Detecting system of position and posture of capsule medical device

• US 20050216231A1
• Filed: 03/03/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Uchiyama, Akio, Ishiyama, Kazushi, Arai, Kenichi, Yabukami, Shin, Aoki, Isao
• Granted Patent: US 7,751,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/183
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00158 using magnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/732 arranged around the patient, e.g. in a gantry
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/73 Manipulators for magnetic surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/062 using magnetic field

Abstract

A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device includes a main body of the capsule medical device that is inserted in a living body, a coil in a capsule that is arranged to the main body of the capsule medical device and forms a resonant circuit, a magnetic field generating device that is arranged around the living body and generates the Alternating magnetic field for generating an induced magnetic field in the coil in the capsule, and a plurality of magnetic field detecting devices that detect the strength of the induced magnetic field generated by the coil in the capsule by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device.

Claims

1. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device comprising:

a main body of the capsule medical device that is inserted in a living body;

a coil in the capsule that is arranged to the main body of the capsule medical device and forms a resonant circuit;

magnetic field generating means that is arranged around the living body and generates the Alternating magnetic field for generating the induced magnetic field in the coil in the capsule; and

a plurality of magnetic field detecting means that detect the strength of an induced magnetic field generated by the coil in the capsule by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating means.

2. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field generating means is a coil.

3. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field detecting means is a coil.

4. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field detecting means is a magnetic sensor.

5. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the resonant circuit comprises the coil in the capsule, a resonant frequency of the resonant circuit is a self-resonant frequency of the coil in the capsule, and the frequency of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating means is approximate to the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit.

6. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the resonant circuit comprises the coil in the capsule and a capacitor, and the frequency of the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating means is approximate to the resonant frequency of the resonant circuit.

7. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field detecting means is arranged to a casing having an opening in which the living body can be inserted.

8. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 7, wherein the casing is substantially spherical.

9. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 7, wherein the casing is substantially polyhedral.

10. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 9, wherein the casing is substantially cubical.

11. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged substantially in the same detecting direction.

12. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged substantially on the same plane.

13. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged so that the detecting direction of at least one of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means has the detecting direction different from those of other magnetic field detecting means.

14. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 13, wherein at least three of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged and each has substantially the perpendicular detecting directions to one another.

15. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, comprising:

at least two of the magnetic field generating means.

16. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 15, wherein the two magnetic field generating means are arranged to generate the magnetic field substantially in the same direction at the arrangement position of the two magnetic field generating means.

17. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 16, wherein at least the two magnetic field generating means are arranged substantially on the same plane.

18. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 15, wherein at least the two magnetic field generating means are arranged so that the direction of first magnetic field generated by the first magnetic field generating means at the arrangement position of the first magnetic field generating means is different from the direction of second magnetic field generated by the second magnetic field generating means at the arrangement position of the second magnetic field generating means from among at least the two magnetic field generating means.

19. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 18, wherein at least three of the magnetic field generating means are arranged, and the magnetic fields at the arrangement position of the three magnetic field generating means have substantially the perpendicular directions to one another.

20. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means is arranged on a plate-like base containing a non-magnetic member as a unit.

21. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 20, wherein at least two of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged on the base and at least the two magnetic field detecting means have the same detecting direction.

22. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 21, wherein at least the two magnetic field detecting means are arranged substantially on the same plane.

23. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 20, wherein at least two of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged on the base and the two magnetic field detecting means have different detecting directions.

24. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 23, wherein at least three of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged on the base and at least the three magnetic field detecting means have perpendicular detecting directions to one another.

25. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 20, wherein at least one of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means and the magnetic field generating means are arranged on the base as a unit.

26. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 25, wherein the direction of the magnetic field at the arrangement position of the magnetic field generating means arranged on the base and the detecting direction of at least the one magnetic field detecting means are substantially in the same direction.

27. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 26, wherein the magnetic field generating means arranged on the base and at least one magnetic field detecting means are arranged substantially on the same plane.

28. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 26, wherein a symmetric central axis of the magnetic field generating means with a symmetric shape arranged on the base is coaxially arranged to a symmetric central axis of the magnetic field detecting means with a symmetric shape.

29. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 25, wherein at least two of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged, and at least the two magnetic field detecting means have different detecting directions from each other.

30. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 29, wherein at least three of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged on the base, and at least the three magnetic field detecting means have perpendicular detecting directions to one another.

31. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 20, wherein a frame for attaching the base is arranged, and the frame is a guidance device which extracorporeally guides the direction and/or position of the main body of the capsule medical device by a rotating magnetic field.

32. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 31, wherein the magnetic field generating means is arranged on the base on which the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged as a unit.

33. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 31, wherein a frequency of the rotating magnetic field generated by the guidance device and a resonant frequency of the resonant circuit are different from each other.

34. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 31, wherein a plurality of bases are arranged.

35. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 34, wherein the frame has an opening in which the living body can be inserted, and at least three of the plurality of bases are in different directions in relative to the frame.

36. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 35, wherein the frame has a chair on which the living body can sit down.

37. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 35, wherein at least one base is movable or attachable/detachable to the frame.

38. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 35, wherein the frame is substantially cubical, and the bases are arranged to the surfaces excluding at least one surface of surfaces serving as the opening of the frame in different directions.

39. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 35, wherein the base is arranged, not in parallel to any surface of the cubical frame.

40. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 35, wherein the direction of the normal of the surface serving as the opening of the cubical frame and the detecting direction of the magnetic field detecting means are substantially the same, and the magnetic field detecting means is arranged to the surface other than the surface serving as the opening and the surface opposite to the opening.

41. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 20, wherein the base and the magnetic field generating means are relatively arranged to sandwich the space on which the capsule medical device exists, and are movable while keeping the relative state.

42. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 41, wherein the base and the magnetic field generating means are attached to a movable device with multiple degree of freedom that is freely moved and rotated, and the detecting system of the position and the posture of the capsule medical device has a control device that controls the operation of the movable device with multiple degree of freedom so that the magnetic field detected by one specific magnetic-field-detecting-means arranged to the base is maximum.

43. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 41, further comprising:

at least two movable devices to which the base and the magnetic field generating means are attached;

the casing having an opening in which the living body is inserted, on which the movable device can move; and

a control device that controls the operation of the movable devices so that the magnetic field detected by one specific magnetic-field-detecting-means arranged to the base is maximum.

44. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 20, wherein the base on which the magnetic field generating means is arranged as a unit is arranged, facing the space on which the capsule medical device exists, and is movable.

45. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 44, wherein the base is attached to a movable device with multiple degree of freedom that is freely moved and rotated, and the detecting system of the position and the posture of the capsule medical device has a control device that controls the operation of the movable device with multiple degree of freedom so that the magnetic field detected by one specific magnetic-field-detecting-means arranged to the base is maximum.

46. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 44, further comprising:

a movable device to which the base is attached;

the casing having an opening in which the living body is inserted, on which the movable device can move; and

a control device that controls the operation of the movable devices so that the magnetic field detected by one specific magnetic-field-detecting-means arranged to the base is maximum.

47. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein a frame for attaching the magnetic field detecting means is arranged, and the frame is a guidance device which extracorporeally guides the direction and/or position of the main body of the capsule medical device by a rotating magnetic field.

48. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 47, wherein a frequency of the rotating magnetic field generated by the guidance device and a resonant frequency of the resonant circuit are different from each other.

49. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 47, wherein the frame has an opening in which the living body can be inserted, and at least three of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means are arranged to the frame in different detecting directions.

50. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 49, wherein the frame has a chair on which the living body can sit down.

51. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 49, wherein at least one of the plurality of magnetic field detecting means is movable or detachable to the frame.

52. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 49, wherein the frame is substantially cubical, and at least the three magnetic field detecting means are arranged to the remaining surface excluding at least one surface of surfaces serving as the opening of the frame in different detecting directions.

53. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 49, wherein the frame is substantially cubical, and the magnetic field detecting means has a detecting direction, not in parallel to the normal of any surface of the cubical frame.

54. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 49, wherein the direction of the normal of the surface serving as the opening of the cubical frame and the detecting direction of the magnetic field detecting means are substantially the same, and the magnetic field detecting means is arranged to the surface other than the surface serving as the opening and the surface opposite to the opening.

55. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device, comprising:

a main body of a capsule medical device that is inserted in a living body;

a coil in a capsule that is arranged to the main body of the capsule medical device and forms the resonant circuit;

an oscillator that is arranged to the main body of the capsule medical device and oscillates the resonant circuit; and

magnetic field detecting means that is arranged around the living body and detects the strength of a magnetic field generated by the coil in the capsule.

56. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 55, wherein a frame to which the magnetic field detecting means is attached is arranged, and the frame is a guidance device which extracorporeally guides the direction and/or position of the main body of the capsule medical device by the rotating magnetic field.

57. A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device according to claim 55, wherein a frequency of the rotating magnetic field generated by the guidance device and a resonant frequency of the resonant circuit are different from each other.