Capsule endoscope and a capsule endoscope system

• US 7,316,647 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2004
• Issued: 01/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Suzuki, Katsuya, Shigemori, Toshiaki, Nakatsuchi, Kazutaka, Nagase, Ayako, Nakamura, Tsutomu, Fujimori, Noriyuki, Kimoto, Seiichiro, Hashimoto, Masayuki, Orihara, Tatsuya, Honda, Takemitsu, Minai, Tetsuo, Shimizu, Hatsuo, Suzushima, Hiroshi, Sasagawa, Katsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Leubecker; John P.
• Application Number:
  US10/830,846
• Publication Number:
  US 20040225189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: 600/160, 600/178, 600/179
• US Class Current: 600/179
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0607 for annular illumination
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0625 for multiple fixed illumination angles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0684 using light emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

In a capsule endoscope illuminating units are disposed around an image capturing unit in such a manner that an optical axis of the illuminating units do not intersect with an optical axis of the observation unit, and illumination areas of the illuminating units overlap at substantially a central portion of an image capturing area of the image capturing unit.

Claims

1. A capsule endoscope comprising:

an observation unit that has a predetermined observation range and that observes inside of a body of a patient;

a plurality of illuminating units that output light and illuminate the observation range of the observation unit with the light output;

a reflector that reflects at least a part of the light output from each illuminating unit in such a manner that

an optical axis of the light output by the illuminating unit and an optic axis of the light reflected incline in a direction that points away from an optical axis of the observation unit and also a front direction to a back direction, and

an illumination area of the illuminating unit and an illumination area of the reflector overlap the central portion of the observation range of the observation unit, wherein

each illuminating unit has a light distribution characteristic that deviates from a center of the observation range of the observation unit.

2. A capsule endoscope comprising:

an image capturing unit having an optical axis and a vision range, and capturing an image of an inside of a body of a patient; and

a plurality of illuminating units disposed around the image capturing unit, each illuminating unit including a light emitting body whose emitting surface is substantially parallel to an emitting surface of the corresponding illuminating unit, each illuminating unit outputting light and illuminating the vision range of the image capturing unit with the light output, wherein

each illuminating unit is disposed so that the emitting surface of the illuminating unit is inclined in an outward direction from the optical axis of the image capturing unit.

3. The capsule endoscope according to claim 2, further comprising a plurality of tilting members corresponding respectively to the illuminating units, wherein each illuminating unit is disposed on a substrate via the corresponding tilting member.

4. The capsule endoscope according to claim 3, wherein the illuminating units have a light distribution characteristic that uniformly illuminates the vision range of the image capturing unit.

5. The capsule endoscope according to claim 4, wherein illuminating ranges of the illuminating units overlap so that the vision range of the image capturing unit is uniformly illuminated.

6. The capsule endoscope according to claim 3, wherein

each illuminating unit has a bottom surface parallel to the emitting surface of the illuminating unit, and

each tilting member inclines the bottom surface of the corresponding illuminating unit against the substrate.

7. The capsule endoscope according to claim 2, wherein each illuminating unit is a light emitting diode.

8. The capsule endoscope according to claim 2, wherein each illuminating unit has a bottom surface substantially parallel to the emitting surface of the illuminating unit.

9. A capsule endoscope comprising:

an image capturing unit having an optical axis and a vision range, and capturing an image of an inside of a body of a patient;

a plurality of illuminating units disposed around the image capturing unit, each illuminating unit including a light emitting body whose emitting surface is substantially parallel to an emitting surface of the corresponding illuminating unit, each illuminating unit outputting light and illuminating the vision range of the image capturing unit with the light output; and

a plurality of tilting members corresponding respectively to the illuminating units, each tilting member being disposed on a substrate and inclining the corresponding illuminating unit so that the emitting surface of the illuminating unit is inclined in an outward direction from the optical axis of the image capturing unit.

10. The capsule endoscope according to claim 9, wherein the illuminating units have a light distribution characteristic that uniformly illuminates the vision range of the image capturing unit.

11. The capsule endoscope according to claim 10, wherein illuminating ranges of the illuminating units overlap so that the vision range of the image capturing unit is uniformly illuminated.