JPH09122065A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope which can guide light from a light source body to the tip surface of a scope accurately without attenuation thereof along with excellent operability. SOLUTION: A hard endoscope 1 has a long and slender hard scope part 2 and a cylindrical hand part 3 which is formed being linked to a base end side of the scope part 2 to be supported and operated by a supporting person. Inside the scope part 2, a light guide (light guiding means) 4 is arranged to guide light from a light source to the tip surface 2a of the scope to irradiate an object with light and a photographing section 5 to photograph an object part irradiated with the light. There are arranged inside the hand part 3 light source bodies P1 and P2 and a heat radiation plate 13 to radiate heat from the light source bodies P1 and P2 outside and an electronically cooling element 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medical or industrial endoscope that looks into a target region while illuminating the subject with illumination light from the tip of the scope, and more particularly to a light guide means (light guide). The present invention relates to an arrangement structure of a light source body that supplies illumination light to the distal end of a scope via a lens.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A rigid endoscope which is a kind of medical endoscope will be described as an example. The rigid endoscope includes an inflexible long and thin rigid scope portion and a tubular proximal portion on the proximal end side of the scope portion that is supported and operated by a supporter. Then, in the scope portion and the hand portion, a light guide for guiding the light from the light source body to the distal end surface of the scope for irradiating the inside of the subject with light, and for photographing the body part illuminated by the light CCD (Charge Coupled Dev
image) such as ice) and a signal cable.

That is, the light guide and signal cable are inserted through the inside of the scope portion and the hand portion, and led out integrally from the end portion of the hand portion within the tube cord, and one light guide is a separate unit. , And the other signal cable is connected to a display device such as a TV monitor via a camera signal processing device.

With the above structure, when the tip of the rigid scope is inserted into the subject, the light from the light source is emitted from the tip of the scope to the inside of the body through the light guide such as the tube cord and the hand. . The target area illuminated by light is projected onto a solid-state image sensor such as a CCD through an objective lens of the image-capturing means, while a video signal obtained by photoelectric conversion by the solid-state image sensor is sent to a display device such as a TV monitor. The image signal is displayed on the screen of the display device as an image of the internal part of the body, and a detailed endoscopic condition is provided to the operating doctor in real time.

[0005]

However, the conventional endoscope has the following problems. That is, the light from the light source body provided in another unit as described above is guided to the distal end surface of the scope through the light guide (light guide means) in the tube cord, the hand portion and the scope portion. Since this light guide is generally formed by bundling a large number of optical fibers in a bundle, when the light guide and the signal cable of the image pickup means are integrated in the tube cord, the tube cord is There is a problem that it becomes thicker and more rigid, and it becomes difficult to flexibly support and operate the hand portion connected to the end. on the other hand,
There is also a type in which the light guide and the signal cable are individually led out from the end part of the hand part, but this causes another problem because the light guide and the signal cable are entangled, and likewise usability. Will be bad. Also, due to the excessive bending posture of the tube cord part derived from the hand part or deterioration due to long-term use, part of the optical fiber in the tube cord may be cut, etc., and it is not possible to reliably guide light to the tip of the scope. There is also.

Further, since the light guide from the light source body to the hand portion has a long line length, the light of the light source body is absorbed by the inner surface portion of the light guide or the like before reaching the hand portion, and the light amount is considerably attenuated. However, a large-capacity light source unit including the amount of lost light is required, which is not economically preferable.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is an endoscope which is excellent in operability and which can surely guide the light from the light source body to the distal end surface of the scope without attenuating the light. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object. That is, the present invention is provided with a scope part whose front end face is directed to a subject, and a hand part which is on the base end side of this scope part and which supports and operates the scope part, and a light source for emitting light from the front end face of the scope. The light guide means for guiding light from the body to the distal end surface of the scope, and the imaging means for capturing the reflected light from the target portion illuminated by the light from the distal end surface of the scope or the imaging means are provided in association with the imaging means. In the endoscope in which a pickup section for capturing reflected light is disposed at least in the scope section, at least one light source body that irradiates light from the distal end surface of the scope via the light guide means is the hand section. In addition, the heat radiation means for radiating the heat generated in the hand portion by lighting the light source body to the outside is provided in the hand portion.

[0009]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. Inside the hand part that supports and operates this on the base end side of the scope part,
At least one light source for irradiating light from the front end surface of the scope is provided. The light from the light source provided in the hand portion is guided to the distal end surface of the scope through a light guide of substantially the length of the scope, and illuminates the subject. The reflected light from the target area illuminated with light is projected through the distal end surface of the scope onto the image pickup means via the image pickup means provided inside the scope section or the reflected light capturing pickup section provided in association with the image pickup means. Further, the heat generated in the hand portion by turning on the light source body is radiated to the outside by the heat radiation means provided in the hand portion.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an endoscope according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a rigid endoscope according to an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rigid endoscope 1 according to an embodiment is connected to a long and thin rigid scope portion 2 and a proximal end side of the scope portion 2 and is supported and operated by a supporter. It has a tubular hand portion 3. Light source bodies P1 and P2 are provided inside the hand portion 3, and a light guide (light guiding means) 4 that guides light from the light source bodies P1 and P2 to the scope distal end surface 2a is provided inside the scope portion 2. An image pickup section (image pickup means) 5 for picking up an image of a target region illuminated by light is provided. Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be specifically described.

The scope portion 2 is made of stainless steel and has a diameter of about 5 to 10 mm, and is formed into a long cylindrical shape. An emission end 4b of a light guide 4 formed by bundling a plurality of optical fibers by being inserted and wired in the scope portion 2 faces the distal end surface 2a of the scope, and a light source body P described in detail later.
1, the light emitted from P2 is guided and emitted from the emission end 4b of the light guide 4. On the side of the light guide 4, there is an image pickup section 5 capable of taking a color image.
Are juxtaposed.

The image pickup section 5 is an objective lens 5 which is an optical element.
1 and an optical filter 52, and a CCD 5 which is a solid-state image sensor
3 and a signal cable 54, and the distal end surface 2a of the scope
The objective lens 51 is disposed in front of, and then the optical filter 52 and the CCD 53 are sequentially disposed. The optical filter 52 is a so-called optical low-pass filter, and is for causing the light from the objective lens 51 to be uniformly dispersed and incident on the light receiving surface of the CCD 53. The parts of the imaging unit 5 except the signal cable 54 are integrally formed in a plastic cylindrical body 5a. In addition,
The scope tip portion 2b in the gap between the cylindrical body 5a and the light guide 4 is filled with resin or the like to be hermetically sealed, and the scope tip surface 2a has an objective lens 51 and a tip portion of an optical fiber bundle. A cover glass (not shown) is attached in order to protect the (emission end 4b of the light guide 4) from an external impact.

The proximal portion 3 connected to the rear end portion of the scope portion 2 is formed of a cylindrical body having a wall thickness thicker than that of the scope portion 2, and the outer peripheral portion thereof is not slippery so that it can be easily supported and operated. It is covered with a plastic material (not shown). Two light source bodies (small halogen lamps, etc.) P1 and P2 for supplying light to the scope front end surface 2a via the light guide 4 are provided in the hand portion 3. Incident ends 4a ₁ and 4a ₂ of the light guide 4 are disposed at the front facing positions of the light source bodies P1 and P2, respectively.

That is, the incident end 4 of this light guide 4
a ₁ and 4 a ₂ randomly divide the bundle of optical fibers from the emission end 4 b of the light guide 4 into two near the boundary between the scope section 2 and the hand section 3. That is, each light source P
The light from the light guides 1 and P2 is distributed and emitted from the emission end 4b of the light guide 4. As a result, even if one of the light source bodies P1 and P2 that are normally turned on at the same time is unintentionally turned off for some reason, the other light source body P1 or P2 continues to be illuminated, so that endoscopic surgery is possible. It will not cause any problems.

Between the light sources P1 and P2 and the incident ends 4a ₁ and 4a ₂ of the light guide 4, while absorbing the heat (infrared rays) generated when the light sources P1 and P2 are turned on,
A cold filter 11 is provided which allows only visible light to pass through the incident ends 4a ₁ and 4a ₂ of the light guide 4.
Further, cold mirrors (heat ray absorbing plates) 12 that absorb heat while reflecting visible light are provided so as to cover the light source bodies P1 and P2 from the surroundings. A heat radiating plate 13 is fitted in the end portion of the hand portion 3, and an electronic cooling element (Peltier element) 14 provided between the heat radiating plate 13 and the cold mirror 12 allows the cold mirror 12 side. Is cooled, and the absorbed heat is guided to the heat dissipation plate 13 to be discharged to the outside.

At the center of the heat radiating plate 13 at the end of the hand portion 3, the power source wiring 15 to the light source bodies P1 and P2 and the electronic cooling element 14 and the connector socket 16 to which the above-mentioned signal cable 54 of the image pickup section 5 is connected. Is attached. The power supply wiring 15 and the signal cable 54 in the tube cord 18 are connected to a drive power supply device (not shown) and a display device such as a TV monitor via a connector plug 17 that is detachably fitted to the connector socket 16. There is.

The operation of the rigid endoscope 1 configured as described above will be described below. First, when a driving power supply device (not shown) is turned on, the two light source bodies P1 and P2 arranged in the hand portion 3 are simultaneously turned on, and the electronic cooling element 4 is also turned on. Then, each light source body P1,
The light (visible light) from P2 is incident on the incident ends 4a _{1 and} 4a ₂ of the light guide 4 via the cold filter 11, respectively. The light that has entered the light guide 4 is the scope section 2
Is guided to the distal end surface 2a of the scope along the bundle of optical fibers randomly joined near the boundary between the hand and the hand portion 3. Therefore, the light guide path from the light source bodies P1 and P2 to the scope front end surface 2a by the light guide is shorter than that when the light source body is installed at a place (usually 2 to 3 m) away from the hand portion 3, The amount of attenuation of the light amount of the light source bodies P1 and P2 is reduced, and the light can be surely guided to the distal end surface 2a of the scope. Also, inside the tube cord 18, the signal cable 5
4 and the power wiring 15 such as the light source bodies P1 and P2 are thin, so that the rigidity is reduced and the hand portion 3 can be flexibly supported and operated.

The light emitted from the scope front face 2a is
For example, a target site such as a subject is illuminated, and the reflected light forms an image on the CCD 53 via the objective lens 51 and the optical filter 52 of the imaging unit 5, while the optical image is the CCD 53.
Is converted into a video signal by photoelectric conversion of the signal cable 5
It is sent to 4. At this time, the heat (infrared rays) emitted from the light source bodies P1 and P2 is absorbed by the cold mirror 12 and the cold filter 11, and the electronic cooling element 1 is further cooled.
It is cooled by 4 and is emitted to the outside by a heat radiating plate 13 provided at the end of the hand portion 3.

The video signal sent to the signal cable 54 is subjected to image processing and the like, and then output to a display device (not shown).

The present invention can be modified as follows. (1) In the embodiment, the scope portion 2 is a non-flexible rigid endoscope 1.
However, the present invention can be applied to an endoscope (soft endoscope) similar to the embodiment except that part or all of the scope portion 2 is flexible.

(2) In the above embodiment, the light source bodies P1 and P2 in the hand portion 3 are turned on at the same time. For example, a changeover switch and an optical sensor are provided, and the light source bodies P1 and P2 are provided. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the above can be switched.

(3) Further, by integrating the light source bodies P1 and P2 and the heat dissipation plate 13 and the like so as to be attachable to and detachable from the hand portion 3, when the light source bodies P1 and P2 are cut off, The light source body may be easily replaced.

(4) The light source bodies P1 and P2 and the electronic cooling element 14 are wired from a common drive power supply device, but they may be separated for the sake of convenience, and in order to reduce the number of wirings, the image pickup section 5 is provided. A power supply line such as the CCD 53 may be used as a common wiring.

(5) In the embodiment, two light source bodies P1 and P2 are provided in the hand part 3, but they may be configured with three or more light source bodies.

(6) When the amount of heat generated by the light source bodies P1 and P2 is relatively small, it is not necessary to provide a cooling mechanism such as the electronic cooling element 14 in particular.

(7) In the above embodiment, the CCD 53 as the image pickup means is provided at the tip of the scope section 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an objective lens 51 is provided as a pickup unit for taking in the reflected light of the above, while a CCD 53 or a small image pickup tube is provided in the hand portion 3 as an image pickup means, and the reflected light taken in from the objective lens 51 is scoped. It may be configured so that it is guided to the CCD 53 in the hand portion 3 through an optical fiber or a lens system separately provided in the portion 2.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the light source body is provided in the proximal portion of the scope portion, the light guide is provided in the tube cord connected to the distal end of the proximal portion. By eliminating the need to thread
The rigidity of the tube cord is reduced, and the proximal portion can be flexibly supported and operated. Further, since the light guide is not inserted into the tube cord that frequently bends during use, the light of the light source body can be reliably guided to the distal end of the scope without deterioration of the light guide due to a series of uses. Further, since the light guide can be shortened, the amount of attenuation of the light amount of the light source body is reduced accordingly, and since it is sufficient to use a light source body having a relatively small capacity, it is economically excellent.

Further, the heat generated in the hand portion by turning on the light source is released to the outside by the heat radiation means provided in the hand portion, so that the scope portion and the hand portion for supporting and operating do not cause any trouble due to the heat. Absent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a rigid endoscope according to an embodiment.

[Sign]

 1 ... Hard endoscope 2 ... Scope part 2a ... Scope tip surface 3 ... Hand part 4 ... Light guide (light guide means) 5 ... Imaging part (imaging means) 13 ... Heat sink P1, P2 ... Light source body

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light source body for irradiating light from the distal end surface of the scope, comprising: a scope portion whose front end surface is directed to an object; and a hand portion at the proximal end side of the scope portion for supporting and operating the scope portion. Light guide means for guiding light from the scope to the tip surface of the scope, and imaging means for capturing reflected light from the target portion illuminated by light from the tip surface of the scope or reflection provided in association with the imaging means. In an endoscope in which a pickup portion for taking in light is arranged at least in the scope portion, at least one light source body for irradiating light from the distal end surface of the scope via the light guide means is provided in the hand portion. An endoscope which is provided inside and is provided with a heat radiating means for radiating heat generated in the hand portion to the outside when the light source body is turned on.