JPS6148371B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an operating unit for a laser endoscope.

The high energy of laser light has come to be used to incise, cauterize, and stop bleeding in affected areas such as polyps and ulcers. By operating the endoscope, the laser beam is irradiated accurately onto the affected area.

In such a laser endoscope, since the laser beam has high energy, consideration must be given to the safety of both the patient and the operator before and after use as a laser scalpel.

Furthermore, dust, blood, and dirt adhere to the tip of the laser guide that guides the laser beam, obstructing the progress of the laser beam, and thereby causing the laser guide to burn out. Therefore, in order to prevent such accidents, air and water are constantly flowed through the guide tube that houses the laser guide, and these are increased as necessary to prevent dust from adhering to the tip of the laser guide. ing.

Furthermore, when irradiating the affected area with laser light, the operator needs to accurately select the timing and amount of energy while viewing the affected area with an endoscope so that the laser light hits the affected area.

In addition, rigid endoscopes such as cystoscopes and laparoscopes and fiberscopes used in surgery are sterilized by high temperature disinfection, immersion in gas baths, or chemical solutions before being inserted into body cavities. If the electrical operating means for controlling the endoscope remains integrated with the endoscope main body, it is likely to break down and the reliability will decrease. Therefore, it is convenient to keep these operating means separate from the main unit from the standpoint of high temperature resistance and manufacturing.Moreover, if necessary, only the operating means can be separately disinfected using an appropriate disinfection method. It becomes possible to do so.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to ensure safety when using a laser endoscope, eliminate device failure, and further improve operability. In particular, for this reason, laser-related operations that were conventionally performed by a foot switch installed near the laser oscillation device are now performed by a single operating unit, and moreover, the operating unit can be integrated internally. It is characterized by being removable from the eyepiece part of the endoscope.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The drawings are schematic explanatory diagrams showing one embodiment of the operation unit for a laser endoscope according to the present invention, and 1
shows an endoscope such as a cystoscope or a laparoscope, and a relay lens system or optical fiber bundle is provided from the distal end 2 of the endoscope 1 to the eyepiece part 3, and the object to be observed from the observation light source 4 is provided. The illumination light is guided to the eyepiece, and the object to be observed illuminated by the illumination light is observed through the eyepiece portion 3.

5 indicates a laser oscillation device such as YAG, and the laser light generated from the laser oscillation device 5 is
The laser beam is irradiated to the affected area through a laser guide 7 such as a quartz fiber contained in a guide tube 6, and the affected area is incised, cauterized, and bleeding stopped.

Note that 8 indicates a mantle tube that integrates the endoscope 1 and the guide tube 6.

A box-shaped operating unit 9 is removably attached to the eyepiece portion 3 of the endoscope 1 by, for example, elastic fitting, screwing, fastening, etc. The operating unit 9 is configured as follows. It has a mounting confirmation means 10, a trigger switch 11, a selective reflection means 12, and a standby switch 13, which will be described in detail.

The attachment confirmation means 10 is for confirming that the operating unit 9 is properly attached to the eyepiece part 3 of the endoscope 1, and is a mechanical part provided between the eyepiece part 3 and the operation unit 9. It consists of a push button switch or an optical switch. The signal from the attachment confirmation means 10 is sent to a laser trigger 14 which causes the laser oscillation device 5 to function as shown in the figure.
The selective reflection means 12 may be connected in series with the selective reflection means 12, or both of these may be connected in series.Furthermore, this signal may be handled independently of the trigger switch 11 and the like.

Trigger switch 11 is laser trigger 1
When the trigger switch 11 is pressed down, a signal is sent from the laser trigger 14 to the control device 15 of the laser oscillation device 5.
According to this, laser light is sent to the laser guide 7.

The standby switch 13 allows the trigger switch 11 to send a signal to the laser oscillation device 5 only when the operator consciously turns it on. The standby switch 13 may not only be connected in series to the laser trigger 14, but may also be connected in series to the selective reflection means 12, or connected in series to both the laser trigger 14 and the selective reflection means 12. may be made independent.

Between the eyepiece part 3 of the endoscope 1 and the operator's eye, there is a light receiving element that selectively reflects only the laser light reflected by the affected area and sent through the relay lens system, etc. A selective reflection means 12 is provided which sends the beam to an irradiation confirmation means 16 consisting of a laser guide 7, etc., and the selective reflection means 12 protects the operator's eyes from the laser beam and ensures that the laser beam is correctly directed from the laser guide 7 to the affected area. If the laser beam is not being transmitted and there is a failure on the laser optical path, the shutter 17 is closed to prevent laser beam irradiation.

Note that 18 indicates a supply/exhaust device, and the supply/exhaust device 18 supplies and exhausts air and water to the body cavity.

Further, gas or liquid such as air or water is constantly fed into the guide tube 6 of the laser guide 7 from a feeding means 19, thereby preventing dust from adhering to the tip of the laser guide 7. Make it. Before irradiating the laser beam from the laser guide 7, the control device 20 controls the feeding means 1.
9 and inject air etc. from the tip of the laser guide 7 to reliably remove deposits and smoke from the affected area, to prevent the laser guide 7 from burning out, and to secure the field of view. I have to. Note that there is also a laser guide 7 in which the laser guide 7 does not have a double structure for supplying gas, etc., and the gas etc. is supplied to the gap between the guide tube of the mantle tube 8 and the laser guide 7. In this way, when air or the like is injected from the tip of the laser guide 7, the trigger switch 11 may be of a two-stage operation type as shown by the dotted line. That is, 21 indicates a boost trigger, and when the trigger switch 11 is first operated, the boost trigger 21 sends a signal to the control device 20 to cause the feeding means 19 to inject air or the like into the guide tube 6. Then, when the trigger switch 11 is further depressed, a signal is sent from the laser trigger 14 to the control device 15 of the laser oscillation device 5, and thereby the laser beam is sent to the laser guide 7.

Next, the effect will be explained.

After being thoroughly sterilized with a chemical solution, high temperature, etc., the endoscope 1 and laser guide 7 are integrally inserted into the body cavity through the mantle tube 8, and the operating unit 9 is attached to the eyepiece portion 3. And the operator,
While observing the affected area illuminated by the illumination light sent from the observation light source 4 through the eyepiece section 3, the irradiation position and timing of the laser beam are determined.

When the operator presses down trigger switch 11,
The laser oscillation device 5 is activated only when the attachment confirmation means 10 sends a signal to the laser trigger 14 indicating that the operating unit 9 is correctly attached to the eyepiece portion 3.
The laser light generated by the laser beam is guided to the distal end 2 of the endoscope 1 by the laser guide 7, and is irradiated onto the affected area to incise, cauterize, and stop bleeding.

The trigger switch 11 is a self-resetting type,
When the operator releases his finger, the laser light oscillation stops.

The standby switch 13 is enabled to oscillate laser light only after the operator inspects the device and confirms that there are no abnormalities before oscillating the laser light and is consciously turned on.

The selective reflection means 12 allows the irradiated laser light to be guided through the laser guide 7 without any trouble, reflected by the affected area, and then guided to the eyepiece part 3 of the endoscope 1. is sent to the irradiation confirmation means 16. Then, the irradiation confirmation means 16
If this observation is not made and the laser guide 7 is malfunctioning, the shutter 17 is closed to prevent laser beam irradiation.
Note that, instead of or in addition to closing the shutter 17, the oscillation of the laser beam itself may be stopped.

In addition, as shown by the dotted line, boost trigger 2
1 is provided, the amount of air etc. fed by the feeding means 19 increases rapidly before the laser beam irradiation, and air etc. are injected from the tip of the guide tube 6.
As a result, if there is any deposits on the affected area, this will be removed, the generated smoke will be removed to ensure visibility, and the tip of the laser guide 7 will be protected from droplets flying from the affected area. Burnout is prevented.

Here, the attachment confirmation means 10 and the selective reflection means 12
To explain the significance of each case, for example, before surgery, when the endoscope 1 is outside the body cavity, the operation unit 9 is removed from the endoscope 1, and the laser guide 7 is also outside the body cavity. There is a possibility that the trigger switch 11 may be pressed by mistake by someone else, such as a caregiver. In such a case, if the laser beam is irradiated, there is a risk of danger not only to the patient but also to the operator and the attendant. However, in such a case, attachment confirmation means 1
Since no signal is sent from 0, laser light irradiation is not performed.

For example, during surgery, if the endoscope 1 is present in the body cavity, the operation unit 9 is removed from the endoscope 1, and the laser guide 7 is present outside the body cavity, the trigger switch 11 is activated. Even if it is pressed by mistake, no signal is sent from the attachment confirmation means 10, so no laser light is irradiated. Further, in this case, even if the laser guide 7 is present in the body cavity, the selective reflection means 12 will function in addition to the attachment confirmation means 10, and no laser light will be irradiated.

Furthermore, even if the endoscope 1 is present within the body cavity and the operation unit 9 is attached to the endoscope 1 during the surgery, if the laser guide 7 is present outside the body cavity, the operator may Even if the trigger switch 11 is pressed by mistake, the selective reflection means 12 will work and the laser light will not be emitted.

As described above, according to the operation unit for a laser endoscope according to the present invention, the operation unit having the attachment confirmation means, the trigger switch, and the selective reflection means can be used as an independent unit separate from the laser oscillation device and the endoscope. By making the eyepiece removable, it improves safety and operability during use, and when disinfecting, the operating unit can be removed to prevent malfunctions and be disinfected without exposing it to chemicals or high temperatures. It has the effect of being easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is a schematic explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the operating unit for a laser endoscope according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Endoscope, 3... Eyepiece part, 5... Laser oscillation device, 6... Guide tube, 7... Laser guide, 9
...operation unit, 10...attachment confirmation means, 11...trigger switch, 12...selective reflection means, 13...standby switch, 14...laser trigger,
15...control device, 16...irradiation confirmation means, 17...shutter.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a laser endoscope that irradiates laser light emitted from a laser oscillation device from the tip of the endoscope to the affected area via a laser guide, there is a trigger switch that operates the laser oscillation device, and a trigger switch that operates the laser oscillation device. In order to confirm whether or not the laser light is guided to the laser guide without any problem when the laser oscillation device is actuated by the signal emitted from the laser trigger by operation and the oscillated laser light is irradiated to the affected area. an operating unit having a selective reflection means that selects only the laser beam reflected from the affected area and sends it to the irradiation confirmation means, and further confirming whether the operating unit is correctly attached to the eyepiece portion. An attachment confirmation means is provided, and when the trigger switch is operated, the laser oscillation is performed only when the attachment confirmation means sends a signal to the laser trigger indicating that the operating unit is correctly attached to the eyepiece. Operation of a laser endoscope, characterized in that the device is activated and the laser beam is not sent to the laser guide if the laser beam reflected on the affected area is not confirmed by the irradiation confirmation means. unit.