Endoscope Lumen Scanning Control for Complete Inner Wall Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscope systems face challenges in ensuring comprehensive scanning of luminal structures, such as the intestinal tract, leading to missed lesions due to uneven scanning and the burden of manual operation on physicians during procedures like colonoscopy.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope system with a controlled turning mechanism and advancing/retreating mechanism to systematically scan the inner wall of the lumen, ensuring exhaustive imaging by controlling the field of view using a processor to manage these mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual operation of the endoscope is performed by a physician, then flexibility and adaptability during the procedure are maintained, but uneven scanning of the lumen occurs leading to missed lesions
Solution Approach 1:
The endoscope system performs self-navigation and self-scanning through automated control mechanisms. The distal end section automatically navigates along the lumen wall and rotates to scan 360 degrees without requiring continuous manual manipulation, enabling the system to serve itself in completing the scanning task consistently
Solution Approach 2:
Manual mechanical operation by the physician is replaced with an automated control system that uses sensors and processing units to navigate and scan the lumen. The mechanical navigation and rotation are controlled automatically based on detected position and orientation information
2Manufacturing precision
If automated navigation control is implemented, then scanning consistency and completeness are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit integrates multiple functions including navigation control, scanning control, rotation control, and coordinate transformation into a single integrated system. This multi-functional approach reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate control mechanisms for each function
Solution Approach 2:
A processing unit acts as an intermediary between sensors and control mechanisms. It receives signals from sensors, performs coordinate transformation and position calculation, then generates control commands, thereby simplifying the overall control architecture through centralized processing
3Reliability
If the distal end section is rotated 360 degrees for complete scanning, then comprehensive coverage is achieved, but the time required for scanning increases
Solution Approach 1:
The distal end section performs periodic rotation at specific positions along the lumen. Instead of continuous rotation, the system rotates to predetermined angles (e.g., 0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) at designated locations, achieving comprehensive coverage through discrete periodic scanning actions
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-determines the scanning positions and rotation angles based on the detected lumen geometry and endoscope orientation. This preliminary planning allows efficient scanning without unnecessary rotations, optimizing the balance between completeness and time
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces the likelihood of missed lesions by ensuring complete coverage of the luminal structure without overburdening the physician with manual operation, although not guaranteeing complete prevention of all misses.
Implementation Method 1
an objective optical system that is provided in the insertion body and acquires light from a subject as subject light
Implementation Method 2
an image sensor that performs imaging based on the subject light to acquire a captured image within a field of view
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope system includes: an insertion body inserted into a lumen; an objective optical system that is provided in the insertion body and acquires light from a subject as subject light; an image sensor that performs imaging based on the subject light to acquire a captured image within a field of view; a turning mechanism that causes a distal end of the insertion body to rotate around a reference axis that is an axis of the insertion body; an advancing/retreating mechanism that moves the insertion body in a direction corresponding to the reference axis; and a processor that includes hardware and is configured to control the turning mechanism and the advancing/retreating mechanism to control the field of view of the image sensor. The processor controls the turning mechanism and the advancing/retreating mechanism to perform scan of an inner wall of the lumen based on the field of view.