Patent Application
20050267335
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-156151, filed on May 26, 2004, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus using a therapeutic tool therewith. For example, the therapeutic tool is an instrument introduced by an insertion guide tube with a bending function.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the related art, an endoscope treatment apparatus to be used with an insertion guide tube having a bending function for guiding an instrument is known (see JP-A-2000-33071). In this endoscope treatment apparatus, an operator adjusts the direction or the position of the distal end of the instrument guided into a body cavity by bending the insertion guide tube as needed.
As described above, when the operator operates a therapeutic tool, which is the instrument guided by the insertion guide tube having a bending function in the body cavity, the treatment portion of the therapeutic tool must always be in the observable field of view of the endoscope.
An endoscope apparatus according to a first aspect includes an endoscope including an observation optical system in which the angle of observable field of view for observing a therapeutic tool can be changed and an operating mechanism for changing the field angle of the observation optical system, and an insertion guide tube for guiding the therapeutic tool into a body cavity, wherein the insertion guide tube is detachably positioned and supported in a predetermined position relative to the endoscope.
Accordingly, the tool to be operated by the insertion guide tube can be viewed at an optimum scale whether the area to be observed is close or far.
According to a second aspect of the endoscope apparatus, in the endoscope apparatus according to the first aspect described above, the insertion guide tube has a bending function positioned and supported with an insertion portion of the endoscope.
In this arrangement, since display on a screen of an easy-to-observe size is enabled without bending the insertion guide tube having a bending function strongly and sharply in a small range and in a small radius, the operator can move the therapeutic tools back and forth smoothly.
According to a third aspect of the endoscope apparatus, in the endoscope apparatus according to the second aspect described above, the predetermined position can comprise an endoscope position located distally to a bending portion of the endoscope corresponding to an insertion guide tube position located proximally to a bendable area of the insertion guide tube.
In this arrangement, stable and smooth movement of the bendable area is achieved.
According to a fourth aspect of the endoscope apparatus, in the endoscope apparatus according to the first aspect described above, an image pickup device for picking up an image of the observable field of view into the endoscope apparatus is further provided, and an angle of field of view corresponding to a length of the longest diagonal line in an image pickup area of the image pickup device is set to a range between 60° and 100° for a narrow angle mode.
This arrangement is practical and accordingly, the operator can easily use the endoscope apparatus.
According to a fifth aspect of the endoscope apparatus, in the endoscope apparatus according to the first aspect described above, an image pickup device for picking up an image of the observable field of view into the endoscope apparatus is further provided, and an angle of field of view corresponding to a length of a longest diagonal line in an image pickup area of the image pickup device is set to a range between 100° and 150° for a wide angle mode, and between 60° and 100° for a narrow angle mode.
In this arrangement, an optimal observation state can be obtained in the wide angle mode and the narrow angle mode, respectively.
According to a sixth aspect of the endoscope apparatus, in the endoscope apparatus according to the first aspect described above, when changing the angle of field of view to observe in an enlarged scale, the observation optical system can be located in a same focal depth range before and after enlargement.
In this arrangement, since the focal point is not displaced even in the case of observing in an enlarged scale, the object is prevented from becoming blurred.
According to a seventh aspect of the endoscope apparatus, in the endoscope apparatus according to the sixth aspect described above, the focal depth of the observation optical system includes a position 40 mm distally from a position of a distal end of a lens at a distal-most position of the observation optical system.
In this arrangement, since the position of the objective portion is located 40 mm distally from the position of the distal end of the lens, the actual use of the endoscope is convenient.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus and methods of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Preferred embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to
As shown in
The endoscope 1 includes the elongated insertion portion 4, and a control section (not shown) provided at an operator's side of (proximally to) the insertion portion 4. The insertion portion 4 of the endoscope 1 includes, as shown in
The connecting member 5 includes, as shown in
On the other hand, as shown in
The first bending portion 17 and the second bending portion 18 of the respective insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b are tubular portions that can be bent freely in the vertical and lateral directions as is known in the art. They can be adapted to be bendable by utilizing, for example, a plurality of bending pieces (not shown). The first bending portions 17 and the second bending portions 18 are respectively bent independently by pushing and pulling operation wires (not shown) respectively by remotely controlling the respective operating units of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b on the operator's side.
The endoscope 1 in this embodiment is a straigiht-view type, and is provided with an observation window 21, an illumination window 22, and an instrument channel port 23 on the distal end surface of the distal portion 6, as shown in
As shown in
An objective lens group 30 including a transparent window member 29 constituting the observation window 21 and a field stop 31 are fixedly attached to the first lens retaining frame 28a. The second lens retaining frame 28b is movable in the direction of the optical axis OA, and a movable lens or a movable lens group 33 is attached to the second lens retaining frame 28b. The image pickup device 26 and an image forming lens group 34 for forming a field image in an image pickup area 26a of the image pickup device 26 are fixedly attached to the third lens retaining frame 28c.
As shown in
The operating mechanism for operating the field angle changing mechanism is an electric actuator 36 for moving the second lens retaining frame 28b, as shown in
An image of the observable field of view taken from the observation window 21 by the objective observation optical system 25 is formed in the image pickup area 26a of the image pickup device 26, transmitted to a signal processing circuit (not shown) outside the endoscope through a transmission line 26b, and converted into a screen image signal. The screen image is displayed on a screen 40 of the display unit shown in
Subsequently, the field angle selected by the field angle changing mechanism of the objective observation optical system 25 will be described. Normally, the angle referred to as the field angle when picking up the image of the observable field of view by the endoscope is an angle of range of the field of view which can be observed, corresponding to “W1” in the normal state (distant view) shown in
However, since part of the light reaching the light receiving surface for picking up the image of the image pickup device 26, which reaches the ends of the light receiving surface, varies, the light reaching the ends of the light receiving surface is cut and a remaining part of the light is used for image pickup as a signal for the screen image. The area to which the light to be used for image pickup, that is, to be converted as the image pickup signal, is an effective image pickup area corresponding to the field angle “W” at that time. Referring also to
Subsequently, in keeping with the fact described above, the relation between the width of the field angle “W” and enlargement of the image will be described referring to
When using the endoscope 1 in the state of a large field angle W1 shown in
Also, when the endoscope 1 is used in a state of the smaller field angle “W2” as shown in
In other words, in order to observe in an enlarged scale, the field angle “W2” is adjusted to be smaller than the normal state by moving the movable lens 33. Then, since the area of the range of the narrow field angle “W2” is displayed on the monitor screen 40 as an image from the reasons described above, if the sizes of the display areas L1, L2 on the monitor screen 40 remain in the normal state, the object residing in the field of view is displayed in an enlarged scale, as shown in
As described above, the size of the object displayed on the monitor screen 40 can be changed by changing the field angle “W” under the conditions that the sizes of the display areas L1, L2 on the monitor screen 40 do not change, and that the range of the area used as the image signal on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device 26 is not changed (“S1” shown in
Subsequently, the operation when using the endoscope treatment apparatus according to this embodiment will be described in detail.
The operator resiliently fits the distal portion 6 of the insertion portion 4 of the endoscope 1 into the opening 9c of the connecting member 5 shown in
Then, the operator inserts the insertion portion 4 of the endoscope 1 and the guide tubes 3a, 3b together into the body cavity. In this case, since the connecting member 5 is mounted to the distal portion 6 of the insertion portion 4 of the endoscope 1, the connecting member 5 is in the state of being provided with the two guide tubes 3a, 3b, and hence is capable of easily leading and introducing the two guide tubes 3a, 3b. Since the distal ends of the flexible guide tubes 3a, 3b are located at the position of the distal portion 6 of the endoscope 1, the distal portions of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b or of the therapeutic tool which are introduced into the body cavity through the guide tubes 3a, 3b are introduced inevitably in front (distally) of the distal portion 6 of the endoscope 1 as described later. Such a configuration results in an enhancement of the introduction operability of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b and the tools including the endoscope 1.
When inserting the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b and endoscope 1 into the body cavity, it is also possible to use an over-tube (not shown) for inserting the endoscope 1 and the guide tubes 3a, 3b in a state of fixing the guide tubes 3a, 3b to the insertion portion 4 of the endoscope 1 as described above.
Subsequently, after having introduced the insertion portion 4 of the endoscope 1 into the body cavity, as shown in
Then, the operator introduces one or more operational tools into the body cavity through the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b while observing the interior of the body cavity by the endoscope 1.
In this case, since the movable portions of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b projecting from the distal ends of the guide tubes 3a, 3b are retained at the connecting member 5 as a fulcrum, stable and smooth movement of the movable portions of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b is achieved. In the case in which the grasping forceps 51, 52 as the instrument are operated in the reverse direction by the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b, the power components exerted thereto in the opposite directions with the connecting member 5 as a common supporting point are cancelled with respect to each other. Therefore, the movable portions of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b move with the aforementioned fulcrum as a reference point, and hence a force exerted to the grasping forceps 51, 52 by the operator are reliably transmitted to an anatomy 53.
Subsequently, the state of observation in the body cavity by the endoscope 1 will be described. As shown in
Therefore, the operator selects the angle of observable field of view by the objective observation optical system 25 according to the type of operation such as an operation, an observation, or a diagnosis as needed, and causes the subject on the monitor screen 40 to be displayed in a scale suitable to the type of operation.
The image shown in
Therefore, a relatively wide range of the front area of the distal end of the endoscope 1 can be displayed on the monitor screen 40. Such an observation like the existing endoscope is suitable for the case where the operator wants to determine the entire wide range of the front area of the endoscope 1, for example, for the case of insertion of the endoscope or searching of the portion to be treated.
However, when bending the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b and operating the grasping forceps 51, 52, the grasping forceps 51, 52 are shown in a small scale as shown in
However, since it is necessary to bend the bending portion of the insertion guide tube sharply by a stronger force by the operating wire, the parts at the bending portion or the operation wire is subjected to an excessive force. Also, at the sharply bent portion, the instruments cannot be moved back and forth smoothly. In addition, there are design and/or manufacture limits for the bending portion in terms of having a structure which is capable of being bent sharply.
Therefore, the field angle W is selected so as to be capable of observing in the field angle which enables the operator to view the image in a larger scale, as shown in FIG. 7B. In other words, the field angle is changed into the field angle “W2” which is smaller than the field angle of the existing endoscope. For example, the field angle is assumed to be “90°” shown in
The state of the image shown in
As is clear from the fact described above, the size of the image which can be displayed on the monitor screen 40 can be adjusted as needed by the change of the field angle W, in which the angle “W” of the observable field of view by the objective observation optical system 25 is selected.
In particular, when the field angle “W2” is set to obtain the state of the image shown in
Therefore, in this embodiment, the image can be displayed in the screen of an easy-to-observe size, and the tools such as the instrument can be operated easily even without bending the movable portion of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b including the first bending portions 17 and the second bending portions 18 strongly and sharply in a small range and a small radius. The parts of the bending portions 17, 18 of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b or the operation wire are prevented from being exerted with an excessive force. Furthermore, since the bending portions 17, 18 are not bent sharply, the instruments can be moved back and forth smoothly in the bending portions 17, 18 of the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b, whereby the operability is further enhanced. In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a structure in which the bending portions 17, 18 can be bent sharply, limit in design or manufacture of the bending portions 17, 18 is advantageously alleviated.
In this embodiment, the entire movement of the manipulator that controls the therapeutic tools during the operation can be secured, and the wide range of observation for viewing the portion near the diseased portion entirely and the observation of the part to be operated in detail in an enlarged scale can be easily selected. In particular, the enlarged observation for determining the movement of the distal end of the manipulator or the therapeutic tool in detail can be easily selected, and hence operation such as moving the endoscope itself toward or away from the subject can be eliminated.
The endoscope apparatus shown in
The endoscope shown in
In the endoscope of the type shown in
In this embodiment, since the focal distance does not change before and after enlargement, there is an advantage in that the image can be viewed in an enlarged scale without moving the endoscope itself, for example, back and forth.
According to this embodiment, since the scale of enlargement can be converted in a state in which the position of the endoscope 1 is fixed, and hence the objective portion can be viewed in an enlarged scale without changing the position of the endoscope 1, or the entire portion can be overviewed, operability is enhanced.
According to this embodiment described above, the objective observation optical system 25 employs a structure of a scope with magnification function in which the single concave lens at the midpoint of the lens group is moved. However, in actual use, the focus position of the objective observation optical system 25 does not have to be the best position, and as long as it is in approximate focus, there is no problem in the actual use and hence is acceptable. It is also possible to employ a type having a zooming mechanism in which the focal distance (the position in focus) is changed according to the change of the angle of observable field of view. Furthermore, it is also possible to design the same so that the image can be enlarged by reducing the field angle and the object at the closer position can be focalized, so that enlargement can be achieved by reducing the field angle.
Although an example in which the electric actuator 36 is employed as the operating mechanism for changing the field angle is shown in this embodiment, other means are possible. For example, it is also possible to employ a mechanical operating system in which an operating element such as an operating knob provided at the control section on the operator's side is operated and the operating force is transmitted to the movable lens retaining frame 28b by the operating force transmitting mechanism such as a wire.
Furthermore, although the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b are guided by the use of the guide tubes 3a, 3b in this embodiment, it is also possible to mount the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b directly to the connecting member 5 without using the guide tubes 3a, 3b.
Although the range of the angle of observable field of view taken into the observation optical system of the endoscope 1 may be set to a wide range as described above, when the angle of field of view corresponding to the length of the longest diagonal line in the image pickup area of the image pickup device 26 is set, for example, to the range from 60° to 100° in an enlarged state, practicability and usability are achieved.
Also, when the field angle is set to the range from 100° to 150° for the normal observation (at a wide angle), and to the range from 60° to 100° in an enlarged state, the optimal state of observation can easily be respectively obtained.
In addition, when observing in an enlarged state by the observation optical system, it is preferable that the focal depth before and after the enlargement is in the same focal depth range.
Normally, since the objective portion is located at a distance of about 40 mm, it is preferable that the focal depth is located at a position in the vicinity of the position 40 mm apart from the position of the distal end of the distal-most lens of the observation optical system in terms of actual use of the endoscope.
The focal depth can be represented generally by the distance from the distal end surface of the lens located at the distal-most position of the observation optical system. The focal depth is not the distance of one point, but the range in which the image seems to be substantially in focus, and hence the focal depth includes a certain range which is represented by the position referred to as the focal depth, which moves apart toward the front from the position of the distal end of the distal-most lens in the observation optical system.
Subsequently, referring now to
In this embodiment, since the over-tube 60 is employed, it is easy to replace the endoscope 1 and the insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b. Other parts are the same as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, the same effects as described above are obtained in this embodiment as well.
Referring now to
According to this embodiment, the effects as described above can be obtained, and in addition, a positional relationship between the bending portions 17, 18 of the two insertion guide tubes 2a, 2b can be determined. Therefore, the operation of the bending portions 17, 18 can advantageously be performed easily. Other parts are the same as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, with this embodiment as well, the above-described effects can be obtained.
While there has been shown and described what is considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention be not limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but should be constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-156151 | May 2004 | JP | national |
