11 results about "Flexible endoscopy" patented technology

This invention is entitled "Apparatus and Method for Sterilizing Endoscopes". The invention discloses a method for sterilizing articles such as flexible endoscopes, the method being performed in a sterilization chamber. A vacuum is applied to the sterilization chamber while the articles are contained within it. A sterilizing agent is then introduced into the sterilization chamber. The pressure within the sterilization chamber is gradually increased to provide a gradual transition from a high vacuum state to atmospheric pressure. The articles are thus sterilized.

The present application belongs to the technical field of medical robot control, and provides an active modeling control method for a magnetically driven flexible endoscope, which comprises the following steps: acquiring an actual bending angle of a tip of the endoscope; calculating a nominal control input current by using a nominal controller; constructing an extended discrete state space model of the magnetically driven flexible endoscope; performing real-time estimation on the extended discrete state space model by using a nonlinear state estimation algorithm; constructing a quadratic cost function containing an estimated value of the modeling error, and obtaining an optimal compensation control input current by minimizing the quadratic cost function; adding the nominal control input current and the optimal compensation control input current to obtain an actual input current, which is output to a driving mechanism to control the bending angle of the flexible endoscope. The present method can reduce the phase lag phenomenon of a conventional controller, and greatly reduce the steady-state and dynamic tracking errors.

The disclosed technology relates to a guiding arrangement for receiving and guiding a tool of a surgical instrument, in particular of a single-use flexible endoscope, comprising a working shaft adaptor; a tubular working shaft connected to the working shaft adaptor and comprising a working channel extending beyond the working shaft adaptor; and a curved guiding element with a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the distal end is connected to the working shaft adaptor such that the curved guiding element guides the working channel along a curved trajectory to the proximal end. Furthermore, the disclosed technology relates to a corresponding surgical instrument, e.g., a single-use flexible endoscope.

The application belongs to the technical field of medical devices, and particularly relates to a flexible endoscope autonomous path planning method, device and system, wherein the flexible endoscope autonomous path planning method comprises: pre-processing an endoscope image; obtaining a visual depth map from the endoscope image and constructing a three-dimensional point cloud map; identifying and contouring a target in the endoscope image to obtain target position information; fusing the three-dimensional point cloud map and the target position information to construct a dynamic environment model; generating a safe path according to the dynamic environment model and movement constraint conditions of an endoscope catheter; and using a deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm to generate a movement strategy according to a current environment state, with the safe path as a reference trajectory. Through visual depth recovery and reinforcement learning strategy, the application realizes real-time three-dimensional environment reconstruction, autonomous obstacle avoidance and accurate tracking of a moving target of the endoscope in a dynamic human body cavity.

A device insertion method for observing the lateral wall of the lumen includes: rotating a hollow organ by changing a body position; turning the tip of the device to the lateral wall of the lumen by rotating the device; and retracting the organ with the device itself by rotating the device, In other embodiments, an endoscope insertion method for observing the lateral side of the organ includes: rotating a body cavity by changing a body position; turning the tip of the flexible endoscope to the lateral side of the organ by rotating the flexible endoscope; and retracting the organ with the flexible endoscope itself by rotating the flexible endoscope.

The present invention provides a shaft (1) for a surgical instrument, in particular for a flexible endoscopic instrument, comprising: an inner shaft structure layer (2) with a distal end (3) and a proximal end (4), wherein the inner shaft structure layer (2) has a through-opening (5) for receiving a working channel and / or an optical imaging device, wherein the through-opening (5) extends axially from the proximal end (4) to the distal end (3), and wherein the inner shaft structure layer (2) comprises a slot (6) for laterally opening the inner shaft structure layer (2), wherein the slot (6) is arranged at least sectionally between the proximal end (4) and the distal end (3).Furthermore, the present invention provides a surgical instrument (100) with such a shaft (1) and a method for mounting a working channel and / or an optical imaging device to a shaft (1) for a surgical instrument.

The present invention relates to a deflection control mechanism for a medical device, particularly for a steerable flexible endoscope, the endoscope having an elongate flexible shaft comprising a steerable section that is deflectable by movement of at least one pair of counteracting control wires, the deflection control mechanism comprising a support structure, a drive wheel rotatably supported in or on the support structure, and an elongate traction element having a flexible section, a first coupling section connected to a first end of the flexible section and a second coupling section connected to a second end of the flexible section, wherein the flexible section of the traction element mechanically engages with the drive wheel, wherein the first and second coupling sections each comprise a fixation element for fixing a respective proximal end of each control wire of the at least one pair of control wires, whereas each control wire features a respective guide tube to guide each respective control wire along a longitudinal axis, the respective guide tube being held in a respective guide tube mount opening of a guide tube mount of the support structure, the guide tube mount opening having an entry opening to accept the respective guide tube. Furthermore, the invention relates to a medical device, a method for servicing and a method for assembling a deflection control mechanism or a medical device.

Systems, methods and devices are provided for robotic endoscopy using a robotically-controlled dual-arm flexible endoscope, with a first robotic arm holding and controlling a robotically-controlled endoscope handle manipulator, and a second robotic arm holding and controlling an endoscope actuator for advancement and retraction of a distal tip of the endoscope. Each robotic arm is capable of a multitude of movements that essentially mimic the function of human arms and hands, allowing the flexible endoscope to be repositioned, twisted and torqued as a human operator would in order to change the direction of the flexible endoscope as it moves through non-linear organic structures within a body cavity of an animal or human. The robotic arms may be mounted on a single base and controlled via a single controller mechanism or on separate bases with separate controller mechanisms to potentially allow for increased angles of movement and positioning for each robotic arm.

A flexible endoscope system for surgical operation is disclosed. The endoscope system comprises a head and a control handle detachably connected to each other. The detachable connection is achieved by engagement of a first and a second mating keys (32, 13) formed on the head and the control handle (1) respectively. The head comprises a shaft (2), a flexible end portion (2A) at a distal end of the shaft (2), an image sensor module (21), such as an end chip camera, disposed on the flexible end portion (2A), and drive cables (4) extending in the shaft (2) for controlling multi-degree of freedom movement of the flexible end portion (2A). The control handle (1) comprises a plurality of motors (12) for tensioning or relaxing the drive cables (4) through a capstan assembly. Control elements are provided on the control handle (1) to allow a user to trigger complex movements of the flexible end portion (2A) to form an S-shape so that an aerial view of a surgical site can be obtained through the endoscope system.

The present disclosure provides a shaft for a surgical instrument, e.g., a flexible endoscopic instrument, that includes: an inner shaft structure layer having a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the inner shaft structure layer comprises a through-opening for receiving a working channel and / or an optical image device, wherein the through-opening extends axially from the proximal end to the distal end, and wherein the inner shaft structure layer comprises a slot for laterally opening the inner shaft structure layer, wherein the slot is arranged at least section-wise between the proximal end and the distal end. In addition, the disclosed technology provides a surgical instrument comprising such a shaft as well as a method for assembling a working channel and / or an optical image device to a shaft for a surgical instrument.