Capsule Endoscope Enteric Coating Balloon Inflation Timing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing capsule endoscopes face challenges in traversing the gastrointestinal tract due to invasive procedures, discomfort, and limited reach, especially in the small intestine, and struggle with unreliable specific gravity control, which affects their ability to maintain a steady speed and accurately navigate through different regions of the GI tract.
Innovation Solution
A capsule endoscope with an inflatable device and an enteric coated shell that adjusts specific gravity by using an effervescent formulation and enteric coating to control the balloon's inflation, allowing the capsule to change density in response to different environments within the GI tract, ensuring consistent travel speed and navigation through various anatomical regions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the capsule endoscope uses a fixed specific gravity design, then the structure is simple, but the capsule cannot maintain steady speed and may get trapped in certain GI tract regions
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule employs a dynamic specific gravity control system where an inflatable balloon can change its volume in response to environmental signals (pH, temperature, or magnetic field changes). This dynamic adjustment allows the capsule to adapt its buoyancy to maintain steady speed through different GI tract regions, resolving the contradiction between navigation reliability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The capsule changes its specific gravity parameter by inflating or deflating the balloon based on detected environmental conditions. This parameter change enables the capsule to optimize its travel characteristics in different GI regions (stomach, small intestine, colon) without requiring a completely complex control system, as the transformation is driven by environmental triggers rather than active control mechanisms.
2Speed
If the capsule endoscope inflates the balloon early in the stomach, then buoyancy is maximized, but the capsule travels too fast and misses anatomical regions
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule is pre-designed with an inflatable balloon and effervescent formulation, but the inflation action is delayed until the capsule reaches the appropriate anatomical region. Environmental triggers (pH change, temperature shift, or magnetic field) initiate the inflation at the optimal moment, ensuring the capsule neither travels too fast (if inflated too early) nor gets trapped (If not inflated enough). This preliminary preparation with conditional activation resolves the contradiction between speed control and navigation accuracy.
3Reliability
If the capsule uses effervescent formulation for balloon inflation, then specific gravity control is achieved, but gas generation may cause unpredictable expansion timing
Solution Approach 1:
The effervescent formulation acts as an intermediary mechanism between the environmental trigger and the balloon inflation. The chemical reaction (acid-base effervescence) provides a controlled and predictable gas generation process that can be initiated by environmental changes (pH, temperature) without requiring complex mechanical or electronic inflation mechanisms. This intermediary approach ensures reliable inflation timing while keeping the overall system relatively simple.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the capsule endoscope to maintain a steady and consistent travel speed through the GI tract, improving image capture efficiency and reducing the risk of getting trapped, by adjusting its specific gravity in response to different environments, thus enhancing diagnostic imaging capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
The enteric coating on the enteric coated shell prevents or delays body liquid infusion or dissolution of the enteric coated shell when the capsule unit is in stomach
Implementation Method 2
the inflatable device starts to inflate when the enteric coated shell is dissolved and the body liquid enters the inflatable balloon and gets in touch with the effervescent formulation inside the inflatable balloon
Implementation Method 3
An autonomous capsule camera system... uses an enteric coating as a means to control specific gravity via controlling design parameters for an inflatable device
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses a capsule endoscope with specific gravity control. The capsule endoscope comprises a housing to enclose various components, an inflatable device attached to a first longitudinal end of the capsule unit and an enteric coated shell attached to the first longitudinal end of the capsule unit to enclose the inflatable device between the enteric coated shell and the capsule unit. The various components include a camera sub-system for capturing image frames. The inflatable device comprises an inflatable membrane and an effervescent formulation inside the inflatable membrane. The enteric coated shell fits tightly onto the first longitudinal end of the capsule unit to prevent body liquid from leaking into a space between the enteric coated shell and the capsule unit when the capsule unit travels in human gastrointestinal tract after being swallowed.