KR100846565B1 - Apparatus and control method for endoscope capsule that capsule movement velocity is linked with image transmission velocity - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, and a control method thereof, including: an LED for illumination; An image sensor for acquiring an image using illumination by the LED; A control unit for automatically determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule and controlling an image acquisition and a transmission speed to the outside to be linked to the moving speed; A power battery for supplying power to the endoscope capsule; A transmitter for transmitting the image obtained under the control of the controller to the outside of the body; It is attached to the outside of the endoscope capsule, the load conduction signal measuring electrode for measuring the transfer signal to the control unit; and configured to include the retractive force measuring tube consisting of an air bag-shaped tube on the outside of the endoscope capsule. According to the present invention, the movement speed of the capsule is automatically determined from the change in the reverse potential caused by contact with the inside of the intestine and the change in the EMG signal of the intestinal muscle from the electrode installed outside the capsule, and the image is acquired and linked to the movement speed. By adjusting the rate of transmission to the body, the entire intestine, including the small intestine and the large intestine, can be observed with a limited capacity battery.

Image transmission, moving speed, endoscope capsule, loading signal, half-pot potential

Description

Apparatus and control method for endoscope capsule that capsule movement velocity is linked with image transmission velocity

1 is a cross-sectional view of an endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an example in which the loaded conduction signal measuring electrode is mounted on the endoscope capsule in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the controller and its neighboring blocks in FIG. 1.

4 is a detailed block diagram of a signal processor of FIG. 3.

5 is a view illustrating an example of manufacture of FIG. 1.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a graph showing the charge signal and the retractive force for the understanding of the present invention.

8A to 8C are graphs showing an example of an acquisition signal according to the moving speed of the capsule in the small and large intestine as an understanding of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a graph comparing the charge signal in the stomach, small intestine, large intestine for understanding of the present invention.

10A and 10B are perspective and cross-sectional views of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to another embodiment of the present invention.

11A and 11B are flowcharts illustrating a control method of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12A is a graph showing the change in contractile force of the intestinal wall with time when the capsule is moved by FIGS. 10 and 11, and FIG. 12B is a graph showing the relationship between the contraction force and contraction period of the intestinal wall and the moving speed of the capsule.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: endoscope capsule 200: LED

300: image sensor 400: control unit

410: signal processing unit 411: instrumentation amplifier

412 main amplifier 413 DC remover

414: low frequency filter 415: 60 Hz eliminator

417: input signal 418: output signal

420: biological signal storage unit 430: moving speed determination unit

440: capsule control unit 450: image sensor control unit

460: Image acquisition unit 470: Decoder / transmitter

500: power battery 600: transmitter

700 antenna 800 charged electrode measuring electrode

910: tube contraction force measurement 920: pressure sensor

930: pressure transmission tube

The present invention relates to an endoscope capsule, and in particular, the movement speed of the capsule is automatically adjusted from the change of the half cell potential and the change of the EMG signal of the intestinal muscle from the electrode installed on the outside of the capsule. Endoscopic capsule in which the image transmission speed, which is suitable for observing the entire intestine including the small intestine and the large intestine with a limited capacity battery, is determined by determining the image and adjusting the transmission speed to the body to be linked to the moving speed. And a control method thereof.

In general, an endoscope is a medical device that makes the internal organs or the body cavity visible directly. This endoscope is an essential medical device for identifying diseases of the entire digestive system (esophagus, stomach, rectum, anus, etc.).

Therefore, the conventional electronic endoscope can be examined up to 1m 30cm, and through the oral cavity, close to the duodenum, and the examination through the anus depends on the structure of the subject and the proficiency of the endoscope operator. It is very large and the pain and rejection of the test subject is very great.

The capsule endoscope has been developed as a way to solve the above disadvantages, widen the range of the test subject and reduce the deviation in the test according to the test subject.

The capsule endoscope has a built-in image sensor for capturing the image inside the capsule and collects the image inside the digestive organ through the gastrointestinal, small intestine, and large intestine in the same principle as the food according to the peristalsis of the digestive system from the esophagus. There is an advantage in reducing the pain or rejection of the patient in the same electronic endoscopy procedure. However, the capsule endoscope that has been commercially implemented up to now does not have a moving function, so it takes a very long time to test the internal organs at the same speed as food, and repeatedly takes a picture once in a certain time regardless of the moving speed of the capsule. As a result, many images are repeatedly collected even in a slow moving section of the capsule. In addition, the slow movement of the capsule can be taken only from the esophagus to the whole or part of the small intestine, but the intestine of the disease is much higher than the small intestine is rarely photographed.

In order to overcome this drawback, the invention has been made to impart a movement function to the capsule, but most of them consume a lot of power due to mechanical operation, and the size of the mechanism is large, which makes the capsule large. One situation. In addition to the above method, a technique of controlling the power of the capsule by using external communication and taking a picture of only the desired part has been developed, but since the movement speed of the capsule for each organ is very large, even in this case, a fire extinguisher specialist It is not practical because of the disadvantage that the capsule must be turned on periodically to check the position of the capsule.

As described above, a method for identifying an organ in which an endoscope capsule is located and a conventional patent and utility model which attempt to observe the large intestine by preserving the power of the endoscope capsule are as follows.

-Patent Registration No. 10-0399572 Two-way Communication Telemetry Capsule

-Patent application No. 10-2004-0051494 Active capsule endoscope for information collection

-Patent Application No. 10-2004-0026716 Capsule Endoscope Control Device Using Magnetic Field

-Patent Registration No. 10-0437262 Space Movement Device of Smart Capsule for Intestinal Examination

The two-way communication telemetry capsule (Registration No. 10-0399572) obtained by the Republic of Korea (Kyungbuk National University) of the patent is to control the power of the capsule by controlling the power on and off of the capsule by using wireless communication from the control unit in vitro Although the saving effect can be achieved, the gist of the patent suggests a bidirectional controllable structure, but does not allow autonomously adjusting the transmission speed of an image. That is, when used for image acquisition purposes, there is a difficulty in controlling the operation of the capsule by periodically turning on the capsule to determine the organ where the capsule is located from the image obtained by the gastroenterologist.

In addition, in the case of "Information-capable active capsule endoscope (application number 10-2004-0051494)" filed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the location organs of the capsule are determined by using the pressure in the digestive tract, but the individual variation in the intestinal pressure is severe. It is difficult to control the operation of the capsule by automatic recognition of the discriminant algorithm. In addition, the proposed method is a system proposed based on the assumption that the internal pressure of the intestine will vary from location to location, but in fact, the interior of the intestine is filled with gas or not liquid. Due to the similar pressure in various directions, the determination of the position of the intestine and the movement of the intestine by the pressure sensor is inaccurate. In other words, the pressure in the intestine does not reflect the movement of the intestine and the contractile force of the intestine.

In addition, in the case of the "encapsulated endoscope control device using a magnetic field" (Application No. 10-2004-0026716) filed by Athree Systems Co., Ltd. has proposed a method for controlling the capsule in the intestine using a magnetic field. However, this is a patent registered by the Republic of Korea (Kyongbuk President) earlier than this patent, the same idea as using the control of the capsule by the in vitro control not only has the inconvenience as described above, but also has the same direction as the electromagnetic field The use of a communication medium has a disadvantage in that the control is opaque depending on the direction in which the capsule is located inside the human body, which is also irrelevant to the method of autonomously controlling the image transmission speed.

In addition, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology "spatial movement device of the smart capsule for intestinal examination" (registration number 10-0437262) includes techniques such as movement and posture control of the capsule, but to drive the mechanical device for the movement function. In order to require large voltage or current, there is a problem regarding safety in the human body. In particular, due to the nature of the capsule endoscope driven by a small battery, the operation time of the capsule is significantly shortened due to excessive use of the mobile device. The implementation of the capsule is opaque. In addition, when referring to a number of papers currently published, it is known that the movement function of the capsule is difficult to miniaturize or cannot be driven by a battery embedded in the capsule.

None of the patents registered or applied as described above has yet been proposed a method for implementing a technique for automatically determining the organ where the capsule is located and automatically controlling the operation of the capsule accordingly.

In addition, foreign patent applications related to the above are as follows.

-US 7,009,643 B2 DEVICE FOR IN-VIVO IMAGING

-US 7,032,600 B2 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING A POSTION, POSITION MEASURING DEVICE, AND AN IN VIVO RADIO DEVICE

-US 7,039,453 B2 MINIATURE INGESTIBLE CAPSULE

US 6,944,316 B2 MOTILITY ANALYSIS WITHIN A GASTOINTESTINAL TRACT

-US 7,022,067 B2 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING IN VIVO CAMERA CAPTURE AND DISPLAY RATE

US Patent 7,009,643, filed by J. Iddan, et al., Relates to a capsule that maintains a uniform image transmission speed, and US patent 7,032,600, filed by A. Fukuda, uses an RF signal transmitted in the body. The patent relates to detecting the position of the capsule by measuring it three-dimensionally in vitro.

US Pat. No. 7,039,453, filed by Tarun Mullick et al., Is a patent for tracking the movement of a capsule using a capsule posture detector inside the capsule. US Pat. No. 6,944,316, filed by Arkadyh Glukhovsky, et al. US Patent No. 7,022,067, filed by Arkady Glukhovsky and Doron Adler, is a patent relating to the control of image acquisition speed and image display speed, but the patent discloses a variety of It is equipped with a sensor device to measure physical changes such as acceleration, or use it as a measure to control the speed of image collection by using changes in collected images.

In addition, US Pat. No. 7,022,067 determines the motility of the intestine and uses it as a control measure of image acquisition speed. However, intestinal movement is divided into peristalsis and segmental movement. In the case of peristaltic movement, the movement speed and motility of the capsule are directly related, but not in the case of segmental movement. Therefore, in the case of the physical sensor located in the capsule has a limit that can not distinguish the movement by the segmental motion and the peristaltic motion.

In addition, there is a problem that the correlation of the movement speed of the capsule to the motility of the intestine according to the size and weight of the capsule is not clear, the US patent 7,022,067 has a disadvantage that can not measure the direct movement speed of the capsule.

None of the above-described foreign patent applications measures the moving speed of the capsule by using the electrophysiological characteristics of the field, which is the main technology of the present patent, and the half-cell potential characteristic of the electrode, and does not use it as a control measure of the image collection speed.

The M2A capsule endoscope manufactured by Given Imaging of Israel, which is currently commercialized using the conventional invention, takes two images per second and the total operation time is up to eight hours. In general, the digestion time of a person takes from 10 hours up to 3 days or more, the operation time of the above 8 hours is generally only a part or all of the small intestine can be taken and the large intestine can not be taken. The 8-hour operation limit is based on the capacity limit of the power battery inside the capsule. In case of M2A, the capacity of the internal power battery is 60 mAh, and 57,600 images can be obtained in 8-hour operation. In general, the length of the small intestine of humans is 6 ~ 7m, so if you assume 7 meters you will get one image every 0.12mm. However, since the capsule is moved on the same principle as food, the moving speed is not constant. As a result, when the movement is slow, the capsule continuously consumes unnecessary power by continuously taking duplicate images.

Accordingly, the present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to change the reverse potential and the EMG signal of the intestinal muscle by contact with the inside of the intestine from an electrode installed on the outside of the capsule. By automatically determining the movement speed of the capsule from the change and adjusting the image acquisition and transmission rate to the body to be linked to the movement speed, the image transmission speed that can observe the whole intestine including the small intestine and the large intestine with a limited capacity battery It is to provide an endoscope capsule and a control method thereof linked to the moving speed.

In order to achieve the above object, the endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed according to the embodiment of the present invention is linked to the capsule movement speed,

LED for illumination; An image sensor for acquiring an image using illumination by the LED; A control unit for automatically determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule and controlling an image acquisition and a transmission speed to the outside to be linked to the moving speed; A power battery for supplying power to the endoscope capsule; A transmitter for transmitting the image obtained under the control of the controller to the outside of the body; It is attached to the outside of the endoscope capsule, the charge conduction signal measuring electrode for measuring the charge conduction signal and transmitting to the controller;

In order to achieve the above object, a control method of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed according to an embodiment of the present invention is linked to a capsule moving speed,

A first step of measuring a change in at least one of a load signal and a half-pot potential value by a control unit of the endoscope capsule; A second step of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule by using the result measured in the first step; And controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule according to the result of the determination of the movement speed in the second step to control the image acquisition and the transmission rate to the outside to be linked to the movement speed of the endoscope capsule. It is characterized by technical configuration.

Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention as described above, an embodiment according to the technical concept of the endoscope capsule and the control method of the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed as follows.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2C illustrate an example in which a loaded conduction signal measuring electrode is mounted on an endoscope capsule in FIG. 1. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the control unit and its neighboring blocks in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a detailed block diagram of the signal processing unit in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of manufacture of FIG. 1.

As shown therein, the LED 200 for illumination; An image sensor (300) for acquiring an image using illumination by the LED (200); A controller 400 for automatically determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100 and controlling an image acquisition and a transmission rate to the outside of the body to be linked to the moving speed; A power battery 500 for supplying power to the endoscope capsule 100; A transmitter 600 which transmits an image obtained under the control of the controller 400 to the outside of the body; An antenna 700 connected to the transmitter 600; It is attached to the outside of the endoscope capsule 100, the load conduction signal measuring electrode 800 for measuring the transfer signal to the control unit 400; characterized in that it comprises a.

The transmitter may transmit an image acquired through a wired or wireless communication system to the outside of the body, and in particular, when transmitting through a wireless communication method, through an antenna connected to the transmitter.

The control unit 400 measures the change in the charge signal and the half-cell potential value using the charge signal measurement electrode 800.

The control unit 400 automatically determines the moving speed of the capsule by using the load signal and the half-pot potential value simultaneously or separately, and automatically adjusts the shooting interval of the image through the image sensor 300 in response to the moving speed. Characterized in that.

If it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100 is slowed, the controller 400 controls to reduce the number of transmission frames of an image obtained from the image sensor 300, and moves the endoscope capsule 100. If it is determined that the speed is increased, the number of transmission frames of the image acquired from the image sensor 300 is controlled to increase according to the speed of the endoscope capsule 100.

The controller 400 is configured as an ASIC (Applicable Specific Integrated Circuit) chip in which both analog and digital circuits are embedded.

The controller 400 may include: a signal processor 410 configured to receive and process a load conductivity signal measured by the load conductivity signal measuring electrode 800; A biosignal storage unit 420 connected to the signal processing unit 410 and storing a charge conduction signal measured by the charge conduction signal measuring electrode 800; A moving speed determination unit 430 that receives a signal processed by the signal processing unit 410, receives an image of the image sensor 300 through the image acquisition unit 460, and determines a moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100. )Wow; A capsule controller 440 for controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule 100 according to the determination result of the movement speed determination unit 430; An image sensor controller 450 for controlling an operation of the image sensor 300 under the control of the capsule controller 440; And an image acquiring unit 430 which acquires an image from the image sensor 300 and transmits the image to the moving speed determining unit 430.

The signal processing unit 410 may include: a measurement amplifier 411 which receives a charge signal and a half-potential value from the plurality of charge-conductive signal measuring electrodes 800 through a differential input and transfers them to the main amplifier 412; A main amplifier 412 received from the instrumentation amplifier 411 and amplifying a measurement signal; And a DC remover 503 which selects a DC signal from the output of the main amplifier 412 and feeds it back to the input of the main amplifier 412.

The signal processor 410 includes: a low frequency filter 414 for performing low frequency filtering on the output of the DC remover 503; And a 60 Hz eliminator 415 for outputting the 60 Hz eliminator for the output of the low frequency filter 414.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown therein, a first step (ST1) of measuring at least one change among the charge signal and the half-pot potential value in the control unit 400 of the endoscope capsule 100; A second step ST2 of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100 using the result measured in the first step; A third step of controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule 100 according to a result of the determination of the moving speed in the second step to control the image acquisition and the transmission rate to the outside of the body to be linked to the movement speed of the endoscope capsule 100 ( ST3 ~ ST5); characterized in that it comprises.

The third step may include an eleventh step (ST3) of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule (100); A twelfth step (ST4) of controlling to reduce the number of transmission frames of the image acquired from the image sensor (300) when it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule (100) is slowed in the eleventh step; If it is determined in step 11 that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100 is increased to control the number of transmission frames of the image obtained from the image sensor 300 to increase appropriately to the speed of the endoscope capsule 100 Step 13 (ST5); characterized in that performed.

In addition, Figure 7 is a graph showing the resilient signal and bowel contraction force for understanding of the present invention, Figures 8a to 8c is an example of the acquisition signal according to the moving speed of the capsule in the small intestine and the large intestine for understanding of the present invention Figure 9 is a graph showing a comparison of the charge signal in the stomach, small intestine, large intestine for understanding of the present invention.

Therefore, when the capsule 100 is moved by the interlocking motion, the magnitude of the voltage obtained by the electrode 800 is larger than that of the capsule stopper as shown in FIGS. The value is different from each other, so that the moving speed of the capsule 100 can be determined using this, and the determination of the position organs of the capsule 100 can be made from the period of the load signal of the measurement signal.

10A and 10B are perspective and cross-sectional views of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown therein, an image sensor 300 for acquiring an image; Longitudinal contraction force measuring tube 910 consisting of a tube in the form of an air bag on the outside of the endoscope capsule 100; A pressure transmission tube 930 which transmits a pressure change of the tube contraction force measuring tube 910 to a sensor; A pressure sensor 920 for detecting a pressure transmitted through the pressure transmission pipe 930; Automatically determine the moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100 by the pressure change sensed by the pressure sensor 920, control the image acquisition and transmission speed to the outside to interlock with the moving speed, and transmits the signal to the outside A decoder / transmitter 470 for performing a; A power battery 500 for supplying power to the endoscope capsule 100; An antenna 700 connected with the decoder / transmitter 470; It is attached to the outside of the endoscope capsule 100, the charge conduction signal measuring electrode 800 for measuring the charge conduction signal and transmitting to the decoder / transmitter 470; characterized in that it comprises a.

The long-term contraction force measuring tube 910 is characterized in that composed of one or more of silicon, Teflon, rubber.

The decoder / transmitter 470 may transmit an image obtained through a wired or wireless communication system to the outside of the body.

11A and 11B are flowcharts illustrating a control method of an endoscope capsule in which an image transmission speed is linked to a capsule movement speed according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown therein, a twenty-first step (ST11) of measuring the pressure change of the bowel contraction force measuring tube 910 in the decoder / transmitter 470 of the endoscope capsule 100 through the pressure sensor 920; A twenty-second step (ST12) of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100 by using the result measured in the twenty-first step; A twenty-third step of controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule 100 according to a result of the determination of the movement speed in the twenty-second step to control the image acquisition and the transmission rate to the outside to be linked to the movement speed of the endoscope capsule 100; ST13 to ST15); to perform.

The twenty-third step includes: a thirty-first step (ST13) of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule 100; A thirty-second step (ST14) of controlling to reduce the number of transmission frames of an image obtained from the image sensor (300) when it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule (100) is slowed in the thirty-first step; If it is determined in step 31 that the movement speed of the endoscope capsule 100 is increased to control the number of transmission frames of the image obtained from the image sensor 300 to increase to suit the speed of the endoscope capsule (100) Step 33 (ST15); characterized in that performed.

FIG. 11B is another embodiment of the present invention in which the image transmission is related to the long motion by measuring the charge conduction signal, half cell power measurement, and long contraction pressure change.

FIG. 12A is a graph showing the change in contractile force of the intestinal wall with time when the capsule is moved by FIGS. 10 and 11, and FIG. 12B is a graph showing the relationship between the contraction force and contraction period of the intestinal wall and the moving speed of the capsule.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment of the endoscope capsule and the method of controlling the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule moving speed according to the present invention will be described in detail as follows. In the following description of the present invention, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted if it is determined that the detailed description of the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to intention or precedent of a user or an operator, and thus, the meaning of each term should be interpreted based on the contents throughout the present specification. will be.

First, the present invention is to automatically determine the moving speed of the capsule from the change in the reverse potential by the contact with the inside of the intestine from the electrode installed on the outside of the capsule and the change in the EMG signal of the intestinal muscle, and to acquire the image and in vitro The purpose of this study was to observe the entire intestine, including the small intestine and the large intestine, with a limited-capacity battery by controlling the transfer rate of the furnace. This is a method of making the power consumption constant according to the distance when acquiring the image. Thus, even when the endoscope capsule is stopped because there is no bowel movement, the image is transmitted repeatedly so that power consumption can be solved. This is the most practical solution.

Conventional capsule endoscopy has the advantage of reducing the pain and rejection of the patient compared to the endoscopic endoscopy, and it is possible to examine the small intestine difficult to test with mammary endoscopy. However, the capsule endoscope developed to date transmits the image inside the digestive tract at a constant rate until the power is completely consumed by the subject turning on the power before swallowing the capsule. The operation of the above method is that the capsule moves according to the principle of food in accordance with the peristalsis of the intestine, so that the travel time is very long, at least 10 hours, average 18 hours or more is consumed until the passage through the large intestine through the anus. Due to the above reasons, the current fixed frame capsule endoscope is about 8 hours from the start of the capsule operation of the power supply cell, so in some cases it is not enough to observe the entire small intestine, and the observation of the upper colon is very difficult. .

In order to solve the above problems, in the capsule of the present invention, the peristalsis movement of the intestine from the reverse potential and the electro-gastrogram (EGG) signal generated by contact of the intestinal and the electrode by attaching a sensing electrode to the outer skin Automatically determine the movement speed of the capsule. When the movement speed of the capsule is slowed down by using the obtained movement information of the intestine, the movement speed of the capsule is slowed down. When the movement speed of the capsule increases by reducing the power consumption by reducing the number of transmission frames of the image and the movement of the intestine increases, Increase the number of frames for video transmission to the speed of the capsule. This eliminates the unnecessary consumption of the capsule internal battery that occurs when the existing capsule acquires a fixed frame number of images and transmits it to the outside of the body, and enables the image acquisition according to a certain movement interval instead of a predetermined time interval. The present invention provides a device capable of capturing the entire small intestine and the large intestine, and has invented a capsule endoscope system and an electrode, signal processing, and discrimination algorithm for the system.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the present invention will be described in more detail.

First, in the present invention, non-invasive measurement of the charge conduction signal in the living body and the half-cell potential generated between the electrode attached to the capsule shell and the intestinal wall is used as a basis for determining the intestinal motion and the capsule movement speed.

The intestinal conduction signal is a signal measuring electrical activity of the muscle layer constituting the barrier. In general, the intestinal conduction signal is composed of a slow wave and a visible wave, and the more active the visible wave, the more active the intestinal muscle. The signal shown in FIG. 7 is a signal that appears only when the muscles of the intestine are in motion, and when it is squared and integrated, it is known in medical physiology that it is a signal that is primarily proportional to the kinetic energy generated by the intestine and accurately reflects the state of movement of the intestine.

In addition, due to the movement of the intestinal muscle, the contact state of the contact portion between the intestinal muscle and the electrode is changed, the value of the reverse potential is also actively changed. This half-cell potential is generally a potential of tens to hundreds of mV between the electrolyte and the electrode when the metal electrode is immersed in the electrolyte, which is higher than the conventional biopotential of less than 20 mV. If the same metal electrodes are contained inside the electrolyte in pairs and do not move, the polarity directions of the two half-cells when viewed from the outside toward the electrode circuit cancel each other with +-,-+ or-+, +-and the sum is zero. Does not appear However, when two identical electrodes move in contact with the digestive fluid inside the intestinal capsule, the half-cell potentials generated by the two electrodes do not change and cancel each other. This will occur. In general biosignal measurement, this voltage is troublesome to avoid, but in the present invention, it is applied as one of the detection factors reflecting the state of movement of the intestine.

The present invention proposes an electrode and a measuring circuit for measuring the half-cell potential and the load conduction signal, and the movement speed of the capsule in the intestine by using the change of the load-conductor signal and the inverted-potential signal simultaneously or separately. Algorithm to automatically control the operation of capsules and automatically adjust the acquisition speed according to the movement speed of the capsules to obtain evenly spaced images to prevent unnecessary acquisition of images and the depletion of power due to unnecessary acquisitions. Suggest ways to prevent. In addition, by using the characteristics of the load signal to determine the organ in which the capsule is located by using the difference in the load signal in each organ and to be able to perform imaging only in the desired organ.

Thus, the present invention uses a capsule having a structure as shown in FIG. 1 having a measuring electrode 800 on the outer surface of the endoscope capsule 100 to obtain an image of an organ set in advance by the user according to a moving speed of the capsule. By function, it is possible to implement a device for observing the digestive tract.

And the shape of the electrode used for the outer shell of the capsule 100 may be used in various forms as shown in Figures 2a to 2c. The electrode 800 is used to collect the conduction signal from the intestinal mucosa, and in the case of the conduction, as in other biosignals, the difference in potential between the measurement points is measured. A signal having a large amplitude is detected as it is farther away, but in order to measure a conduction signal in an electrode arrangement of a short distance, such as a capsule type endoscope with a size limitation, a signal processor 410 processing an arrangement of the electrode and a measured signal Is very important.

Since the electrode 800 used in the endoscope capsule 100 should be made of a material having high electrical conductivity while being harmless to a human body, a platinum electrode is generally used, and the electrode 800 is formed so that a jaw does not occur on the outer surface of the capsule 100. It should be attached so that the capsule can move smoothly without damaging the membrane.

In addition, the control unit 400 for determining the moving speed of the capsule 100 in the capsule 100 as described above is amplified by the signal processor 410 a signal obtained from two or more electrodes 800 as shown in FIG. And filtered to transfer to the moving speed determination unit 430.

In addition, the signal processing unit 410 is composed of an instrumentation amplifier 411, a main amplifier 412, a direct current removing unit 413, a low frequency filter 414, a 60 Hz remover 415, as shown in Figure 4, the low frequency filter 414 ) And the 60 Hz eliminator 415 can be used in the omitted form. The instrumentation amplifier 411 receives a charge signal and a half-potential value from a plurality of electrodes 800 through a differential input and transfers the signal to the main amplifier 412. The main amplifier 412 transmits a weak measurement signal. Amplify. At this time, since the input signal 416 is a signal of a very low frequency, the main amplifier 412 should have a characteristic of amplifying up to almost a direct current region, and if the direct current is amplified, the main amplifier 412 may be saturated to prevent this. To this end, a DC removing unit 413 which selects a DC signal from an output of the main amplifier 412 and feeds it back to the input is required. The low frequency filter 414 and the 60 Hz eliminator 415 may be omitted since the main amplifier 412 has a band limiting function and a noise removing function.

In addition, by measuring the conduction signal and the half-pot potential and using them simultaneously or separately, if the moving speed is fast to match the moving speed of the capsule in the intestine, the shooting is performed at short intervals. By taking images, you can prevent duplicate images or parts that cannot be taken. In general, the small intestine is 6 to 7 meters in length and the large intestine is known to be about 1.5 meters. From the esophagus to the stomach, the capsule moves from the oral cavity to the stomach in no time, so there is no time delay, and from the stomach to the large intestine, the capsule moves very slowly and very quickly. Taking images at regular intervals in the capsule's movement form as described above causes unnecessary power consumption due to overlapping images when the capsule's movement speed is slow, and captures images of necessary parts when the capsule's movement speed is fast. Failure to do so may occur. In the present invention, if the movement of the capsule is detected by sensing the movement of the capsule so as not to generate the overlapping image or the image cannot be taken as described above, the image of the small intestine is assumed to be 7 meters long and 1.5 meters long. In this case, about 8500 images will be taken closely. In case of fixed time interval photography, it is possible to capture both small intestine and large intestine at 1mm intervals with only about 15% of the image compared to obtaining 57,600 images, and the power consumption of the capsule can be drastically reduced.

In addition, the above-mentioned load conduction signal is called "load conduction" collectively the signals in the gastric muscles and the small intestine and colon muscles, the above-mentioned load conduction is a rapid change for each organ as shown in Figure 9 By measuring, the organ where the capsule is located can also be determined. As shown in Figure 9, the charge signal from the stomach is about 3cycle / min, the charge signal in the small intestine is 12 cycle / min, the charge signal in the large intestine is about 6 cycle / min, intermittently to load the load signal By measuring, the degree of movement of the capsule and the organ where it is located can be automatically determined.

In addition, the endoscope capsule with the function of automatically determining the position of the capsule can minimize the power consumption in the organ that does not need to be tested, so the test can be performed only in the part desired by the inspector in the entire digestive system from the esophagus to the large intestine The acquisition of unnecessary images is minimized.

In addition, the above function may be implemented by mounting a predetermined moving speed determining algorithm and a location organ discrimination algorithm inside the moving speed determining unit 430. The control unit 400 of the endoscope capsule that performs the above functions requires both an analog signal processing unit and a digital algorithm processing unit, so that both the analog and digital circuits are built-in ASIC chips, which can be implemented in small size and low power driving.

In addition, the charge signal collected as described above may be stored in the bio-signal storage unit 420 and transmitted simultaneously with or separately from the image signal. The transmission of such an electroconductive signal enables non-invasive measurement of non-invasive charge, thereby directly measuring non-invasive EMG signals in the small and large intestines beyond the limits of measurement of non-invasive measurement of gastric conductivity only in current clinical examinations. It can also provide a function that enables it.

In addition, the endoscope capsule 100 is combined with the above functions as shown in Figure 1 is composed of a light LED 200, an image sensor 300, a power battery 500, a transmitter 600 and an antenna 700 The capsule 100 has a structure in which a control unit 400 for determining the moving speed of the capsule and controlling the endoscope and a measuring electrode 800 for measuring the conductivity signal are added to the structure.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the endoscope is obtained by using information obtained by using the retractive force measuring electrode 800 together with or separately using the intestinal contraction force measuring tube 910 and the pressure sensor 920. The image transmission speed of the capsule 100 can be controlled.

That is, the method of determining the moving speed of the capsule by measuring the direct contraction force of the intestine together with determining the moving speed of the capsule using the electrophysiological characteristics of the intestine as described above. Patents suggesting a method for measuring pressure in the intestinal tract include US Patent US 7,061,523. However, intestinal pressure measurement, such as US Patent 7,061,523, proposed by Manabu Fujita et al. There is no method of directly measuring the contractile force of the intestine with a device capable of measuring the contractive force on the outside of the capsule as in 10b. In addition, a patent for a capsule endoscope having the above-described intestinal contractile force measuring structure has not been filed yet.

Thus, as shown in the drawing, the tube 910 of the air main money form of a flexible material is mounted on the outside of the endoscope capsule 100, and the pressure sensor built in the endoscope capsule 100 changes the pressure inside the tube 910 ( 920), and it can be used as a criterion of the movement speed of the capsule. The above-mentioned flexible material for measuring shrinkage force may be a flexible and thin film such as silicone, teflon, rubber, and the like, and may be a material which is not digested inside the intestine. Further, as in the above embodiment, the electrode and the measurement tube may be separately installed on the outside of the capsule, and the embodiment of the flexible electrode may be installed on the surface of the measurement tube. In addition, as shown in the figure, an embodiment in which only a shrinkage force measuring tube is installed in a form without a measuring electrode is possible.

Changes in the contractile force of the intestinal tract according to the embodiment, as shown in Figure 12a and 12b, is shown as a change in the periodic pressure, in this case it is possible to calculate the moving speed of the capsule from the magnitude and period of the pressure change.

As described above, the present invention automatically determines the moving speed of the capsule from the change of the reverse potential by the contact with the inside of the intestine and the change of the EMG signal of the intestinal muscle from the electrode installed on the outside of the capsule. By controlling the transfer rate of the furnace, the entire intestine, including the small intestine and the large intestine, can be observed with a limited capacity battery.

As described above, the endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed and the control method thereof according to the present invention are related to the change of the reverse potential and contact of the intestinal muscle by contact with the inside of the intestine from an electrode installed on the outside of the capsule. The entire intestine, including the small intestine and the large intestine, is limited to a limited capacity battery by automatically determining the movement speed of the capsule from changes in EMG signals and contraction pressure measurements, and adjusting the image acquisition and transmission rate to the body to be linked to the movement speed. There is an observable effect.

In addition, the present invention has the effect of observing the digestive tract from the esophagus to the large intestine by automatically minimizing the waste of power due to unnecessary imaging by developing the endoscope capsule into an intelligent inspection equipment.

Although the above has been described as being limited to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto and various changes, modifications, and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the present invention can be applied by appropriately modifying the above embodiments, it will be obvious that such application also belongs to the scope of the present invention based on the technical idea described in the claims below.

Claims (17)

In an endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, LED for illumination; An image sensor for acquiring an image using illumination by the LED; A control unit for automatically determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule and controlling an image acquisition and a transmission speed to the outside to be linked to the moving speed; A power battery for supplying power to the endoscope capsule; A transmitter for transmitting the image obtained under the control of the controller to the outside of the body; The endoscope capsule is attached to the outside of the endoscope capsule, and measuring the charge conductivity signal to transfer to the control unit; The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit, An endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, characterized in that for transmitting the image obtained by wire or wireless communication in vitro. The endoscope capsule of claim 2, wherein when the transmitter transmits an image to the outside of the body by a wireless communication method, an antenna is further connected to the transmitter. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, An endoscope capsule in which an image transmission rate is linked to a capsule movement speed, by using the charge conduction signal measuring electrode to measure a change in a charge conduction signal and a half-cell potential value. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, Image transfer speed, characterized in that the moving speed of the capsule is determined by using the charge conduction signal and the half-pot potential value simultaneously or separately, and automatically adjusts the shooting interval of the image through the image sensor corresponding to the moving speed. Endoscope capsule that is linked to the capsule movement speed. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, If it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule is slowed, the control is performed to reduce the number of transmission frames of the image acquired from the image sensor. If it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule is increased, the transmission frame of the image obtained from the image sensor is increased. An endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, characterized in that the number is controlled to increase according to the speed of the endoscope capsule. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, Endoscopic capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, characterized in that it consists of an ASIC chip with both analog and digital circuits. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control unit, A signal processor configured to receive and process the charged signal measured by the charged signal measuring electrode; A biosignal storage unit connected to the signal processing unit to store a charge conductivity signal measured by the charge conductivity signal measuring electrode; A movement speed determination unit configured to receive a signal processed by the signal processor and to receive an image of the image sensor through an image acquisition unit to determine a movement speed of the endoscope capsule; A capsule controller for controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule according to the determination result of the movement speed determination unit; An image sensor controller configured to control an operation of the image sensor according to the control of the capsule controller; And an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image from the image sensor and transmitting the image to the movement speed determination unit. The method according to claim 8, wherein the signal processing unit, A measurement amplifier which receives a charge signal and a half-cell potential value from a plurality of the charge-conductive signal measuring electrodes through a differential input and transfers the value to a main amplifier; A main amplifier received from the instrumentation amplifier and amplifying a measurement signal; An endoscope capsule which comprises a video transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, characterized in that it comprises a; DC remover for selecting a direct current signal from the output of the main amplifier to feed back to the input of the main amplifier. The method of claim 9, wherein the signal processing unit, A low frequency filter for performing low frequency filtering on the output of the DC removing unit; An endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, further comprising: a 60 Hz remover configured to perform a 60 Hz removal on the output of the low frequency filter. A first step of measuring a change in at least one of a load signal and a half-pot potential value by a control unit of the endoscope capsule; A second step of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule by using the result measured in the first step; And controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule according to the result of the determination of the movement speed in the second step to control the image acquisition and the transmission speed to the outside to be linked to the movement speed of the endoscope capsule. Control method of the endoscope capsule is characterized in that the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule moving speed. The method of claim 11, wherein the third step, An eleventh step of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule; A twelfth step of controlling to reduce the number of transmission frames of an image obtained from the image sensor when it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule is slowed in the eleventh step; And a thirteenth step of controlling to increase the number of transmission frames of the image acquired from the image sensor according to the speed of the endoscope capsule when it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule is increased in the eleventh step. Endoscopic capsule control method characterized in that the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed. An image sensor for acquiring an image; An intestinal contraction force measuring tube consisting of an air bag-shaped tube on the outside of the endoscope capsule; A pressure transmission tube configured to transmit a pressure change of the intestinal contraction force measuring tube to a sensor; A pressure sensor for sensing a pressure transmitted through the pressure transmission pipe; A pressure sensor for detecting a change in pressure of the tube for measuring an intestinal contraction force; Decoder / transmitter to automatically determine the moving speed of the endoscope capsule by the pressure change sensed by the pressure sensor, to control the image acquisition and transmission speed to the outside to interlock with the moving speed, and to perform signal transmission to the outside Wow; A power battery for supplying power to the endoscope capsule; An antenna coupled to the decoder / transmitter; An endoscope capsule attached to the outside of the endoscope capsule and configured to measure a charge conduction signal and transfer the charge conduction signal to the decoder / transmitter. The method according to claim 13, wherein the bowel contraction force measuring tube, Endoscopic capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, characterized in that composed of one or more of silicon, Teflon, rubber. The method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the decoder / transmitter, An endoscope capsule in which the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed, characterized in that the image obtained by the wired or wireless communication method can be transmitted to the body. A twenty-first step of measuring a pressure change of the intestinal contraction force measuring tube in the decoder / transmitter of the endoscope capsule through a pressure sensor; A twenty-second step of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule by using the result measured in the twenty-first step; And controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule according to a result of the determination of the movement speed in the twenty-second step to control the image acquisition and the transmission rate to the outside to be linked to the movement speed of the endoscope capsule. Endoscopic capsule control method characterized in that the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed. The method of claim 16, wherein the twenty-third step, A thirty-first step of determining a moving speed of the endoscope capsule; A thirty-second step of controlling to reduce the number of transmission frames of an image acquired from the image sensor when it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule is slowed in the thirty-first step; And a thirty-third step of controlling to increase the number of transmission frames of the image acquired from the image sensor according to the speed of the endoscope capsule when it is determined that the moving speed of the endoscope capsule is increased in the thirty-first step. Endoscopic capsule control method characterized in that the image transmission speed is linked to the capsule movement speed.

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