Surgery – Endoscope – Having imaging and illumination means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-28
2002-12-31
Mulcahy, John (Department: 3739)
Surgery
Endoscope
Having imaging and illumination means
C600S131000, C600S137000, C600S138000, C600S171000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06500115
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an endoscope having a shaft and a handle extending sideward from the shaft and arranged at a proximal end. A mechanism is provided for pivoting the direction of view in an observation area and at least one operating element is engaged with the mechanism for actuating the same.
An endoscope of this type is disclosed in the German brochure of Olympus Optical Co. (Europa) GmbH, Hamburg, “OLYMPUS—THE VISIBLE DIFFERENCE” with the designation “Schwenkprisma-Boreskop” ([“Borescope with pivotable prism”]).
Endoscopes are becoming more important both in technical as well as medical applications. In technical fields, such endoscopes allow an inexpensive, non-destructive, visual control of material quality. Difficultly accessible cavities and hidden components can be visually inspected with an endoscope without time-consuming disassembly. A further application of technical endoscopes is in the study of combustion processes in internal combustion engines, turbines or reactors, only to name a few.
In the medical field, endoscopes are employed in minimally invasive surgery. Operations without larger incisions can be carried out under visual control with the endoscope, where the patient is only slightly affected.
It will be understood that the viewing direction is the direction of the symmetry axis of the light cone, limited by the image angle, of the observation light entering the distal end of the shaft. In a simple type of the known endoscopes, the view direction is fixed and can only be altered by changing the position of the endoscope, which however is only possible to a limited extent. Thus to observe an object from different perspectives or to enlarge the viewing area, i.e. the view field, separate endoscopes having different optics have been provided. These include for example optics for a forward view, a view slightly displaced from forward, side view and rear view. These types of endoscopes must be exchanged with one another during an operation to alter the view direction, which however is inconvenient. For each exchange, the one endoscope must be withdrawn from its entry opening into the observation area and the next endoscope must then be inserted.
Endoscopes of the type mentioned at the outset have been developed with a mechanism for pivoting the view direction at least in the circumferential direction of the shaft. With one single endoscope, an object can be inspected from different perspectives or a larger region can be seen in the observation area. Thus the view direction can be altered without changing the position of the endoscope.
The endoscope known from the above company brochure comprises a handle projecting from a side of the shaft at its proximal end. The handle can be comfortably held in the hand, since it can be readily gripped by the fingers and the thumb when placed in the hand. An operating element is provided which operatively engages with the mechanism for pivoting the view direction, so that the desired direction can be adjusted by actuating the operating element.
The operating element in the known endoscope is provided as an adjustment ring, which is arranged concentrically with the axis of the shaft near the ocular. This configuration of the endoscope has drawbacks with respect to its operational capabilities. When the endoscope is held in the one hand, the other hand must be used to actuate the operating element to pivot the view direction. It is not possible or it is very difficult to operate the ring with the same hand holding the handle, because the ring is positioned above and behind the hand handle. In addition, actuating such an adjustment ring normally requires the use of the thumb and the index finger. The view direction and the image focus cannot be adjusted simultaneously, because no hand is free for actuating the focusing ring at the time the operating element is being used to pivot the view direction.
Since the ring is not ergonomically positioned on the handle and the ring is formed to be concentric with the shaft, the endoscope cannot be held in one hand and simultaneously the ring actuated with the same hand. Thus it is not suited for one-hand operation.
An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide an endoscope of the above-mentioned type, in which the operational capabilities of the endoscope are improved.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, an endoscope is provided, comprising:
a shaft having a longitudinal axis, a distal end and a proximal end;
a handle disposed at said proximal end of said shaft and extending sidewards of said shaft, said handle being configured in pistol-like fashion;
a mechanism for pivoting a view direction of said endoscope within an observation area; and
at least two operating elements which are operatively engaged with said mechanism for actuating said mechanism, a first one of said at least two operating elements being for pivoting said view direction with respect to said longitudinal axis of said shaft and the second one of said at least two operating elements being for pivoting said view direction in circumferential direction, said first operating element being disposed on a front side of said handle such that it is operable with at least one finger of the hand holding said handle,
wherein said second operating element is disposed on a side face of said handle such that it is operable with the thumb of said same hand holding said handle.
The endoscope of the present invention allows a one-hand operation, not possible in the known endoscope, through the configuration with at least two operating elements positioned on the handle itself, one on the front side and one of the side face of the handle, so that the one can be actuated with at least one finger and the other with the thumb of the same hand holding the handle. The positioning of the operating elements on the handle allows the handle to be held firmly in the hand while actuating the operating elements and the operating elements to be actuated without substantial change in the position of the hand or in the manner of gripping. The sidewardly extending handle thus remains comfortably held in the hand also when actuating the at least one operating element. The invention is therefore to position at least two operating elements on the handle at a location where the thumb and at least one finger lies when normally gripping the handle in relaxed manner. An advantage is that the operating elements can be actuated with only slight movement of a finger and thumb. The endoscope of the present invention is considerably improved in handling due to the one-hand operability.
Positioning one of the elements at the front side has the advantage that the operating element can be actuated with the fingertips or the forward finger joints of one or more fingers of the same hand holding the handle. A further advantage is that the endoscope can be operated by left as well as right-handed persons, because the operating element can be provided at a central position on the distal side of the handle.
At least two operating elements are provided, where the at least one operating element for pivoting the view direction with respect to the longitudinal direction and the at least one further operating element for rotating the view in circumferential direction are positioned with respect to one another such that one the operating elements is actuated with the thumb and the other with at least one finger of the same hand which holds the handle.
With this configuration, the view direction with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft is pivoted by adjusting the disposition of the optical element, i.e. the view direction relative to the longitudinal axis is adjusted by adjusting the disposition of the optical element in an angular range between for example a forward view and a rear view. On the other hand, by rotating the shaft the view direction is altered in circumferential direction of the shaft. The known endoscope mentioned in the introduction comprises such a rotatable shaft and
Haan Harald
Krattiger Beat
Kuster Manfred
Novak Pavel
Reling Jörg
Mulcahy John
St. Onge Steward Johnston & Reens LLC
Storz Endoskop GmbH
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