Medical apparatus, medical apparatus guide system, capsule type medical apparatus, and capsule type medical apparatus guide apparatus

• US 7,623,904 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2004
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Kawano, Hironao, Uchiyama, Akio, Ishiyama, Kazushi, Sendoh, Masahiko, Yokoi, Takeshi, Arai, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Casler; Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kish; James
• Application Number:
  US10/910,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20050085696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,939 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/423, 600/424, 600/101
• US Class Current: 600/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00147 Holding or positioning arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00158 using magnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/73 Manipulators for magnetic surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters

Abstract

In a capsule 3 as a medical apparatus inserted into a body cavity, the lengthwise direction of the capsule 3 is used as an insert axis, a manipulation/input device 8, which is magnetized in a direction orthogonal to the insert axis, is disposed at the center position of the insert axis. A magnetic field generation device 4, which is disposed outside of a body, is caused to generate a vibration magnetic field in a direction parallel with the insert axis of the capsule 3 by turning on a vibration (ON/OFF) switch 8f of a manipulation/input device 8 so that couples having lines of action, which are in parallel with the insert axis, are exerted on the capsule 3, thereby the capsule 3 executes a swiveling motion about the insert axis and smoothly travels along a cavity organ.

Claims

1. A capsule endoscope system comprising:

a capsule endoscope body having an insert axis;

a magnet disposed in the capsule endoscope body having an N-pole offset from the insert axis in a first direction and an S-pole being offset from the insert axis in a second direction opposite to the first direction; and

a magnetic field generation device configured to generate a first magnetic field in a direction having lines of action parallel to the insert axis and a second magnetic field in an opposite direction having lines of action parallel to the insert axis and further configured to periodically change between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field thereby acting on the N-pole and the S-pole so as to make the capsule endoscope body vibrate about an axis perpendicular to the insert axis.

2. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field generation device is configured such that the lines of action of the first and second magnetic fields generated by the magnetic field generation device rotate about the insert axis acting as a center axis.

3. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 1, comprising:

a thrust generating portion for generating a thrust in the direction of the insert axis.

4. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the magnet is a center of gravity.

5. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic has a single magnetized direction.

6. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 5, wherein

the magnet is disposed such that a center in a longitudinal direction of the magnet is positioned at a center in an axis direction of the insert portion, and

N and S poles respectively at both ends of the magnetized direction generate couples when applied with a magnetic field in the axis direction.

7. A medical apparatus comprising:

a capsule endoscope having a main body for insertion into a body cavity, the main body having an approximately cylindrical outside shape;

a magnet disposed in the main body having an N-pole offset from a cylindrical axis of the capsule endoscope body in a first direction and an S-pole being offset from the cylindrical axis in a second direction opposite to the first direction;

a spiral structure disposed around a side of the main body of the capsule endoscope;

a thrust generation mechanism having a rotation drive means for rotating the spiral structure about the cylindrical axis of the main body and generating a thrust in the direction of the cylindrical axis; and

a magnetic field generation device configured to generate a first magnetic field in a direction having lines of action in parallel with the cylindrical axis and a second magnetic field in an opposite direction having lines of action parallel to the cylindrical axis and further configured to periodically change between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field thereby acting on the N-pole and the S-pole so a to make the main body of the capsule endoscope vibrate about an axis perpendicular to the cylindrical axis.

8. The medical apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the poles of the magnet, including N and S poles, are oriented in a single direction, and

the N and S poles at both ends in the single direction generate couples when the magnet is applied with a magnetic field in an axis direction of the insert portion.

9. A medical apparatus guide system for guiding a medical apparatus into a body cavity comprising:

a rotation magnetic field generation device for generating a rotation magnetic field;

a magnetic field generation device for generating a magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field;

a medical apparatus main body having an insert portion inserted into the body cavity;

a thrust generation structure disposed to the medical apparatus main body; and

a magnet fixed to the medical apparatus main body with a magnetic pole direction facing a direction perpendicular to the thrust generating direction of the thrust generation structure,

wherein the magnet has an N-pole in a first direction and an S-pole in a second direction opposite to the first direction, and

wherein the magnetic field generation device is configured to generate first and second magnetic fields perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field and in opposite directions, respectively, to generate lines of action parallel to the perpendicular direction in the medical apparatus main body and further configured to periodically change between the first magnetic field and the second magnetic field thereby acting on the N-pole and the S-pole so as to make the medical apparatus main body vibrate about an axis perpendicular to the thrust generating device.

10. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 9, wherein the thrust generation structure is a spiral structure disposed around the outer periphery of the medical apparatus main body.

11. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 9, wherein a magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field is an alternate current magnetic field.

12. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 11, wherein a magnetic field in a direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field is an alternate current magnetic field, and the frequency thereof is 2 Hz or more to 10 Hz or less.

13. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 11, wherein the, frequency of the alternate current magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field is higher than the rotation frequency of the rotation magnetic field.

14. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 11, wherein the frequency of the alternate current magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field is two times to ten times higher than the rotation frequency of the rotation magnetic field.

15. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 9 comprising:

magnetic field control means for controlling the magnetic field generation device.

16. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 15, wherein the magnetic field control means has a function for switching presence or absence of the magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field.

17. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 15, wherein the magnetic field control means has a function for making the strength of the magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field variable.

18. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 15, wherein the magnetic field control means has a function for making the frequency of the magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field variable.

19. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 9, wherein the magnetic field strength of the magnetic field in the direction perpendicular to the rotation plane of the rotation magnetic field is smaller than the magnetic field strength of the rotation magnetic field.

20. The medical apparatus guide system according to claim 9, further comprising a storage portion for storing information on the rotation magnetic field.