Medical system

• US 7,922,653 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2004
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Homan, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, PHILIP ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US10/924,345
• Publication Number:
  US 20050049488A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,423 Days
• Field of Search: 600/101, 600/103, 600/109, 600117-118, 600/160
• US Class Current: 600/118
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00036 Means for power saving, e.g. sleeping mode
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0209 adapted for power saving

Abstract

A medical system including a capsule type medical device having a capsule configuration, an operation device, arranged external to the capsule type medical device, and including a generator circuit for generating a particular pattern signal, a switch, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for switching on or off power of the capsule type medical device, a receiver, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for receiving a signal from the outside, and a pattern monitoring unit, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for turning on or off the switch at the moment the pattern monitoring unit detects the particular pattern signal as an output signal from the receiver.

Claims

1. A medical system comprising:

a capsule type medical device having a capsule configuration;

an operation device, arranged external to the capsule type medical device, and including a binary signal generator for generating a binary signal having a particular pattern;

a switch, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for switching on and off power of the capsule type medical device;

a switch driver circuit for controlling the switch for a power on operation or a power off operation, the switch driver circuit being operative in response to the binary signal;

a sensor, arranged in the capsule type medical device, which directly detects a binary signal applied from the outside and is used for the power on or off; and

a pattern monitoring unit, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for monitoring whether or not the particular pattern is included in an output signal from the sensor;

wherein in a state where the power of the capsule type medical device is off the switch is turned from an off state to an on state when the pattern monitoring unit detects the binary signal from an output signal of the sensor, the switch is turned to the on state long enough for the pattern monitoring unit to determine if the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, the switch is kept in the on state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, and the switch is turned to the off state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is not included in the binary signal.

2. A medical system according to claim 1, wherein the operation device generates two different patterns as the binary signal having the particular pattern.

3. A medical system according to claim 1, further comprising a storage unit for storing information of the particular pattern, and a reading unit for reading the information of the particular pattern from the storage unit.

4. A medical system according to claim 1, wherein the operation device comprises:

a storage unit for storing an on pattern and an off pattern as information of the particular pattern, and

a reading unit for reading one of the on pattern and the off pattern in response to the operation of the operation device.

5. A medical system according to claim 1, wherein the capsule type medical device comprises:

a storage unit for storing an on pattern and an off pattern as information of the particular pattern, and

a reading unit for reading at least one of the on pattern and the off pattern.

6. A medical system comprising:

a capsule type medical device having a capsule configuration;

an operation device, arranged external to the capsule type medical device, and including a binary signal generator for generating a binary signal having a particular pattern;

a semiconductor switch, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for at least switching on from off power of the capsule type medical device;

a switch driver circuit, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for controlling the semiconductor switch for a power on operation or a power off operation, the switch driver circuit being operative in response to the binary signal;

a sensor, arranged in the capsule type medical device, which directly detects a binary signal applied from the outside and is used for the power on or off; and

a pattern monitoring unit, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for monitoring whether or not the particular pattern is included in an output signal from the sensor;

wherein in a state where the power of the capsule type medical device is off the semiconductor switch is turned from an off state to an on state when the pattern monitoring unit detects the binary signal from an output signal of the sensor, the semiconductor switch is turned to the on state long enough for the pattern monitoring unit to determine if the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, the semiconductor switch is kept in the on state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, and the semiconductor switch is turned to the off state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is not included in the binary signal.

7. A medical system according to claim 6, wherein the operation device selectively generates a first pattern and a second pattern different from each other as the binary signal having the particular pattern.

8. A medical system according to claim 6, further comprising a storage unit for storing information of the particular pattern, and a reading unit for reading the information of the particular pattern from the storage unit.

9. A medical system according to claim 6, wherein the operation device comprises:

a storage unit for storing an on pattern and an off pattern as information of the particular pattern, and

a reading unit for reading one of the on pattern and the off pattern in response to the operation of the operation device.

10. A medical system according to claim 6, wherein the capsule type medical device comprises:

a storage unit for storing an on pattern and an off pattern as information of the particular pattern,

a reading unit for reading at least one of the on pattern and the off pattern.

11. A medical system according to claim 6, wherein the generator is light emitting unit for generating a binary signal having an optical particular pattern, and wherein the receiver is a light receiver sensitive to light.

12. A medical system according to claim 11, wherein the light receiver comprises a light receiver device, and is provided on the same semiconductor as the semiconductor switch and the switch driver circuit.

13. A medical system comprising:

a capsule type medical device having a capsule configuration;

an operation device, arranged external to the capsule type medical device, and including a binary signal generator for selectively generating a binary signal having two different patterns;

a semiconductor switch, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for switching on from off and off from on power of the capsule type medical device;

a switch driver circuit, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for controlling the semiconductor switch for a power on operation or a power off operation, the switch driver circuit being operative in response to the binary signal;

a sensor, arranged in the capsule type medical device, which directly detects a binary signal applied from the outside and is used for the power on or off; and

a pattern monitoring unit, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for monitoring an output signal of the sensor and for driving the switch driver circuit that controls the semiconductor switch for the power on operation at the moment the pattern monitoring unit detects an on pattern that is one of the two particular patterns in the output of the sensor during the monitoring period, and for driving the switch driver circuit that controls the semiconductor switch for the power off operation at the moment the pattern monitoring unit detects an off pattern that is the other of the two particular patterns in the output of the sensor during the monitoring period;

wherein in a state where the power of the capsule type medical device is off the semiconductor switch is turned from an off state to an on state when the pattern monitoring unit detects the binary signal from an output signal of the sensor, the semiconductor switch is turned to the on state long enough for the pattern monitoring unit to determine if the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, the semiconductor switch is kept in the on state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, and the semiconductor switch is turned to the off state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is not included in the binary signal.

14. A medical system comprising:

a capsule type medical device having a capsule configuration;

a sensor, arranged in the capsule type medical device, for directly detecting a binary signal that is applied by light or a magnetic field coming in from outside the capsule type medical device for the power on operation or the power off operation;

a pattern monitoring unit for determining whether a time-series binary signal on the basis of detecting or undetecting by the sensor matches a particular pattern; and

a switch for switching the power of the capsule type medical device between an on state and an off state at the moment the pattern monitoring unit determines that the binary signal matches the particular pattern;

a switch driver circuit for controlling the switch for a power on operation or a power off operation, the switch driver circuit being operative in response to the binary signal;

wherein in a state where the power of the capsule type medical device is off the switch is turned from an off state to an on state when the pattern monitoring unit detects the binary signal from an output signal of the sensor, the switch is turned to the on state long enough for the pattern monitoring unit to determine if the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, the switch is kept in the on state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is included in the binary signal, and the switch is turned to the off state if the pattern monitoring unit determines that the particular pattern is not included in the binary signal.

15. A medical system according to claim 14, further comprising an operation device, arranged external to the capsule type medical device, for generating the time series binary signal having the particular pattern which is used by the pattern monitoring unit to perform the determination.