Endoscope with protruding member and method of utilizing the same

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated, resilient member mounted on the endoscope body, said resilient member being fixed longitudinally with respect to the endoscope body;
• said resilient member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope;
• the endoscope body having an endoscope lumen and said resilient member being received in said endoscope lumen;
• and
• bonding material for bonding the resilient member to the endoscope body within the endoscope lumen.

A method of viewing an interior passage in the body of a patient with an endoscope which has an elongated endoscope body with a distal end, said method comprising:

• advancing the endoscope into the passage in the body of the patient with the endoscope having a field of view and an elongated resilient member which extends beyond the distal end of the endoscope body when the endoscope is at a region of the passage;
• relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and material within or forming the passage within the field of view of the endoscope utilizing the resilient member;
• and
• viewing the interior passage utilizing the endoscope while the distal end of the endoscope body and said material are relatively displaced.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated member mounted on and carried by the endoscope body such that the endoscope body and the elongated member are a unitary assembly which can be inserted as a unit into the passage;
• said elongated member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope;
• the elongated member having a transition temperature and the elongated member being more easily deflectable below the transition temperature than above the transition temperature.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated member mounted on and carried by the endoscope body,said elongated member having a transition temperature, said elongated member being more easily deflected below said transition temperature then above said transition temperature;
• and
• said elongated member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated, resilient member mounted on and carried by the endoscope body such that the endoscope body and the resilient member are a unitary assembly which can be inserted as a unit into the passage;
• said resilient member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope;
• and
• a region of the resilient member proximally of the distal tip portion being of greater flexibility than a zone of the resilient member immediately proximal to such region, said zone and said region being distal of the endoscope body.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated, resilient member mounted on the endoscope body, said resilient member being fixed longitudinally with respect to the endoscope body;
• said resilient member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope;
• the endoscope being flexible and sized to be received within an interior body region of a patient, the resilient member terminating distally in an enlarged distal tip portion;
• and
• the distal tip portion having a maximum cross sectional dimension which is between about 0.15 millimeter and 1.2 millimeters.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated, resilient member mounted on the endoscope body, said resilient member being fixed longitudinally with respect to the endoscope body;
• said resilient member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope,
• the endoscope being flexible and sized to be received within an interior body region of a patient, the resilient member terminating distally in an enlarged distal tip portion;
• and
• the distal tip portion having a distal end which is between about 1 millimeter and 15 millimeters from the distal end of the endoscope body.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated, resilient member mounted on the endoscope body, said resilient member being fixed longitudinally with respect to the endoscope body;
• said resilient member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope;
• the endoscope being flexible and sized to be received within an interior body region of a patient, the resilient member terminating distally in an enlarged distal tip portion;
• and
• the resilient member being constructed of a nickel-titanium alloy.

An endoscope comprising:

• an elongated endoscope body having a distal end, said endoscope body being sized and adapted for insertion into a passage of an object;
• optical components carried by the endoscope body to enable viewing of the passage distally of the distal end within a field of view of the endoscope when the endoscope is in the passage;
• an elongated, resilient member mounted on and carried by the endoscope body such that the endoscope body and the resilient member are a unitary assembly which can be inserted as a unit into the passage;
• said resilient member extending beyond the distal end of the endoscope body and being capable of contacting material within or forming the passage and relatively displacing the distal end of the endoscope body and such material within the field of view of the endoscope to enhance viewing of the passage with the endoscope;
• said resilient member terminating distally in an enlarged distal tip portion;
• and
• the distal tip portion being permanently enlarged to have a maximum cross sectional area which is at least about as large as the cross sectional area of the distal end of the endoscope body.