Capsule shell, capsule endoscope and capsule endoscope system

Abstract

The utility model relates to a capsule shell, a capsule endoscope and a capsule endoscope system. The capsule shell comprises a shell body, and at least one end of the shell body is open; the capsule shell comprises a shell main body and at least one end cover, the end cover covers the opening of the shell main body, the outer wall surface of the end cover is conical, the conical outer wall surface of the end cover is divided into at least two curved surfaces along the axial direction of the capsule shell, and the curvature radiuses of the at least two curved surfaces are different. Under the driving of small intestine peristalsis waves, the conical outer wall surface can reduce the contact area with the intestinal wall so as to reduce the passing resistance, and meanwhile, the conical outer wall surface also has stronger guiding and passing performance, so that the capsule endoscope can pass through the small intestine well and smoothly, and the problem that the capsule endoscope is stuck with the intestinal wall and cannot be discharged in time is solved. And even the capsule endoscope can be taken out by virtue of an operation, so that medical hidden dangers are caused to a subject, and the use reliability and the experience feeling of the capsule endoscope are greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical devices, and in particular to a capsule shell, a capsule endoscope and a capsule endoscope system. Background Art

[0002] Capsule endoscopy, also known as capsule endoscopy, is an endoscope with a capsule shape. It is a medical instrument used to examine the health of the human digestive tract (including the esophagus, stomach and intestines) and help doctors diagnose diseases of the patient's digestive tract system.

[0003] During use, after activating the capsule endoscope, the subject swallows the capsule endoscope, which passes through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum in sequence and is finally excreted from the body. During this process, the capsule endoscope will take pictures and detect the stomach wall and intestinal wall, and transmit real-time images to the outside of the body for the doctor to obtain. It usually takes 6-8 hours to complete the entire examination. 8-72 hours after the subject has swallowed it, the capsule will be excreted from the body with feces.

[0004] However, in actual clinical application, it was found that in a small number of cases, the capsule endoscope would get stuck in the human intestine. Especially when passing through the small intestine with a narrow diameter, the capsule endoscope could easily get stuck in the intestinal wall and could not be discharged in time. It might even require surgery to remove the capsule endoscope, posing a medical hazard to the subject. Summary of the invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a capsule shell, a capsule endoscope and a capsule endoscope system to address the problem that the capsule endoscope cannot be discharged smoothly and timely, causing medical risks to the examinee.

[0006] In a first aspect of the present application, a capsule shell is provided, comprising:

[0007] a shell body, wherein at least one end of the shell body is open; and

[0008] At least one end cover is provided at the open portion of the shell body, the outer wall of the end cover is conical, and the conical outer wall of the end cover is divided into at least two curved surfaces along the axial direction of the capsule shell, and the curvature radii of at least two of the curved surfaces are different.

[0009] The capsule shell of the above scheme is applied to the capsule endoscope as an external carrier for loading the internal endoscope module. When in use, the subject swallows the capsule endoscope, and driven by the flow of tissue fluid in the body and the peristalsis of the stomach wall and the intestinal wall, the capsule endoscope will pass through the esophagus, tail, small intestine, rectum and other organs in sequence, until it is finally discharged from the body with feces; since the capsule shell is composed of a shell body and an end cover installed at the open end of the shell body, and the outer wall surface of the end cover is conical, and the conical outer wall surface is composed of at least two curved surfaces with different curvature radii, when the capsule endoscope is used When passing through the narrow space inside the small intestine, even if the intestinal wall is close to the outer wall of the capsule shell and generates friction resistance to the capsule endoscope, driven by the peristaltic wave of the small intestine, the conical outer wall surface can reduce the contact area with the intestinal wall, thereby reducing the passage resistance. At the same time, the conical outer wall surface also has stronger guidance and passing performance, so that the capsule endoscope can pass through the small intestine smoothly, solving the problem that the capsule endoscope is stuck with the intestinal wall and cannot be discharged in time, and even requires surgery to remove the capsule endoscope, causing medical risks to the examinee. This greatly improves the reliability and experience of the use of the capsule endoscope.

[0010] The technical solution of this application is further described below:

[0011] In one embodiment, the end cover has a tail end connected to the opening of the shell body and a top end away from the opening of the shell body, and the conical outer wall surface of the end cover is divided into three curved surfaces from the tail end to the top end, and are respectively set as a first curved surface, a second curved surface and a third curved surface, and the curvature radii of the first curved surface, the second curved surface and the third curved surface gradually decrease.

[0012] In one embodiment, the end cover has a tail end connected to the opening of the shell body and a top end away from the opening of the shell body, and the conical outer wall surface of the end cover is divided into three curved surfaces from the tail end to the top end, and are respectively set as a first curved surface, a second curved surface and a third curved surface, and the curvature radius of the first curved surface, the second curved surface and the third curved surface first decreases and then increases.

[0013] In one embodiment, the radius of curvature of the first curved surface is 13.43 mm to 16.43 mm; the radius of curvature of the second curved surface is 3.13 mm to 6.13 mm; and the radius of curvature of the third curved surface is 3.7 mm to 6.7 mm.

[0014] In one embodiment, the radius of curvature of the first curved surface is 14.43 mm to 15.43 mm; the radius of curvature of the second curved surface is 4.13 mm to 5.13 mm; and the radius of curvature of the third curved surface is 4.7 mm to 5.7 mm.

[0015] In one embodiment, the curvature radius of the first curved surface is 14.43 mm; the curvature radius of the second curved surface is 4.13 mm; the curvature radius of the third curved surface is 4.7 mm;

[0016] Or / and, the wall thickness of the end shield is 0.57±0.03mm;

[0017] Or / and, the first curved surface, the second curved surface and the third curved surface are an integrally formed structure.

[0018] In one embodiment, the end cover is a transparent cover, a positioning step is provided at the tail end of the end cover, and a draft angle is provided on a step surface of the positioning step parallel to the axis of the capsule shell;

[0019] Or / and, the capsule shell further comprises a sealing member, a mounting groove is provided at the tail end of the end cover, the sealing member is installed in the mounting groove and is sealingly abutted against the open side wall of the shell body.

[0020] In one embodiment, the end covers are provided with two, namely a first end cover and a second end cover, and opposite ends of the shell body are penetrated to form a first opening and a second opening, respectively, the first end cover is detachably connected to the first opening, and the second end cover is detachably connected to the second opening;

[0021] The first end cover, the shell body and the second end cover group are combined to form a receiving cavity, and the receiving cavity is used to install the endoscope module.

[0022] According to a second aspect of the present application, a capsule endoscope is provided, which comprises the capsule shell as described above.

[0023] In a third aspect of the present application, a capsule endoscope system is further provided, comprising:

[0024] A capsule endoscope as described above;

[0025] a data recorder, the data recorder being communicatively connected to the capsule endoscope; and

[0026] A server is communicatively connected with the data recorder. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The drawings constituting a part of the present application are used to provide a further understanding of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application.

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0029] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a capsule endoscope according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of FIG. 1 from another viewing angle.

[0031] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of an end cover according to an embodiment.

[0032] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure from another perspective.

[0033] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Cross-sectional structure diagram at AA in the middle.

[0034] Description of reference numerals:

[0035] 100. Capsule endoscope; 10. Capsule shell; 11. Shell body; 12. End cover; 121. First curved surface; 122. Second curved surface; 123. Third curved surface; 124. Positioning step; 124a. Draft angle; 20. Endoscope module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation methods of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present application, so the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0037] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that if the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. appear, the orientation or position relationship indicated by these terms is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application.

[0038] In addition, if the terms "first" or "second" appear, these terms are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of this application, if the term "plurality" appears, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0039] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if the terms "installed", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and the like appear, these terms should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements, unless otherwise clearly defined. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0040] In the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, if there is a description that a first feature is "above" or "below" a second feature, etc., or similar descriptions appear, it may mean that the first and second features are in direct contact, or that the first and second features are in indirect contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "above" and "above" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. The first feature being "below", "below" and "below" the second feature may mean that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply means that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0041] It should be noted that if an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be a central element. If an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be a central element at the same time. If any, the terms "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and similar expressions used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only implementation method.

[0042] 1 and 2 , a capsule endoscope 100 is shown in an embodiment of the present application, which includes a capsule shell 10 and an endoscope module 20. A receiving cavity is formed inside the capsule shell 10, and the size of the receiving cavity matches the size design of the endoscope module 20, so that the endoscope module 20 can be stably installed in the receiving cavity.

[0043] Optionally, the endoscope module 20 may be installed in the receiving cavity by, but not limited to, any one of threaded connection, snap connection, magnetic connection, bonding, welding, etc., or a combination of at least two or more thereof.

[0044] For example, the endoscope module 20 includes at least functional components such as a lens, a photosensitive chip, a battery, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, a spring, etc., and may also include a magnetic control element, etc. The installation structure, signal parameters, etc. of these components can be understood by referring to the capsule endoscope 100 of the existing mature technology, so they will not be elaborated here.

[0045] However, it is necessary to explain that when the capsule endoscope 100 circulates in different organs of the human body, the lens is used to capture images of the inside of the organs and transmit them to the outside of the body via an antenna, so that doctors can obtain monitoring data in a timely and accurate manner for auxiliary diagnosis.

[0046] Furthermore, the capsule shell 10 in the present application includes a shell body 11 and at least one end cover 12, and at least one end of the shell body 11 is open. It can be understood that the opening is used to facilitate the endoscope module 20 to be loaded into or taken out of the receiving cavity.

[0047] The end cover 12 is disposed on the opening of the shell body 11, that is, when the capsule endoscope 100 is in the finished assembly structure, the end cover 12 will cover the opening to make the internal receiving cavity in a sealed state, thereby preventing human tissue fluid from seeping into the receiving cavity during diagnosis in the human body and causing the endoscope module 20 to become dirty or even damaged.

[0048] Please continue reading Figure 3 and Figure 4 The outer wall surface of the end cover 12 is conical, and the conical outer wall surface of the end cover 12 is divided into at least two curved surfaces along the axial direction of the capsule shell 10, and the curvature radii of at least the two curved surfaces are different.

[0049] In summary, the implementation of the technical solution of this embodiment will have the following beneficial effects: the capsule shell 10 of the above solution is applied to the capsule endoscope 100, and is used as an external carrier to load the internal endoscope module 20. When in use, the subject swallows the capsule endoscope 100, and driven by the flow of tissue fluid in the body and the peristalsis of the stomach wall and the intestinal wall, the capsule endoscope 100 will pass through the esophagus, tail, small intestine, rectum and other organs in sequence, until it is finally discharged from the body with feces; since the capsule shell 10 is composed of a shell body 11 and an end cover 12 installed at the open end of the shell body 11, and the outer wall surface of the end cover 12 is conical, and the conical outer wall surface is composed of at least two curved surfaces with different curvature radii, when the capsule endoscope 100 When passing through the narrow space inside the small intestine, even if the intestinal wall is close to the outer wall of the capsule shell 10 and generates friction resistance to the capsule endoscope 100, the above-mentioned conical shell is bullet-shaped and narrower than the hemispherical head (and / or tail) of an ordinary capsule endoscope. Driven by the peristaltic wave of the small intestine, its head (and / or tail) is easier to advance in the small intestine. At the same time, the conical outer wall surface also has stronger guiding and passing performance, so that the capsule endoscope 100 can pass through the small intestine smoothly, solving the problem that the capsule endoscope 100 is stuck with the intestinal wall and cannot be discharged in time, and even requires surgery to remove the capsule endoscope 100, causing medical risks to the subject, thereby greatly improving the reliability and experience of the capsule endoscope 100.

[0050] Please continue reading Figure 5 On the basis of the above embodiment, the end cover 12 has an open tail end connected to the shell body 11 and an open top end away from the shell body 11, and the conical outer wall surface of the end cover 12 is divided into three curved surfaces from the tail end to the top end, and are respectively set as a first curved surface 121, a second curved surface 122 and a third curved surface 123. It can be understood from the diagram that the direction of the curved surface division is the cross-section cutting along the radial direction of the capsule shell 10 perpendicular to the axis of the capsule endoscope 100, so the first curved surface 121, the second curved surface 122 and the third curved surface 123 are substantially annular surface structures.

[0051] In addition, the curvature radius of the first curved surface 121, the second curved surface 122 and the third curved surface 123 gradually decreases. Such a design ensures that the outer wall of the capsule shell 10 is formed into a conical structure on the one hand, and also makes the outer wall of the capsule shell 10 into an arc structure on the other hand, which is more conducive to reducing the contact area between the outer wall of the capsule shell 10 and the small intestine, thereby reducing friction resistance and enhancing the ability of the capsule endoscope 100 to pass through the narrow space in the small intestine; furthermore, the design of changing the curvature radius is also helpful to make the capsule shell 10 as a whole into a bullet head shape, that is, the top of the capsule shell 10 obtains a blunt round head structure, so that when the capsule endoscope 100 turns over with the flow of human tissue fluid, the capsule shell 10 can avoid scratching or stabbing the stomach wall and the intestinal wall.

[0052] Furthermore, the curvature radii of the first curved surface 121, the second curved surface 122 and the third curved surface 123 decrease first and then increase. In addition to enabling the capsule endoscope 100 to obtain excellent passing performance and safety, the curvature radius of the top of the end cap 12 (i.e., the third curved surface 123) is designed to be slightly larger in order to obtain a better anti-glare effect.

[0053] Optionally, the first curved surface 121, the second curved surface 122 and the third curved surface 123 are integrally formed structures. That is, the end cover 12 has an integral structure, thereby avoiding the end cover 12 being composed of multiple parts, reducing the number of parts and the difficulty of installation, improving the sealing, reducing the difficulty of manufacturing, and ensuring sufficient structural strength of the end cover 12. For example, when the end cover 12 is made of plastic material, the end cover 12 can be integrally injection molded by an injection molding process.

[0054] On the basis of any of the above embodiments, the end cover 12 is set as a transparent cover. This can avoid blocking the field of view of the lens installed inside, ensuring that the lens can smoothly and accurately capture the internal image of the organ. For example, the end cover 12 can be made of transparent materials (such as glass, transparent plastic, etc.) as a whole, or only the part opposite to the lens is provided with a transparent window, while the rest is made of non-transparent materials. The specific method can be selected according to actual needs.

[0055] Please continue reading Figures 3 to 5 The tail end of the end cap 12 is provided with a positioning step 124, and the step surface of the positioning step 124 parallel to the axis of the capsule shell 10 is provided with a draft angle 124a. When the end cap 12 is assembled with the shell body 11, the open end wall of the shell body 11 is inserted into the positioning step 124, so as to form an installation positioning for the end cap 12 and the shell body 11, and at the same time improve the connection firmness. The draft angle 124a is designed for positioning adjustment, so that the end cap 12 can be more effectively demolded from the mold after injection molding.

[0056] Furthermore, the capsule shell 10 further includes a sealing member, and a mounting groove is provided at the rear end of the end cover 12. The sealing member is installed in the mounting groove and seals against the open side wall of the shell body 11. The sealing member abuts against the open side wall to improve the sealing performance between the end cover 12 and the open assembly surface. For example, the sealing member is a sealing ring.

[0057] In order to make the outer wall surface of the end cover 12 obtain a better conical structure, thereby improving the passability of the capsule shell 10 and allowing the capsule endoscope 100 to pass through the small intestine more smoothly, the present application makes parameter design for the curvature radius of each curved surface. Specifically, the curvature radius of the first curved surface 121 is 13.43mm~16.43mm; the curvature radius of the second curved surface 122 is 3.13mm~6.13mm; the curvature radius of the third curved surface 123 is 3.7mm~6.7mm.

[0058] Furthermore, in order to avoid glare in the image captured by the lens and ensure image quality, based on the above embodiment, the curvature radius of the first curved surface 121 is 14.43mm~15.43mm; the curvature radius of the second curved surface 122 is 4.13mm~5.13mm; and the curvature radius of the third curved surface 123 is 4.7mm~5.7mm.

[0059] Furthermore, in order to optimize the size of the capsule shell 10 and realize a better miniaturized design of the capsule endoscope 100, based on the above embodiment, the radius of curvature of the first curved surface 121 is 14.43 mm; the radius of curvature of the second curved surface 122 is 4.13 mm; and the radius of curvature of the third curved surface 123 is 4.7 mm.

[0060] Furthermore, in the present application, the wall thickness of the end cover 12 is designed to be 0.57±0.03 mm. In this way, the wall thickness of the end cover 12 is not too large, which will increase the weight of the end cover 12 and affect the lightweight design of the capsule endoscope 100, while also ensuring that the end cover 12 has sufficient structural strength.

[0061] In addition, based on any of the above embodiments, two end covers 12 are provided, namely a first end cover 12 and a second end cover 12. The opposite ends of the shell body 11 are penetrated to form a first opening and a second opening, respectively. The first end cover 12 is detachably connected to the first opening, and the second end cover 12 is detachably connected to the second opening. The first end cover 12, the shell body 11 and the second end cover 12 are assembled to jointly form a receiving cavity, and the receiving cavity is used to install the endoscope module 20.

[0062] At this time, the shell body 11 is a cylindrical body with both ends penetrated, and the first end cover 12 and the second end cover 12 are easy to install and remove, so it is more convenient to install and remove the endoscope module 20. The receiving cavity is formed by the first end cover 12, the shell body 11 and the second end cover 12, and the molding method is simple.

[0063] In addition to the above, the present application also provides a capsule endoscope 100 system, which includes the capsule endoscope 100 as described in any of the above embodiments, a data recorder and a server, the data recorder is connected to the capsule endoscope 100, and the server is connected to the data recorder. When in use, the capsule endoscope 100 in the subject's body transmits the internal images of each organ passed through to the data recorder in real time, and the data recorder then sends the monitoring to the server (for example, a cloud server), so that the doctor can perform auxiliary diagnosis and analysis based on the detection results of the server.

[0064] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0065] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A capsule shell, characterized in that: include: a shell body, wherein at least one end of the shell body is open; and At least one end cover is provided at the open portion of the shell body, the outer wall of the end cover is conical, and the conical outer wall of the end cover is divided into at least two curved surfaces along the axial direction of the capsule shell, and the curvature radii of at least two of the curved surfaces are different.

2. The capsule shell according to claim 1, characterized in that The end cover has a tail end connected to the opening of the shell body and a top end away from the opening of the shell body. The conical outer wall surface of the end cover is divided into three curved surfaces from the tail end to the top end, and are respectively set as a first curved surface, a second curved surface and a third curved surface. The curvature radii of the first curved surface, the second curved surface and the third curved surface gradually decrease.

3. The capsule shell according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end cover has a tail end connected to the opening of the shell body and a top end away from the opening of the shell body. The conical outer wall surface of the end cover is divided into three curved surfaces from the tail end to the top end, and are respectively set as a first curved surface, a second curved surface and a third curved surface. The curvature radii of the first curved surface, the second curved surface and the third curved surface first decrease and then increase.

4. The capsule shell according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The curvature radius of the first curved surface is 13.43 mm to 16.43 mm; the curvature radius of the second curved surface is 3.13 mm to 6.13 mm; and the curvature radius of the third curved surface is 3.7 mm to 6.7 mm.

5. The capsule shell according to claim 4, characterized in that: The curvature radius of the first curved surface is 14.43 mm to 15.43 mm; the curvature radius of the second curved surface is 4.13 mm to 5.13 mm; and the curvature radius of the third curved surface is 4.7 mm to 5.7 mm.

6. The capsule shell according to claim 5, characterized in that The curvature radius of the first curved surface is 14.43 mm; the curvature radius of the second curved surface is 4.13 mm; the curvature radius of the third curved surface is 4.7 mm; Or / and, the wall thickness of the end shield is 0.57±0.03mm; Or / and, the first curved surface, the second curved surface and the third curved surface are an integrally formed structure.

7. The capsule shell according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end cover is set as a transparent cover body, and the tail end of the end cover is provided with a positioning step, and the step surface of the positioning step parallel to the axis of the capsule shell is provided with a draft slope; Or / and, the capsule shell further comprises a sealing member, a mounting groove is provided at the tail end of the end cover, the sealing member is installed in the mounting groove and is sealingly abutted against the open side wall of the shell body.

8. The capsule shell according to claim 1, characterized in that: The end covers are provided with two, namely a first end cover and a second end cover, and opposite ends of the shell body are penetrated to form a first opening and a second opening respectively, the first end cover is detachably connected to the first opening, and the second end cover is detachably connected to the second opening; The first end cover, the shell body and the second end cover group are combined to form a receiving cavity, and the receiving cavity is used to install the endoscope module.

9. A capsule endoscope, characterized in that: Comprising the capsule shell according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A capsule endoscope system, characterized in that: include: The capsule endoscope according to claim 9; a data recorder, the data recorder being communicatively connected to the capsule endoscope; as well as, A server is communicatively connected with the data recorder.

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