Endoscopic system

摘要

An endoscopic system includes an insertion-section, a wire, an adjustment-unit, a memory, a shape-acquiring-unit and a controller. The insertion-section includes a tubular-section and a bending-section. The wire is inserted in the insertion-section and pulled and loosened to bend the bending-section. The adjustment-unit adjusts tensile force applied to the wire. The memory stores correspondent information including a relationship between increase/decrease information indicative of increase/decrease in the tensile force due to a shape of the tubular-section and shape information indicative of the shape of the tubular-section. The shape-acquiring-unit acquires the shape of the tubular-section. The controller obtains the increase/decrease information corresponding to the shape information acquired by the shape-acquiring-unit with reference to the correspondent information, generates an adjustment signal configured to drive the adjustment-unit based on the increase/decrease information, and outputs the adjustment signal to the adjustment-unit.

主权项

1. An endoscopic system comprising:
a flexible elongated endoscope insertion section; a manipulator wire configured to be pulled and loosened; a manipulator which is inserted in the endoscope insertion section along a longitudinal direction of the endoscope insertion section to protrude from a distal end of the endoscope insertion section, and includes a manipulator bending section which is bent by the manipulator wire being pulled and loosened and a flexible elongated manipulator tubular section which is connected to a proximal end of the manipulator bending section, the manipulator wire being inserted in the manipulator tubular section; a pulley configured to pull and loosen the manipulator wire so as to bend the manipulator bending section; a manipulator adjustment unit comprising a movable member configured to move toward the manipulator wire and away from the manipulator wire, such that engagement of the movable member changes a length of a path of the manipulator wire so as to adjust a tensile force applied to the manipulator wire, the manipulator adjustment unit being separately provided from the pulley; a manipulator shape information acquiring unit configured to acquire shape information indicating a shape of the manipulator tubular section, the shape of the manipulator tubular section including a bending angle or a curvature of the manipulator tubular section; a memory unit which pre-stores correspondent information including a relationship between increase/decrease information and the shape information, the increase/decrease information indicating an increase/decrease in the tensile force due to the shape of the manipulator tubular section, the correspondent information being used to adjust the tensile force with keeping a same operational feeling irrespective of the shape of the manipulator tubular section; and a control unit configured to
(i) obtain the increase/decrease information corresponding to the shape information acquired by the manipulator shape information acquiring unit with reference to the correspondent information stored in the memory unit,(ii) generate an adjustment signal configured to drive the manipulator adjustment unit based on the increase/decrease information to adjust the tensile force with keeping the same operational feeling irrespective of the shape of the manipulator tubular section so as to cancel the increase/decrease in the tensile force due to the shape of the manipulator tubular section, and(iii) output the adjustment signal to the manipulator adjustment unit.