Patent ID: 8721526

Claim:
An endoscope apparatus comprising: an endoscope having an insertion portion; and an insertion assisting device having a substantially tubular shape, wherein the insertion assisting device includes: an insertion path into which the insertion portion of an endoscope is inserted; an inflatable balloon that is mounted on an outer circumference of a distal-end portion of the insertion assisting device; a first opening that is formed on the outer circumference of the distal-end portion of the insertion assisting device and communicates with the balloon; a balloon fluid duct that communicates with the first opening and is different from the insertion path; a ventilation hole that is formed on a distal-end surface or outer circumferential surface of the insertion assisting device; a ventilation duct that communicates with the ventilation hole and is different from the insertion path and from the balloon fluid duct, wherein the ventilation duct is connected to a suction device through a duct provided in the endoscope and the ventilation duct is connected to the duct provided in the endoscope through a tube, wherein the tube and the duct provided in the endoscope are connected to each other via a connector provided in a hand operation unit of the endoscope, and the tube and the ventilation duct are connected to each other via a connector provided in the grasp portion of the insertion assisting device; and a second opening that communicates with a portion diverging from the ventilation duct and is formed in a grasp portion of the insertion assisting device, wherein the ventilation duct is opened to an outside through the second opening.