Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Corporation

Yasuyuki Futatsugi

Yosuke Yoshimoto

Susumu Aono

Takeaki Nakamura

Yasuhito Kura

Takahiro Kishi

Ichiro Nakamura

Hidetoshi Saito

Masakazu Higuma

Takao Yamaguchi

Yoshio Tashiro

Kazutaka Nakatsuchi

Jun Hiroya

Hisao Yabe

Hideo Ito

Minoru Yamazaki

Akira Suzuki

Hiroki Moriyama

Yutaka Tatsuno

Yoshihiro Iida

Osamu Tamada

Hitoshi Karasawa

Toshiaki Noguchi

Hitoshi Hasegawa

Shoichi Amano

Ryu Oshima

Satoshi Honma

Kota Ishibiki

Mikihiko Nakagawa

Shigeru Imai

Shin Hirashima

Koji Morishita

A marking method includes: a step of irradiating, with first light (narrow band light) from an endoscope, an observation target site not suitable for spray of a coloring agent in a subject; a step of picking up an image of, through the endoscope, second light (reflected light of the narrow band light) generated at the observation target site through irradiation of the observation target site with the narrow band light; a step of displaying an image in which a site suspected to be a tumor is highlighted by generating the image based on the second light received through the endoscope; and a step of providing a tissue denatured portion around the site suspected to be a tumor by using an energy radiation device while the displayed image is observed.

Marking method and resecting method

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

The present invention provides an image pick-up device and an endoscope in which a lens member and a solid-state image pick-up device are prevented from exposure to water vapor during autoclave sterilization, and in which the diameter of an insertion portion is narrow, a rigid tip end portion is short, and assembly is performed easily. The image pick-up device of the present invention comprises an image pick-up unit for capturing an optical image obtained from incident light entering an internal cavity of a frame, and outputting an image signal of the optical image, wiring extending from the image pick-up unit in an opposite direction to the direction in which the incident light enters, this wiring being capable of transmitting the image signal, and a substrate which is disposed in the internal cavity of a frame, has holes for engaging with the wiring, one surface of which is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction of the frame, and which is formed of a member having a light-transmitting property.

Hermetically sealed endoscope image pick-up device

A cover glass frame as a second frame body mounting thereto a cover glass is fitted onto an objective lens frame, which is a first frame body mounting thereto a tip end lens and an objective lens as optical members, in a manner to be movable in a direction of optical axis, and is fixed after having been adjusted in position in the direction of optical axis. The objective lens frame and the cover glass frame thus fitted and fixed are fitted into and joined to a cylindrical member to constitute an imaging unit, which is then arranged in a tip end portion of an insertion part of an endoscope. Thereby, focus adjustment can be performed on the optical members, which are assembled into the imaging unit, and a tip end side portion of the insertion part of the endoscope can be made small in outer diameter to prevent entry of vapor into the imaging unit even when autoclave sterilization is carried out.

Endoscope device

An endoscope suitable for autoclave sterilization includes an insertion section having an objective lens section disposed at the extreme end thereof for focusing a subject image and an eyepiece section located on the base end side of the inserting section and including at least an eyepiece lens. an image guide fiber is disposed in the bundle for transmitting the subject image in an observation section focused by the objective lens section. An eyepiece lens unit is disposed in the eyepiece section, the eyepiece lens unit causing the eyepiece lens to confront the base end structure whose hermetic seal level is higher than the watertight seal level of the shell of the endoscope. A focus position changing means is disposed to the eyepiece lens unit to change the focus position of the eyepiece lens. The eyepiece section is so constructed and/or assembled that the autoclave sterilization process does not cause water vapor or the like to adversely affect the operability of the eyepiece section.

Endoscope suitable for autoclave sterilization

An endoscope includes an image pickup unit having a solid-state image pickup device such as a CCD on a tip end side of an elongate insertion section. This image pickup unit constitutes a tip end side unit U and a rear end side unit U by conducting a surface treatment (metallization) to nonmetal members such as a tip end cover glass and a rear end cover glass and by airtight coupling surface-treated portions of the nonmetal members to metal members such as a tip end cover glass frame and a rear end cover glass frame by brazing using soldering, and constitutes an optical system unit by airtight coupling the metal members to metal members of an insulating unit U formed by airtight coupling a pipe member and a ring member to an insulating frame by welding.

Endoscope apparatus

An endoscope having resistance to high-temperature and high-pressure steam including an optical unit having at least one optical member; and optical unit supporting frame for supporting the optical unit so that its position can be adjusted in the direction of the optical axis; and a hermetic optical covering member joined to the optical unit supporting frame and having an optical window for covering at least an end portion of the optical unit when it is joined.

Endoscope having resistance to high-temperature and high-pressure steam

An insert cover portion having channels including an air-supply tubular passage, a water-supply tubular passage and a suction tubular passage sidewards extending from a joint adjacent to an operator in a direction of the longitudinal axis of the insert cover portion, the insert cover portion having channels further including an external tubular passage extending outwardly. The insert cover portion has the operation facility realized by considering to prevent hindering of the operation by various tubular passages extending from the joint.

Insert cover portion of endoscope cover, insert cover portion having

A suction operating apparatus in an endoscope consisting of an outer cylinder connected to a sucking channel of the endoscope, an inner cylinder removably fitted to this outer cylinder and having a sucking hole on the side, a valve body made of an elastic material and having a slit in a closing part provided in the lower end part of this inner cylinder and closing a lower end opening of the inner cylinder, an operating member provided so as to be free to advance and retreat within the inner cylinder, and to be pushed into the slit of the valve body to open and close this slit, thus forming a fluid flow path communicating with the sucking hole in the axial direction, and an elastic cover for elastically returning the operating member to the fixed position from the pushed-in position.

Endoscope suction operating apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Yasuyuki Futatsugi