Patent Publication Number: US-2018042563-A1

Title: Medical aid for intestine examinations

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a medical aid for intestine examinations that may improve the reliability of an examination by accurately and easily identifying a pass time of an intestine according to lapse of time when the motility of the intestine is examined, thereby achieving an accurate diagnosis and an accurate prescription. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A large intestine is a tubular organ that corresponds to a final part of a gastrointestinal tract starting from the appendix and ending at the anal passage, and is a part in which diseases such as colitis ulcerativa, local colitis, and polypus are caused. 
     Generally, in order to accurately examine the state of a large intestine by using X-rays, a contrast medium that may form a proper contrast against surrounding body tissues are injected for X-ray photographing. 
     Meanwhile, medical aids for photographing and measuring the motility of an intestine of the constipation patients or the patients whose intestine motilities deteriorate with radioactive rays have been suggested, and the medical aids are materials that are not biodegraded in the human body, are not harmful to the human body, maintain the properties and forms thereof from the initial state after being taken, and do not change even in the case of defecation after a long-time stay in the large intestine, and are taken for three days at an interval of 24 hours after they are taken at the first time and the medical aids left after radioactive photographing measured after four to seven days. 
     However, the medical aids according to the related art are simple and uniform so that the shapes for dates when the medical aids are taken cannot be discriminated. That is, because the conventional medical aids are concealed according to the shapes and sizes thereof when they are photographed and are photographed while the shapes thereof are the same, they cannot be individually identified so that an accurate measurement according to the intestine pass time is difficult. 
     PRIOR TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS 
     (Patent document 1) (Document 1) Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2001-0045671 (entitled “Recording Material for Radioactive Examinations” and published on Jun. 5, 2001) 
     (Patent document 2) (Document 2) Korean Patent No. 10-1061224 (entitled “Capsule for Measuring Flow Information using X-rays” and published on Aug. 25, 2011) 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides a medical aid for intestine that may improve the reliability of an examination by allowing the shapes taken for dates for three days to be identified and allowing the shapes to be identified even though they are overlaid with each other to allow the pass time of an intestine according to lapse of time to be accurately and easily identified when the motility of the intestine is measured and examined, thereby achieving an accurate diagnosis and an accurate prescription. 
     The objectives of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned one, and the unmentioned objectives of the present invention will be clearly understood by an ordinary person skilled in the art from the following description. 
     Technical Solution 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a medical aid for intestine examination including a plurality of recording/measuring members formed of a polymeric composite containing a radioactive opaque material and having different forms, and a capsule type biodegradable accommodation body accommodating the recording/measuring members and formed of a material that is biodegraded after being taken. 
     According to the present invention, the recording/measuring members may be formed by mixing and fusing powder of a polymeric composite of polyethylene and powder that is not harmful to a human body, and performing at least one of a method of injection-molding and a method of extrusion and cutting. 
     According to the present invention, the powder of the polymeric composite of polyethylene may include low-density polyethylene of polyethylene (C 2 H 4 (C 2 H 4 ) n ) and the power that is not harmful to the human body may include barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ), and the recording/measuring members may be formed by mixing powder of polyethylene (C 2 H 4 (C 2 H 4 ) n ) and powder of barium sulfate (BaSO 4  at a weight ratio of 4:6 to 6:4, and performing at least one of a method of heating at 130 to 135° C. and injection-molding and a method of extrusion and cutting. 
     According to the present invention, the recording/measuring members may be formed by mixing powder of polyethylene (C 2 H 4 (C 2 H 4 ) n ) and powder of barium sulfate at a weight ratio of 5.5:4.5. 
     According to the present invention, each of the recording/measuring members may include an annular recording body formed through injection-molding or extrusion and cutting, a ball-shaped recording body formed through injection-molding, and a polyhedral recording body formed through injection-molding or extrusion. 
     According to the present invention, the sizes of the annular recording body, the polyhedral recording body, and the ball-shaped recording body becomes smaller in their sequence in the recording/measuring member. 
     According to the present invention, when the ball-shaped recording body and the polyhedral recording body are viewed while being overlaid with each other on a plane with reference to the annular recording body, the distance between the concentric circle to the outermost surface of the annular recording body may be the largest, the distance between the concentric circle to the outermost surface of the polygonal recording body may be the second largest, and the distance between the concentric circle to the outermost surface of the ball recording body may be the smallest. 
     Advantageous Effects of the Invention 
     The medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention may improve the reliability of an examination by accurately and easily identifying a pass time of an intestine according to lapse of time when the motility of the intestine is examined, and accordingly, an accurate diagnosis and an accurate prescription may be achieved. 
     The effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned one, and the unmentioned effects of the present invention will be clearly understood by an ordinary person skilled in the art from the following description. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating a recording/measuring member constituting the medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is an X-ray picture according to lapse of time after the medical aid for intestine examinations is taken according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     BEST MODE 
     The additional objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will be understood more clearly from the following description and the accompanying drawings. 
     Prior to a detailed description of the present invention, it should be understood that the present invention may be variously modified and may have various embodiment, and the examples described below and illustrated in the drawings are not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments and the present invention includes all changes, equivalents, or replacements included in the spirit and technical scopes of the present invention. 
     When it is mentioned that one element is “connected to” or “electrically connected to” another element, it should be understood that the first element may be directly connected or electrically connected to the second element but a third element may be provided therebetweeen. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that an element is “directly connected to” or “directly electrically connected to” another element, it should be understood that a third element is not present between them. 
     The terminologies used herein are provided only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unless otherwise specified. The terms “including” and “having” are used to designate that the features, the numbers, the steps, the operations, the elements, the parts, or combination thereof described in the specification are present, and may be understood that one or more other features, numbers, step, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof may be added. 
     Further, the terms, such as “unit”, “-er, -or”, and “module” described in the specification mean a unit for processing at least one function or operation, and may be implemented by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. 
     Further, in the description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same element, and a repeated description thereof will be omitted. A detailed description of known technologies related to the present invention will be omitted to avoid making the technical essence of the present invention rather unclear. 
     Hereinafter, a medical aid for intestine examinations according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a diagram illustrating a medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a plan view illustrating a recording/measuring member constituting the medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention if formed of a polymeric composite containing a radioactive opaque material, and includes a plurality of recording/measuring member  100  having different forms; and a biodegradable accommodation body  200  accommodating the recording/measuring member  100  and formed of a degradable material. 
     The recording/measuring members  100  are formed by mixing powder of a polymeric composite, such as polyethylene, and powder of barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ), which is a radioactive opaque material that is not harmful to the human body, at a weight ratio of 4:6 to 6:4, preferably, at a weight ratio of 5:4.5 and forming the recording/measuring members  100  into a specific form through heating, injection-molding and/or extrusion. 
     Here, when the ratio of the polymeric composite powder is less than 4 or the ratio of the barium sulfate powder exceeds 6, the formation performance of the recording/measuring members  100  is not good, and when the ratio of the polymeric composite powder exceeds 6 or the ratio of the barium sulfate powder is less than 4, the readability (discrimination) deteriorates. 
     According to the present invention, it is preferable that the ratio of the powder of a polymeric composite of polyethylene and the powder of barium sulfate (BaSO 4 ), which is a radioactive opaque material that is not harmful to the human body, be 5.5:4.5 in consideration of the formation performance and readability (discrimination). 
     Each of the recording/measuring members  100  includes an annular recording body  110  formed through injection-molding or extrusion and cutting, a ball-shaped recording body  120  formed through extrusion, and a polyhedral recording body  130  formed through injection-molding or extrusion and cutting. Here, the injection-molding is achieved by manufacturing the recording/measuring members  100  while maintaining the external shapes thereof such that the sizes and shapes of the recording/measuring members  100  correspond to the original sizes and shapes thereof, and the recording/measuring members  100  are manufactured into the original sizes thereof by extruding the material into the shapes of a rod and cutting the rod by a specific length. 
     Although  FIG. 1  illustrates that the annular recording body  110  is a circular ring, the present invention is not limited thereto but any annular shape is possible. That is, any annular shape having a circular, tetragonal, or polygonal section and having a circular space in the interior of the annular shape is possible. 
     Further, although the ball-shaped recording body  120  is a sphere, any circular sectional shape including an elliptical shape and accommodated in the space in the circular ring of the annular recording body  110  is possible. 
     Next, although it is most preferable that the polygonal recording body  130  is a hexahedron, any polyhedral shape, such as an octahedron, a dodecahedron, or a polyhedral shape having a section of star shape, having corner angles on the outside thereof is possible. Here, it is preferable that the contour of the outer line of the polyhedral recording body  130  be viewed clearly when the polyhedral recording body  130  is overlaid with the ball-shaped recording body, by making the size of the polyhedral recording body  130  large enough to be accommodated in the space in the circular ring. 
     In a description of the sizes of the annular recording body  110 , the ball-shaped recording body  120 , and the polyhedral recording body  130  constituting the recording/measuring member  100 , as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the sizes of the annular recording body  110 , the polyhedral recording body  130 , and the ball-shaped recording body  120  become smaller in their sequence. In other words, when the ball-shaped recording body  120 , and the polyhedral recording body  130  are viewed while being overlaid with each other on a plane with reference to the annular recording body  110 , the distance between the concentric circle to the outermost surface of the annular recording body  110  is the largest, the distance between the concentric circle to the outermost surface of the polygonal recording body  130  (the apex thereof may be viewed in  FIG. 2 ) is the second largest, and the distance between the concentric circle to the outermost surface of the ball recording body  120  is the smallest. Then, it is preferable that the sizes of the outer sides of the polyhedral recording body  130  and the ball-shaped recording body  120  be smaller than the diameter of the ring of the annular recording body  110  such that the polyhedral recording body  130  and the ball-shaped recording body  120  may be accommodated in the annular recording body  110  while having a slight gap therebeween and the apexes of the outer corners of the polyhedral recording body  130  be exposed to the outside of the ball-shaped recording body  120  to be viewed through the gap when the polyhedral recording body  130  and the ball-shaped recording body  120  are overlaid with each other. 
     That is, the recording/measuring member  100  has the size differences, and thus even though the recording/measuring member  100  is overlaid in any direction, in particular, even though the recording/measuring member  100  is overlaid on a plane as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the contour of the external appearance of the recording/measuring member  100  may be easily discriminated with an X-ray picture. 
     Next, the polymeric composite of polyethylene is polyethylene (C 2 H 4 (C 2 H 4 ) n ), and polyethylene (C 2 H 4 (C 2 H 4 ) n ) has no impurities and has no harmful property, is strong to the acidity of digestive juice, and has a melting point of 132 to 135° C. Then, it is preferable that the polymeric composite of polyethylene be LDPE. 
     The biodegradable accommodation body  200  is a material that is not harmful to the human body and may be biodegraded after being taken. In other words, the biodegradable accommodation body  200  refers to a capsule that is well known in the medical field and may be sufficiently understood by an ordinary person skilled in the art, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Because 20 to 24 pills of the recording/measuring members  200  are generally taken by the patient, the patient may easily take the recording/measuring members  200  through the biodegradable accommodation body  200  without feeling foreign substances. 
     The biodegradable accommodation body  200  is biodegraded if reaching the intestine through the esophagus, and the recording/measuring members  100  accommodated therein are introduced into the small intestine and the large intestine while the forms thereof is maintained. 
       FIG. 3  is an X-ray picture according to lapse of time after the medical aid for intestine examinations is taken according to the present invention. 
     If about twenty to twenty four recording/measuring members  100  are taken at an interval of twenty four hours for three days, for example, in the sequence of the annular recording body  110 , the ball-shaped recording body  120 , and the polyhedral recording body  130  in order to examine the motility of an intestine by using the medical aid for intestine examination according to the present invention, the examination of the intestine, for example, the motility of the intestine or constipation may be recognized by identifying at which location of the intestine which recording/measuring member is located as illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
     The medical aid for intestine examinations according to the present invention may improve the reliability of an examination by accurately and easily identifying a pass time of an intestine according to lapse of time when the motility of the intestine is examined, and accordingly, an accurate diagnosis and an accurate prescription may be achieved. 
     The embodiments described in the specification and the accompanying drawings are provided simply to exemplarily describe a part of the technical spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, because the embodiments disclosed in the specification are provided not to limit but to describe the technical spirit of the present invention, it is apparent that the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments. All the modifications and detailed embodiments that may be easily derived by an ordinary person skilled in the art without departing from the technical spirit included in the specification and the drawings shall be construed to be included in the scope of the present invention. 
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           100 : recording/measuring member 
           110 : annular recording body 
           120 : ball-shaped recording body 
           130 : polyhedral recording body 
           200 : biodegradable accommodation body