JP3849218B2 - Endoscope hood - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an endoscope hood that is attached to the distal end of an insertion portion of an endoscope used for medical purposes or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, an endoscope has a structure in which an insertion portion inserted into a body cavity or the like is connected to a main body operation portion that is operated by an operator or the like, and at least a universal cord connected to a light source device is pulled out. Most of the insertion part is connected to the main body operation part, and the insertion part is a soft part. The flexible part has an angle part at the tip, and the angle part has a tip part. The hard parts are successively arranged. The flexible part bends in any direction along the insertion path such as in a body cavity, and an illumination window, an observation window, etc. are provided in the distal end hard part, and the distal end hard part is directed in an arbitrary direction. An angle portion is interposed between the tip hard portion and the soft portion. Therefore, the angle portion can be bent at a desired angle in an arbitrary direction by operating an angle knob attached to the main body operation portion.
[0003]
It is a so-called direct-view endoscope in which the illumination window and the observation window are provided on the distal end surface of the distal end hard portion. Besides this type of direct view endoscope, for example, a side view endoscope provided on the side surface of the distal end hard portion Etc. In a direct-view endoscope, the observation window is open to the distal end surface of the distal end hard portion, and therefore, there is a risk of being in close contact with a body cavity inner wall or the like during observation through the observation window. And if an observation window closely_contact | adheres to a body cavity inner wall, observation will become impossible. In addition, a treatment instrument insertion channel for inserting forceps and other treatment instruments is provided in the vicinity of the illumination window and the observation window, and this treatment instrument insertion channel can also serve as a suction passage for sucking filth such as body fluids. Used. Therefore, if a suction force is generated in the treatment instrument insertion channel in a state where the distal end surface of the distal rigid portion is in close contact with the inner wall of the body cavity, the inner wall of the body cavity may be sucked. In view of the above, a configuration in which a hood is attached to the distal end hard portion of the insertion portion has been conventionally used by, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 54-44473.
[0004]
4 and 5 show a configuration in a state where an endoscope hood according to the prior art is mounted near the distal end of the insertion portion. FIG. 4 shows the appearance of the distal end surface of the insertion portion, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view thereof. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an insertion portion, and this insertion portion 1 is provided with an angle portion 1a that can be bent at the tip of a soft portion (not shown), and a distal end hard portion 1b is provided at the tip of the angle portion 1a. It is connected. A pair of illumination windows 2 and 2 and an observation window 3 are formed at the distal end surface of the distal rigid portion 1b, and a treatment instrument outlet 4 through which forceps and other treatment instruments are derived opens. Further, fluid injection nozzles 5 and 5 are provided on both sides of the observation window 3, and when the observation window 3 is soiled, the cleaning liquid is ejected from these fluid injection nozzles 5 to wash away the filth, and then pressurized air. The droplets adhering to the observation window 3 are removed.
[0005]
The illustrated endoscope is of an optical type. For this purpose, a cover glass 6 is mounted on the distal end hard portion 1b, and an objective lens 7 is provided inside the cover glass 6, and this objective lens is further provided. 7, the incident end of the image guide 8 made of an optical fiber bundle faces. In recent years, in place of the image guide 8, a so-called electronic endoscope in which a solid-state image sensor made up of a CCD or the like is arranged at the image forming position of the objective lens 7 has been widely used. Therefore, a solid-state imaging device can be arranged at the image forming position of the objective lens 7 instead of the image guide 8.
[0006]
The treatment instrument outlet 4 is a treatment instrument passage 9 at the distal end hard portion 1b, and a flexible tube 11 is connected to the treatment instrument passage 9 via a connection pipe 10. Thus, a treatment instrument insertion channel 12 through which forceps, a high-frequency treatment instrument and other treatment instruments are inserted is formed. Here, the treatment instrument insertion channel 12 is not only used for inserting the treatment instrument, but also used as a suction passage for sucking body fluid and the like. In the case of the suction passage, a suction pump is connected to the proximal end portion of the treatment instrument insertion channel 12.
[0007]
Next, 13 is a hood, and this hood 13 is a cylindrical member made of plastic, metal or the like, and is screwed into a screw portion 14 provided on the outer periphery of the distal end hard portion 1b. , And protrudes forward from the distal end hard portion 1b by a predetermined length. The hood 13 is for preventing the distal end surface of the distal rigid portion 1b from directly contacting the body cavity inner wall, and thereby the observation window 3 is separated from the body cavity wall by at least the amount of the hood 13 protruding. This makes observation possible. Further, when the treatment instrument insertion channel 12 is used as a suction passage, the treatment instrument outlet 4 constituting the treatment instrument insertion channel 12 is separated from the body cavity wall to prevent the suction.
[0008]
By the way, when the cleaning liquid is ejected from the fluid ejecting nozzle 5 with the hood 13 attached to the distal end hard portion 1b, the cleaning liquid stays inside the distal end hard portion 1b because the hood 13 rises from the distal end hard portion 1b. It will be. In particular, the cleaning liquid stays in a substantially circumferential shape in the vicinity of the inner periphery of the hood 13, so that a part of the illumination window 2 and the observation window 3 is covered with the cleaning liquid, and the amount of illumination light is reduced or cannot be observed. Will occur. In order to prevent such a situation, a flow path 15 is formed in the distal end hard portion 1b in a direction orthogonal to the treatment instrument passage 9, and a circle in which the flow path 15 opens in the outer peripheral portion of the distal end hard portion 1b. An annular concave groove 16 is formed, and four notches 17 communicating with the concave groove 16 are formed at approximately 90 ° intervals at a portion from the distal end surface to the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion 1b. As a result, a liquid discharge path including the flow path 15, the groove 16, and the notch 17 is formed from the treatment instrument passage 9. Therefore, when the cleaning liquid stays in the inner peripheral portion of the hood 13 and the treatment instrument insertion channel 12 is set to a negative pressure, the remaining cleaning liquid can be discharged from the liquid discharge path formed in this way.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By using the hood 13 having such a configuration, although there are various advantages described above, there is still a problem to be solved. That is, the hood 13 is a hard cylindrical member, and is fixed by being screwed to the outer periphery of the distal end hard portion 1b. Therefore, the screw portion 14 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion 1b. There is a need to. In addition, since the concave groove 16 and the notch 17 are provided as the liquid discharge path, complicated irregularities are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion 1b. Therefore, there is a problem that the cleaning performed after inserting the endoscope into the patient's body and performing the examination becomes troublesome. Further, if the hood 13 is formed of a hard member, if a force is applied in a direction in which the insertion portion 1 is pushed when the hood 13 is brought into contact with an inner wall of a body cavity or an organ, the hood 13 may be strongly pressed.
[0010]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and can be stably attached to the insertion portion of the endoscope without forming a special unevenness at the distal end hard portion of the insertion portion, and can be inserted into a body cavity. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscopic hood that prevents excessive pressure on the inner wall of the body cavity, the organ, and the like.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention forms at least an illumination window and an observation window on the distal end surface of the distal end rigid portion connected to the angle portion, and is equipped with a fluid ejection nozzle that ejects fluid to the observation window. Further, a suction-capable channel is provided in an open state, and the channel is attached to an insertion portion in which a communication path opened to the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion is connected to the channel. from it, the hood body to be fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end rigid portion, the interval holding portion protruding from the distal end surface of the distal end rigid portion by a predetermined length and continuously arranged, the tip end portion side of the hood main body A path that communicates with the communication path at a portion of the interval holding portion, and a notch is formed in a part of the interval holding portion in the circumferential direction, and the tip of the outer skin layer provided on the angle portion is The above In order to fix to the connecting portion with the end hard portion, a thread is wound, and an adhesive is applied to the thread winding portion so as to swell up to form a connecting portion protrusion, and the hood body is attached to the connecting portion protrusion. It is characterized in that it is configured to extend to a position beyond that and to be held in a connected state by the elastic force of the hood body .
[0012]
Here, it is preferable that the part where the notch is formed in the interval holding part is a part in the extension line direction of the ejection part of the fluid ejection nozzle. As a result, most of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the fluid spray nozzle flows out of the hood after cleaning the observation window. In order to allow the hood to be attached to the distal end hard portion so that the notch is in a predetermined position, the hood alignment portion that wraps around on the side opposite to the ejection port of the fluid ejection nozzle is connected to the interval holding portion. It is preferable to install.
[0013]
When cleaning liquid or the like stays on the inner peripheral side of the hood, it is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the hard end of the tip and the inner surface of the hood main body by sucking from the communication path that opens to the outer peripheral surface of the hard end of the tip of the channel. Drain the liquid from the passage. Here, as the channel, the treatment instrument insertion channel and the suction channel may be used together, and a suction passage may be provided separately from the treatment instrument insertion channel. In any case, when the liquid in the hood is sucked / discharged, the passage is in a negative pressure state. Therefore, if there is a risk that the hood formed of an elastic member may be in close contact with the hard end of the tip, One or a plurality of spacers may be provided on the inner surface of the main body or the interval holding portion so as to contact the outer peripheral surface of the hard tip portion.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, in the following description, what is configured as an electronic endoscope provided with a solid-state imaging device at the distal end of the insertion portion is shown, but it can be applied to an optical endoscope as in the prior art described above. Needless to say. Thus, FIG. 1 shows the distal end surface of the insertion portion, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line YY.
[0015]
In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes an insertion portion. Although not shown, the insertion portion 20 is mostly composed of a flexible portion from the side of the connecting portion to the main body operation portion. An angle portion 20a is connected to the soft portion, and a distal end hard portion 20b is connected to the distal end portion of the angle portion 20a. An operation wire 21 is inserted into the angle portion 20a. By pushing and pulling the operation wire 21, the distal end hard portion 20b can be directed in a desired direction.
[0016]
The distal end hard portion 20b has a distal end portion body 22 made of a metal or the like as a structure, and a distal end cap 23 formed of electrically insulating plastic or the like is fitted on the distal end surface of the distal end portion body 22.・ It is fixed. The distal end cap 23 extends to the outer peripheral surface of the distal end portion main body 22, and the end surface of the distal end cap 23 is abutted against an outer skin layer 24 made of a synthetic resin tube extending from the angle portion 20 a side. . This prevents the metal from being exposed to the outside. Further, the end portion of the outer skin layer 24 is wound with a thread, and an adhesive is applied so as to rise from the wound portion to a portion in the vicinity of the end portion of the tip cap 23. Therefore, this portion is connected to the connecting portion. It is a ridge 25.
[0017]
A plurality of through holes are provided from the tip cap 23 constituting the tip hard portion 20b to the tip portion main body 22. In FIG. 1, 26 and 26 are illumination windows, 27 is an observation window, and 28 is a treatment instrument outlet. Although not shown, the illumination window 26 is provided with an illumination lens facing the light guide emission end. On the other hand, an objective lens unit 29 is attached to the through hole in the observation window 27, and a prism 30 for bending the optical path by 90 ° is joined to the objective lens unit 29, and the solid-state image sensor 31 is attached to the prism 30. An imaging unit 32 provided on the substrate is joined. Further, the treatment instrument outlet 28 constitutes a distal end portion of the treatment instrument passage 33, and a connection pipe 34 is inserted into the treatment instrument passage 33. A flexible tube 35 is connected to the connection pipe 34, and a treatment instrument insertion channel 36 extending from the treatment instrument outlet 28 to the tube 35 through the treatment instrument passage 33 and the connection pipe 34 is formed. Furthermore, a fluid ejection nozzle 37 for ejecting the cleaning fluid toward the observation window 27 is provided on the distal end surface of the distal end hard portion 20.
[0018]
In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a hood, and the hood 40 has a hood main body 41 fitted from the distal end side of the distal end hard portion 20b to the distal end side portion of the angle portion 20a in the insertion portion 20, and this hood An inward wraparound portion is connected to the distal end portion of the main body 41. The wraparound portion has a predetermined thickness, and this thickness portion keeps the distal end portion main body 20b spaced from an observation target portion such as a body cavity. It becomes the space | interval holding | maintenance part 42 for doing. Here, the interval holding part 42 is not formed on the entire circumference of the hood main body 41, and a part thereof is a notch 43 in which the interval holding part 42 is omitted. The position where the notch 43 is formed is a predetermined angle at a portion of the fluid ejection nozzle 37 in the forward direction of the fluid ejection direction, preferably about 90 °. Further, the interval holding portion 42 extends so as to wrap around on the side opposite to the injection portion of the fluid injection nozzle 37, and this extension portion serves as a hood alignment portion 42 a indicating the mounting direction of the hood 40. Yes. The hood alignment portion 42a is for confirming the directionality when the hood 40 is fitted to the distal end hard portion 20b of the insertion portion 20.
[0019]
In addition, the hood body 41 has the outer skin layer 24 up to the portion of the connecting portion ridge 25 constituting the connecting portion between the tip cap 23 and the outer skin layer 24 extending from the angle portion 20a side to the distal end hard portion 20b side. The inner peripheral surface on the tip side is separated from the tip hard portion 20b, and the outer peripheral surface bulges outwardly, and an annular passage 44 is formed therebetween. Further, most of the space holding portion 42 is in a non-contact state with the tip cap 23, and therefore a substantially arc-shaped gap 45 is formed therebetween, and the passage 44 communicates with the outside via this gap 45. is doing. In addition, in order to hold the gap between the gap holding portion 42 and the tip cap 23, three spacer portions 46 are provided on the inner surface side of the gap holding portion 42 at predetermined intervals. The portion 46 is in contact with the tip cap 23. Here, the width of each spacer portion 46 may be the same, but as shown in the figure, the width of one other place may be made wider than the two places close to the notch 43. it can. In addition, the hood main body 41 partially abuts the tip cap 41 at the notch 43, but a space 47 is formed in the middle of the hood body 41, and the passage 44 is formed through the space 47. Is open to the outside. Further, between the distal end cap 23 and the distal end portion main body 22, a communication passage 48 is provided that has one end opened to the treatment instrument passage 33 constituting the treatment instrument insertion channel 36 and the other end opened to the passage 44. . Thus, the clearance 45 and the void 47, the passage 45, and the communication passage 48 form a path for collecting the liquid staying on the inner surface side of the hood 40 to the treatment instrument insertion channel 36.
[0020]
Here, since the hood 40 has elasticity, the hood 40 is connected to the connecting portion protrusion 25 by setting its inner diameter to be the same as or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the angle portion 20a in the insertion portion 20. It is prevented from coming off by pushing it to a position that exceeds the position. Further, in order to more securely fix the hood 40, particularly the base end portion thereof, a medical adhesive tape 49 used for surgery or the like is wound. As a result, the hood 40 is almost completely fixed to the insertion portion 20. Moreover, if the hood 40 is pulled out from the insertion part 20 by peeling off the adhesive tape 49, it can be detached therefrom.
[0021]
As described above, by attaching the hood 40 to the insertion portion 20, a portion provided with the illumination window 26, the observation window 27, the treatment instrument outlet 28, and the fluid ejection nozzle 37 is provided at the distal end portion of the insertion portion 20. An interval holding portion 42 is formed at the avoided position, and this interval holding portion 42 becomes the most distal portion. Accordingly, when the hood 40 is attached to the insertion portion 20 and inserted into a body cavity for examination and observation, even if the distal end of the insertion portion 20 abuts against the body cavity inner wall, the hood 40 directly abuts. Since the illumination window 26 and the observation window 27 do not come into contact with the body cavity, at least observation is possible. Further, when a body fluid or the like stays in the body cavity, the observation or the like is hindered. For this purpose, the treatment instrument insertion channel 36 is used as a suction passage. For this purpose, the inside of the treatment instrument insertion channel 36 is set to a negative pressure. At this time, if the distal end of the insertion portion 20 is in contact with the inner wall of the body cavity, the inner wall of the body cavity may be sucked into the treatment instrument outlet 28, but the treatment instrument is similar to the illumination window 26 and the observation window 27 described above. Since the outlet port 28 also does not directly contact the body cavity inner wall, the suction force against the body cavity inner wall does not act.
[0022]
While the inspection is performed in the body cavity, the observation window 27 is contaminated with body fluids, and the observation field of view deteriorates. For this purpose, in order to remove dirt from the observation window 27, a cleaning liquid, usually cleaning water, is ejected from the fluid ejection nozzle 37 toward the observation window 27, and then pressurized air is ejected. After washing the observation window 27, the cleaning liquid sprayed from is ejected from the portion of the notch 43 to the outside by the pressure. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from staying at the distal end portion of the insertion portion 20 surrounded by the interval holding portion 42 of the hood 40.
[0023]
Of course, as long as the interval holding portion 42 of the hood 40 protrudes from the distal end portion of the insertion portion 20, cleaning liquid and other liquids stay between the inner surface of the interval holding portion 42 and the distal end cap 23. The whole or part of the illumination window 26 may be covered with the liquid. In such a state, the treatment instrument insertion channel 36 is set to a negative pressure. As a result, the liquid staying on the inner surface side of the hood 40 in the treatment instrument insertion channel 36 can be collected from the gap 45 and the void 47 sequentially through the passage 44 and the communication passage 48. Moreover, since the spacer portion 46 is formed in the interval holding portion 42, there is no possibility that the gap 45 is closed even if a negative pressure is applied to the gap 45.
[0024]
The hood 40 is fixed to the insertion portion 20 by the elastic force of the hood 40 without using special screws or the like. Further, the liquid discharge path for collecting the liquid staying on the inner surface side of the hood 40 in the treatment instrument insertion channel 36 is formed on the hood 40 side, such as the gap 45 and the void 47, the passage 45, and the communication passage 48. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for fixing the hood 40 or a liquid discharge path on the insertion portion 20 side. Therefore, as long as the outer diameter of the insertion portion and the inner diameter of the hood have a predetermined dimensional relationship, the hood 40 can be attached, and the hood can have versatility. Further, after the inspection of the body cavity with the hood 40 attached, when the hood 40 is removed and the entire endoscope and the hood 40 are reused, the hood 40 is also cleaned and disinfected. However, it is easy to clean the endoscope by the amount that the insertion portion is not provided with unevenness for attaching the hood.
[0025]
Further, the hood 40 is formed of an elastic member, and the hood main body 41 extends to a position beyond the connecting protrusion 25 generated at the connecting portion between the angle portion 20a and the distal end hard portion 20b in the insertion portion 20. Therefore, by making the inner diameter of the hood 40 approximately the same size as the outer diameter of the distal end hard portion 20b, the hood 40 is stably held by the action of the elastic force on the portion of the connecting protrusion 25, There will be no dropout during the inspection. Further, since the adhesive tape 49 is wound around the base end portion of the hood 40, there is no fear that the base end portion is turned over. In addition, the hood 40 can be easily separated at the time of cleaning, disinfection, etc., simply by peeling the adhesive tape 49 and pulling the hood 40 out of the insertion section 20. Furthermore, since the hood 40 is formed of an elastic member, even if the insertion portion 20 is moved in the body cavity, the hood 40 is elastically brought into contact with the inner wall of the body cavity, the organ, and the like. There is no risk of pressure.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, the observation window and the suction passage can be separated from the inner wall of the body cavity by a predetermined interval without forming any special unevenness in the distal end hard part of the insertion part. When an operation is performed while being inserted into the body, an effect is obtained such that an excessive compression force does not act on the inner wall of the body cavity, the organ, or the like.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view showing a distal end surface of an insertion portion of an endoscope equipped with a hood according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG.
FIG. 4 is an external view showing a distal end surface of an insertion portion of an endoscope equipped with a hood in the prior art.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ZZ in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Insertion part 20a Angle part 20b Tip hard part 22 Tip part main body 23 Tip cap 25 Connecting protrusion 26 Illumination window 27 Observation window 28 Treatment tool outlet 33 Treatment tool passage 36 Treatment tool insertion channel 34 Fluid injection nozzle 40 Hood 41 Hood Main body 42 Interval holding portion 42a Hood alignment portion 43 Notch 44 Passage 45 Clearance 46 Spacer portion 47 Space 48 Communication passage 49 Adhesive tape

Claims (5)

At least an illumination window and an observation window are formed on the distal end surface of the distal end hard portion connected to the angle portion, and a fluid ejection nozzle for ejecting fluid is attached to the observation window, and a channel capable of suction is opened. In addition, in an endoscope hood to be attached to an insertion portion in which a communication path that opens to the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion is connected to the channel,
An elastic member of a substantially cylindrical shape, the hood body to be fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the distal end rigid portion, consecutively provided the interval holding portion protruding from the distal end surface of the distal end rigid portion by a predetermined length, the Forming a passage leading to the communication path from the distal end side of the hood main body to the space holding portion, and forming a notch in a part in the circumferential direction of the space holding portion ,
In order to fix the front end portion of the outer skin layer provided in the angle portion to the continuous portion with the hard tip portion, a thread is wound, and an adhesive is applied to the thread winding portion so as to swell up, and a connecting portion protrusion Form the
An endoscope hood characterized in that the hood main body extends to a position beyond the connecting portion protrusion and is held in a connected state by the elastic force of the hood main body .   The endoscope hood according to claim 1, wherein the notch of the interval holding part is formed in a portion in an extension line direction of the ejection part of the fluid ejection nozzle.   The endoscope hood according to claim 2, wherein a hood alignment unit that is provided on the interval holding unit so as to go to a side opposite to the ejection unit of the fluid ejection nozzle is provided in a row.   2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein one or a plurality of spacers are provided on the inner surface of the hood main body or the interval holding portion at a portion where the passage is formed to abut against the outer peripheral surface of the distal end hard portion. Endoscope hood.   The endoscope hood according to claim 1, wherein the hood body is configured to be fixed by winding a medical adhesive tape at a position proximal to a portion where the passage is formed.

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