Patent Grant
10123680
The present invention relates to an operation control system of a capsule type endoscope and a capsule type endoscope system comprising the same, and more particularly, to an operation control system of a capsule type endoscope and a capsule type endoscope system comprising the same in which a capsule endoscope is driven to move along a tubular organ by a spiral motion, thereby being capable of making an accurate diagnosis of the wall of the tubular organ.
A conventional flexible streamlined endoscope is inserted through a mouth or anus and controlled to diagnose ulcerative diseases of the inner wall of the digestive organs, and it causes a patient's suffering. To solve the problem, a capsule endoscope, which has a form to easily enter into the digestive organs through the mouth and takes pictures of the inside of the digestive organs moves the inside of the digestive organs while moving the inside of the digestive organs by peristalsis of the digestive organs in order to make a diagnosis, has been developed.
However, such a capsule endoscope has several disadvantages in that it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis due to a passive movement by the peristalsis, and in that the capsule endoscope has a limited size because it must be inserted through the mouth so that it is difficult to mount various functional devices on the capsule endoscope.
To solve these disadvantages, researches on an actuation mechanism for actuating the capsule endoscope using an electromagnetic actuation system have been conducted.
Meanwhile, coil systems for actuating such a capsule endoscope have been proposed. For instance, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0272873 (hereafter, “prior art document”) discloses a coil system for actuating a capsule endoscope. In U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0272873, a total of 18 coils can be used to move the capsule endoscope in a certain direction.
However, the prior art coil system has a problem in that power consumption could be increased to move the capsule endoscope due to a high number of coils and each coil's role is not clearly defined.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an operation control system of a capsule type endoscope and a capsule type endoscope system comprising the same in which a capsule endoscope is driven to spirally move along a tubular organ to obtain image information, thereby being capable of making an accurate diagnosis of the wall of the tubular organ.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an operation control system of a capsule type endoscope and a capsule type endoscope system comprising the same which can create a rotating magnetic field and a gradient magnetic field applied from the outside just by the minimum configuration of a coil system in order to realize a spiral motion of the capsule type endoscope, thereby simplifying the configuration of the entire system and being capable of making actuation control of the capsule type endoscope easy.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an operation control system of a capsule type endoscope and a capsule type endoscope system comprising the same which can make a spiral motion along the tubular organ by interaction between the rotating magnetic field and the gradient magnetic field generated from the outside.
To achieve the above objects, in an aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides an operation control system of a capsule type endoscope including: a first coil unit having coil portions which are fixed to three axes being at right angles to each other and generate magnetic fields in orthogonal axis directions, respectively; a second coil unit which is disposed to generate a gradient magnetic field in any direction relative to the magnetic field generated by the first coil unit; a coil driving portion for driving the second coil unit to adjust the orientation of the gradient magnetic field; and a control unit including an image receiver which receives an image signal transmitted from a capsule endoscope and a control portion coil controller which controls electric currents supplied to the first and second coil units to adjust the generated magnetic field and controls operation of the coil driving portion.
Preferably, in the present invention, the coil driving portion controls the second coil unit to perform three-dimensional rotation by independent biaxial rotations.
Preferably, in the present invention, each coil portion of the first coil unit includes a Helmholtz coil.
Preferably, in the present invention, the second coil unit includes a Maxwell coil.
In another aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a capsule type endoscope system including a capsule endoscope which has magnetization inclined within a range of an acute angle (0<δ<90°) relative to the length direction of the housing of the endoscope and includes a camera module to capture an image and transmit the image to the outside.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a capsule endoscope which is capable of carrying out movement by a spiral motion along the inside of a tubular organ by a rotating magnetic field and a gradient magnetic field generated from the outside, the capsule endoscope having magnetization inclined within a range of an acute angle (0<δ<90°) relative to the length direction of the housing of the endoscope and being capable of capturing an image and transmitting the image to the outside.
As described above, the capsule type endoscope system according to the present invention can form the rotating magnetic field and the gradient magnetic field for the spiral motion of the capsule type endoscope just by the minimum coil system including: the magnetic field forming portion which has the first coil unit disposed on three orthogonal axes to generate a magnetic field and a second coil unit having one coil structure for generating a gradient magnetic field; and a mechanical coil driving portion for three-dimensionally rotating the second coil unit to create the rotating magnetic field and the gradient magnetic field so that the rotating magnetic field and the gradient magnetic field are formed just by the minimum coil system, thereby simplifying the operation control system of the capsule type endoscope.
Additionally, the capsule type endoscope according to the present invention has magnetization characteristics to spirally move along the inside of the tubular organ by the rotating magnetic field and the gradient magnetic field generated from the outside.
It should be appreciated that specific structures or functional explanations proposed in example embodiments of the present invention are to describe embodiments according to the concepts of the present invention and may be executed in various forms according to the concepts of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit example embodiments of the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, example embodiments of the invention are to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the technical idea and scope of the present invention.
It will be further understood that the words or terms used in the present invention are used to describe specific embodiments of the present invention and there is no intent to limit the present invention. The singular form of the components may be understood into the plural form unless otherwise specifically stated in the context. It should be also understood that the terms of ‘include’ or ‘have’ in the specification are used to mean that there are characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations of the steps, operations, components and parts described in the specification and there is no intent to exclude existence or possibility of other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations of the steps, operations, components and parts.
Hereinafter, reference will be now made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.
Referring to
The operation control system of the capsule type endoscope according to the present invention can perform precession of the capsule endoscope 300 by a rotating magnetic field generated by the first coil unit 110 and a spiral motion that is carried out in contiguity with a tube wall when the capsule endoscope 300 moves along the tubular digestive organ using momentum by a gradient magnetic field generated by the second coil unit 120. Hereinafter, each component will be described.
The capsule endoscope 300 is controlled wirelessly by a magnetic field generated from a magnetic field generating portion 100 which includes the first and second coil units 110 and 120.
As shown in
Not shown in the drawings, but it should be understood that supporting structures may be mounted to respectively fix the coil portions.
The coil portions 111, 112 and 113 may respectively be an x-axis coil portion 111, an y-axis coil portion 112 and a z-axis coil portion, and basically, each of the coil portions 111, 112 and 113 may be provided by a coil structure which can generate a uniform magnetic field, a rotating magnetic field or a gradient magnetic field in a certain direction depending on sizes and directions of applied electric current.
For example, Helmholtz coils or Maxwell coils may be used.
Two Helmholtz coils form a pair. The two Helmholtz coils are spaced apart from each other as long as a radius on the central axis and can generate a uniform magnetic field when electric currents of the same size and direction are applied to the two coils.
In the meantime, the Helmholtz coils can generate the uniform magnetic field depending on sizes or directions of electric currents applied to the two Helmholtz coils. Alternatively, combination of three Helmholtz coils may generate a rotating magnetic field, and it has been disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1128034 which has been granted on Mar. 12, 2012 and filed by the same applicant of the present invention application.
Two Maxwell coils form a pair. The two coils have a specific arrangement to generate a uniform gradient magnetic field when electric currents of the same size are applied to the two coils in the opposite directions.
Meanwhile, preferably, the first coil unit 110 uses the Helmholtz coils which are easy to be arranged on three axes to be at right angles to each other.
As described above, the three coil portions 111, 112 and 113 which are respectively fixed on the three axes to generate the uniform magnetic field can generate a rotating magnetic field depending on sizes and directions of electric currents applied to each coil portion and can induce precession of the capsule endoscope using the rotating magnetic field, and it will be described in detail later.
A pair of two coils which are arranged side by side form the coil unit for generating the gradient magnetic field. When electric currents applied to the two coils are in the opposite directions, the gradient magnetic field is generated. In the present invention, the second coil unit, preferably, uses the Maxwell coils.
As shown in
A gradient magnetic field is formed in the central axis direction of the Maxwell coils 121, and a gradient magnetic field which has an approximately linear slope is formed at the central portion.
The second coil unit 120 has the coil driving portion 130 disposed as a mechanical structure which is capable of three-dimensionally driving with the first coil unit 110 as the center.
The coil driving portion 130 can rotate the second coil unit 120 in certain two directions α and β, and hence, can control the direction of the gradient magnetic field generated from the second coil unit 120 into an arbitrary direction.
Particularly, the second coil unit 120 which provides momentum for translation of the capsule endoscope uses just one coil structure and the direction of the gradient magnetic field can be adjusted using the coil driving portion 130 which can rotate the second coil unit 120 three-dimensionally, so that the present invention can simplify the entire structure of the coil operation system for operating the capsule endoscope.
As shown in
Actuators, such as motors, which have been known, are mounted at the rotating arm 132 which is rotatable on the vertical post 131 and the movable arm 133 which is vertically movable at the front end of the rotating arm 132 so that the present invention can make an accurate operation control by electronic, hydraulic or pneumatic signals applied from the outside.
Preferably, the movable arm 133 has an arc shape with a proper radius of curvature that makes the second coil unit 120 rotate three-dimensionally on the center of the second coil unit 120 which coincides with the center of the first coil unit and is a virtual rotation axis.
As described above, the coil driving portion 130 can achieve the three-dimensional rotation because the second coil unit 120 can carry out biaxial rotation. Accordingly, the gradient magnetic field direction of the second coil unit 120 can be adjusted arbitrarily.
In this embodiment, the coil driving portion has a gimbal structure capable of carrying out the biaxial rotation, but the present invention is not limited to the above and can use various mechanical devices within the scope that the second coil unit 120 can carry out the rotating motion three-dimensionally, such as a parallel mechanism (Stewart platform) or a robot arm.
The permanent magnet 310 forms magnetization in an arbitrary direction and provides a driving force of the capsule endoscope 300 by interaction with an external magnetic field.
The camera module 320 is to obtain image information, and can be fixed and mounted on the front face, rear face or lateral face of the housing 301. In the meantime, in order to obtain accurate image information inside a living body through the camera module 320, a lighting device may be added.
The data transmission module 330 serves to transmit the image information obtained from the camera module 320 to the outside.
The power supply module 340 supplies actuating power necessary for the lighting device, and such a power supply module 340 can be provided by a battery.
It will be described in more detail later, but in the event that the magnetization direction coincides with the length direction, precession of the capsule endoscope by the external rotating magnetic field is not carried out. In the event that the magnetization direction is perpendicular to the length direction, the capsule endoscope can carry out just precession at a stabilized position and cannot carry out translation by the external gradient magnetic field.
As shown in
Referring to
Moreover, the control unit 200 includes an image receiver 210 which receives an image signal transmitted from the capsule endoscope 300 and a power supply 230 for supplying an operation power of the control unit 200.
In this embodiment, the first and second coil units 110 and 120 and the coil driving portion 130 are controlled by one coil controller 220, but may be controlled by additional dedicated control modules according to speeds or properties of processing data.
Not mentioned in this embodiment in detail, but the control unit may additionally include well-known peripheral devices, such as a capsule endoscope position tracking device which can track the position of the capsule endoscope using X rays, a display for outputting image information receiving from the image receiver 210, or others.
In the capsule type endoscope system according to the present invention, the capsule endoscope 300 by the rotating magnetic field generated from the fixed first coil unit 110 moves while carrying out precession and the spiral motion along the tubular organ by the gradient magnetic field generated by the second coil unit 120, and obtains necessary image information while moving. Hereinafter, the operation of the capsule type endoscope system will be described in detail.
In this embodiment, the first coil unit 110 has the Helmholtz coils disposed on three axes which are at right angles to each other, and the second coil unit 120 has the Maxwell coils.
As shown in
In this instance, in the capsule endoscope, a magnetic force is generated by the gradient magnetic field, and the size of the magnetic force is obtained through the following [Math formula 1].
Fv=MVg sin δ
Fr=−0.5MVg cos δ [Math formula 1]
In the math formula 1, M is magnetization intensity of the magnet contained in the capsule endoscope, V is volume of the magnet, g is a slope generated by MC, and δ is an angle between the axial vector v and the magnetization intensity M.
As shown in
Next, referring to
In
Referring to
In the meantime, in order to make the capsule endoscope carry out the spiral motion along the tubular organ inside a three-dimensional space, the following must be satisfied. First, referring to
Bc,x,t=a(cos φ cos θ)+b(−sin φ cos θ cos 2πωt+sin θ sin 2πωt)
Bc,y,t=a(cos φ sin θ)+b(−sin φ sin θ cos 2πωt−cos θ sin 2πωt)
Bc,z,t=a(sin φ)+b(cos φ cos 2πωt) [Math formula 2]
In the Math formula 2, a and b are M cos δ and M sin δ, and ω indicates rotational frequencies.
Next, the v axis and the Maxwell coils must be coincided with each other. When the v axis and the Maxwell coils are coincided with each other in direction, the capsule endoscope can easily carry out the spiral motion just by controlling the intensity and the direction of the electric currents applied to the Maxwell coils.
It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that there is no intent to limit example embodiments of the invention to the particular forms disclosed and that various changes, modifications and equivalences may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2012-0133515 | Nov 2012 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2013/010271 | 11/13/2013 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2014/081150 | 5/30/2014 | WO | A |
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| 20150297065 A1 | Oct 2015 | US |
