Body-insertable device positioning system and in-vivo observation method
First Claim
1. A body-insertable device system, comprising:
- a casing to be introduced into a subject and including at least one imaging unit having a specific observing direction for the subject;
liquid to be introduced into the subject; and
a drive unit which changes a position of the casing in the liquid,wherein a specific gravity of the casing is smaller than a specific gravity of the liquid, and the drive unit includes;
a magnetic material provided in the casing;
a magnetic field generator which generates a magnetic field for the magnetic material and is placed outside of the subject; and
a horizontal position controller which causes the magnetic field generator to generate a magnetic attracting force in a horizontal direction for the magnetic material to control a horizontal position of the casing in the liquid,wherein the drive unit includes a vertical position controller which causes the magnetic field generator to generate a magnetic attracting force in a vertical direction for the magnetic material to control a vertical position of the casing in the liquid, and the vertical position controller causes the casing to be kept under a liquid surface of the liquid and the horizontal position controller changes the horizontal position of the casing in the liquid, andwherein the drive unit includes a position detector for detecting a position of the casing in the subject; and
the vertical position controller controls the magnetic field generator based on the position detection result of the position detector to control the vertical position of the casing in the liquid.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An object of the present invention is to actively control at least one of the position and direction of the imaging field in a subject and to observe a desired observed region in the subject certainly in a short period of time. A body-insertable device system according to the present invention includes a capsule endoscope 1 introduced into a subject and a permanent magnet 3. An imaging unit of the capsule endoscope 1 for taking an image inside the subject is fixed in a casing. The capsule endoscope 1 includes a drive unit for changing at least one of the position and posture of the casing in the liquid 2a which is also introduced in the subject 100. The permanent magnet 3 controls the operation of the drive unit for changing at least one of the position and posture of the casing in the liquid 2a.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A body-insertable device system, comprising:
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a casing to be introduced into a subject and including at least one imaging unit having a specific observing direction for the subject; liquid to be introduced into the subject; and a drive unit which changes a position of the casing in the liquid, wherein a specific gravity of the casing is smaller than a specific gravity of the liquid, and the drive unit includes; a magnetic material provided in the casing; a magnetic field generator which generates a magnetic field for the magnetic material and is placed outside of the subject; and a horizontal position controller which causes the magnetic field generator to generate a magnetic attracting force in a horizontal direction for the magnetic material to control a horizontal position of the casing in the liquid, wherein the drive unit includes a vertical position controller which causes the magnetic field generator to generate a magnetic attracting force in a vertical direction for the magnetic material to control a vertical position of the casing in the liquid, and the vertical position controller causes the casing to be kept under a liquid surface of the liquid and the horizontal position controller changes the horizontal position of the casing in the liquid, and wherein the drive unit includes a position detector for detecting a position of the casing in the subject; and
the vertical position controller controls the magnetic field generator based on the position detection result of the position detector to control the vertical position of the casing in the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An in-vivo observation method, comprising:
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a casing introducing step of introducing a casing for obtaining an image into a subject; a liquid introducing step of introducing liquid into the subject; and a position changing step of changing a position of the casing in the liquid introduced in the casing introducing step, wherein a magnetic material is provided in the casing and a specific gravity of the casing is smaller than a specific gravity of the liquid, the position changing step changes the position of the casing by a magnetic field generated for the magnetic material by a magnetic field generator placed outside the subject, and the position changing step includes generating a magnetic attracting force in a horizontal direction for the magnetic material to control a horizontal position of the casing in the liquid, the position changing step includes generating a magnetic attracting force in a vertical direction for the magnetic material to control a vertical position of the casing in the liquid, and keeping the casing under a liquid surface of the liquid and changing the horizontal position of the casing in the liquid, and a detecting step of detecting a position of the casing in the subject, wherein the position changing step includes controlling the magnetic attracting force based on the position detection result of the detecting step to control the vertical position of the casing in the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification