JP4827486B2 - Wireless in-vivo information acquisition system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system having a receiving device that selectively receives wireless signals including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas, and in particular, transmits from a capsule endoscope in the subject. The present invention relates to a wireless in-subject information acquisition system that can detect disconnection of a plurality of antennas outside a subject that receives a wireless video signal.

  In recent years, swallowable capsule endoscopes have appeared in the field of endoscopes. This capsule endoscope is provided with an imaging function and a wireless communication function. Capsule endoscopes are peristaltic in the body cavity, for example, the stomach, small intestine, etc., after being swallowed from the patient's mouth for observation (examination) and before being spontaneously discharged from the human body. It has the function to move according to and to image sequentially.

  While moving inside the body cavity, image data imaged inside the body by the capsule endoscope is sequentially transmitted to the outside by wireless communication and stored in a memory provided in an external receiver. When the patient carries the receiver having the wireless communication function and the memory function, the patient can freely act even during the period from swallowing the capsule endoscope until it is discharged. Thereafter, the doctor or nurse can make a diagnosis by displaying an organ image on the display based on the image data stored in the memory.

  Generally, a receiver distributes a plurality of antennas for receiving a video signal transmitted from a capsule endoscope outside the body, and selects and receives one antenna with few reception errors of the video signal. ing.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-19111

  By the way, the conventional receiver detects disconnection of a plurality of antennas of the receiver before introducing the capsule endoscope into the subject, and confirms whether or not each antenna operates normally. . This disconnection detection of the antenna is performed by using a dummy signal generator that emits a radio signal emitted by the capsule endoscope as a dummy signal, and by bringing the dummy signal generator close to each antenna and confirming the reception state of the receiver. It was. For this reason, a dummy signal generator is required for detecting the disconnection of the antenna, and there is a problem that a work time for detecting the disconnection must be taken in a series of inspections using the capsule endoscope.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system that can detect disconnection of an antenna in a short time.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a wireless in-vivo information acquisition system according to the present invention uses a plurality of antennas to transmit a radio signal including in-subject information to each received electric field strength. In the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system having a receiving device for selective reception, a data acquisition means for acquiring received field intensity data for each antenna of the plurality of antennas, and a reception acquired by the data acquisition means Statistical data holding means for holding statistical data of received electric field strength for each antenna obtained by statistically processing field strength data, and disconnection detecting means for analyzing the statistical data and performing disconnection detection processing for each antenna. It is characterized by that.

In the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention as set forth in the invention described above, the disconnection detecting unit compares the received electric field strength data acquired at each time and the statistical data acquired by the data acquiring unit. Then, the disconnection detection process of each antenna is performed.

In the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention as set forth in the invention described above, the disconnection detecting means may determine that the time average value of the received electric field strength of the antenna at each time is the statistical data corresponding to the antenna. It is characterized in that it is determined that the antenna is disconnected when it is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio of the time average value of the received electric field strength.

The radio in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention, in the above invention, the statistical data holding unit holds a time change data of the received field strength of each antenna, the disconnection detecting means, each Obtain time-varying data of the received electric field strength for each antenna in time and correlate with the time-varying data held by the statistical data holding means. If the correlation value is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the antenna is disconnected It is characterized by detecting that it is in progress.

In addition, a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention includes a wireless object including a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas according to each received electric field strength. In the in-specimen information acquisition system, a disconnection detecting means is provided for acquiring a temporal change in the received electric field strength of the antenna and detecting that the antenna is disconnected when the temporal change is larger than a predetermined value . It is characterized by that.

In addition, a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention includes a wireless object including a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas according to each received electric field strength. The in-sample information acquisition system is characterized by comprising disconnection detecting means for acquiring antenna selection information for selecting each antenna and detecting that an antenna that has never been selected is disconnected.

In addition, a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention includes a wireless object including a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas according to each received electric field strength. In the in-sample information acquisition system, when the wireless signal is a video signal and the size of the image data obtained from the video signal and compressed is outside a predetermined range, the antenna at the time of acquiring the image data It is characterized by comprising disconnection detecting means for detecting that the terminal is disconnected.

In addition, a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention includes a wireless object including a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas according to each received electric field strength. In the in-specimen information acquisition system, the wireless signal is a video signal, and when the number of out-of-synchronizations of a synchronization signal used when generating image data from the video signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, A disconnection detecting means for detecting that the antenna is disconnected is provided.

In addition, a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention includes a wireless object including a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas according to each received electric field strength. In the in-sample information acquisition system, the wireless signal is a video signal, and when generating image data from the video signal, when the number of error detections by the error detection signal added to the video signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, A disconnection detecting means for detecting that the antenna at the time of acquiring the image data is disconnected is provided.

The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the disconnection detection means performs a disconnection detection process for a predetermined period during which the radio signal is received.

The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention is the display device according to the above invention, wherein the disconnection detecting means acquires and displays image data generated by the receiving device receiving the wireless signal. It is characterized by being provided in.

The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the disconnection detecting means is provided in the receiving apparatus.

In the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention , in the above invention, when the disconnection detecting means detects disconnection, the receiving device excludes the antenna that has detected the disconnection from the antenna for selection switching. And switching control means for controlling the antenna not to be selected.

  In the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to the present invention, a wireless in-subject having a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information according to each received electric field strength using a plurality of antennas. In the information acquisition system, the statistical data holding means holds the statistical data of the received electric field strength for each antenna, and the disconnection detecting means compares the statistical data with the received electric field strength data for each antenna currently received. Thus, the disconnection detection process of each antenna is performed, so that disconnection detection can be performed as part of information acquisition such as inspection, and the antenna disconnection detection can be performed easily and in a short time.

  A wireless in-vivo information acquiring system that is the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1)
First, a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system including the receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. This wireless intra-subject information acquisition system uses a capsule endoscope as an example of an intra-subject introduction apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system is introduced into a body of a subject 2 and a receiving device 2 having a wireless receiving function, and captures and receives an image of a body cavity as in-subject information. A capsule endoscope (intra-subject introduction device) 3 that transmits data such as a video signal to the device 2 is provided. In addition, the wireless in-vivo information acquiring system performs data exchange between the display device 4 that displays an image in the body cavity based on the video signal received by the receiving device 2 and the receiving device 2 and the display device 4. The portable recording medium 5 is provided. The receiving device 2 includes a radio unit 2a having a plurality of receiving antennas A1 to An attached to the external surface of the subject 1, processing of radio signals received through the plurality of receiving antennas A1 to An, and the like. And a receiving main body unit 2b, which are detachably connected via a connector or the like. Each of the receiving antennas A1 to An is provided, for example, in a jacket that can be worn by the subject 1, and the subject 1 wears the receiving antennas A1 to An by wearing this jacket. Also good. In this case, the receiving antennas A1 to An may be detachable from the jacket.

  The display device 4 is for displaying an in-vivo image captured by the capsule endoscope 3, and has a configuration such as a workstation that displays an image based on data obtained by the portable recording medium 5. Have Specifically, the display device 4 may be configured to directly display an image by a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or the like, or may be configured to output an image to another medium such as a printer.

  The portable recording medium 5 uses a compact flash (registered trademark) memory or the like, and is detachable from the receiving body unit 2b and the display device 4, and has a function of outputting or recording information when both are attached. Have. Specifically, the portable recording medium 5 is inserted into the receiving body unit 2 b while the capsule endoscope 3 is moving in the body cavity of the subject 1 and transmitted from the capsule endoscope 3. Data is recorded on the portable recording medium 5. Then, after the capsule endoscope 3 is ejected from the subject 1, that is, after imaging of the inside of the subject 1 is finished, the capsule endoscope 3 is taken out from the receiving body unit 2b and inserted into the display device 4 to display the display. Data recorded by the device 4 is read out. By transferring data between the receiving main unit 2b and the display device 4 using a portable recording medium 5 such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory, the receiving main unit 2b and the display device 4 are connected by wire. The subject 1 can move freely during imaging in the body cavity, and also contributes to shortening the time for transferring data to and from the display device 4. Note that the portable recording medium 5 is used to exchange data between the receiving main unit 2b and the display device 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other built-in recording devices may be installed in the receiving main unit 2b. In order to exchange data with the display device 4, both may be connected to each other by wire or wirelessly.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2, the radio | wireless unit 2a and the receiving main body unit 2b which comprise the receiver 2 are demonstrated. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the receiving device 2. The radio unit 2a receives the radio signal transmitted from the capsule endoscope 3 and demodulates it into a baseband signal. As shown in FIG. 2, the wireless unit 2a is connected to a selector switch SW that performs connection switching processing for selectively switching any one of the receiving antennas A1 to An, and to a subsequent stage of the selector switch SW. And a receiving circuit 11 that amplifies and demodulates radio signals from the receiving antennas A1 to An that are switched and connected by SW.

  The receiving body unit 2b receives and processes the baseband signal demodulated by the wireless unit 2a. As shown in FIG. 2, the reception main unit 2 b includes a signal processing circuit 13 and an A / D conversion unit 14 connected to the subsequent stage of the reception circuit 11, image data processed by the signal processing circuit 13, and various input processes. Power is supplied to the display unit 15 for displaying information, the storage unit 16 for storing various information, the portable information recording medium 5, the control unit C1 for controlling each of these components, and the receiving body unit 2b and the wireless unit 2a. A power supply unit 17 is provided. The control unit C1 includes a switching control unit C1a that performs antenna switching control.

  The reception circuit 11 amplifies the high-frequency signal output from the changeover switch SW, outputs the demodulated baseband signal S1 to the signal processing circuit 13, and outputs a reception intensity signal S2 indicating the signal strength of the amplified high-frequency signal to A / The data is output to the D conversion unit 14. The image data processed by the signal processing circuit 13 is recorded on the portable recording medium 5 by the control unit C1, and is displayed on the display unit 15 as necessary. The reception intensity signal S2 converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion unit 14 is taken into the control unit C1. The switching control unit C1a receives the receiving antenna received with the highest signal strength based on the received strength signal S2 obtained by sequentially switching the receiving antennas A1 to An, and receives the receiving antenna for acquiring image data. And a switching signal S3 instructing switching to the antenna is output to the selector switch SW. Further, the control unit C1 records the signal strength received by each receiving antenna together with the image data in the portable recording medium 5 in association with the selected receiving antenna. The recorded signal strength of each receiving antenna is used for detecting the disconnection of the antenna, which will be described later, and information for calculating the position of the capsule endoscope 3 in the body when the image data is received. It becomes.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the display device 4. The display device 4 is realized by a personal computer or the like, further processes image data recorded on the portable recording medium 5, performs diagnosis of the patient based on the series of processed image data, and further performs diagnosis. Reports can be created. As shown in FIG. 3, the display device 4 is realized by a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse, and is realized by an input unit 21 for inputting various information, a liquid crystal display, and the like, and displays various information such as processed image data. Display unit 22 for display output, output unit 23 realized by a printer, storage unit 24 for storing various information including image data, removable portable recording medium 5, external communication for communication connection processing with external network The control unit C2 is realized by the interface 25 and a CPU and controls the above-described units.

  Here, the storage unit 24 stores statistical data 24a obtained by statistically processing the time variation of the reception electric field strength of each of the reception antennas A1 to An based on the arrangement of the reception antennas A1 to An when acquiring past image data. Has been. Further, the control unit C2 includes a disconnection detection processing unit C2a, and the disconnection detection processing unit C2a receives the received electric field intensity of each of the receiving antennas A1 to An added together with the image data acquired from the portable recording medium 5. Is compared with the statistical data 24a to detect whether the receiving antennas A1 to An used to acquire the image data are disconnected or the receiving antenna and the changeover switch are in a poor connection state. And the process which outputs the result to the display part 22 grade | etc., Is performed.

  For example, when one receiving antenna is not disconnected, the received electric field strength changes with time as shown in FIG. 4, and the statistical data 24a includes the past obtained for each receiving antenna A1 to An. The average values Av1 to Avn of the total received electric field strength for each of the receiving antennas A1 to An are obtained and held based on the time variation of the plurality of received electric field strengths. The holding disconnection detection processing unit C2a obtains the average values RAv1 to RAvn of the total received electric field strengths for the respective reception antennas A1 to An that are currently obtained, and the average values Av1 to Avn for each of the reception antennas A1 to An. The average values RAv1 to RAvn are respectively compared, and when there is a receiving antenna whose average values RAv1 to RAvn are 50% or less of the average values Av1 to Avn, it is determined that the receiving antenna is disconnected or poorly connected, The determination result is output to the display unit 22.

  The capsule endoscope 3 takes about 8 hours from when it is introduced into the subject 1 until it is ejected. However, if the receiving antenna is disconnected during that time, the receiving antenna is not switched and selected. As shown in FIG. 5, the received electric field intensity profile to be detected in the latter half does not appear. As a result, the total received electric field strength of the disconnected receiving antenna is reduced. Therefore, as described above, it is determined that the receiving antenna whose average value of the total received electric field strength is equal to or less than the threshold value is disconnected or poorly connected. The

  The average values Av1 to Avn and RAv1 to RAvn do not have to be for the period during which the capsule endoscope 3 is introduced into the subject 1. For example, the capsule endoscope 3 from the subject 1 An average value for a predetermined period retroactive from the time of discharge may be obtained and compared to detect disconnection or poor connection.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 6, when there is a receiving antenna in which the temporal change of the received electric field strength in the receiving state changes greatly continuously for a predetermined period, this receiving antenna has a connection failure as a precursor of disconnection. Therefore, it may be determined that this receiving antenna is disconnected or poorly connected. In this case, the statistical data 24a is not always necessary. Whether or not the received electric field strength changes greatly can be obtained by differentiating the temporal change of the received electric field strength.

  Further, a typical time change profile of the received electric field strength of each of the receiving antennas A1 to An is held in the statistical data 24a, and the disconnection detection processing unit C2a is currently obtained with this typical time change profile. Further, a correlation with the time change profile of the reception electric field strength of each of the reception antennas A1 to An may be obtained, and based on the value of this correlation, it may be determined that the reception antenna is disconnected or contactless.

  In the first embodiment, the statistical data of the received electric field strength of each receiving antenna obtained in the past is compared with the received electric field strength data of each receiving antenna currently obtained, and the disconnection of the receiving antenna is performed. Alternatively, since the connection failure is detected, the antenna disconnection check can be facilitated and the reliability of the antenna disconnection check can be increased. The reason why the reliability of this antenna disconnection check is increased is that it is possible to detect a disconnection of the receiving antenna that could not be detected by another antenna disconnection check.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the disconnection detection is performed using the statistical data 24a. However, in the second embodiment, the statistical data 24a is not used, and the received field strength of the reception antenna actually obtained is not used. Disconnection detection is performed based on the data.

  That is, the disconnection detection processing unit C2a acquires the reception field strength data of each reception antenna added together with the image data obtained from the portable recording medium 5, and the reception field strength of the acquired reception antenna is almost equal. If it is equal to zero, it is determined that this receiving antenna is disconnected or poorly connected.

  Note that the disconnection detection may be performed using only the selection switching data of each receiving antenna instead of the data of the received electric field strength of each receiving antenna. That is, the disconnection detection processing unit C2a determines that a receiving antenna that has never been selected is disconnected or has a poor connection.

  In the second embodiment, disconnection detection of each receiving antenna can be easily performed without using the statistical data 24a.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, disconnection detection of each receiving antenna is performed based on the size of the obtained image data.

  Image data obtained by each of the receiving antennas A1 to An is subjected to compression processing such as JPEG by the receiving main body unit 2b and is recorded on the portable recording medium 5. Here, when a connection failure occurs in the receiving antennas A1 to An, noise is mixed in the image data, and when the image compression is performed, the size of the image data increases.

  Therefore, the disconnection detection processing unit C2a obtains the image data when the size of the obtained image data is outside a predetermined range based on the obtained image data and the antenna selection information at the time of obtaining the image data. It is determined that the receiving antenna at that time is disconnected or poorly connected.

  If image data compression processing is not performed on the reception main unit 2b side, compression processing is performed on the display device 4 side. In this case, the disconnection detection processing unit C2a is described above after image data compression processing. Disconnection detection will be performed.

  In the third embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the disconnection detection of the receiving antenna can be easily performed.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the receiving main unit 2b detects disconnection of each receiving antenna based on the out-of-synchronization of the video signal.

  The radio frequency signal received by each of the receiving antennas A1 to An is sent to the receiving main unit 2b as a baseband video signal by the wireless unit 2a, and the receiving main unit 2b performs horizontal synchronization by the horizontal synchronizing signal of the video signal. In addition, image data is generated while performing vertical synchronization by a vertical synchronization signal.

  Here, when disconnection or poor connection occurs in the receiving antenna, horizontal synchronization and vertical synchronization cannot be achieved, and synchronization is lost. Therefore, when the total number of out-of-synchronizations for each reception antenna is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, or when there is a concentration of out-of-synchronization, the disconnection detection processing unit C2a Judge that The out-of-synchronization can be counted by the receiving main unit 2b, and the counted value is recorded on the portable recording medium 5 together with the antenna selection information.

  In the fourth embodiment, similarly to the second and third embodiments, it is possible to easily detect the disconnection of the receiving antenna.

(Embodiment 5)
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fifth embodiment, disconnection detection of each receiving antenna is performed based on the number of errors in the error detection signal included in the video signal.

  In the fifth embodiment, an error detection signal is included in the video signal transmitted from the capsule endoscope 3, and error detection is performed when the receiving main unit 2b generates image data based on the video signal. Process. The receiving main unit 2b records the number of error detections together with the antenna selection information on the portable recording medium 5.

  The disconnection detection processing unit C2a determines the reception antenna that has received the error-detected image data based on the antenna selection information when the number of error detections is greater than or equal to a predetermined value or is concentrated. It is determined that the receiving antenna is disconnected or poorly connected.

  In the fifth embodiment, similarly to the second to fourth embodiments, the disconnection detection of the receiving antenna can be easily performed.

  In the first to fifth embodiments described above, the disconnection detection is performed on the display device 4 side. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the disconnection detection processing unit corresponding to the disconnection detection processing unit C2a is provided on the reception body unit 2b side. The disconnection detection result may be recorded on the portable recording medium 5. In this case, the switching control unit C1a performs control so that the antenna whose disconnection is detected is subsequently removed from the antenna to be selected and switched and this antenna is not selected. Further, when this disconnection is detected, that fact may be displayed on the display unit 14 or notified. As a result, a useless inspection can be quickly found, and a measure for avoiding a useless inspection can be performed by exchanging the entire receiving antenna or the wireless unit 2a in which disconnection is detected.

  In Embodiments 2 to 5, statistical data is not particularly used, but data when a receiving antenna that is not disconnected or poorly connected and data when a receiving antenna that is disconnected or poorly connected are used. Based on the above, a threshold value for determining disconnection or poor connection may be obtained statistically.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the radio | wireless type in-vivo information acquisition system concerning Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the receiver shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the time change of the received electric field strength of the radio signal received with the receiving antenna which is not disconnected. It is a figure which shows the time change of the received electric field strength of the radio signal received by the receiving antenna disconnected in the middle of reception. It is a figure which shows the time change of the received electric field strength when the connection failure by disconnection arises.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Subject 2 Reception apparatus 2a Wireless unit 2b Reception main body unit 3 Capsule type endoscope 4 Display apparatus 5 Portable recording medium 11 Reception circuit 12 Signal processing circuit 13 A / D conversion part 14, 22 Display part 15, 24 Storage part 16 power supply unit 21 input unit 23 output unit 24a statistical data 25 external communication interface C1, C2 control unit C1a switching control unit C2a disconnection detection processing unit A1 to An receiving antenna

Claims (8)

In a wireless in-vivo information acquiring system having a receiving device that selectively receives a radio signal including in-subject information using a plurality of antennas according to each received electric field strength,
Data acquisition means for acquiring received field strength data for each of the plurality of antennas;
Statistical data holding means for holding received field strength statistical data for each antenna obtained by statistically processing the received electric field strength data acquired by the data acquiring means;
Disconnection detection means for analyzing the statistical data and performing disconnection detection processing of each antenna,
A wireless in-vivo information acquiring system comprising:   2. The disconnection detection unit according to claim 1, wherein the disconnection detection unit performs a disconnection detection process for each antenna by comparing the received electric field strength data at each time acquired by the data acquisition unit with the statistical data. Wireless in-subject information acquisition system.   When the time average value of the received electric field strength of the antenna at each time is equal to or less than a predetermined ratio of the time average value of the received electric field strength indicated by the statistical data corresponding to the antenna, the disconnection detecting means disconnects the antenna. The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 2, wherein the information acquiring system is determined to be that of The statistical data holding means holds time-varying data of received electric field strength for each antenna,
The disconnection detection means obtains time change data of the received electric field strength for each antenna at each time, takes a correlation with the time change data held by the statistical data holding means, and the value of the correlation is less than a predetermined value. 3. The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 2, wherein in some cases, it is detected that the antenna is disconnected. 4. 5. The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 1, wherein the disconnection detection unit performs a disconnection detection process for a predetermined period during which the wireless signal is received. The said disconnection detection means is provided in the display apparatus which acquires and displays the image data which the said receiving apparatus received and produced | generated the said radio signal, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Wireless in-subject information acquisition system. The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the disconnection detecting means is provided in the receiving device. The receiving apparatus includes switching control means for controlling the disconnection detection antenna to be excluded from being selected when the disconnection detection means detects disconnection, and not to select the antenna. The wireless in-vivo information acquiring system according to claim 7.

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