In-vivo information acquiring apparatus, in-vivo information acquiring system, and in-vivo information acquiring method

• US 8,491,464 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2006
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation, Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Yokoi, Takeshi, Hirakawa, Katsumi, Uchiyama, Akio, Tanaka, Shinsuke, Takizawa, Hironobu, Fujita, Manabu
• Primary Examiner(s): Kasztejna, Matthew J
• Assistant Examiner(s): HENDERSON, RYAN N
• Application Number:
  US11/571,510
• Publication Number:
  US 20090076325A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,570 Days
• Field of Search: 600/103, 600/117, 600/118, 600/371, 600109-114, 600160-177, 600/407, 600/424
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00147 Holding or positioning arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/2736 Gastroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/162 Capsule shaped sensor housings, e.g. for swallowing or implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6882 Anchoring means

Abstract

To stably and properly monitor an inside of a body by using an easily operable placement technique, a capsule endoscope 101 to be swallowed from an oral cavity 200 to acquire in-vivo information of a subject 201 and to wirelessly output for a transmission of the in-vivo information to an outside of a body, a string member 103 that is connected to the capsule endoscope 101 for positioning the capsule endoscope 101 at a gastric cardia 202, and a fixing portion 104 that is a portion of the string member 103, is provided on a position with which a length from the capsule endoscope 101 corresponds to a length from the gastric cardia 202 to the inside of an esophageal region 203 for fixing the string member 103 that has located the capsule endoscope 101 at the gastric cardia 202 to the inside of the esophageal region 203 by an endoscopic fixture are included. As a result, the capsule endoscope 101 is placed at a position of the gastric cardia 202 where an entire inside of the stomach is easily inspected, and the capsule endoscope 101 itself can easily be placed inside the esophageal region by using the fixing portion 104.

Claims

1. An in-vivo information acquiring apparatus

comprising:

an in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body configured to be swallowed from an oral cavity of a subject and inserted into a body cavity of the subject to acquire in-vivo information of the subject and to wirelessly output the in-vivo information for a transmission to an outside of the body cavity, the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body including an end portion having a tapered diameter-reduced portion configured to fit to a shape of a cardia joining a stomach and an esophageal region so as to monitor an existence of a bleeding inside the stomach of the subject based on the acquired in-vivo information;

a string member connected to the end portion of the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body to locate the swallowed in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body inside the body cavity at a gastric cardia of the subject, the string member including a string member main body having an adequate length for extracting thereof from the stomach of the subject to an outside via the oral cavity, and an extracorporeal gripper at an extended end portion of the string member main body on an extracorporeal side from the oral cavity; and

a fixing portion provided on a portion of the string member main body and configured to be fixed to an inside of the esophageal region other than at a lower esophageal sphincter and an upper esophageal sphincter by an endoscopic fixture when the string member main body is cut at a position on the string member between the fixing portion and the extracorporeal gripper, the string member having located the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body at the gastric cardia, and the fixing portion being formed in a pinhole shape for latching the endoscopic fixture and having a marked portion located inside the esophageal region for enabling visual distinguishing of the fixing portion from the string member main body,

wherein the fixing portion is located at a position where a length from the connected in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body corresponds to a length from the gastric cardia to the inside of the esophageal region of the subject.

2. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body includes a capsule endoscope.

3. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body includes a hemoglobin sensor configured to detect the existence of the bleeding inside the stomach based on an adhesion of blood.

4. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body is a red detection sensor.

5. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body is configured to be thicker than a thickness of the string member.

6. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a retaining member that engages and retains the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body, wherein

the string member is connected to the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body via the retaining member.

7. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the string member is made of a material to be digested by gastric fluid.

8. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion is located at a position to be fixed to the esophageal region between a lower esophageal sphincter and an upper esophageal sphincter.

9. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing portion is provided at a plurality of portions of the string member.

10. The in-vivo information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body includes a reel portion that reels out and reels off the string member.

11. An in-vivo information acquiring system comprising:

an in-vivo information acquiring apparatus that includes an in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body configured to be swallowed from an oral cavity of a subject and inserted into a body cavity of the subject to acquire in-vivo information of the subject and to wirelessly output the in-vivo information for transmission to an outside of the body cavity, the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body including an end portion having a tapered diameter-reduced portion configured to fit to a shape of a cardia joining a stomach and an esophageal region so as to monitor an existence of a bleeding inside the stomach of the subject based on the acquired in-vivo information, a string member connected to the end portion of the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body to locate the swallowed in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body inside the body cavity at a gastric cardia of the subject, the string member including a string member main body having an adequate length for extracting thereof from the stomach of the subject to an outside via the oral cavity and an extracorporeal gripper at an extended end portion of the string member main body on an extracorporeal side from the oral cavity, and a fixing portion provided on a portion of the string member main body and configured to be fixed to an inside of the esophageal region other than at a lower esophageal sphincter and an upper esophageal sphincter by an endoscopic fixture when the string member main body is cut at a position on the string member between the fixing portion and the extracorporeal gripper, the string member having located the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body at the gastric cardia, and the fixing portion being formed in a pinhole shape for latching the endoscopic fixture and having a marked portion located inside the esophageal region for enabling visual distinguishing of the fixing portion from the string member main body, wherein the fixing portion is located at a position where a length from the connected in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body corresponds to a length from the gastric cardia to the inside of the esophageal region of the subject;

a receiving device configured to receive the in-vivo information wirelessly output and transmitted from the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body; and

a display device configured to display the in-vivo information received by the receiving device.

12. The in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 11, further comprising:

a retaining member that engages and retains the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body, wherein

the string member is connected to the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body via the retaining member.

13. The in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 11, wherein the fixing portion is provided at a plurality of portions of the string member.

14. The in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 11, wherein the in-vivo information acquiring apparatus main-body includes a reel portion that reels out and reels off the string member.