An optical unit includes a moving barrel made of a magnetic body and configured to hold an optical element, a fixed barrel made of a nonmagnetic body and configured to accommodate the moving barrel so as to freely move back and forth in a direction along an optical axis, a bias member configured to bias the moving barrel in a first direction along the optical axis of the lens unit, a magnet disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the fixed barrel and configured to attract the moving barrel in a second direction along the optical axis by a magnetic force, and a coil wound around the outer circumferential surface of the fixed barrel and configured to make variable the magnetic force given to the moving barrel.

The invention discloses a first gastrointestinal motility measurement system comprising a data acquisition module and a data processing module. The data acquisition module comprises an ultrasonic ranging device or a 3D camera for acquiring depth map or point cloud data. The data processing module processes the depth map or the point cloud to extract morphological features including curvature, inner diameter and volume of the digestive tract.

The invention provides a second gastrointestinal motility measurement system, comprising a control module, a magnetic driving module, a magnetic positioning module and a capsule. The capsule is provided with a positioning magnet and a driving magnet. The positioning magnet generates a magnetic field signal, which is detected by the magnetic positioning module obtaining the position and motion data of the capsule in the digestive tract relative to an external coordinate system. The control module obtains a first position and motion data of the capsule under the action of gastrointestinal motility; obtains a second position and motion data of the capsule under the joint action of gastrointestinal motility and driving magnetic force; and estimates gastrointestinal motility according to the first and second position and motion data and the driving magnetic force.

The present invention relates to a micro robot driving apparatus which can increase the intensity of magnetic field generation in a driving area of a micro robot by attaching a magnetic shield unit to an electromagnetic drive coil unit for driving the micro robot, or locally focus a magnetic field through the combination of two electromagnets, and a system using the same. According to the present invention, there is an effect that driving the micro robot injected into the body may be controlled by increasing a magnetic field generation intensity in the region of interest or focusing the magnetic field.

The present invention relates to a capsule-type endoscope assembly which can be assembled or disassembled in a digestive organ of an examinee, and a capsule-type endoscope system using same. A capsule-type endoscope of the present invention can be actively operated by application of an external magnetic field. In addition, according to the present invention, after an examinee has separately swallowed various diagnosis and treatment devices modularized according to a purpose of diagnosis and treatment, the diagnosis and treatment devices can be assembled in a digestive organ of the examinee. Therefore, a function of a capsule-type endoscope can be extended to various diagnosis and treatment areas conventionally covered by a conventional general endoscope.

An inflatable in-vivo capsule endoscope and method of operation is provided. The inflatable in-vivo capsule endoscope may include a sensing device for capturing in-vivo images and one or more permanent magnets for magnetically guiding the endoscope, housed interior to a capsule-shaped body. The inflatable in-vivo capsule endoscope may include an inflatable buoy attached externally to the capsule-shaped body. An inflation device may inflate the in-vivo capsule endoscope to reduce its specific gravity by injecting gas into the inflatable buoy, such that when the inflatable buoy is injected with an above threshold volume of gas, the inflatable in-vivo capsule endoscope floats in liquid. The inflatable in-vivo capsule endoscope may be magnetically guided via its permanent magnets when exposed to an externally generated magnetic field. A reduced magnetic field strength and external magnet size may be used to magnetically navigate an inflated capsule floating in liquid than a conventional uninflated capsule.

Embodiments generally relate to propulsion devices, systems, or components thereof, for progressing instruments along passages, as well as associated methods of manufacture. For example, the instruments may include tools, sensors, probes and/or monitoring equipment for medical use (such as endoscopy) or industrial use (such as mining). The described embodiments may also be suitable for applications in other fields to progress an instrument along a passage. Some embodiments relate to an endoscope comprising or configured to receive a propulsion tube configured to assist in progressing the endoscope along a passage.

A system for calibrating an electromagnetic navigation system is provided. The system includes an antenna assembly having a substrate, multiple pairs of transmit coils, multiple receive coils, multiple input terminals, and multiple output terminals. The substrate includes multiple layers, and each of the transmit coils is deposited on a respective one of the layers and each of the receive coils is deposited on another respective one of the layers. Each of the pairs of transmit coils corresponds to a respective one of the receive coils. Each of the transmit coils is coupled to a respective one of the input terminals, and each of the receive coils is coupled to a respective one of the output terminals.

Systems for liquid biopsy and/or drug delivery may include a capsule endoscope and a tether coupled to the capsule endoscope. The tether may include a flexible member with a lumen in fluidic communication with a port configured to permit passage of fluid, and the port may be, for example, on the capsule endoscope or the tether. In methods for liquid biopsy and/or drug delivery, the capsule endoscope may be advanced into a gastrointestinal tract of a patient, and navigated to a region of interest, where a patient sample may be withdrawn and/or a therapeutic substance may be administered through the lumen (e.g., through the port).

Provided is a capsule endoscopy system that is easy to operate and enables rapid examination. A capsule endoscopy system according to the present invention is a capsule endoscopy system including: a capsule endoscope including a permanent magnet; and an external magnetic field generation device that drives the capsule endoscope, in which the external magnetic field generation device includes three sets of electromagnets provided at positions facing each other in three orthogonal axes, and each of the sets of electromagnets can cause different arbitrary currents to flow in the electromagnets facing each other.

A surgery assistance device includes an arm that holds an endoscope and adjusts a position of the endoscope, a measuring device having a fixed position relative to the endoscope, the measuring device measuring a distance to a surgery target region of a subject, and a control device configured to obtain a positional relationship between the surgery target region of the subject and a distal end portion of the endoscope based on information from the measuring device, generate a map image showing the position of the endoscope on a three-dimensional model of the surgery target region by using the positional relationship, and transmit display information for displaying the map image.