Multi-Camera Endoscope Tip with Overlapping Side Views
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional endoscopes often miss pathological objects, such as polyps, located on the inner sides of body cavity folds due to limited field of view, leading to incomplete detection and potential late cancer discovery.
Innovation Solution
A multi-camera endoscope with a tip section equipped with two or more side-pointing cameras, each with a discrete illuminator, providing a combined field of view that covers front and side views, along with a front-pointing camera, a working channel, and a pathway fluid injector for surgical tool insertion and cavity inflation/cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single camera is used in conventional endoscopes, then the device structure remains simple, but the field of view is limited and pathological objects on inner sides of body cavity folds are missed
Solution Approach 1:
The endoscope camera system is segmented into multiple independent cameras positioned at different locations and orientations. Each camera captures a specific view (front, side, or angled), and together they provide comprehensive coverage of the body cavity including areas hidden from a single viewpoint.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-viewpoint (one-dimensional observation) to multi-viewpoint (three-dimensional observation) imaging. By positioning cameras at different spatial locations and angles, the system captures pathological objects from multiple dimensions, ensuring complete detection around the endoscope.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple cameras are added to expand the field of view, then detection coverage improves, but the device complexity and structural constraints increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple cameras, illuminators, and other functional components are merged into a single integrated tip section assembly. This consolidation allows the endoscope to achieve comprehensive field of view coverage while managing structural complexity through unified design rather than separate modular additions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the tip section are assigned different functional qualities: some areas house cameras for imaging, others contain illuminators for lighting, and specific positions are optimized for capturing front views, side views, or angled perspectives. This localized functional differentiation maximizes detection capability within structural constraints.
3Reliability
If cameras are positioned to cover all angles, then 360-degree detection is achieved, but the tip section size and insertion difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tip section incorporates a bending mechanism that allows dynamic adjustment of camera orientations during the procedure. This enables the system to achieve comprehensive angular coverage and 360-degree detection capability while maintaining a compact profile suitable for insertion, as the cameras can be repositioned dynamically rather than requiring fixed omnidirectional placement.
Data Source
AI summary
A tip section of a multi-camera endoscope includes a front-pointing camera on a planar surface of a distal end of the tip section and two side-pointing cameras positioned on a cylindrical surface in proximity to the planar surface such that the side field of view provided by the two side-pointing cameras partially overlaps with the front field of view provided by the front-pointing camera. The tip section further includes a working channel configured for insertion of a surgical tool; and a pathway fluid injector for inflating and/or cleaning a body cavity into which the endoscope is inserted.