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US 11,529,038 B2Granted
Endoscope with inertial measurement units and / or haptic input controls
AssigneeElements Endoscopy, Inc.
InventorsBrian H. Craig, Dwight Meglan
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An endoscope having an insertion tube with a distal optical module and a releasable handle. In a semi-robotic embodiment, the handle comprises haptic controllers and a computer configured for steering and/or adjusting physical properties of the insertion tube in response to one or more command inputs from the haptic controllers. The computer may also convert image data received from the optical module into two-dimensional images displayable on a monitor. The endoscope may have inertial measurement units (IMUs) for providing data to the computer for creating a digital three-dimensional image representation of an anatomy model and/or for facilitating handling properties of the endoscope.
Claims22
An endoscope system comprising:
- a flexible elongate insertion tube having a deflectable distal end and a proximal end releasably connected to a handle;
- an optical module disposed at the distal end of the insertion tube and adapted to receive images of a body cavity of a living body;
- one or more distal inertial measurement units (IMUs) disposed at the distal end of the insertion tube;
- one or more intermediate IMUs disposed at a proximal end of a distal segment of the insertion tube, the distal segment proximally extending from the distal end of the insertion tube;
- and
- a plurality of cables extending proximally through the insertion tube from corresponding anchor points at the distal end of the insertion tube;
- wherein the handle comprises:
- a plurality of electro-mechanical actuators, each actuator being operatively associated with a corresponding cable extending through the insertion tube;
- one or more haptic devices for inputting commands for manipulating physical properties of the insertion tube;
- and
- a computer configured for:
- manipulating physical properties of the insertion tube by driving the plurality of electro-mechanical actuators in response to one or more command inputs from the one or more haptic devices;
- creating a digital three-dimensional image representation of an anatomy model by combining position and orientation data received from the one or more distal IMUs and intermediate IMUs, and image data received from the optical module;
- facilitating handling properties of the insertion tube by driving the plurality of electro-mechanical actuators to dynamically and automatically adjust torsional and bending stiffness characteristics of the insertion tube to pre-defined specification ranges which correspond to a tortuosity of the anatomy model;
- and
- converting the image data received from the optical module into two-dimensional images displayable on a monitor extrinsic to the handle,
- wherein dynamic and automatic adjustment of the electro-mechanical actuators via the computer is achieved as a response to the position and orientation data received from the one or more distal IMUS and intermediate IMUS, the position and orientation data including bend length, angle of bend, and distance from prior bend.
14 more elements
An endoscope system comprising:
- an elongate insertion tube having a distal end and a proximal end releasably connected to a handle;
- one or more optical modules disposed at the distal end of the insertion tube and adapted to receive images of a body cavity of a living body;
- one or more distal inertial measurement units (IMUs) disposed in the insertion tube distal end;
- one or more intermediate IMUs disposed at a proximal end of a distal segment of the insertion tube, the distal segment proximally extending from the distal end of the insertion tube;
- and
- a computer configured for:
- combining position and orientation data received from the one or more distal IMUs and intermediate IMUs, and image data received from the optical module to create a digital three-dimensional image representation of an anatomy model displayable on a monitor extrinsic to the handle;
- and
- facilitating handling properties of the insertion tube by driving a plurality of electro-mechanical actuators to dynamically and automatically adjust torsional and bending stiffness characteristics of the insertion tube to pre-defined specification ranges which correspond to a tortuosity of the anatomy model,
- wherein dynamic and automatic adjustment of the electro-mechanical actuators via the computer is achieved as a response to the position and orientation data received from the one or more distal IMUs and intermediate IMUs, the position and orientation data including bend length, angle of bend, and distance from prior bend.
7 more elements
An endoscope system comprising:
- a flexible elongate insertion tube having a deflectable distal end and a proximal end releasably connected to a handle;
- an optical module disposed at the distal end of the insertion tube and adapted to receive images of a body cavity of a living body;
- one or more distal inertial measurement units (IMUs) disposed at the distal end of the insertion tube;
- one or more intermediate IMUs disposed at the proximal end of the distal segment of the insertion tube, the distal segment proximally extending from the distal end of the insertion tube;
- and
- a plurality of cables extending proximally through the insertion tube from corresponding anchor points at the distal end of the insertion tube;
- wherein the handle comprises:
- a plurality of electro-mechanical actuators, each actuator being operatively associated with a corresponding cable extending through the insertion tube;
- one or more haptic devices for inputting commands for manipulating physical properties of the insertion tube;
- and
- a computer configured for facilitating handling properties of the endoscope by driving the plurality of electro-mechanical actuators to automatically and dynamically adjust torsional and bending stiffness characteristics of the insertion tube as a response to position and orientation data received from the one or more distal IMUs and intermediate IMUs, the position and orientation data including bend length, angle of bend, and distance from prior bend.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.