Endoscope system
AssigneeOlympus Corporation
InventorTadashi Watanabe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An endoscope system includes: an endoscope including an insertion portion configured to be inserted into a subject; a distance measurement unit configured to measure a distance between the insertion portion and an object by transmitting and receiving millimeter waves or submillimeter waves; and a flexible waveguide that has one end that is connected to the distance measurement unit and another end that is exposed to outside from a distal end of the insertion portion, the flexible waveguide being configured to propagates the millimeter waves or submillimeter waves transmitted and received by the distance measurement unit.
Claims9
An endoscope system comprising:
- an endoscope including an insertion portion configured to be inserted into a subject;
- a distance sensor configured to measure a distance between the insertion portion and an object by transmitting and receiving millimeter waves or submillimeter waves;
- and
- a flexible waveguide that has one end that is connected to the distance sensor and another end that is exposed to outside from a distal end of the insertion portion, the flexible waveguide being configured to propagate the millimeter waves or the submillimeter waves transmitted and received by the distance sensor, wherein the flexible waveguide is removably inserted into a channel that is extended from a proximal end side of the endoscope to a distal end of the insertion portion.
An endoscope system comprising:
- an endoscope including an insertion portion configured to be inserted into a subject;
- a distance sensor configured to measure a distance between the insertion portion and an object by transmitting and receiving millimeter waves or submillimeter waves;
- and
- a flexible waveguide that has one end that is connected to the distance sensor and another end that is exposed to outside from a distal end of the insertion portion, the flexible waveguide being configured to propagate the millimeter waves or submillimeter waves transmitted and received by the distance sensor, wherein the insertion portion includes a bendable portion that is provided in part of the insertion portion in a longitudinal direction of the insertion portion and that is configured to bend, and
- the endoscope system further comprises a controller comprising hardware, the controller being configured to:
- receive a signal indicating an initial bending state of the bendable portion;
- receive, from the distance sensor, a signal indicating the distance between the insertion portion and the object;
- and
- determine a target bending state of the bendable portion based on the distance and the initial bending state of the bendable portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.