JP2013165881A - Self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus capable of easily controlling the traveling direction and traveling speed of a capsule endoscope in the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus.SOLUTION: A self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus includes a capsule endoscope 1 in which a disk-shaped magnet or ring-shaped magnet 3 with a direction of magnetization in the radial direction is mounted, in which a roller part 2 is provided at the rear end in the axial direction of a capsule endoscope body 11, and which can be self-propelled in vivo; and a capsule control device for controlling the self-propelling of the capsule endoscope in vitro as a rotating magnetic field whose direction of magnetic vectors rotates around an optionally selected axis is generated by adjusting the strength and phase of sin wave AC magnetic fields in orthogonally crossing triaxial directions. The roller part rotates in such a way that the direction of magnetization of the magnet is parallel to the direction of the rotating magnetic field as the magnet moves in response by receiving the rotating magnetic field, so that the propelling force in the axial direction is generated in the capsule endoscope.

Description

  The present invention relates to a capsule endoscope that can be self-propelled in the body.

  In recent years, medical devices for examining the inside of the body are known. In general, the capsule endoscope in this medical apparatus does not require a tube passing through the esophagus or the like for operating the endoscope unlike the conventional endoscope, and therefore the burden on the examinee is reduced. . When the subject swallows the capsule endoscope, the surroundings are photographed with a built-in camera while advancing through the body by the peristaltic movement of the stomach and intestines, and the photographed image is transmitted to a storage medium outside the body. Remembered. Thereafter, the capsule endoscope is discharged from the anus to the outside. However, this capsule endoscope cannot move by itself and moves passively by peristaltic movement, so that it cannot observe the inside of the body in detail, and because of the limited battery life used for taking and transmitting images, the large intestine There are problems such as inability to inspect.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope that solves the problem of the capsule endoscope can be moved to a place to be examined by itself, in addition to being passively moved by a peristaltic motion. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a capsule endoscope in which a magnet having a magnetization direction orthogonal to an axial direction (longitudinal direction) is mounted, and a thrust generating portion having a helical structure is provided at a rear end portion in the axial direction. Have been described. The capsule endoscope receives a rotating magnetic field generated by the capsule control apparatus outside the body, and the magnet rotates, whereby the thrust generating unit rotates, thereby generating an axial propulsive force.

  Patent Document 2 describes a capsule endoscope in which a magnet having a magnetization direction in the axial direction (longitudinal direction) is mounted, and a fin portion is provided at a rear end portion in the axial direction. This capsule endoscope receives an alternating magnetic field generated by the capsule control device outside the body, and the magnet vibrates, whereby the fin portion bends and vibrates to push the surrounding liquid backward, thereby pushing the axial propulsive force. Occurs.

  Since the posture of the capsule endoscope of Patent Document 2 is stabilized so that the fin portion bends in the direction of the alternating magnetic field, the capsule endoscope is incorporated along with the rotation of the thrust generating portion like the capsule endoscope of Patent Document 1. The image is stable and easy to inspect as compared to the image that is easily rotated or unstable tilted by the camera. Moreover, since the capsule endoscope of Patent Document 2 can move a large amount of liquid backward with a strong force by the fin portion, as compared with the one that obtains a propulsive force by rotation of the thrust generating portion as in Patent Document 1. Even if it is small, it is easy to increase the propulsive force, and it is possible to reduce the possibility of damaging the body wall (wall surface in the body) due to friction.

JP 2001-179700 A JP 2008-279019 A

  Thus, the capsule endoscope propelled by the vibration of the fin portion as described in Patent Document 2 has several advantages. However, since the propulsive force generated by the fins is basically generated when the fins are in the water, it is necessary to drink a liquid such as water before the inspection. Also, if the specific gravity of the capsule endoscope is larger than the liquid in the body, the capsule endoscope will sink. Therefore, the vibration amplitude is suppressed by the friction between the vibrating fin and the wall surface in the body, resulting in a problem that the propulsive force is reduced.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned reasons, and the object thereof is a self-propelled capsule endoscope that is propelled by rotation of a roller portion in the body, and a capsule that controls self-running of the capsule endoscope outside the body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus that can easily control the traveling speed and traveling direction of a capsule endoscope.

In order to achieve the above object, the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 1 is mounted with a disc-shaped magnet or a ring-shaped magnet having a magnetization direction in a radial direction, and the capsule endoscope main body portion is provided. In the capsule capable of self-propelled in the body, provided at the rear end portion in the axial direction is a roller portion configured by attaching the disc-shaped magnet or ring-shaped magnet and a rotating shaft installed at the center thereof to an outer frame. By adjusting the strength and phase of the sine wave AC magnetic field in the three axis directions orthogonal to the endoscope, a rotating magnetic field in which the direction of the magnetic field vector rotates around an arbitrary axis is generated, and the capsule endoscope is self-running outside the body. A capsule control device for controlling the magnet, and the roller portion receives the rotating magnetic field and rotates so that the magnet responds and the magnetization direction of the magnet is parallel to the direction of the rotating magnetic field. Wherein the driving force in the axial direction is generated in the capsule endoscope Te.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 2 is the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the disk-shaped magnet or the ring-shaped magnet is made of silicon rubber having good water repellency around it. A member having elasticity such as the above is pasted, and the member having elasticity has a projection of a triangular, semicircular or polygonal shape on the outer surface.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 3 is a roller unit in which the disk-shaped magnet or the ring-shaped magnet rotates in the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. By installing a roof on the upper part of the roller, the upper part of the roller part rotates in the opposite direction to the lower part of the roller part, so that a propulsive force in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the capsule endoscope is generated due to contact with the wall surface in the body It is characterized by preventing.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 4 is the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the roller is covered outside the roof. It is characterized in that the wall surface in the body is prevented from coming into contact with or being caught in the roller part when the capsule endoscope advances in the direction in which the roller is installed, by installing the inserted heel.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 5 is the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the capsule endoscope and the roller unit are It is characterized by being joined by hinges that can freely rotate with each other.

The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 6 is the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the alternating currents are orthogonal and biaxial with the same size and 90 ° phase shift. The self-propelled capsule endoscope obtains a driving force by generating a rotating magnetic field in which the magnetic field vector is rotated by the magnetic field, and the traveling speed of the capsule endoscope is controlled by adjusting the frequency of the alternating magnetic field. In the self-propelled capsule, the direction of the rotating surface where the rotating magnetic field is generated is changed by adjusting the strength of the magnetic field by applying an alternating magnetic field having the same phase as the one alternating magnetic field in the third axis direction orthogonal to the axis. The moving direction of the endoscope is controlled.

  According to the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the traveling speed of the capsule endoscope in the body is controlled by the frequency of the rotating magnetic field, and independently, the traveling direction is controlled by the vector direction of the rotating magnetic field. Precise control of the traveling speed and traveling direction of the capsule endoscope is facilitated.

It is a mimetic diagram showing composition of a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram of the ring-shaped magnet which has a magnetization direction in the radial direction of the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above. It is a figure which shows an example which extended the elastic member made from a silicon rubber which has the triangular-shaped protrusion of the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above. It is a figure which shows the Example which affixed the elastic member made from silicon rubber which has a triangular-shaped protrusion around the ring-shaped magnet of the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above. It is a figure which shows the Example of the outer frame for installing the roller part of a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above in a capsule endoscope. It is a figure which shows the Example of the outer frame which installed the roof in the upper part of the roller part of a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is an external view which shows the outline of a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above, (a) is the structure which has the outer frame which installed the roof in the upper part of a roller part, (b) is a capsule in the upper part of a roller part. It is the structure which has the outer frame which installed the roof of the magnitude | size which does not protrude from the outer diameter of an endoscope, (c) is the structure which has the outer frame which installed the roof and the eaves on the upper part of a roller part. It is a characteristic view of the triangular protrusion of the elastic member made of silicon rubber affixed to the outer periphery of the ring-shaped magnet of the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as above, (a) is the number of protrusions and the protrusion tip (B) shows the influence of the number of protrusions and the angle of the protrusion tip on the driving force of the capsule endoscope. It is a schematic diagram which shows the principle which the direction of a magnetic field vector rotates around an arbitrary axis | shaft by the capsule control apparatus of a self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus same as the above, and a rotating magnetic field generate | occur | produces.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
A self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention performs an inspection or the like in a subject's body, and as shown in FIG. 1, a capsule endoscope capable of self-propelled in the subject's body. A mirror 1 and a capsule control device that controls the self-running of the capsule endoscope 11 outside the body are provided.
The inspected person usually positions the torso inward of the required range defined by the magnetic field generator of the capsule control device whose principle is shown in FIG. 9 described later, and the self-propelled capsule endoscope 1 from the mouth. Swallow and get tested. It is also possible to reverse the self-propelled capsule endoscope 1 from the anus.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope 1 has a generally cylindrical shape that travels in the axial direction (longitudinal direction). As shown in FIG. 1, the capsule endoscope main body has a camera or the like mounted therein. It has the part 11, and the roller part 2 which mounts the magnet 3 which has a magnetization direction in a radial direction inside. The roller unit 2 is provided at the axial rear end of the capsule endoscope main body 11. Specifically, the front end of the roller unit 2 is fixed to the rear end of the endoscope main body 11 or has a cap shape. It is fixed via a medium.

  The structure of the capsule endoscope main body 11 is not the gist of the present invention, and a known structure used in a conventional capsule endoscope can be used. Such a capsule endoscope main body 11 generally irradiates the outside for photographing by the camera, in addition to the above-described camera, a power supply unit that supplies power to each part of the capsule endoscope 11. An irradiation unit, a wireless communication unit that processes an image captured by the camera and wirelessly transmits the image to the image monitor device, and the like are included.

The magnet 3 of the rotor part 2 shown in FIG. 1 is a disk-shaped or ring-shaped magnet, and has a magnetization direction in the radial direction as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the magnet 3 has an elastic member 4 such as a silicone resin having a plurality of protrusions on the outside, and is attached to the outer periphery of the magnet using an adhesive or the like as shown in FIG. . Moreover, the magnet 3 comprises the roller part 2 by attaching the rotating shaft installed in the center of circular to the rotating shaft fixing hole 5 of the outer frame 6 like FIG. The front end of the roller unit 2 is fixed to the rear end of the capsule endoscope main body 11 as described above, or is fixed through a cap-shaped medium or the like.
As will be described later, when the magnet 3 receives a rotating magnetic field generated by a magnetic field generation unit of the capsule control device, the magnet 3 rotates so as to be parallel to the direction of the rotating magnetic field vector. The self-propelled capsule endoscope 1 moves forward or backward in the axial direction by rotating the rotor 2 according to the rotating direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outer frame 6 has a roof 7 at the top, so that the upper part of the roller part rotates in the direction opposite to the lower part of the roller part, so that the inner wall of the body comes into contact with the inside of the capsule. It is possible to prevent a propulsive force in the direction opposite to the traveling direction of the mirror from being generated. Examples thereof are shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Here, in FIG. 7A, when the height of the roof is larger than the diameter of the capsule endoscope and a person swallows the self-propelled capsule endoscope from the mouth, difficulty occurs. Therefore, the embodiment of FIG. 7B is an embodiment in which the magnet is downsized and the shape of the roof 7 is downsized so that the roof does not protrude beyond the outer diameter of the capsule endoscope.
However, when the self-propelled capsule endoscope returns in the direction opposite to the direction of travel, or when it proceeds with the direction of the roller 2 as the head, the body wall comes into contact with or is caught in the roller portion, and the progress is prevented. Since there is a case, in order to prevent this, the Example which installed the cage | basket 8 extended so that the said roller might be covered on the outer side of the said roof is shown in FIG.7 (c).

As described above, when the outer periphery of the magnet 3 advances by increasing the frictional force between the inner wall surface and the elastic member 4 such as silicon resin having a plurality of protrusions on the outside, the outer periphery of the magnet 3 is advanced. The driving force can be increased. Any shape such as a triangle, a semicircle, or a polygon can be used as the protrusion shape at this time, but in the case of a triangle, a driving force larger than that of a semicircular or rectangular protrusion is often obtained.
For a ring-shaped magnet with an outer diameter of 6 mm, when 8 or 6 triangular projections with a tip angle of 60 ° or 90 ° are attached to the outside of the elastic member 4, the flexibility of the characteristics FIG. 8 shows an example in which the propulsion speed and the driving force are compared when a certain pseudo small intestine is advanced. In the case where the protrusion tip angle is 60 ° and the number of protrusions is eight, both the propulsion speed in FIG. 8A and the driving force in FIG. 8B are larger than in other conditions. From these facts, it is considered that the propulsion speed and the driving force tend to be more advantageous when the tip angle of the protrusion is reduced and the number of protrusions is increased.

Next, a driving method by the capsule control device will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.
In the capsule control device, magnetic field generators that generate an alternating magnetic field in the direction of the coil axis by passing a sinusoidal alternating current through a pair of two coils installed in parallel are installed so as to be orthogonal to each other. It consists of a three-axis magnetic field generator. Of these three-axis magnetic field generators, for example, when two orthogonal coil axes are the Y-axis and Z-axis in FIG. 9A, a sine flowing through two sets of Y-axis and Z-axis coils is illustrated. By shifting the phase of the wave alternating current by 90 °, a rotating magnetic field is generated in which a magnetic field vector rotates in a YZ plane formed by two sets of coil axes and surrounded by the coils. Therefore, as described above, when the self-propelled capsule endoscope 1 is installed in the rotating magnetic field space, the roller 3 is moved in the YZ plane by rotating the magnet 3 so as to be parallel to the direction of the magnetic field vector. To rotate. If the XY plane in FIG. 9A is in the horizontal plane, the self-propelled capsule endoscope advances in the Y-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 8A, the traveling speed at this time increases almost in proportion to the frequency of the alternating magnetic field, and therefore can be controlled by adjusting the frequency of the alternating current flowing through the coil. .
Here, in addition to the rotating magnetic field rotating in the YZ plane, a case is considered in which an alternating magnetic field having the same phase but different amplitude as the alternating magnetic field in the Y-axis direction is newly applied in the X-axis direction. In this case, in the XY plane, a magnetic field of a combined vector obtained by combining the magnetic field vector in the Y-axis direction and the magnetic field vector in the X-axis direction is generated as shown in FIG. The magnitude and direction of this combined vector can be adjusted and controlled by changing the magnitude of the magnetic field in the X-axis direction.
Therefore, at this time, the rotating magnetic field is generated in a new plane formed by the combined magnetic field vector direction and the Z axis by the alternating magnetic field in the Z direction that is 90 ° out of phase with the alternating magnetic field by the combined vector. The self-propelled capsule endoscope will move in this new plane. That is, assuming that the XY plane is a horizontal plane, as shown in FIG. 9B, the traveling direction of the self-propelled capsule endoscope changes from the conventional Y-axis direction to the direction of the combined vector, This traveling direction can be controlled by adjusting the magnitude of the alternating magnetic field in the X-axis direction.
When the amount of change in the traveling direction is large, the self-propelled capsule endoscope may fall over, so the capsule endoscope body 11 and the roller unit 2 are joined using a hinge that can freely rotate with each other. By doing so, the fall can be prevented.

  The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to that described in the embodiment, and within the scope of the matters described in the claims. Various design changes are possible. For example, the structure and shape of the capsule endoscope body 11 of the self-propelled capsule endoscope 1 can be various. Moreover, it can be used for various purposes such as industrial use as well as medical use.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Self-propelled capsule endoscope 11 Capsule endoscope 2 Roller part 3 Magnet 4 Elastic member 5 Rotating shaft fixing hole 6 Outer frame 7 Roof 8 廂

Claims (6)

A disk-shaped magnet or a ring-shaped magnet having a magnetization direction in the radial direction is mounted, and the disk-shaped magnet or the ring-shaped magnet and a rotation installed at the center thereof are arranged at the axial rear end of the capsule endoscope body. A capsule endoscope provided with a roller part configured by attaching a shaft to an outer frame and capable of self-propelling in the body;
A capsule that controls the self-running of the capsule endoscope outside the body by adjusting the strength and phase of the sine wave AC magnetic field in three orthogonal directions to generate a rotating magnetic field whose magnetic field vector rotates around an arbitrary axis. A control device;
With
The roller unit receives the rotating magnetic field, and the magnet responds, whereby the roller unit rotates so that the magnetization direction of the magnet is parallel to the direction of the rotating magnetic field, and the axial driving force is applied to the capsule endoscope. A self-propelled capsule endoscope device characterized by The self-propelled capsule endoscope device according to claim 1,
The disk-shaped magnet or ring-shaped magnet has an elastic member such as silicon rubber having good water repellency around it, and the elastic member has a triangular, semi-circular or polygonal protrusion on the outer surface. A self-propelled capsule endoscope device comprising: In the self-propelled capsule endoscope device according to claim 1 or 2,
By installing a roof on the upper part of the roller part on which the disk-shaped magnet or ring-shaped magnet rotates, the upper part of the roller part rotates in the direction opposite to the lower part of the roller part, so that the capsule comes into contact with the wall surface in the body. A self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus characterized by preventing generation of a propulsive force in a direction opposite to an advancing direction of an endoscope.   The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the capsule endoscope is configured to be installed by installing a ridge that is placed outside the roof so as to cover the roller. A self-propelled capsule endoscope device that prevents a wall surface in the body from coming into contact with or being caught in a roller portion when the roller is traveling in a direction in which the roller is installed. In the self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The self-propelled capsule endoscope apparatus, wherein the capsule endoscope and the roller unit are joined by a hinge that can freely rotate with each other. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is self-propelled by generating a rotating magnetic field in which a magnetic field vector is rotated by an alternating two-axis alternating magnetic field having the same magnitude and a phase shift of 90 °. The capsule endoscope obtains a driving force and controls the traveling speed of the capsule endoscope by adjusting the frequency of the alternating magnetic field, and the one alternating magnetic field and the phase in the third axis direction orthogonal to the two axes. Is a self-propelled type that controls the traveling direction of the self-propelled capsule endoscope by changing the direction of the rotating surface where the rotating magnetic field is generated by applying the same alternating magnetic field and adjusting the strength of the magnetic field Capsule endoscope device