Endoscope insertion guide pipe

Details Endoscope insertion guide pipe Endoscope insertion guide pipe

1999-11-29

2001-11-13

Dvorak, Linda C. M. (Department: 3739)

Surgery

Endoscope

With guide means for body insertion

C600S129000, C600S138000, C604S524000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06315714

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 10-338901 filed on Nov. 30, 1998, which is incorporated therein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope insertion guide tube, and more specifically a configuration of a leading end of a guide tube which is used to insert a scope for digestive organs into a body to be observed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For insertion of an endoscope (scope) for digestive organs into a body to be observed (for example a scope for small intestine), it is conventional to use a guide tube to aid insertion by maintaining straight an otherwise meandering insertion path of the digestive organs.
A condition of a guide tube which is in a condition disposed in digestive organs is shown in FIGS.
4
(A) and
4
(B), wherein a guide tube
1
is passed from a stomach
2
to a duodenum
3
and a scope
4
is led to the duodenum
3
or a small intestine under the duodenum while being guided by the guide tube
1
, for example, as shown in FIG.
4
(A). The guide tube
1
facilitates insertion of the scope
4
.
However, the conventional guide pipe
1
allows a gap S to remain between the guide tube
1
and the scope
4
as shown in FIG.
4
(B), thereby posing a problem that the scope
4
slightly moves (rattles) in the guide pipe
1
in a diametrical direction and is not stable in its position. Furthermore, a leading end port of the guide tube
1
may be slightly opened by a bending or the like of the scope
4
, whereby a surface wall portion
5
of a body to be observed may be pinched in the gap S when the scope
4
is inserted or withdrawn. The gap S of a certain degree is necessary to smooth insertion of the scope
4
and cannot be eliminated completely.
Furthermore, there is available a conventional guide tube such as one disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-248799 using an auxiliary tube which is made of a flexible material and has a bulb portion having a circular sectional shape at a leading end so that the spherical portion is brought into close contact with an outer circumference of a scope. However, such an auxiliary tube which has flexibility allows the leading end to be deformed, thereby making it difficult to insert the scope or the auxiliary tube into a digestive organ.
FIGS.
5
(A) and
5
(B) show a condition of a guide tube which is deformed as described above, wherein a leading end of the guide tube
1
is inserted into a body and deformed into an elliptic shape as shown in FIG.
5
(A) under an internal pressure, thereby making it hard to pass the scope
4
through a bulb portion
6
of the leading end. Furthermore, the guide tube
1
cannot hardly be moved for insertion of withdrawal along the scope
4
which as been inserted.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention which has been achieved in view of the problems described above has an object to provide an endoscope insertion guide tube which stabilizes a guide position for a scope, cannot pinch a surface wall portion of an object to be observed into a leading end port, and is free from deformation of the leading end port which degrades an insertion property of the scope and hinders smooth insertion and withdrawal of the guide tube.
In order to attain the object described above, an endoscope insertion guide tube as claimed in claim
1
is characterized by comprising: a main pipe which serves to guide an endoscope into a body to be observed; a hard ring which is disposed at a leading end of the man pipe and serves to prevent a leading end port from being deformed; and a ring like elastic convex member which is disposed in the leading end port, protrudes from an inside wall toward an axial center of the tube and has a protruding end having a diameter slightly smaller than an outside diameter of the endoscope.
An invention as claimed in claim
2
is characterized in that a metal ring whose position can be confirmed by X-ray silhouette inspection is disposed outside the ring like convex member disposed in the leading end port described above.
An invention as claimed in claim
3
is characterized by comprising: a main pipe which guides an endoscope into a body to be observed; a hard ring which is disposed in a leading end of the main pipe and serves to prevent a leading end port of the main pipe from being deformed; a metal ring which is integrated with the hard ring and has a size to be fitted inside the leading end of the main pipe and whose position can be confirmed by the X-ray silhouette inspection, a ring like elastic convex member which is disposed inside the metal ring and the hard ring, protrudes from an inside wall toward an axial center of the tube and has a protruding end having a diameter slightly smaller than an outside diameter of said endoscope; and a string which fixes the hard ring by binding an outer circumference of the main pipe to which the hard ring is attached together with the metal ring fitted therein.
The configuration described above brings an outer circumference of a scope into close contact with the ring like convex member in the elastic leading end port, thereby stabilizing a guide portion for the scope and preventing an inside wall portion of a digestive organ or the like from being pinched. Furthermore, the leading end port which is not deformed even under a pressure at an insertion time smoothes insertion of the scope as well as insertion and withdrawal of the guide tube.
Moreover, the metal ring makes it possible to easily confirm a position of the leading end port of the guide tube by the X-ray silhouette inspection when the metal ring is disposed in the leading end port.


REFERENCES:
patent: 3805770 (1974-04-01), Okada
patent: 5280781 (1994-01-01), Oku
patent: 5337733 (1994-08-01), Bauerfeind et al.
patent: 5643174 (1997-07-01), Yamamoto et al.
patent: 5941815 (1999-04-01), Chang
patent: 10248799 (1998-09-01), None

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