The endoscope device includes an optical seeker (2) for at least partially inserting into the body or cavity to observe or image an object or part that is difficult to see by the naked eye. The optical seeker of the endoscope device is formed by an optical rod with a refractive index gradient.

用于特別是醫療用途的內窺鏡設備

Endoscopic equipment for medical purposes in particular

本發明的領域是用于對肉眼難以看到的器官、管道或腔體的內部進行探測和觀察的內窺鏡儀器的領域。

The field of the invention is the field of endoscopic instruments for detecting and observing the interior of organs, pipes or cavities that are difficult to be seen by the naked eye.

更具體地，本發明涉及一種包括光學導引頭的內窺鏡設備，該光學導引頭被設計成插入到身體或腔體中以使得人眼難以看到的物體或部位可視化或將之放大。

More specifically, the invention relates to an endoscope device including an optical seeker designed to be inserted into a body or cavity to visualize or enlarge an object or part that is difficult for the human eye to see.

本發明具有多種應用，尤其是在針對用于診斷和/或治療目的的人體的器官的內部檢查的醫療成像領域(操作的內窺鏡)或在用于對空心體和機械部件的內部結構進行觀察和檢查的工業領域中具有多種應用。

The invention has a variety of applications, especially in the field of medical imaging (operating endoscope) for internal inspection of human organs for diagnostic and / or therapeutic purposes, or in the industrial field for observing and inspecting the internal structure of hollow bodies and mechanical components.

在此文獻的以下部分中將力求更具體地描述醫學成像領域中以及更特別地是在本專利申請的

The following parts of this document will strive to describe more specifically in the field of medical imaging and more particularly in the present patent application

所面臨的眼部成像領域(對眼睛的內部結構的觀察)中存在的問題和困難。當然，本發明并不限于這種特別的應用領域，而是還關注用于處理類似或近似問題和困難的任何內窺鏡設備(或內窺鏡)。

Problems and difficulties in the field of eye imaging (observation of the internal structure of the eye). Of course, the present invention is not limited to this particular field of application, but also focuses on any endoscopic device (or endoscope) for dealing with similar or approximate problems and difficulties.

目前用于檢查人眼的結構的內窺鏡設備包括用來穿過患者的器官的被稱為光學導引頭的剛性侵入性部件。這個光學導引頭通常由具有幾毫米的外徑的金屬管(例如具有

Endoscopic devices currently used to examine the structure of the human eye include rigid invasive components called optical guides used to pass through the patient's organs. This optical seeker usually consists of a metal tube with an outer diameter of a few millimeters (e.g. with

0.9毫米的外徑的不銹鋼管)形成，該金屬管容納有由一系列光學透鏡形成的或由用粘接劑粘合的光纖束形成的光學系統。

A stainless steel tube with an outer diameter of 0.9 mm, which accommodates an optical system formed by a series of optical lenses or an optical fiber bundle bonded with an adhesive.

通常地，光纖束通過適配器連接至圖像傳感器(如視頻攝像機)，圖像傳感器本身連接至顯示屏。光纖束能夠將被觀測物體的圖像輸送至圖像傳感器，在這些圖像成形之后，將圖像再實時地傳輸至顯示屏。

Typically, the optical fiber bundle is connected to an image sensor (such as a video camera) through an adapter, and the image sensor itself is connected to the display screen. The optical fiber bundle can transmit the images of the observed object to the image sensor. After these images are formed, the images are transmitted to the display screen in real time.

金屬管還設置有通過光纖照明的系統，該光纖用于將光從設置有光源的外部封裝件一直輸送至觀察區域。

The metal tube is also provided with a system for lighting through an optical fiber, which is used to transport the light from the external package provided with the light source to the observation area.

夾持裝置固定地接合至金屬管以利于對內窺鏡和空間定位的操作。

The clamping device is fixedly engaged to the metal tube to facilitate the operation of the endoscope and spatial positioning.

然而，這種類型的內窺鏡有許多缺點。

However, this type of endoscope has many disadvantages.

為了確保當光學導引頭被插入到患者的器官中時光學導引頭的剛性，金屬管必須具有一定的厚度。這就限制了到達圖像傳感器的光的量。因為由圖像傳感器捕捉的細節的量因此而受到限制，所以相對地降低了呈現在屏上的圖像的質量。

In order to ensure the rigidity of the optical seeker when the optical seeker is inserted into the patient's organ, the metal tube must have a certain thickness. This limits the amount of light reaching the image sensor. Because the amount of detail captured by the image sensor is limited, the quality of the image presented on the screen is relatively reduced.

另外，不論光學導引頭是由光學透鏡形成的還是由光纖形成的，光學導引頭在技術上是復雜的并且制造成本聞。

In addition, whether the optical seeker is formed by an optical lens or an optical fiber, the optical seeker is technically complex and has low manufacturing cost.

當然，使用光學透鏡的導引頭需要在由于小型化要求而具有有限尺寸的金屬管(管的內徑有時可能小至幾百微米)中的非常精確的一組多個光學透鏡，以形成內窺鏡的光學物鏡。透鏡是特別易損的光學部件。

Of course, a seeker using an optical lens requires a very accurate set of multiple optical lenses in a metal tube with limited size due to miniaturization requirements (the inner diameter of the tube may sometimes be as small as hundreds of microns) to form an optical objective of the endoscope. Lenses are particularly vulnerable optical components.

另外，導引頭的線纜通常包括較長(可達數米)的光纖束，這會導致不可忽略的光損耗。光纖線纜的尺寸較大并且使內窺鏡不容易被操作。

In addition, the cable of the seeker usually includes a long (up to several meters) optical fiber bundle, which will lead to non negligible optical loss. The size of the optical fiber cable is large and makes the endoscope difficult to operate.

最后，為了避免患者的任何感染風險，需要使用可用的無菌的內窺鏡設備。為此，內窺鏡在每次被使用之前要消毒(例如，通過高壓滅菌器而消毒)，這常常導致內窺鏡過早老化。這不僅包括與患者直接接觸的光學導引頭和夾持裝置，而且包括光纖線纜。這些特征使得高壓滅菌器的操作困難并且是系統損壞和劣化的源頭。

Finally, in order to avoid any risk of infection for patients, it is necessary to use available sterile endoscopic equipment. For this reason, the endoscope should be disinfected before each use (e.g. by autoclave), which often leads to premature aging of the endoscope. This includes not only the optical seeker and clamping device in direct contact with the patient, but also the optical fiber cable. These characteristics make the operation of autoclave difficult and are the source of system damage and deterioration.

因此，需要一種使用簡單、在健康安全方面提供保證并且能夠呈現高品質圖像的低成本的內窺鏡設備。

Therefore, there is a need for a low-cost endoscope device that is simple to use, provides assurance in terms of health and safety, and can present high-quality images.

本發明的目的

Object of the invention

在至少一個實施方式中，本發明的目的尤其是為了克服現有技術的這些不同的缺點。

In at least one embodiment, the object of the invention is particularly to overcome these different disadvantages of the prior art.

更特別地，本發明的至少一個實施方式的目的是提供一種可以用來獲得易于制造和組裝的低成本的內窺鏡設備的技術。

More particularly, it is an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a technology that can be used to obtain a low-cost endoscopic device that is easy to manufacture and assemble.

本發明的至少一個實施方式的目的還在于提供一種由內窺鏡設備所呈現的與由現有技術的內窺鏡設備所呈現的圖像質量相比而言提高圖像質量的類型的技術。

It is also an object of at least one embodiment of the present invention to provide a type of technology that improves the image quality presented by the endoscope device compared with the image quality presented by the endoscope device of the prior art.

換言之，在至少一個實施方式中，本技術的目的之一是在例如醫學成像的情況下使內窺鏡設備的使用更容易。

In other words, in at least one embodiment, one of the purposes of the present technology is to make the use of the endoscope device easier in the case of medical imaging, for example.

本發明的至少一個實施方式的另一目的是提供一種克服由于消毒操作而引起的與部件的過早老化有關的限制的類型的技術。

Another object of at least one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a type of technology to overcome limitations related to premature aging of components due to disinfection operations.