Capsule type medical apparatus and capsule type medical system

• US 8,480,564 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2010
• Issued: 07/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Minai, Tetsuo, Tamura, Kazuaki, Ohara, Jin
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Philip R
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHOU, WILLIAM B
• Application Number:
  US12/751,020
• Publication Number:
  US 20100191055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,196 Days
• Field of Search: 600/109, 600/117, 600/118, 600/121, 600/160
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/04 combined with photographic or television appliances
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging

Abstract

The present invention provides a capsule type medical apparatus that can receive, in a subject, an external signal transmitted from an outside of the subject and transmitted via a conductor existing in the subject, including: a cover member that is formed of a dielectric and covers components of the capsule type medical apparatus; a plurality of electrodes that are formed of conductors, are provided in tight contact with an inner wall side of the cover member, and receive the external signal; an inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes, and has an inductance value set to configure a resonant circuit having a frequency substantially equal to a carrier frequency of the external signal as a resonant frequency; and a signal receiving circuit to which the external signal received by the plurality of electrodes and a potential difference of the external signal are inputted.

Claims

1. A capsule type medical system comprising:

an external device that is provided outside a subject and can use a conductor existing in the subject as a transmission medium to transmit an external signal to an inside of the subject; and

a capsule type medical apparatus that can receive the external signal while moving in the subject,

wherein the capsule type medical apparatus includes;

a cover member that is formed of a dielectric and covers components of the capsule type medical apparatus;

a plurality of electrodes that are formed of conductors, are provided in tight contact with an inner wall side surface of the cover member, and receive the external signal;

an inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes, and has an inductance value set to configure a resonant circuit having a frequency substantially equal to a carrier frequency of the external signal as a resonant frequency;

a signal receiving circuit to which the external signal received by the plurality of electrodes and a potential difference of the external signal are input, and which is configured to generate receiving level data according to a receiving level of the external signal, based on the inputted potential difference;

an image pickup portion that picks up an image of an inside of the subject and outputs an image pickup signal; and

a signal transmitting portion that transmits the image pickup signal outputted from the image pickup portion and the receiving level data generated by the signal receiving circuit to an outside of the capsule type medical apparatus according to control based on the external signal, wherein the external device includes;

a position detecting section configured to roughly detect a position of the capsule type medical apparatus in the subject based on a signal level of the image pickup signal received from the signal transmitting portion; and

a control section configured to generate position information by performing an analysis based on an image obtained by performing signal processing on the image pickup signal sent from the signal transmitting portion and the position of the capsule type medical apparatus roughly detected by the position detecting section, and further configured to perform control to store the generated position information to be associated with the image.

2. The capsule type medical system according to claim 1, wherein the inductance value of the inductor circuit that is connected in series to each of the plurality of electrodes is the same as each other.

3. The capsule type medical system according to claim 1, wherein the control section adjusts an output level of the external signal based on the receiving level data transmitted from the signal transmitting portion.

4. The capsule type medical system according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is made of a material having a relative permittivity of about 4, a casing including the cover member has a thickness of 0.5 mm and a maximum inner diameter of 10 mm, the plurality of electrodes have the same shape as each other, the inductance value is 10 pH, and the carrier frequency is 15 MHz.

5. The capsule type medical system according to claim 1, wherein the resonant frequency is 15 MHz.