JPS622525B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention introduces a photoacoustic spectrum into a body cavity endoscopically and uses photoacoustic spectroscopy to measure the optical absorption spectrum (photoacoustic spectrum) of a test site within the body cavity.
The present invention relates to a photoacoustic spectroscopy measurement probe adapted to measure a spectrum.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is a method of using an endoscope to examine the condition inside a living body cavity without collecting living tissue. However, since this method involves visually observing the surface inside the body cavity directly or by photographing, only the state of the inner surface within the body cavity can be observed. Therefore, other than the inner surface,
For example, lesions under the mucosa cannot be discovered. Furthermore, even if a lesion occurs on the inner surface, it cannot be detected unless it becomes visible.

On the other hand, various testing methods are known that collect living tissue from a living body cavity and use this sample, but these methods are not necessarily reliable as they do not test living bodies. Further, there are disadvantages in that it requires a great deal of labor to collect the living tissue, damages the patient's living cavity, and causes pain to the patient.

The present invention has been made focusing on the above circumstances,
The purpose of this is to be able to measure the optical absorption spectra of live living tissues within living cavities using the photoacoustic method without collecting samples, and to measure not only the inner surface of living cavities but also the state of the underlying tissue. An object of the present invention is to provide a probe for photoacoustic spectroscopy that can be inspected.

Generally, when a substance (living body) is irradiated with light, the light energy other than the reflected, scattered, and transmitted light is absorbed by the substance in some form. Once absorbed, part of the light energy is emitted as light energy such as luminescence, fluorescence, and phosphorescence, but other light energy becomes the translation, rotation, or vibration of molecules within substances, and in solids, lattice vibrations. and finally dissipates as local thermal energy. In this case, local thermal energy causes local thermal expansion in the material and propagates as pressure waves or sound waves. By detecting this pressure wave or sound wave, the optical absorption spectrum of a substance (living body) can be obtained, which is photoacoustic spectroscopy.

The present invention attempts to measure the light absorption spectrum of living tissue within a living cavity by this photoacoustic spectroscopy.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 indicates a flexible endoscope, and this flexible endoscope 1 has an insertion section 2 connected to an operating section 3 at the proximal end thereof, and further includes an insertion section 2 and an operating section 3 inside the endoscope. An insertion channel 4 is formed throughout. The distal end of the insertion channel 4 opens at the distal end surface of the insertion section 2, and the proximal end is connected to the insertion opening section 5 of the operating section 3. Further, an observation window 6 is provided on the distal end surface of the insertion section 2, and an eyepiece section 7 is provided on the operation section 3.
is provided. An image guide 8 is provided inside each of the insertion section 2 and the operation section 3, and the field of view from the observation window 6 can be observed at the eyepiece section 7 through the image guide 8.

On the other hand, the insertion channel 4 is designed so that a photoacoustic spectroscopy probe, which will be described next, can be inserted therein. The probe main body 9 of the photoacoustic spectroscopy probe consists of a tube 10 that can be inserted into the insertion channel 4 of the flexible endoscope 1, and an operating section 11 is provided at the base end of the tube 10 on the proximal side. A flexible inner tube 12 is inserted into the probe body 9 so as to be freely advanced and retracted, and a pair of forceps levers 1 are inserted into the tip of the inner tube 12.
A support member 15 for attaching and fixing forceps 14 consisting of 3 and 13 is inserted. Further, an operating wire 16 is inserted into the interior of the inner tube 12, and the tip of the operating wire 16 is connected to the support member 15. Further, the pair of forceps levers 13, 13 of the forceps 14 are configured to be able to protrude and retract into the tip of the probe body 9 by integrally pushing and pulling the inner tube 12 and the operating wire 16.
Furthermore, the pair of forceps levers 13, 13 always have a biasing force that tends to open, and when protruded from the tip of the probe body 9, they open, and the probe body 9 opens.
It is configured to close as it is pulled inward.

The operating section 11 has a finger rest 18 formed at the rear end of the operating section main body 17.
The rear end of the inner tube 12 protrudes from the rear end, and a finger hook 19 is provided at the rear end of the inner tube 12. Furthermore, the rear end portion of the operating wire 16 inserted into the inner tube 12 is connected to the finger hook 19 . That is, when the finger hook 19 is advanced or retreated, the inner tube 12 and the operating wire 16 are simultaneously advanced or retreated, thereby allowing the forceps 14 to protrude and retract from the tip of the probe body 9 and to open and close the forceps levers 13 and 13. ing.

In addition, on the inner surface of the tip of one of the forceps levers 13 that is operated to open and close, a pair of forceps levers 13 and 1 are provided.
a light emitting end 22 of a light transmitting body 21 that contacts the test site 20 held between the two parts and irradiates the same with pulsed light;
is provided. The light transmitting body 21 is made of, for example, a thin optical fiber bundle, which is connected to the forceps lever 13.
The cord is guided along the inner surface of the inner tube 12 to the operating section 11 on the hand side, passes through a flexible cord 23 connected to the proximal end of the inner tube 12, and is led to the external electric device section 24. I'm starting to get scared.

Further, a receiving element 25 is provided on the inner surface of the tip of the other forceps lever 13, facing the light emitting end 22, and this receiving element 25 is held between the pair of forceps levers 13, 13. It is designed to detect pressure waves or sound waves generated at the test site 20 by contacting the test site 20. The receiving element 25 is composed of, for example, a microphone, a piezoelectric element, a pressure transducer, or the like, and is adapted to convert pressure waves or sound waves from the region to be examined 20 into electrical signals.
Further, a signal line 26 is connected to this receiving element 25, and this signal line 26 is guided into the inner tube 12 along the inner surface of the forceps lever 13.
It is led to the operating section 11 through the inner tube 12, and further led to the external electric device section 24 through the cord 23, similar to the optical transmission body 21 described above.

The electric device section 24 is provided with a light source 27 consisting of a dye laser, a xenon lamp, etc., which can vary the wavelength of oscillated light. If a xenon lamp or the like is used, a spectroscope is built into it so that the wavelength of the emitted light can be selected. In addition, the electric device section 24 includes a chopper 2 that converts the monochromatic light from the light source 27 into pulsed light of about several tens of Hz.
8 is provided, and the pulsed light from this chopper 28 is sent to the optical transmission body 21. Further, the electric device section 24 is provided with an amplifier 29 consisting of a lock-in amplifier or the like that operates in synchronization with the chopper 28, and the detection signal transmitted through the signal line 26 by the amplifier 29 is Accordingly, the above Chiyotsupa 28
It is designed to amplify and extract only the signals that are synchronized with.

Further, a recorder 30 is connected to the amplifier 29 to record the amplified signal.

Next, how to use the photoacoustic spectroscopy probe and its function will be explained.

First, the insertion section 2 of the flexible endoscope 1 is inserted into the biological cavity 31 to be inspected, and the interior of the biological cavity 31 is observed to find the region to be examined 20, especially a raised one. Thereafter, the flexible endoscope 1 is introduced into the body cavity 31 of the probe body 9 through the insertion channel 4 . Then, while pointing the tip of the probe body 9 toward the test site 20, the operating section 11 on the hand side
In this step, the finger rest 18 is held between the index finger and the middle finger, and the thumb of the same hand is placed on the finger rest 19 and the finger rest 19 is pushed in, thereby moving the operating wire 16 forward together with the inner tube 12. However,
The forceps 14 protrude from the tip of the probe body 9,
Open the forceps levers 13, 13. Then, the forceps are operated and guided so that the protruding test site 20 is located between the forceps levers 13, 13, and when it is located there, the finger hook 1 is
9 and pull the operating wire 16 along with the inner tube 12 so that the protruding forceps 14 are pulled into the tip of the probe body 9. This allows forceps 1
The forceps levers 13, 13 of No. 4 are drawn in while touching the opening edge of the tip end of the probe body 9, so that they can be closed as shown in FIG. 2, and the protruding test region 20 can be sandwiched between the tip portions. Furthermore, the light emitting end 22 of the light transmitting body 21 and the receiving element 25 are in contact with the surface of the test site 20 and are located facing each other.

Then, the external electric device section 24 is activated.
Then, monochromatic light with a pre-selected wavelength is emitted from the light source 27, and the chopper 28 emits several tens of monochromatic lights.
It is converted into pulsed light at around Hz. This pulsed light is guided to the light output end 22 through the light transmission body 21,
The light is emitted from the light emitting end 22 and directly irradiates the test site 20 that comes into contact with it. That is, it is possible to directly irradiate the test site 20 without passing through an air layer or the like. When the test site 20 is irradiated with pulsed light in this way, the light energy at that wavelength is absorbed according to the light absorption coefficient of the living tissue, causing a temperature rise, as described above. It generates pressure waves or sound waves. This pressure wave or sound wave is received by the receiving element 25, which is also in contact with the surface of the test site 20, and is detected as an electrical signal.

The electrical signal detected by the receiving element 25 is passed through the signal line 26 by the amplifier 29 of the electrical device section 24, and only the signal component synchronized with the chopper 28 is amplified and extracted. Therefore, the detection signal S/
N can be improved. Further, the strength of the amplified and extracted signal is recorded by the recorder 30.

In this way, the light absorption coefficient of the test site 20 for light of a specific wavelength can be measured.
Further, light of different wavelengths is sequentially selected and the light absorption coefficient of each wavelength of the test region 20 is measured in the same manner as described above.

Then, by looking at the characteristics appearing in the measurement data of the optical absorption coefficient for each wavelength of light, the condition of the test site 20 can be diagnosed.

In addition, when measuring (quantifying) the amount of a specific substance in the test region 20, the substance is excited with light of a wavelength that acts characteristically, the pressure wave or sound wave is detected, and the magnitude of the signal is determined. Then judge.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the pair of forceps levers 13,
13, the forceps 14 is constituted by the forceps 14, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and more forceps levers may be provided as long as they can grip the protruding test site. Further, the light emitting end 22 and the receiving element 25 do not necessarily have to face each other.

Furthermore, when a laser device is used as the light source 27, the laser beam has good convergence and incidence efficiency, so in this case, the optical transmission body 21 is made thin,
Further, it can be constructed using a single thin optical fiber bundle. In this case, since the optical transmission body 21 can be made thinner, the diameter of the probe body 9 can be made thinner accordingly.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the optical absorption spectrum of the test site in the living body cavity, especially the raised part, is measured by photoacoustic spectroscopy without collecting the living tissue inside the body cavity. can be measured. For this reason, unlike endoscopic examinations that can only be observed with the naked eye,
It is possible to inspect not only the surface but also the inside of the area to be inspected. It has become easier to detect submucosal diseases that are particularly difficult to detect, such as early stage cancers and tumors. What's more, it can also detect diseases that are not visible to the naked eye. Furthermore, since the method measures the light absorption coefficient, diagnosis can be made using quantitatively objective data, and its reliability can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, there is no need for labor to collect living tissue within a living cavity, and there is no need to injure or cause pain to the patient.

Moreover, unlike the case of X-ray examination, it does not have any adverse effect on the living body and is an excellent means of examination.

In particular, the present invention is designed to hold and hold a protruding test site within a body cavity with forceps levers while performing the test.
Stable inspection can be performed. In addition, a light emitting end that irradiates the test site with pulsed light and a receiving element that detects pressure waves or sound waves generated at the test site are installed on the inner surface of the forceps lever, and an air layer is created between the surface of the test site being clamped. Since they are brought into direct contact without intervening, it is possible to irradiate and detect the irradiated pulsed light and the pressure waves or sound waves without attenuating them.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire device in use, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the tip of the probe body inserted into the insertion channel of a rigid endoscope. . 1...Flexible endoscope, 4...Insertion channel, 9
... Probe body, 11 ... Operation section, 12 ... Inner tube, 13 ... Forceps lever, 14 ... Forceps, 16 ...
...Operating wire, 17... Operating unit main body, 20... Test site, 21... Light transmission body, 22... Light output end,
24... Electric device section, 25... Receiving element, 26...
...Signal line, 27...Light source, 28...Chiyotsupa, 2
9... Amplifier, 30... Recorder, 31... Biological cavity.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A probe body that can be inserted into the insertion channel of an endoscope, an operation section provided on the proximal side of the probe body, and a probe body that is provided at the tip of the probe body so as to be openable and closable and can be opened and closed by the operation section. at least one pair of forceps levers, a light emitting end provided on the inner surface of one of the forceps levers and contacting the raised test site held between the pair of forceps levers and irradiating the same with pulsed light; an optical transmission body that is connected to the output end and is installed in the probe body and transmits pulsed light from a light source on the hand side to the light output end; A probe for photoacoustic spectroscopy, characterized in that it is equipped with a receiving element that comes into contact with a specimen part to be clamped and detects pressure waves or sound waves generated thereby.