JP2001224551A - Capsule endoscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a miniaturized capsule endoscope capable of receiving power supply when required. SOLUTION: This capsule endoscope comprises a lighting means for lighting in vivo and an imaging means for talking the image of the part lighted by the lighting means, which are provided on one end part of a sealed capsule; a receiving antenna antenna-distributed on a flexible board to receive the power transmitted from the outside of the body, which is provided on the inside surface of the sealed capsule; and a transmitting antenna for transmitting the image signal imaged by the image pickup means to the outside of the body, which is provided on the other end of the sealed capsule.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a capsule endoscope which operates by receiving power supply from outside the body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional fiberscopes and electronic endoscopes, a flexible tube is used to connect an operation unit or an image monitor arranged outside a human body and an imaging unit to be introduced into the human body. Configuration. Even if the imaging head unit is reduced in size and diameter to reduce the pain of the subject, the pain that the “tube” passes through the throat of the subject cannot be fundamentally eliminated. Therefore, in recent years, a capsule endoscope apparatus having a capsule-shaped imaging unit without a tube and an image monitor unit separated from the imaging unit has been proposed. The proposed capsule endoscope includes an image sensor that captures an image of a body cavity, a transmitter that transmits image information captured by the image sensor, and a capsule endoscope that includes a battery that supplies power thereto. It is introduced into the body and transmits image information captured by the capsule endoscope inside the body to an image monitor outside the body by radio. However, in the above-described capsule endoscope, since each electric system component is operated only by electric power from a built-in battery, the amount of information that can be transmitted outside the body is limited. Although it is conceivable to increase the amount of information that can be transmitted by using a battery having a large capacity, the increase in size of the battery causes an increase in the size of the radio capsule, so there is a limit in consideration of the pain given to the subject.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a miniaturized capsule endoscope which can be supplied with electric power when needed.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an illuminating means for illuminating a living body, an imaging means for imaging a portion illuminated by the illuminating means, and a transmission for transmitting an image signal which the imaging means takes and outputs to the outside of the body. In a capsule endoscope having an antenna, a power receiving antenna for receiving power transmitted from outside the body is provided. According to this configuration, power supply to the capsule endoscope placed in the body of the subject is
This is realized by transmitting power from outside the body toward the subject, and power can be supplied when necessary.

[0005] In this capsule endoscope, it is preferable that the illuminating means, the imaging means, the transmitting antenna and the power receiving antenna are incorporated in a sealed capsule from the viewpoint of safety to a human body. And disposing the imaging means at one end of the sealed capsule, disposing the power receiving antenna along the inner peripheral surface of the sealed capsule, and disposing the transmitting antenna at the other end of the sealed capsule, The power receiving antenna can efficiently receive power from the entire peripheral surface of the sealed capsule. Further, it is preferable that the power receiving antenna is an antenna substrate having an antenna wiring on a flexible substrate, since the antenna can be easily disposed along the inner peripheral surface of the sealed capsule.

Further, in the capsule endoscope, the imaging means, a signal processing means for processing an output signal of the imaging means, a modulation / transmission means for modulating and transmitting the signal processed by the signal processing means. A circuit board having the transmitting antenna, the circuit board comprising a substantially circular substrate holding the imaging means, a substantially circular substrate holding the signal processing means, the modulating / transmitting means and the transmitting antenna. The substantially circular substrates held are connected to each other by a connection strip substrate, formed at a connection portion with the strip substrate so that each of the substantially circular substrates is parallel to each other, and assembled into a substantially columnar shape. By winding the power receiving antenna around the outer circumference of the substantially circular substrate assembled in the above, these can be stored in the capsule endoscope with good space efficiency.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The capsule endoscope 10 is introduced into the body of a subject at the time of measurement observation, captures an image of the inside of the body cavity, and wirelessly transmits the image information to a receiving device outside the body. As shown in FIG. 1, the capsule endoscope 10 is provided with an objective optical system 20, an image sensor unit 110, a signal processing unit 120, and a modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130 in order from the front (from the left in FIG. 1). A power receiving antenna section 140 is provided on the peripheral surface, and the whole thereof is a water-tight sealed capsule 50.
Is housed inside. One end and the other end of the hermetic capsule 50 are rounded (spherical) and formed into a cylindrical shape having a smooth appearance as a whole, and a hemispherical transparent cover 50a is formed of a transparent material at a front portion. . Transparent cover 50
“a” has a role of protecting the objective lens 22 and the light emitting diode 30 and ensuring a distance from the objective lens 22 to the subject.

The capsule endoscope 10 includes a transparent cover 50a.
A part to be observed through is imaged via the objective optical system 20 and the image sensor 111. Image sensor 111
The electric charge (accumulated signal) photoelectrically converted and stored in () is converted into an image signal by the signal processing unit 120, modulated and amplified by the modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130 to become a transmission signal, and transmitted from the transmission antenna unit 140 to the outside of the body. Emitted as radio waves. The power receiving antenna 140 receives power transmitted from outside the body, and the capsule endoscope 10 is configured to operate with power supplied from the power receiving antenna 140. Therefore, power supply to the capsule endoscope 10 in the body is realized by wirelessly transmitting power from outside the body, and power can be supplied when necessary.

The above-described image sensor unit 110, signal processing unit 120, modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130, and power receiving antenna unit 140 are integrally formed on a circuit board 100 as shown in FIG. The circuit board 100 has a shape in which three circular circuit boards (image sensor section 110, signal processing section 120, modulation / transmission amplifier section 130) and one rectangular flexible board (power receiving antenna section 140) are connected. Has become. Image sensor unit 110, signal processing unit 1
20, each of the modulation / transmission amplifier sections 130 is connected by a strip-shaped connection strip substrate 150, and is connected by a conductive member wired on the back surface. Although the circuit board 100 of the present embodiment is formed from a single circuit board, it may be formed by connecting the circuit boards.

An image sensor window 112 is formed on a circular circuit board of the image sensor unit 110, and an image sensor 111 is fixed on the surface (FIG. 2A).
(C)). Although not shown in detail, the image sensor unit 110 is also provided with a light emitting diode as an illuminating unit for illuminating the inside of a living body, an electric component for controlling an image sensor, and the like. The circular circuit board of the signal processing unit 120 has an image sensor 1 such as an A / D converter on its surface.
Signal processing electrical component 12 for processing the output signal of 11
2 is fixed (FIGS. 2A and 2B), and an electric contact 123 of the battery 101 is provided on the back surface (FIG. 2).
(B), (C)). A modulation / transmission electric component 131 such as a transmission amplifier and a transmission antenna 132 are fixed on the surface of the circular circuit board of the modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130 (FIG. 2A).
(B), the electric contact 133 of the battery 101 is provided on the back surface (FIGS. 2B and 2C).

On the flexible substrate of the power receiving antenna section 140, one power receiving antenna wiring 141 for receiving electric power from outside the body is provided on the surface of the flexible substrate so as to reciprocate left and right in FIG. 2A (FIG. 2A). 2 (A)), a shield 143 is provided on the back surface to block noise (FIG. 2).
(C)). As shown in FIG. 4, the power received by the power receiving antenna unit 140 is converted into a constant DC voltage via a rectifier circuit 134 and a power supply stabilizing circuit 135, and
01 from the battery 101 to the image sensor unit 110, the signal processing unit 120, the modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130
Are supplied with power. In the present embodiment, the battery 101 is a rechargeable battery, and the power received by the power receiving antenna unit 140 is consumed as power for charging the battery 101 or auxiliary power. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the rectifier circuit 134 and the power supply stabilization circuit 135 are provided in the modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130.

As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit board 100 is bent at the connection with the connection strip board 150 so that the image sensor section 110, the signal processing section 120, and the modulation / transmission amplifier section 130 are parallel to each other. Electrical contacts 12
3, the battery 101 is assembled so as to be in contact with the battery.
As shown in FIG. 1, the power receiving antenna unit 140 is wound around the outer periphery of the circuit board 100 assembled in a substantially cylindrical shape and is housed in the sealed capsule 50, so that the power receiving antenna unit 140 is connected to the circuit board 100 and the sealed capsule 50. Not only can be efficiently utilized and stored in a small space therebetween, but also it is possible to efficiently receive electric power from the entire peripheral surface of the sealed capsule 50.

Hereinafter, the use of the capsule endoscope 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the subject swallows the capsule endoscope 10, and starts power transmission from the power transmission means outside the body toward the subject. The transmitted power is transmitted to the power receiving antenna unit 14 of the capsule endoscope 10 in the body.
0, and each electric system component provided in the capsule endoscope 10 is operated by this electric power. In the present embodiment, during the measurement observation by the capsule endoscope 10, the power is continuously transmitted from the power transmission unit outside the body, and the power supply to the capsule endoscope 10 in the body is continuously performed. In the body cavity, a part of the lumen pushed away by the capsule endoscope 10 is in close contact with the transparent cover 50a of the sealed capsule 50. The contact portion and the portion located in front of the transparent cover 50a are illuminated by light emitting diodes provided in the image sensor unit 110. The image of the illuminated portion (tested portion) is formed on the image sensor 111 by the objective optical system 20, is photoelectrically converted by the image sensor 111, and is accumulated. The accumulated signal output from the image sensor 111 is converted into an image signal by the signal processing unit 120,
This image signal is modulated and amplified by the modulation / transmission amplifier section 130 to become a transmission signal, which is transmitted from the transmission antenna 132 to the outside of the body. Then, this transmission signal is received by a receiving unit outside the body, and is displayed on a monitor device and observed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the sealed capsule 50 incorporates the power receiving antenna section 140 for receiving the power transmitted from outside the body, and operates the capsule endoscope 10 by the power received by the power receiving antenna section 140. With this configuration, it is possible to wirelessly supply power to the capsule endoscope 10 inside the body from outside the body when necessary. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a large-capacity battery, and the size of the capsule endoscope 10 can be reduced. Further, there is no occurrence of a situation in which information obtained outside the body is limited because there is no remaining battery.

In this embodiment, power is continuously supplied during observation and measurement. However, power may be transmitted from an external power transmission unit when necessary.
In the present embodiment, a rechargeable battery that is charged via the power receiving antenna unit 140 is provided as the battery 101; however, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible. For example, a configuration in which the capsule endoscope 10 is operated only with the power received by the power receiving antenna unit 140 without providing the battery 101 may be employed, or a configuration in which the battery 101 is used only in an emergency.

In the present embodiment, the power receiving antenna section 140 in the form of a flexible substrate is wound around the image sensor section 110, the signal processing section 120, and the modulation / transmission amplifier section 130 and housed in the sealed capsule 50. Not only can the space 140 be efficiently stored using the small space between the circuit board 100 and the sealed capsule 50, but also the power can be efficiently received from the entire peripheral surface of the sealed capsule 50. Further, instead of using the flexible substrate-like power receiving antenna section 140, a plurality of power receiving antennas may be arranged along the peripheral surface of the sealed capsule 50. However, from the viewpoint of storage space, ease of assembly, etc. It is more advantageous to use the flexible substrate-like power receiving antenna unit 140 as in the embodiment. In addition,
The transmitting antenna 134 is connected to one end of the sealed capsule 50 (FIG. 1).
, The transmission by the transmission antenna 134 and the power reception by the power receiving antenna unit 140 do not hinder each other.

Further, in the present embodiment, one circuit board 1
The image sensor unit 110, the signal processing unit 120,
Since the modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130 and the power receiving antenna unit 140 are provided, and the image sensor unit 110, the signal processing unit 120, and the modulation / transmission amplifier unit 130 are each folded so as to be parallel, the structure becomes a substantially columnar shape. Each of the electrical components can be efficiently stored in the sealed capsule 50, which can contribute to downsizing of the capsule endoscope 10.

[0018]

The present invention provides illumination means for illuminating the inside of a living body, imaging means for imaging the inside of a living body illuminated by the illumination means, and transmission for wirelessly transmitting an image signal from the imaging means to the outside of the body. In the capsule endoscope having the antenna, the power receiving antenna for receiving the power transmitted from outside the body is provided, so that the capsule endoscope inside the body can be operated by wirelessly supplying power from outside the body when necessary. . Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a large-capacity battery, and the size of the capsule endoscope can be reduced. In addition, there is no situation in which information obtained outside the body is limited because there is no remaining battery.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of a capsule endoscope to which the present invention is applied, (A) is a side sectional view of the capsule endoscope, and (B) is a sectional view taken along the II plane. Is shown.

FIG. 2 is a development view of a circuit board provided in the capsule endoscope, in which (A) is viewed from above, (B) is viewed from a side, and (C) is viewed from below. Each state is shown.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a circuit board obtained by assembling each of the substantially circular circuit boards.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing how power is supplied from the power receiving antenna to the capsule endoscope.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Capsule endoscope 20 Objective lens 50 Hermetic capsule 100 Circuit board 101 Emergency battery 110 Image sensor unit 111 Image sensor 112 Image sensor window 120 Signal processing unit 121 Signal processing electric component 130 Modulation / transmission amplifier unit 131 Modulation / transmission electric component 132 Transmitting antenna 140 Power receiving antenna unit 150 Connection strip board

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Ichiro Ninomiya 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Inside Asahiko Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tetsuya Nakamura 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo No. Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Fushimi 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Masaru Eguchi 2-36-9 Maenocho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo No. Asahi Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Ohara 2-36-9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo F-term in Asahi Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. 2H040 CA03 DA00 DA01 GA02 4C038 CC03 CC09 4C061 CC06 FF50 HH60 JJ06 JJ19 LL02 NN03 QQ06 UU06

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A capsule endoscope comprising: illuminating means for illuminating a living body; imaging means for imaging a portion illuminated by the illuminating means; and a transmitting antenna for wirelessly transmitting an image signal from the imaging means to outside the body. A capsule endoscope comprising: a mirror; and a power receiving antenna for receiving electric power transmitted from outside the body. 2. The capsule endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the capsule endoscope includes a sealed capsule including the lighting unit, the imaging unit, the transmitting antenna, and the power receiving antenna. 3. The capsule endoscope according to claim 2, wherein the illuminating unit and the imaging unit are disposed at one end of the closed capsule, and the power receiving antenna is disposed along an inner peripheral surface of the closed capsule. A capsule endoscope, wherein the transmitting antenna is disposed at the other end of the sealed capsule. 4. The capsule endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the power receiving antenna is a power receiving antenna substrate on which an antenna is wired on a flexible substrate. 5. The capsule endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit, a signal processing unit that processes an output signal of the imaging unit, and a signal that is processed by the signal processing unit. A circuit board having modulation / transmission means for modulating and transmitting the signal, and the transmission antenna, the circuit board comprising: a substantially circular substrate holding the imaging means; and a substantially circular substrate holding the signal processing means. And a substantially circular substrate holding the modulating / transmitting means and the transmitting antenna by a connection strip substrate, and a connection portion with the strip substrate such that each of the substantially circular substrates is parallel to each other. And a capsule endoscope wound around an outer periphery of the substantially circular substrate assembled in the substantially columnar shape.