阅读说明：本技术 医疗用管位置确认系统 (Medical tube position confirmation system ) 是由 三池信也 鈴木裕 于 2018-09-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种医疗用管位置确认系统,确认用于将端部留置于胃并将营养经管补充到体内的医疗用管的位置,其特征在于,该医疗用管位置确认系统具备：导光体,构成为对从射入端部射入的光进行导光并从射出端部射出,且构成为能插入到医疗用管内以使射出端部配置在胃的内部；光源,发出包括透过活体的波长的光,并与导光体的射入端部光学连接以使光射入到导光体；和散射部,在导光体的射出端部与导光体光学连接,对导光体射出的光进行散射。(A medical tube position confirmation system for confirming a position of a medical tube for placing an end portion in a stomach and supplementing nutrition into a body through the tube, the medical tube position confirmation system comprising: a light guide body configured to guide light incident from the incident end portion and to emit the light from the emission end portion, and configured to be inserted into the medical tube such that the emission end portion is disposed inside the stomach; a light source that emits light including a wavelength that transmits the living body and is optically connected to an incident end portion of the light guide body so that the light is incident on the light guide body; and a scattering section optically connected to the light guide at the emission end of the light guide, for scattering the light emitted from the light guide.)

1. A medical tube position confirmation system for confirming a position of a medical tube for indwelling an end portion in a stomach and supplementing nutrition into a body through the tube, the medical tube position confirmation system comprising:

a light guide configured to guide light incident from the incident end portion and to emit the light from the emission end portion, and configured to be insertable into the medical tube such that the emission end portion is disposed inside the stomach;

a light source that emits light including a wavelength that transmits a living body and is optically connected to the incident end portion of the light guide body so that the light is incident on the light guide body; and

and a scattering section optically connected to the light guide at the emission end of the light guide and scattering the light emitted from the light guide.

2. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 1,

the scattering portion is made of a resin containing a predetermined scattering body.

3. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 2,

the shorter the wavelength of light, the greater the degree of scattering of light by the predetermined scatterer.

4. The medical tube position confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the scattering portion is set to be longer in a direction parallel to the optical axis direction of the light guide than in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis direction.

5. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 1,

the scattering portion has a reflection surface that reflects light emitted from the light guide.

6. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 5,

the reflecting surface is formed by aluminum vapor deposition.

7. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 5 or 6,

the scattering portion has:

a convex portion opposed to the light guide body; and

the reflecting surface extending from the convex portion.

8. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 7,

the scattering portion has a substantially conical shape with the convex portion as a vertex and the reflecting surface as a side surface.

9. The medical tube position confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the light source is set to emit light having an intensity equal to or higher than a first intensity required for transmitting light from the inside of the stomach to the outside of the body and lower than a second intensity required for transmitting light from the inside of the lung and the trachea to the outside of the body.

10. The medical tube position confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

the medical tube position confirmation system further includes an imaging unit that images a living body based on at least light emitted from the emission end portion of the light guide and transmitted through the living body.

11. The medical tube position confirmation system according to claim 10,

the medical tube position confirmation system further includes an image data storage unit that stores image data generated by the imaging unit capturing an image of a living body.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a medical tube position confirmation system.

Background

In the medical field, conventionally, a method called transnasal tube feeding is used to directly supply a food or drink to the stomach of a patient who has difficulty in taking the food or drink orally. Specifically, a flexible transnasal tube is inserted from the nasal cavity of a patient until the distal end reaches the stomach, and liquid food or nutritional supplement is injected from the proximal end of the tube.

This transnasal feeding is carried out by inserting a transnasal tube coated with a gel lubricant into a nostril, gradually pushing the tip of the transnasal tube into the depth, repeating swallowing by the patient, and guiding the tip of the transnasal tube to the esophagus side to reach the stomach.

However, since the inside of the human throat branches into two flow paths, i.e., the trachea and the esophagus, such a transnasal tube insertion operation is very difficult, and aspiration pneumonia and the like may be caused when food or drink enters the lungs. Therefore, a confirmation operation must be performed to reach the stomach through the tip of the nasal tube.

Patent document 1 discloses a probe wire having a pair of insulated wires and a sensor portion formed at a leading end thereof. The probe wire is inserted into the medical tube, and if the sensor portion comes into contact with gastric juice, the resistance value between the paired insulated wires changes. Accordingly, by detecting a change in resistance value between the pair of insulated wires, it can be determined that the sensor portion is in contact with gastric juice, and it can be determined that the medical tube has correctly reached the stomach.

Further, patent document 2 discloses a transnasal tube distal end position confirmation device including: a frame body; a connection portion which is connected to a base end side of a transnasal tube inserted into a patient body and communicates with the outside from the frame; a sensor element disposed within the frame; an electronic circuit; and a display unit. The electronic circuit outputs the air pressure change received by the sensor element as an electric signal, and the display unit receives the output from the electronic circuit and displays the air pressure change in a recognizable state. Thus, the pressure change in the stomach is generated by pressing the abdomen of the patient from the outside, and the pressure change received by the sensor element is displayed on the display unit, whereby it can be determined whether or not the transnasal tube is inserted at an appropriate position.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016 & 77450

Patent document 2: japanese patent No. 6245870

However, the method using a probe line as in patent document 1 requires secretion of gastric juice at an appropriate place, and therefore, there is a limitation in the case of applicable patients, and the accuracy of position determination of medical tubes is also contradicted. In addition, in the method using the change in the air pressure as in patent document 2, the structure becomes complicated to control the air pressure, and the manufacturing cost also becomes high.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a medical tube position confirmation system that can confirm the position of a medical tube more easily.

A medical tube position confirmation system according to one aspect of the present invention is a medical tube position confirmation system for confirming a position of a medical tube for placing an end portion in a stomach and supplementing nutrition into a body through the tube, the medical tube position confirmation system including: a light guide body configured to guide light incident from an incident end portion and to emit the light from an emission end portion, and configured to be inserted into a medical tube such that the emission end portion is disposed inside a stomach; a light source that emits light having a wavelength that transmits a living body and is optically connected to the incident end of the light guide so that the light is incident on the light guide; and a scattering portion optically connected to the light guide body at the emission end portion of the light guide body, and scattering the light emitted from the light guide body.

According to this aspect, light emitted from the light source and including a wavelength that transmits the living body is guided into the inside of the light guide inserted into the medical tube, and after being emitted from the emission end portion of the light guide disposed in the stomach, is scattered in a wide range by the scattering portion. Further, since the emitted light is scattered in a wide range, the operator can easily confirm the light transmitted through the stomach and the living body from the outside of the living body, and the position of the medical tube can be easily confirmed.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a medical tube position confirmation system capable of confirming the position of a medical tube more easily.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration of a medical tube position confirmation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a functional structure of the luminescent material 10.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining the wavelength of light emitted from the light-emitting object 10.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view for explaining a structure of the optical fiber 20 on the side of the emission end 20E.

Fig. 5 is a view schematically showing a cross section of the line a-a' of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the camera 30.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal 40.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the structure of another scattering section 60.

Description of the reference numerals

1: a medical tube position confirmation system; 10: a luminescent material; 11: a light emitting section; 12: a drive circuit; 13: a processing unit; 14: a storage unit; 15: a communication unit; 20: an optical fiber; 20I: an injection end; 20E: an injection end portion; 21: a scattering section; 22: a protection part; 30: a camera; 31: an image pickup element; 32: a processing unit; 33: a storage unit; 34: a communication unit; 40: a user terminal; 41: a communication unit; 42: a storage unit; 43: a processing unit; 44: an operation section; 45: a display unit; 60: a scattering section; 60T: a vertex (convex portion); 60R: a reflective surface; 60B: a bottom surface.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. (in the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or similar structures.)

[ first embodiment ]

(1) Integral structure

Fig. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a configuration of a medical tube position confirmation system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 1, the medical tube position confirmation system 1 includes, for example, a luminescent material 10, an optical fiber 20, a camera 30, a user terminal 40, and a database 50. The user terminal 40 is communicably connected to the light emitting object 10, the camera 30, and the database 50 via a communication network, respectively.

(2) Structure of each part

(2-1) luminescent Material 10

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a functional structure of the luminescent material 10. The luminescent material 10 is an example of a light source, and emits light including a wavelength that transmits through a living body. The luminescent material 10 is configured such that a light emitting portion 11, a drive circuit 12, a processing portion 13, a storage portion 14, and a communication portion 15 are provided in a substantially cylindrical housing made of metal, resin, or the like.

The light emitting unit 11 is formed of, for example, a light emitting LED, and emits light including a wavelength that transmits through a living body. When a switch (not shown) provided in the light-emitting object 10 is turned on, electric energy is supplied from a power source (not shown) via the drive circuit 12, and the electric energy is converted into light energy, thereby emitting light having a predetermined wavelength. The light emitting unit 11 is not limited to the light emitting LED, and may be any light emitting unit as long as it emits light including a wavelength that transmits a living body.

The light emitting object 10 is optically connected to an incident end 20I of an optical fiber 20 described later, and light emitted from a light emitting portion 11 of the light emitting object 10 is incident on the incident end 20I of the optical fiber 20.

The processing unit 13 is, for example, a CPU or the like including one or more processors and peripheral circuits thereof, and collectively controls the overall operation of the luminescent material 10 based on a program or the like stored in the storage unit 14.

The storage unit 14 is configured by a nonvolatile Memory such as an EEPROM (electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), and stores preset control information of the luminescent material 10.

The communication unit 15 includes a communication interface circuit for connecting the light emitting object 10 to a communication network, and communicates with the communication network. The light-emitting object 10 may have a simple structure without the communication unit 15.

Here, the wavelength of light emitted from the luminescent material 10 will be described with reference to fig. 3. Fig. 3 shows the respective light absorption coefficients of oxidized hemoglobin, reduced hemoglobin, melanin, and water, which are main components of a living body. In the graph shown in fig. 3, the horizontal axis represents wavelength (nm) and the vertical axis represents absorption coefficient.

As shown in fig. 3, absorption by blood (i.e., hemoglobin) is large in a wavelength region of about 650nm or less, and absorption by water is large in a wavelength region longer than about 950 nm. On the other hand, the absorption coefficients of hemoglobin and water are relatively small in the wavelength region of about 650nm or more and about 950nm or less. Therefore, it can be said that light in this wavelength region (about 650nm or more and about 950nm or less) is more likely to transmit through the living body than light in other wavelength regions.

The wavelength of the light emitted from the light-emitting portion 11 of the luminescent material 10 is not particularly limited as long as it includes a wavelength that transmits through a living body, but preferably includes a wavelength in a range of about 650nm to about 950nm as described above.

As shown in fig. 3, the absorbance of oxidized hemoglobin is particularly low in the wavelength region of about 650nm or more and about 800nm or less. Accordingly, the wavelength of the light emitted from the light emitting portion 11 of the luminescent material 10 may preferably include at least a part of the wavelength region of about 650nm to about 800 nm.

Further, as shown in fig. 3, the absorbance of reduced hemoglobin is particularly low in the wavelength range of about 800nm or more and about 950nm or less. Therefore, the wavelength of the light emitted from the light emitting portion 11 of the luminescent material 10 may preferably include at least a part of the wavelength region of about 800nm or more and about 950nm or less.

Further, as shown in fig. 3, the absorbance of water is particularly low in the wavelength range of about 650nm or more and about 700nm or less. Therefore, the wavelength of the light emitted from the light emitting portion 11 of the luminescent material 10 may preferably include at least a part of the wavelength region of about 650nm to about 700 nm.

(2-2) optical fiber 20

The optical fiber 20 is an example of a light guide, and is, for example, a thin fiber having plasticity, and can be inserted into the medical tube T as shown in fig. 1. The optical fiber 20 has, for example, a two-layer structure including a core (not shown) at the center formed of silica glass, plastic, or the like and a coating (not shown) covering the periphery thereof.

As shown in fig. 1, an incident end portion 20I for receiving light emitted from the light-emitting object 10 and the like is formed at one end of the optical fiber 20. The incident end portion 20I is disposed at a position where it can be optically connected to the light emitting object 10 in a state where the optical fiber 20 is inserted into the medical tube T. The refractive index of the core of the optical fiber 20 is set higher than the refractive index of the coating of the optical fiber 20. Therefore, the light entering from the entrance end 20I is totally reflected at the boundary between the core and the coating and propagates into the optical fiber 20.

As shown in fig. 1, an emission end 20E for emitting light is formed at the other end of the optical fiber 20. The emitting end portion 20E is disposed inside the stomach (indicated by symbol S in fig. 1) when the optical fiber 20 is inserted into the medical tube T and can reach the stomach accurately.

Here, the structure of the optical fiber 20 on the side of the emission end 20E will be described with reference to fig. 4. As shown in fig. 4, the emission end 20E of the optical fiber 20 is optically connected to the scattering portion 21. The scattering portion 21 is made of, for example, a resin having a substantially columnar light-transmitting property and containing a predetermined scattering body. The light propagating through the core of the optical fiber 20 and reaching the exit end 20E is emitted from the exit end 20E and then scattered in various directions by the scattering section 21. The scattered light passes through the stomach and other living body parts and is emitted to the outside of the living body, and a part of the light reaches the camera 30.

As the predetermined scattering medium included in the scattering section 21, for example, a scattering medium having a property of scattering light to a greater extent as the wavelength becomes shorter is preferably used. The predetermined scattering medium may be, for example, a fluorescent pigment. The scattering portion 21 may include a plurality of kinds of scattering media. The content of the scattering body in the scattering section 21 may be uniform over the entire scattering section 21. Alternatively, the content of the scattering body in the scattering section 21 may not be uniform over the entire scattering section 21. The content ratio of the scattering body in the scattering section 21 may be distributed so as to have a predetermined gradient along the optical axis L or in other directions, or may be different between the side of the optical fiber 20 and the opposite side of the optical fiber 20.

The protective portion 22 is made of, for example, a translucent resin or synthetic quartz glass having a through hole extending in the axial direction and assuming a substantially cylindrical shape. The protection portion 22 protects at least a part of the optical fiber 20 and at least a part of the scattering portion 21 along the optical axis L (see fig. 5). The light scattered by the scattering portion 21 passes through the protective portion 22.

Here, the size of the scattering portion 21 will be described with reference to fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a view schematically showing a cross section taken along line a-a' of fig. 4. In fig. 5, a broken-line arrow indicates the optical axis L of the optical fiber 20. The dimension in the direction parallel to the optical axis L of the scattering portion 21 is H, and the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis L of the scattering portion 21 is W. At this time, as shown in fig. 5, the size of the scattering portion 21 is set such that H is larger than W. Accordingly, in the optical path having a smaller angular difference from the optical axis L, the longer the distance traveled in the scattering portion 21 is, in general, the higher the probability that light is scattered by the scattering body included in the scattering portion 21. Therefore, the light emitted from the optical fiber 20 travels in a direction other than the direction of the optical axis L by diffusion.

(2-3) Camera 30

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the camera 30.

The camera 30, which is an example of an imaging unit, takes an image of a living body (including a part of the living body) based on at least light scattered by the scattering unit 21 and transmitted through the living body, and generates image data. The camera 30 includes, for example, an imaging element 31, a processing unit 32, a storage unit 33, and a communication unit 34. The camera 30 may be an infrared sensor or an infrared camera having a particularly high Infrared (IR) detection capability, for example.

The imaging element 31 is formed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), or the like, and detects light condensed by a lens (not shown) under the control of the processing unit 32 to convert the light into an electric signal.

The processing unit 32 is, for example, a CPU or the like including one or more processors and peripheral circuits thereof, and collectively controls the overall operation of the information processing apparatus based on a program or the like stored in the storage unit 33. The processing unit 32 generates image data based on the electric signal generated by the image pickup device 31, for example. Further, the processing unit 32 transmits the generated image data to the user terminal 40 or the database 50 via the communication unit 34.

The storage unit 33 includes at least one of a magnetic tape device, a magnetic disk device, and an optical disk device, and stores a computer program, data, and the like for processing in the processing unit. The storage unit 33 is an example of an image data storage unit that stores image data generated by imaging a living body with the camera 30.

The communication unit 34 includes a communication interface circuit for connecting the camera 30 to a communication network, and performs communication with the communication network.

The camera 30 may also include a display unit (not shown) for displaying image data and the like generated by the processing unit 32.

(2-4) user terminal 40

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 may be any general-purpose information processing terminal. For example, the communication unit 41, the storage unit 42, the processing unit 43, the operation unit 44, and the display unit 45 are provided.

The communication unit 41 includes a communication interface circuit for connecting the user terminal 40 to a communication network, and performs communication with the communication network.

The storage unit 42 includes at least one of a magnetic disk device, and an optical disk device, and stores a computer program, data, and the like for processing in the processing unit. The storage unit 42 is an example of an image data storage unit that stores image data generated by capturing an image of a living body by the camera 30.

The processing unit 43 is, for example, a CPU or the like including one or more processors and peripheral circuits thereof, and collectively controls the overall operation of the information processing apparatus based on a program or the like stored in the storage unit. The processing unit 43 may analyze image data received from the camera 30 via a communication network, for example, and determine whether the position of the medical tube T is appropriate. The processing unit 13 may also transmit image data received from the camera 30 via a communication network to the database 50, for example. The processing unit 13 may transmit a control signal for switching ON (ON) and OFF (OFF) of a switch of the light-emitting object 10 to the light-emitting object 10.

The operation unit 44 is configured by, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, or the like, receives an input operation such as a character, a numeral, or a mark performed by a user, and supplies a signal corresponding to the operation to the processing unit.

The display unit 45 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, or the like, and displays an image or the like based on display data supplied from the processing unit.

(2-5) database 50

The database 50 is a database managed by a medical institution such as a hospital, and includes at least one of a magnetic tape device, a magnetic disk device, and an optical disk device. The database 50 receives image data from, for example, the camera 30 or the user terminal 40, and stores the image data. That is, the database 50 is an example of an image data storage unit that stores image data generated by capturing an image of a living body by the camera 30. The database 50 may be connected to any external information processing device such as a management server used by a medical institution via a communication network. The external information processing apparatus may acquire image data stored in the database 50 and perform processing corresponding to various purposes on the image data.

(3) Methods of use and acts

Next, a method of using the medical tube position confirmation system 1 and an operation thereof will be described.

First, the operator confirms the end of the medical tube T in the nasal cavity of the patient, and inserts the optical fiber 20 into the medical tube T by a predetermined length with the emission end 20E of the optical connection diffusion section 21 as the front.

Next, a switch (not shown) provided in the luminescent material 10 is turned ON, whereby the luminescent material 10 emits light. In this case, the operator may operate a switch of the luminescent material 10 to cause the luminescent material 10 to emit light. Alternatively, when the user terminal 40 is operated by the operator, a control signal for turning ON (ON) the switch of the luminescent material 10 is transmitted from the user terminal 40 to the luminescent material 10, and the luminescent material 10 is caused to emit light.

If the light emitting object 10 emits light, the light emitted from the light emitting object 10 enters the entrance end portion 20I of the optical fiber 20. The light incident on the incident end portion 20I propagates inside the optical fiber 20 by total reflection, and reaches the exit end portion 20E. The light having reached the emission end portion 20E is emitted from the emission end portion 20E, then is scattered by the scattering portion 21, and a part thereof passes through the living body of the patient.

The operator confirms the position of the light transmitted through the living body of the patient and determines whether or not the position of the light corresponds to the stomach. If the position of the light is located at a position corresponding to the stomach, it can be determined that the medical tube T has properly reached the stomach. When the position of the light is not located at the position corresponding to the stomach or the presence or absence of the light cannot be confirmed, it can be determined that the medical tube T has not reached the stomach. Here, the light position confirmation may be performed by any of a visual method performed by an operator and a method using image data generated by the camera 30. In the method of employing the image data generated by the camera 30, for example, the user terminal 40 receives, from the camera 30, image data generated by the camera 30 based on at least light transmitted through the stomach and other living body parts. Then, the user terminal 40 analyzes the image data to determine whether or not the position of the light corresponds to the stomach.

(4) Others

Generally, the intensity of light required for light transmission from the inside of the stomach to the outside of the body is smaller than the intensity of light required for light transmission from the inside of the lung and the trachea to the outside of the body. Therefore, the light source of the luminescent material 10 or the like may be set to emit light having an intensity equal to or higher than a first intensity required for light to pass from the inside of the stomach to the outside and smaller than a second intensity required for light to pass from the inside of the lung and the trachea to the outside. With this configuration, even if the operator does not determine where the stomach is located in the optical visual observation or the analysis of the image data, it is possible to determine whether or not the medical tube T has properly reached the stomach by simply determining whether or not the light can be confirmed.

[ modified examples ]

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the structure of another scattering section 60. Fig. 8 is a sectional view similar to fig. 5 described above. As shown in fig. 8, the scattering portion 60 is bonded to the emission end portion 20E of the optical fiber 20 with an adhesive resin 61. The scattering portion 60 has a substantially conical shape formed by an apex 60T (convex portion), a side surface 60R, and a bottom surface 60B. The apex 60T of the scattering portion 60 faces the optical fiber 20. The mirror surface is formed on the side surface 60R of the scattering portion 60 by, for example, aluminum vapor deposition. The bottom surface 60B of the scattering portion 60 faces the opposite side of the optical fiber 20.

As shown by the solid arrows in fig. 8, if the light propagating through the optical fiber 20 and emitted from the emission end 20E reaches the side surface 60R of the scattering portion 60, it is reflected by the side surface 60R. The direction of the reflected light can be adjusted by adjusting the angle θ formed by the optical axis L and the side surface 60R of the scattering portion 60. The value of the angle θ is not particularly limited, but is preferably about 45 degrees.

The shape of the scattering portion 60 is an example, and the scattering portion 60 may have any shape as long as it forms a reflection surface that reflects light that propagates through the optical fiber 20 and is emitted from the emission end portion 20E. The shape of the bottom surface (surface provided on the opposite side of the optical fiber 20) of the scattering section 60 is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, an ellipse, a polygon (including a polygon having sides of unequal lengths), or any other shape other than a perfect circle. In addition, these exemplified shapes may be rough shapes that do not necessarily satisfy the geometric definition. The bottom surface of the scattering portion 60 may have a shape that covers only a part of the emission end portion 20E of the optical fiber 20 in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis L. Thus, a part of the light emitted from the emission end 20E of the optical fiber 20 travels toward the living body without being reflected by the scattering portion 60. By adjusting the size of the bottom surface of the scattering portion 60, the light traveling direction distribution can be adjusted.

As described above, the side surface 60R of the scattering portion 60 has a substantially linear shape in the cross-sectional view shown in fig. 8 (cross-sectional view taken through the plane of the optical axis L), and has a predetermined gradient (θ) with respect to the optical axis L. However, the side surface of the scattering portion 60 may not have a straight shape in the cross-sectional view, and the gradient with respect to the optical axis L may vary depending on the position. In addition, the side surface of the scattering portion 60 may be formed into a mirror surface by a method other than aluminum vapor deposition. The side surface of the scattering portion 60 does not have to be a mirror surface that specularly reflects light, and may be a scattering surface that scatters light, for example.

According to the embodiments described above (including the modifications), the light emitted from the light source including the wavelength transmitted through the living body is guided to the inside of the light guide inserted into the medical tube, is emitted from the emission end portion of the light guide disposed in the stomach, and is then scattered over a wide range by the scattering portion. Further, since the emitted light is scattered in a wide range, the operator can easily confirm the light transmitted through the stomach and the living body from the outside of the living body, and the position of the medical tube can be easily confirmed.

The embodiments (including the modifications) described above are for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention and will be explained. The elements, arrangement, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, and the like of the embodiments are not limited to those illustrated in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified. Further, the structures shown in different embodiments can be partially replaced or combined with each other.