Carpi Federico, Galbiati Stefano, Carpi Angelo
Interdepartmental Research Centre E. Piaggio, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, via Diotisalvi, 2, 56100 Pisa, Italy.
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2007 Nov;54(11):2028-36. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2007.894729.
This paper describes a technique to control the navigation of traditional wireless endoscopic capsules and reports preliminary proof-of-concept investigations. These capsules are used for noninvasive explorations of the digestive tube. At present, their motion cannot be controlled and they proceed by means of the visceral peristalsis. In order to enable motion controls, the technique proposed here adopts magnetic shells which are to be applied to available capsules, immediately before their use. The shells are used to control the capsule movement by means of external magnetic fields. This solution is readily applicable to any endoscopic capsule, avoiding internal modifications. Prototype elastic shells made of silicone elastomers mixed with magnetic particles were fabricated. They were tested with the most diffused capsule (model M2A, Given Imaging Ltd., Yoqneam, Israel), by studying the performance of the capsule/shell complex in simplified experimental conditions. Bench tests permitted to demonstrate controlled translations, rotations, and rototranslations of the capsule/shell complex within tubular structures coated with pieces of bovine tissues. The use of a new instrumentation, recently developed for cardiovascular treatments, is proposed as a potential means enabling the application of controlled magnetic fields for intrabody navigations.
本文描述了一种控制传统无线内镜胶囊导航的技术，并报告了初步的概念验证研究。这些胶囊用于消化道的无创探查。目前，它们的运动无法控制，只能借助内脏蠕动前进。为了实现运动控制，本文提出的技术采用了磁壳，在使用现有胶囊之前，将其立即应用于胶囊。磁壳用于通过外部磁场控制胶囊的运动。该解决方案可轻松应用于任何内镜胶囊，无需进行内部改造。制作了由混合有磁性颗粒的硅橡胶制成的原型弹性壳。通过在简化实验条件下研究胶囊/壳复合体的性能，使用最常用的胶囊（型号M2A，Given Imaging Ltd.，以色列约克尼姆）对其进行了测试。台架试验证明，在涂有牛组织片的管状结构内，胶囊/壳复合体能够实现受控平移、旋转和旋转平移。有人提出，将最近为心血管治疗开发的一种新仪器用作在体内导航中施加可控磁场的潜在手段。
