JPH0248250B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endoscope that detects microwaves emitted from the inner wall of a body cavity and orally detects lesions within the wall of the body cavity.

In general, an endoscope is used to visually observe the surface of the mucous membrane within a living body cavity, and in order to discover a lesion, etc., it is necessary that it be visible. On the other hand, it has recently been known that lesions such as tumors that occur in body tissues exhibit higher temperatures than other normal tissues. Attempts have been made to detect lesions by directly measuring temperature or by measuring far-infrared rays emitted by living tissues to detect the temperature of body cavity walls. However, with these conventional methods, it is only possible to discover lesions that appear on the surface of the body cavity wall, and it is difficult to discover lesions hidden inside the body cavity wall, compared to visual inspection with an endoscope. In the end, there was no big difference.

Therefore, the present inventors focused on the microwave region of the electromagnetic waves that biological tissues emit with intensity depending on their temperature state. In other words, compared to far-infrared rays, microwaves are emitted from living tissues with a lower intensity, but they can easily penetrate living tissues. Therefore, by detecting the strength of microwaves emitted from within tissues at a certain wavelength, , it is possible to detect deep lesions. However, in this case, it takes a relatively long time to measure one point, sometimes even tens of seconds, so if there are many measurement points, it takes a long time to measure, and the long-term insertion may cause damage to the living tissue. It is possible that this may have an adverse effect on Moreover, in order to receive microwaves of different wavelengths in order to change the depth of the measurement site, it is necessary to prepare multiple endoscopes equipped with resonators, waveguides, etc. according to the type of wavelength. There is also the problem that it becomes extremely troublesome.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an endoscope that can efficiently discover lesions, etc. that exist below the surface of the body cavity wall.

The first embodiment of this invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
This will be explained based on the diagram. 1 in the figure indicates an endoscope,
Reference numeral 2 indicates an operation section of this endoscope 1, and reference numeral 3 indicates an insertion section.
Further, 4 is a flexible portion constituting the insertion portion 3, 5 is a curved portion, and 6 is a tip forming portion. The distal end portion 6 is constructed as shown in FIG. 2. That is, reference numeral 7 denotes an observation window constituting an observation optical system, and an image obtained through this observation window 7 is sent to an eyepiece section 9 of the operation section 2 via an image guide 8. Further, 10 is an illumination window, and a light source device 1 is connected to this illumination window 10 through a light guide 11.
Illumination light is sent from 2.

A plurality of microwave receiving devices 13 for receiving microwaves are disposed in the tip component 6. 14 is a resonator constituting the receiving device 13, 15 is a detection element, and each resonator 14...
are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the tip component 6, and receive microwaves of different frequencies. In addition, each detection element 15... has a conducting wire 16...
These conductive wires 16 pass through the insertion section 3, the operating section 2 and the universal cord 17, and are connected to the amplifier 18 via the light source device 12. 19 is a data processor for converting the strength of the microwave signal sent from the amplifier 18 into a temperature display or for image processing as a thermograph; The displayed contents are displayed on the display 20.
It is now displayed in

In the endoscope 1 configured as described above, the insertion section 3 is inserted into a body cavity like a general endoscope, and each resonator 14 of the tip component 6 is attached to the surface of the body cavity wall to be inspected.
...to face each other. Then, microwaves emitted from the tissue below the surface of the body cavity wall at positions corresponding to the respective resonators 14 enter each resonator 14 with an intensity corresponding to the tissue temperature, and resonate to the detection element. It is electrically converted by 15..., and the conductor 16...
... to the amplifier 18 and data processor 19, and the tissue temperature at each measurement point is displayed on the display 20 as a thermograph or the like. When there is a lesion such as cancer, the temperature at the lesion site is about 1°C higher than the surrounding normal tissue, so by detecting this temperature difference, it is possible to detect the temperature deep below the surface of the body cavity wall. This allows hidden lesions to be discovered.

However, according to this embodiment, since a plurality of independent microwave receiving devices 13 are provided, it is possible to simultaneously measure microwaves at a plurality of locations with the tip component 6 located at the same location. ,
Especially when there are many measurement points, the measurement efficiency is significantly improved. Further, since the distance between each measurement point corresponds to the distance between each microwave receiving device 13, it is easy to grasp the position of each measurement point, and the measurement can be carried out efficiently. Moreover, by using microwave receivers 13 with different frequency bands, it is possible to change the measurement frequency at each measurement point and simultaneously measure parts at different depths, so that a single endoscope can be used. Inspections can be carried out efficiently using Further, in this case, it is also possible to use one of the points as a reference measurement point and compare the measured values at each point at the same time.

In addition, FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the received microwave is not converted into electricity within the insertion section 3, but is converted into electricity by the device on the hand side after the operation section 2. A conversion process is performed.
That is, 21 is a cavity as a resonator for microwave reception, 22 is an impedance matching element, and 23
is a microwave transmission system, and as this microwave transmission system 23, for example, a coaxial cable or a flexible waveguide is used. The microwave transmission system 23 is connected to an electric converter provided on the hand side after the operation section 2, and the microwaves are processed by this electric converter. The electrically converted signal is then processed in the same manner as in the first embodiment and displayed on the display 20 or the like.

According to the second embodiment, since the microwave electrical conversion processing system can be provided outside the insertion section, more accurate measurements can be performed using a large and high-capacity electrical conversion processing system. becomes possible.

In these embodiments, the microwave receiving devices are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the insertion section, but they may also be arranged in the circumferential direction of the insertion section or in a spiral shape, and these do not necessarily depend on the tip configuration. It is not necessary to provide it at a curved section or a flexible section.

As explained above, according to the present invention, by providing a plurality of reception resonators that independently receive microwaves of different frequencies in the insertion portion of the endoscope, one endoscope can be used. By using this technology, we were able to simultaneously detect microwaves of different wavelengths emitted from biological tissue at multiple locations at different depths, making it possible to accurately discover lesions hidden inside the walls of body cavities. Even if there are a large number of measurement points, inspection can be carried out efficiently in a short time, and it is easy to understand the positional relationship between each measurement point.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an endoscope and its ancillary equipment showing a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional side view of the distal end of the endoscope, and Fig. 3 is a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view of the distal end portion of the endoscope, showing an example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Endoscope, 3...Insertion part, 13...Microwave, receiving resonator, 21...Cavity as a resonator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope characterized in that the insertion section is provided with a plurality of reception resonators that each independently receive microwaves of different frequencies.