CAPSULE TYPE MEDICAL APPARATUS AND CAPSULE TYPE MEDICAL SYSTEM

• US 20100191055A1
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Published: 07/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: MINAI, Tetsuo, TAMURA, Kazuaki, OHARA, Jin
• Granted Patent: US 8,480,564 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/04 combined with photographic or television appliances
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging

Abstract

The present invention provides a capsule type medical apparatus that can receive, in a subject, an external signal transmitted from an outside of the subject and transmitted via a conductor existing in the subject, including: a cover member that is formed of a dielectric and covers components of the capsule type medical apparatus; a plurality of electrodes that are formed of conductors, are provided in tight contact with an inner wall side of the cover member, and receive the external signal; an inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes, and has an inductance value set to configure a resonant circuit having a frequency substantially equal to a carrier frequency of the external signal as a resonant frequency; and a signal receiving circuit to which the external signal received by the plurality of electrodes and a potential difference of the external signal are inputted.

Claims

1. A capsule type medical apparatus that can receive, in a subject, an external signal transmitted from an outside of the subject and transmitted via a conductor existing in the subject, comprising:

a cover member that is formed of a dielectric and covers components of the capsule type medical apparatus;

a plurality of electrodes that are formed of conductors, are provided in tight contact with an inner wall side surface of the cover member, and receive the external signal;

an inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes, and has an inductance value set to configure a resonant circuit having a frequency substantially equal to a carrier frequency of the external signal as a resonant frequency; and

a signal receiving circuit to which the external signal received by the plurality of electrodes and a potential difference of the external signal are inputted.

2. The capsule type medical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inductance value of the inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes is the same.

3. The capsule type medical apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

an image pickup portion that picks up an image of an inside of the subject and outputs an image pickup signal; and

a signal transmitting portion that transmits the image pickup signal to an outside of the capsule type medical apparatus according to control based on the external signal.

4. The capsule type medical apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the signal receiving circuit detects a receiving level of the external signal, and the signal transmitting portion superimposes the receiving level on the image pickup signal and transmits the signal to the outside of the capsule type medical apparatus.

5. The capsule type medical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is made of a material having a relative permittivity of about 4, a casing including the cover member has a thickness of 0.5 mm and a maximum inner diameter of 10 mm, the plurality of electrodes have the same shape as each other, the inductance value is 10 μ

H, and the carrier frequency is 15 MHz.

6. The capsule type medical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resonant frequency is 15 MHz.

7. A capsule type medical system comprising:

an external device that is provided outside a subject and can use a conductor existing in the subject as a transmission medium to transmit an external signal to an inside of the subject; and

a capsule type medical apparatus that can receive the external signal in the subject,

wherein the capsule type medical apparatus includes;

a cover member that is formed of a dielectric and covers components of the capsule type medical apparatus;

a plurality of electrodes that are formed of conductors, are provided in tight contact with an inner wall side surface of the cover member, and receive the external signal;

an inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes, and has an inductance value set to configure a resonant circuit having a frequency substantially equal to a carrier frequency of the external signal as a resonant frequency; and

a signal receiving circuit to which the external signal received by the plurality of electrodes and a potential difference of the external signal are input.

8. The capsule type medical system according to claim 7, wherein the inductance value of the inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes is the same as each other.

9. The capsule type medical system according to claim 8, wherein the capsule type medical apparatus further includes:

an image pickup portion that picks up an image of an inside of the subject and outputs an image pickup signal; and

a signal transmitting portion that transmits the image pickup signal to an outside of the capsule type medical apparatus according to control based on the external signal.

10. The capsule type medical system according to claim 9, wherein the capsule type medical apparatus superimposes a receiving level of the external signal on the image pickup signal and transmits the signal, and

the external device adjusts an output level of the external signal based on the received receiving level.

11. The capsule type medical system according to claim 7, wherein the cover member is made of a material having a relative permittivity of about 4, a casing including the cover member has a thickness of 0.5 mm and a maximum inner diameter of 10 mm, the plurality of electrodes have the same shape as each other, the inductance value is 10 μ

H, and the carrier frequency is 15 MHz.

12. The capsule type medical system according to claim 7, wherein the resonant frequency is 15 MHz.