CN117045204A - Wind-driven far-end lateral scanning device of optical endoscopic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe, which includes an air pump, a three-way valve, a conduit, and an optical fiber microprobe. The air pump is connected to the conduit through the three-way valve, and the The optical fiber microprobe enters the conduit through the three-way valve. The optical fiber microprobe is configured to rotate around the central axis of the conduit at its end in the conduit driven by the air flow injected by the air pump. Distal lateral scan. This invention adopts remote wind drive, which is safer, more efficient and more stable than previous near-end and far-end drive lateral scanning solutions; it avoids the negative impact of non-uniform rotational distortion and wire occlusion problems on the collected images that exist in the existing technology. The imaging quality is improved; the overall probe and device cost is low, which can reduce the patient's medical expenses; the small size and simple operation reduce the doctor's operating burden.

Description

A wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe

Technical field

The invention relates to the field of optoelectronic information technology, and in particular to a wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe.

Background technique

As a tool for in-situ optical imaging and treatment of internal organs, cavities or tissues of the human body, optical endoscopic probes have multiple advantages such as accuracy, real-time, miniaturization, no radiation, and biocompatibility, and play an important role in medical diagnosis and treatment. plays a key role. It is commonly used in various imaging methods such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), fluorescence, photoacoustic, and multispectral, which helps provide doctors with accurate medical diagnosis and treatment guidance. In addition, it can also be used for precise treatment methods such as photothermal and photodynamic therapy to treat lesions in a targeted manner.

The structure of the fiber optic endoscopic probe mainly includes an optical fiber waveguide for beam transmission, micro-optical devices for beam focusing and deflection, and a beam scanning device for point-by-point scanning. According to the different directions of the transmitted beam relative to the axial direction of the probe, it can be divided into lateral scanning and forward scanning. Compared with forward scanning, lateral scanning uses a 360° circumferential rotating beam, which is more suitable for imaging and treatment of luminal structures (such as blood vessels, airways, digestive tracts, etc.). By matching the axial position with linear translation (pullback), three-dimensional scanning information can be obtained.

Usually the beam rotation scanning device is placed outside the body and is driven by a motor. The torque is transmitted to the distal end through a torque coil wrapped in an optical fiber waveguide, driving the probe to rotate sideways. This method is called proximal scanning. Therefore, the proximal scanning probe design is compact, allowing the miniaturized probe to smoothly pass through small lumens such as coronary arteries. However, friction occurs between the rotating torque coil and the protective catheter, as well as partial loss during torque transmission, causing non-uniform rotational disturbances in the collected signals, resulting in image distortion and artifacts. In order to suppress the influence of non-uniform rotational disturbance inherent in proximal scanning, with the development of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, researchers installed miniaturized motors at the end of the optical probe to drive micro-optical devices for beam deflection Realizes distal lateral scanning, alleviates the interference of non-uniform rotational disturbance and greatly increases the rotational scanning speed (Optics Express 20.22(2012):24132-24138). However, disadvantages such as the high cost of micro motors, complex probe design, larger size compared to proximal scanning probes, and risk of electric shock limit its clinical application. In addition, since the motor is installed at the end of the probe, the power supply wire blocks the beam propagation in some areas, resulting in partial shadow areas in the scanning area, affecting clinical imaging and treatment.

In recent years, other technical solutions have been developed to replace micro-motor drives to achieve distal lateral scanning. Pang et al. (Biomedical Optics Express 6.6(2015):2231-2236) designed a distal scanning probe based on magnetic drive. A small cylindrical magnet integrated with a right-angle prism is installed at the end of the probe. The generated external magnetic field drives the rotation of the small magnet inside the probe, allowing the beam to scan the blood vessel wall laterally. The probe is small in size, low in cost, and does not require connecting wires to avoid obstruction of the field of view. The disadvantage is that the circumferential scanning speed is too slow, the required external magnetic field strength is limited by the distance from the small magnet, the magnetic field is easily interfered by the clinical environment, and in-situ in-body scanning is limited. Lu et al. (Scientific Reports 8.1(2018):5150) developed a liquid-driven distal passive scanning optical probe. The right-angle prism is installed on a micro-propeller, which is placed at the end of the probe. The kinetic energy of the fluid is used to wash the propeller to drive its rotation, thereby achieving lateral circumferential scanning of the beam. This design is low cost, fast, and does not require electric scanning equipment. However, when using distal liquid drive, the liquid needs to be continuously discharged from the end of the probe to the cavity, so the scope of application is limited. For example, flushing with physiological saline in blood vessels can avoid the imaging influence caused by blood, but it is not applicable in other cavities such as airways.

Therefore, those skilled in the art are committed to developing a wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe to overcome the problems existing in the prior art.

Contents of the invention

In view of the above-mentioned defects of the prior art, the technical problems to be solved by the present invention are:

For the proximal drive lateral scanning solution: the external motor drives the entire endoscopic probe to rotate. Due to the existence of friction and the loss of torque transmission, there is non-uniform rotational distortion leading to image distortion. In addition, the rotational scanning speed is limited.

For distal-driven lateral scanning solutions: ① Using distal micro-motor drive: The high cost of micro-motor, complex probe design, larger size than proximal scanning probe, and risk of electric shock limit its clinical application. In addition, since the motor is installed at the end of the probe, the power supply wire blocks the beam propagation in some areas, resulting in partial shadow areas in the scanning area, affecting clinical imaging and treatment. ② Using remote magnetic drive: the circumferential scanning speed is too slow, the required external magnetic field strength is limited by the distance to the small magnet, the magnetic field is easily interfered by the clinical environment, and in-situ in-body scanning is limited. ③ Using distal liquid drive: During the working process, the liquid needs to be continuously discharged from the end of the probe to the cavity. The scope of application is limited, such as it cannot be used in the airway.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe, which includes an air pump, a three-way valve, a catheter, and an optical fiber microprobe. The air pump is connected to all the devices through the three-way valve. The fiber optic microprobe enters the conduit through the three-way valve, and the fiber optic microprobe is configured to be driven by the airflow injected by the air pump at the end of the conduit around the conduit. The central axis rotates to achieve distal lateral scanning.

Further, the conduit includes an inner conduit and an outer conduit, and the three-way valve has a first hole, a second hole arranged oppositely, and a third hole arranged obliquely with the channel formed by the first hole and the second hole. , the air pump outlet is connected to the first hole, the second hole is connected to the inner conduit, the inner conduit is inserted into the outer conduit and sealed and fixed at the intersection of the ends of the two, and the inner conduit is A plurality of exhaust holes are provided on the side wall of the end, and the optical fiber micro-probe passes through the third hole and enters the inner conduit.

Further, the optical fiber microprobe includes an optical fiber connector, an optical fiber, a protective sleeve, a light beam expansion element, a light focusing element, a light reflection element, a micro turbine, a T-shaped cylinder, and a limiting component. The optical fiber passes through the The third hole enters the inner conduit. One end of the optical fiber is connected to the light source through the optical fiber connector. The other end of the optical fiber is connected to one end of the protective sleeve in the inner conduit. The other end of the optical fiber is connected to the light source. One end is connected to the light beam expansion element and the light focusing element, the other end of the protective sleeve is connected to the limiting component, one side of the limiting component is connected to the T-shaped cylinder and the light reflecting element, and the light reflecting element Arranged opposite to the light focusing element, the other side of the limiting component is connected to the micro turbine.

Further, the T-shaped cylinder is fixedly connected to the light-reflecting element at the center of the large-diameter end, and the T-shaped cylinder is connected to the center of the micro-turbine after the small-diameter end penetrates into the limiting component matching its size. Fixed connection.

Furthermore, the dimensions of the protective sleeve, inner conduit, and outer conduit are designed to ensure that there is a certain gap between the inner conduit and the protective sleeve and between the inner conduit and the outer conduit to allow normal gas flow.

Further, the diameter of the micro turbine is larger than the outer diameter of the protective sleeve and smaller than the inner diameter of the inner conduit, so as to ensure that the micro turbine can be driven to rotate when the gas flows through.

Further, the inner diameter of the limiting component is consistent with the small diameter end of the T-shaped cylinder, and the outer diameter of the limiting component is consistent with the inner diameter of the protective sleeve.

Further, the inner diameter of the protective sleeve is greater than or equal to the maximum diameter of the optical fiber, the optical beam expanding element and the optical focusing element to ensure that the optical fiber, the optical beam expanding element and the optical focusing element can normally enter the protective sleeve and Maintain coaxiality with the protective sleeve.

Further, the optical fiber end, light beam expansion element, light focusing element, light reflection element, T-shaped cylinder, limiting component, and micro turbine are kept coaxially within the protective sleeve and at the same time are aligned with the axis of the protective sleeve. , so that the beam propagates correctly sideways.

Further, when working, the air pump continuously injects air into the inner duct at a constant speed, generates a constant speed air flow through the inner duct, and drives the micro turbine located at the end of the fiber optic microprobe in the inner duct. The rotation is generated, driving the light reflective element to rotate coaxially and synchronously. The light beam penetrates the protective sleeve, the inner conduit and the outer conduit through focusing and deflection, and emerges onto the inner wall of the target to achieve lateral uniform rotation scanning, flowing through the micro The air from the turbine reaches the gap between the inner duct and the outer duct through the exhaust hole at the end of the inner duct and is finally discharged safely.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention mainly has the following advantages:

(1) The present invention adopts remote wind drive, which is safer, more efficient and more stable than previous near-end and far-end drive lateral scanning solutions.

(2) Avoid the negative effects of non-uniform rotational distortion and wire occlusion problems in the existing technology on the collected images, and improve the imaging quality.

(3) The overall probe and device cost is low, which can reduce the patient's medical expenses; the small size and simple operation reduce the doctor's operating burden.

The concept, specific structure and technical effects of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings to fully understand the purpose, features and effects of the present invention.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the light reflective element, T-shaped cylinder, limiting component, and micro turbine part of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a two-dimensional side view of the light reflective element, T-shaped cylinder, limiting component, and micro turbine part of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Among them, 1-air pump, 2-fiber connector, 3-three-way valve, 4-fiber, 5-inner conduit, 6-outer conduit, 7-light beam expansion element, 8-light focusing element, 9-light reflection Components, 10-limiting component, 11-inner duct air hole, 12-protective sleeve, 13-T-shaped cylinder, 14-micro turbine.

Detailed ways

The following describes the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings to make the technical content clearer and easier to understand. The present invention can be embodied in many different forms of embodiments, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments mentioned herein.

In the drawings, components with the same structure are denoted by the same numerals, and components with similar structures or functions are denoted by similar numerals. The size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown, and the present invention does not limit the size and thickness of each component. In order to make the illustrations clearer, the thickness of components is exaggerated in some places in the drawings.

Example

As shown in Figures 1-3, this embodiment provides a wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe, which consists of an air pump 1, an optical fiber connector 2, a three-way valve 3, an optical fiber 4, and an inner catheter. 5. Outer conduit 6, light beam expansion element 7, light focusing element 8, light reflecting element 9, limiting component 10, inner conduit air hole 11, protective sleeve 12, T-shaped cylinder 13, micro turbine 14.

The connection relationship between the above components is as follows:

The air pump 1 and the inner conduit 5 are respectively connected to the two holes of the three-way valve 3. The optical fiber 4 enters the inner conduit 5 from the third hole of the three-way valve 3. The inner conduit 5 is inserted into the outer conduit 6 and intersects at the ends of the two. Sealed and fixed. The end of the optical fiber 4 outside the conduit is connected to the light source through the optical fiber connector 2 . The end of the optical fiber 4 in the inner conduit 5 is connected to a protective sleeve 12. In the protective sleeve 12, the light beam is emitted from the end of the optical fiber 4, and is transmitted to the micro turbine 14 and the T-shaped cylinder through the optical beam expansion element 7 and the optical focusing element 8. 13 are fixed together on the light reflection element 9, and the focused light is emitted to the inner wall of the target through the oblique reflection surface at 90°.

When working, the air pump 1 continuously injects air into the inner duct 5 at a constant speed, forming a wind (air flow) with a constant flow rate in the inner duct 5, passing through the micro turbine 14 at the end of the optical fiber micro probe, driving the micro turbine 14 and the light reflection element 9 to rotate at a constant speed together , achieving lateral 360° scanning of the inner wall of the target with a focused beam. The airflow passing through the micro turbine 14 enters the gap between the inner duct 5 and the outer duct 6 through a bunch of exhaust holes 11 at the end of the inner duct 5 , and is finally discharged at the end of the outer duct 6 near the three-way valve 3 . The direction of airflow is shown by the dotted arrow in the figure.

The T-shaped cylinder 13 is fixed with glue and the light reflective element 9 at the center of the large diameter end. The small diameter end of the T-shaped cylinder 13 penetrates into the limiting component 10 matching its size and is fixed with glue at the center of the micro-turbine 14 . In this way, the light reflective element 9 rotates coaxially with the micro turbine 14 in the protective sleeve 12 .

The protective sleeve 12, inner conduit 5, and outer conduit 6 should be of appropriate sizes to ensure that there is a certain gap between the inner conduit 5 and the protective sleeve 12, and between the inner conduit 5 and the outer conduit 6 to allow normal gas flow. A sufficient size and number of air holes 11 are left at the end of the inner conduit 5 to allow internal gas to be discharged between the inner conduit 5 and the outer conduit 6 .

The micro turbine 14 is designed to convert the kinetic energy of the gas into its own rotational kinetic energy and drive the light reflective element 9 to rotate coaxially and synchronously. The diameter size of the micro turbine 14 should be larger than the outer diameter of the protective sleeve 12 and smaller than the inner diameter of the inner duct 5 to ensure that the micro turbine 14 can be driven to rotate when the air flows through.

The inner diameter of the limiting component 10 should be equal to or slightly larger than the small diameter end of the T-shaped cylinder 13 to ensure penetration. The outer diameter of the limiting component 10 should be equal to or slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the protective sleeve 12. Glue is used to fix the outer diameter of the limiting component 10 and the inner diameter of the protective sleeve 12.

The inner diameter of the protective sleeve 12 should be greater than or equal to the largest diameter among the optical fiber 4, the optical beam expansion element 7 and the optical focusing element 8, and be fixed with glue between the end of the optical fiber 4 and the end of the protective sleeve 12 to ensure The three can normally enter the protective sleeve 12 and remain coaxial with the protective sleeve 12 .

The intersection between the ends of the inner catheter 5 and the outer catheter 6 is sealed and fixed with glue to ensure isolation between the inside of the catheter and the target lumen.

The end of the optical fiber 4, the light beam expansion element 7, the light focusing element 8, the light reflection element 9, the T-shaped cylinder 13, the limiting component 10, and the micro turbine 14 are kept coaxially within the protective sleeve 12 and at the same time with the protective sleeve 12 Coaxial, allowing correct sideways propagation of the beam.

The micro turbine 14 can be designed with different appearance structures to meet the requirements of high-speed rotation driven by reasonable air flow. Select appropriate materials (specifically such as resin, glass, plastic, etc.) and processing methods (specifically such as 3D printing additive processing, femtosecond laser-based multi-photon micro-nano processing, etc.) according to the design size of the micro turbine 14 .

The protective sleeve 12 is designed to protect the end of the probe from contamination and damage. Considering the beam propagation, it should be made of a material with a certain degree of transparency, such as quartz, optically transparent polymer and other materials.

Optical fiber 4 can use different types of optical fibers according to the characteristics and uses of transmitted light, such as single-mode optical fiber, multi-mode optical fiber, double-clad optical fiber, photonic crystal optical fiber, fluoride optical fiber, etc.

The optical beam expansion element 7 is used to expand the angle of the beam emitted from the optical fiber, and can specifically be a coreless optical fiber with appropriate refractive index, a solid glass rod, etc.

The light focusing element 8 focuses the light beam to achieve high-resolution imaging or precise treatment positioning. Specifically, it can be a microlens, a gradient refractive index lens (or optical fiber), a ball lens, etc.

The light reflective element 9 deflects the light by 90° (from forward propagation to lateral propagation), which can be realized by a reflective prism coated with a metal or dielectric reflective film, an optical fiber oblique reflective surface, etc.

Compared with the various problems caused by the previous near-end and far-end driven lateral scanning solutions, the present invention adopts the far-end wind driven lateral rotation scanning method, which can make up for the shortcomings of the existing technology.

The invention uses an air pump to continuously inject air into the inner duct at a constant speed to generate wind (air flow) at a constant speed through the inner duct to drive the micro turbine element located at the end of the probe in the inner duct to rotate. The micro turbine and the light reflection element are rigidly fixed. , the rotating micro-turbine drives the light reflection element to rotate coaxially and synchronously. The beam is focused and deflected to penetrate the protective sleeve and the inner and outer conduits, and emerges onto the cavity wall to achieve lateral uniform rotation scanning. The air flowing through the turbine reaches the gap between the inner and outer ducts through the air holes at the end of the inner duct and is finally discharged safely. Compared with other technical solutions, wind drive has no risk factors such as electric shock, magnetic field interference, and liquid injection, which increases the safety of patients. In addition, stable and high-speed rotation can be achieved through precise control of wind speed.

This invention does not use a proximal beam rotation scanning motor device, does not require a torque coil to wrap the optical fiber to transmit torque to rotate the probe sideways, and there is no non-uniform rotation distortion; it does not use a micro motor to drive the light reflection element at the end of the probe for deflecting the beam, which avoids The motor power supply wire's view is blocked.

The main micro-turbine structure in the present invention is small in size and simple in design. It can be obtained using mature micro-machining technology and has low processing and assembly costs. During the application process, you only need to use an air pump to set a constant air flow speed and inject air into the inner casing to drive the probe to rotate sideways. The operation process is relatively simple and does not require additional motors or electromagnetic devices.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above. It should be understood that those skilled in the art can make many modifications and changes according to the concept of the present invention without creative efforts. Therefore, any technical solutions that can be obtained by those skilled in the art through logical analysis, reasoning or limited experiments based on the concept of the present invention and on the basis of the prior art should be within the scope of protection determined by the claims.

Claims (10)

1. A wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe, characterized in that it includes an air pump, a three-way valve, a conduit, and an optical fiber microprobe, and the air pump is connected to the conduit through the three-way valve, The fiber optic microprobe enters the conduit through the three-way valve, and the fiber optic microprobe is configured to rotate around the central axis of the conduit driven by the airflow injected by the air pump at the end of the conduit. , to achieve far-end lateral scanning. 2. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conduit includes an inner conduit and an outer conduit, and the three-way valve has a first hole, a third hole and a third hole that are oppositely arranged. The two holes and a third hole arranged obliquely with the channel formed by the first hole and the second hole, the air pump outlet is connected to the first hole, the second hole is connected to the inner conduit, and the inner conduit is connected to the second hole. The conduit is inserted into the outer conduit and sealed and fixed at the intersection of their ends. A plurality of exhaust holes are opened on the side wall of the end of the inner conduit. The fiber optic micro-probe passes through the third hole and enters the within the inner catheter. 3. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device of an optical endoscopic probe according to claim 2, wherein the optical fiber micro-probe includes an optical fiber connector, an optical fiber, a protective sleeve, a light beam expansion element, and a light focusing element. , light reflective element, micro turbine, T-shaped cylinder, limiting component, the optical fiber passes through the third hole and enters the inner conduit, one end of the optical fiber is connected to the light source by the optical fiber connector, and the optical fiber The other end in the inner conduit is connected to one end of the protective sleeve, the other end of the optical fiber is connected to the light beam expansion element and the light focusing element, and the other end of the protective sleeve is connected to the limiting component, One side of the limiting component is connected to the T-shaped cylinder and the light reflecting element. The light reflecting element and the light focusing element are arranged oppositely. The other side of the limiting component is connected to the micro turbine. 4. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe as claimed in claim 3, wherein the T-shaped cylinder is fixedly connected to the light-reflecting element at the center of the large-diameter end, and the T-shaped cylinder The cylinder is fixedly connected to the center of the micro-turbine after its small-diameter end penetrates into the limiting component that matches its size. 5. The optical endoscope probe wind-driven distal lateral scanning device as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the dimensions of the protective sleeve, inner conduit and outer conduit are designed to ensure that the inner conduit and the protective sleeve are There is a certain gap between the inner conduit and the outer conduit to allow gas to flow normally. 6. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe as claimed in claim 3, wherein the diameter of the micro turbine is greater than the outer diameter of the protective sleeve and less than the inner diameter of the inner conduit to ensure When the gas flows through, it can drive the micro-turbine to rotate. 7. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe as claimed in claim 4, wherein the inner diameter of the limiting component is consistent with the small diameter end of the T-shaped cylinder, and the limiting component The outer diameter is consistent with the inner diameter of the protective sleeve. 8. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device of an optical endoscopic probe according to claim 3, wherein the inner diameter of the protective sleeve is greater than or equal to the maximum diameter of the optical fiber, the optical beam expansion element and the optical focusing element. , to ensure that the optical fiber, optical beam expansion element and optical focusing element can normally enter the protective sleeve and remain coaxial with the protective sleeve. 9. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device of an optical endoscopic probe according to claim 3, characterized in that the optical fiber end, light beam expansion element, light focusing element, light reflection element, T-shaped cylinder, and limiter The component, the micro-turbine, is kept coaxial within the protective sleeve and simultaneously with the axis of the protective sleeve to enable correct lateral propagation of the beam. 10. The wind-driven distal lateral scanning device for an optical endoscopic probe as claimed in claim 4, wherein during operation, the air pump continuously injects air into the inner conduit at a constant speed to generate a constant speed airflow. The inner conduit drives the micro-turbine located at the end of the optical fiber micro-probe in the inner conduit to rotate, driving the light reflection element to rotate coaxially and synchronously, and the light beam penetrates the protective sleeve through focusing and deflection. The inner duct and the outer duct are ejected onto the inner wall of the target to achieve lateral uniform rotation scanning. The air flowing through the micro turbine reaches the gap between the inner duct and the outer duct through the exhaust hole at the end of the inner duct. was eventually safely discharged.