bending stress applied to the guiding tube concentrated at one point by a wire disposed so as to be movable only in the axial direction of the guiding tube. An endoscope characterized in that a plurality of endoscopes are provided at appropriately selected intervals in the axial direction.