Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Kitijiro Kohri

Koichi Matsui

Koji Kambara

Mikio Honda

Kazuo Misawa

A medical capsule device comprises a capsule body having a chamber formed inside and a communicating path for communicating the chamber with outside, a movable member arranged in the chamber and movable between a liquid-receiving position at which the volume of said chamber is made largest and a liquid-pushing position at which the volume of said chamber is made smallest, and a coiled operating member made of shape memory alloy heated by ultrasonic wave to move the movable member to liquid-receiving and -pushing positions selectively.

Medical capsule device

A medical capsule device includes a capsule body provided with a chamber inside and a communicating path for communicating the chamber with the outside, a movable member arranged in the chamber and movable between a liquid-pushing position at which the volume of the chamber is made smallest and a liquid-receiving position at which the volume of the chamber is made largest, a coiled operating member made of a shape memory alloy for selectively moving the movable member to the liquid-receiving or -pushing position according to temperature changes of the operating member itself, and a switching circuit and power supply source arranged in the capsule body and adjusting the temperature of the operating member to selectively move the movable member to the liquid-pushing or -receiving position.

An endoscope comprises an internal space extending through the substantially whole length of the endoscope, at least one cylindrical end portion which is connected to the endoscope and provided with an air port open to the outside of the endoscope, only through which the internal space communicates with the open air, and a fluid-proof cap one end of which is open for insertion of the cylindrical end portion and the other end of which is closed, whose inner peripheral wall is shaped complementary to the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical end portion, and which is provided with an O-ring disposed in the inner peripheral wall to seal in a fluid-tight state between the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical end portion and the inner peripheral wall of the cap, and also provided with a fitting mechanism for detachably connecting the cap to the cylindrical end portion. Where the cylindrical end portion of the endoscope is pushed into the cap, the cylindrical end portion is sealed in a fluid-tight state. At this time, air held in the internal space of the endoscope is more compressed. When, therefore, fine holes or cracks are produced in the endoscope, the compressed air prevents a washing or disinfecting liquid from being carried into the internal space of the endoscope. Further where the endoscope is dipped in the water, generation of air bubbles in the water informs the operator of the presence of such defective parts as well as the locations thereof.

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Tokyo, Japan

Kitijiro Kohri