Hard choledochoscope with bendable and adjustable tip

Abstract

The hard choledochoscope comprises a handheld operation part, a hard sheathing canal is fixed to the front end of the handheld operation part, the tip of the hard sheathing canal is integrally connected with a soft woven sheathing canal, the soft woven sheathing canal can be bent and adjusted, a display screen and operation keys are fixed to the handheld operation part, and the operation keys are arranged on the handheld operation part. A ventilation hole is formed in the area between the display screen and the operation keys, a USB interface and a surgical instrument insertion hole are formed in the tail of the handheld operation part, a flushing connector is arranged on the side, close to the handheld operation part, of the hard sheath tube, and bending angle adjusting mechanisms are fixed to the top, the bottom, the left side and the right side of the soft woven sheath tube respectively. And the bending angle adjusting machine is arranged along the whole length of the soft woven sheathing canal. The tip of the hard choledochoscope can be adjusted at a large angle so as to expand the operation visual field and the operation coverage range, and the device can achieve adjustment of the tip at multiple angles in the up-down direction, the left-right direction and the like under the limiting condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical devices, specifically to a rigid choledochoscope with an adjustable tip. Background Technology

[0002] A cholangioscope, also known as a bile duct endoscope, is a medical instrument that allows direct observation and manipulation inside the bile duct lumen. Based on material characteristics, it can be divided into rigid cholangioscopes and flexible cholangioscopes. Rigid cholangioscopes are made of metal, have a rigid structure, and are inflexible; they must be entered through a surgical incision or sinus tract. Flexible cholangioscopes use fiber optic or electronic imaging technology, and their bodies are made of flexible, bendable material. The tip can be adjusted in multiple directions, making it easier to pass through narrow or tortuous bile duct areas.

[0003] Rigid and flexible cholangioscopy each have their advantages and disadvantages in clinical practice. Rigid cholangioscopy is more convenient to operate, provides a clearer field of view, has a larger operating cavity, and is more efficient in stone removal. Flexible cholangioscopy, on the other hand, has a tip that can be bent and adjusted at multiple angles and over a wide range to adapt to the complex and tortuous biliary tree structure. However, due to its large range of adjustable tip angles and its surface material, it is not well visualized on ultrasound, making it relatively difficult to determine its direction within the bile duct. Flexible cholangioscopy is not as efficient as rigid cholangioscopy in terms of energy transmission and instrument manipulation. Rigid cholangioscopy comes with fine and traditional instruments, has various methods for stone fragmentation and removal, and also has electrocautery and dilation functions for strictures. Furthermore, the latest treatment philosophy for hepatobiliary stones advocates the use of rigid cholangioscopy.

[0004] Traditional rigid cholangioscopy typically consists of a sheath, obturator, observer, and manipulator. The endoscope itself is made of inflexible metal and contains optical lenses and a working groove, allowing the use of instruments such as stone forceps, electrohydraulic electrodes, and pneumatic ballistic probes. The disadvantages of traditional rigid cholangioscopy include: 1. The tip cannot be adjusted at a large angle, often requiring self-deflection to adjust the angle, which is limited by the puncture site; 2. An external monitor is needed to display the images captured by the endoscope, causing hand-eye separation and affecting surgical efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address this, the present invention provides a rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip, which combines the advantages of both rigid and flexible cholangioscopes. The tip of the rigid cholangioscope can be adjusted at a large angle to expand the surgical field of view and coverage. The device can achieve multiple angle adjustments (up, down, left, and right) at the tip even with limitations. The device uses CCD electronic imaging to acquire images from the tip and displays them on a monitor on the handpiece, facilitating operation and observation by the operator. The surgical scene can be viewed without an external monitor, achieving the goal of simultaneous hand-eye operation.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned technical effects, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solution: A rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip includes a handheld operating unit. A rigid sheath is fixed to the front end of the handheld operating unit, and a soft braided sheath is integrally connected to the tip of the rigid sheath. The soft braided sheath is adjustable. A display screen and operation buttons are fixed on the handheld operating unit. A ventilation hole is provided in the area between the display screen and the operation buttons. A USB interface and a surgical instrument insertion hole are provided at the tail end of the handheld operating unit. A flushing connector is provided on the side of the rigid sheath near the handheld operating unit.

[0007] Furthermore, bending angle adjustment mechanisms are fixed to the top, bottom, left, and right sides of the soft braided sheath, and the bending angle adjustment mechanisms are arranged along the entire length of the soft braided sheath. The soft braided sheath consists of an outer braided layer and an inner braided layer. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is braided and fixed between the outer braided layer and the inner braided layer. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is a pneumatic telescopic structure, which inflates and extends and then deflates and shortens.

[0008] Furthermore, the soft braided sheath includes an irrigation tube, a surgical channel tube, and an image transmission line. The rear end of the irrigation tube extends into the rigid sheath and is connected to the irrigation connector. The section of the irrigation tube within the soft braided sheath is a corrugated section. The surgical channel tube extends to the tail of the handheld operating unit and communicates with the surgical instrument insertion hole. A PCB circuit board and an inflation / deflation control mechanism are fixed in the handheld operating unit. The display screen, operating buttons, and image transmission line are all connected to the PCB circuit board. The inflation / deflation control mechanism is connected to the bending angle adjustment mechanism. A front baffle is fixed to the front end of the soft braided sheath. A high-definition camera with an LED is fixed to the front baffle. An irrigation fluid hole and a surgical instrument extension hole are opened on the front baffle. The high-definition camera with an LED is connected to the image transmission line.

[0009] Furthermore, the handheld operating unit has a functional slot, in which the PCB circuit board and the inflation / deflation control mechanism are fixed. A battery is also fixed in the functional slot. The inflation / deflation control mechanism includes a relay, a miniature inflation pump, a miniature deflation pump, an inflation connection pipe, a deflation connection pipe, a normally closed solenoid valve, and a Y-type connection pipe. The battery is connected to the PCB circuit board. The miniature inflation pump and the miniature deflation pump are both connected to the PCB circuit board via relays. The normally closed solenoid valve is connected to the PCB circuit board. The Y-type connection pipe is connected to the bending angle adjustment mechanism. The miniature inflation pump is connected to one branch of the Y-type connection pipe via the inflation connection pipe. The miniature deflation pump is connected to another branch of the Y-type connection pipe via the deflation connection pipe. Several normally closed solenoid valves are respectively fixed on the inflation connection pipe and the deflation connection pipe.

[0010] Furthermore, the bending angle adjustment mechanism is composed of several pneumatic telescopic units connected in series. Each pneumatic telescopic unit includes a telescopic airbag and an air guide tube. The telescopic airbag expands and extends when inflated and shortens when deflated.

[0011] Furthermore, a microcontroller, a power supply module, a digital-to-analog converter module, an image processing module, and a USB module are fixed on the PCB circuit board. The battery is connected to the microcontroller through the power supply module, the relay is connected to the microcontroller through the digital-to-analog converter module, the display screen and operation buttons are connected to the microcontroller, the high-definition camera with LED is connected to the microcontroller through the image processing module, and the USB module is connected to the microcontroller.

[0012] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: This device combines the advantages of both rigid and flexible choledochoscopes. The tip of the rigid choledochoscope can be adjusted at a large angle to expand the surgical field of view and surgical coverage. The device can achieve multiple angle adjustments of the tip in the up, down, left, and right directions even under limited conditions. The device uses CCD electronic imaging to acquire images from the tip and feed them back to the display on the handle for easy operation and observation by the operator. The surgical scene can be observed without an external display, achieving the purpose of simultaneous hand-eye operation. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip. Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the AA cross-sectional structure; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the front end structure of a rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip. Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the flushing pipe; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the handheld operating unit; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure of the inflation / deflation control mechanism.

[0015] The attached diagram lists the components represented by each number as follows: 1-Handheld operating unit, 2-Rigid sheath, 3-Soft braided sheath, 4-Display screen, 5-Ventilation port, 6-Operating buttons, 7-Irrigation connector, 8-Surgical instrument insertion port, 9-USB interface, 10-Surgical channel tube, 11-Irrigation tube, 12-Image transmission line, 13-Surgical instrument extension hole, 14-Irrigation fluid port, 15-High-definition camera with LED, 16-Fixed tube section, 17-Corrugated tube section, 18-Connector tube section, 21-Outer braided layer, 22-Inner layer Braided layer, 23-bending angle adjustment mechanism, 24-front baffle, 101-functional slot, 102-battery, 103-PCB circuit board, 104-relay, 105-miniature air pump, 106-miniature air pump, 107-normally closed solenoid valve, 110-microcontroller, 111-power module, 112-digital-to-analog converter module, 113-image processing module, 114-USB module, 231-telescopic airbag, 232-air duct, 233-Y-type connecting pipe. Detailed Implementation

[0016] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0017] like Figure 1 As shown, a rigid choledochoscope with an adjustable tip includes a handheld operating unit 1. A rigid sheath 2 is fixed to the front end of the handheld operating unit 1. A soft braided sheath 3 is integrally connected to the front end of the rigid sheath 2. The soft braided sheath is adjustable. A display screen 4 and operation buttons 6 are fixed on the handheld operating unit. A ventilation hole 5 is provided in the area between the display screen and the operation buttons. A USB interface 9 and a surgical instrument insertion hole 8 are provided at the rear end of the handheld operating unit. A flushing connector 7 is provided on the side of the rigid sheath near the handheld operating unit.

[0018] like Figure 2-4 As shown, the top, bottom, left and right sides of the soft braided sheath are respectively fixed with bending angle adjustment mechanisms 23. The bending angle adjustment mechanisms 23 are arranged along the entire length of the soft braided sheath. The soft braided sheath is composed of an outer braided layer 21 and an inner braided layer 22. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is braided and fixed between the outer braided layer and the inner braided layer. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is a pneumatic telescopic structure. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is inflated and extended and deflated and shortened.

[0019] The soft braided sheath contains an irrigation tube 11, a surgical channel tube 10, and an image transmission line 12. The rear end of the irrigation tube extends into the rigid sheath and is connected to the irrigation connector. The section of the irrigation tube within the soft braided sheath is a corrugated section. The surgical channel tube extends to the tail of the handheld operating unit and is connected to the surgical instrument insertion hole. A PCB circuit board and an inflation / deflation control mechanism are fixed in the handheld operating unit. The display screen, operating buttons, and image transmission line are all connected to the PCB circuit board. The inflation / deflation control mechanism is connected to the bending angle adjustment mechanism. A front baffle is fixed to the front end of the soft braided sheath. A high-definition camera 15 with an LED is fixed to the front baffle. An irrigation fluid hole 14 and a surgical instrument extension hole 13 are opened on the front baffle. The high-definition camera with an LED is connected to the image transmission line.

[0020] like Figure 5-6 As shown, the handheld operating unit has a functional slot 101. The PCB circuit board 103 and the inflation / deflation control mechanism are fixed in the functional slot. A storage battery 102 is also fixed in the functional slot. The inflation / deflation control mechanism includes a relay 104, a miniature inflation pump 105, a miniature vacuum pump 106, an inflation connection pipe, a vacuum connection pipe, a normally closed solenoid valve 107, and a Y-type connection pipe 233. The storage battery is connected to the PCB circuit board. The miniature inflation pump and the miniature vacuum pump are both connected to the PCB circuit board through the relay. The normally closed solenoid valve is connected to the PCB circuit board. The Y-type connection pipe is connected to the bending angle adjustment mechanism. The miniature inflation pump is connected to one branch of the Y-type connection pipe through the inflation connection pipe. The miniature vacuum pump is connected to the other branch of the Y-type connection pipe through the vacuum connection pipe. Several normally closed solenoid valves are respectively fixed on the inflation connection pipe and the vacuum connection pipe.

[0021] The bending angle adjustment mechanism is composed of several pneumatic telescopic units connected in series. Each pneumatic telescopic unit includes a telescopic airbag 231 and an air guide tube 232. The telescopic airbag expands and extends after being inflated, and shortens after being deflated.

[0022] The PCB circuit board is equipped with a microcontroller 110, a power module 111, a digital-to-analog converter 112, an image processing module 113, and a USB module 114. The battery is connected to the microcontroller through the power module, the relay is connected to the microcontroller through the digital-to-analog converter, the display screen and operation buttons are connected to the microcontroller, the high-definition camera with LED is connected to the microcontroller through the image processing module, and the USB module is connected to the microcontroller.

[0023] In this embodiment, the microcontroller is a 51 series microcontroller, the power supply module is an AMS1117-3.3V power chip, the digital-to-analog converter module is a DAC0832 type digital-to-analog converter chip, the relay is a J5V-1 type miniature relay, and the image processing module is an MDIN270 chip.

[0024] One specific application of this device is as follows: A minimally invasive incision is made in the patient's abdomen, and the device is inserted. Pressing the power button activates a high-definition LED camera fixed to the front end of the soft braided sheath, which captures real-time images and transmits them to the image processing module on the PCB circuit board. The image processing module then transmits the images to the microcontroller, which in turn transmits them to the display screen for display, providing the operator with a surgical field of view. The operator can insert surgical instruments through the instrument insertion port 8 at the rear of the handheld operating unit and extend them through the instrument extension hole 13 at the front end of the surgical channel tube, enabling simultaneous hand-eye coordination and improving surgical efficiency. Furthermore, a flushing device can be connected via the flushing connector to flush the surgical field of view, preventing blood and dirt from obscuring the view. When adjustments are needed to locate stones in new locations, the device can also be used for other procedures. The bending can be controlled and adjusted using the left, right, up, and down bend buttons. When the left bend button is pressed, the microcontroller outputs a left bend command to the analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The ADC then outputs the command to the relay, which simultaneously activates the micro air pump and the micro air suction pump. At the same time, the microcontroller opens the normally closed solenoid valve on the suction connection pipe of the left bending angle adjustment mechanism 23 and the normally closed solenoid valve on the inflation connection pipe of the right bending angle adjustment mechanism 23. The micro air suction pump then evacuates the left bending angle adjustment mechanism 23 and inflates the right bending angle adjustment mechanism 23. The left side of the soft braided sheath extends after inflation and the right side shortens after deflating. The soft braided sheath then bends to the left to locate the surgical site. The bending in other directions follows a similar principle to the left bend.

[0025] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "an embodiment," "example," and "specific example" indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

Claims

1. A rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip, comprising a handheld operating part, wherein a rigid sheath is fixed to the front end of the handheld operating part, characterized in that, The tip of the rigid sheath is integrally connected to a soft braided sheath, which is flexible and adjustable. The handheld operating unit is equipped with a display screen and operating buttons. A ventilation hole is provided in the area between the display screen and the operating buttons. The tail of the handheld operating unit is provided with a USB interface and a surgical instrument insertion hole. The rigid sheath is provided with a flushing connector on the side near the handheld operating unit. The top, bottom, left, and right sides of the soft braided sheath are respectively fixed with bending angle adjustment mechanisms. The bending angle adjustment mechanisms are arranged along the entire length of the soft braided sheath. The soft braided sheath is composed of an outer braided layer and an inner braided layer. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is woven and fixed between the outer braided layer and the inner braided layer. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is a pneumatic telescopic structure. The bending angle adjustment mechanism is inflated and extended, and then deflated and shortened.

2. The rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip according to claim 1, characterized in that, The soft braided sheath contains an irrigation tube, a surgical channel tube, and an image transmission line. The rear end of the irrigation tube extends into the rigid sheath and is connected to the irrigation connector. The section of the irrigation tube within the soft braided sheath is a corrugated section. The surgical channel tube extends to the tail of the handheld operating unit and is connected to the surgical instrument insertion hole. A PCB circuit board and an inflation / deflation control mechanism are fixed in the handheld operating unit. The display screen, operating buttons, and image transmission line are all connected to the PCB circuit board. The inflation / deflation control mechanism is connected to the bending angle adjustment mechanism. A front baffle is fixed to the front end of the soft braided sheath. A high-definition camera with an LED is fixed on the front baffle. The front baffle has an irrigation fluid hole and a surgical instrument extension hole. The high-definition camera with an LED is connected to the image transmission line.

3. The rigid cholangioscope with adjustable tip according to claim 2, characterized in that, The handheld operating unit has a functional slot, in which the PCB circuit board and the inflation / deflation control mechanism are fixed. A battery is also fixed in the functional slot. The inflation / deflation control mechanism includes a relay, a miniature inflation pump, a miniature deflation pump, an inflation connection pipe, a deflation connection pipe, a normally closed solenoid valve, and a Y-type connection pipe. The battery is connected to the PCB circuit board. The miniature inflation pump and the miniature deflation pump are both connected to the PCB circuit board via relays. The normally closed solenoid valve is connected to the PCB circuit board. The Y-type connection pipe is connected to the bending angle adjustment mechanism. The miniature inflation pump is connected to one branch of the Y-type connection pipe via the inflation connection pipe. The miniature deflation pump is connected to another branch of the Y-type connection pipe via the deflation connection pipe. Several normally closed solenoid valves are respectively fixed on the inflation connection pipe and the deflation connection pipe.

4. A rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that, The bending angle adjustment mechanism is composed of several pneumatic telescopic units connected in series. Each pneumatic telescopic unit includes a telescopic airbag and an air guide tube. The telescopic airbag expands and extends when inflated and shortens when deflated.

5. A rigid cholangioscope with an adjustable tip according to claim 4, characterized in that, The PCB circuit board is equipped with a microcontroller, a power supply module, a digital-to-analog converter module, an image processing module, and a USB module. The battery is connected to the microcontroller through the power supply module, the relay is connected to the microcontroller through the digital-to-analog converter module, the display screen and operation buttons are connected to the microcontroller, the high-definition camera with LED is connected to the microcontroller through the image processing module, and the USB module is connected to the microcontroller.

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