WO2019017744A1

WO2019017744A1 - Method and device for turning on/off power of capsule endoscope

Info

Publication number: WO2019017744A1
Application number: PCT/KR2018/008268
Authority: WO
Inventors: 이종희; 정재승; 임영철; 박석호
Original assignee: 주식회사 우영메디칼
Priority date: 2017-07-21
Filing date: 2018-07-23
Publication date: 2019-01-24
Also published as: KR102019229B1; KR20190010798A

Abstract

The present invention is provided with a magnet inside or outside a capsule endoscope, and is provided with a power drive unit which uses a wireless communication antenna inside the capsule endoscope as a power source, and turns on a power unit by rectifying an induced current. According to the present invention, an effect is achieved whereby the power of the capsule endoscope may be turned on/off in a simple way by shaking the capsule endoscope before inserting same into a human body so that the power of the capsule endoscope is turned on by a current induced at the wireless communication antenna by the magnet, and after the power is turned on, the power of the capsule endoscope is turned off by wireless communication.

Description

Method and apparatus for power on-off of capsule endoscope

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for powering on and off a capsule endoscope, and more particularly, And a method and an apparatus for turning off the power of the capsule endoscope by wireless communication after the on state.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] Endoscopes are often used to perform medical operations such as photographing a state of organs of a person or an animal without surgery, collecting tissues, or injecting drugs. However, because the endoscope is inserted into the body through the tube, there is pain and inconvenience. To solve this problem, a capsule-free endoscope having no tube is developed and used in a medical field.

The capsule endoscope is introduced into the body by swallowing the patient. There is a method in which the capsule endoscope is discharged as a natural motion of the organ without controlling the movement of the capsule endoscope outside, and the movement of the capsule endoscope is controlled There is a method of intensive medical treatment only in the body part.

Capsule endoscope is used much power for LED, camera, compression of photographed image, in vitro wireless transmission of compressed image, etc. However, since the capsule endoscope is made small enough to be swallowed by the patient, the size of the built-in battery is small, so it is necessary to consider low power. In addition, since the inside of the body must be made hermetic so that moisture, body fluids, foreign substances, and the like can not be introduced, a predetermined power switch can not be formed on the housing surface of the capsule endoscope. Therefore, the capsule endoscope is made to be connected to the power source from the moment when the battery is joined in the manufacturing process, and consequently power consumption is continuously consumed until the capsule endoscope is actually used.

In order to solve such a power source driving problem, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3753730 discloses a technique in which power is turned on by bringing an external magnet close to a capsule endoscope to inhibit power source driving, There is an inconvenience that the magnets should always be brought close to each other from the manufacturing step of the endoscope. Korean Patent Registration No. 10-1050340 discloses a method of turning on and off a capsule endoscope by a magnetic field to a magnetic field generating unit on the outside of the capsule endoscope. However, a complicated device such as a magnetic field generating unit and its control unit is provided outside the body There is a problem.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the power of the capsule endoscope is turned on by the current induced in the wireless communication antenna before introducing the capsule endoscope into the body, and the power of the capsule endoscope is turned off The present invention also provides a method and an apparatus for carrying out the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a capsule endoscope including a magnet, an antenna, and a power source driver, wherein when the capsule endoscope is shaken, the magnet moves and an induced current is generated in the antenna by the movement of the magnet, And a capsule endoscope which turns on the power of the capsule endoscope by the induced current generated.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a capsule endoscope including an antenna and a power driver, wherein an induction current is generated in the antenna by swinging the capsule endoscope adjacent to an external magnet, A capsule endoscope capable of turning on the power of the endoscope can be provided.

The capsule endoscope may further include a controller for receiving a control command from an external device through wireless communication through the antenna, and causing the power driver to turn off the power of the capsule endoscope.

The power source driving unit may rectify the generated induced current to turn on the power source.

The capsule endoscope may further include a controller for allowing the power source driver to keep the power source on when the capsule endoscope is powered on.

The antenna may be shaped to surround the magnet with a coil.

The antenna may be a wireless communication antenna used to transmit an image photographed by the capsule endoscope to the outside.

The power driver may include a MEMS switch, a MOSFET switch, a J-FET switch, a TR (transistor) switch, or a magnetic switch.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a power on / off method of a capsule endoscope including a magnet, an antenna, and a power driver, comprising: moving the capsule by swinging the capsule endoscope; Generating an induced current in the antenna by movement of the magnet; And a step of causing the power source driver to turn on the power source of the capsule endoscope by the generated induction current, thereby providing a power source power-on method of the capsule endoscope.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a power on / off method of a capsule endoscope including an antenna and a power driver, comprising: generating an induction current in the antenna by shaking the capsule endoscope adjacent to an external magnet; And a step of causing the power source driver to turn on the power source of the capsule endoscope by the generated induction current, thereby providing a power source power-on method of the capsule endoscope.

The power on / off method of the capsule endoscope may further include a step of causing the power source driving unit to turn off the power of the capsule endoscope by a control command received from an external device through wireless communication through the antenna have.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the wireless communication antenna provided in the capsule endoscope is used as a power source, the capsule endoscope is shaken before introducing the capsule endoscope into the body, and a current There is an effect that the power of the capsule endoscope can be easily turned on and off by turning the power of the capsule endoscope on and turning off the power of the capsule endoscope by wireless communication after the power source is connected.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a power on / off device of a capsule endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are views showing how the capsule endoscope is shaken to turn on the power of the capsule endoscope according to the embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram and a circuit diagram showing a power on / off device of a capsule endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a block diagram illustrating a power on / off device of a capsule endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a view showing the capsule endoscope shaking to power on the capsule endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a flowchart showing a specific example of a power on / off method of a capsule endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram (conceptual diagram) showing a power on / off device of the capsule endoscope 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1, a capsule endoscope 10 according to the present invention includes an antenna 12, a magnet 20, and a power source driving unit 14, and further includes a control unit 18 and a power source unit 16, . In addition, the capsule endoscope may further include an illumination unit such as an LED and a photographing unit such as a camera for photographing the body cavity, and these functional blocks require power supply. In order to explain only the operations required for the present invention, Collectively shown as a function block 22.

The antenna 12 may be an antenna of various shapes. In general, the capsule endoscope 10 includes a wireless communication antenna for transmitting images photographed in the body to the outside. In the present invention, the wireless communication antenna is not provided as an antenna, . That is, the antenna for wireless communication can be used to function as a coil for generating an induced current by a magnet.

On the other hand, the wireless communication antenna 12 may receive a control command signal from outside by wireless communication. The control command to be received may include control commands such as adjusting the brightness of the LED or adjusting the shooting speed, frame rate or compression rate at the time of shooting the image. The wireless communication antenna 12 can use various types and shapes of antennas. In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, it is preferable that the wireless communication antenna 12 is provided in a cylindrical shape with an antenna wire wound around the antenna. When the magnet 20 is moved inside the cylindrical antenna, This can happen.

The magnet 20 may be a general permanent magnet. The capsule endoscope 10 is provided so as to be movable without being fixed. The capsule endoscope 10 may be provided so that the magnet 20 can move when the capsule endoscope 10 is shaken, and is preferably located inside the cylindrical antenna as shown in the figure.

In the case where the capsule endoscope 10 is guided from the outside to a magnetic field, a permanent magnet is built in the capsule endoscope 10. In this case, the capsule endoscope 10 may be constructed without the magnet 20 as in the embodiment of FIG. That is, the present embodiment is preferably applied to the capsule endoscope 10 in which the capsule endoscope 10 is discharged through a natural organs free movement without being controlled by an external magnetic field.

The power supply driving unit 14 receives the induction current from the antenna 12 and turns on the power. That is, the power supply switch 28 between the power supply unit 16 and the functional block 22 is turned on to supply power to the functional block 22. [ The power switch 28 may be a micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) switch, a MOSFET switch, a J-FET switch, a magnetic switch, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

The power supply unit 16 supplies power to all functional blocks 22 which are provided inside the capsule endoscope 10 and require power. The power source unit 16 may be a conventional small battery that may be embedded in the capsule endoscope 10, and may be a battery that can be charged by external wireless charging, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The control unit 18 receives power from the power source unit 16 and supplies power to the power source driving unit 14 when the power source driving unit 14 turns on the power source of the capsule endoscope 10 by the induction current generated from the antenna 12. [ Can keep the power on continuously.

Since the capsule endoscope 10 is used in a disposable manner and is generally discarded together with body excretion, once the capsule endoscope 10 is turned ON and inserted into the body, there is little need to switch to the OFF state. Therefore, only the above-described ON function may be implemented. However, if it is necessary to confirm whether the product is a regular product or in other special circumstances, if the off state is required, the control unit 18 may have more off function. At this time, after the capsule endoscope 10 is turned on, the control unit 18 receives a control command from an external device through wireless communication via the antenna 12, and the power source driving unit 14 controls the capsule endoscope 10 10 can be turned off.

2 and 3 are views showing the capsule endoscope 10 being shaken to turn on the power of the capsule endoscope according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2, the magnet 20 is provided inside the cylindrical antenna 12 and swings the capsule endoscope 10 in the direction of the arrow. When the capsule endoscope 10 is shaken, the magnet 20 moves, and an induced current is generated in the cylindrical antenna 12 surrounding the magnet by the movement of the magnet 20.

The problem of power consumption from the manufacturing stage to the storage stage of the capsule endoscope 10 can be solved by rapidly shaking the capsule endoscope 10 immediately before the capsule endoscope 10 is used, .

Since the capsule endoscope 10 is small, the size of the magnet must be sufficiently small. Even if a small magnet swings rapidly, the power switch 28 of the power source driving unit 14 can be sufficiently turned on. In order to confirm whether the capsule endoscope 10 is turned on, an LED (not shown) is further provided inside the capsule endoscope 10 so that the ON state can be confirmed by the LED emitting light.

Referring to FIG. 3, the shape of the antenna is changed from a cylindrical shape to a spiral shape as compared with the embodiment of FIG. Even in spiral antenna 12, it is possible to generate an induced current. In order to efficiently generate the induced current, it is sufficient to adjust the moving direction of the magnet or the direction and size of the spiral antenna 12 appropriately.

Referring to FIG. 4, the power supply driving unit 14 includes a rectifier circuit and a switch as one embodiment in which the power supply driving unit 14 is a circuit. When the alternating current induced in the antenna 12 is input to the diode 24, the capacitor 26 maintains a constant voltage and the power switch 28 is turned on to supply power to the function block 22 and the control unit 18, .

When power is supplied to the control unit 18, the control unit may maintain the node G in a high state in order to keep the power on. Then, the waving of the capsule endoscope 10 is stopped, and the power switch 28 is kept in the ON state even though the AC current of the node D is no longer supplied.

When the control unit 18 receives the control command from the external device through wireless communication through the antenna after the capsule endoscope 10 is powered on, the control unit 18 switches the node G of the power source driving unit 14 to low So that the power of the capsule endoscope 10 can be turned off.

As described above, the power on / off device of the capsule endoscope 10 can be implemented in a simple circuit configuration, and can be implemented in various ways without being limited to the above-described embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a power on / off device of a capsule endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state in which the capsule endoscope is shaken to turn on the power of the capsule endoscope according to the embodiment of FIG. Fig. Referring to FIG. 5, as compared with the embodiment of FIG. 1, the capsule endoscope 10 does not include the magnet 20, and the remaining blocks have the same function. The present embodiment is preferably used in the case where the capsule endoscope 10 is guided from the outside to a magnetic field, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The present embodiment uses an external magnet 30 as shown in FIG. 6 in order to generate an induced current in the antenna 12.

Before the capsule endoscope 10 is used, for example, the capsule endoscope 10 may be quickly shaken adjacent to the external magnet 30 immediately before the patient swallows to generate an induced current in the antenna 12. [ When the antenna 12 moves rapidly adjacent to the external magnet 30, an induced current is generated in the antenna 12. The amount of the induced current is larger as the longitudinal direction of the outer magnet 30 and the winding direction of the antenna 12 are closer to the vertical direction.

In order to check whether the capsule endoscope 10 is turned on, an LED (not shown) may further be provided inside the capsule endoscope 10 so that the LED may emit light to confirm the ON state.

7 is a flowchart (S50) showing a specific example of a power on / off method of a capsule endoscope according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In step S51, the capsule endoscope 10 can be swung quickly for several seconds before introducing the capsule endoscope 10 into the body.

2, it is preferable to swing the capsule endoscope 10 in the longitudinal direction of the capsule endoscope. 6, it is preferable to shake the capsule endoscope 10 adjacent to the outer magnet 30 so that the longitudinal direction of the outer magnet 30 and the winding direction of the antenna 12 are perpendicular to each other Do.

In step S53, an induced current may be generated in the antenna 12 due to the variation in the distance between the

magnets

20, 30 and the antenna 12 by shaking the capsule endoscope 10. [

In step S55, the induced current generated is rectified by the power supply driving unit 14, and the power supply switch 28 is turned on to supply power to the function block 22. [ At this time, the controller 18, which has been supplied with power, keeps the power switch 28 always on even when the capsule endoscope 10 is wiggled and the induced current no longer flows.

The capsule endoscope 10 can be turned on by the above-described method, and the capsule endoscope 10 in the on state can be turned off if necessary.

In step S57, the external device can transmit a power-off control command by wireless communication through the wireless communication antenna 12. [

In step S59, the controller 18 may receive the power-off control command, and cause the power-source driver to turn off the power switch 28. [

The capsule endoscope 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has the

magnets

20 and 30 inside or outside thereof and uses the internal wireless communication antenna 12 as a power source, And a power source driving unit (14) for turning on the power source. According to the embodiment of the present invention, the capsule endoscope 10 is shaken before introduction of the capsule endoscope 10 into the body so that the capsule endoscope 10 can be swallowed with the current induced in the wireless communication antenna 12 by the internal or external magnets 20, The power source of the endoscope 10 is turned on and the power of the capsule endoscope 10 is turned off by wireless communication after the power source is turned on, so that the power source of the capsule endoscope can be easily turned on and off.

Claims

A capsule endoscope including a magnet, an antenna, and a power driver,

When the capsule endoscope is shaken, the magnet moves,

An induction current is generated in the antenna by movement of the magnet,

The power source driving unit turns on the power source of the capsule endoscope by the generated induced current,

Capsule endoscopy.
A capsule endoscope including an antenna and a power driver,

An induction current is generated in the antenna by shaking the capsule endoscope adjacent to an external magnet,

The power source driving unit turns on the power source of the capsule endoscope by the induced current,

Capsule endoscopy.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

Further comprising a control unit for receiving a control command from an external device through wireless communication through the antenna, and causing the power driver to turn off the power of the capsule endoscope.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

And the power source driving unit rectifies the generated induced current to turn on the power source.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

The capsule endoscope according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit for causing the power source driving unit to keep the power source on when the power source of the capsule endoscope is turned on.
The method according to claim 1,

Wherein the antenna is configured to surround the magnet with a coil.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

Wherein the antenna is a wireless communication antenna used to transmit an image photographed by the capsule endoscope to the outside.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

Wherein the power driver includes a MEMS switch, a MOSFET switch, a J-FET switch, a TR (transistor) switch, or a magnetic switch.
A power on / off method for a capsule endoscope including a magnet, an antenna, and a power driver,

Moving the capsule by shaking the capsule endoscope;

Generating an induced current in the antenna by movement of the magnet;

And turning on the power source of the capsule endoscope by the induced current generated by the power source driving unit.

Power on / off method of power of capsule endoscope.
A method for power on-off of a capsule endoscope including an antenna and a power driver,

Generating an induction current in the antenna by shaking the capsule endoscope adjacent to an external magnet;

And turning on the power source of the capsule endoscope by the induced current generated by the power source driving unit.

Power on / off method of power of capsule endoscope.
11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,

Further comprising the step of causing the power source driver to turn off the power source of the capsule endoscope by a control command received from an external device through wireless communication through the antenna, Off method.