MEDICAL INSTRUMENT

• US 20100225753A1
• Filed: 03/08/2010
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Yazawa, Nobuyoshi, Asada, Daisuke, Nakajima, Sho, Karasawa, Hitoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,237,782 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/126 provided with means for cleaning in-use
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00283 with a device releasably connected to an inner wall of the abdomen during surgery, e.g. an illumination source

Abstract

A medical instrument used by being introduced into a body and fixed thereto, includes a camera body provided with a fixing section to be fixed to a body wall in the body, an image pickup section incorporated in the camera body that picks up an image of an object to be examined in the body from an observation window formed in the camera body, a contamination removing section provided by being fixed to the camera body, a transparent cover member, an outer surface of which is in contact with the contamination removing section, movably disposed on the observation window and a drive section incorporated in the camera body that drives the cover member to make a sliding contact with the contamination removing section, and can thereby easily and reliably remove deposits stuck to the observation window and obtain a clear observation image even when deposits are being removed.

Claims

1. A medical instrument used by being introduced into a body and fixed thereto, comprising:

a camera body provided with a fixing section to be fixed to a body wall in the body;

an image pickup section incorporated in the camera body that picks up an image of an object to be examined in the body from an observation window formed in the camera body;

a contamination removing section provided by being fixed to the camera body;

a transparent cover member, an outer surface of which is in contact with the contamination removing section, movably disposed on the observation window; and

a drive section incorporated in the camera body that drives the cover member to make a sliding contact with the contamination removing section.

2. The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the drive section is a motor and moves the cover member to make a sliding contact with the contamination removing section.

3. The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the drive section is an electromagnet and moves the cover member to make a sliding contact with the contamination removing section.

4. The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the cover member has a cylindrical shape and is made to move rotating in a circumferential direction by the drive section.

5. The medical instrument according to claim 1, wherein the cover member has a tabular shape and is made to move sliding by the drive section.

6. A medical instrument used by being introduced into a body and fixed thereto, comprising:

a camera body provided with fixing means to be fixed to a body wall in the body;

image pickup means incorporated in the camera body, for picking up an image of an object to be examined in the body from an observation window formed in the camera body;

contamination removing means provided by being fixed to the camera body;

a transparent cover member, an outer surface of which is in contact with the contamination removing means, movably disposed on the observation window; and

drive means incorporated in the camera body for driving the cover member and making a sliding contact with the contamination removing means.