Capsule medical apparatus

• US 8,517,917 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2009
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Shinsuke, Takizawa, Hironobu, Kawano, Hironao, Takahashi, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Leubecker, John P
• Assistant Examiner(s): COLQUE, RONALD DAVID
• Application Number:
  US12/435,121
• Publication Number:
  US 20090306473A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,576 Days
• Field of Search: 600/106, 600/118, 600/109, 600/424, 600/160, 600/321, 600/407, 600/181, 600/432, 424/457, 604/274, 604/272, 604/266, 604/264, 604/506, 604/117, 604/198, 604/192, 604/131, 604/134, 604/132, 604/139, 604/156, 604/30, 425/149, 239/96
• US Class Current: 600/106
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00234 for minimally invasive surgery A61B17/0218, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00345 Micromachines, nanomachines, microsystems
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14284 with needle insertion means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 31/002 Devices for releasing a drug at a continuous and controlled rate for a prolonged period of time artificial gland structures or devices A61F2/022; intra-uterine contraceptive devices A61F6/14; tampons for introducing into the vagina A61F13/20, A61L15/00; suppositories or bougies for intra-vaginal or intra-uterine application A61K9/02; physical forms of medicinal preparations for sustained or differential drug release A61K9/20, A61K9/50

Abstract

A capsule medical apparatus includes a needle driving unit that punctures an internal region of a subject with an injection needle and pulls out the injection needle from the internal region, a liquid injection unit that injects a liquid into the internal region through the injection needle, and a leak prevention unit that prevents the liquid that is injected into the internal region from leaking from the internal region.

Claims

1. A capsule medical apparatus, comprising:

a needle driving unit that punctures an internal region of interest in a subject with an injection needle and pulls out the injection needle from the internal region of interest;

a liquid injection unit that injects a liquid into the internal region of interest through the injection needle that punctures the internal region of interest; and

a leak prevention unit that prevents the liquid injected into the internal region of interest from leaking from the internal region of interest;

wherein the leak prevention unit comprises a pressure suppressing unit that suppresses an increase in pressure of the liquid remaining inside the internal region of interest;

wherein the pressure suppressing unit comprises;

a suction unit that sucks a backflow liquid that is the liquid injected into the internal region of interest and that then flows back from the internal region of interest through the injection needle, a path for injecting the liquid into the internal region of interest being the same as a path for sucking the backflow liquid; and

a communicated-state switching unit that switches its state from a communicated state between the injection needle and the liquid injection unit to a communicated state between the injection needle and the suction unit and vice versa.

2. The capsule medical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the leak prevention unit is a sealing unit that changes a state of a puncture hole that is made in the in-vivo region of interest by the injection needle into a sealed state during the period of time between when the liquid injection unit injects the liquid into the internal region of interest and when the needle driving unit pulls out the injection needle from the internal region of interest.

3. The capsule medical apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sealing unit is a needle-diameter changing unit that changes the outer diameter of the injection needle.

4. The capsule medical apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the needle-diameter changing unit is a heating unit that heats the injection needle, which then contracts so that the state of the puncture hole becomes the sealed state.

5. The capsule medical apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the needle driving unit protrudes the injection needle from the capsule casing of the capsule medical apparatus, punctures the internal region of interest of a subject with the injection needle, pulls out the injection needle that punctures the internal region of interest from the internal region of interest, and stores the injection needle inside the capsule casing.