Endoscope Insertion Portion and Endoscope

• US 20090023994A1
• Filed: 03/15/2006
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Adachi, Katsutaka, Kura, Yasuhito
• Application Number:
  US11/918,019
• Publication Number:
  US 20090023994A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/114
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00148 using anchoring means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0016 using motor drive units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/31 for the rectum, e.g. proctoscopes, sigmoidoscopes , colonoscopes

Abstract

In order to realize an endoscope insertion portion and an endoscope system easily inserted into the body cavity such as a large intestine and is capable of improvement of invertibility into the body cavity without imposing pain on a patient, an endoscope insertion portion of the present invention includes an endoscope insertion portion capable of being inserted into a subject; a spiral tube as a propulsive force generation section mounted on the outer periphery side of the endoscope insertion portion and rotating around the longitudinal axis of the endoscope insertion portion; and a friction reduction spiral portion provided at a predetermined position on the outer periphery of a spiral-formed portion, for example, on the proximal end side, the friction reduction spiral portion being provided as a frictional force reduction member mounted on the spiral tube, reducing a frictional force generated between the spiral tube and a body-cavity inner wall.

Claims

1. An endoscope insertion portion comprising:

an insertion portion capable of being inserted into a subject;

a propulsive force generation section mounted on the outer periphery side of the insertion portion and rotating around the longitudinal axis of the insertion portion; and

frictional force reduction means mounted on the propulsive force generation section and reducing a frictional force generated between the propulsion force generation section and a body-cavity inner wall.

2. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 1, wherein the propulsive force generation section is constituted of a spiral-shaped portion.

3. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 2, wherein the frictional force reduction means is a spiral portion mounted on an outer-peripheral surface of the spiral-shaped portion.

4. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 2, wherein the frictional force reduction means is mounted on the proximal end side of the spiral-shaped portion.

5. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 3, wherein the spiral portion is constituted by spirally winding flexible strand thinner than strand constituting the spiral-shaped portion and a distance connecting centers of spirals with each other is longer than a distance formed by connecting centers of spirals constituting the spiral-formed portion.

13. An endoscope system comprising:

the endoscope insertion portion according to claim 1;

a rotation device rotating the propulsive force generation section of the endoscope insertion portion around the longitudinal axis in a predetermined direction.

6. An endoscope insertion portion comprising:

an insertion portion capable of being inserted into a subject;

a propulsive force generation section mounted on the outer periphery side of the insertion portion and rotating around the longitudinal axis of the insertion portion; and

propulsive force reduction means mounted on the propulsive force generation section and reducing a propulsive force generated by the propulsive force generation section.

7. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 6, wherein the propulsive force generation section is constituted of a spiral-shaped portion.

8. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 6, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is mounted on the proximal end side of the spiral-shaped portion.

9. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 6, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is a non-spiral-shaped portion mounted on an outer-peripheral surface of the spiral-shaped portion.

10. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 6, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is constituted so as to have fewer spiral-shaped portions toward the proximal end side of the insertion portion.

11. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 6, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is configured so as to have a larger distance formed by connecting centers of spirals constituting the spiral-formed portion with each other toward the proximal end side of the insertion portion.

12. The endoscope insertion portion according to claim 6, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is configured so as to have a larger diameter of the strand constituting the spiral-formed portion toward the proximal end side of the insertion portion.

14. An endoscope system comprising:

a slender and flexible insertion portion;

a flexible insertion-portion guide portion mounted on the outer periphery side of the insertion portion and formed with, on an outer-periphery surface, a spiral-shaped portion generating a propulsive force by rotation in contact with a body-cavity inner wall;

a guide portion rotation device rotating the insertion-portion guide portion around the longitudinal axis in a predetermined direction; and

frictional force reduction means mounted on the insertion-portion guide portion for reducing a frictional force against the body-cavity inner wall.

15. The endoscope system according to claim 14, wherein the frictional force reduction means is configured by spirally winding flexible strand thinner than strand constituting the spiral-shaped portion of the insertion-portion guide portion.

16. The endoscope system according to claim 14, wherein the frictional force reduction means is a spiral portion mounted on an outer-peripheral surface of the spiral-shaped portion.

17. The endoscope system according to claim 14, wherein the frictional force reduction means is mounted on the proximal end side of the spiral-shaped portion.

18. The endoscope system according to claim 16, wherein the spiral portion is constituted by spirally winding flexible strand thinner than strand constituting the spiral-shaped portion and a distance connecting centers of spirals with each other is longer than a distance connecting centers of spirals constituting the spiral-formed portion.

19. An endoscope system comprising:

a slender and flexible insertion portion;

a flexible insertion-portion guide portion mounted on the outer periphery side of the insertion portion and formed with, on an outer-periphery surface, a spiral-shaped portion generating a propulsive force by rotation in contact with a body-cavity inner wall;

a guide portion rotation device rotating the insertion-portion guide portion around the longitudinal axis in a predetermined direction; and

propulsive force reduction means mounted on the insertion-portion guide portion for reducing a propulsive force of the insertion-portion guide portion.

20. The endoscope system according to claim 19, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is a non-spiral-shaped portion mounted on the insertion-portion guide portion.

21. The endoscope system according to claim 19, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is mounted on the proximal end side of the spiral-shaped portion.

22. The endoscope system according to claim 19, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is constituted so as to have fewer spiral-shaped portions toward the proximal end side of the insertion-portion guide portion.

23. The endoscope system according to claim 19, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is configured so as to have a larger distance formed by connecting centers of spirals constituting the spiral-formed portion with each other toward the proximal end side of the insertion-portion guide portion.

24. The endoscope system according to claim 19, wherein the propulsive force reduction means is configured so as to have a larger diameter of the strand constituting the spiral-formed portion toward the proximal end side of the insertion-portion guide portion.