Endoscope designs and methods of manufacture

Inventors

Desai, Siddharth Balvantrai • Almarzouk, Kais • Sacca, Giuseppe

Assignees

Integrated Endoscopy Inc

Abstract

Various embodiments comprise endoscopes (e.g., arthroscopes) for viewing inside a cavity of a body. The endoscopes may include a tip, at least one solid-state emitter such as light emitting diode (LED), located at the distal end of the endoscope, an elongated member. The elongated member may include a plurality of lenses for transmitting light received from the tip member and an elongated conducting member for providing electric power to the solid-state emitter. The elongated conducting member may include conducting lines embedded in a flexible elongated insulating membrane. The tip member and the elongated member may be configured to dissipate heat generated by the solid-state emitter.

Core Innovation

An endoscope is provided for imaging a target region within a body. A tip member includes one or more light emitting devices configured to direct illumination to at least a portion of the target region, and the tip member includes a front window disposed to receive light from the target region when the tip member is in the body. The tip member further includes a prism for redirecting light transmitted through the front window, with the tip member housing supporting the light emitting devices, the front window, and the prism.

An elongated member having proximal and distal ends carries the tip member at the distal end. A plurality of lenses are disposed along an optical path in the elongated member to receive light from the prism transmitted through the front window and convey the received light toward the proximal end of the elongated member. A lens tube including some of the plurality of lenses is provided, forming an optical transmission portion within the elongated member.

A spacer comprising a separate component from the tip member and the lens tube connects the lens tube to the housing of the tip member. The spacer is configured to establish a proper distance and provide alignment between optics within the tip member and the lens tube. The disclosed structures further include multiple options for optical components such as front/rear lenses and optical aperture/field stop, and materials and structural configurations for the tip optics, lens tube, and spacer that support alignment and spacing within the optical path.

Claims Coverage

The partial content identifies one independent claim, which specifies an endoscope having a prism-redirecting tip illumination and an aligned lens-tube optical path using a separate spacer component.

Across the independent claim, the core coverage centers on combining a tip member that uses illumination devices with a front window and a prism for redirecting transmitted light, an elongated optical path with a plurality of lenses including a lens tube portion, and a separate spacer component that connects the lens tube to the tip housing to establish proper distance and alignment between the tip optics and the lens-tube optics.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found