Patent ID: 8585584

Claim:
An endoscope comprising: a shaft extending along a longitudinal axis, having a generally cylindrical distal end integral to the shaft and receivable in a hollow organ and a proximal end and defining a hollow channel therethrough, the shaft including a steering mechanism for moving the distal end of the shaft from a first distal endoscope position to a second distal endoscope position inside the hollow organ; a first lens selectively fixedly positioned adjacent to the distal end of the shaft for receiving a first image in a first direction, the first direction generally being forward and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and the first image generally being a circumferential view of the hollow organ; a catheter receivable in the hollow channel of the shaft for extension and retraction therethrough, the catheter including a distal end, a proximal section, a bending section interposed between the distal end and the proximal section, and an actuating mechanism, wherein the bending section is selectively actuatable by the actuating mechanism to achieve retroflexion of the distal end of the catheter from a first distal catheter position to a second distal catheter position upon extension of the distal end of the catheter from the hollow channel of the shaft; and a second lens coupled to the distal end of the catheter and independently advanceable generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft relative to the first lens through advancement of the catheter inside the hollow channel of the shaft; and wherein, when the distal end of the shaft is moved from the first distal endoscope position to the second distal endoscope position inside the hollow organ, the distal end of the catheter, with the bending section being selectively actuated by the actuating mechanism, is adapted to be extended from the hollow channel of the shaft to achieve retroflexion with a curvature having the outmost diameter less than the outmost diameter of the cylindrical distal end of the shaft, so as to cause the second lens to be selectively positioned to receive a second image in a second direction at a generally 180 degree angle to the first direction.