KR101584935B1 - Co_2 injection apparatus and co_2 injection amount control method for endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a CO_2 injection controlling apparatus comprising: a CO_2 supply unit for supplying CO_2, which is stored in a CO_2 tank, into an injection tube connected to an endoscope; an injection button provided at the injection tube to be opened and closed, and controlling the supply of CO_2 into the human body through the injection tube; a pressure sensor for sensing the injection pressure of CO_2 supplied through the injection tube; a storage unit for storing the injection pressure and the injection flow at an injection mode in which CO_2 is injected into the injection tube since the injection button is closed, the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow at a atmospheric mode in which CO_2 is released into the atmosphere since the injection button is opened, the injection pressure at a first transition mode when the injection mode is converted into the atmospheric mode, and the injection pressure at a second transition mode when the atmospheric mode is converted into the injection mode, separately; and a controller for controlling the CO_2 supply unit to supply CO_2 at the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow if the injection pressure at the first transition mode is sensed by the pressure sensor, and controlling the CO_2 supply unit to supply CO_2 at the injection pressure and the injection flow if the injection pressure at the second transition mode is sensed by the pressure sensor.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to a CO₂ injection control apparatus and a CO₂ injection amount control method for endoscopy,

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a CO 2 injection control apparatus, and more particularly to a CO 2 injection control apparatus and an CO 2 injection amount control method for endoscopy.

Endoscopy is a medical device that allows you to see the internal organs or body cavity directly. Types of endoscopy include bronchoscopy, esophagus, stomach, duodenal, cystoscopy, and laparoscopy.

Endoscopy or endoscopic surgery is done by inserting an endoscope with a camera attached to the end of a flexible tube connected by an optical fiber. In order to perform endoscopic examination or endoscopic surgery, it is necessary to expand to a certain volume within a region to which a camera is injected or an organ in which surgery is performed. Hence, air or harmless gas such as carbon dioxide is injected from the outside.

An example of a gas supply device for endoscopy is disclosed in Patent No. 10-1118860 entitled " Gas Injection Control Apparatus for Endoscopy and Surgery. &Quot;

The gas supply device as disclosed requires precise control of gas injection for safe inspection and accuracy of the human body. Conventionally, a gas supply apparatus supplies gas by a method of opening and closing an injection button in an endoscope. When the injection button is closed for inspection, CO2 is injected. When the test is completed and the injection button is opened, the gas is discharged into the air.

However, when CO 2 is used without using air as a gas, a large amount of air is discarded into the air, which may lead to an increase in management costs and a problem of accumulating CO 2 in the test chamber. Accordingly, a method of reducing the amount of CO 2 discarded into the air is required.

In addition, when the injection button is opened for the endoscopic examination, the conventional gas supply device is injected into the human body through an endoscopic device, usually about 2.5 m. Accordingly, it takes a certain time until the gas is supplied to the human body. When endoscopic equipment is inserted before the gas is delivered to the body, the tester may feel uncomfortable.

In addition, the conventional gas supply apparatus supplies CO 2 at a flow rate set by the user through the input section. However, there is a case where CO₂ different from the flow rate of the set flow rate is supplied due to factors such as ambient temperature, humidity, air pressure, and the like. This can affect the human body and may affect the accuracy of the test or surgery.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a CO₂ injection control device and a CO₂ injection amount control method capable of minimizing the amount of CO₂ discarded in the air to reduce waste of CO₂, .

It is another object of the present invention to provide a CO 2 injection control device and a CO 2 injection amount control device for controlling the flow rate initially supplied when CO 2 is injected by opening and closing the injection button to facilitate inserting an endoscope, Method.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a CO 2 injection control device and a CO 2 injection amount control method which can compare a supply flow rate of a set CO 2 with a supply flow rate of actually supplied CO 2 so that there is no difference therebetween.

The above objects and various advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the preferred embodiments of the present invention by those skilled in the art.

The object of the present invention can be achieved by a CO 2 injection control apparatus and an CO 2 injection amount control method for endoscopy. The CO 2 injection control apparatus of the present invention comprises a CO 2 supply unit for supplying CO 2 stored in a CO 2 tank to an injection tube connected to an endoscope; An injection button provided in the injection tube to open and close the injection tube and to control the supply of CO 2 to a human body through the injection tube; A pressure sensor for sensing an injection pressure of CO 2 supplied through the injection tube; The injection pressure and the injection flow rate of the injection mode in which the injection button is closed and the injection of CO2 into the injection tube, the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow rate of the atmospheric mode in which the injection button is opened and the CO2 is released into the atmosphere, A first transient mode injection pressure when the mode is switched to the injection mode, and a second transitional mode injection pressure when the mode is switched from the standby mode to the injection mode; Wherein when the first transient mode injection pressure is sensed through the pressure sensor, the control unit controls the CO 2 supply unit to supply CO 2 at the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow rate, and when the second transient mode injection pressure is sensed through the pressure sensor, And a control unit controlling the CO 2 supply unit so that CO 2 is supplied at an injection pressure and an injection flow rate of the CO 2 supply unit.

According to an embodiment, the storage further stores a maximum injection flow rate and a set time that are larger than the injection flow rate by the amount of CO2 supplied, and when the injection button is closed and the second transient mode injection pressure is sensed, And the CO 2 supply unit is controlled so that CO 2 is supplied at an injection pressure and an injection flow rate of the injection mode after the set time has elapsed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a flow control valve is provided at one side of the CO 2 supply unit and controls a flow rate of CO 2 supplied to the injection pipe under the control of the control unit. Wherein the controller further includes a flow rate sensor disposed at one side of the flow rate control valve and sensing a flow rate of CO 2 currently supplied through the flow rate control valve. The control unit controls the flow rate of the CO 2 currently sensed by the flow rate sensor, The set flow rate of the set CO 2 is compared and the flow rate control valve is controlled so that the two values become equal to each other.

Meanwhile, the object of the present invention can be achieved by a CO 2 injection control method for endoscopy. The CO 2 injection control method of the present invention comprises the steps of: detecting opening / closing of an injection button; Supplying CO 2 at an injection pressure and injection flow rate of the set injection mode when the injection button is closed; Sensing an injection pressure of CO2; When the injection button is opened and the injection pressure of the CO 2 reaches the injection pressure of the first transitional mode set, supplying CO 2 with the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow rate of the set standby mode.

According to one embodiment, when the injection button is switched from the opened state to the closed state and the injection pressure of the CO 2 reaches the injection pressure of the second transient mode set, the supply of CO 2 is performed at the maximum injection flow rate and the maximum injection pressure for the set time Step < / RTI >

The CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention sets the first transient mode and the second transient mode pressure between the injection mode and the standby mode, respectively, and immediately switches from the injection mode to the standby mode when the injection pressure reaches the first transient mode Adjust the flow rate of CO2. This minimizes the amount of CO 2 released into the atmosphere in the standby mode, thereby reducing the waste of CO 2.

In addition, when the injection pressure reaches the second transient mode, the CO 2 flow rate is adjusted to the maximum injection mode immediately. Thereby, sufficient gas can be immediately supplied to the human subject of the subject after being converted into the injection mode. Further, it is possible to prevent the endoscope apparatus from reaching the state where the gas is not supplied in advance and suffering inconvenience of the inspector.

In addition, the CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention can inject CO 2 gas at a precise flow rate by sensing feedback of the injection of the CO 2 gas differently from the set flow rate. Therefore, the safety and inspection of the human body or the accuracy of the operation can be improved.

1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of controlling a CO.sub.2 injection amount in a CO.sub.2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention. FIG.
3 is an exemplary view illustrating the amount of CO 2 injected by each mode in the CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention.

For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention may be modified into various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. The present embodiments are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the elements in the drawings can be exaggeratedly expressed to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that in the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and constructions which may be unnecessarily obscured by the gist of the present invention are omitted.

1 is a schematic view schematically showing a configuration of a CO₂ injection control apparatus 100 according to the present invention.

The CO 2 injection control apparatus 100 of the present invention is used in combination with an endoscopic examination apparatus or an endoscopic surgery apparatus. The CO 2 injection control apparatus of the present invention uses CO 2 as a gas to be injected into the human body, but it can be used interchangeably with an apparatus in which air is used in some cases.

As shown in the figure, a CO₂ injection control apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes an injection tube 110 connected to an endoscope 200 to inject CO₂ gas, and an injection tube 110 provided at an end of the injection tube 110, A pressure sensor 130 installed in the injection pipe 110 to sense the injection pressure of the CO 2 gas and a CO 2 supply pressure and a CO 2 supply amount in each mode input from the user A CO 2 supply unit 150 for supplying CO 2 from the CO 2 tank to the injection pipe 110 and a flow rate adjusting unit 150 disposed between the CO 2 supply unit 150 and the injection pipe 110 to adjust the supply amount of CO 2 A flow rate sensor 170 for measuring a flow rate of CO 2 actually supplied to the injection pipe 110, an input unit 180 for receiving a set value from a user, a control unit 190).

Here, the CO 2 injection control apparatus 100 according to the present invention may include an injection mode in which CO 2 gas is injected into the human body through the injection tube 110 in a state in which the injection button 120 is closed, a state in which the injection button 120 is opened And a standby mode in which the CO 2 gas is released to the atmosphere.

 The injection tube 110 injects the CO2 gas supplied from the CO2 supply unit 150 into the large intestine or colon through a scope. The injection button 120 is opened and closed, and the CO 2 gas is supplied to the injection tube 110 or discharged to the atmosphere.

The pressure sensor 130 senses the pressure of the CO 2 gas supplied to the injection tube 110 through the CO 2 supply unit 150. The injection pressure of the CO 2 gas detected by the pressure sensor 130 is transmitted to the controller 190.

The storage unit 140 stores the injection pressure and the injection amount of the CO 2 gas for each mode input by the user through the input unit 180.

3 is an exemplary diagram showing an example of information stored in the storage unit 140. As shown in FIG. As shown, the user sets the injection pressure and the injection flow rate of the maximum injection mode, the injection mode, the first transitional mode, the second transitional mode, and the standby mode through the input unit 180.

As described above, the injection mode is a mode in which the CO2 gas is supplied to the human body in a state in which the injection button 120 is closed, and the standby mode is a mode in which the CO2 gas is released into the atmosphere in a state in which the injection button 120 is opened.

The first transitional mode is the transition from the injection mode to the standby mode, and the second transitional mode is the transition from the standby mode to the injection mode. The user sets a first transitional mode injection pressure that is less than the injection pressure in the injection mode. Then, the second transient mode injection pressure, which is larger than the injection pressure in the standby mode, is set.

The maximum injection mode is set to a large value for the amount of CO 2 gas injection compared to the injection mode. The maximum injection mode sets the injection time as well as the injection pressure and injection flow rate. The values shown in FIG. 3 are only illustrative and are adjusted according to the state of the inspector and the inspection situation. The user can change the injection flow rate, the injection pressure, and the injection time in each mode through the input unit 180.

The CO 2 supply unit 150 supplies CO 2 gas to the injection pipe 110 side. The CO 2 supply unit 150 includes a CO 2 tank (not shown) in which CO 2 gas is stored and a supply pump (not shown) that supplies CO 2 gas in a CO 2 tank (not shown). The CO 2 supply unit 150 is driven by a control signal of the control unit 190 and supplies CO 2 gas.

The flow rate control valve 160 is coupled to the end of the CO 2 supply unit 150 to control the supply flow rate of the CO 2 gas under the control of the control unit 190. The flow control valve 160 controls the supply of CO 2 gas to the injection flow rate and the injection pressure set according to each mode such as injection mode and standby mode. The flow control valve 160 can regulate the flow rate of the injection to regulate the opening degree.

The flow rate sensor 170 is installed at one side of the injection pipe 110 or at one side of the flow rate control valve 160 to sense the supply flow rate of the CO 2 gas discharged through the flow rate control valve 160. The flow rate of the CO 2 gas detected by the flow sensor 170 is transmitted to the controller 190.

The control unit 190 controls the supply amount of the CO 2 gas so that the amount of the CO 2 gas discharged into the atmosphere can be minimized. For this, the control unit 190 immediately changes the supply amount of the CO 2 gas in the case of switching to the injection mode and the standby mode by opening / closing the injection button 120, thereby reducing the amount of CO 2 discarded.

The control unit 190 controls the flow rate control valve 160 and the CO 2 supply unit 150 so that the injection button 120 is closed and the CO 2 gas is injected into the supply flow rate and the supply pressure of the CO 2 gas set in the supply mode. When the injection button 120 is closed to switch from the supply mode to the standby mode, the injection button 120 is opened and the CO2 gas is released into the atmosphere and the injection pressure inside the injection tube 110 gradually decreases.

When the injection pressure detected by the pressure sensor 130 reaches the first transient pressure of the first transient mode set by the user, the controller 190 immediately changes the flow rate The control valve 160 and the CO2 feeder 150 are controlled.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the injection button 120 is opened while the CO 2 gas is supplied at a flow rate of 0.3 / minL at a pressure of 0.7 bar in the injection mode, the CO 2 gas is discharged to the atmosphere So that the supply pressure is gradually reduced. If the control unit 190 does not control the CO 2 supply amount as in the present invention, the CO 2 gas is continuously discharged to the atmosphere at the injection flow rate in the injection mode, resulting in waste of CO 2 gas.

In the present invention, when the pressure sensor 130 senses the injection pressure of 0.6 bar set by the user in the first transitional mode, the controller 190 immediately reduces the flow rate of the CO 2 gas at the injection flow rate of 0.05 / minL in the standby mode and is discharged to the atmosphere Waste of CO 2 gas can be reduced.

Here, it is preferable that the injection pressure of the first transitional mode set by the user is set as close as possible to the injection pressure of the injection mode, because the flow rate of the CO 2 gas can be reduced more quickly.

Meanwhile, when the control unit 190 is switched from the standby mode to the injection mode, the control unit 190 controls the supply of the CO 2 gas to the injection pressure of the injection mode and the injection flow rate on the basis of the injection pressure of the second transient mode, do.

In order to prevent the delay of the time until the CO 2 gas is supplied through the endoscope apparatus when the flow rate is changed when the mode is switched from the standby mode to the injection mode, the control unit 190 supplies the CO 2 gas do.

That is, when the control unit 190 is switched from the standby mode to the injection mode, the maximum injection flow rate set immediately to the maximum injection mode is supplied to the maximum injection pressure for a set time. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the injection button is closed while the CO 2 gas is supplied at 0.05 / minL in the standby mode and the flow mode is switched to the injection mode, the flow regulating valve 160 is opened for 5 seconds at a maximum injection pressure of 0.8 bar 0.5 / min < / RTI > Then, when 5 seconds elapses, the CO 2 gas is supplied at a rate of 0.3 / minL at 0.7 bar, which is the injection pressure of the original injection mode.

As a result, the inconvenience experienced by the inspector during the inspection can be minimized by supplying the CO2 gas to the human body immediately.

Herein, the maximum injection mode, the injection pressure, the injection flow rate, and the injection time may be differently controlled depending on the length of the inspection equipment, the inspection environment, and the object of inspection.

The control unit 190 compares the injection flow rate of the present CO 2 gas detected by the flow sensor 170 with the injection flow rate set by the flow control valve 160 and outputs the set flow rate of the flow control valve 160 And the current injection flow rate is controlled to be the same.

For example, when the control unit 190 supplies the control signal to the flow control valve 160 so that the CO2 gas is supplied at 0.3 / minL in the injection mode, the current supply flow rate fed back from the flow sensor 170 is 0.32 / minL The control unit 190 re-applies the control signal to the flow rate control valve 160 so as to supply the CO 2 gas at a reduced value of 0.02 / minL.

This feedback process is repeated a plurality of times to regulate the supply of CO 2 gas to the injection flow rate of the set injection mode. Thus, the CO 2 gas can be supplied at the correct flow rate value set.

The process of controlling the injection amount of CO 2 in the CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.

2, when the injection button 120 is opened (S110), the controller 190 controls the flow rate control valve 160 and the CO₂ feeder 150 (see FIG. 2) to supply the CO₂ gas to the CO₂ supply flow rate of the maximum supply mode during the set time, ). The input values of FIG. 3 will be described as an example, and 0.5 / minL of CO 2 gas is supplied for 5 seconds (S111). When the set time has elapsed (S113), the CO2 gas is supplied to the CO2 injection flow rate and injection pressure set in the injection mode (S115). As a result, CO₂ gas is supplied at a flow rate of 0.3 / minL at a pressure of 0.7 bar.

When the user opens the injection button 120 (S117) while the CO 2 gas is injected, the pressure of the injection tube 110 gradually decreases. If the injection pressure detected by the pressure sensor 130 installed in the injection pipe 110 becomes equal to or lower than the injection pressure of the first transitional mode at step S119, the control unit 190 immediately supplies CO₂ to the standby mode CO₂ supply amount (S121).

For example, when the injection button 120 is opened during the supply of the CO 2 gas at a flow rate of 0.3 / minL at a pressure of 0.7 bar, the injection pressure is gradually reduced. Then, when the reduced pressure reaches 0.6 bar, which is the first transient mode injection pressure, the control unit 190 immediately sets the CO₂ supply unit 150 and the flow rate control valve 150 such that the CO₂ gas is injected at 0.05 / minL, Lt; / RTI >

On the other hand, when the injection button 120 is opened (S110), CO₂ is released to the atmosphere by the injection pressure and the injection flow rate in the standby mode (S121). For example, it is discharged at a pressure of 0.05 bar at a flow rate of 0.05 / minL. In this state, if the injection button is closed (S123), the injection pressure gradually increases. When the injection pressure reaches the second transient mode injection pressure set in step S125, the controller 190 controls the supply of the CO 2 gas to the set maximum injection mode for the set time in step S127.

For example, when the pressure of 0.05 bar gradually rises to reach the second transitional mode injection pressure of 0.1 bar, the controller 190 causes the CO 2 gas to be supplied for 5 seconds at a flow rate of 0.5 / minL, which is the maximum injection mode. Then, when 5 seconds have elapsed, the CO 2 gas is supplied at an injection flow rate of 0.3 / minL in the injection mode.

As described above, the CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention sets the pressures of the first transitional mode and the second transitional mode between the injection mode and the standby mode, and when the injection pressure reaches the first transitional mode, Instantly adjusts the flow rate of CO2 in standby mode. This minimizes the amount of CO 2 released into the atmosphere in the standby mode, thereby reducing the waste of CO 2.

In addition, when the injection pressure reaches the second transient mode, the CO 2 flow rate is adjusted to the maximum injection mode immediately. Thereby, sufficient gas can be immediately supplied to the human subject of the subject after being converted into the injection mode. Further, it is possible to prevent the endoscope apparatus from reaching the state where the gas is not supplied in advance and suffering inconvenience of the inspector.

In addition, the CO 2 injection control apparatus according to the present invention can inject CO 2 gas at a precise flow rate by sensing feedback of the injection of the CO 2 gas differently from the set flow rate. Therefore, the safety and inspection of the human body or the accuracy of the operation can be improved.

The embodiments of the CO₂ injection control apparatus and the CO₂ injection amount control method for endoscopy of the present invention described above are merely illustrative and those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and equivalent It will be appreciated that other embodiments are possible. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

100: CO2 injection control device
110: injection tube
120: Injection button
130: Pressure sensor
140:
150:
160: Flow control valve
170: Flow sensor
180: input
190:

Claims (5)

A CO 2 supply unit for supplying CO 2 stored in the CO 2 tank to an injection tube connected to the endoscope;
An injection button provided in the injection tube to open and close the injection tube and to control the supply of CO 2 to a human body through the injection tube;
A pressure sensor for sensing an injection pressure of CO 2 supplied through the injection tube;
The injection pressure and the injection flow rate of the injection mode in which the injection button is closed and the CO2 is injected into the human body through the injection tube, the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow rate of the atmospheric mode in which the injection button is opened and the CO2 is released into the atmosphere, A first transient mode injection pressure when the mode is switched to the standby mode, and a second transient mode injection pressure when the mode is switched from the standby mode to the injection mode;
Wherein when the first transient mode injection pressure is sensed through the pressure sensor, the control unit controls the CO 2 supply unit to supply CO 2 at the atmospheric pressure and the atmospheric flow rate, and when the second transient mode injection pressure is sensed through the pressure sensor, And a control unit for controlling the CO 2 supply unit to supply CO 2 at an injection pressure and an injection flow rate of the CO 2 injection mode.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the storage unit further stores a maximum injection flow rate and a set time period in which the CO₂ supply amount is larger than the injection flow rate,
Wherein the control unit supplies the maximum injection amount of CO 2 during the set time when the injection button is closed and the second transient mode injection pressure is sensed, and after the elapse of the set time, the injection pressure of the injection mode and CO 2 Wherein the control unit controls the CO 2 supply unit so that the CO 2 supply unit is supplied.

3. The method of claim 2,
A flow rate control valve provided at one side of the CO 2 supply unit and controlling a flow rate of CO 2 supplied to the injection pipe under the control of the control unit;
Further comprising a flow rate sensor provided at one side of the flow rate control valve for sensing a flow rate of CO 2 currently supplied through the flow rate control valve,
Wherein the control unit compares the present supply flow rate of CO₂ detected by the flow rate sensor with the preset flow rate of CO₂ set in the flow rate control valve and controls the flow rate control valve so that the two values become equal to each other. Injection control device.

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