Olympus Corporation

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Olympus Imaging Corporation

Hidetake Segawa

Jun Matsumoto

Masaki Takahashi

Hironobu Takizawa

Takeshi Yokoi

Hironao Kawano

Akio Uchiyama

Hideyuki Adachi

Akira Hasegawa

Tetsuya Yamamoto

Shinya Matsumoto

Hideo Ito

Hisao Yabe

Atsushi Kimura

Takayuki Suzuki

Noriyuki Fujimori

Atsushi Chiba

Hiroki Moriyama

Hitoshi Mizuno

Katsumi Hirakawa

Hirotoshi Amano

Isao Aoki

Satomi Kobayashi

Masahiro Takata

Akira Kikuchi

Hideki Koyanagi

Masatoshi Homan

Ayako Nagase

Tatsuya Orihara

Toshimasa Akagi

Seiichiro Kimoto

Toshiaki Shigemori

Mitsujiro Konno

Manabu Fujita

Hideki Shimonaka

Wataru Ohno

Hironobu Ichimura

Miho Katayama

Kanako Kataoka

A capsule medical device configured to be introduced into a subject to acquire information about the subject is provided. The capsule medical device includes: a capsule-shaped casing including: a first casing including a hemispherical portion and a cylindrical portion; and a second casing that is a cylindrical casing where an opening edge portion having an opening is positioned at one end, the cylindrical portion of the first casing being fitted on an outer peripheral surface of the second casing on a side of the opening to incorporate an information acquisition member for acquiring information about the subject; and a positioning member including: a first abutment surface configured to abut on an end surface of the second casing on the side of the opening; and a second abutment surface configured to abut on the information acquisition member.

Capsule medical device having positioning member with abutment surfaces

A floatation-volume adequacy determining system including a receiving unit; an image processing unit; an adequacy determining unit; and a display unit. The receiving unit receives an actual image that is taken by a capsule medical apparatus that is floating in a liquid in the direction toward the liquid level. The image processing unit generates a determination reference image that represents an adequate range of a floatation volume of the capsule medical apparatus adjusted to the actual image that is taken by the capsule medical apparatus. An adequacy determining unit compares the determination reference image and the actual image with each other and determines whether the floatation volume of the capsule medical apparatus is adequate. The display unit displays a result of determining whether the floatation volume of the capsule medical apparatus is adequate.

Floatation-volume adequacy determining system and floatation-volume adequacy determining method

The present invention provides a capsule-type medical apparatus and a method of manufacturing a capsule-type medical apparatus which can prevent a contact between a burr formed on an optical dome which is a part of a capsule-like casing and a living body in a subject. The capsule-type medical apparatus has a capsule-like casing which can be introduced inside the subject. The casing is configured with optically transparent optical domes and a cylindrical trunk member having an outer diameter dimension larger than an outer diameter dimension of the optical domes. The cylindrical trunk member is fitted onto an outer circumferential surface of the optical domes so as to cover each of the optical domes up to a portion near the burr formed thereon. The cylindrical trunk member has a step higher than the burr so as to prevent a contact between the burr and a living body in the subject.

Capsule-type medical apparatus and method of manufacturing capsule-type medical apparatus

A capsule endoscope includes a capsule casing and interior components housed therein whose total specific gravity is set such that the capsule casing floats in liquid introduced into a subject. The capsule endoscope also includes a gravity center position setting unit that sets a position of center of gravity of the capsule casing at a decentered position so that the capsule casing is stabilized in the liquid introduced into the subject without rotating except for rotation about an axis in a direction of the center of gravity; and an imager that takes an in-vivo image in a body cavity with an imaging field being set so that a surface of the liquid is out of view when the capsule casing floats in the liquid introduced into the subject in a stabilized posture.

Capsule endoscope

A magnetically guiding system includes: a capsule medical device that has a magnet provided therein; an information acquiring unit that acquires physical information about magnetic guiding of the capsule medical device; a magnetic field generating unit that generates a magnetic field for magnetically guiding the capsule medical device; and a control unit that sets a magnetic field condition based on the physical information acquired by the information acquiring unit and controls the magnetic field generating unit to generate a magnetic field corresponding to the magnetic field condition.

Magnetically guiding system and magnetically guiding method

An object of the present invention is to actively control at least one of the position and direction of the imaging field in a subject and to observe a desired observed region in the subject certainly in a short period of time. A body-insertable device system according to the present invention includes a capsule endoscopeintroduced into a subject and a permanent magnet. An imaging unit of the capsule endoscopefor taking an image inside the subject is fixed in a casing. The capsule endoscopeincludes a drive unit for changing at least one of the position and posture of the casing in the liquidwhich is also introduced in the subject. The permanent magnetcontrols the operation of the drive unit for changing at least one of the position and posture of the casing in the liquid

Body-insertable device system and in-vivo observation method

Provided is a capsule medical apparatus including a capsule body, a control member, and an observing member. The capsule body is to be introduced into a lumen of a subject. The control member controls a movement of the capsule body in the lumen by a flow of a fluid introduced in the lumen. The observing member is fixed inside the capsule body and observes a direction of the flow of the fluid and a direction different from the flow of the fluid according to the movement of the capsule body.

Capsule medical apparatus with projections and body-cavity observation method

Provided is an intra-subject medical system which includes a body-insertable device and a physical quantity generator. The body-insertable device is to be introduced into a subject, is covered by a capsule-shaped exterior member, and includes a physical quantity detecting member which has a directivity to detect a predetermined physical quantity; at least one functional member which has a necessary function for examining or treating inside the subject; and a switch control unit which controls an on/off state or operation mode of the at least one functional member when the physical quantity detecting member detects a physical quantity. The physical quantity generator has a physical quantity emitting unit which emits a temporary physical quantity inside the subject; and a physical quantity direction changing unit which changes an emission direction of the physical quantity.

Intra-subject medical system, method of operating body-insertable apparatus and operative treatment

A capsule-type medical apparatus includes a distal-end cover which is formed in a substantially hemispherical dome shape, the distal-end cover having an open bonding end portion; a drum portion cover which is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape, the drum portion cover having an open bonding end portion; a function executing unit which executes a predetermined preset function, the function executing unit being accommodated in the drum portion cover; and an electric storage unit which accumulates drive electric power for driving the function executing unit, wherein the bonding end portion of the distal-end cover and the bonding end portion of the drum portion cover are subjected to a surface treatment, the bonding end portion of the distal-end cover and the bonding end portion of the drum portion cover are bonded after the surface treatment to form an outer casing which has a capsule shape insertable into a test subject and which seals an inside in a liquid tight manner.

Medical capsule housing formed by thermal welding

An intra-subject observation system includes a first liquid inserted into a desired organ of a subject; and a second liquid inserted into the organ without being mixed with the first liquid due to a specific gravity lighter than that of the first liquid. The system also includes a capsule medical apparatus inserted into the organ with an intermediate specific gravity between the specific gravity of the first liquid and that of the second liquid to acquire intra-subject information, which is output out of the subject by radio.

Intra-subject observation system and intra-subject observation method

A capsule medical apparatus includes a plurality of rigid boards on which functional members are mounted; and a plurality of board-separation keeping units that sandwich the rigid boards to keep the rigid boards separated.

Capsule medical apparatus with board-separation keeping units

A capsule medical apparatus includes a capsule exterior member and a sensor that can detect the change of an atmospheric physical quantity caused outside the exterior member in the non-contact state, and performs, based on the temporary change in atmospheric physical quantity detected by the sensor, at least one of first control for switching operation from the ON-state of energy supply to the electric circuit from the battery to the OFF-state of the energy supply and of second control for switching operation from the OFF-state of the power supply to the ON-state of the power supply, and holds the state of energy supply switched by the control until another change of atmospheric physical quantity is detected.

Capsule medical apparatus

A capsule endoscope includes a capsule-shaped casing and an imaging unit for taking an image of an inside of an organ in a state where the capsule endoscope is floating in liquid introduced inside the organ of a subject. Specific gravity of the capsule endoscope to the introduced liquid is &#x3c1;; a plane divides the capsule endoscope such that a volume ratio is to be &#x3c1;:1&#x2212;&#x3c1;. A straight line that connects a center of volume of a portion whose volume ratio is &#x3c1; and a center of gravity of the capsule endoscope is substantially perpendicular to the plane. The center of gravity is present at a position farther distant from the plane than the center of volume. A surface of a boundary of a field of view that forms an angle of view of the imaging unit and the plane do not intersect outside the capsule endoscope.

Growing community of inventors

Hachioji, Japan

Hidetake Segawa