Masakazu Higuma

Takeaki Nakamura

Yasuhito Kura

Kazutaka Nakatsuchi

Takahiro Kishi

Ichiro Nakamura

Hidetoshi Saito

Yosuke Yoshimoto

Yasuyuki Futatsugi

Yutaka Tatsuno

Susumu Aono

Takao Yamaguchi

Jun Hiroya

An endoscope capable of being autoclaved in accordance with the present invention includes an insertion unit, an internal endoscope space, and contents. The insertion unit has a soft member, which is made of a soft polymeric material, as at least part of a casing thereof. The internal endoscope space includes the internal space of the insertion unit that is formed at a first sealing level at which the internal space is sealed in a watertight manner relative to an outside. The contents include at least one hermetically sealed unit composed of a plurality of airtight partition members and formed at a second sealing level higher than the first sealing level by joining the meeting portions of the airtight partition members using an airtight joining material. All or part of the airtight partition members is stowed in the internal endoscope space. Even when high-pressure high-temperature steam permeates through the soft member of the insertion unit which is made of a polymeric material, and invades into the internal endoscope space formed at the first sealing level, the high-pressure high-temperature steam will be hindered from invading into the hermetically sealed unit included in the contents and formed at the second sealing level.

Endoscope capable of being autoclaved

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Masakazu Higuma