An endoscope includes: an operating portion; an insertion tube that has a central axis; a bendable tube that is bendable in a curvature direction orthogonal to the central axis, the bendable tube including a plurality of bendable tube pieces that are arrayed along the central axis, adjacent bendable tube pieces being connected to each other by a pair of connection portions, the pair of connection portions being arranged line-symmetric with respect to the curvature direction; a distal end rigid portion that is provided on a distal end side of the bendable tube; and a wire having a first end connected to the operating portion, and a second end connected to either the bendable tube or the distal end rigid portion.

An optical instrument (1) for minimally invasive surgery includes an instrument housing (2) for receiving optical elements, wherein the instrument housing (2) is sealed in fluid tight fashion by way of at least one end window (7) on the distal side and/or proximal side. The end window (7) is arranged in a window frame (8) that surrounds the end window (7) around the entire circumference thereof. The end windows (7) is able to be attached with little stress in the associated window frame (8) based on at least two portions (12) that project radially to the inside from the window frame (8). The at least two portions (12) are formed on the inner circumferential surface of each window frame (8) facing the respective end window (7).

An optical unit includes a transparent first substrate, a transparent second substrate, a transparent first projection forming a part of an optical path, and a first aperture configured by black resin filled in a periphery of the first projection between the first substrate and the second substrate.

The endoscope includes an insertion portion, a hand-operating unit, a first treatment-instrument conduit, and a second treatment-instrument conduit. One end of the insertion portion is coupled to the hand-operating unit. The first treatment-instrument conduit passes through insides of the insertion portion and the hand-operating unit. A treatment instrument is inserted into the first treatment-instrument conduit from an upper end of the hand-operating unit. The second treatment-instrument conduit passes through insides of the insertion portion and the hand-operating unit and includes a branching portion that branches off into a first branching path and a second branching path at the hand-operating unit, a treatment instrument is inserted into the second treatment-instrument conduit from the first branching path. The first treatment-instrument conduit includes a first part having a first hardness at least at a grip portion in the hand-operating unit and a second part having a second hardness smaller than the first hardness.

Described embodiments include a system for inspecting a tubular device that includes an outer surface and a spatially-periodic supporting structure beneath the outer surface. The system includes an imaging device, configured to acquire an image of a reflection of light from the outer surface, and a processor, configured to ascertain a spatial frequency of the supporting structure by processing the image. Other embodiments are also described.

An imaging catheter, a tip, a tube body and a medical device, relating to the field of medical instruments, where the imaging catheter includes a tube body and a tip, the tube body includes a first shuttling wall and a second shuttling wall, a first lumen is formed between the first shuttling wall and the second shuttling wall, the tip includes a first mounting wall and a second mounting wall, and a second lumen is formed between the first mounting wall and the second mounting wall. The second lumen is communicated with the first lumen, and a proximal end of the first mounting wall corresponds between the first shuttling wall and the second shuttling wall. A radial distance between a point m and a point n is a, and an inner diameter of the first lumen is b, where a≥b.

A process of making a diverging-light fiber optics illumination delivery system includes providing a micro-post comprising a glass-ceramic light-scattering element that includes at least one of a ceramic, a glass ceramic, an immiscible glass, a porous glass, opal glass, amorphous glass, an aerated glass, and a nanostructured glass; and fusion-splicing the glass-ceramic micro-post to the optical fiber by pulling an arc between electrodes across a gap formed by the optical fiber and the glass-ceramic micro-post; maintaining the arc for a time sufficiently long to make facing surfaces of the optical fiber and the micro-post one of malleable and molten; and pushing and thereby fusing together the facing surfaces of the optical fiber and the micro-post. Some embodiments can include fusing the glass-ceramic micro-post to the optical fiber by applying a laser beam to heat up at least one of the facing surfaces of the optical fiber and the glass-ceramic micro-post.

An objective is to achieve an endoscope in which a distal part of an insertion unit has a reduced diameter, yet the endoscope has good pushability so that buckling at the distal part can be avoided. This endoscope is provided with: an imaging unit having a lens and an imaging element; a resin tube which extends from the imaging unit to the proximal side opposite the distal side, and through which a cable conductively connected to the imaging element is inserted; and an elastic wire which has a distal end disposed outwardly of the imaging element, is inserted in and extends through the resin tube, and has flexibility and bending stiffness.

An optical prism is designed to displace a field of view offset angle of an endoscope. A connector is designed to affix the optical prism to a tip of an endoscope that has a field of view at an initial offset angle displaced off-axis. The optical prism and connector are designed to reduce the offset angle of the field of view of the endoscope toward on-axis. Delivery packaging for an endoscope has a vial, well, or cavity designed to retain anti-adhesive lubricant in contact with a lens or window of the endoscope.

The disclosure relates to diagnostic, surgical, and/or therapeutic devices for being introduced into the human or animal body or for in vitro examination of human or animal blood samples or other body cells, in particular to an endoscope or a disposable endoscope that includes at least one illumination light guide and/or image guide for transmitting electromagnetic radiation, the illumination light guide or image guide having a proximal end face for incoupling or outcoupling of electromagnetic radiation and a distal end face for incoupling or outcoupling of electromagnetic radiation. The proximal and/or distal end faces consist of plastic elements that are transparent at least partially or in sections thereof, the transparent plastic being biocompatible and/or having non-toxic properties to human or animal cell cultures for exposure durations of less than one day. This allows for the production of assemblies for disposable endoscopes, inter alia.