Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Pentax Corporation

Hoya Corporation

National Cancer Center

The Jikei University School of Medicine

Kenichi Ohara

Toshiyuki Hashiyama

Akira Sugiyama

Hiroshi Sano

Naoya Ouchi

Tomoko Iwasaki

Tadashi Kasai

Kunitoshi Ikeda

Kikuo Iwasaka

Minoru Matsushita

Tetsuya Nakamura

Satoshi Takami

Toshiaki Kobayashi

Hirohisa Ueda

Masanao Abe

Tetsuya Tarumoto

Hiromichi Shibuya

Shinji Hayakawa

Yoshihiro Obata

Hideo Nanba

Masaaki Nakashima

Ichiro Ninomiya

Yoshinori Shibata

Tadao Kakizoe

Hitoshi Hirose

Naoki Suzuki

Kazuki Sumiyama

Naoshi Koizumi

Motoko Kawamura

Tatsuo Kubota

Masaya Sato

Noboru Ujiie

Tadasu Kobayashi

An internal treatment apparatus for a patient having a flexible tubular body to be introduced into a patient includes a center opening for inserting therethrough an endoscope for observing a target site, the center opening being circular in cross section and disposed at a center of an end face of the flexible tubular body; and a plurality of circumferential apertures through which surgical instruments are inserted for performing a surgical procedure on the target site, the plurality of circumferential apertures being provided in the flexible tubular body at equi-angular intervals around the center opening.

Internal treatment apparatus having circumferential side holes

An endoscope system is provided, including an endoscope having a flexible inserting tube to be inserted into a human body and a plurality of bending sensors distributed over the flexible inserting tube along the longitudinal direction thereof. Each of the bending sensors detects the local bending state of the flexible inserting tube at the location the bending sensor are provided. A computer adapted to receive data on the local bending state from each of the plurality of bending sensors is also provided. The computer generates a graphical image representing the geometrical configuration of the flexible inserting tube from the data on the local bending states. A monitor connected to the computer to display the graphical image generated by the computer.

Endoscope system

A television device of a portable endoscope includes an endoscope including an inserted portion and an operating portion coupled to a base end of the inserted portion, a light source for lightening a subject through the inserted portion provided in the endoscope, a radio transmission television camera for obtaining an image of the subject through the inserted portion and radioing the image as the video signal provided in the endoscope, and a power source, which supplies a power for the light source and the radio transmission television camera, provided in the operating portion.

Television device of portable endoscope

A flexible tube for an endoscope is provided with a spirally-wound tube, a braided tube covering the spirally-wound tube, and a sheath provided on the braided tube. The sheath material is fused and coated on the braided tube to form the sheath. When the sheath material is fused and applied on the braided tube, the sheath material passes through interstices of the braided tube, at the positions facing the clearances between windings, to form a plurality of protruded portions which protruded inward with respect to the braided tube.

Flexible tube for endoscope

In a radial scan, forward viewing ultrasonic endoscope, centering mating portions that permit the outer surface of an ultrasonic probe and the outer surface of a tip body to meet flush with each other at the boundary are formed in the ultrasonic probe and in the tip body and the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the ultrasonic probe and the mating surface of the front half of the tip body is formed to be larger than the gap between the centering mating portions.

Forward viewing and radial scanning ultrasonic endoscope

In a radial scan, forward viewing ultrasonic endoscope, a plurality of flexible substrates for transmitting signals to and from an ultrasonic probe extend rearward from the ultrasonic probe, a flexible substrate passage hole of an arcuate cross-sectional shape through which the flexible substrates pass is formed in a front end portion body in an axial direction, and the wirings on the flexible substrates are connected to a signal cable passing through the insertion portion of the endoscope.

Radial scan, forward viewing ultrasonic endoscope

A flexible tube for an endoscope is provided with an outer tube member. A synthetic resin layer is formed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tube member. A coating layer is further formed on the outer circumferential surface of the synthetic resin layer. The outer circumferential surface of the synthetic resin layer is provided with at least one groove or protrusion.

An ultrasonic endoscope has a bending portion, an ultrasonic probe, and a flexible circuit board. The bending portion, connected to the point of a flexible tube, bends along two predetermined bending-directions perpendicular to each other, by remote control. The ultrasonic probe has a plurality of ultrasonic wave vibrators, which are arranged circumferentially, and send ultrasonic waves radially and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The flexible circuit board, which transmits signals associated with the ultrasonic waves and the echoes, is constructed of a plurality of flexible circuit board strips in the bending portion so as to allow a bending motion. The plurality of flexible circuit board strips are arranged such that a bending-resistance to the bending motion occurs symmetrically with respect to a primary central line, corresponding to one of the two bending-directions.

Ultrasonic endoscope

An ultrasonic endoscope has a bending portion, an ultrasonic probe, and a flexible circuit board. The bending portion, connected to the point of a flexible tube, bends by remote control. The ultrasonic probe has a plurality of ultrasonic wave vibrators, which are arranged circumferentially, and send ultrasonic waves radially and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The flexible circuit board, which transmits signals associated with the ultrasonic waves and the echoes, is constructed of a plurality of flexible circuit board strips in the bending portion so as to allow a bending motion. The plurality of ultrasonic wave coaxial lines, which are provided in the flexible tube to form an ultrasonic wave coaxial cable and are connected to the plurality of flexible circuit board strips, are loose and flexible in a given range.

In an ultrasonic endoscope, a plurality of flexible substrates are connected to an ultrasonic probe as a signal transmission member for transmitting a signal which is inputted into/outputted from the ultrasonic probe. The plurality of flexible substrates are drawn into a curved portion and connected to a signal cable at lengthwise different positions respectively in the inside of a flexible tube portion.

An ultrasonic endoscope has a bending portion, an ultrasonic probe, and a flexible circuit board. The bending portion, connected to the point of a flexible tube, bends along two predetermined bending-directions perpendicular to each other, by remote control. The ultrasonic probe has a plurality of ultrasonic wave vibrators, which are arranged circumferentially, and send ultrasonic waves radially and receive echoes of the ultrasonic waves. The flexible circuit board, which transmits signals associated with the ultrasonic waves and the echoes, is constructed of a plurality of flexible circuit board strips in the bending portion so as to allow a bending motion. The plurality of flexible circuit board strips is durable for the bending motion of said bending portion.

A flexible tube for an endoscope includes a spiral coil,as the innermost layer and a jacket,that is formed by applying a melt of a jacket material,and then curing it, in which the jacket material,has been allowed to penetrate through the gaps between adjacent turns of the innermost spiral coil,to reach the portion of its inner surface.

Flexible tube for endoscope and method of producing the flexible tube

A flexible tube for an endoscope is provided with a tubular sheath. An outer circumferential surface of the sheath is provided with an indicator that indicates at least one of an orientation of the sheath about an axis thereof and axial length information. The indicator includes at least one striation extending in the axial direction of the sheath. The striation is formed to be perceptible by touch.

A bendable portion which is provided at the distal end of an insert part of an endoscope and bent by remote control. The bendable portion includes an elastic and flexible double walled tube comprising a pair of inner and outer tubes for covering the bendable portion. A device for preventing enlargement of the diameter of the inner tube is sandwiched between the inner and outer tubes.

Growing community of inventors

Gunma, Japan

Kenichi Ohara