JPH0414969B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a gastrointestinal tract diagnostic device that can easily and safely diagnose the inside of the gastrointestinal tract without causing long-term pain to the patient.

[Conventional technology]

Unlike relatively short single-chamber organs such as the esophagus and stomach, the small intestine and large intestine are long and intricately curved, making diagnosis using an endoscope extremely difficult. In endoscopic diagnosis of the small intestine, a string serving as a guideway is usually swallowed through the mouth and guided to the anus, and the endoscope body is advanced deep into the small intestine along the guideway to perform diagnosis. However, the above method is technically very difficult to insert the endoscope body, takes a lot of time, and causes great pain to the patient. There was a risk of damaging the small intestine.

On the other hand, the diagnosis of a complicatedly curved colon is performed by pushing an endoscope through the anus and inserting it into the colon. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the large intestine extends from the rectum 2 that connects to the anus 1, passes through the sigmoid colon 3, and reaches the descending colon 4. From the descending colon 4, it rises forward and connects to the transverse colon 5. The small intestine 7 connects to the ascending colon 6 with a twist.
reach. Moreover, the descending colon 4 and the ascending colon 6
The position is almost fixed behind the peritoneum,
The rectum 2 is in a semi-fixed state, and the transverse colon 5 and sigmoid colon 3, which have particularly complex shapes, are not fixed in position and are free to rotate, expand and contract along the axis of the intestinal tract. Therefore, in the conventional gastrointestinal diagnosis method using an endoscope, the endoscope itself is inserted into the gastrointestinal tract under X-ray fluoroscopy. This requires relying on extremely difficult empirical techniques, such as hooking the mirror body onto the bend in the intestinal tract and pulling it in while deforming the intestinal tract into a gentle curve as it is inserted. Not only did diagnosis require a lot of time and effort, but there were also safety issues.

As a method to improve these problems, the following method has been developed. The improvement method described above involves repeatedly sucking the air inside the intestine when advancing the endoscope body through the sigmoid colon 3, which maintains the most complicated shape, and into the descending colon 4. The endoscope body is inserted into the body by shortening the rectum 2 and descending colon 4 into a nearly straight line (Yoshiharu Sakai, “Colonoscopy and related procedures”, “Digestive "Instrumental Endoscope" Volume 1, No. 2 (369 pages) and No. 4 (533 pages), 1989, published by Tokyo Igakusha).

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above conventional technology is highly effective in inserting an endoscope from the anus to the descending colon, but it is only a partial improvement of the endoscopic diagnosis method, and the endoscopic diagnosis device for the gastrointestinal tract is largely different from the conventional technology. Therefore, other diagnostic operations remain the same, and in any case, the work is generally done under X-ray fluoroscopy for a long time, which not only puts a heavy burden on the patient, but also reduces the amount of X-ray exposure for both the patient and the operator. issues must be considered. Also,
In the conventional endoscopic diagnosis described above, only the field of view in the direction in which the endoscope is inserted into the gastrointestinal tract can be observed and diagnosed, and the inner wall of the intestinal curvature and the inside of the intestinal wall folds, which are behind the endoscope, cannot be observed. I couldn't do it.

The present invention safely and easily performs continuous enema diagnosis and endoscopic diagnosis of almost the entire intestine in a single diagnostic process without using X-ray fluoroscopy or causing long-term pain to the patient. The objective is to obtain a gastrointestinal tract diagnostic device that can perform

[Means to solve the problem]

The above purpose is to install a CCD camera and an illumination light in the direction of travel, and behind it a shaft tube in which optical fibers, piping, electric wires, etc. The shaft tube has a conductive wire wound in a coil shape except for the vicinity of the endoscope body, and half the circumference of the coil is magnetically insulated. A device for observing and recording images of the inside of the digestive tract captured by the main body on a television monitor, a rotating roll for feeding and winding the endoscope main body and shaft tube, and a large number of superconducting magnets are placed adjacent to each other and placed in the human abdomen. This is achieved by providing a magnetic drive device formed in the shape of a tunnel that covers the computer, an operating device for these devices, and a television monitor.

[Effect]

The present invention utilizes powerful superconducting magnets, which have made remarkable progress in recent years, to guide the endoscope body into the digestive tract from outside the human body and insert it deep into the human body for observation.
This is a device for diagnosis and treatment, and as shown in FIG. A large number of superconducting magnets are arranged vertically and horizontally in a tunnel-like configuration, and the strength of the magnetic field produced by the coils of the superconducting magnets is changed according to the position of each superconducting magnet, thereby moving the endoscope body inserted into the intestine back and forth. Move left and right, up and down,
Changes in the strength of the magnetic field are controlled by a computer. In addition, horizontal and vertical magnetic image plates are provided along the horizontal movable table 11 and the vertical wall of the magnetic drive device 13, respectively, and the image of the endoscope body in the gastrointestinal tract can be displayed on the television monitor 15 as necessary. The image is displayed on the screen so that its location can be observed.

In addition, the endoscope main body is provided with a CCD camera and an illumination light on the front side of a shell made of a flexible material, and the shaft tube 14 in which the optical fiber, piping, and electric wire of the illumination light are converged is formed as thin as possible. Therefore, in addition to the shaft tube 14, at least two CCD cameras 22 for rearward photography and illumination lights 23 corresponding to these are provided on the back of the endoscope body, so that the inside of the endoscope body can be seen. The outer surface is coated with a magnetic field shielding coating to prevent it from being affected by magnetic fields. On the surface of the shaft tube 14, a wire whose electrical resistance is reduced by lowering the temperature to allow a large current to flow, such as a superconducting wire, is coiled. It is designed so that The shaft tube 14 is under constant tension by the rotating roll 16.
Feeding and winding are performed. The CCD cameras installed at the front and rear of the endoscope body capture images of the inside of the gastrointestinal tract illuminated by the illumination light and display them on the television monitor 15. Since at least two or more sets of cameras and lights are provided on the rear surface, almost the entire field of view inside the gastrointestinal tract can be projected without being obstructed by the shaft tube 14.

In addition, the shaft tube 14 has piping for air supply, water supply, etc., a conduit for forceps is also provided, and an opening for the piping is provided in the endoscope body, so that the above-mentioned observation and diagnosis can be easily carried out. In addition, it is also possible to inject a contrast medium or perform treatment.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the gastrointestinal diagnostic device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the main body of the endoscope in the above embodiment, in which a is a partially sectional external view and b is a front view. Figure 3c is a rear view.

In FIG. 1, a magnetic drive device 13 is provided so as to cover the abdomen of a patient 12 who is lying on a horizontal moving table 11 that horizontally moves back and forth and left and right. The above-mentioned magnetic drive device 13 winds a superconducting wire into a coil around a plurality of cores whose axes are supported almost perpendicularly to the patient 12, and applies a large current to generate a strong magnetic field. A large number of superconducting magnets are arranged adjacent to each other vertically and horizontally to form a tunnel shape that covers the patient 12. By sequentially alternating the supply of current, the window in which a large number of adjacent superconducting magnets are lined up can be
Although the positions of generation and strength of the magnetic field can be moved continuously, these changes are controlled by a computer using a magnetic drive control device 17. Incidentally, horizontal and vertical magnetic image plates are provided along the horizontal movable table 11 and the rising portion of the magnetic drive device 13 so as to be movable by sliding.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2a, the endoscope main body has a pleated outer shell 18 made of a flexible resilient material such as synthetic rubber, and air is fed into the outer periphery of the outer shell 18. The endoscope body is provided with a stretchable balloon 19 that is inflated by the pressure and supports the endoscope body at an arbitrary position within the intestinal tract. The front surface of the outer shell 18 of the endoscope main body has a CCD camera 20 for forward photography and an end face of an optical fiber bundle as a front illumination light 21, as shown in FIG. The shaft tube 14 is formed by bundling optical fibers for lights for front and rear illumination, various piping, electric wires, etc. so that the diameter of these bundles is as small as possible, and the shaft tube 14 is made thinner. At least two or more rearward photographing CCD cameras 22 and corresponding rearward illumination lights 23 are provided in the space created between the outer shell and the outer periphery. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2c, three CCDs each
It is equipped with a camera 22 and a rear illumination light 23. Therefore, by shaft tube 14
The entire area of the inner wall of the intestinal tract can be observed without obstructing the field of view of the CCD camera 22. A large number of induction coils made of superconducting magnets are wound around the shaft tube 14 at regular intervals, except in the vicinity of the endoscope body. The coil has a reduced electrical resistance due to the low temperature obtained by vaporizing the liquefied gas internally sent through the shaft tube 14, and a wire material capable of passing a large current is, for example, a superconducting wire wound into a coil shape. be. Further, the endoscope main body is provided with openings 24 such as a water supply port, an air supply port, a suction port, etc. on the front and rear surfaces thereof. Inside the endoscope body, there are body bending wires provided every 90 degrees around the axis, and by winding up or pushing out the wires with each motor, the endoscope body can be moved left, right, up and down. It can be bent, and in some cases, the endoscope body can be turned in the opposite direction. In order to prevent the endoscope body from being affected by magnetic fields, the outer shell of the endoscope body is coated with a magnetic field shielding coating, and magnetic shielding shutters are also provided on the front of each of the CCD cameras 20 and 22. The shutter closes when the endoscope body is guided by an external magnetic field.

The magnetic force display device 25 is a device that indicates the magnetization position, strength of magnetic force, direction of magnetization, etc. of the superconducting magnet in the magnetic drive device 13, and allows the guidance status of the endoscope body to be known by this device. Also,
The television monitor device 15 of this embodiment consists of six image devices, among which 15-1 is the front
CCD camera imaging, 15-2 and 15-3 are images showing the gastrointestinal tract and endoscope body position by horizontal and vertical magnetic image plates, respectively, 15
-4, 15-5, 15-6 are rear CCDs respectively
Built-in to display camera imaging.

When diagnosing the large intestine using the gastrointestinal diagnostic apparatus configured as described above, as shown in FIG. The coils of the superconducting magnets of the magnetic drive device 13 are sequentially energized by the computer control built into the magnetic drive control device 17, and the strong magnetic field generated by the energization causes the patient 12 to be exposed to the patient 12 from outside. The endoscope body inside the body is guided to enter deep into the intestinal tract. At this time, a horizontal magnetic field image plate installed on the lower surface of the patient 12 captures a magnetic image of the endoscope main body together with the intestinal tract and displays it on the television monitor 15-2. If necessary, a vertical magnetic field image plate movably provided along the rising portion of the magnetic drive device 13 may be used in combination to obtain a vertical image on the television monitor 15-3. In addition, the shaft tube 14 connected to the endoscope main body feeds and pulls the endoscope main body into the intestine while continuously applying a predetermined tension by a separately placed rotating roll 16, thereby shortening the intestinal tract. This reduces the frictional resistance between the intestinal tract and the endoscope main body, and allows the endoscope main body to be moved with less thrust without causing bending. The endoscope body is provided with a conduit for operating the forceps along with openings 24 such as an air inlet and a water inlet, so that the CCD cameras 20, 22 and the television monitors 15-1, 15-4, 15-
In addition to observation and diagnosis of the inner wall of the intestinal tract using methods such as 5, 15-6, etc., it is also possible to perform treatments such as tissue collection and polyb removal while performing the above observation and diagnosis.

Note that when performing diagnosis or treatment using the gastrointestinal diagnostic device of this embodiment, grounding is provided from the endoscope main body outer shell 18 and the patient's 12 feet, and the current flowing through the endoscope is connected to the ground. to prevent the human body and equipment from being affected.

As described above, the gastrointestinal tract diagnosis device according to the present invention allows the endoscope main body to be guided by the magnetic field of the superconducting magnet and easily enter or retreat within the gastrointestinal tract.
As a result, images of the entire gastrointestinal tract can be constantly displayed on a television monitor, eliminating the need for X-ray fluoroscopy during diagnosis. Since there is no tension, it causes less pain to the patient and is relatively easy to insert, making it possible to diagnose safely and in a short time. Furthermore, the endoscope body of the present invention is provided with two or more CCD cameras 22 and an illumination light 23 not only at the front in the endoscope entry direction but also at the back, making it easier to diagnose using conventional endoscopes. It is also possible to simultaneously observe imaging from the back side, which is the opposite direction to the direction of entry, which cannot be diagnosed with the above-mentioned example.
When equipped, the field of view is not obstructed by the shaft tube 14, and it is possible to diagnose the entire inner wall of the gastrointestinal tract.

In this embodiment, the length from the anus to the tip of the endoscope can be displayed by reading a bar code provided on the shaft tube 14 with a reading sensor.

Furthermore, although this example describes the diagnosis of the large intestine, the basic structure of the present invention, in which a tube containing a ferromagnetic body is sucked and guided by the magnetic field created by a superconducting magnet, is applicable only to endoscopic diagnosis of the large intestine and small intestine. Of course, it can also be used for observation and imaging of other organs, blood vessels, endocrine ducts, etc.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the gastrointestinal tract diagnostic device according to the present invention includes:
A CCD camera and lighting lights are installed in the direction of travel.
At the back, there is a shaft tube that converges optical fibers, piping, electric wires, etc., at least two CCD cameras for rearward photography, and illumination lights.
an endoscope body coated with a magnetic field blocking coating; a rotating roll for feeding and winding the shaft tube; a magnetic drive device in which a large number of superconducting magnets are formed adjacent to each other in the form of a tunnel that covers the abdomen of the human body; In order to be attracted by the magnetic field created by the superconducting magnet, we present the ferromagnetic material formed by coils wound at predetermined intervals on the surface of the shaft tube, the operating position of the magnetic drive device, and the image of the CCD camera. By being equipped with a television monitor, there is no need for X-ray fluoroscopy during endoscopic diagnosis, and therefore there is no need to consider the amount of X-ray exposure. It is easy, safe, and can be diagnosed in a short time, causing less pain to the patient.It also provides images of not only the direction in which the endoscope enters, but also the inner wall of the gastrointestinal tract behind the endoscope itself. , can diagnose and treat the entire lining of the gastrointestinal tract.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the gastrointestinal diagnostic device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the main body of the endoscope in the above embodiment, in which a is a partially sectional external view and b is a front view. FIG. 3C is a rear view, and FIG. 3 is a diagram explaining the concept of the intestinal tract. 13...Magnetic drive device, 14...Shaft tube, 15...Television monitor, 16...Rotating roll, 17...Magnetic drive control device, 20,2
2... CCD camera, 21, 23... Light for illumination.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A CCD camera and an illumination light are provided in the direction of travel,
At the back, there is an endoscope body equipped with a shaft tube converging optical fibers, piping, electric wires, etc., at least two CCD cameras for rearward imaging, and an illumination light.The endoscope body is equipped with a magnetic field. A device for forming a ferromagnetic material with a coil wound at a predetermined distance on the shaft tube and observing and recording an image of the digestive tract on a television monitor through the shaft tube; In order to guide or remove the endoscope body deep into the gastrointestinal tract, a magnetic drive device and its operating device include a large number of superconducting magnets arranged adjacent to each other in the form of a tunnel that covers the abdomen of the human body, and a magnetic drive device suitable for the shaft tube. A gastrointestinal tract diagnostic device equipped with a rotating roll that feeds and winds up while maintaining tension. 2. The gastrointestinal tract diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein three CCD cameras for rearward imaging are arranged around the shaft tube. 3. The gastrointestinal tract diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shaft tube connected to the endoscope main body is provided with a means for feeding and vaporizing cooling liquefied gas into the shaft tube.