Abstract: The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus comprising an elongated carrier adapted to be inserted through a proximal opening of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract lumen; a piston head, coupled to a distal portion of the carrier, and configured to: be inflated so as to form and maintain a pressure seal with a wall of the GI tract lumen, and be advanced distally through the GI tract in response to pressure from a fluid pressure source; a distal balloon coupled to the carrier distal to the piston head and configured and operable to be inflated so as to dilate the lumen thereby creating a working space; and a control unit, configured and operable to control simultaneously a pressure level within the piston head and a pressure level within the distal balloon.

Abstract: An endolumenal robotic system provides the surgeon with the ability to drive a robotically-driven endoscopic device to a desired anatomical position in a patient without the need for awkward motions and positions, while also enjoying improved image quality from a digital camera mounted on the endoscopic device.

Abstract: An endoscope which can reduce time and labor for cleaning processing is provided. The endoscope includes: a distal end portion body which is provided on the distal end side of an insertion portion; a rotating shaft which is rotatably supported in the distal end portion body; an elevator which is coupled with one end of the rotating shaft; an elevator erecting lever which is coupled with the other end of the rotating shaft; an operating wire which rotates the rotating shaft through the elevator erecting lever by operation of an operating member and raises the elevator; a partition wall which includes a holding hole to support the rotating shaft; and a seal member which is disposed between the holding hole and the rotating shaft, at least part of the seal member being exposed to a surface side facing the elevator of the partition wall.

Abstract: A shank for a flexible endoscope or for a flexible endoscopic instrument includes a first shank portion and, a second shank portion, angled relative to a distal end region of the first shank portion by a longitudinal adjustment of at least one tensioning means which is guided in a longitudinally displaceable manner inside the second shank portion and connected to a distal end region of the second shank portion. The longitudinal adjustment by least one threaded drive, which can be driven by at least one torsion shaft extending inside the first shank portion. The invention also relates to a flexible endoscope and a flexible endoscopic instrument.

Abstract: An insertion device includes a first rotating member, and a second rotating member coaxially arranged with a rotational axis of the first rotating member and rotating about the rotational axis to bend a bending section. The insertion device includes a moving member arranged inside the first rotating member and the second rotating member along the rotational axis and being movable between a state where an electrical driving force is transmitted to the second rotating member and a state where the electrical driving force is not transmitted to the second rotating member.

Abstract: An insertion device includes a support member supporting a rotating tubular member between a base member and the rotating tubular member in diametrical directions and holding the rotating tubular member at a position where a rotation driving force is transmittable from a driving unit to an inner peripheral portion of the rotating tubular member connected to the driving unit. The insertion device includes a distal side ring member maintaining liquid-tightness between an outer peripheral portion of the base member and the inner peripheral portion of the rotating tubular member to a distal direction side of the driving unit placement cavity, and a proximal side ring member maintaining liquid-tightness between the outer peripheral portion of the base member and the inner peripheral portion of the rotating tubular member to a proximal direction side of the driving unit placement cavity.

Abstract: The endoscope includes: a rotating shaft in a distal end portion body of an insertion portion; an elevator which is coupled with one end of the rotating shaft; an elevator erecting lever which is coupled with the other end; an operating wire which rotates the rotating shaft through the elevator erecting lever to erect the elevator; a partition wall including a holding hole to support the rotating shaft; and a seal member disposed between the holding hole and the rotating shaft. The configuration of the rotating shaft and a positional relation between the rotating shaft and the seal member are improved so as to reduce time and labor taken for cleaning processing of the endoscope.

Abstract: It is described an endoscope to perform surgeries preferably by perforation in translumenal organs in internal organs, comprising an insertion tube (10?) having a distal end (12?) and at least two working channels, one working channel having a smaller diameter (20?) and one working channel having a larger diameter (30?), the working channels (20?,30?) being capable of receiving surgical tools, the endoscope comprising at least two command cables (9?) operatively associated with the working channel of smaller diameter (20?) and at least two command cables (9?) operatively associated with the working channel of larger diameter (30?), the command cables (9?) being capable of allowing the surgical tool, arranged on any of the working channels (20?,30?), to move in any direction, regardless of the movement of the distal end (12?) of the insertion tube (10?).

Abstract: A medical manipulator including: an elongated main body that is to be inserted into a body; an arm that is provided so as to be protruded forward from a distal end surface of the main body; and an observation part that is located on the distal end surface of the main body and that has an objective optical system for collecting light coming from a front direction, in which the arm and the observation part are relatively movably provided such that the objective optical system is located at a position equivalent to the position of a distal end of the arm or at a position anterior to the distal end of the arm and is located at a position posterior to the distal end of the arm.

Abstract: Since a lower-surface side opening of an elevator housing slit is closed by a partition wall portion of a cap in normal operation, and a rotating shaft receiving portion of an elevator has a rotating shaft housing groove opened on the side opposite to the lower surface when the elevator is attached to a distal end portion body, the elevator is not removed structurally at an angle of the elevator when the treatment tool is operated to be stood, and a rotating shaft and the rotating shaft receiving portion do not have to be attached excessively tightly. Therefore, a work load in disassembling and assembling of a distal end portion can be set appropriately, and workability in disassembling and assembling is improved. Moreover, as a result, the distal end portion can be cleaned rapidly and easily.

Abstract: A bending portion includes: a bending piece set in which a plurality of bending pieces are continuously provided by forming a convex portion on a first bending piece and a concave portion on a second bending piece by cutting a rigid pipe, the convex portion and the concave portion forming an engagement portion that pivotably couples adjacent bending pieces to each other, wherein a first engagement portion includes: a first convex portion formed on the first bending piece and including a first peripheral portion serving as a first pivoting surface; and a first concave portion formed on the second bending piece and including a first inner circumferential portion on which the first peripheral portion slides, and the first engagement portion has, in the first peripheral portion, a tapered surface having an outer diameter that becomes smaller from a bending piece inner surface side toward a bending piece outer surface side.

Abstract: An endoscope includes: a tip portion main body provided at a tip portion of an insertion section; a camera unit attachment hole provided so as to penetrate the tip portion main body; a camera unit of which tip portion is fitted into a tip portion of the camera unit attachment hole; a locking member disposed at an outer peripheral surface of the camera unit so as to be movable in a direction that is orthogonal to the axial direction; a projection provided on either one of the locking member and the camera unit; a sliding portion provided on the other one of the locking member and the camera unit; and a locking biasing member configured to bias the locking member in the direction t orthogonal to the axial direction within the camera unit attachment hole and to push the locking member against the camera unit attachment hole.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus includes an observation optical system, a solid-state imaging element, a memory section, and an image processing section, wherein the memory section stores the information therein for specifying the image cutting-out region for the process of cutting out the image for display, which corresponds to an overlapping region in which a displayable pixel area of the solid-state imaging element and an imaging area of the optical image to be formed on the solid-state imaging element by the observation optical system overlap one another, and overlap one another when the center of the imaging area is matched with the center of the display area, as the image cutting-out information, and the image processing section expands the image for display to an image size of the display area, when an image size of the cut-out image for display becomes smaller than the image size of the display area.

Abstract: A medical system is provided comprising a medical device including a handle and a mechanism for moving a distal end of the medical device; an auxiliary medical device comprising a basket retrieval device including a basket sheath disposed over a basket wire and received into a working channel of the medical device; a knob assembly in communication with the basket retrieval device, the knob assembly rotatable so that the basket sheath, wire, or both move within the working channel; and a base removably connecting the auxiliary medical device to the handle wherein the handle and the base are configured to be simultaneously gripped with a hand, and wherein the mechanism is configured to be moved with a first finger to move the distal end of the medical device and the knob assembly is configured to be rotated with a second finger to move the basket sheath wire, or both.

Abstract: Gastrointestinal apparatus (200) is provided for use with a fluid pressure source (240). The gastrointestinal apparatus (200) includes a guiding element (214), adapted to be inserted into a colon, and a piston head (220) coupled to a distal portion of the guiding element (214). The piston head (220) is adapted to be inflated to form a first pressure seal between the piston head (220) and a wall of the colon after the guiding element (214) has been inserted into the colon, and be advanced distally through the colon in response to pressure from the fluid pressure source (240) applied to an external surface of the piston head (220). The apparatus (200) further includes a gastrointestinal tool (210) adapted to be advanced along the guiding element (214), and an annular balloon (228) coupled around a distal portion of the gastrointestinal tool (210), the balloon (228) expandable to form a second pressure seal between the distal portion of the gastrointestinal tool (210) and the wall of the colon.

Abstract: There is provided an endoscope which can clean a distal end portion promptly and easily. An elevator housed in an elevator housing space of a distal end portion body is coupled with an erecting lever of an erecting lever housing chamber through a rotating shaft. A rotating shaft receiving portion formed with an engagement hole engaged with the rotating shaft and an engagement hole loosely fitted thereto is provided in the elevator, the elevator is retreated from the elevator housing slit by loosely fitting the elevator to the rotating shaft in cleaning.

Abstract: There is provided an endoscope which can clean a distal end portion promptly and easily. An elevator housed in an elevator housing space of a distal end portion body is coupled with an erecting lever of an erecting lever housing chamber through a rotating shaft. A first shaft portion which is engaged with an engagement hole of the elevator and a second shaft portion which is provided on the distal end side of the first shaft portion and is loosely fitted to an engagement hole of the elevator are provided in the rotating shaft. The elevator is avoided from the elevator housing slit by loosely fitting the engagement hole of the elevator to the second shaft portion at cleaning.

Abstract: A light-conducting device for an endoscope for conducting observation light from a proximal end of the endoscope to a distal end of the endoscope includes a number of optical fibers. Each optical fiber includes a proximal end with a light inlet surface, which is provided for positioning on a proximal end of an endoscope, and a distal end with a light outlet surface, which is provided for positioning on a distal end of an endoscope. Each of the number of optical fibers including in a proximal region a first cross-section with a first surface area, and in a distal region a second cross-section with a second surface area. The first surface area is larger than the second surface area.

Abstract: An endoscope device includes a flexible insertion portion; a flexible tube portion; a first bending portion; a second bending portion; an observation portion; a first drive portion bending the first bending portion; a second drive portion bending the second bending portion; a position detection portion detecting a position of a rigid distal end portion of a medical instrument; first and second bending detection portions detecting radii of curvature of axes of channels formed in the first and second bending portions and directions in which the channels are bent when an input signal generated by the position detection portion is received, respectively; and a control portion configured to control generating a second drive signal driving the second drive portion based on a first drive signal driving the first drive portion, and sending the second drive signal to the second drive portion while sending the first drive signal.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for harvesting at least a portion of a blood vessel, such as the radial artery in the upper extremity and the saphenous vein in the lower extremity. In certain embodiments, an endoscopic surgical system includes a blunt tip trocar (BTT) for insertion into an incision in the extremity, a cannula for insertion through the BTT, a bisector/bipolar device, and an endoscope. The endoscope may have a dissection tip at its distal end for dissecting tissue from the blood vessel and, with the tip removed, may provide a visual field at its distal end. The endoscope is sized to fit into the cannula and provides visualization of the blood vessel during bisection with the bisector/bipolar device.