Patent US RE46007

The present invention is an integrated and automated irrigation and aspiration system for use in an endoscopic imaging system. The system provides for the automated cleaning of poorly prepared patients during a colonoscopy procedure as well as automated cleaning of an imaging system of an endoscope. The invention analyzes images obtained from an image sensor to detect the presence of an obstructed field of view, whereupon a wash routine is initiated to remove the obstruction. The wash routine may be adjusted in accordance with environmental conditions within the patient that are sensed by one or more sensors within the endoscope. In another embodiment, insufflation is automatically controlled to inflate a patient's colon as a function of one or more sensor readings obtained from one or more environmental sensor(s) on the endoscope.