Endoscope Control Device for Combination-Based Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscope maintenance systems fail to effectively monitor and manage the combination of main body units and endoscopes, leading to inadequate identification of symptoms or failures, as they do not consider the specific maintenance needs of endoscopes used after replacement or the interaction between the control device, light source device, and endoscopes.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope control device and maintenance support method that utilizes a networked system with a relay apparatus and management apparatus to collect and store examination data, including identification and state information, allowing for detailed analysis of endoscope operations and maintenance needs, enabling appropriate maintenance by tracking the combination of main body units and endoscopes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If operation amount is collected separately for each device (control device, light source device, endoscope), then device maintenance can be managed individually, but the symptoms of troubles or failures caused by combinations of main body unit and endoscopes cannot be identified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the separate operation amount collections of control device, light source device, and endoscope into a unified combination-based operation amount. By associating operation data with specific endoscope-main body combinations rather than treating devices independently, the system captures failure symptoms that arise from interactions between components, resolving the information loss while maintaining ease of individual device maintenance management.
2Productivity
If endoscopes are repeatedly used without combination-specific tracking, then device utilization is maximized, but appropriate maintenance cannot be performed for replaced endoscopes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary tracking of endoscope-main body combinations before failures occur. By continuously recording operation amounts and usage patterns for each combination, the system enables proactive maintenance scheduling that accounts for replaced endoscopes, ensuring appropriate maintenance is performed while maximizing endoscope utilization without compromising reliability.
3Measurement precision
If detailed combination data is collected and stored, then maintenance accuracy is improved, but system complexity and data management burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a universal data collection framework that serves multiple functions: tracking operation amounts, monitoring usage patterns, identifying failure symptoms, and scheduling maintenance. By using a single integrated data management approach rather than separate systems for each function, the patent achieves high maintenance accuracy while minimizing the increase in system complexity and data management burden.
Data Source
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AI summary
There are provided an endoscope control device, an endoscope maintenance support method, and a non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing an endoscope maintenance support program capable of appropriately performing maintenance of an endoscope. An endoscope apparatus includes: a storage control unit that stores transmission data including identification information of an examination performed using an endoscope and state information, which indicates a state of hardware included in the endoscope under the examination, in a ROM; and a transmission control unit that transmits the transmission data to a relay apparatus through a communication interface.