JPH11337843A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an endoscope with a simple and small-sized mechanism, to reduce the burden on patients and to improve the reliability by providing a cantilever forming substance having a shape memory effect into a planar shape and a reflection surface in a reflection means and providing a heating means heating the cantilever. SOLUTION: The cantilever 5 is an actuator consisting of omnidirectional shape memory material, and the reflection surface 6 is provided on the cantilever 5 surface so as to efficiently reflect visible rays. Further, an energizing lead wire 7 and a heater 8 connected to the lead wire 7 are provided as the heating means. The heater 8 is formed to the planar shape, and is laminated to be provided on the cantilever 5. Then, though the cantilever 5 becomes a straightly prolonged state in the state that the heater 8 isn't energized, when the heater 8 is energized, and the shape memory material is heated, and a temp. is raised gradually, the cantilever 5 becomes the shape so as to intersect with the line of sight of an image guide 3 at e.g. a 45 deg..

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope for obtaining image information of a body cavity or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various endoscopes have been developed for the purpose of observing and diagnosing the inside of a body cavity and the like. Among them, for example, JP-A-6-165750 "Endoscope utilizing photothermal conversion"
And JP-A-5-88093 "Fiberscope", JP-A-5-3
No. 1066 “Tubular insertion tool” discloses an endoscope that can change the observation direction using a shape memory material, that is, can swing.

[0003] These devices are capable of observing a wide range by bending an optical fiber bundle for guiding image information, for example, by the deformation force of a shape memory alloy and changing the direction of the tip. The use of these devices makes it possible to control the direction of the tip of the optical fiber bundle, and has a feature that a target site can be easily observed.

[0004]

In these conventional devices, the optical fiber bundle itself serving as an image guide is curved in order to change the observation direction.
However, the optical fiber bundle cannot be bent smaller than the minimum radius of curvature, and the angle of curvature is greatly restricted in a body space, particularly in a narrow space such as a blood vessel.
It is difficult to use such that it is directed sideways in the insertion axis direction.

[0005] In the present invention, the observation direction can be switched between the front and side of the insertion section, and the inner wall of the luminal tissue around the insertion section can be observed even in a narrow space such as a luminal organ or a vessel. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope that realizes a highly reliable endoscope with a light burden on a patient by realizing the endoscope with a simple and small mechanism.

[0006]

This and other objects are attained by the following inventions (1) to (6).

(1) In an endoscope having a long insertion portion, image guide means for transmitting image information into the insertion portion, and reflection means provided near the tip of the insertion portion, the reflection means An endoscope comprising: a cantilever (cantilever: cantilever support beam) formed of a substance having a shape memory effect in a flat plate shape; and a reflecting surface, further comprising heating means for heating the cantilever.

(2) The endoscope according to the above (1), wherein the cantilever is an omnidirectional shape memory material.

(3) The endoscope according to the above (1), wherein the cantilever is a bidirectional shape memory material.

(4) The cantilever is a one-way shape memory material, and the laser beam reflecting means further comprises a bias spring material for applying a force to bend the cantilever. The endoscope as described.

(5) The endoscope according to the above (1), wherein the heating means is formed by laminating a flat heater means on the cantilever.

(6) The endoscope according to the above (1), further comprising cooling means for supplying and discharging a cooling fluid around the cantilever.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an endoscope according to the present invention will be described.
This will be described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views for explaining the configuration of the distal end portion of the endoscope according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a state of observing the side, and FIG. This shows a state in which is observed. FIG. 3 is a front view of the state of FIG. 2 and a sectional view taken along line AA, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the state of FIG. 1 and a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

1 to 4, an endoscope 1 is provided with an image guide 3 made of an optical fiber bundle inside a tubular main body 2 which is an insertion part into a body cavity.
A tip cap 4 made of a light-transmitting material such as acrylic resin or quartz is attached to the tip of the main body 2 so that visible light can be transmitted. A CCD camera (not shown) is connected to the base end of the endoscope 1, and the image information transmitted by the image guide 3 is converted into an electric signal and displayed on a TV monitor or the like.

The cantilever 5 is an actuator made of an omnidirectional shape memory material. The surface of the cantilever 5 is provided with a reflecting surface 6 so that visible light can be efficiently reflected. As a heating means, a lead wire 7 for energization is used.
And a heater 8 connected to the lead wire 7.
The heater 8 is formed in a flat plate shape and is provided so as to be stacked on the cantilever 5.

A lens 9 for forming an image is provided at the incident end of the image guide 3. The diameter of the incident end of the image guide 3 with the lens 9 attached is 1.5 mm, and the size of the reflecting surface 6 provided on the cantilever 5 is 1 m.
m × 1 mm, which are contained in a tubular main body 2 having an outer diameter (diameter) of 3 mm.

The main body 2 is formed so as to have a gap around the image guide 3, and the surrounding gap can function as an air supply lumen 10a and an exhaust lumen 10b. A partition wall 11 is formed in the inner hole of the main body 2. The partition wall 11 separates the air supply lumen 10 a and the exhaust lumen 10 b while fixing the image guide 3. Through these lumens 10a and 10b, carbon dioxide gas is circulated as a cooling fluid from a cooling fluid circulation device (not shown) from the base end of the image guide 2. The carbon dioxide gas used to cool the device
It only flows through the inside of the main body 2 and does not leak out of the main body 2.

The heater 8 is made of flattened platinum,
It is formed in a laminated structure with a cantilever 5 made of a shape memory material. By passing a current through the lead wire 7 that has passed through the inside of the main body 2, a heat quantity necessary for deformation of the shape memory material is obtained.

In the state where the heater 8 is not energized (the state where there is no heating), as shown in FIG.
It is in a state of extending straight. The reflecting surface 6 is completely deviated from the field of view of the image guide 3 (FIG. 3), and in this state, the field of view of the endoscope is directed toward the axial end of the main body 2 (forward).

When a current is applied to the heater 8 and heat is applied to the shape memory material to gradually increase the temperature, the cantilever 5 is moved at an angle of about 45 degrees with the line of sight of the image guide 3 as shown in FIGS. It becomes a shape that intersects. In this embodiment, the temperature at this time is about 80 degrees, but the heating is performed by the cantilever 5.
Since it is very local in the vicinity, the outside of the main body 2 is not heated. At this time, a state in which the entrance end of the image guide 3 is viewed from the front end direction of the main body 2 is illustrated. As shown in FIG. Becomes The line of sight of the image guide 3 is reflected by the reflecting surface 6, so that a state 90 ° lateral from the axis of the main body 2 can be observed.

In this embodiment, since the omnidirectional shape memory material is used as the shape memory material, the cantilever 5 takes an arbitrary angle between the state shown in FIG. 1 and the state shown in FIG. Can be done. At this time, depending on the angle of the cantilever 5, an arbitrary direction between the front side and the side in the axial direction of the main body 2 is captured in the field of view.

When the power supply to the heater 8 is stopped and the heating is stopped, the shape memory material is transferred to the lumens 10a and 10b in the main body 2.
It is rapidly cooled by the flow of carbon dioxide gas ventilated through it, with the result that the shape memory material returns to its normal temperature (straight state). Since the temperature of the cantilever 5 can be rapidly lowered by this ventilation cooling, the cantilever 5 can be quickly returned to the normal temperature angle as compared with the time of natural cooling, and the speed of changing the observation angle can be improved. I can do it.

Here, the line of sight of the image guide 3 can be scanned by repeating the energization of the heater 8 intermittently. Also, if you want to fix the irradiation in a certain direction,
The amount of current may be adjusted so that the temperature of the shape memory material is constant.

Here, when observing the light reflected by the reflecting surface 6, the observation image is a mirror image compared to when observing the front of the main body 2 directly. Therefore, when displaying the image information converted into an electric signal on a TV monitor or the like, it is preferable to display the image information with the left and right reversed. In the present embodiment, the energization of the heater 8 and the image reversing process are linked to eliminate an uncomfortable feeling when switching images.

In this embodiment, an omnidirectional shape memory material is used as the shape memory material, but a bidirectional shape memory material can be used. The bidirectional shape memory material has two specific angles that cantilever can hold (usually 45 degrees between the straight state and the line of sight of the image guide).
Degrees) and cannot hold any angle between them, but otherwise can be used in a similar fashion.

Further, a one-way shape memory material may be used as the shape memory material, and a bias spring material for applying a force for bending the shape memory material may be laminated on the cantilever and a combined structure may be used. With this configuration, the angle of the cantilever obtained by bending the cantilever by the bias spring and the angle of the cantilever stored in the shape memory material when heated by the heating unit are obtained.
Since two angles are obtained, the angle of the visual field changes according to the degree of heating, and two directions can be observed.

As the shape memory material used for the cantilever 5, a shape memory resin or a shape memory alloy is preferably used, and specifically, a polyurethane-based polymer, a polyisoprene-based polymer, a polysorbone-based polymer, a polyester-based polymer And a shape memory resin such as a polyolefin-based polymer or a shape memory alloy such as a NiTi-based alloy, a Cu-Zn-Al-based alloy, or a Cu-Al-Ni-based alloy. The transformation point of these shape memory materials is 40 to 8 degrees.
It is preferable that the angle is about 0 degrees. The transformation temperature should be selected so that heat does not leak out of the catheter 2 and there is no risk of deformation during non-heating.

The reflecting surface 6 can be obtained by forming a metal thin film on the surface of the cantilever 5.
Specifically, by depositing a metal such as Al, Ti, Pt, or Au, a reflective surface having a high reflectance can be suitably obtained.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiments includes all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, although the present embodiment has been described as a medical endoscope, it may be applied to use in industrial fields such as internal inspection of machines.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the scanning of the observation field of view of the image guide is realized by the change in the angle of the cantilever driven by the shape memory material, the main body does not move and a wide range is obtained. Observation becomes possible. That is, it is possible to scan the field of view of the endoscope even in a narrow space such as a lumen organ, and it is possible to perform observation and diagnosis efficiently and safely.

Further, since the mechanism for moving the field of view is very simple and small, the diameter of the endoscope itself can be reduced, and the physical burden on the patient to be diagnosed can be reduced. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a distal end portion showing an embodiment of an endoscope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a distal end portion showing an embodiment of the endoscope of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view and a side sectional view of the state of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view and a side sectional view of the state of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Endoscope 2 Main body 3 Image guide 4 Tip cap 5 Cantilever 6 Reflective surface 7 Lead wire 8 Heater 9 Lens

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope having a long insertion portion, image guide means for transmitting image information into the insertion portion, and reflection means provided near a tip of the insertion portion, wherein the reflection means is An endoscope comprising: a cantilever in which a substance having a shape memory effect is formed in a plate shape; and a reflecting surface, further comprising heating means for heating the cantilever. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the cantilever is an omnidirectional shape memory material. 3. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the cantilever is a bidirectional shape memory material. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cantilever is a one-way shape memory material, and the laser beam reflecting means further includes a bias spring material for applying a force to bend the cantilever. Endoscope. 5. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the heating means is formed by stacking a flat heater means on the cantilever. 6. The endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising cooling means for supplying and discharging a cooling fluid around the cantilever.