KR20080079037A - Endoscope capsule and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An endoscope capsule and a method for controlling the same are provided to obtain images inside a body cavity by moving the endoscope capsule inside the body cavity according to control of an operator. An endoscope capsule(10) includes an image processing unit(100), a power supply unit(300), a housing unit(400), and a propelling unit(500). The image processing unit photographs images inside a body cavity and performs signal processing of the images. The power supply unit supplies power to the image processing unit. The housing unit surrounds the image processing unit and the power supply unit. The propelling unit is formed at one end of the housing unit and has a propeller rotated according to a change of an external magnetic field to supply propulsive force to the endoscope capsule.

Description

Endoscope capsules and how to control them {ENDOSCOPE CAPSULE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME}

1 is an external view of an endoscope capsule according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are schematic block diagrams of an endoscope capsule according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mechanism in which an external receiver receives an image output by the endoscope capsule of FIG. 2.

4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mechanism in which the endoscope capsule of FIG. 2 moves within the human body.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a housing portion of an endoscope capsule according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is an external view of a housing portion of an endoscope capsule according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a schematic block diagram showing an endoscope capsule according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a control method of an endoscope capsule according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: endoscope capsule 30: external receiver

100: image processing unit 200: communication unit

300: power supply unit 400: housing

500: propulsion unit 600: magnetic field detection unit

The present invention relates to an endoscope capsule, and more particularly, to an endoscope capsule capable of self-movement and receiving control information from a control system external to the living body when injected into the body cavity in vivo, and a method of controlling the same.

Endoscopy is an instrument originally designed to insert a machine into an organ that cannot be seen directly without surgery or autopsy. The endoscope includes a straight tube, which has a single cylinder, which allows the human body to be viewed with the naked eye, a lens system, a camera inserted directly into the organ, and a fiber scope using glass fibers.

However, although the endoscope is the most useful equipment for examining lesions, many patients try to avoid endoscopy as much as possible due to pain and discomfort associated with the examination. In recent years, capsule endoscopes (hereinafter also referred to as "endoscope capsules") have been developed for the purpose of supplementing the above-mentioned disadvantages and in particular for use in diagnosing diseases such as the longest small intestine among digestive organs.

The capsule endoscope is in the form of a capsule made when a patient swallows like a pill and enters the body cavity such as the digestive system such as the stomach and the small intestine so that the doctor can directly observe the patient's digestive system through a video screen or a computer monitor. It is a microscopic endoscope.

However, the conventional capsule endoscope has the following problems.

First, since the conventional capsule endoscope moves according to the digestion speed of the digestive organs, that is, depends entirely on intestinal movement, there is a problem that the operator cannot control the movement of the capsule endoscope.

Second, between the conventional capsule endoscope and the extracorporeal receiver, only a communication channel for transmitting observation data (for example, an image of the digestive organ) inside the digestive tract is provided to the extracorporeal receiver, and vice versa. . Therefore, the conventional capsule endoscope has a problem that it is impossible for the operator to control the operation of the capsule endoscope in the body once it is put into the body of the patient.

Accordingly, the present invention is proposed to solve the above problems, to provide an endoscope capsule and a method for controlling the same so that the operator can control the movement of the capsule endoscope in the body as well as its function in vitro. The purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to an endoscope capsule for detecting the body cavity state in vivo, an image processing unit for taking a signal processing by taking an image in the body cavity, a power supply unit for supplying power to the image processing unit, the image processing unit And a protruding portion formed at one end of the housing portion surrounding the power supply portion, and a propeller formed at one end of the housing portion and rotating in response to a change in an external magnetic field to provide a driving force to the capsule.

In addition, the present invention relates to an endoscope capsule for detecting the body cavity state in vivo, to achieve the above object, an image processing unit for photographing and processing an image in the body cavity, a power supply unit for supplying power to the image processing unit, and When the endoscope capsule is located in the body cavity, it provides an endoscope capsule including a magnetic field sensing unit for detecting a change in the magnetic field outside the capsule to control the operation of the endoscope capsule.

In addition, the present invention relates to a control method of an endoscope capsule for detecting a body cavity state in vivo, an image processing step of taking a signal processing by taking an image in the body cavity, the change of the magnetic field outside the endoscope capsule It provides a control method of the endoscope capsule comprising a magnetic field sensing step of detecting a, and a control step of controlling the image processing step in accordance with the change of the external magnetic field.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms or words used in the specification and claims should not be construed as having a conventional or dictionary meaning, and the inventors should properly explain the concept of terms in order to best explain their own invention. Based on the principle that can be defined, it should be interpreted as meaning and concept corresponding to the technical idea of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in the specification and the drawings shown in the drawings are only the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical idea of the present invention, various modifications that can be replaced at the time of the present application It should be understood that there may be equivalents.

First Example

1 and 2, an endoscope capsule according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 is an external view of an endoscope capsule according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figures 2a and 2b is a schematic block diagram of the endoscope capsule according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A and 2B, the endoscope capsule 10 is preferably an image processing unit 100, a communication unit 200, a power supply unit 300, a housing unit 400, and a propulsion unit 500. It is configured to include).

Of course, the endoscope according to the present invention may be configured to include other than the above-described components (for example, sound receiving processing unit, etc.), if necessary, anything other than the above-described components are directly related to the present invention. Since it is not there, for the sake of simplicity, a detailed description thereof will be omitted below. On the other hand, it should be noted that the components may be configured by combining two or more components into one component, or one component may be subdivided into two or more components as necessary when implemented in actual applications. The same is true in the following embodiments.

Hereinafter, each component of the endoscope capsule 10 will be described in turn.

The image processing unit 100 serves to take an image in the body cavity when the endoscope capsule 10 is introduced into the body cavity of the patient. Preferably, the image processing unit 10 processes the image to facilitate the transmission of the photographed image to an external receiver (not shown) located outside the body.

The communication unit 200 serves to transmit the photographed image to the external receiver 30 of FIG. 3. The communication unit 200 may be configured to transmit the captured image via wireless RF communication. However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the communication unit 200 preferably includes electrodes 230 and 270 formed on an outer surface of the housing unit 400 so that the captured image information is used to display the photographed image information. By inducing the biocurrent through the living body as a medium to output.

A mechanism for receiving an image output as a current from the communication unit 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 3. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mechanism in which an external receiver receives an image output by the endoscope capsule of FIG. 2. 3, the equipotential surface due to the current is indicated by a dotted line.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of detection sensors 31, 33, 35, and 37 are attached to the outside of the human body, and the detection sensors are connected to an external receiver 30. Preferably, the sensor is eight or more. When the endoscope capsule 10 outputs the captured image as a current, the current is detected by the detection sensors and transferred to the external receiver 30. Then, the external receiver 30 restores the image captured by the endoscope capsule by analyzing the current. In addition, the external receiver 30 may grasp the position, the direction angle, and the moving direction of the external receiver 30 in the human body when comparing and analyzing the potential difference between the respective sensors due to the current.

On the other hand, the power supply unit 300 supplies power to the image processing unit 100 and the communication unit 200. Power from the power supply unit 300 may be configured to be supplied to the image processing unit 100 through the communication unit 200, as shown in Figure 2, or directly through the separate power supply line the image processing unit ( 100). The power supply unit 300 may be simply implemented as a battery, or may be implemented as a wireless power transmitter and receiver.

The housing unit 400 forms an outline of the endoscope capsule 10. Electrodes 230 and 270 for outputting the current are formed on the outside of the endoscope capsule 10. One end of the housing 400 is preferably made of a transparent material for the image capturing.

In addition, the pushing part 500 is preferably formed at the other end of the housing part 400. The propulsion unit 500 preferably includes a propeller, and the propeller includes at least two blades 530 and the rotation shaft 570. At least one of the blade 530 and the rotating shaft 570 is preferably composed of a magnet. The rotation axis may be configured to include a disc 577 composed of a magnet as shown in Figure 2b. The reason why the rotating shaft is composed of a magnet instead of the blade or a magnet disc is added to the rotating shaft is because the material constituting the commercially available magnet (for example, neodymium) is hard to be processed into a blade because of its high hardness. .

The mechanism for moving the endoscope capsule configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 4. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a mechanism in which the endoscope capsule of FIG. 2 moves within the human body. In FIG. 4, the external receiver 30 and the sensing sensors 31, 33, 35, and 37 for the same are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the human body into which the endoscope capsule 10 is inserted is disposed in the magnetic field generator 50.

The magnetic field generator 50 is a device capable of forming a magnetic field in any direction in three dimensions, which will be easily understood by those skilled in the art because it is a device that is currently used in many industrial fields, particularly in the medical field. . Therefore, the description of the magnetic field generator 50 will be omitted for simplicity of the present specification.

Since the position, orientation angle, and direction of movement of the endoscope capsule 10 may be known through the external receiver 20, an operator may move the magnetic field generator 50 so that the endoscope capsule 10 may move in a desired direction. To change the magnetic field around the endoscope capsule 10. According to the change of the magnetic field, the magnetized propeller or the magnetized rotating shaft or the magnetized disc which may be included in the rotating shaft moves in the direction of change of the external magnetic force. Then, the propeller of the endoscope capsule 10 is rotated in accordance with the change of the magnetic field, which provides a driving force to the endoscope capsule (10). Thus, an operator can move the endoscope capsule 10 forward or backward in the human body. In order to facilitate the movement of the endoscope capsule 10, the body cavity is preferably filled with a liquid such as water containing additives to prevent water absorption in the human body.

By the way, if the portion of the endoscope capsule 10 other than the propeller is made of a ferromagnetic or paramagnetic body, due to the attractive force due to the magnetism of the propeller and the other endoscope capsule portion, the propeller is well in accordance with the external magnetic field change It may not rotate. Therefore, the endoscope capsule 10, other than the propeller, in particular, the power supply unit 300 is preferably composed of a diamagnetic material.

2nd Example

In the above-described first embodiment, when the propeller rotates according to the change of the external magnetic field, the rotation friction force of the rotary weight 570 is transmitted to the housing part 400 so that the entire endoscope capsule 10 may rotate. It may be. When the endoscope capsule is photographed while the capsule is rotated, since it is virtually impossible to distinguish the top, bottom, left, and right from the image received and reconstructed by the external receiver 30, an operator may have difficulty in accurately determining the image.

In order to solve such a problem, the endoscope capsule needs to be provided with a rotation suppressing unit for suppressing rotation of the endoscope capsule.

In the second embodiment and the third embodiment to be described below, a description will be made as to whether the added configuration can serve as the rotation suppressing unit when adding a configuration in the endoscope capsule.

In the second embodiment, the weight distribution (or buoyancy distribution) of the endoscope capsule is different, so that when the endoscope capsule is put into the body cavity filled with the solution, a portion of the endoscope capsule acts as a weight, and the propeller rotates despite the rotation of the propeller. And the rotation of the endoscope capsule can be prevented.

Various methods may be provided for different weight distribution of the endoscope capsule, but the second embodiment of the present invention introduces one of these methods.

5, an endoscope capsule according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a housing portion of an endoscope capsule according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In particular, Figure 5-1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the housing portion of the endoscope capsule according to the second embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5-2 is a view of the endoscope capsule according to the second embodiment of the present invention It is a cross-sectional view of a housing part.

As shown in (5-1) and (5-2) of Figure 5, the lower portion of the housing portion 400 of the endoscope capsule 10 is a material 410 of higher density than the average density of the endoscope capsule This is arranged. That is, the lower portion of the endoscope capsule is configured to be heavier than the upper portion. Therefore, when the endoscope capsule 10 is introduced into the body cavity filled with a solution, the lower part serves as a weight to prevent rotation of the endoscope capsule. Therefore, the lower end of the endoscope capsule serves as a rotation inhibiting portion of the endoscope capsule.

3rd Example

Referring to FIG. 6, an endoscope capsule according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. 6 is an external view of a housing portion of an endoscope capsule according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

On the outer surface of the housing portion of the endoscope capsule 10 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, when the endoscope capsule moves in the body cavity filled with the solution, a flow resistance is generated due to the flow change of the solution on the outer surface of the housing portion. Thus, the rotation suppressing unit 470 is formed to generate a rotational force in a direction different from the rotational direction of the propeller. In FIG. 6, a groove having a predetermined shape is formed on the outer surface of the housing as the rotation inhibiting portion 470. If you can, keep in mind that it doesn't matter what form (eg, fin).

The rotation suppressing unit 470 of FIG. 6 will be described in more detail below.

Assume that the propeller of the endoscope capsule 10 rotates in the A direction. Then, the entire endoscope capsule 10 will have a rotational force to rotate in the A direction due to the rotational frictional force of the propeller while moving forward.

On the other hand, the flow change due to the rotation inhibiting portion 470 of the solution, as shown in Figure 6, of course by applying a force to the rotation suppressing portion 470 in the c1, c2, and c3 direction of the endoscope capsule Although there is a side that hinders advancement, on the one hand, a force is applied to the endoscope 470 in the b1, b2, and b3 directions so that the rotational force is applied to the endoscope capsule in the B direction opposite to the A direction. .

Therefore, the rotational force in the B direction due to the rotation suppressing portion 470 serves to prevent rotation in the A direction due to the rotational friction force of the propeller when the endoscope capsule 10 advances in the body cavity filled with the solution. .

4th Example

In the first to third embodiments, the propeller was used as a propulsion part for movement in the body cavity of the endoscope capsule. However, the propeller may also be used to receive a predetermined command from the operator, which will be described with reference to the fourth embodiment with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an endoscope capsule according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a control method of an endoscope capsule according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the endoscope capsule includes an image processing unit 100, a communication unit 200, a power supply unit 300, a housing unit 400, and a magnetic field sensing unit 600.

Since the image processing unit 100, the communication unit 200, the power supply unit 300, and the housing unit 400 have already been described through the above-described first embodiment, the description thereof will be simplified. Will be omitted.

The magnetic field sensing unit 600 detects a change in the magnetic field outside the capsule and controls at least one of the image processing unit 100, the communication unit 200, and the power supply unit 300.

In more detail, the magnetic field sensing unit 600 includes a rotating body 630 and a rotation sensor unit 670.

The rotor 630 is illustrated as being configured with the propeller described above in the first embodiment in FIG. 7, but the present invention is not limited thereto and may be any device capable of rotating according to an external magnetic field change. In addition, the rotating body 630 may be located anywhere in the housing part 400. Part of the endoscope capsule 10 other than the propeller, in particular the power supply 300 is preferably composed of a diamagnetic material in order to facilitate the rotation of the rotating body 630. Since this has already been described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In addition, the rotation sensor unit 670 detects at least one of the direction and the number of rotations of the rotating body 630 (which may be a concept including at least one regularity of the direction and the number; Recognize at least one of the direction and the number of the detected rotation as a predetermined command from the operator, and controls at least one of the image processing unit 100, the communication unit 200, and the power supply unit 300 according to the predetermined command. Or control biopsy or drug delivery.

In other words, while the endoscope capsule is inserted into the body cavity of the human body to take an image in the body cavity [S81], the operator generates a magnetic field through the magnetic field generator 50 described above in the first embodiment to control the endoscope capsule. Change.

Then, the endoscope capsule senses the change in the magnetic field [S83], and recognizes it as a predetermined command from the operator to perform the operation of image capturing (for example, endoscope capsule on / off, image recording stop, image recording start, image recording Frequency control, etc.) [S85]. That is, it can be seen that it serves as a communication channel from the outside of the human body to the endoscope capsule.

It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential features of the present invention.

In the above, it has been described that the endoscope capsule transmits an image photographed as a current to the outside, and the external receiver grasps the position and direction of the endoscope capsule by using a potential difference in each of the sensing sensors due to the current. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the endoscope capsule may transmit an image photographed as a wireless RF signal to the outside, and the external receiver may be configured to determine the position of the endoscope capsule by measuring the strength of the RF signal. have.

Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as limiting in all aspects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention.

According to the endoscope capsule and the method for controlling the same according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, according to the present invention, since the operator can easily control the movement of the endoscope capsule, there is an advantage that the medical staff can easily sufficiently secure the image of the part by moving the endoscope capsule to a part in the desired body cavity. .

Secondly, according to the present invention, an operator can easily control various operations such as endoscope capsule on / off, image recording stop, image recording start, image frequency control, etc. of the endoscope capsule as necessary, It has the advantage of controlling drug delivery.

Claims (12)

In the endoscope capsule for detecting the body cavity state in vivo, An image processor for processing an image by taking an image in the body cavity; A power supply unit for supplying power to the image processing unit; A housing unit surrounding the image processor and a power unit; And And a propulsion unit formed at one end of the housing unit and having a propeller rotating according to a change in an external magnetic field to provide a driving force to the capsule. The method of claim 1, Endoscope capsule further comprises; a rotation suppressing unit for suppressing the rotation of the capsule due to the rotation of the propeller. The method of claim 2, The rotation inhibiting portion endoscope capsule, characterized in that configured to suppress the rotation of the capsule by acting as a weight portion of the capsule by varying the weight distribution of the capsule. The method of claim 2, The rotation inhibiting portion is formed in the outer groove of the housing portion, the endoscope capsule, characterized in that configured to be formed by the groove in the rotational force of the opposite direction of the capsule rotation due to the rotation of the propeller due to the forward of the capsule . The method of claim 1, At least one of the power source and the housing portion is an endoscope capsule, characterized in that made of a diamagnetic material. The method of claim 1, The propeller is configured to include a blade and the rotating shaft, endoscope capsule, characterized in that at least one of the blade, the rotating shaft, and the disk included in the rotating shaft comprises a magnet. The method of claim 1, Endoscope capsule, characterized in that the body cavity is filled with a liquid in order to facilitate the movement of the capsule endoscope according to the rotation of the propeller. In the endoscope capsule for detecting the body cavity state in vivo, An image processor for processing an image by taking an image in the body cavity; A power supply unit for supplying power to the image processing unit; And When the endoscope capsule is located in the body cavity, the magnetic field sensing unit for controlling the operation of the endoscope capsule by detecting a change in the magnetic field outside the capsule endoscope capsule including a. The magnetic field sensing unit of claim 8, A rotating body rotating in accordance with a change in magnetic field outside the endoscope capsule; And Endoscope capsule, characterized in that it comprises a; rotation sensor unit for sensing the rotation of the rotating body. The method of claim 9, The rotating body capsule endoscope comprising a propeller. The method of claim 9, At least one of the power source and the housing portion is an endoscope capsule, characterized in that made of a diamagnetic material. In the control method of the endoscope capsule for detecting the body cavity state in vivo, An image processing step of photographing and processing an image in the body cavity; A magnetic field sensing step of sensing a change in the magnetic field outside the endoscope capsule; And And a control step of controlling the image processing step according to the change of the external magnetic field.

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