MAGNETICALLY GUIDING SYSTEM AND MAGNETICALLY GUIDING METHOD

• US 20090318762A1
• Filed: 06/17/2009
• Published: 12/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: SEGAWA, Hidetake, CHIBA, Atsushi, KIMURA, Atsushi
• Granted Patent: US 8,303,485 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/118
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00016 using wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00036 Means for power saving, e.g. sleeping mode
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/065 Determining position of the probe employing exclusively positioning means located on or in the probe, e.g. using position sensors arranged on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters

Abstract

A magnetically guiding system includes: a capsule medical device that has a magnet provided therein; an information acquiring unit that acquires physical information about magnetic guiding of the capsule medical device; a magnetic field generating unit that generates a magnetic field for magnetically guiding the capsule medical device; and a control unit that sets a magnetic field condition based on the physical information acquired by the information acquiring unit and controls the magnetic field generating unit to generate a magnetic field corresponding to the magnetic field condition.

Claims

1. A magnetically guiding system comprising:

a medical device that has a magnet;

an information acquiring device that acquires physical information about magnetic guiding of the medical device;

a magnetic field generating unit that generates a magnetic field for magnetically guiding the medical device; and

a control unit that sets a magnetic field condition based on the physical information acquired by the information acquiring device and controls the magnetic field generating unit to generate the magnetic field corresponding to the magnetic field condition.

2. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 1, wherein the medical device is a capsule medical device.

3. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising

a receiving unit that receives an image captured by the capsule medical device,

wherein the information acquiring unit calculates the physical information based on the image received by the receiving unit.

4. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 3, further comprising

a container that has a mark provided therein, the capsule medical device and a liquid being introduced into the container,

wherein the capsule medical device in the liquid captures the image including the mark, and

the information acquiring device calculates the physical information based on a captured state of the mark in the image.

5. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a container that has the capsule medical device and a liquid introduced thereinto;

a liquid temperature adjusting unit that adjusts temperature of the liquid inside the container;

a temperature measuring unit that measures the temperature of the liquid adjusted by the liquid temperature adjusting unit; and

a receiving unit that receives an image captured by the capsule medical device,

wherein the information acquiring device determines timing when the capsule medical device starts floating up or sinking down in the liquid, based on the image received by the receiving unit, and obtains the physical information, based on the temperature of the liquid measured by the temperature measuring unit at the timing.

6. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a container that has the capsule medical device and a liquid introduced thereinto;

a magnetic field detecting unit that detects a magnetic gradient of the magnetic field applied to the capsule medical device introduced into the liquid in the container; and

a receiving unit that receives an image captured by the capsule medical device,

wherein the information acquiring device determines timing when the capsule medical device starts floating up or sinking down in the liquid, based on the image received by the receiving unit, and calculates the physical information, based on the magnetic gradient of the magnetic field detected by the magnetic field detecting unit at the timing.

7. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising

a receiving unit that receives a transmission signal from the capsule medical device, the transmission signal containing an image captured by the capsule medical device and the physical information,

wherein the capsule medical device stores the physical information in advance and transmits the image together with the stored physical information, and

the information acquiring device extracts the physical information from the transmission signal received by the receiving unit from the capsule medical device.

8. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 1, further comprising

a storage unit that stores a magnetic field condition table that associates the physical information with magnetic field conditions for the magnetic field,

wherein the control unit selects from the magnetic field condition table the magnetic field condition corresponding to the physical information acquired by the information acquiring device.

9. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 1, wherein the physical information is at least one of density of the medical device and a gravity center position of the medical device.

10. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a container that has the capsule medical device and a liquid introduced thereinto;

a magnetic field detecting unit that detects a magnetic gradient of the magnetic field applied to the capsule medical device introduced into the liquid in the container; and

a receiving unit that receives an image captured by the capsule medical device,

wherein the information acquiring device determines timing when the capsule medical device starts floating up or sinking down in the liquid, based on the image received by the receiving unit, and acquires the magnetic gradient of the magnetic field detected by the magnetic field detecting unit at the timing as the physical information.

11. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 1, wherein the information acquiring device includes a magnetic moment measuring unit that measures magnetic moment of the magnet.

12. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising

an image member that has a reference direction and has an image drawn thereon,

wherein

the capsule medical device includes:

an image capturing unit that captures an image of the image member in such a manner that the reference direction of the image member is coincident with a magnetization direction of the magnet, the image capturing unit having a reference direction; and

a transmission unit that radio-transmits the image captured by the image capturing unit,

the information acquiring device acquires image data of the image of the image member captured by the image capturing unit when the reference direction of the image member is coincident with the magnetization direction of the magnet, and

the information acquiring device calculates an angle between the reference direction of the image capturing unit and the magnetization direction of the magnet, based on the image data and reference image data of an image captured when the reference direction of the image capturing unit is coincident with the reference direction of the image member.

13. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 2, further comprising

an image member that has a reference direction and has an image drawn thereon,

wherein

the magnetic field generating unit generates a magnetic field that causes the capsule medical device to rotate in such a manner that a reference direction of an image acquired by the information acquiring device is coincident with the reference direction of the image member,

the capsule medical device includes:

an image capturing unit that captures an image of the image member; and

a transmission unit that radio-transmits the image captured by the image capturing unit, and

the information acquiring device calculates an angle between a magnetization direction of the magnet and the reference direction of the image member, based on a direction of the magnetic field generated from the magnetic field generating unit.

14. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 1, wherein

the medical device further includes a resonance circuit, and

the magnetically guiding system further comprises a resonance characteristics measuring unit that measures resonance characteristics of the medical device by detecting an induced magnetic field generated from the resonance circuit.

15. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 1, wherein the information acquiring device includes a supporting unit that supports the medical device.

16. The magnetically guiding system according to claim 15, wherein

the medical device is housed in a package, and

the supporting unit supports the medical device via the package.

17. A magnetically guiding method comprising:

acquiring physical information about magnetic guiding of a medical device that includes a magnet;

setting a magnetic field condition for a magnetic field to be applied to the medical device based on the acquired physical information; and

applying the magnetic field corresponding to the set magnetic field condition to the medical device inside a test subject so as to magnetically guide the medical device.

18. The magnetically guiding method according to claim 17, wherein the setting of the magnetic field condition includes determining whether the acquired physical information is within a predetermined range.

19. The magnetically guiding method according to claim 17, further comprising

receiving a signal that is stored beforehand in the medical device and contains the physical information from the medical device,

wherein the acquiring of the physical information includes extracting the physical information from the signal received from the medical device.

20. The magnetically guiding method according to claim 17, wherein the acquiring of the physical information includes calculating magnetic moment of the magnet provided inside the medical device.