Olympus Corporation

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Tatsuya Ishizuka

Yuichi Ikeda

Masanobu Koitabashi

Haruhiko Ueno

Yutaka Masaki

Tatsuya Furukawa

Noriaki Kanazawa

An endoscopeincludes an insertion bodyequipped with a potentiometerfor detecting a bending state of a bending portionB which is allowed to be bent and inserted into a subject and an electric connectorfor outputting an electric signal as a detection result of the potentiometer, and a motor unitdetachable with respect to the insertion bodyvia an attachment/detachment portion, which is equipped with an electric motorfor bending the bending portionB.

Power driven bending endoscope device with detachable insertion portion

A power driven bending endoscope with detachable insertion portionis formed of an insertion bodyhaving a flexible bending portionB, and a motor unithaving an electric motorfor driving to bend the bending portionB and a potentiometerfor detecting a bending state of the bending portionB, which are detachably coupled.

Power driven bending endoscope with detachable insertion portion

An endoscope suitable for autoclaving in accordance with the present invention has a barrier that separates an interior from an exterior. When the barrier is located at a predetermined position, consideration is taken into a displacement of the barrier between the position of the barrier observed before start of autoclaving and the position thereof observed after completion of the autoclaving during which predetermined pressure is applied and a thermal load is imposed.

Endoscope suitable for autoclaving

An endoscope where problems due to a difference of deformation amount in the longitudinal direction generated between the flexible tube and the integrated object during autoclave sterilization are prevented, wherein the insertion part is comprised of a hard tip part and a flexible tube which is linked to the base of the hard tip part via a curving part, the tip of a treatment instrument tube is secured to a metal pipe disposed in a through hole of the hard tip part, the base part is secured to a branch pipe, and the treatment instrument tube has a shrinkage factor x having a characteristic x<1, that is, shrinking after a predetermined thermal load is applied, whereas the flexible tube has shrinkage a factor y having a characteristic y<1, that is, shrinking after a predetermined thermal load is applied, in other words, the deforming directions of the flexible tube and the treatment instrument tube are set to the same direction with respect to the longitudinal direction, so that the flexible tube and the treatment instrument tube shrink in the same direction when the endoscope is exposed to such a thermal load environment as autoclave sterilization.

Method for controlling relative deformation between an endoscope and components thereof

An elongated built-in component formed with a hollow resin tube is passed through a flexible tube that is an integral part of a soft insertion member of an endoscope. Assuming that a critical radius of curvature the flexible tube exhibits after completion of sterilization with high-temperature high-pressure steam is Rj, and a critical radius of curvature the elongated built-in component exhibits after completion of the sterilization is Rn, the condition of Rj&gE;Rn is met. Unless the flexible tube is bent to exhibit so small a radius of curvature as to cause the flexible tube to buckle, the built-in component will not buckle.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Tatsuya Ishizuka