Patent ID: 6689052
Filing Date: 2004-02-10
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
An endoscope having built-in components lying therethrough comprising:an elongate flexible tube having a predetermined flexibility which is inserted into an object; a metallic structure including elongate metallic members constituting the flexible tube; a nonmetallic structure including elongate nonmetallic members constituting the flexible tube; an elongate metallic tubular member included in the metallic structure; a plurality of metallic built-in slender components included in the metallic structure and lying through the flexible tube; elongate nonmetallic tubular members included in the nonmetallic structure; and a plurality of nonmetallic built-in slender components included in the nonmetallic structure and lying through the flexible tube, wherein a desired force applied in the radial direction of the flexible tube required to bend the flexible tube by a predetermined amount is the sum of a force required to bend the metallic structure by the predetermined amount and a force required to bend the nonmetallic structure by the predetermined amount, and the force required to bend the metallic structure by the predetermined amount is set larger than the force required to bend the nonmetallic structure by the predetermined amount.