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CN-122004715-A - Endoscope with detachable disposable shaft

CN122004715ACN 122004715 ACN122004715 ACN 122004715ACN-122004715-A

Abstract

An endoscope including a reusable handpiece and a detachable disposable shaft assembly is shown and described. The reusable handpiece includes a housing having a hinge control mounted thereto and an electronic module mounted thereto. The articulation control includes a control knob and a concentric drive shaft for articulation. The electronic module includes a battery, a control board, and optical and/or electrical connections. The detachable disposable shaft includes a housing having a hinge line actuation assembly mounted thereto and an optical and/or electrical connection mounted thereto. When the housing of the handpiece and the housing of the detachable disposable shaft assembly are joined together, the articulation control engages the articulation wire actuation assembly and the optical and/or electrical connection of the reusable handpiece engages the optical and/or electrical connection of the disposable shaft assembly.

Inventors

  • H. E van chase

Assignees

  • 适内有限责任公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20171128
Priority Date
20161128

Claims (11)

  1. 1. An endoscope, comprising: A reusable handpiece assembly and a first disposable shaft assembly; A hinge control mounted to the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly, and A hinge line actuation assembly mounted to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly, the hinge line actuation assembly attached to a hinge line extending along a length of the first disposable shaft assembly, and An electronics module is mounted to the housing of the reusable hand piece assembly; wherein the housing of the reusable hand piece assembly is removably connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly along a first direction; Wherein the articulation control engages the articulation line actuation assembly when the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly is connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly; wherein the articulation control comprises a first articulation control knob and a second articulation control knob; wherein the first articulation control knob has a first drive shaft and the second articulation control knob has a second drive shaft, and wherein the first and second drive shafts are concentric and extend in the first direction, and Wherein the electronics module has a connector that engages a connector of the first disposable shaft assembly when the housing of the reusable hand piece assembly is connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly along the first direction.
  2. 2. The endoscope of claim 1, wherein the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly comprises a port in fluid communication with a lumen of a shaft of the first disposable shaft assembly.
  3. 3. The endoscope of any of claims 1-2, wherein the reusable handpiece assembly lacks a fluid connection in communication with a lumen of the first disposable shaft assembly.
  4. 4. An endoscope according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly is arranged for connection to and disconnection from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly without a hand tool.
  5. 5. The endoscope of any of claims 1-4, wherein the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly is removably connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly by one or more latches.
  6. 6. The endoscope of any of claims 1-5, wherein the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly is removably connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly by one or more magnets.
  7. 7. An endoscope system, comprising: the endoscope of any one of claims 1-6 and a second disposable shaft assembly; wherein the second disposable shaft assembly has a hinge line actuation assembly mounted to a housing of the second disposable shaft assembly, the hinge line actuation assembly attached to a hinge line extending along a length of the second disposable shaft assembly; wherein the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly is removably connectable to the housing of the second disposable shaft assembly, and Wherein the articulation control engages the articulation line actuation assembly of the second disposable shaft assembly when the housing of the reusable handpiece assembly is connected to the housing of the second disposable shaft assembly.
  8. 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first disposable shaft assembly is different from the second disposable shaft assembly in at least one of shaft length and shaft diameter.
  9. 9. A method, comprising: Connecting a housing of a reusable hand piece to a housing of a first disposable shaft assembly along a first direction, wherein the reusable hand piece has a hinge control and an electronics module, the hinge control includes a hinge control knob and a concentric drive shaft extending along the first direction, and the first disposable shaft assembly has a hinge line actuation assembly and a connector, and Wherein the connection connects the articulation control to the articulation line actuation assembly and the electronic module to the connection of the first disposable shaft assembly, and Wherein the electronic module has a connector that engages a connector of the first disposable shaft assembly when the housing of the reusable hand piece is connected to the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly in the first direction.
  10. 10. The method of claim 9, comprising: The housing of the reusable hand piece is separated from the housing of the first disposable shaft assembly, thereby separating the articulation control from the articulation line actuation assembly and separating the electronics module from the connector of the first disposable shaft assembly.
  11. 11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, comprising: Connecting the housing of the reusable hand piece to a housing of a second disposable shaft assembly having a hinge line actuation assembly and a connector, and Wherein the connection connects the articulation control to the articulation wire actuation assembly and the electronic module to the connection of the second disposable shaft assembly.

Description

Endoscope with detachable disposable shaft The application is a divisional application of PCT patent application filed on 11/28 of 2017 with international application number PCT/US 2017/063143 (entering the national stage of china on 26 of 2019 with national stage application number 201780084831.3, entitled "endoscope with detachable disposable shaft"). Technical Field The present invention relates generally to endoscopes, and more particularly to endoscopes for use in gastroenterology applications. Background Endoscopes are used in a wide variety of medical procedures to visualize internal chambers or potential spaces within a human body during a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. One factor affecting the design and use of endoscopes is the spread of infectious disease. Although the transmission of infectious diseases has been a risk of re-usable endoscopes, this risk has increased with the emergence of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Once the spread of these bacteria has occurred between patients, antibiotic resistance makes it difficult to treat these infections. Many of these bacteria, including staphylococci, are capable of forming a protective external barrier (commonly referred to as a biofilm) that protects the infectious bacteria from the cleaning process. Another recent development that increases the risk of transmission of infectious diseases is that an increasing number of diagnostic procedures require the use of smaller and more complex instruments and longer work (lumen) and distal manipulators (e.g., lifters) associated with the distal articulation shaft of the endoscope. In summary, the increasing prevalence of difficult to treat infectious diseases and the more complex, difficult to clean endoscopes make disinfection and reuse of the endoscopes an increasingly dangerous activity. It is desirable to reduce or limit the potential for the transmission of infectious diseases. Thus, new endoscope designs are desired. Disclosure of Invention The present disclosure relates generally to endoscopes. In certain aspects, the present disclosure relates to endoscopes having a reusable handpiece that is removably coupled to a disposable shaft assembly. The reusable handpiece includes a articulation control and the disposable shaft assembly includes a hinge wire articulation assembly that engages the articulation control when the reusable handpiece and the disposable shaft assembly are coupled to each other (e.g., when the housing of the reusable handpiece and the housing of the disposable shaft assembly are coupled together). The reusable handpiece may have optical and/or electrical connections that engage corresponding optical and/or electrical connections of the disposable shaft assembly when the reusable handpiece is coupled to the disposable shaft assembly (e.g., when the housing of the reusable handpiece and the housing of the disposable shaft assembly are coupled together). The optical and/or electrical connection of the reusable hand piece may be part of the electronic module. The electronic module may include imaging controls. The disposable shaft assembly may include an imaging device (e.g., an image sensor (such as a CCD or CMOS sensor) or lens) and/or a light emitter (e.g., an LED or fiber optic cable). The imaging device and/or the light emitter may be positioned at the distal end of the disposable shaft assembly. The optical and/or electrical connections may provide communication between the electronics module of the reusable hand piece and the imaging device and/or light emitter of the disposable shaft assembly. The light emitter may include an element (e.g., an LED) that generates light, or may transmit light provided near the articulating distal portion. For example, the light emitters may be light pipes (e.g., fiber optic cables). The imaging device may comprise a sensor (e.g. a CCD or CMOS sensor) converting light into an electrical signal or a lens arranged to transfer light from the articulating distal portion towards the proximal portion of the shaft. The reusable handpiece may include a control for controlling the flow of fluid through the disposable shaft assembly. These controls may be in communication with valves in the disposable shaft assembly and/or with external support devices (e.g., pumps and/or valves in the support devices). The endoscope assembly may include a coupler that holds the reusable handpiece and disposable shaft assembly together in an assembled configuration. The coupling may include a first portion on the reusable handpiece and a second portion on the disposable shaft assembly, wherein the first and second portions of the coupling cooperate to retain the reusable handpiece and disposable shaft assembly together in the assembled configuration. The coupler is actuatable to engage and/or disengage from the disposable shaft assembly. The coupler may include a latch having a catch mounted on a pivoting and/or deflectable latch arm. The latch may be biased int