Tethered capsule endoscope for Barrett's Esophagus screening
First Claim
1. Apparatus for imaging an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body, comprising:
- (a) a capsule housing that is sized to readily pass through the lumen, the capsule housing having at least an imaging portion that is optically transparent;
(b) a light source;
(c) a scanner disposed within the capsule housing and coupled to the light source, the scanner having an actuator that drives the scanner to scan an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body in a desired scanning pattern with a beam of light from the scanner;
(d) at least one light sensor that responds to light that has been reflected from an inner surface of a lumen, producing an electrical signal that is indicative of an intensity of the light;
(e) an optical system that focuses the light emitted from the scanner onto a portion of an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body; and
(f) a tether that is connected to the capsule housing and which extends proximally through a lumen to enable a force to be applied to the capsule housing to control a movement of the capsule housing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A capsule is coupled to a tether that is manipulated to position the capsule and a scanner included within the capsule at a desired location within a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body. Images produced by the scanner can be used to detect Barrett'"'"'s Esophagus (BE) and early (asymptomatic) esophageal cancer after the capsule is swallowed and positioned with the tether to enable the scanner in the capsule to scan a region of the esophagus above the stomach to detect a characteristic dark pink color indicative of BE. The scanner moves in a desired pattern to illuminate a portion of the inner surface. Light from the inner surface is then received by detectors in the capsule, or conveyed externally through a waveguide to external detectors. Electrical signals are applied to energize an actuator that moves the scanner. The capsule can also be used for diagnostic and/or therapeutic purposes in other lumens.
175 Citations
58 Claims
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1. Apparatus for imaging an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body, comprising:
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(a) a capsule housing that is sized to readily pass through the lumen, the capsule housing having at least an imaging portion that is optically transparent;
(b) a light source;
(c) a scanner disposed within the capsule housing and coupled to the light source, the scanner having an actuator that drives the scanner to scan an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body in a desired scanning pattern with a beam of light from the scanner;
(d) at least one light sensor that responds to light that has been reflected from an inner surface of a lumen, producing an electrical signal that is indicative of an intensity of the light;
(e) an optical system that focuses the light emitted from the scanner onto a portion of an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body; and
(f) a tether that is connected to the capsule housing and which extends proximally through a lumen to enable a force to be applied to the capsule housing to control a movement of the capsule housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A capsular system for scanning an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body, comprising:
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(a) a housing that is sized to fit within a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body and to be readily advanced therethrough;
(b) a tether connected to the capsule and having a length sufficient to extend proximally external of a lumen in which the housing is disposed;
(c) a light source that produces light for illuminating an inner surface of a lumen in which the housing is disposed;
(d) a scanner having an actuator that drives the scanner to scan an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body in a desired scanning pattern with a beam of light from the scanner; and
(e) a light sensor that receives light reflected from a region of an inner surface of a lumen, producing a signal indicative of an intensity thereof. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method for scanning an inner surface of a lumen in a patient'"'"'s body, comprising the steps of:
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(a) introducing a capsule that includes a scanner into the lumen, the capsule further including a tether coupled to the capsule;
(b) enabling the capsule to advance through the lumen, with a proximal end of the tether remaining outside the lumen;
(c) controlling a disposition of the capsule within the lumen by exerting a force on the tether; and
(d) producing an image of the inner surface of the lumen with the scanner. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification