An endoscope with particular adhesive elements and/or particular internal dry lubricants have improved compatibility to various oxidative processes such as the ones used for terminal sterilization. The particular adhesive elements and particular internal dry lubricants are disclosed herein. A method of manufacturing an endoscope and a method of repairing an old endoscope are also disclosed herein.

A mucosal impedance measuring device measures a pressure-controlled impedance of mucosal tissue. The device includes an endoscope having an elongated body extending to a scope end in which the scope end is articulable relative to the elongated body and a plurality of impedance measuring electrodes supported by the endoscope proximate the scope end. Upon articulation of the scope end, the plurality of impedance measuring electrodes are moved relative to the elongated body to be drawn into contact with mucosal tissue under an applied pressure to collect pressure-regulated impedance of the tissue. In some forms, an impedance measuring system can be in electrical communication with the electrodes and may include software that determines whether the pressure-controlled impedance of the mucosa that is measured is a stable impedance measurement indicative of consistent pressure-regulated contact between the impedance measuring electrodes and the mucosa. Still further, such device may be used to map and provide a visual indication of the colon or other portion of the gastrointestinal tract and visually provide impedance measurements associate with one or more regions of the gastrointestinal tract.

There is provided herein a guidance system for positioning an insertion device comprising: an electromagnetic field generator configured to generate an electromagnetic field covering a treatment area, an insertion device comprising an electromagnetic sensor, the electromagnetic sensor configured to receive signals indicative of the electromagnetic field, and a processing circuitry configured to: load an X-ray, CT, ultrasound or MRI image of the subject's chest, mark a location of a first and a second anatomic landmarks on the subject's torso using a registration sensor and obtaining a subject coordinate system based thereon, identify the location of the first and the second anatomic landmarks on the loaded X-ray, CT, ultrasound or MRI image of the subject's chest; aligning the subject coordinate system with the loaded X-ray, CT, ultrasound or MRI image, and display, on the image, a path of the insertion device insertion with respect to the first and the second anatomic locations; wherein the path is generated according to changes in the strength of the electromagnetic field sensed by the tip sensor's during the insertion of the insertion device.

There is provided herein a system and a method for an insertion device positioning guidance system comprising: an electromagnetic field generator configured to generate an electromagnetic field covering a treatment area; a reference sensor configured to be positioned, within the treatment area, on the subject's torso, the reference sensor is configured to define a reference coordinate system representing the position and orientation of the subject's torso relative to the field generator; a registration sensor configured to mark at least a first and a second anatomic locations relative to the reference coordinate system; and a processor configured to operate the field generator, read signals obtained from the reference sensor and the registration sensor, calculate a position and orientation thereof relative to the field generator, generate a 3D anatomic map representing the torso of the subject and the first and second anatomic locations, the processor is further configured to facilitate visualization on the 3D anatomic map of a position, orientation and/or path of a tip sensor, located in a distal tip section of the insertion device, with respect to the first and second anatomic locations, independent of the subject's movement and independent of deviations in the position and/or orientation of the field generator, thus determination of a successful medical procedure is facilitated.

Disclosed is an artificial intelligence (AI)-based gastroscopic image analysis method including a step of configuring training data and training the plurality of image classification models, a step of observing or photographing respective parts of a stomach from the oral cavity and the laryngopharynx to the second part of the duodenum using a gastroscopic probe, a step of automatically classifying and recognizing the anatomical location of the stomach with respect to an image captured during photographing using the plurality of image classification models, automatically storing or reporting the location of a lesion, and a step of segmenting an image of a specific part in the captured gastroscopic image for each region by a region segmentation model and outputting the same number of segmented maps as the number of target classes as the result of segmentation.

A method of analysis using mass spectrometry and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed. The method comprises: using a first device to generate smoke, aerosol or vapour from a target comprising or consisting of a microbial population; mass analysing and/or ion mobility analysing said smoke, aerosol or vapour, or ions derived therefrom, in order to obtain spectrometric data; and analysing said spectrometric data in order to analyse said microbial population.

Navigation of an instrument within a luminal network can include image-based airway analysis and mapping. Image-based airway analysis can include detecting one or more airways in an image captured within a luminal network and determining branching information indicative of how the current airway in which the image is captured branches into the detected “child” airways. Image-based airway mapping can include mapping the one or more detected airways to corresponding expected airways of the luminal network in the preoperative model.

A system can include a tubular member to be inserted into an esophagus of a patient and a catheter assembly that includes a catheter tube that defines a length greater than a length of the tubular member and is configured to pass through a channel of the tubular member such that a distal tip of the catheter tube extends distally past the distal tip of the tubular member while the tubular member is positioned in the esophagus of the patient. The distal tip of the catheter tube defines a cutting element to core a blockage positioned in the esophagus of the patient. Advancement of the distal tip of the catheter tube into contact with the blockage can core a piece from the blockage that is passed through the catheter tube.

An endoscope apparatus includes comprises a processor. The processor causes the light source device to produce narrow band light as illumination light, and the narrow band light has a peak wavelength between a wavelength band including a local maximum of a hemoglobin absorption characteristic and a wavelength band including a local minimum of the hemoglobin absorption characteristic. The processor receives an image signal from the imaging device that outputs the image signal based on return light. The processor uses an image produced in response to the image signal to identify a state of the living body by identifying at least one of whether or not stomach mucosa is in a sterilized state, or whether or not the stomach mucosa is inflamed mucosa, outputs state identifying information indicating the state of the living body, and controls wavelength characteristics of the illumination light based on the state identifying information.

Disclosed here are systems and methods for collecting and/or screening of a pancreatic secretion, using a capsule endoscope comprising an imaging system and a trypsin sensor, and a tether coupled to the capsule endoscope.