Location estimation of an in vivo robotic capsule relative to arrayed power transmission coils.

A tracking method is presented here for an in vivo robotic capsule with power supplied from one of the multiple power transmission coils. The proposed method aims to select the best coupled coil among the array of power transmission coils. It relies on the fact that the driving current of the power transmitter increases with inductive coupling of the receiver coil inside the capsule with the transmitter coil. Investigation of the current increase characteristic according to its location relative to the transmission coils allows development of a strategy for the in vivo robotic capsule. This study shows results with two transmission coils and a two-dimensional power receiver. Experimental results present the possibility of selecting the best coil by estimating the relative location of the capsule.