Page 391 - Flexible Robotics in Medicine

384 Chapter 16

16.5.6 US 20130060087 A1 rigid scope apparatus

16.5.6.1 Key claims
A rigid scope apparatus comprising a rigid scope body to be inserted into the body for
guiding and projecting an inputted illumination light on an examination area of the body;
a camera head section to be connected to the rigid scope body andhavinganimaging
section for receiving the light from the examination area and guided by the rigid scope
body, and outputting an image signal, wherein the camera head section includes an
illumination light output section for outputting the illumination light, and the rigid scope
body receives and guides the illumination light outputted from the illumination light
output section.

16.5.6.2 Assessment
Though it is not explicitly mentioned in the critical claims in this patent, the means of
camera used is a rigid one with a fixed angle of articulation, unlike in P.A.T.S, where the
panning and tilting mechanism brings about a range of angle of articulation.

16.6 Design review

16.6.1 The envisioned device indication of use

P.A.T.S is intended for the in-vivo surveillance of the nasopharynx region for the
diagnosis of NPC. It consists of a tube, which is the nasopharyngoscope with a camera
attached at the tip, and a motor assembly unit. The rotation and tilting of the camera
are controlled by a servo motor and a stepper motor with a simple control system of
four buttons. Stainless steel wires are attached from the motor to the camera holder to
achieve the desired motion by pulling or rotation of the wires. The device is intended
to allow subjects to operate and insert the endoscope into the nasal cavity at home and
remove thereafter. With the simple controls of four buttons, subjects can rotate and tilt
the camera mounted on the device easy to observe the nasopharynx region. P.A.T.S is
like the existing rigid endoscopes available that are used for nasopharyngoscopy. A
straight tube will be inserted into the nose, and it follows a straight path until the
nasopharynx region. In addition, P.A.T.S can rotate and tilt in the range of 54 64
degrees, which will increase the viewing angle of the camera compared to an
existing rigid endoscope. The movement of the camera is a mimic of the human
eyeball movement to obtain a viewing angle approximate to be like a hemisphere.
As mentioned earlier, the recurrence rate of NPC is high and has a median time
interval of relapse of about 26 months [4]. Thus P.A.T.S can provide a home-based