JPS6354143A - Guide pipe structure of endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a tube structure for guiding forceps, etc. in an endoscope.

(Prior Art) In general, an endoscope includes an operation main body, a flexible insertion section extending from the operation main body, and a curved section formed at the tip of the insertion section and bent by remote manipulation of the operation main body. and a rigid tip portion formed at the tip of the curved portion.

A guide tube for guiding a long forceps or the like is housed in the insertion section, and this guide tube connects an opening formed in the operating body and an opening formed in the rigid tip portion.

The conditions for the guide tube mentioned above are that it has a low coefficient of friction so that the forceps can be inserted and removed smoothly, that it has low bending resistance to make it easy to bend the curved part, and that it should not break during bending. Since the passage is blocked and the forceps cannot be guided, it is required to be resistant to breakage.

As a material for the guide tube that satisfies the above conditions, porous tetrafluoroethylene U (U) made by stretching is often used. The micro holes 100 penetrating the are evenly distributed,
There are countless tiny holes in these 100 micro holes! ! 101 are arranged.

The guide tube made of porous tetrafluoroethylene resin is water-repellent, so water with a high surface tension cannot pass through it, but body fluids, etc., with a surface tension lower than that of normal water, can penetrate through the micropores. be. For this reason, for example,
As seen in Publication No. 84 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 54-115185, measures such as applying fluororubber or the like to the inner or outer circumferential side of the guide tube to partially impregnate the guide tube prevent leakage of body fluids. is prevented.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional guide tube structure described above has the following drawbacks. That is, since the film is impregnated with rubber and formed integrally, the bending resistance increases, which negates the advantages of porous tetrafluoroethylene resin.

Especially in the case of a guide tube structure whose outer circumference is impregnated with rubber,
Body fluids permeate into the micropores until they reach the rubber coating, and bacteria tend to breed within these microtags.

Generally, endoscopes are cleaned and disinfected after use, but even in such cases, the guide tube of this structure has the following problems.

When disinfecting with a disinfectant, when the disinfectant is passed through the guide tube, the disinfectant also penetrates into the micropores of the guide tube.

However, since the outer circumferential end of this micropore is closed by a rubber coating, it is difficult to thoroughly disinfect the micropore. In addition, after this disinfection process, the micropores are washed with water and further dried, but because one end of the micropores is blocked, complete drying is not possible, and the liquid remains deep inside the micropores, allowing bacteria to grow again. It was possible to breed.

When disinfecting with disinfectant gas, the endoscope is first cleaned with water, but because one end of the micropore is blocked, the cleaning water cannot reach the depths of the micropore sufficiently, making it impossible to reliably clean the endoscope. In addition, after this cleaning, the endoscope is placed in a vacuum chamber to remove the air and water inside, and then disinfected with disinfectant gas, but some liquids such as body fluids and washing water may remain deep inside the micropores. As a result, the sterilizing effect of the disinfectant gas could not be sufficiently achieved.

(Means for Solving the Problems) This invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the gist thereof is to provide an opening disposed inside the endoscope and provided in the rigid distal end of the insertion section. It has an inner tube made of porous resin that connects the opening provided in the reeling body, and an outer tube made of nonporous resin that surrounds this inner tube, and the outer tube is fixed to the endoscope. The guide tube structure of the endoscope is characterized in that both ends of the inner tube are detachably attached to the rigid distal end portion and the operating body.

(Function) Since the inner tube is made of porous resin, its bending resistance is low. Furthermore, the outer tube is not integrated with the inner tube, and can be made thinner due to the reinforcing effect of the inner tube. As a result, the bending resistance of the entire guide tube structure can be reduced, making bending operations easier.

Porous (3) It has a double tube structure with an inner tube made of fat and an outer tube made of non-porous resin, and the inner tube can be removed from the endoscope, so cleaning and disinfection of the inner tube can be done outside the system. It can be done more completely, and
It is also possible to replace just the inner tube.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 and 3, and with further reference to FIG. 4.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an endoscope, and the endoscope 1 includes a pulling body 10, a flexible insertion portion 11 that extends from the pulling body 10 and is inserted into a body cavity, and a distal end of the insertion portion 11. It has a curved part 12 formed at the bottom and curved by remote manipulation with the operation main body 10, and a tip rigid part 13 formed at the tip of this curved part 12. Further, a flexible id tube 14 extends from the working body 10.

The rigid tip section 13 has an illumination window and an observation window (both not shown), and the illumination window includes a guide tube 14, a working body 10, and an optical fiber bundle for transmitting illumination light stored in the insertion section 11. (not shown), and an objective optical system (not shown) and a solid-state image sensor (not shown) optically connected to the objective optical system are arranged in the observation window. This solid-state image sensor is electrically connected to conductive wires (not shown) housed in the rigid tube 14, the operating body 10, and the insertion section 11.

Light from a light source (not shown) is irradiated into the body cavity through the illumination window through the optical fiber bundle, and image signals mainly from the solid-state image sensor are processed in a predetermined manner and sent to a monitor television (not shown). It is projected as an image inside the body cavity.

Note that, like a general endoscope, the operation main body 10 may be provided with an eyepiece, and the image entering the observation window may be observed by the eyepiece through an image transmission optical system.

A guide tube structure 20 is housed within the insertion section 11 . This guide tube structure 20 has an inner tube 21 and an outer tube 22 surrounding the inner tube 21. The inner tube 21 is made of stretched porous tetrafluoroethylene resin (1), and when viewed under a microscope, it is constructed as shown in FIG. It has become. These inner tubes 2
A gap is formed between the outer tube 1 and the outer tube 22, and this gap serves as a fluid passage 23 for cleaning and disinfection.

One end of the guide tube structure 20 is connected to the operating body 10, and the end thereof is connected to the rigid tip portion 13.

More specifically, a cylindrical connecting portion 27 is formed in the operation main body 10 so as to protrude outward. One end of the metal tube 25 is inserted and fixed into the inner end of this connecting portion 27.
One end of the outer tube 22 is adhesively fixed and connected to the other end of the outer tube 5 .

The tip of a connector 26 that forms part of the operating body 10 is inserted into the outer end of the connecting portion 27, and the connector 26 is fixed with a screw 28. The connector 26 has an opening 26a, and the tip of the opening 26a is a punch hole 26b. A threaded portion 29a of a connecting tube 29 is screwed into this screw hole 26b (i), and one end portion of the inner tube 21 is adhesively fixed and connected to a straight portion 29b at the tip of the connecting tube 29.

A hole 13a is formed at the inner end of the rigid tip portion 13, one end of a metal tube 30 is inserted and fixed into the hole 13a, and the outer tube 22 is inserted into the other end of the metal tube 30.
The other end is adhesively fixed and connected. Further, a screw hole 1 is provided at the outer end of the rigid tip portion 13 concentrically with the hole 13a.
3b is formed, and the threaded portion 31a of the connecting tube 31, which forms part of the rigid tip portion 13 and has an opening 31c, is screwed into the screw hole 13b, and the straight portion 31b at the base of the connecting tube 31 is screwed into the screw hole 13b. The other end of the inner tube 21 is adhesively fixed and connected. Note that an engagement groove (not shown) for a flathead screwdriver is formed at the outer end of the connecting tube 31.

The connecting end of the inner tube 21 to the connecting tube 29.31 can be made non-porous or coated with rubber on the inner and outer circumferential surfaces and partially impregnated with micropores.
00 is closed.

A cylindrical branch portion 25c is formed in the metal tube 25, and one end portion of a connecting tube 32 is connected to this branch portion 25c. The other end of this connecting tube 32 is connected to a cylindrical connecting portion 33 formed in the operation main body 10. The connecting portion 33 has an opening 33a.

Further, a suction passage 34 communicating with the opening 26a is formed in the connector 26, and this suction passage 34 has a valve 35 in the middle, and the tip of the suction passage 34 has a connecting portion 36 formed to protrude from the connector 26. It is open to This connection 36 is connected to a suction tube 37 connected to a suction device (not shown). The valve 35 is opened and closed by a button 38 provided on the connector 26.

As is clear from the above description, one end of the inner tube 21 is connected to the opening 31c of the connecting tube 31, the other end is connected to the opening 26a of the connector 26, and the suction passage 34
It is connected to the. Further, one end of the fluid passage 23 is closed by the metal tube 30, the rigid tip portion 13, and the connecting tube 31, and the end of the fluid passage 23 is communicated with the opening 33a via the metal tube 25 and the connecting tube 32.

In the above configuration, the insertion section 11 is inserted into the body cavity and the inside thereof is observed. Then, use long forceps (not shown) to open the opening 2.
6a into the inner tube 21 of the guide tube structure 20,
The connecting tube 31 is made to protrude into the body cavity from the opening 31c. Then, tissue from the body cavity is collected using the forceps. After collection, remove the forceps from the endoscope. At this time, since the inner tube 21 is made of porous tetrafluoroethylene resin and has a very small abrasion coefficient on its inner peripheral surface, the forceps can be smoothly inserted and removed.

In addition, when the bending section 12 is bent by remote manipulation in the operation main body 10, the guide tube structure 20 also bends, but at this time, the flexible all-fine fibers arranged in the micro holes 100 located inside the curved shape [Since 101 is bent, no large bending stress is generated on the wall of the inner tube 21, and the bending resistance is small. Also,
When the outer tube 22 is bent, it is supported by the inner tube 21 and does not break as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 3, so it can be made thinner and the bending resistance can be reduced. Moreover, since both tubes 21 and 22 are not integrated, the combined bending resistance of the guide tube structure 20 is small.
Curving operations can be performed easily.

In addition, since the inner tube 21 is not subjected to large bending stress as described above, the inconvenience of breaking and blocking the tube passage does not occur, and the guide of the forceps and the suction described below can be performed reliably.

When removing body fluid in the body cavity, press the operation button 38 to open the valve 35. Then, the body fluid is sucked into the suction device from the opening 31e through the inner tube 21, the suction passage 34, and the suction tube 37.

Note that during this suction, the opening 26a of the connector 26 is closed by a rubber valve or the like (not shown), and a rubber stopper (not shown) is attached to the opening 33a of the workpiece body 10, so that outside air is allowed to flow through the openings 26a, 33a. Intrusion is prevented and a predetermined suction performance is ensured.

When moving the forceps in and out or performing suction as described above, body fluids and dirt adhere to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tube 21.
A portion penetrates into the micropores 100.

As a result of the infiltration of the body fluids and the like, bacteria tend to breed within the micropores 100. Therefore, the endoscope is disinfected after use as follows.

First, the case of disinfection using a disinfectant will be explained. There are two methods in this case.

The first method is to take out the inner tube 21 from the endoscope 1 and disinfect the inner tube 21 and outer tube 22 separately. This method is used when the inner tube 21 is heavily contaminated or when there is time to spare. It is carried out in The second method is to disinfect the inner tube 21 and outer tube 22 at the same time while the inner tube 21 is attached to the endoscope 1. This method is useful when the inner tube 21 is not very dirty or when there is no time available. This is done when there is no such thing.

First, the first method will be explained. First, screw 2
After loosening 8, a flathead screwdriver is inserted into the engagement groove of the connecting tube 31 and rotated, and the connecting tube 31 is pushed out from the screw hole 13b of the rigid tip portion 13 into the metal tube 30 by a screwing action. Then, the inner tube 21 and connector 26 are removed from the endoscope 1 and disinfected. That is, the opening 31c of the connecting pipe 31 is plugged with a plug or the like, the valve 35 is closed, and the disinfectant solution is pumped through the opening 26a of the connector 26. The disinfectant solution fills the inner tube 21 and is forced to pass through the microhole 100 by the supply pressure. The inner tube 21 is sufficiently disinfected by the disinfectant passing through the micropores 100.
Further, body fluids, filth, etc. that have accumulated in the micropores 100 are flushed out from the micropores 100 together with the disinfectant.

Then, the outer tube 22 is sterilized using the inner tube 2.
This is done separately from 1. That is, the opening 33a is plugged with a stopper or the like, and the disinfectant solution is force-fed from the connection part 27 of the scraper body 10, passed through the outer tube 22, and then inserted into the screw hole 1 of the rigid tip part 13.
Let it flow out from 3b.

By passing this disinfectant, body fluids, dirt, etc. accumulated in the outer tube 22 are washed away, and the outer tube 22 is sufficiently disinfected.

Next, the second method will be explained. In this case, the procedure is carried out with the inner tube 21 still attached to the endoscope 1 as described above. First, the opening 31c is closed with a plug or the like, and one end of the inner tube 21 is occluded. Further, the valve 35 is also closed. Then, the disinfectant solution is pumped through the opening 26a of the connector 26. Then, this disinfectant solution fills the inner tube 21 and is forced to pass through the microhole 100 by the supply pressure and exits to the fluid passage 23. The inner tube 21 is disinfected by the disinfectant passing through the micropores 100, and body fluids, dirt, etc. accumulated in the micropores 100 are flushed out from the micropores 100 together with the disinfectant.

The disinfectant solution discharged into the fluid passage 23 passes through the connecting tube 32 and is discharged from the opening 33a. During the passage of the disinfectant through the fluid passageway 23, the outer tube 22 is also disinfected.

After the disinfection is completed by the first method or the second method, use the cleaning water in the same way as the disinfectant solution and apply it to the inner tube 2.
1 and the outer tube 22. At this time, since the cleaning water can be made to flow through the micropores 100 of the inner tube 21, the disinfectant can be reliably removed from the micropores 100. After this washing, drying is performed. During this drying, since both ends of the micropores 100 are open, the cleaning water easily evaporates, and there is no problem such as liquid remaining in the micropores 100 and allowing bacteria to reproduce. In addition,
During this drying, high temperature pressurized air or vacuum suction is used in the same way as for the disinfectant and cleaning water.
Since air is forced to flow through the micropores 100,
Drying can be performed more reliably.

Note that the inner tube 21 that has been disinfected and cleaned by the first method is attached to the endoscope 1 again. At that time, the connecting pipe 31
is screwed into the screw hole 13b of the rigid tip portion 13 as follows. A connecting tube 31 fixed to the tip of the inner tube 21
is located near the screw hole 13b of the rigid tip portion 13.

Then, a special jig (not shown) whose tip can be opened and closed like scissors is prepared, and with the tip of this jig closed, it is inserted through the screw hole 13b and inserted into the opening 3 of the connecting pipe 31.
1c, and open the tip of the jig there to support the connecting pipe 31. While supporting the connecting pipe 31, rotate the jig and slightly screw it into the screw hole 13b. Thereafter, by inserting a flat head screwdriver into the engagement groove of the connecting tube 31 and rotating it, the connecting tube 31 is securely screwed into the screw hole 13b.

Further, since the inner tube 21 is made of tetrafluoroethylene resin, it has extremely excellent heat resistance and pressure resistance, and can also be subjected to high temperature and high pressure steam sterilization.

Furthermore, if the inner tube 21 is used for a long period of time, the micropores 100 may gradually become clogged with dirt or become contaminated with special bacteria. In such cases,
When cleaning and disinfection are not effective enough,
It is also possible to replace only the inner tube 21.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a pond for attaching the inner tube 21 to the rigid distal end portion 13. In this case as well, the outer tube 22 is fixed to the rigid tip portion 13 via the metal tube 30 as in the first embodiment. A screw hole 13b is formed concentrically with the hole 13a at the outer end of the rigid tip portion 13, and the hole 13a and the screw hole 13b are connected by a tapered hole 13c that widens toward the tip side.

When installing the inner tube 21, the inner tube 2
1 is made to protrude by a predetermined distance into the taper hole 13c. Then, a stopper 31' having an opening 31c is screwed into the screw hole 13b. This stopper 31' has a screw 31a on its outer periphery, a tapered portion 31d on one end, and an engagement groove (not shown) for a flat head screwdriver on the other end. When a flathead screwdriver is inserted into the engagement groove and the stopper 31' is screwed in, the tip of the tapered portion 31d is inserted into the inner tube 21, and the tapered portion 31d moves forward while expanding the tip of the inner tube 21. At the terminal end, the tip of the inner tube 21 is held between the tapered hole 13c and the tapered portion 31d.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, the guide tube structure has a double tube structure, the inner tube is made of porous resin, so the bending resistance is small, and the outer tube is the inner tube. It is not integrated with the inner tube, and can be made thinner due to the reinforcing effect of the inner tube. As a result, the bending resistance of the entire guide tube structure can be reduced, making bending operations easier.

Furthermore, since the inner tube can be removed from the endoscope, the inner tube can be more thoroughly cleaned and disinfected outside the system, and only the inner tube can be replaced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an endoscope showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the structure of the inner tube of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. -■ An enlarged sectional view in the direction of the arrow, FIG. 4 is a view of the surface of the inner tube viewed through a microscope. 1... Endoscope, 10... Replication body, 11...
Insertion part, 13... Tip rigid part, 20... Guide tube structure, 21... Inner tube, 22... Outer tube, 26a, 31c... Opening.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An inner tube made of porous resin that is placed inside the endoscope and connects the opening provided in the rigid distal end of the insertion section and the opening provided in the operation body, and a nonporous resin tube that surrounds this inner tube. and an outer tube made of resin, the outer tube being fixed to the endoscope, and both ends of the inner tube being detachable from the rigid distal end portion and the operating body. Mirror guide tube structure.