JPH10286234A - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope device by which the outside peripheral temperature of the front end part of an endoscope insertion part can be accurately and instantaneously detected, and by which an undesirable influence due to the heat of lighting on an object can be prevented by adjusting the quantity of light to be illuminated by using the detected data. SOLUTION: An outside peripheral temperate of the front end part 2a of the insertion part 2 is detected by a temperature sensor 12 that has been arranged to the front end part 2a of the insertion part 2 of a fibrous endoscope 4, and this detection signal is converted into the temperature by a temperature detecting circuit 27 inside a light source device, and the temperature information is outputted to a light-source light quantity control circuit 30. In the light-source light quantity control circuit 30, the temperature information from the temperature detecting circuit 27 and a prescribed temperature at which an undesirable influence begins to be exerted on an object are compared, and the light quantity of illumination is adjusted in accordance with the result of comparison.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus which takes measures against adverse effects on a subject due to heat of illumination light illuminating the subject.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a fiber endoscope or an electronic endoscope having a built-in solid-state image pickup device at its tip has an elongated insertion portion so that the insertion portion can be inserted into a body cavity to be inserted into the body cavity. It is widely used in the medical field, for example, observing internal organs, inserting a treatment tool into a treatment tool channel as needed, and performing various treatments.

[0003] A fiber endoscope or an electronic endoscope is used for observation and inspection of scratches and corrosion inside a pipe of a boiler, a gas turbine engine, a chemical plant, etc., a body of an automobile engine, and the like. It is widely used as an industrial endoscope.

[0004] Generally, an endoscope apparatus using a fiber endoscope or an electronic endoscope has an illuminating device for illuminating the observation site in order to observe the observation site more accurately. .

[0005] However, when the object to be observed is irradiated with strong illumination light or is irradiated for a long time, the heat of the illumination light may adversely affect the object.

[0006] A countermeasure for preventing adverse effects on the subject due to the irradiation of the illumination light is proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-15617. That is, in this publication, an area for detecting infrared light, which is a cause of heat generation, is provided on the light receiving surface of the solid-state imaging device disposed at the distal end of the insertion section of the electronic endoscope, and the infrared light Controlling the illumination light according to the amount of light, utilizing the fact that the dark current of the CCD as a solid-state image sensor changes sensitively with temperature, using the CCD at the tip of the electronic endoscope as an infrared detection sensor, Increases
A configuration has been proposed in which control is performed to reduce the amount of illumination of the light source device.

[0007]

However, since these use a solid-state imaging device, they are limited to electronic endoscopes. The solid-state imaging device is built in the distal end portion of the insertion section, and is fixed by being overlapped with a solid-state imaging device frame or a lens frame, so that stray light does not enter the light receiving surface of the solid-state imaging device. Measures have been taken. That is, the solid-state imaging device is built in the distal end of the insertion section of the endoscope, and is isolated from the outer periphery of the distal end of the insertion section.

For this reason, the temperature at the position where the solid-state imaging device is arranged and the temperature around the outside of the distal end of the insertion portion are different from each other.
It takes a considerable amount of time for the difference to occur and for the same temperature to be reached. Therefore, if the solid-state imaging device is used as a detecting unit for detecting the temperature around the outside of the distal end of the insertion section, the temperature around the outside of the distal end of the insertion section can be accurately determined.
And it cannot be detected instantaneously.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the object thereof is not limited to the electronic endoscope, but the outer peripheral portion of the distal end portion of the insertion portion of the endoscope. Endoscope device that can accurately and instantaneously detect the temperature of a subject, and adjust the amount of illumination using the detected data, thereby preventing the subject from being adversely affected by the heat of the illumination light. Is to provide.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention is provided at a distal end of an insertion portion of an endoscope and detects a temperature outside the distal end of the endoscope. It is characterized by comprising a detecting means and a light quantity controlling means for controlling the illuminating means based on the output of the temperature detecting means.

[0011] This makes it possible to accurately and instantaneously detect the outer peripheral temperature of the distal end portion of the insertion portion.
By using this temperature information to adjust the light amount by the light amount adjusting means, it is possible to prevent adverse effects on the subject.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 3 show a first embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope device, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope device, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the distal end portion of the insertion section of the endoscope.

First, the configuration of the endoscope apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope apparatus 1 is connected to an elongated insertion section 2 having flexibility at a base end side of the insertion section 2,
A fiber endoscope 4 having a main body 3 to be gripped by an operator
And a light source device 5 for supplying illumination light to the fiber endoscope 4, and a video adapter 7 having a solid-state imaging device 6 disposed at a position where an image of a subject from the fiber endoscope 4 is formed.
A video processor 8 that processes the output of the solid-state imaging device 6 of the video adapter 7 and converts the output into a video signal; and a monitor 9 that receives the video signal of the video processor 8 and displays a subject image.

The distal end 2 of the insertion section 2 of the fiber endoscope 4
As shown in FIG. 3, an objective lens 11 including a cover lens 10 also serving as a cover glass is arranged in a. Further, two temperature sensors 12 such as a thermistor and a thermocouple as temperature detecting means are provided at positions exposed from the insertion portion 2 so as to sandwich the cover lens 10.

The main body 3 is provided with a light guide connector 15 on the side and an eyepiece 16 for forming an image from the objective lens 11. The eyepiece includes a built-in eyepiece 16a for magnifying and observing a subject image.

From the base end side of the objective lens 11, that is, from the rear, an image guide 17 for transmitting an image of the objective lens 11 passes through the insertion portion 2 and the eyepiece 1 of the main body 3.
6a. Further, a light guide 18 for emitting illumination light from the light source device 5 from the distal end portion 2a of the insertion section 2 passes through the insertion section 2 to the light guide connector 15 of the main body section 3.

The temperature sensor 12 is connected to a contact 20 provided on the light guide connector 15 by a signal line 19. A light guide cable 21 having one end connected to the light guide connector 15 is connected to a light guide fiber 22 for transmitting illumination light from the light source device 5 to the fiber endoscope 4 and a contact 23 connected to the contact 20. A signal line 24 for transmitting an electric signal from the temperature sensor 12 to the light source device 5 is inserted. The other end of the light guide cable 21 has a plug 25 for connecting the light guide fiber 22 and the signal line 24 to the light source device 5.
Are connected.

The light source device 5 includes a lamp 26 and light amount adjusting means 27 for adjusting the light amount of the lamp 26. The light amount adjusting means 27 includes a temperature sensing circuit 28,
It comprises a light source light quantity control circuit 29, a light source light quantity adjustment circuit 30, a diaphragm 31 disposed in front of the lamp 26, and a diaphragm motor 32.

A video adapter 7 is mounted on the eyepiece 16 of the fiber endoscope 4.
The solid-state imaging device 6 includes a signal line 33 for transmitting an electric signal of the solid-state imaging device 6.

A video processor 8 connected to the other end of the video adapter 7 is connected to a signal line 33 to process an electric signal from the solid-state imaging device 6 into a video signal. And a gain adjustment circuit 35 for adjusting the amplification factor of the video signal from the image reproduction circuit 34. The image reproducing circuit 34
And the light source light amount control circuit 29 in the light source device 5 is connected to the signal line 3
6.

The monitor 9 is connected to a gain adjustment circuit 35 of the video processor 8 via a signal line 37. Next, the operation will be described.

The illumination light emitted from the lamp 26 enters the light guide 18 in the fiber endoscope 4 via the light guide fiber 22 in the light guide cable 21. The illumination light that has entered the light guide 18 is emitted from the tip of the light guide 18 and illuminates the subject.

The distal end 2 of the insertion section 2 of the fiber endoscope 4
The objective lens 11 arranged at a captures the illuminated subject image, and forms the subject image on the light receiving surface of the solid-state imaging device 6 via the image guide 17 and the eyepiece 16a.

This subject image is converted into an electric signal by the solid-state image sensor 6 and input to an image reproducing circuit 34 in the video processor 8 via a signal line 33. Image reproduction circuit 3
At 4, the electric signal from the solid-state imaging device 6 is processed and converted into a video signal. This video signal is supplied to the gain adjustment circuit 3
5 and is also output to the light source light quantity control circuit 29 in the light source device 5 as a brightness signal of the subject image.
In the gain adjustment circuit 35, the amplification factor of the video signal from the image reproduction circuit 34 is adjusted and displayed on the monitor 9 as an appropriate subject image.

The light source light quantity control circuit 29 calculates the brightness signal of the subject image output from the image reproduction circuit 34 from
An illumination light amount is calculated so that a subject image having appropriate brightness is displayed on the monitor 9. Then, the light source light amount adjustment circuit 30 drives the stop motor 32 to adjust the stop 31 so that the calculated illumination light amount is obtained. So-called automatic light control is performed.

On the other hand, a temperature sensor 12 disposed at the distal end 2a of the insertion section 2 of the fiber endoscope 4 detects the temperature around the outside of the distal end 2a of the insertion section 2 and converts it into an electric signal. The electric signal is transmitted to the signal line 19 and the signal line 24.
To the temperature sensing circuit 28 in the light source device 5 The temperature sensing circuit 28 calculates the temperature around the outside of the distal end portion 2 a of the insertion section 2 from the input electric signal, and transmits this temperature information to the light source light quantity control circuit 29. The light source light amount control circuit 29 is set in advance with a predetermined temperature value at which the object is adversely affected, and compares the set temperature value with the temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28. When the temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28 is higher than the set temperature value, the light source light quantity control circuit 29 outputs a light quantity control signal to the light source light quantity adjusting circuit 30. Upon receiving this control signal, the light source light amount adjusting circuit 30 controls the aperture motor 3
2 is driven and the aperture 31 is adjusted to reduce the amount of illumination light illuminating the subject.

Here, when the temperature around the outer end of the distal end portion 2a of the insertion section 2 becomes a temperature that adversely affects the subject, dimming according to the temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 12 has priority over automatic dimming. Is done.

When the amount of illumination light changes and the brightness of the subject image formed on the light receiving surface of the solid-state image sensor 6 becomes inappropriate, the brightness signal of the image output from the solid-state image sensor 6 is output. The gain adjustment circuit 35 that is monitoring adjusts the amplification factor of the image signal and corrects the image so that the subject image has appropriate brightness.

The first embodiment has the following effects.
Since the temperature sensor 12 is disposed so as to be exposed at the distal end portion 2a of the insertion portion 2 of the fiber endoscope 4, the temperature around the outside of the distal end portion 2a of the insertion portion 2 can be directly, accurately, and instantly measured. Can be detected. And this temperature sensor 12
Fiber endoscope 4 for dimming by the detection signal of
, The object is not adversely affected by the heat of the illumination light even when the object is observed by illuminating the object with illumination light for a long time or observing with strong illumination light. Further, since the subject image can be automatically dimmed, the operator does not need to perform the dimming operation, and can concentrate on observation or treatment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus showing a second embodiment according to the present invention. First, the configuration of the endoscope device will be described. Hereinafter, configurations and operations similar to those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

The light guide connector 15 protruding from the side of the main body 3 is provided with a light guide cable 21.
Of the light guide cable 21
The other end is connected to the light source device 5.

The light source device 5 includes a lamp 26 and a signal line 24.
And a temperature sensing circuit 28 connected to the
And a warning output circuit 41 connected to the
, A light source light amount adjustment circuit 30, a diaphragm 31, and a diaphragm motor 32.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. The illumination light emitted from the lamp 26 is incident on the light guide 18 in the fiber endoscope 4 via the light guide fiber 22 in the light guide cable 21. The illumination light that has entered the light guide 18 is emitted from the tip of the light guide 18 and illuminates the subject.

The tip 2 of the insertion section 2 of the fiber endoscope 4
The objective lens 11a captures the illuminated subject,
A subject image is formed on the eyepiece section 16 of the main body section 3 via the image guide 17. This image of the subject is
The operator enlarges the image at 6a and observes the subject image with the naked eye.

On the other hand, the temperature around the outside of the distal end portion 2a of the insertion section 2 detected by the temperature sensor 12 is transmitted to the temperature sensing circuit 28 in the light source device 5 via the signal lines 19 and 24. The temperature sensing circuit 28 calculates the outer peripheral temperature of the distal end portion 2a of the insertion section 2 from the input electric signal, and transmits this temperature information to the warning output circuit 41. The warning output circuit 41 is set in advance with a predetermined temperature value that starts to adversely affect the subject, compares the set temperature value with temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28, When the temperature information becomes higher than the set temperature value, the buzzer 42 sounds to warn the operator.

The surgeon operates the operation panel of the endoscope apparatus (not shown) in response to the warning sound, thereby giving a dimming instruction to the light source light amount adjusting circuit 30, driving the diaphragm motor 32, and controlling the diaphragm 31. Is adjusted to adjust the amount of illumination light illuminating the subject.

According to the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, since the temperature sensor 12 is disposed at the distal end 2a of the insertion portion 2, the temperature can be accurately and instantaneously measured. Detection becomes possible. Then, the operator is asked to insert the distal end 2 of the insertion section 2.
A rise in temperature around the outside of a can be warned with a warning sound, and unintended adverse effects on the subject due to irradiation of the illumination light can be avoided.

In the second embodiment, the warning is given by sound. However, the present invention is not limited to the warning by sound. A warning may be used. That is, any device that can warn the surgeon may be used.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus showing a third embodiment according to the present invention. In the third embodiment,
This shows a configuration in which an operator is warned by a warning display 50 displayed on the monitor 9.

First, the configuration of the endoscope apparatus will be described. One end of a light guide cable 21 is connected to the light guide connector 15 of the fiber endoscope 4, and the other end of the light guide cable 21 is connected to the light source device 5.

The light source device 5 includes a lamp 26 and a signal line 24.
And a temperature sensing circuit 28 connected to the
A warning output circuit 41 connected to the
, An aperture 31 disposed in front of the lamp 26, and an aperture motor 32.

The video adapter 7 is attached to the eyepiece 16 of the fiber endoscope 4. The other end of the video adapter 7 is connected to a video processor 8. The video processor 8 includes an image reproducing circuit 34 connected to the solid-state imaging device 6 via a signal line 33,
3, a shutter speed control circuit 51 connected to the image reproduction circuit 34, and a character output circuit 53 connected to the warning output circuit 41 of the light source device 5 via the image reproduction circuit 34 and the signal line 52. I have.

The character output circuit 53 is connected to the signal line 3
7 is connected to the monitor 9. Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described. The illumination light emitted from the lamp 26 enters the light guide 18 of the fiber endoscope 4 via the light guide fiber 22. The illumination light that has entered the light guide 18 is emitted from the tip of the light guide 18 and illuminates the subject.

The distal end 2 of the insertion section 2 of the fiber endoscope 4
The objective lens 11a captures the illuminated subject image, passes through the image guide 17, and the eyepiece 16a,
A subject image is formed on the light receiving surface of the solid-state imaging device 6.

This subject image is converted into an electric signal by the solid-state image pickup device 6 and input to the image reproducing circuit 34 and the shutter speed control circuit 51 in the video processor 8 via the signal line 33. The image reproduction circuit 34 processes the electric signal from the solid-state imaging device 6 and converts it into a video signal, and outputs the signal to the shutter speed control circuit 51 as a brightness signal of the subject image.

The shutter speed control circuit 51 controls the charge accumulation time of the solid-state image pickup device 6. According to the brightness signal of the subject image output from the image reproducing circuit 34, for example, when the subject image is too bright, The control is performed such that the charge accumulation time is shortened, and when the subject image is too dark, the charge accumulation time is lengthened. And
The video signal converted by the image reproduction circuit 34 is transmitted to the monitor 9 via the character output circuit 53 and the signal line 37, and displayed on the monitor 9 as a video.

That is, the shutter speed control circuit 51 controls the charge accumulation time of the solid-state imaging device 6 in accordance with the illumination light from the light source device 5 to display an object image of appropriate brightness on the monitor 9. The correction is performed as follows.

On the other hand, a temperature sensor 12 disposed at the tip 2a of the insertion section 2 of the fiber endoscope 4 detects the temperature around the outside of the tip 2a of the insertion section 2 and converts it into an electric signal. The electric signal is transmitted to the signal line 19 and the signal line 24.
To the temperature sensing circuit 28 in the light source device 5 The temperature sensing circuit 28 calculates the temperature between the subject and the tip 2a of the insertion section 2 from the input electric signal, and transmits this temperature information to the warning output circuit 41. The warning output circuit 41 is set in advance with a predetermined temperature value that starts to adversely affect the subject. The warning output circuit 41 compares the set temperature value with the temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28. When the temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28 becomes higher than the set temperature value, the electric signal from the warning output circuit 41 passes through the signal line 52 and is input to the character output circuit 53 in the video processor 8. In response to the electric signal, the character output circuit 53 simultaneously displays the subject image and the warning display 50 on the monitor 9 via the signal line 37.

When the surgeon looks at the warning display 50 on the monitor 9, the operator operates the operation panel of the endoscope device (not shown) to give a dimming instruction to the light source light amount adjusting circuit 30, and the diaphragm motor is controlled. By driving the aperture 32 and adjusting the aperture 31, the amount of illumination light illuminating the subject is adjusted.

The effect of the third embodiment is that the warning display 50 can be displayed on the monitor 9,
Can be judged as a warning relating to the temperature around the outer periphery of the distal end portion 2a of the insertion section 2, and can be reliably distinguished from other warnings. Further, since the temperature sensor 12 is disposed at the distal end portion 2a of the insertion portion 2, the temperature can be accurately and instantaneously detected.
The rise of the ambient temperature outside the area a can be warned by the warning display 50 on the monitor 9, and the unintended adverse effect on the subject due to the irradiation of the illumination light can be avoided.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus showing a fourth embodiment according to the present invention. In the fourth embodiment,
The difference from the endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment is that the temperature sensing circuit 28 and the warning output circuit 41 are built in the video processor 8. This difference will be described.

In the fourth embodiment, the fiber type endoscope 4
In order to transmit an electric signal of the temperature sensor 12 disposed at the distal end portion 2a of the insertion portion 2 to the video processor 8, a signal line 19 is provided to the eyepiece portion 16 of the main body portion 3,
0 is connected. On the other hand, the eyepiece 1 of the video adapter 7
When the fiber endoscope 4 and the video adapter 7 are connected, a contact 23 is provided on the side 6 so as to be connected to the contact 20. A signal line 24 connected to the contact 23 is connected to the solid-state imaging device 6. Is connected to the video processor 8 together with the signal line 33 from the.

The video processor 8 includes a temperature sensing circuit 28 connected to the signal line 24, a warning output circuit 41 connected to the temperature sensing circuit 28, an image reproducing circuit 34, a shutter speed control circuit 51, and a character output circuit 53. It is composed of

The light source device 5 has only a lamp 26, a light source light amount adjusting circuit 30, an aperture motor 32, and an aperture 31. Next, the operation of the fourth embodiment will be described.

The electric signal from the temperature sensor 12 is supplied to a signal line 19 passing through the fiber endoscope 4 and a video adapter 7.
The video processor 8 is connected via a signal line 24 provided inside the
The temperature is transmitted to a temperature sensing circuit 28 inside. Temperature sensing circuit 28
Then, the outer peripheral temperature of the distal end portion 2a of the insertion section 2 is calculated, and this temperature information is transmitted to the warning output circuit 41. The warning output circuit 41 is set in advance with a predetermined temperature value that starts to adversely affect the subject, and the warning output circuit 41 compares the set temperature value with the temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28. When the temperature information from the temperature sensing circuit 28 becomes higher than the set temperature value, the electric signal from the warning output circuit 41 is input to the character output circuit 53. In response to this electric signal, the character output circuit 53 outputs the signal line 3
The object image and the warning display 50 are simultaneously displayed on the monitor 9 via the monitor 7.

When the operator sees the warning display 50 on the monitor 9, the operator gives an instruction of dimming to the light source light amount adjusting circuit by rotating an operation knob on an operation panel (not shown) of the endoscope apparatus, and stops the diaphragm. By driving the motor 32 and adjusting the aperture 31, the amount of illumination light illuminating the subject is adjusted.

The effect of the fourth embodiment has the following effect in addition to the effect of the third embodiment. That is, since the light source device 5 does not include the temperature sensing circuit 28 for processing the electric signal from the temperature sensor 12, the other light source device 5 dedicated to illumination can be combined with the endoscope device. is there.

In each of the embodiments, the endoscope is a fiber endoscope. However, for example, an electronic endoscope or a rigid endoscope may be used, or a medical endoscope or an industrial endoscope may be used. It may be an endoscope. Further, in each of the embodiments, the light amount adjustment is performed by controlling the stop in front of the lamp in the light source device. However, the light amount adjustment may be performed by controlling the light emission amount of the lamp.

The present invention also includes the inventions listed below. (Supplementary Note) (Supplementary Note 1) In an endoscope apparatus including an endoscope having an elongated insertion portion and illumination means for supplying illumination light to the endoscope, the endoscope device is disposed at a distal end portion of the insertion portion. An endoscope apparatus comprising: a temperature detecting means for detecting an outer peripheral temperature of the distal end; and a light amount adjusting means for adjusting a light amount of the illumination means based on an output of the temperature detecting means. (Supplementary Note 2) The light amount adjusting means includes a temperature sensing means for calculating a temperature based on a detection signal from the temperature detecting means,
A light source light quantity control means electrically connected to the temperature sensing means and calculating an illumination light quantity based on temperature information from the temperature sensing means; and an electric light quantity control means electrically connected to the light source light quantity control means. 2. An endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising light source light amount adjusting means for adjusting the amount of illumination light based on the instruction. (Supplementary Note 3) In an endoscope apparatus including an endoscope having an elongated insertion portion and illumination means for supplying illumination light to the endoscope, the endoscope is disposed at a distal end portion of the insertion portion, and Temperature detecting means for detecting the outer peripheral temperature of the distal end of the insertion part, and the operator determines that the outer peripheral temperature of the distal end of the insertion portion has become higher than a predetermined temperature based on the detection signal detected by the temperature detecting means. An endoscope apparatus comprising: a warning unit that warns the user. (Supplementary note 4) The endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 3, further comprising a monitor that displays an observation image of the endoscope. (Supplementary Note 5) The supplementary note 4, wherein the warning unit includes a warning output unit that displays a warning on the monitor.
The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1.

[0060]

As described above, according to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the temperature around the distal end of the insertion section can be accurately and accurately determined by the temperature detecting means at the distal end of the insertion section of the endoscope. Since it can be detected instantaneously, there is no adverse effect on the subject due to the heat of the illumination light.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a distal end portion of the insertion section of the endoscope according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 4 fiber endoscope 5 light source device 7 video adapter 8 video processor 9 monitor 12 temperature sensor 26 lamp 28 temperature sensing circuit 29 light source light quantity control circuit 30 light source light quantity adjustment circuit 31 aperture 32 aperture motor 34 image reproduction circuit 35 gain adjustment circuit 41 Warning output circuit 42 Buzzer 50 Warning display 51 Shutter speed control circuit 53 Character output circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope apparatus comprising: an endoscope having an elongated insertion portion; and illuminating means for supplying illumination light to the endoscope. An endoscope apparatus comprising: temperature detecting means for detecting an outer peripheral temperature of the unit; and light amount adjusting means for adjusting the light amount of the illumination means based on an output of the temperature detecting means.