What Is a Bending Section Endoscope?

Bending section endoscopes can be used for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. They are useful in identifying and treating gastrointestinal (GI) problems.

When used properly, a bending section endoscope is a valuable tool that can enhance the accuracy and precision of diagnosis and treatment. But these instruments can be difficult to maintain in clinical use and require specialized care during reprocessing.

Vertebrae

Vertebrae are the 33 individual bones that interlock with each other to form the spinal column (backbone). The vertebral column encloses the spinal cord and the fluid surrounding it, and it allows for movement and sensation.

A spine injury can be severe and affect quality of life. It is caused by damage to the cells that make up the spinal cord. These cells are connected to other parts of the body and control nerves, muscles, and organs. A spinal cord injury can cause low blood pressure, difficulty regulating body temperature, problems with the bowel and bladder, or chronic pain.

Spinal cord injuries may occur anywhere along the spinal cord. They can be caused by a fall, a blow to the back, or an accident. The spine can also develop arthritis that changes the shape of its bones and narrows the spaces between them. Stenosis occurs when these arthritic changes pinch the spinal cord and nerves, causing symptoms such as lower body weakness, numbness, or tingling.

The curved spine is composed of a number of bones, including the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal vertebrae. Each vertebra has a distinct shape and unique features that help it perform its main functions.

Each vertebra is made of a spongy bone called cancellous bone, which covers cortical bone. The bodies of each vertebra are shaped to fit the region it belongs to, as well as the species it is part of.

Cervical vertebrae have two cylinder-shaped projections of hard bone called pedicles that stick out from the back part of the vertebral body and provide side protection for the spinal cord. They are attached to the front and back parts of the vertebral body by ligaments.

Thoracic vertebrae are larger than those of cervical vertebrae and have specialized articular processes that articulate with ribs to produce the bony thorax. The superior articular process faces anteriorly, while the inferior process faces posteriorly.

The bending section of the endoscope is assembled from vertebrae that are not symmetrical, and a metal braid 72 is wrapped around the assembly to cover the torsional stability of the non-round vertebra. Selectively retracting and extending control wires 69-70 through the protrusions of each vertebra turns a desired degree of bend in the bending section. The clearance for the control wires through the apertures is balanced with the thickness of the metal braid, which provides smooth operation and torsional stability.

Protrusions

The bending section of the endoscope has several protrusions that help to increase its flexibility. These protrusions are designed to be able to extend and then curl in any direction (see Fig. 3.2). These protrusions are firmly attached to the tip of the bending section in four places on the insertion tube, which allows the bending section to curl up, down, left, and right as needed.

These protrusions are controlled by four angulation wires, which run the length of the insertion tube. The wires are attached at the 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 9 o’clock, and 12 o’clock positions. Pulling on one of these wires causes the bending section to bend in the desired direction; pulling on all four wires at the same time enables the bending section to curl in the same direction.

During the flexion and then curving of the bending section, the articulating module’s position is controlled by a joystick-like controller that is located near the apex of the articulating module. The controller is equipped with 4 buttons that function as directional control buttons, allowing the operator to easily adjust the positioning of the articulating module to the desired angle.

In addition, the articulating module’s position can be controlled through the use of a reposition button located at the lower left of the user interface. The reposition button allows the operator to return the articulating module to its origin point, which is essential for an endoscopist to be able to maneuver the articulating module into a desired position.

The articulating module’s position can also be adjusted bending section endoscope by the use of a knob on the control section of the endoscope. The larger outer knob is used for vertical movement, while the smaller inner knob is used for lateral movement.

In addition, the apex of the articulating modules can be bent in the desired direction through the use of four wires, which are firmly attached to the tip of the endoscope’s articulating module at the 3 o’clock, 6o’clock, 9 o’clock, or 12 o’clock positions. Pulling one of these wires causes the articulating module’s position to be controlled by a joystick-like controller. The controller is equipped with 4 buttons that are arranged around the joystick-like controller. The buttons function as a secondary motor controller, allowing the operator to easily adjust the position of the articulating module.

Flat Surfaces

In mathematics, a flat surface refers to a surface that is smooth and uniform and does not have any depth. This includes plane horizontal surfaces with no depths and two-dimensional shapes, such as squares and bending section endoscope circles, which can be drawn on a sheet of paper.

An endoscope is a surgical instrument that is used to examine internal organs, such as the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, or other bodily tissues. In the typical endoscope, a camera and a solid-state image sensor are mounted on the distal tip, which is connected to an optical fiber that transmits images of the tissue back to the video processor.

However, current endoscopes are typically cable-driven, which limits their dexterity and makes them difficult to miniaturize. To address this problem, we developed a novel wireless actuation mechanism for endoscopic devices that can realize multiple degrees of freedom.

To do this, we created a device consisting of thin active surfaces that can be readily attached to any device. We also found that these surfaces could be wirelessly powered by ultrasound penetrating through biological tissues, allowing them to generate an acoustic streaming force.

We demonstrated a flexible arm that realizes two degrees of freedom and a flexible endoscope prototype that is capable of conducting an active examination in the bladder of a rabbit. When the ultrasound was applied, acoustic streaming from the active surface occurred, which pushed the flexible arm into the direction of the transducer. The deflection was a function of the driving voltage, which reached a maximum of 60 s in our setup.

In this way, the bending section can be easily and inexpensively assembled from vertebrae. This will not only make the insertion tube more aesthetically pleasing, but it will also improve torsional stability.

Moreover, the apex of each protrusion is flat to provide a flat contact surface between adjacent vertebrae. This will improve the overall feel of the bending section and the ability to maneuver it around during examinations.

Another feature of the bending section that will enhance its functionality is a variable stiffness mechanism that runs along only the vertical axis of the insertion tube and not the horizontal axis, which will minimize bending of the insertion tube and its distal portion. This will allow the bending section to bend symmetrically along the insertion tube even though the inventive vertebra is not symmetrical.

Variable Stiffness Mechanism

Unlike most endoscopes, bending section endoscopes have a deflectable insertion tube section, which allows the endoscopist to bend the insertion tube in an up or down direction. This allows the insertion tube to be bent without interfering with the flow of air, water, or suction, and it also makes the insertion tube easier to manipulate.

To accomplish this, a variable stiffness mechanism (VSM) is used to adjust the stiffness of the bending section. This variable stiffness mechanism can be designed with a wide range of force profiles that meet different requirements.

The VSM is based on a spring-constrained guide-bar mechanism that produces compliant behaviour, which can be modified to produce different stiffness profiles. The mechanism can also be constructed with multiple length-adjustable links.

This VSM has a unique design that enables an infinite stiffness range and completely decouples the output motion from the input. The output motion of the mechanism is a result of the dynamics of the load, which is independent of the spring behaviour.

In order to achieve this, a pressure difference is created between the sample and a membrane. This difference can be manipulated by adding granular materials to the sample or by applying suction. Alternatively, the sample can be compressed by applying an external pressure.

When a pressure difference is applied to the specimen, it causes a granular material to be compressed by the membrane, which results in a change of stiffness. This change of stiffness is influenced by a combination of the pressure difference, the granular material, and the filter.

The combination of a membrane, granular material, and filter can vary the stiffness of a specimen with an accuracy of about 1 to 3 Nm/rad. This is more than enough to allow a bending section to be flexible and rigid at the same time. This can be a critical requirement for endoscopes that use flexible or rigid insertion tubes to achieve high structural stiffness.