Detecting system of position and posture of capsule medical device

• US 7,751,866 B2
• Filed: 03/03/2005
• Issued: 07/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Uchiyama, Akio, Ishiyama, Kazushi, Arai, Kenichi, Yabukami, Shin, Aoki, Isao
• Primary Examiner(s): Leubecker; John P
• Assistant Examiner(s): CANDLER, SAMUEL M
• Application Number:
  US11/071,738
• Publication Number:
  US 20050216231A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,951 Days
• Field of Search: 600/117, 600/424
• US Class Current: 600/424
• 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

Abstract

A detecting system of the position and the posture of a capsule medical device includes a main body of the capsule medical device that is inserted in a living body, a coil in a capsule that is arranged to the main body of the capsule medical device and forms a resonant circuit, a magnetic field generating device that is arranged around the living body and generates the Alternating magnetic field for generating an induced magnetic field in the coil in the capsule, and a plurality of magnetic field detecting devices that detect the strength of the induced magnetic field generated by the coil in the capsule by the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generating device.

Claims

1. A detecting system of the direction of a capsule medical device, comprising:

a magnet provided in a capsule medical device main body configured to be inserted in a body cavity;

a first magnetic field generating device for generating a magnetic field in an arbitrary direction;

a thrust generating mechanism for causing the capsule medical device main body to generate a thrust by an action between the magnetic field generated by the first magnetic field generating device and the magnet;

a direction detecting device for detecting the direction of the capsule medical device main body, the direction detecting device further comprising;

a coil provided in the capsule medical device main body and configuring a resonant circuit;

a second magnetic field generating device including two or more sets of facing coils for generating an alternating magnetic field for oscillating the resonant circuit provided in the capsule medical device main body to cause the resonant circuit to generate an induced electromotive force;

a magnetic field detecting device for detecting a strength of a magnetic field from the coil provided in the capsule medical device main body; and

a calculating unit for calculating the direction of the capsule medical device main body in response to a detection value from the magnetic field detecting device; and

a control device for controlling the magnetic field generated by the first magnetic field generating device, based on information on the direction of the capsule medical device main body detected by the direction detecting device.

2. The detecting system of the direction of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein a longitudinal axial direction of the capsule medical device main body and the direction of the coil are essentially parallelly arranged.

3. The detecting system of the direction of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein:

the second magnetic field generating device includes two or three sets of facing coils arranged to be orthogonal to one another, and

the control device controls respective directions of magnetic fields generated by the two or three sets of facing coils such that an angle formed by the direction of each of the magnetic fields generated by the two or three sets of facing coils and the direction of the capsule medical device main body calculated by the calculating unit is not greater than a set value.

4. The detecting system of the direction of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the control device comprises an input device for changing the direction of the capsule medical device main body, so as to control the first magnetic field generating device based on information of the input device and the information on the direction of the capsule medical device main body detected by the direction detecting device.

5. The detecting system of the direction of a capsule medical device according to claim 1, wherein the coil is connected with a capacitor, so as to configure a resonant circuit.

6. A detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device, comprising:

a magnet provided in a capsule medical device main body configured to be inserted in a body cavity;

a first magnetic field generating device for generating a magnetic field in an arbitrary direction;

a thrust generating mechanism for causing the capsule medical device main body to generate a thrust by an action between the magnetic field generated by the first magnetic field generating device and the magnet;

a direction and position detecting device for detecting a direction and a position of the capsule medical device main body, the direction and position detecting device further comprising;

a coil provided in the capsule medical device main body and configuring a resonant circuit;

a second magnetic field generating device including two or more sets of facing coils for generating an alternating magnetic field for oscillating the resonant circuit provided in the capsule medical device main body to cause the resonant circuit to generate an induced electromotive force;

a magnetic field detecting device for detecting a strength of a magnetic field from the coil provided in the capsule medical device main body; and

a calculating unit for calculating the direction and the position of the capsule medical device main body in response to a detection value from the magnetic field detecting device; and

a control device for controlling the magnetic field generated by the first magnetic field generating device based on information on the direction and the position of the capsule medical device main body detected by the direction and position detecting device.

7. The detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device according to claim 6, wherein a longitudinal axial direction of the capsule medical device main body and the direction of the coil are essentially parallelly arranged.

8. The detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device according to claim 6, wherein:

the second magnetic field generating device includes two or three sets of facing coils arranged to be orthogonal to one another, and

the control device controls respective directions of magnetic fields generated by the two or three sets of facing coils such that an angle formed by the direction of each of the magnetic fields generated by the two or three sets of facing coils and the direction of the capsule medical device main body calculated by the calculating unit is not greater than a set value.

9. The detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device according to claim 6, wherein the control device comprises an input device for changing the direction of the capsule medical device main body, so as to control the first magnetic field generating device based on information of the input device and the information on the direction and the position of the capsule medical device main body detected by the direction and position detecting device.

10. The detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device according to claim 6, wherein the coil is connected with a capacitor, so as to configure a resonant circuit.

11. The detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device according to claim 6, wherein:

the first magnetic field generating device is a rotating magnetic field generating device for generating a rotating magnetic field, and

the thrust generating mechanism is a spiral structure portion provided on the capsule medical device main body.

12. The detecting system of the direction and the position of a capsule medical device according to claim 11, wherein the control device controls the rotating magnetic field generating device such that an angle formed by the direction of the normal of a magnetic field rotating plane of the rotating magnetic field generated by the rotating magnetic field generating device and the direction of the capsule medical device main body detected by the direction and position detecting device is not greater than a set value.