JP4578823B2 - Guidewire capsule endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus that is inserted into a lumen such as a large intestine from the anus and observes the inside of the lumen.

  Endoscopes that are inserted into the human stomach or intestine (large intestine, small intestine, etc.) for observation are provided with a flexible insertion part in the endoscope body, and an illumination optical system and observation are provided at the distal end of the insertion part. A tip configuration portion including an optical system or the like is provided. Then, the insertion portion of the endoscope can be inserted into a body cavity orally or transanally and the inside of the body cavity can be observed.

  Recently, a capsule endoscope that does not require an endoscope insertion portion has been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This capsule endoscope incorporates an illumination optical system, an observation optical system, a battery, a transmission circuit, etc., swallows the capsule endoscope from the mouth, and the capsule endoscope passes through the body cavity in the order of the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. The body cavity can be observed in the process of passing.

An image signal picked up by the observation optical system is transmitted by the transmission circuit to a reception circuit outside the body, transmitted from the reception circuit to the monitor, and an observation image is displayed on the monitor.
JP 2003-260025 A

  However, Patent Document 1 swallows the capsule endoscope from the mouth, and observes the inside of the body cavity in the process in which the capsule endoscope naturally passes through the body cavity in the order of the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. In addition, the capsule endoscope cannot approach the target site in the body cavity. That is, even if a lesion is found while observing the body cavity, the capsule endoscope is close to the lesion and observed at a close distance, or the capsule endoscope is temporarily stopped near the lesion. Cannot be observed.

  The thing of patent documents 1 is a thing swallowed from a mouth, and cannot insert a capsule endoscope into the large intestine alone and observe the lumen of the large intestine. Therefore, in the observation of the large intestine, a large intestine endoscope is used, and the current state is that the insertion portion of the endoscope is inserted transanally into the large intestine for observation and treatment.

An object of the present invention is to enable a doctor and patient to observe the inner peripheral surface of a lumen such as the large intestine in a short time by moving in the axial direction along the guide wire in the lumen of the large intestine or the like. Therefore, a guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus that can greatly reduce the burden of the above will be provided.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a guide wire type capsule endoscope in which a capsule endoscope is inserted into a lumen using a flexible guide wire as a guide and the inside of the lumen is observed. The capsule endoscope has a capsule main body having an observation window that is capable of observing an area including the substantially perpendicular direction in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the guide wire .
The capsule body is fitted with an insertion hole through which the guide wire passes and the capsule body can be rotated about the guide wire as a rotation axis, and a spiral guide groove formed around the axis of the guide wire. A guide wire capsule endoscope apparatus comprising: a feed roller that can roll into the guide groove; and a motor that rolls the feed roller along the guide groove.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the rolling member rolls along the spiral guide groove, the visual field range from the observation window and a part of the visual field range from the observation window are overlapped. a guidewire capsule endoscope according to claim 1, characterized in that setting the propulsion amount by the feed roller.

According to the present invention, it is possible to move in the axial direction along the guide wire in the lumen of the large intestine and the like, and to observe the inner peripheral surface of the lumen of the large intestine and the like in a short time, and to reduce the burden on the doctor and patient Can be greatly reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3 show a first embodiment, and FIG. 1 shows a guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus 1. The guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus 1 includes a guide wire 2 and the guide wire 2 shown in FIG. And a capsule endoscope 3 that is inserted into a body cavity, for example, a large intestine, to observe the inside of the body cavity.

  The guide wire 2 is formed of, for example, a flexible stainless steel wire or a synthetic resin linear body such as Teflon (registered trademark) excellent in lubricity. A guide wire introducing member 4 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the guide wire 2 is provided with a spiral guide groove 5 on its outer peripheral surface over the entire length.

  The capsule main body 3a of the capsule endoscope 3 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and hemispherical portions are integrally provided at the front and rear portions thereof. An insertion hole 6 through which the guide wire 2 is inserted is provided through the axial center of the capsule body 3a in the front-rear direction.

  An observation window 7 is provided on the side of the capsule body 3a, that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the guide wire 2, and an illumination window 8 is provided on the front and rear sides of the observation window 7. A solid-state imaging device (hereinafter referred to as a CCD) 9 as an observation optical system for observing the inside of the lumen facing the observation window 7 is provided inside the capsule main body 3a, and the inside of the lumen is opposed to the illumination window 8. An LED 10 as an illumination optical system for illuminating is provided. Furthermore, a transmission circuit 12 for transmitting the video signal obtained by the battery 11 and the CCD 9 to the outside is provided inside the capsule body 3a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a small motor 13 is provided inside the capsule body 3 a with its rotary shaft 14 parallel to the axial direction of the insertion hole 6. A feed roller 15 is mounted on the rotary shaft 14 of the small motor 13, and the feed roller 15 is in rolling contact with the guide groove 5 of the guide wire 2 inserted through the insertion hole 6. The small motor 13 is electrically connected to a battery 16 inside the capsule body 3 a, and the battery 16 is electrically connected to an internal receiving circuit 17.

  Accordingly, when the feed roller 15 is rotated by the small motor 13, the feed roller 15 rolls along the guide groove 5 of the guide wire 2 by frictional force, and the feed roller 15 rotates the capsule body 3a around the guide wire 2 as the center of rotation. At the same time, a propulsive force is applied to the capsule body 3a in the axial direction of the guide wire 2. That is, the capsule endoscope 3 advances and retreats in the axial direction of the guide wire 2 while rotating around the guide wire 2, and observes the inner peripheral surface of a lumen such as the large intestine.

  Here, the relationship between the rotation and movement of the capsule endoscope 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the capsule endoscope 3 has the visual field range A at the first position a and the capsule endoscope 3 has the guide wire 2. The visual field range B at the second position b when rotated once around the center overlaps the inner peripheral surface of the lumen such as the large intestine without omission, so that the affected area is not overlooked. ing. That is, the pitch P of the guide groove 5 of the guide wire 2 is set so that the pitch P of the guide groove 5 of the guide wire 2 and the visual field width L have a relationship of P <L.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an external transmission circuit 18 is provided outside the body for transmitting a control signal wirelessly to an internal reception circuit 17 in the capsule endoscope 3 in the body cavity. Further, outside the body, a video signal obtained by the CCD 9 in the capsule endoscope 3 in the body cavity is transmitted to the external reception circuit 19 by the transmission circuit 12 and can be displayed on the monitor 20.

  According to the guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus 1 configured as described above, the guide wire 2 is inserted into the large intestine 21 as a lumen from the anus of the patient, and the capsule endoscope 3 is guided using the guide wire 2 as a guide. Is inserted into the large intestine 21. The guide wire 2 is inserted through the insertion hole 6 of the capsule endoscope 3, and the feed roller 15 is in contact with the guide groove 5 in a fitted state.

  In this state, the control signal from the external transmission circuit 18 is received by the internal reception circuit 17 inside the capsule endoscope 3, and the small motor 13 is driven. When the feed roller 15 rotates, the feed roller 15 rolls along the guide groove 5 of the guide wire 2, and the capsule endoscope 3 is rotated about the guide wire 2 by the feed roller 15. At this time, since the guide groove 5 has a spiral shape, a propulsive force is applied to the capsule endoscope 3 to move in the axial direction of the guide wire 2.

  Further, the LED 10 provided in the capsule endoscope 3 illuminates the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21, and the CCD 9 advances while observing the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21. The video signal obtained by the CCD 9 is transmitted to the external reception circuit 19 by the transmission circuit 12 and can be displayed on the monitor 20.

  At this time, as described above, the capsule endoscope 3 includes the visual field range A at the first position a and the visual field range at the second position b when the capsule endoscope 3 makes one rotation around the guide wire 2. It is possible to observe the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21 without omission by overlapping with B, so that the lesioned part is not overlooked, and the observation visual field can be prevented from being reddish due to wrinkles on the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21. .

  In the first embodiment, the spiral guide groove 5 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the guide wire 2. However, when the guide wire 2 is formed of a stranded wire, the stranded wire groove may be used as the guide groove. .

  FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment, and the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface shape of the insertion hole 22 of the capsule endoscope 3 and the outer peripheral surface shape of the guide wire 23 inserted through the insertion hole 22 are different from each other, and the capsule with respect to the axis of the guide wire 23 The endoscope 3 is prevented from rotating.

  4 (a) and 4 (b), a concave groove 22a is provided on a part of the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 22 of the capsule endoscope 3, and a convex strip portion 23a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the guide wire 23. The groove 22a and the protrusion 23a are engaged with each other so that the capsule endoscope 3 cannot rotate with respect to the guide wire 23 and advances and retreats only in the axial direction.

  5 (a) and 5 (b) show a third embodiment, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In this embodiment, the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 22 of the capsule endoscope 3 and the outer peripheral surface of the guide wire 23 have a D-shaped cross section, and the insertion hole 22 and the guide wire 23 are engaged with each other. Thus, the capsule endoscope 3 cannot be rotated and is advanced and retracted only in the axial direction.

  According to this embodiment, there is an effect that it can be set in an arbitrary direction in the visual field direction of the capsule endoscope 3 by gripping the proximal side of the guide wire 23 and turning it around the axis.

  FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment, and the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, the inner peripheral surface shape of the insertion hole 22 of the capsule endoscope 3 and the outer peripheral surface shape of the guide wire 23 inserted into the insertion hole 22 are different from each other, and the capsule is formed with respect to the axis of the guide wire 23. The endoscope 3 is prevented from rotating, and two capsule endoscopes 3A and 3B having different visual field directions are inserted through the same guide wire 23.

  That is, the capsule endoscope 3A located on the front side has a visual field in the left direction, and the capsule endoscope 3B located on the rear side has a visual field in the right direction. Therefore, the left and right of the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21 can be observed simultaneously. Further, since the capsule endoscopes 3A and 3B cannot rotate with respect to the guide wire 23 and can advance and retreat only in the axial direction, the capsule endoscope 3A and 3B can be moved only in the axial direction by gripping the proximal side of the guide wire 23 and turning around the axis. There is an effect that the viewing direction of the endoscopes 3A and 3B can be set to an arbitrary direction.

  It is also possible to set the visual field of the capsule endoscope 3A located on the front side forward and the visual field of the capsule endoscope 3B located on the rear side backward.

  7 (a) and 7 (b) show a fifth embodiment, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the present embodiment, an observation optical system 28 is provided at the rear part on the axis of the capsule body 3 a of the visible light capsule endoscope 3. In addition, a protruding portion 29 is provided on the outer side of the capsule body 3a, and an insertion hole 30 through which the guide wire 2 is inserted is provided in the protruding portion 29 so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction of the capsule body 3a.

  Further, the distal end portion 31a of the pushing tube 31 inserted through the guide wire 2 is in contact with the protruding portion 29 of the visible light capsule endoscope 3, and by holding the proximal portion of the pushing tube 31 and pushing it forward, The endoscope 3 can be pushed deep into the large intestine 16 using the guide wire 2 as a guide. At this time, since the capsule endoscope 3 is provided with the observation optical system 28 at the rear part, the back of the capsule endoscope 3 can be observed simultaneously. Moreover, since the interval W is maintained between the observation optical system 28 and the insertion hole 30, the pushing tube 31 does not disturb the visual field.

  A balloon 32 is provided at a position near the distal end of the pushing tube 31 and away from the distal end portion 31a. This balloon 32 communicates with a fluid passage 33 provided in the thick part of the pushing tube 31 in the axial direction. An ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 is fixed to the outer side of the balloon 32. The ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 is provided with an ultrasonic transmission unit and an ultrasonic reception unit 35 each having a piezoelectric element inside a main body 35, which are connected to a signal line 36 built in the pushing tube 31. Yes. Then, an ultrasonic wave is generated while being pressed against the inner wall of the lumen of the large intestine 21, and an ultrasonic wave reception unit receives an echo from the tissue, whereby an ultrasonic image can be acquired.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The guide wire 2 is inserted from the patient's anus into the large intestine 21 as a lumen, and the capsule endoscope 3 is inserted into the large intestine 21 using the guide wire 2 as a guide. In this case, the pushing tube 31 is inserted into the guide wire 2, the pushing tube 31 is inserted along the guide wire 2, and the protruding portion 29 of the capsule endoscope 3 is pushed by the distal end portion 31 a of the pushing tube 31. The optical capsule endoscope 3 can be pushed deeper into the large intestine 21 using the guide wire 2 as a guide, and the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21 can be observed.

  When the capsule endoscope 3 is pushed forward by the pushing tube 31 and reaches the target site, when air is supplied to the balloon 32 via the fluid passage 33, the balloon 32 is inflated. Therefore, the ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 is pressed against the inner wall of the large intestine 21 by the expansion of the balloon 32. At this time, since the capsule endoscope 3 and the ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 are kept at a certain distance, the ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 is captured in the visual field by the observation optical system 28 of the capsule endoscope 3. It is possible to confirm whether or not the ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 is pressed against the inner wall of the large intestine 21.

  Next, an ultrasonic image can be acquired by generating an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic wave transmission unit inside the ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34 and receiving an echo from the tissue by the ultrasonic examination unit. Therefore, observation of the inner peripheral surface of the large intestine 21 can be observed by the capsule endoscope 3, and the inside of the tissue can be acquired as an ultrasonic image by the ultrasonic capsule endoscope 34.

  According to each of the embodiments, the configuration is obtained as follows.

  (Supplementary Note 1) A guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus in which a capsule endoscope is inserted into a lumen using a flexible guide wire as a guide, and the inside of the lumen is observed. A guide wire capsule endoscope apparatus characterized in that an observation window is provided in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the guide wire, and the guide wire is rotatable about the rotation axis.

  (Supplementary Note 2) The capsule endoscope is propelled in the axial direction while rotating around the guide wire, and the visual field range and the propulsion amount are set so that a part of the visual field range is overlapped when propelled while rotating. The guidewire-type capsule endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1, which is set.

  (Supplementary Note 3) The capsule endoscope includes a feed roller that is in rolling contact with the outer peripheral surface of the guide wire and a motor that rotationally drives the feed roller, and the capsule endoscope rotates the guide wire at the center of rotation by the rotation of the feed roller. The guide wire capsule endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the capsule endoscope apparatus rotates as follows.

  (Appendix 4) The guidewire capsule endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1 or 3, characterized in that the guidewire is provided with a spiral guide groove on the outer peripheral surface to which a feed roller driven by a motor rolls. .

  (Appendix 5) The capsule endoscope has an insertion hole through which the guide wire is inserted, and the guide wire and the insertion hole are formed to have an irregular cross section, and the capsule endoscope rotates the guide wire by the rotation of the guide wire. The guide wire capsule endoscope apparatus according to appendix 1, wherein the guide wire capsule endoscope apparatus is rotatable as a center.

  (Additional remark 6) The said capsule endoscope consists of two or more from which a visual field direction differs, These capsule endoscopes are penetrated by the same guide wire, The guide wire type | mold capsule internal appearance of Additional remark 1 characterized by the above-mentioned Mirror device.

  (Appendix 7) Each of the plurality of capsule endoscopes has an insertion hole through which a guide wire is inserted. The guide wire and the insertion hole are formed in an irregular shape, and each capsule endoscope is rotated by the rotation of the guide wire. The guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus according to appendix 6, wherein the guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus is rotatable about a guide wire.

  (Supplementary Note 8) A guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus in which a capsule endoscope is inserted into a lumen using a flexible guide wire as a guide, and the inside of the lumen is observed. A guide wire type comprising a capsule endoscope capable of observing the inner surface of a body cavity and an ultrasonic capsule endoscope, and these capsule endoscopes are inserted so as to be able to advance and retreat with the same guide wire as a guide Capsule endoscope device.

  (Supplementary note 9) The guide wire capsule endoscope apparatus according to supplementary note 8, wherein the ultrasonic capsule endoscope is installed in a field of view of the capsule endoscope capable of observing the inner surface of the body cavity.

  (Supplementary note 10) The guide wire type according to Supplementary note 8, wherein the ultrasonic capsule endoscope is provided in a pushing tube that pushes the capsule endoscope capable of observing the inner surface of the body cavity with a guide wire as a guide. Capsule endoscope device.

  (Appendix 11) The ultrasonic capsule endoscope is provided in a balloon provided in a pushing tube, and is pressed against a body cavity wall by inflation of the balloon. Endoscopic device.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, you may combine suitably the component covering different embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The 1st Embodiment of this invention is shown, The schematic block diagram of a guide wire type | mold capsule endoscope apparatus. The side view which shows the same embodiment and shows the relationship between a guide wire and a feed roller. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the capsule endoscope of the embodiment. The 2nd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a side view of a capsule endoscope, (b) is sectional drawing which follows the AA line. The 3rd Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a side view of a capsule endoscope, (b) is sectional drawing which follows a BB line. The perspective view of the guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus which shows 4th Embodiment of this invention. The 5th Embodiment of this invention is shown, (a) is a schematic block diagram of a guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus, (b) is sectional drawing which follows CC line.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Capsule endoscope apparatus, 2 ... Guide wire, 3 ... Capsule endoscope, 7 ... Observation window

Claims (2)

A guide wire-type capsule endoscope apparatus that inserts a capsule endoscope into a lumen using a flexible guide wire as a guide, and observes the inside of the lumen,
The capsule endoscope has a capsule body having an observation window that can observe an area including the substantially perpendicular direction in a direction substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the guide wire ;
The capsule body is
An insertion hole that allows the capsule body to rotate about the guide wire as a rotation axis;
A feed roller that fits into a spiral guide groove formed around the axis of the guide wire and can roll into the guide groove;
A motor that rolls the feed roller along the guide groove;
A guide wire type capsule endoscope apparatus characterized by comprising: When the rolling member rolls along the spiral guide groove, the visual field range from the observation window and the propulsion amount by the feed roller are set so that a part of the visual field range from the observation window is overlapped. guidewire capsule endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the set.

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