JPS6225369B2 - - 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 to detect lesions under the surface of the body cavity wall.

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 living tissues exhibit higher temperatures than other normal tissues.Based on this, for example, temperature sensing elements can be inserted into body cavities to measure the temperature of the walls of body cavities. Attempts have been made to detect lesions by directly measuring the temperature of body cavity walls or by measuring far-infrared rays emitted by living tissues. 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 electromagnetic waves that are emitted by living tissues at an intensity that corresponds to their temperature state. In other words, although the radiation intensity of microwaves emitted from living tissues is lower than that of far infrared rays, they can easily penetrate living tissues.
By detecting the strength of microwaves emitted from within tissues at a certain wavelength, it is possible to discover deep lesions. In this case, it is desirable to attach a flared antenna to the microwave receiver in order to increase the microwave reception sensitivity.
Since this type of antenna is considerably larger than the outer diameter of the tip of the endoscope, there is a problem in that it cannot be inserted into or taken out of the body cavity while attached to the endoscope.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its object is to provide an endoscope whose antenna can be expanded and used only when measuring microwaves.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the figure, 1 indicates an endoscope, 2 is an operating section of this endoscope 1, and 3 is a flexible insertion section. The distal end portion 3a of the insertion portion 3 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, 4 is an objective lens as an observation optical system, and 5 is an image guide fiber.
passes through the insertion section 3 and is guided to the eyepiece section 6. Further, 7 is a microwave receiver. Reference numeral 8 denotes a waveguide of the receiver 7, 9 a resonator, and 10 a power measuring device using a thermistor or metal wire bolometer.
It is connected to the signal processor 12 via a signal processor 12, which converts the strength of the microwave signal into a temperature display signal and displays it on a display (not shown).

Further, an antenna 15 for assisting microwave reception by the microwave receiver 7 is provided on the tip portion 3a so as to be freely protrusive and retractable. This antenna 15 is a metal plate having appropriate elasticity, or
The antenna structure 15a is made of a plastic plate coated with a conductive coating, and in the free state protruding from the end surface of the tip 3a, each antenna component 15a independently extends from the end of the tip 3a, as shown in FIG. It is designed to be able to expand to a larger diameter than the outer diameter.
The antenna 15 is guided in its protruding and retracting motion by the inner surface of the tip portion 3a, and the rear end of each antenna component 15a is fixed to an annular base 16. Further, 17 is an antenna operating body,
One end side of this antenna operating body 17 is connected to the base 1.
6, and the other end is led to the operating section 2 through the insertion section 3, and is connected to an operating element (not shown), so that the antenna 15 can be projected or retracted by remote control. As the antenna operating body 17, for example, a tightly wound wire is used, but other members may be used as long as they can transmit the operating force.

The endoscope 1 configured as described above has an operation section 2
By remote control, the insertion section 3 is inserted into the body cavity A with the antenna 15 retracted into the distal end portion 3a as shown in FIG. and the tip 3a
Once the antenna is positioned on the desired wall of the body cavity, the antenna operating body 17 is pushed toward the distal end of the insertion section 3, and the antenna 15 is made to protrude from the end surface of the distal end 3a as shown in FIG. Then, each antenna component 15a...
. . . elastically expands in diameter to become larger than the outer diameter of the tip portion 3a. As a result, microwaves emitted from below the surface of the body cavity wall with an intensity corresponding to the tissue temperature are taken in from the antenna 15 and enter the resonator 9 through the waveguide 8, and a specific wavelength resonates and the power measuring device 10 is converted into an electrical output by the signal processor 12, and further converted into a temperature signal by the signal processor 12,
The value is displayed on a display (not shown). When there is a lesion B 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 You can learn about hidden lesions.

After the above-mentioned temperature measurement using the microwave and observation using the observation optical system are completed, the insertion section 3 is inserted into the body cavity A.
When pulling out the antenna 15 from the tip portion 3a, the antenna 15 is pulled out by indexing the antenna operating body 17.
After that, the insertion section 3 is pulled out from the body cavity A.

As described above, according to the endoscope of the present embodiment, the antenna 15 can be operated in a protrusive and retractable manner by remote control from the operation unit 2 side, so that the antenna 15 can be operated only when receiving microwaves in the body cavity. can be expanded. Therefore, even if the antenna 15 has a large outer diameter, it can be inserted into the body cavity, and reception sensitivity can be significantly improved as an aid to microwave reception.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the antenna 15 is composed of a plurality of antenna structures 15b adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the end surface of the tip portion 3a. The antenna structure 15b...... has a tip portion 3a as shown in the figure.
In the free state of protruding from the end surface, the adjacent end portions overlap each other, so that they are connected in an annular manner without any gap in the circumferential direction. Therefore, according to the second embodiment, since no radial gaps are formed in the antenna 15 as in the first embodiment, the microwave reception surface becomes wider, and the reception sensitivity can be further improved. can.

Further, in this second embodiment, the antenna 15
The inner surface 3b of the tip portion 3a that guides the protruding and retracting movement of the
The end surface side has a tapered shape that gradually expands in diameter, and the opening edge 3c of the tapered inner surface 3b is rounded. Therefore, since the antenna 15 is guided by the rounded opening edge 3c and the tapered inner surface 3b, the antenna 15 can be pulled in and extended out smoothly.

As explained above, this invention has a structure in which the antenna can be freely protruded and retracted, so that when the endoscope insertion section is inserted into and removed from the body cavity, the antenna is retracted into the distal end, and only when receiving microwaves. Since the antenna can be expanded and used, even if the antenna has a larger diameter than the tip of the insertion section, it can be used inside the body cavity as an aid to microwave reception, and reception sensitivity can be improved. Therefore, temperature measurement under the surface of the body cavity wall using microwaves becomes more accurate, and lesions can be easily and accurately detected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an endoscope, and FIGS.
The figures are longitudinal sectional side views of the endoscope distal end showing different operating states, and FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the endoscope distal end showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 1... Endoscope, 2... Operation section, 3... Insertion section,
3a... Tip part, 3b... Inner surface of tip part, 4... Objective lens (observation optical system), 5... Image guide fiber (observation optical system), 7... Microwave receiver, 15... Antenna, 15a , 15b...Antenna construct, 17...Antenna operating body, A...Body cavity.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A microwave receiver provided at the distal end of the endoscope insertion section;
An antenna that expands to a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the tip in a free state protruding from the end face of the tip to assist microwave reception by the receiver, and an endoscope operation section that controls the protruding and retracting movement of this antenna. An endoscope characterized by comprising an antenna operating body that is remotely operated on the side. 2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface of the tip portion, which guides the protruding and retracting motion of the antenna, has a tapered shape whose diameter gradually increases on the end surface side. 3. The above-mentioned antenna is composed of a plurality of antenna structures adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction of the end face of the tip, and these antenna structures are arranged so that their adjacent ends overlap with each other in a free state protruding from the end face of the tip. The endoscope according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the endoscopes are continuous in an annular manner without creating a gap in the direction.