JPH045125Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope used for medical purposes, and particularly to an insertion section inserted into an observation target part of the endoscope.

[Prior Art] An endoscope is inserted into a body cavity of a human body or the inside of a mechanical device, etc., and is inserted into a site that cannot be observed from the outside under normal conditions, and used to perform predetermined observations.
It is used for treatment, repair, etc. For this purpose, the endoscope has an insertion section connected to the operation section main body, which is inserted into the observation target area. It can be curved in any direction along the path. and,
The outer surface of the flexible portion is marked with scales at predetermined intervals so that the operator can confirm the insertion depth.

Here, the scale according to the conventional technology is formed by printing paint etc. on the outer surface of the insertion part,
In order to protect the portion on which the scale is formed from chemicals and the like, the entire insertion portion is covered with a protective coating.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] By the way, especially for medical endoscopes, because they are inserted through the oral cavity, nasal cavity, anus, etc., it is difficult to perform examinations and treatments using the endoscope. may cause feelings of shame in the patient. For this reason, when conducting such examinations and treatments, it is well known that the patient's sense of shame can be alleviated by keeping the illuminance of the room lighting low, and this is a method that is often used in practice. However, when the illumination is dimmed, the operability of the endoscope deteriorates. Particularly, when recording the position of an affected area discovered during an examination using an endoscope in a medical record or the like, first, a scale provided on the surface of the insertion section is read and recorded. In this case, if the illuminance is reduced to such a level that the scale display cannot be visually confirmed, it will be difficult for the operator to confirm the insertion depth of the insertion section into the body cavity.

The present invention was developed in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a scale that can be clearly seen in both dark and bright places without increasing the thickness of the layer. An object of the present invention is to provide an insertion section for a scope.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a scale provided on the outer surface of the insertion section that is connected to the operation section main body and inserted into the inside of the observation target section. The feature is that the lower layer is a white paint, and a fluorescent member is laminated on top of the white paint.

[Action] When performing medical treatment or treatment using an endoscope,
When the room is brightly lit, the underlying white paint can be seen through the fluorescent member, and when the lighting is dimmed to avoid embarrassment for the patient, the white paint in the underlying layer is visible due to the luminescence of the fluorescent paint. Due to the reflection, the scale can be seen as if it is raised, and the scale can be clearly seen in both dark and bright places. In addition, since the scale is made up of two layers, the white paint and the fluorescent material, it is possible to distinguish it in a dark place even if the upper layer of the fluorescent material is relatively thin. The overall thickness does not increase to the extent that it affects the smoothness of the insertion portion.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope includes an operating section main body 1, an insertion section 2 that is connected to the operating section main body 1 and is inserted into a body cavity, etc., and is connected to a light source device. The insertion part 2 is inserted through the oral cavity, nasal cavity, anus, etc., and the tip 2a is guided to the desired observation target area, and the observation formed on the tip 2a is generally made up of a universal cord 3. Through the window 4, the observation target area can be observed and treatments can be performed.

Therefore, in order to be able to confirm how far the distal end portion 2a has been inserted when the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the body cavity as described above, the insertion portion 2 is A scale 5 is provided on the outer surface. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this scale 5 is formed on the surface of the outer skin layer 6 that constitutes the insertion portion 2, and a transparent and smooth resin material is further formed on the outer skin layer 6. A protective coating 7 consisting of the following is formed. Here, the scale 5 is made of a fluorescent member 8, and is formed by applying the fluorescent member 8 onto the outer skin layer 6 by means such as printing.

Therefore, the color tone of the insertion portion 2 is generally black,
The fluorescent member 8 constituting the scale 5 formed on the surface of the black insertion portion 2 is made of a fluorescent pigment, etc., in which a fluorescent substance containing zinc sulfide or the like that emits yellow or orange light is dispersed in a binder resin. Suitably used. Further, instead of applying the fluorescent member 8 directly onto the outer skin layer 6, if a white paint 9 is applied on the outer skin layer 6 in advance and the fluorescent member 8 is laminated on top of this paint 9, Not only is fluorescent light emitted clearly in dark conditions, but visibility is also good even in bright conditions.

This embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration, and its operation will be explained next.

When inserting the endoscope into the patient's body cavity,
The distal end 2a of the insertion section 2 is inserted through the oral cavity, nasal cavity, anus, or the like. When the tip 2a reaches a predetermined observation target, illumination is directed toward the observation target, and its image is observed through an observation window 4 provided at the tip 2a. In the case of a fiberscope that uses an image guide made of an optical fiber bundle, the image of the observation target area is guided to the eyepiece part of the operation part main body 1 by the image guide, and the operator Observation can be made by placing the eye in the eyepiece, and electronic scopes that use solid-state imaging devices convert the optical image of the object to be observed into an electrical signal and transmit it to an image processing device. After the image is processed by an image processing device, it can be displayed on a display device such as a CRT.

Here, for example, when tracking changes in the affected area during re-examination, etc., while visually checking the scale 5,
The distal end 2a of the insertion section 2 is inserted to the depth position recorded in the medical record etc. at the time of the previous examination, and after confirming that the distal end 2a has been inserted to the position according to the scale 5, the distal end 2a is inserted. By adjusting the position of the tip 2a, the tip 2a can be quickly and easily guided to the site to be observed.

However, when performing examinations, treatments, etc. using an endoscope, it is necessary to alleviate the patient's sense of shame, and for this purpose, it is preferable to lower the illuminance of the lighting and darken the surroundings. Here, insert section 2
Since the scale 5 formed on the screen has fluorescence, even if the insertion section 2 is inserted in such a dark condition, visual confirmation of the scale 5 will not be hindered, and the endoscope can be easily checked. You will be able to perform operations smoothly. In addition, since the scale 5 is formed by laminating the fluorescent member 8 on the white paint 9, its visibility is good even when operating the endoscope in bright conditions. Needless to say.

[Effects of the invention] As detailed above, according to the invention, the scale provided on the outer surface of the insertion portion, which generally has a black appearance, is constructed by laminating a layer of fluorescent material on the lower layer made of white paint. Therefore, even if the fluorescent material is formed with a relatively thin layer, the scale will be raised by the reflection from the white lower layer that undergoes total reflection, and visibility in dark places will be significantly improved. In some places, the scale formed with white paint can be clearly read through a layer of fluorescent material, and in addition, it is used in the insertion part of an endoscope, where small diameter and surface smoothness are extremely important factors. It can be formed with an extremely thin layer as a scale displayed on the
This provides various effects such as preventing inconveniences such as swelling of the scale forming portion.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an external view showing the overall configuration of the endoscope, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of the insertion section, and Fig. 3 is a - cross section of Fig. 2. It is a diagram. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Operating unit main body, 2... Insertion part, 5... Scale, 8... Fluorescent member, 9... Paint.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] An endoscope in which an insertion part to be inserted into an observation target part is connected to the operation part main body, and scales are attached at predetermined intervals on the outer surface of the insertion part, the scales having a lower layer of white paint, An insertion section of an endoscope characterized by having a structure in which a fluorescent member is laminated on top of the white paint.