Patent ID: 8500628

Claim:
An apparatus configured to access a bodily passageway, comprising: an endoscope including an insertion portion configured to be enabled to be inserted into the bodily passageway; a drive tube including a lumen configured to receive the endoscope; a helically-wound thread disposed on an outer wall of the drive tube and configured such that rotation of the drive tube causes the drive tube with the endoscope to move along the passageway; a flexible drive shaft disposed into the and configured to transfer rotary motion generated by a power supply through the insertion portion; and a rotatable drive collar disposed on the insertion portion and configured to rotate the drive tube relative to the endoscope, the rotatable drive collar including: a stator including a holder disposed on the stator, a rotor rotatable over the stator and detachably coupled to the drive tube, including a stabilizing portion configured to form an annularly protrusion from an inner surface of the rotor, the holder configured to hold the annularly protrusion to restrain an axial movement of the rotor, a rotary gear configured to transfer the rotary motion from the flexible drive shaft to the rotor to rotate the drive tube, and watertight seals including a distal watertight seal and a proximal watertight seal, the distal watertight seal and the proximal watertight seal disposed between the stator and the rotor, the distal watertight seal disposed on a distal side of the rotary gear, the proximal watertight seal disposed on a proximal side of the rotary gear, the distal watertight seal and the proximal watertight seal configured to seal a gap between the inner surface of the rotor and an outer surface of the stator, the annularly protrusion and the holder are located between the distal watertight seal and the proximal watertight seal.