Patent 7862504 was granted and assigned to Olympus Group on January, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
An insertion apparatus includes: a tubular member equipped with a propulsion power generating portion; a rotating portion for rotating the tubular member provided with the propulsion power generating portion around the longitudinal axis of the tubular member; and a distal portion which is provided on a more distal side than the tubular member rotated by the rotating portion, is slidably provided to the tubular member, and is disposed with an observation portion for observing a body to be examined.