Patent ID: 6464631
Filing Date: 2002-10-15
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
An endoscope with a distal tubular shaft (2) of small diameter, in which at least one longitudinally extending device (3, 5) in the form of a light guiding fiber bundle (3) is arranged, an objective (8) and a video camera (9) being arranged in a cross-sectional area (6) of the tubular shaft section (2) that is free of said at least one longitudinally extending device (3, 5), the video camera being arranged to be rotatable about its viewing direction by means of a rotation device (11, 12), wherein an electric motor (12) serves as the rotation device and is disposed proximally of the video camera (9) in the free cross-sectional area (6), said motor being secured to the video camera (9) with a drive shaft (11) of the motor being arranged parallel to an axis of the tubular shaft section (2), the objective (8) and the video camera being arranged in an inner tube (15) having a distal window (7), the inner tube being arranged in the free cross sectional area (6), and wherein the inner tube (15) comprises magnetically permeable material and has a smaller diameter in the region of the motor (12a, 12b) than at the video camera (9) and extends through a motor gap extending concentrically with the drive shaft (11) between an inner rotor (12a) and an outer stator (12b) of the motor.