Patent ID: 7762948

Claim:
An endoscope system comprising: an image sensing device at a distal end of an insertion portion to be inserted into a tubular cavity under examination; a bending portion behind said image sensing device; a hydropneumatic actuator for bending said bending portion with hydropneumatic pressure, said hydropneumatic actuator comprising a multi lumen tube including (i) a central hole housing a built-in member, and (ii) a plurality of pressurization chambers arranged around the central hole; and a metal mesh tube mounted on an outer surface of said bending portion, wherein when mounting the metal mesh tube on the bending portion, the metal mesh tube is compressed to be shorter than its natural length in an axial direction thereof and mounted on the outer surface of the bending portion when the bending portion is not bent, and wherein when the bending portion bends, the metal mesh tube deforms such that the metal mesh tube returns from a compressed state to its natural length on an outer side of the bend.