JPS63130034A - Endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an endoscope used for observing the inside of a body cavity, a lumen 1 mechanical device, etc.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in the bending method of an endoscope, an angle wire connected to the bending part is inserted through the entire insertion part (which is formed by sequentially connecting the bending part and the distal end component to the flexible tube part). However, a method has been adopted in which the angle wire is manually pushed and pulled using an operating section on the hand side to perform a bending operation.

Furthermore, in recent years, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-106601, it has been developed to display the amount of curvature of such a curved portion on a TV monitor displaying an observed image.

Specifically, the amount of movement of the angle wire is detected from the proximal side of the endoscope, the amount of curvature at the distal end is determined from this, and the detected amount of curvature is displayed on the TV monitor using a display means. It is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with this technique of detecting the amount of curvature based on the amount of movement of the angle wire, the insertion portion of the endoscope curves along the shape of the body cavity. The problem is that the wire movement is different between the straight state and the straight state even if the amount of curvature of the curved portion is the same.

That is, even when the same amount of curvature is produced, the driving layer (amount of tension) of the angle wire differs depending on the curvature shape of the insertion portion at that time, so the amount of curvature cannot be accurately detected. The cause of this is that the angle wire that bends at various places inside the insertion tube as the insertion tube curves absorbs the tension from the operating section, or that the angle wire itself stretches due to the amount of tension that increases as the insertion tube curves. can be mentioned.

For this reason, an accurate amount of curvature cannot be displayed to the operator, and in the case of a medical endoscope, there is a problem that safety for patients cannot be ensured. Furthermore, in the case of industrial endoscopes, there is a risk of damage to the pipes to be inspected or damage to the endoscope itself.

The present invention has been made with attention to such problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable accurate confirmation of the amount of curvature.

Means and operation for solving the L problem] By providing a means 11 for detecting the amount of curvature in the insertion portion 4 and a means 78 for displaying the detected amount of curvature on the monitor 19, an accurate amount of curvature can be obtained. Display.

[Embodiment J] The present invention will be described below based on a first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Is 1 in Figure 1 an industrial type used for inspecting the inside of pipes, for example? It is a J2 mirror.

The endoscope 11 includes a universal cord 8 that includes an insertion section 4 (formed by connecting a bending section 6 and a distal end component 7 to the distal end of a flexible tube section 5) and a ride guide (not shown) in the operation section 3. Constructed by connecting.

Further, a solid-state image sensor 9 is built into the distal end of the insertion section 3, and the insertion section 3 is configured as a so-called electronic scope that can convert an optical image into a TV signal. A bending mechanism part 10 using a shape memory alloy is provided within the bending part 6.

That is, this bending mechanism section 10 includes, for example, 7i-Ni.
Shape memory alloys (S
A strip-shaped plate material 11 made of MA) is provided inside the curved portion 6 along the axial direction. A necessary curved shape is stored in advance in this plate material 11. And both ends of this plate material 11 and the inside? The power supply circuit 12 built in the light source device 2 of 111 is connected to the insertion part 4 and the universal cord 8.
In addition to the connection using the energizing cable 13.13 that is passed through the interior, a structure is used in which the operation section 3 is provided with a switch section 14 for controlling the energization.
The curved portion 6 can be curved by heating the shape memory alloy through the energization operation.

On the other hand, inside the optical IfA device 2, in addition to the energizing circuit 12, a resistance value detection section 15 that is electrically connected to the cable 13.13, and a control circuit 16. Angle conversion circuit 171 Image synthesis circuit 18
is built-in. Then, the control circuit 1 is connected to the energizing circuit 12.
6 is connected, and the shape memory alloy is heated by pulsed energization. The control circuit 16 is also connected to the resistance value detection section 15, and employs a PWM modulation method (pulse width modulation method), and uses the pause time of pulse energization in the resistance value detection section 15 to memorize shape by heating. This makes it possible to detect changes in the electrical resistance of the alloy. Specifically, the electrical resistance value of a shape memory alloy is thought to change with phase transformation from a martensitic phase or rhombohedral phase on the low temperature side to an austenite phase on the high temperature side (the same applies to reverse transformation).

An angle conversion circuit 17 is provided on the output side of this control circuit 16.
is connected, and the current angle of curvature can be calculated from the amount of curvature of the shape memory alloy and the corresponding electrical resistance value 1l13! ! It's set to I. Then, the image synthesis circuit 18 is added to the angle conversion circuit 17.
is connected to the image synthesis circuit 18, and a solid-state m-image element 9 is connected to the image synthesis circuit 18.
By connecting a TV monitor 19 (equivalent to a monitor) that displays a TV signal from the M-sensor, the amount of curvature can be displayed on the screen by combining it with the projected M-sensing image. Specifically, in this embodiment, the image synthesis circuit 18 is used to set, for example, a corner side portion of the TV monitor 19 as the curvature display section 20, and the current curvature angle is displayed numerically on the curvature display section 20. , the shape of the curved portion 6 at that time is displayed as a pseudo image corresponding to the shape of the tip of the insertion portion 4.

Note that the current supply circuit 12 is equipped with a current control amount m(
control circuit 16), and the structure is such that the necessary curvature angle, for example 30', can be maintained.

Next, the operation of the endoscope 1 will be explained.

In other words, first of all, inside? J [1 to light source 8M2. Connect TV monitor 19, etc. After this, the pipe line to be inspected (
(not shown).

As a result, the optical image captured by the solid state element 9 is transmitted to the TV monitor 19 through a video processor (not shown).
displayed on the screen. And this TV monitor 1
The curvature state at that time is displayed on the curvature display section 20 of 9.

Here, regarding the display of the amount of curvature, the resistance value detection unit 15 detects that the shape memory alloy has not been deformed from the phase of the shape memory alloy at the time of insertion into the pipe, that is, the martensitic phase (low temperature side). An electrical resistance value indicating . As a result, accurate curvature is detected (
(To capture the curved displacement of only the curved portion 6). Then, the electrical resistance value corresponding to the amount of deformation of the shape memory alloy is processed by the angle conversion circuit 17, and the curvature angle "O"J is calculated. Then, the screen synthesis circuit 18 determines the angle of curvature as a numeral ``0゛'' and a ``straight curved pseudo image j'' indicating that the curved portion 6 is straight, as shown in FIG. They will be displayed together.

Thereafter, when the switch section 14 is operated to curve the tip, current (pulse 11) is supplied from the current supply circuit 12 to the shape memory alloy plate 11. By this pulsed energization, the shape memory alloy plate 11 is heated and gradually transformed into an austenite phase. That is, it is restored to the memorized curved shape (arc shape), and the curved portion 6 gradually curves. Then, the amount of curvature at this time is displayed on the curvature display section 20 of the TV monitor 19 as the number of curvature angles and a pseudo image corresponding to the number of angles, as described above. Specifically, the resistance value detecting section 15 detects the electrical resistance value of the shape memory alloy plate material 11 due to the phase transformation to the austenite phase using the rest time of the pulse energization. Then, after converting the electrical resistance value into an angle, the image synthesis circuit 18 is used to display the bending state at that time using numbers and a figure bending in an arc shape.

Specifically, 1! With source control, for example, curved part 6
If the curve is curved at an angle of 30 degrees, F3 indicating the curve angle will be displayed on the curve display section 2o as shown in FIG.
0''J is displayed, and a pseudo image of the tip shape corresponding to the curvature angle is displayed above the number.

In this way, the operator can accurately confirm the amount of curvature of the insertion section 4.

Therefore, the conventional inconveniences can be eliminated, and safety and operability can be improved.

In the first embodiment, the present invention was applied to a curved method using a shape memory alloy, but it can also be applied to a curved method using a shape memory alloy, but it can also be applied using an angle wire 25 and a drum 26 as in the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The present invention may also be applied to a conventional endoscope (fiberscope) in which the bending operation is performed manually and an image is transmitted to the eyepiece 1a using a fiber (not shown).

That is, in the second embodiment, a camera head 27 is provided in the eyepiece portion 1a of the endoscope 1 to display the observation session on the TV monitor 19, and in addition, a conductive conductor in the shape of a strip, for example, is provided in the curved portion 6. A rubber 28 (curvature amount detection section) is provided, and the amount of curvature is detected from the change in electrical resistance value as the conductive rubber 28 expands and contracts.

Specifically, the projection system uses a structure in which a TV monitor 19 is connected to a camera head 27 via a camera controller 29. The optical image of the endoscope 1 converted into an electric signal by the camera head 27 is converted into a TV signal by two camera controllers and displayed on the TV monitor 19.

In addition, in the curvature detection system, both ends of the conductive rubber 28 and the resistance value detection section 15 built in the light source device 2 are connected to the signal line 30.30.
In addition to connecting the resistance value detection section 15 with the light source device t
A structure is used in which the camera controller 29 is connected to an image synthesis circuit 18 provided in the camera controller 29 through an angle conversion circuit 17 built in the camera controller 29.

Then, the resistance value detection unit 15 detects a change in the electrical resistance value of the conductive rubber 28 that expands and contracts as the curved portion 6 curves. Further, the angle conversion circuit 17 calculates the corresponding curvature angle from the detected electrical resistance value, and then, as in the first embodiment, the image synthesis circuit 18 synthesizes it with the endoscopic image.
The curvature state is displayed on the TV monitor 19 using numbers (curvature angle) and pseudo images. In addition, in this embodiment, for example, the direction of rotation of the drum 26 is detected and a number indicating the curvature angle, for example 90, is determined as shown in FIG.
"R" (right) indicating the direction of curvature is displayed on the front side of `` to make the curvature state even clearer and easier to understand. Of course, if the direction of curvature is reversed, "L" (left) will be displayed.

Although the endoscope 1 in which the angle wire 25 is manually operated is used, an endoscope I11 in which the angle wire 25 is driven by a motor (drive source) may also be used.

Also, in the above embodiment, the direction of curvature and the angle of curvature.

Although the curved shape is displayed, it is also possible to display the insertion depth l (insertion depth) of the insertion section 4 into the conduit, the diameter of the conduit, and even the curved state (position @) in the conduit. .

Specifically, to display the amount of pushing, for example, the amount of pushing of the insertion section 4 into the channel may be detected using a potentiometer or the like, and the layer may be displayed in numbers. Further, in order to display the diameter of the pipe, if the diameter of the pipe is constant, this diameter may be inputted from a keyboard or the like and displayed on the TV monitor 19. Furthermore, in order to display the curved position in the duct, the duct may be represented as a pseudo image, and this image may be combined with a pseudo image of the tip shape of the insertion portion 4. Specifically, the composite image shown in FIG. 5 is exemplified. In other words, in the lower row of Fig.
0" indicates the pipe diameter entered on the keyboard, rL5.5
J indicates the insertion depth, rRJ in the middle row indicates the direction of curvature, r30°J indicates the amount of curvature, and the pseudo image in the upper row shows the state of curvature of the insertion portion 4 with respect to the inside of the duct.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately confirm the amount of curvature of the insertion portion.

As a result, safety and operability can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present invention together with a monitor system, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the amount of curvature displayed on the monitor, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the amount of curvature displayed on the monitor, and FIG. 5 is a front view showing the amount of curvature displayed on the different monitors. 4... Insert portion, 6... Curved portion, 11... Shape memory alloy. board material (means for detecting the amount of curvature), 18... image synthesis circuit (means for displaying), 19... TV monitor (monitor).

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An endoscope characterized by comprising means provided within the insertion section for detecting the amount of curvature of the insertion section, and means for displaying the detected amount of curvature on a monitor. (2) The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the amount of curvature is a means for detecting the curvature of the insertion portion as a change in electrical resistance value.