JP2012010981A - Endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope apparatus optionally changeable of the color tone of illumination light according to an observation object and a diagnostic scene.SOLUTION: The endoscope apparatus includes an illuminating means for emitting illumination light from the distal end of an endoscope inserted in a subject, and an imaging means having an imaging element for imaging a region to be observed in the subject irradiated with the illumination light. The illuminating means includes: a first light source 171 emitting white light; a second light source 177 emitting light different in spectrum from the first light source 171; a rotating color filter plate 175 rotatably supported and having a plurality of color filters 173 transmitting emission light from the first light source 171 to carry out color separation into light of different wavelength components; and a color tone control means 49 changing the ratio of the emission light quantity of transmitted light emitted through one of the color filters 173 out of the emission light from the first light source 171, to the emission light quantity of emission light from the second light source 177.

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus.

  Usually, a white light source is used for illumination light of an endoscope apparatus, but in recent years, light of a specific narrow band wavelength is irradiated to highlight the state of mucosal tissue, and from a previously administered fluorescent substance. Endoscope apparatuses equipped with a light source capable of special light observation such as observing autofluorescence are used (Patent Documents 1 and 2). This type of endoscope apparatus can easily visualize biological information that cannot be obtained by a normal observation image, such as a fine structure of a new blood vessel generated in a mucosa layer or a submucosa, enhancement of a lesioned part, and the like.

  In addition, the illumination light of the endoscope apparatus has a light source color tone that makes it easy to find a lesion depending on the observation target site, so it is desired to match the color tone suitable for diagnosis. For example, in the diagnosis of the large intestine, the shape and color in the large intestine are observed when observing at a low magnification, and the blood vessels on the surface layer are observed when observing at a high magnification, so that the lesion can be identified more reliably. However, in the endoscope apparatus described above, the illumination light can be switched to white light during normal observation and special light during special light observation, but depending on various diagnostic scenes such as an observation object or magnified observation, The color of the illumination light cannot be changed arbitrarily.

Japanese Patent No. 3583731 Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-40174

  An object of this invention is to provide the endoscope apparatus which can change the color tone of illumination light arbitrarily according to an observation object or a diagnostic scene.

The present invention has the following configuration.
Illuminating means for emitting illumination light from an endoscope distal end portion inserted into the subject, and an imaging means having an image sensor for imaging an observation region in the subject irradiated with the illumination light. An endoscopic device,
The illumination means is
A first light source that emits white light;
A second light source that emits light having a spectrum different from that of the first light source;
A rotating color filter plate rotatably supported by having a plurality of color filters that transmit light emitted from the first light source and separate the light into different wavelength components;
Color tone control means for changing the ratio of the amount of emitted light between the transmitted light from which the emitted light from the first light source is emitted through any one of the color filters and the emitted light from the second light source;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:

  According to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the color tone of the illumination light can be arbitrarily changed according to the observation object and the diagnosis scene.

It is a figure for demonstrating embodiment of this invention, and is a block block diagram of an endoscope apparatus. It is an external appearance block diagram as an example of the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG. It is a graph which shows the emission spectrum after carrying out wavelength conversion of the violet laser beam from a violet laser light source, the blue laser beam from a blue laser light source, and a blue laser beam by fluorescent substance. It is a block diagram which shows the example of 1 structure of an objective lens unit. It is a block block diagram of the optical system of an objective lens unit. It is a graph which shows the relationship between observation magnification and light quantity ratio. It is explanatory drawing which represented typically the blood vessel of the mucous membrane surface layer of a biological tissue. It is explanatory drawing which shows the schematic example of a display of the observation image by an endoscope apparatus. It is a graph which shows the relationship between an applied electric current and light emission amount. It is a graph which shows the pulse current superimposed waveform of the applied current. A pulse waveform (A) that is synchronized with the light accumulation time for one image frame in a drive waveform by pulse modulation control, a pulse waveform (B) with a sufficiently fast period with respect to the light accumulation time, and a mixture of (A) and (B) It is explanatory drawing which shows a type | mold pulse waveform (C). It is a graph which shows the example of control which makes the emitted light quantity of a light source alternately maximum. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the distance of a to-be-observed area | region and an endoscope front-end | tip part, and light reception amount. It is a schematic block diagram of an endoscope apparatus that changes the color tone of illumination light in accordance with a region of an observation region. It is explanatory drawing which shows the test order information containing patient information and test | inspection information. It is a schematic block diagram of an endoscope apparatus that changes the color tone of illumination light according to the type of endoscope. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the registration table of the individual identification information containing the model name of an endoscope. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the registration table of the identification information containing the kind of fluorescent substance, and an individual difference. It is a schematic block diagram of the endoscope apparatus which comprised the optical path from a light source device to an endoscope with one optical fiber. It is a graph which shows the emission spectrum of the illumination light by the light source device shown in FIG. 19, and fluorescent substance. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the other endoscope apparatus using many laser light sources. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the other endoscope apparatus using a white light source and a laser light source. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the endoscope apparatus which provided the light emitting diode in the front-end | tip part of the endoscope. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the endoscope apparatus which performs a frame sequential imaging. It is a chart figure which shows the irradiation timing of the light from R, G, B light and LED. It is a chart figure which shows the other example of the irradiation timing of the light from R, G, B light and LED. It is a schematic principal part block diagram which shows the example of the endoscope apparatus which performs a frame sequential imaging. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the endoscope apparatus which performs a frame sequential imaging. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the example of the endoscope apparatus which performs a frame sequential imaging.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is a conceptual block diagram of an endoscope apparatus. FIG. 2 is an external view as an example of the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG.
The endoscope apparatus 100 includes an endoscope 11 and a control device 13 to which the endoscope 11 is connected. The control device 13 is connected to a display unit 15 that displays image information and an input unit 17 that receives an input operation. The endoscope 11 is an electronic endoscope having an illumination optical system that emits illumination light from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 19 and an imaging optical system that includes an imaging element 21 that captures an observation region.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the endoscope 11 performs an operation for bending and observing an endoscope insertion portion 19 inserted into a subject, and a distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 19. An operation unit 23 and connector units 25A and 25B for detachably connecting the endoscope 11 to the control device 13 are provided. Although not shown, the endoscope 11 is provided with various channels such as a forceps channel for inserting a tissue collection treatment tool and the like, a channel for air supply / water supply, and the like.

  The endoscope insertion portion 19 includes a flexible soft portion 31, a bending portion 33, and a tip portion (hereinafter also referred to as an endoscope tip portion) 35. In the endoscope distal end portion 35, irradiation ports 37A and 37B for irradiating light to the observation region, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) for acquiring image information of the observation region. An image sensor 21 such as an image sensor is disposed. Note that an objective lens unit 39 having a zoom function for controlling the focal length and an autofocus function for focusing on the subject is attached to the image sensor 21. The image sensor 21 is a primary color image sensor having sensitivity to the basic colors of red R, green G, and blue B, but is a complementary color system having sensitivity to the basic colors of cyan C, magenta M, yellow Y, and (G). It may be an image sensor.

  The bending portion 33 is provided between the soft portion 31 and the distal end portion 35, and can be bent by a turning operation of the angle knob 22 disposed in the operation portion 23, an actuator operation, or the like. The bending portion 33 can be bent in an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary angle according to a part of the subject in which the endoscope 11 is used, and the irradiation ports 37A and 37B of the endoscope distal end portion 35 and the imaging element 21. Can be directed to a desired observation site. Although illustration is omitted, cover glasses and lenses are arranged at the irradiation ports 37A and 37B of the endoscope insertion portion 19.

  The control device 13 includes a light source device 41 that generates illumination light to be supplied to the irradiation ports 37A and 37B of the endoscope distal end portion 35, and a processor 43 that performs image processing on an image signal from the imaging element 21, and includes connector portions 25A and 25B. It is connected to the endoscope 11 via. Further, the display unit 15 and the input unit 17 are connected to the processor 43. The processor 43 performs image processing on the imaging signal transmitted from the endoscope 11 based on an instruction from the operation unit 23 or the input unit 17 of the endoscope 11, and generates a display image on the display unit 15. Supply.

  The light source device 41 includes a blue laser light source (first light source) 45 having a central wavelength of 445 nm and a violet laser light source (second light source) 47 having a central wavelength of 405 nm as light emission sources. Light emission from the semiconductor light emitting elements of these light sources 45 and 47 is individually controlled by the light source control unit 49, and the light quantity ratio between the emitted light of the blue laser light source 45 and the emitted light of the violet laser light source 47 is changed. It is free. That is, the light source control unit 49 functions as a color tone control unit of illumination light.

  As the blue laser light source 45 and the violet laser light source 47, a broad area type InGaN laser diode can be used, and an InGaNAs laser diode or a GaNAs laser diode can also be used. In addition, a light-emitting body such as a light-emitting diode may be used as the light source. The emission wavelength of each laser light source can be ± 40 nm, preferably ± 10 nm, of the center wavelength.

  Laser light emitted from each of the light sources 45 and 47 is input to an optical fiber by a condenser lens (not shown), and is connected to a connector section via a combiner 51 that is a multiplexer and a coupler 53 that is a duplexer. 25A. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration may be such that the laser light from each of the light sources 45 and 47 is sent directly to the connector portion 25A without using the combiner 51 and the coupler 53.

  The laser beam obtained by combining the blue laser beam having the central wavelength of 445 nm and the purple laser beam having the central wavelength of 405 nm supplied to the connector unit 25A is respectively connected to the distal end portion of the endoscope 11 by the optical fibers 55A and 55B. Up to 35. Then, the blue laser light excites the phosphor 57, which is a wavelength conversion member disposed at the light emitting ends of the optical fibers 55A and 55B of the endoscope distal end portion 35, and emits fluorescence. Some of the blue laser light passes through the phosphor 57 as it is. The violet laser light is transmitted without exciting the phosphor 57 and becomes illumination light with a narrow band wavelength.

  The optical fibers 55A and 55B are multimode fibers. As an example, a thin cable having a core diameter of 105 μm, a cladding diameter of 125 μm, and a diameter including a protective layer serving as an outer shell of φ0.3 to 0.5 mm can be used.

The phosphor 57 absorbs a part of blue laser light and emits a plurality of kinds of phosphors that emit green to yellow light (for example, a YAG phosphor or a phosphor containing BAM (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ ) or the like). Consists of including. Thereby, the green to yellow excitation light using the blue laser light as excitation light and the blue laser light transmitted without being absorbed by the phosphor 57 are combined to form white (pseudo white) illumination light. If a semiconductor light emitting element is used as an excitation light source as in this configuration example, high intensity white light can be obtained with high luminous efficiency, and the intensity of white light can be easily adjusted. In addition, changes in the color temperature and chromaticity of white light can be kept small.

  The phosphor 57 and the light diffusing member 59 cause phenomena such as superposition of noise that becomes an obstacle to imaging or flickering when performing moving image display due to speckle caused by coherence of laser light. Can be prevented. In addition, the phosphor 57 takes into account the difference in refractive index between the phosphor constituting the phosphor and the fixing / solidifying resin serving as the filler, and the particle size of the phosphor itself and the filler is set to the light in the infrared region. In contrast, it is preferable to use a material that has low absorption and high scattering. As a result, the scattering effect is enhanced without reducing the light intensity with respect to light in the red or infrared region, and an optical path changing means such as a concave lens becomes unnecessary, and the optical loss is reduced.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing an emission spectrum after the wavelength conversion of the violet laser light from the violet laser light source 47, the blue laser light from the blue laser light source 45, and the blue laser light by the phosphor 57. The violet laser beam is represented by a bright line (profile PF1) having a center wavelength of 405 nm. The blue laser light is represented by a bright line having a central wavelength of 445 nm, and the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 57 by the blue laser light has a spectral intensity distribution in which the emission intensity increases in a wavelength band of approximately 450 nm to 700 nm. The white light described above is formed by the profile PF2 of the excitation light and the blue laser light.

  Here, the white light referred to in this specification is not limited to one that strictly includes all wavelength components of visible light, and may be any light that includes light in a specific wavelength band such as R, G, and B, for example. For example, light including a wavelength component from green to red, light including a wavelength component from blue to green, and the like are included in a broad sense.

  In this endoscope apparatus 100, the light emission intensity of the profiles PF1 and PF2 is relatively increased and decreased by the light source control unit 49 to generate illumination light of an arbitrary color tone, so that the mixing ratio of the profiles PF1 and PF2 is set. Accordingly, illumination light having different characteristics can be obtained.

  Returning again to FIG. As described above, the illumination light formed by the blue laser light, the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 57, and the purple laser light is irradiated from the distal end portion 35 of the endoscope 11 toward the observation region of the subject. . The state of the observation region irradiated with the illumination light is imaged on the image sensor 21 by the objective lens unit 39 and imaged. The objective lens unit 39 is designated with a zoom magnification by the zoom control unit 61 and is focused at the designated zoom magnification.

  The image signal of the captured image output from the image sensor 21 after imaging is transmitted to the A / D converter 65 through the scope cable 63, converted into a digital signal, and input to the control unit 67 of the processor 43 via the connector unit 25B. Is done. The control unit 67 converts the input digital image signal into image data, performs appropriate image processing, and generates desired output image information. The obtained image information is displayed on the display unit 15 as an endoscopic observation image, and is stored in a storage unit 69 including a memory and a storage device as necessary.

  The storage unit 69 may be built in the processor 43 as illustrated, or may be connected to the processor 43 via a network. In addition, it is preferable to record the information of the light amount ratio at the time of imaging together with the information of the endoscopic observation image stored in the storage unit 69. As a result, it is possible to accurately interpret the stored endoscopic observation image after endoscopic observation, and to perform appropriate image processing such as standardizing the image according to the light amount ratio. The range of utilization of endoscopic observation images can be expanded.

  In the endoscope apparatus 100 having the above configuration, the color tone of the illumination light emitted from the endoscope distal end portion 35 can be continuously changed. Further, by using a laser light source, the color tone can be controlled with high resolution, the color tone is less likely to change with time, and the light amount can be controlled with high responsiveness. Moreover, since the luminous efficiency is high, power saving can be achieved. In endoscopic diagnosis, if the color tone of the illumination light is adjusted to a color tone suitable for diagnosis, it may be easy to find and diagnose the lesion, and the illumination light can be changed at any time during the endoscopic diagnosis. It is important to improve the diagnostic accuracy. Below, the structural example of the endoscope apparatus which changes the color tone of illumination light according to various parameters is demonstrated sequentially.

<Configuration for changing color tone of illumination light according to observation magnification of observation area>
First, a configuration example will be described in which the color tone is changed according to the distance between the observation region and the endoscope distal end. The observation distance, which is the distance between the observed region and the endoscope distal end portion 35 (see FIG. 1), is short when magnifying and is long when observing with a wide field of view. That is, the higher the observation magnification, the shorter the observation distance. This observation magnification is arbitrarily set by the endoscope operator by the zoom mechanism of the objective lens unit 39. Here, one structural example of the objective lens unit 39 is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the optical system of the objective lens unit 39 includes, in order from the imaging target side, a fixed lens 71A, a first movable lens 71B for zooming configured as a varifocal lens, a second movable lens 71C, and a fixed lens. A lens 71D and a third movable lens 71E for focus adjustment are arranged, and the imaging element 21 is arranged on the rear side of the third movable lens 71E via a prism 73 and a cover glass 75. A signal picked up by the image pickup device 21 is supplied to the processor 43 (see FIG. 1) via the circuit board 77 and the signal line 79.

  The first movable lens 71B is held by a holding frame 81 having an engagement hole 81a, and the second movable lens 71C is held by a holding frame 83 having an engagement hole 83a. The lenses 71B and 71C are attached to the cam shaft 85 in a state where the engagement holes 81a and 83a are fitted to the outer periphery of the cylindrical cam shaft 85. A cam pin 87 projects from the engagement hole 81a, and a cam pin 89 projects from the engagement hole 81b. The cam shaft 85 has cam grooves 91a and 91b having different inclination angles with respect to the axis. The cam pin 87 engages with the cam groove 91a, and the cam pin 89 engages with the cam groove 91b.

  One end of a linear transmission member 93 made of a multiple coil spring or the like is connected to the cam shaft 85, and the other end of the linear transmission member 93 is provided in the operation portion 23 (see FIG. 1). Not attached to the rotating shaft of the motor. Therefore, if the cam shaft 85 is rotated via the linear transmission member 93 by driving the motor, the first movable lens 71B and the second movable lens 71C are light-emitted by the engagement of the cam grooves 91a, 91b and the cam pins 87, 89. They move by different amounts before and after in the axial direction, thereby performing optical scaling (enlargement) or the like. That is, the first and second movable lenses 71B and 71C constitute a varifocal optical system, and perform optical scaling while moving back and forth relatively (observation distance, observation depth, focal length, etc. are variable). Becomes). The above configuration is a variable power drive mechanism.

  On the other hand, in order to drive the third movable lens 71E for focus adjustment, a small and high-speed actuator 95 using a piezoelectric element is attached to the support portion 97, and the outer periphery of the drive shaft 95a of the actuator 95 is The third movable lens 71E is movably fitted in the engagement hole 99a of the holding frame 99. In the actuator 95, a piezoelectric element is attached to the drive shaft 95a, and the third movable lens 71E can be moved in the front-rear direction by moving the drive shaft 95a back and forth with the piezoelectric element. . The individuality is a focus driving mechanism. The actuator 95 may be another small linear actuator such as an electrostatic actuator.

  The optical system of the objective lens unit 39 is simply as shown in the block diagram of FIG. In other words, the zoom control unit 61 controls the zoom drive mechanism 111 and the focus drive mechanism 113 of the objective lens unit 39 to set a desired magnification and to focus at that magnification. Setting of the magnification is performed by operating the zoom operation unit 115 connected to the zoom control unit 61. The zoom operation unit 115 is an operation button or a slide switch disposed on the operation unit 23 (see FIG. 2), and is configured such that the observation magnification is continuously variable.

  For example, in endoscopic diagnosis of the large intestine, the morphology and color of the mucous membrane surface may be observed when magnification is low, and blood vessels on the surface layer may be observed when magnification is high, and the preferred color tone of illumination light varies depending on the observation magnification. . That is, the illumination light is preferably white when the magnification is low, and is preferably illumination light including a lot of visible short wavelength components for extracting blood vessel information and fine mucous patterns on the surface of the living tissue when the magnification is high.

  Therefore, the color tone of the illumination light is changed according to the observation magnification so as to show the relationship between the observation magnification and the light amount ratio in FIG. Specifically, the light emission ratio between the blue laser light source 45 and the purple laser light source 47 is controlled by the light source control unit 49, and the emission light amount of the purple laser light source 47 is increased as the observation magnification by the zoom control unit 61 is higher. . As a result, the light quantity ratio between the short wavelength profile PF1 shown in FIG. 3 and the white light profile PF2 is such that the light quantity of the profile PF1 increases as the observation magnification increases, and the illumination light contains more light components of shorter wavelengths. It becomes. This change in color tone is performed in real time in conjunction with a zoom operation of an endoscope operator or the like, so that highly responsive control is possible. Note that the relationship shown in FIG. 4 is not limited to a linear shape, but may be a non-linear curve shape or a relationship that changes in a staircase shape.

  Here, FIG. 5 shows an explanatory diagram schematically showing blood vessels in the mucous membrane surface layer of the living tissue. It has been reported that the surface layer of the mucosa of the living tissue is formed between the blood vessel B1 of the deep mucosa and the capillary blood vessel B2 such as a resinous vascular network to the surface of the mucosa, and the lesion of the living tissue appears in the fine structure such as the capillary blood vessel B2. Has been. Therefore, it has been attempted to detect microscopic lesions at an early stage and diagnose the lesion area by observing capillary blood vessels on the surface of the mucosa with image enhancement.

  When illumination light enters a living tissue, the incident light propagates diffusively through the living tissue, but the absorption and scattering characteristics of the living tissue have wavelength dependence, and the shorter the wavelength, the stronger the scattering characteristics. Tend. That is, the depth of light changes depending on the wavelength of illumination light. Therefore, blood vessel information from capillaries on the surface of living tissue and fine mucous patterns are obtained when the illumination light is in the wavelength region λa near 400 nm, and blood vessel information including deeper blood vessels is obtained in the wavelength region λb near 500 nm. Be able to. Therefore, a light source having a central wavelength of 360 to 800 nm, preferably 365 to 515 nm, and more preferably a central wavelength of 400 nm to 470 nm is used for blood vessel observation on the surface of the living tissue.

  As shown in the schematic display example of the observation image by the endoscope apparatus in FIG. 8, in the observation image when the illumination light is white light, a relatively deep blood vessel image of the living tissue can be obtained, whereas the mucosal surface layer is obtained. The fine capillaries appear blurry. On the other hand, in the observation image when the illumination light includes a lot of visible short wavelength components, fine capillaries on the mucous membrane surface layer can be seen clearly.

  In other words, when observing a blood vessel on the surface layer with a high observation magnification, the color tone of the illumination light is controlled so that the bluish color becomes strong, and when the observation magnification is low, the blue color of the illumination light is controlled so that it becomes white. Then, it becomes illumination light suitable for diagnosis for an endoscope operator. This eliminates the need for troublesome operations such as adjusting the amount of light emitted from the blue laser light source 45 and the violet laser light source 47 when the operator adjusts the observation magnification, and always provides illumination light having the optimum color tone to the observation site. It can be obtained automatically.

  Further, according to the endoscope apparatus 100, since the color tone of the illumination light is changed by driving the light sources 45 and 47, the light use efficiency is increased as compared with the case where the color tone is changed using a color filter or the like. The noise of the observation image can be reduced. In addition, fine color adjustment is possible.

The above light sources 45 and 47 can be driven as follows.
The light source control unit 49 shown in FIG. 1 controls the amount of light emitted from each of the light sources 45 and 47 based on an instruction from the control unit 67. Each of the light sources 45 and 47 has a relationship R1 between the applied current and the light emission amount as shown in FIG. 9, and a desired light emission amount can be obtained by controlling the applied current to each of the light sources 45 and 47. For example, in order to obtain the light emission amount La, the applied current is set to Ib, the light emission amount Lb based on the relationship R1 is ensured, and the difference ΔL between the light emission amounts Lb and La as a fine adjustment allowance is set to It is obtained by superimposing the modulated pulse current.

  In this case, the applied current is obtained by, for example, a light emission amount La using a pulse current having the applied current Ib as a bias, as shown in FIG. In the pulse width control of the pulse current, an arbitrary waveform can be obtained by an appropriate PWM circuit, so that the light emission amount can be set accurately. By such bias current control and pulse modulation control, a wide dynamic range of light emission amount that can be set can be secured.

  In this case, various drive waveforms can be used for the pulse modulation control. For example, use of a pulse waveform that repeatedly turns on and off in synchronization with the light accumulation time for one image frame of the image sensor as shown in FIG. 11A can eliminate useless heat generation. Further, if a pulse waveform having a period sufficiently fast with respect to the light accumulation time as shown in FIG. 11B is used, image noise due to laser speckle can be reduced. Further, as shown in FIG. 11 (C), the ON period of the pulse waveform of FIG. 11 (A) is changed to a pulse waveform having a fast cycle of FIG. 11 (B), and the mixed pulse waveforms of (A) and (B). By using the above, it is possible to simultaneously enjoy the above effects.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, when the light sources 45 and 47 are alternately turned on and controlled so that the light emission amount alternately becomes maximum, the maximum drive power of the light source device 41 including the light sources 45 and 47 is suppressed. And the burden on the living body as the subject can be reduced. Moreover, the captured image by the illumination light of each light source 45 and 47 can also be acquired separately, In that case, the calculation between images of the acquired image is also attained, and the freedom degree of image processing improves.

  As described above, the proportion of the visible short wavelength component of the illumination light increases as the degree of proximity increases according to the observation magnification, which is one of the degree of proximity information between the observation region of the subject and the endoscope distal end portion 35. In addition, by automatically changing the color tone of the illumination light, illumination light having a color tone suitable for observation is always obtained, and the convenience of the endoscope operation is enhanced. The observation magnification referred to here is an observation magnification with respect to the observation region, and is not limited to the optical magnification that optically changes the angle of view of the observation image by the objective lens unit 39 as described above, but the imaging element 21 ( It may be a digital zoom magnification that electrically changes the angle of view with respect to the observation image obtained by (see FIG. 1). When the digital zoom magnification is used, the control unit 67 instructs the light source control unit 49 on the light emission ratio of each of the light sources 45 and 47 based on the input information from the input unit 17 shown in FIG. If the observation magnification is an optical magnification, the color tone can be changed without reducing the resolution of the image sensor, and if the digital zoom magnification is used, the color tone can be quickly changed in real time.

  In addition, when the observation mode is changed by changing the observation magnification by the operation of the operation switch 117 provided in the operation unit 23 of the endoscope 11, the above-described operation switch 117 is synchronized with the operation of the operation switch 117. It is good also as a structure which changes a light quantity ratio.

<Configuration for changing the color tone of illumination light according to the amount of light from the observed area>
Next, another example of changing the color tone of the illumination light according to the information on the degree of proximity between the observation region and the endoscope distal end portion 35, which is obtained from the observation region with respect to the imaging signal output from the image sensor 21. A configuration example for changing the color tone according to the amount of light will be described. As shown in FIG. 13, when the distance between the observation region and the endoscope distal end is increased, the amount of light received by the image sensor 21 decreases, and when the distance is short, the amount of received light tends to increase. That is, the distance between the observation region and the endoscope distal end portion 35 can be estimated from the amount of light received by the image sensor 21. Therefore, a signal indicating the amount of reflected light (hereinafter referred to as an A / E signal) is generated from the output signal from the image sensor 21, and the light sources 45 and 47 are based on the A / E signal that is the luminance information. Change the light output ratio.

  That is, the control unit 67 determines that the higher the brightness value of the detected A / E signal is, the shorter the distance between the observation region and the endoscope distal end is, and the higher the degree of approach is, and the light source control unit 49 The ratio of the amount of light emitted from the violet laser light source 47 is increased so that the color tone of the illumination light becomes bluish. Conversely, as the luminance value of the A / E signal is lower, the ratio of the amount of light emitted from the blue laser light source 45 is increased, and control is performed so that the bluishness of the illumination light is suppressed to approach white.

  According to this configuration, using the output signal from the image sensor 21 that is always continuously obtained during endoscope observation, one of the information on the degree of proximity between the observation region of the subject and the endoscope distal end portion 35. The amount of reflected light is obtained from the A / E signal and the distance between the observation region and the endoscope tip is estimated, so that the illumination light can always be changed to an optimum color tone with high responsiveness.

<Configuration for changing the color tone of the illumination light according to the region of the observed region>
Next, a configuration example in which the color tone of the illumination light is changed according to the site of the observation area will be described. FIG. 14 shows a schematic block diagram of an endoscope apparatus according to this configuration example. As shown in FIG. 14, the endoscope apparatus 200 has basically the same configuration as that shown in FIG. 1, and connects the control apparatus 13 to a network 121 in the hospital. In addition, a reception terminal 123, a server 125, a medical department terminal 127, and the like are connected to the network 121, and various types of information are shared with the endoscope apparatus 200.

  In the configuration example of the endoscope apparatus 200, the observation site of the patient as the subject is extracted from the examination order information, and the color tone of the illumination light is changed according to the extracted information on the observation site. To do. By matching the color tone of the illumination light to a color tone suitable for the diagnosis of the observation site, it becomes easy to find and diagnose the lesion. Here, an example in which a patient performs an endoscopic examination in a hospital will be described.

  In the environment of an in-hospital management system such as an electronic medical record or an examination ordering system, first, when a patient completes an accepting process from the accepting terminal 123 in the hospital, acceptance information is transmitted to the server 125. The server 125 refers to the received patient information with reference to a storage device such as a large-capacity hard disk provided in the server 125, and as shown in FIG. 15, patient information such as patient ID, patient name, and age for the registered patient. If there is an examination schedule, the examination information of the examination part, the examination using device, the doctor in charge, etc. for the examination is extracted.

  When the examination order information including the patient information and the examination information is transmitted from the server 125 to the medical department terminal 127 of the specific medical department that performs the endoscopic examination, the endoscopic information of the patient is transmitted in the specific medical department. A mirror examination is performed.

  When the endoscope apparatus used at this time is the endoscope apparatus 200 described above, the control unit 67 of the endoscope apparatus 200 acquires information on the examination part of the examination order information at a predetermined timing. Set to the color tone of the illumination light according to the examination site. The relationship between the examination region and the color tone of the illumination light is stored in advance in the storage unit 69 on the endoscope apparatus 200 side, and the control unit 67 refers to the stored table information so that each of the light sources 45 and 47 is predetermined. The light source control unit 49 is instructed to obtain the light quantity ratio.

  According to this configuration, when the observation site is known in advance before the examination, the color tone of the illumination light of the endoscope apparatus can be optimally set according to the observation site for each living organ, for example. For example, even in endoscopy using the same upper gastrointestinal endoscope, redness is strong in a stomach with many blood vessels when comparing the stomach and esophagus. For this reason, at the time of observing the stomach with an endoscope, the picked-up image tends to be in a state where the red component is first saturated and the light amounts of green and blue are insufficient, and the S / N of the observed image deteriorates. In that case, by increasing the ratio of the blue and green components of the light source, it is possible to obtain an image with good S / N for all three colors of red, green and blue. When the color tone of the light source is changed, the color tone of the captured image is held constant by the display unit 15 that displays the observation image by correcting the color balance by image processing.

  In addition to the setting of the examination part by the above-mentioned hospital management system, for example, when the endoscope operator inputs information on the examination part to the endoscope apparatus 200, the endoscope apparatus 200 Various setting methods can be used such as automatically changing the color tone of illumination light to be optimal for the observation site.

<Configuration to change the color of the illumination light according to the endoscope model>
Next, a configuration example in which the color tone of the illumination light is changed according to the endoscope model will be described. FIG. 16 shows a schematic block diagram of an endoscope apparatus according to this configuration example. As shown in FIG. 16, the endoscope apparatus 300 is basically the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and the endoscope 11 has a main body side storage unit 131 that stores individual identification information of the endoscope 11. Built in. The control device 13 is connected to a network 121 to which a server 125 and a storage device 133 are connected.

  The main body side storage unit 131 includes an IC memory, an IC tag, and the like. A ROM such as a flash memory, an RAM, or an RFID (Radio frequency identification) can be used as the IC memory. In the case of an IC tag, a reader device may be disposed in the connector unit 25B and a signal read from the IC tag may be input to the control unit 67.

  In the configuration example of the endoscope apparatus 300, the main body side storage unit 131 built in the endoscope 11 stores individual identification information of the endoscope 11, and the endoscope 11 is stored in the control device 13. When the control unit 67 reads the individual identification information from the main body side storage unit 131 of the endoscope 11 when connected via the connector unit 25B, the control unit 67 recognizes the connected endoscope 11.

  Then, the control unit 67 sets the color tone of the illumination light according to the individual identification information of the connected endoscope 11. The relationship between the individual identification information and the color tone of the illumination light is stored in advance in the storage unit 69 on the endoscope apparatus 300 side, and the control unit 67 refers to the stored table information so that each of the light sources 45 and 47 is predetermined. The light source control unit 49 is instructed so that the light quantity ratio becomes the same.

  As said individual identification information, it can be set as the model name of the endoscope 11 which changes for every application | application site | part of a test | inspection, for example. FIG. 17 shows an example of a registration table of individual identification information including the model name of the endoscope. This registration table includes individual information such as the model name, serial number, and application site of the endoscope 11, and information on the light amount ratio of the light source for changing the color tone of the illumination light. For example, in the endoscope of the model name “EC-100”, the examination application site is the large intestine, and the light quantity ratio of each of the light sources 45 and 47 (see FIG. 16) is set to R12.

  According to the endoscope apparatus 300, it is possible to change the color tone of illumination light optimal for the endoscope 11 according to the individual identification information of the endoscope 11 connected to the control device 13. The registration table is not limited to registering information on the light amount ratio, but may be configured to register other parameters that specify the color tone of the illumination light and change the color tone using this.

  Further, the individual identification information of the endoscope 11 may be information corresponding to the constituent members of the endoscope 11 other than the information corresponding to the application site. For example, the information may be information on the types and components of optical members such as the phosphor 57 (see FIG. 1) used in the endoscope 11, the optical fibers 55A and 55B, the solid-state imaging device 21, and the objective lens unit 39. .

  FIG. 18 shows an example of a registration table of individual identification information including types of phosphors used in the endoscope 1 and individual differences. This registration table includes individual information such as the model name, manufacturing number, phosphor type, and lot number of the endoscope 11, and information on the light amount ratio of the light source for changing the color tone of the illumination light. For example, in the endoscope of “EG-120”, the phosphor type is “Y-5”, the lot number is “514”, and the light quantity ratio is defined as R24. Since the lot number can specify the more detailed composition of the phosphor type “Y-5” from the manufacturing information of the manufacturer, the spectral emission characteristics of the phosphor can be specified. Spectral light emission characteristics change depending on the composition of the phosphor, and a color tone that slightly changes in accordance with the spectral light emission characteristics can be corrected to a specified color tone. That is, it becomes possible to accurately define the optimal light amount ratio for the specified phosphor. In addition to the phosphor species, the registration table may store information on spectral emission characteristics corresponding to the phosphor composition.

  Thus, by changing the color tone of the illumination light according to the individual identification information of the endoscope 11, the color tone of the illumination light optimal for the endoscope 11 to be used can be easily set.

  In the endoscope apparatuses 100, 200, and 300 described above, two types of laser light sources 45 and 47 are multiplexed / demultiplexed and guided to the phosphor 57 to generate illumination light. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, other light source device configurations are also possible. Below, the other structural example of a light source device is illustrated.

<Configuration example 1>
FIG. 19 is a schematic configuration diagram of an endoscope apparatus in which an optical path from the light source device 41A to the endoscope 11A is configured by a single optical fiber 55A. In this configuration, a dichroic prism that combines the violet laser light from the violet laser light source 47 with the center wavelength of 405 nm in the optical path until the blue laser light from the blue laser light source 45 with the center wavelength of 445 nm is introduced into the optical fiber 55A. 135 is arranged.

  Further, in this case, the phosphor 137 disposed on the light emitting side of the optical fiber 55A absorbs part of the blue laser light from the blue laser light source 45 and excites and emits green to yellow light. Together with the blue laser light, white light is formed, and the violet laser light from the violet laser light source 47 is transmitted almost without being absorbed. For this reason, the phosphor 137 emits light with high efficiency by blue laser light, and forms a white light together with the blue laser light. Material.

  In general, wavelength conversion by the phosphor 137 includes wavelength conversion loss (Stokes loss) such as heat generated in principle. Therefore, it is advantageous to select an excitation wavelength having a long emission wavelength because the phosphor has high luminous efficiency and suppresses the heat generation of the phosphor. In this configuration, for the reason described above, white light is generated by the laser light on the long wavelength side to increase the light emission efficiency.

  An example of an emission spectrum of illumination light by the light source device 41A and the phosphor 137 shown in FIG. 19 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 20, the phosphor 137 is also excited by the violet laser light. The amount of excitation luminescence of the phosphor 137 by the violet laser light is several minutes compared to the amount of excitation luminescence by the blue laser light. 1 (at least 1/3, preferably 1/5, more preferably 1/10 or less). By suppressing the excitation light emission of the phosphor 137 by the violet laser light to this extent, the color temperature of the white light can be properly maintained.

  According to the above configuration, in order to integrate the optical paths of the plurality of laser beams by the dichroic prism 135, the light from the light source device 41A to the phosphor 137 of the endoscope 11A is guided by the single optical fiber 55A, and the illumination light Can be accommodated in one place of the phosphor 137, so that the space efficiency can be increased and the diameter of the endoscope insertion portion can be reduced.

  Further, in addition to the blue laser light source 45 and the violet laser light source 47, even when other laser light sources are provided, the optical paths may be similarly integrated through an optical coupling means such as a dichroic prism. The phosphor 137 may also be a fluorescent material that is not excited or hardly excited by the wavelength of another laser light source.

Here, as a specific material of the phosphor 137 in the above configuration example, for example, as described in JP-A-2006-2115, lead (Pb) is included as an additive element and digallium calcium tetrasulfide (CaGa _2). Crystalline solid fluorescent material based on S ₄ ) or crystalline solid fluorescent material based on 2 gallium calcium tetrasulfide (CaGa ₂ S ₄ ) containing lead (Pb) and cerium (Ce) as additive elements Material can be used. According to this phosphor material, it is possible to obtain fluorescence that reaches approximately the entire visible range of about 460 nm to about 660 nm, and the color rendering properties during white light illumination are improved.

In addition to this, LiTbW ₂ O ₈ which is a green phosphor (Yoshitoshi Oda, “About phosphor for white LED”, IEICE Technical Report ED2005-28, CFM2005-20, SDM2005-28, pp .69-74 (2005-05), etc.), β-sialon (Eu) blue phosphor (Naoto Hirosaki, Hoei Army, Ken Sakuma, “Sialon-based phosphor and white color using it” Development of LED ", Journal of Applied Physics, Vol.74, No.11, pp.1449-1452 (2005), or Akira Yamamoto, Tokyo University of Technology, Department of Pionics, Vol.76, No.3, p.241 (See (2007)), CaAlSiN ₃ red phosphor and the like can be used in combination. Beta sialon is a crystal having a composition of Si _6-z Al ₂ O ₂ N _8-z (z is a solid solution amount) in which aluminum and an acid are dissolved in β-type silicon nitride crystal. The phosphor 137 may be a mixture of these LiTbW ₂ O ₈ , beta sialon, and CaAlSiN ₃ , or may have a configuration in which these phosphors are stacked in layers.

<Configuration example 2>
FIG. 21 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of another endoscope apparatus using a large number of laser light sources. According to the configuration shown in FIG. 21, the blue laser light from the blue laser light source 45 having a central wavelength of 445 nm, for example, provided in the light source device 41B is introduced into the optical fiber 55C in the endoscope 11B via the connector portion 25A. The fluorescent material 57 disposed at the light emitting end of the fiber 55C is irradiated. Then, white light is generated by the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 57 using the blue laser light as excitation light and the blue laser light transmitted through the phosphor 57.

  Further, for example, laser beams from a violet laser light source 47 having a center wavelength of 405 nm, for example, a blue-green laser light source 141 having a center wavelength of 515 nm, for example, a red laser light source 143 having a center wavelength of 630 nm, are transmitted through the connector portion 25A to the optical fibers 55D and 55E. , 55F, respectively, through the light diffusion members 145, 147, 149, respectively, to become purple, blue-green, and red illumination light.

  The light diffusing members 145, 147, and 149 are made of a translucent resin material that transmits incident laser light. In addition to the light-transmitting resin material, for example, light-transmitting ceramics or glass can be used. The light diffusing members 145, 147, and 149 have a structure in which a light diffusing layer in which fine irregularities and particles (fillers, etc.) having different refractive indexes are mixed on the surface, intermediate layer, or the like, or a semitransparent material. It is good also as a structure using. Thereby, the transmitted light emitted from the light diffusing members 145, 147, 149 becomes narrowband wavelength illumination light in which the amount of light is made uniform in a predetermined irradiation region by the light deflecting action and the diffusing action.

  In this way, by using a large number of laser light sources having different emission wavelengths and adjusting the light quantity ratio of each light source to generate illumination light, the color tone range that can be generated by the light source control unit 49 can be expanded, and color tone suitable for observation can be obtained. The adjustment range can be expanded. Further, it is possible to easily and accurately adjust the delicate color tone.

The optical fibers 55C, 55D, 55E, and 55F are preferably selected and used in accordance with the wavelengths used. The core of the optical fiber has a wavelength dependency in which the transmission loss changes depending on whether the hydroxyl group (OH ⁻ ) concentration is high or low, and has an absorptance different from the visible wavelength at a specific wavelength in the infrared region. Therefore, when the wavelength of the light source is 650 nm or less, a high-hydroxyl concentration core optical fiber is used, and when it exceeds 650 nm, a low-hydroxyl concentration core optical fiber is used.

<Configuration example 3>
FIG. 22 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of another endoscope apparatus using a white light source and a laser light source. In this configuration example, a light source that emits light in a broad wavelength band, such as a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, or a white light-emitting diode, is used as the white light source 151 of the light source device 41C, and the light source device 41C uses a light guide 153 that is an optical fiber bundle. White light is irradiated from the tip of the endoscope 11C. The color tone of the illumination light is changed according to the amount of light emitted from one or more types of laser light sources 155. The emitted light from the laser light source 155 is transmitted to the endoscope distal end portion via the connector portion 25 by the optical fiber 157, and the illumination light of a specific color is transmitted from the light diffusion member 159 disposed at the light emitting end of the optical fiber 157. Served as. Further, a fluorescent material may be arranged in place of the light diffusing member 159, and fluorescence of a desired color may be used as illumination light.

  According to the above configuration, the color tone of the illumination light can be changed with a simple configuration.

<Configuration example 4>
FIG. 23 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an endoscope apparatus in which a light emitting diode is provided at the distal end portion of the endoscope 11. In this configuration example, a light emitting diode is disposed at the distal end portion of the endoscope 11D. As the light emitting diode, for example, a blue light emitting diode 161, a green light emitting diode 163, and a red light emitting diode 165 are used, and the light emission amount is individually controlled by a driver 167 connected to the light source control unit 49 on the light source device 41D side.

  According to this configuration, illumination light having an arbitrary color tone including white can be obtained by using light emitting elements of the three primary colors of light. Alternatively, a white light source 169 may be provided separately to increase the amount of white light, and white light may be supplied to the endoscope 11. As the white light source 169 in this case, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, a white light emitting diode, or a light source using a combination of the above-described laser light source and phosphor can be used.

<Configuration example 5>
FIG. 24 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of an endoscope apparatus that performs frame sequential imaging. In this configuration example, a rotating color filter plate 175 having R, G, and B color filters 173 is disposed in the optical path from a white light source 171 such as a xenon lamp of the light source device 41E, and transmitted from each color filter 173. Light is supplied to the endoscope 11E as illumination light. In addition, an LED 177 that emits a narrowband light with a visible short wavelength having a spectrum different from that of the light emitted from the white light source 171 is arranged at the distal end portion of the endoscope, and the light source control unit 49 controls the light emission of the LED 177. The light source control unit 49 outputs a drive signal to a drive motor (rotation drive means) 179 that rotationally drives the rotary color filter plate 175, and controls the light emission timing and light emission intensity of the LED 177 in synchronization with the operation of the drive motor 179. To do.

  In the middle of the optical path from the white light source 171 to the rotating color filter plate 175, an optical filter 181 for cutting unnecessary light such as infrared rays and an aperture unit 183 for controlling the amount of light are provided. An optical lens 185 and a light guide 187 for guiding light to the distal end of the endoscope are arranged. The light guide 187 is provided on each of the light source device 41E side and the endoscope 11E side, and is configured to be coupled by the connector portion 25A. Other configurations are the same as those shown in FIG.

  The light source controller 49 drives the drive motor 179 so that any one of the R, G, B color filters 173 of the rotating color filter plate 175 is arranged on the optical path of the emitted light from the white light source 171, so that the R light, G light and B light are sequentially supplied to the light guide 187. Then, as shown in FIG. 25, if the light emission timing for the LED 177 is set to an irradiation pattern that is set next to the B light irradiation, the R light, G light, B light, and the narrow band light by the LED 177 indicated by “X” in the figure In order, various types of light are repeatedly emitted from the endoscope tip. An R light image, a G light image, a B light image, and a narrowband light image are sequentially obtained by individually capturing images at various timings when various types of light are irradiated.

  In order to emphasize and observe the information on the surface layer of the living tissue, the LED 177 can be used with a center emission wavelength of 405 ± 40 nm, and more preferably with a center emission wavelength of 405 ± 10 nm.

  The R light image, the G light image, and the B light image obtained in the frame sequential manner are synchronized with the control unit 67 (see FIG. 1) to become a normal observation image by white light illumination. The narrow-band light image is obtained as an image in which capillary information and mucous membrane fine patterns on the surface of the living tissue are emphasized, and the light emission intensity of the LED 177 is increased / decreased by the light source control unit 49, whereby the tissue surface The degree of emphasis on information can be changed.

  Further, the control unit 67 synthesizes the obtained narrow-band light image into the normal observation image by the R light, G light, and B light, or the image by the R light and G light, and combines them. An image in which the information is emphasized is generated.

  Thus, by changing the intensity of the narrow band light with respect to the white light (R light, G light, B light) by the light source control unit 49, the degree of enhancing the information on the tissue surface layer can be arbitrarily adjusted, and for observation purposes. An appropriate observation image can be obtained.

  The LED 177 used in the above configuration is not limited to a light emitting diode, but may be a semiconductor light emitting element such as a laser light source or a lamp that emits light of a desired wavelength.

  The irradiation of the B light and the narrow band light from the endoscope tip is performed at different timings as described above, and as shown in FIG. 26, the B light and the narrow band light (indicated by “X” in the figure) It is good also as an irradiation pattern which performs irradiation of these simultaneously. In this case, it is possible to sequentially obtain an R light image, a G light image, and an image of B light and narrow band light by repeating imaging of three frames by irradiation of R light, G light, B light and narrow band light. Become. The B light and the narrow band light are superimposed, and the illumination light becomes an illumination light whose color changes in accordance with the ratio of the emitted light quantity of the B light and the narrow band light, and thereby, an observation image obtained by simultaneously processing each color light The color changes. In the synchronized observation image, the information on the tissue surface layer is highlighted as the emission light amount ratio of the narrow band light is higher. Further, according to the main irradiation pattern, the number of times of imaging is smaller than that of the irradiation pattern shown in FIG. 25, so that the frame rate can be improved and the display quality of moving images can be improved.

<Configuration example 6>
FIG. 27 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a light source device 41F in which light emitting elements are arranged separately from the white light source 171 on the rotating color filter plate 175 shown in FIG. In the rotating color filter plate 175A in this configuration example, R, G, and B color filters 173 and LEDs 191 that emit visible-band narrow-band light are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. The driving signal line 193 for driving the LED 191 to emit light is connected to the light source control unit 49 through the rotating shaft 195 of the rotating color filter plate 175A.

  The substrate portion on which the LED 191 of the rotating color filter plate 175A is disposed has a light shielding property, and shields the emitted light 189 from the white light source 171 in the rotational position shown in FIG. At this rotational position, the LED 191 is driven to emit light and emit narrowband light. In addition, when the rotating color filter plate 175A is at a rotating position where any one of the R, G, and B color filters 173 is disposed in the optical path of the emitted light 189, as described above, the R light, G light, and B light Either one is emitted.

  The light source controller 49 turns on the white light source 171 and rotationally drives the rotating color filter plate 175A by the driving motor 179. The rotating color filter plate 175A has the LED 191 disposed in the optical path of the emitted light 189 from the white light source 171. LED 191 is turned on when the rotation position is reached.

  According to the rotating color filter plate 175A having the above configuration, narrow band light from the LED 191 can be sequentially emitted in addition to the R light, G light, and B light from the white light source 171 with the irradiation pattern shown in FIG. . For this reason, the wavelength of the narrow band light can be set to an arbitrary wavelength according to the emission wavelength of the LED 191 regardless of the combination of the white light source 171 and the color filter 173. Further, by providing an LED 191 separately from the white light source 171 and individually controlling the amount of light emitted from each light source, the degree of enhancement of the information on the tissue surface layer can be arbitrarily adjusted, and an appropriate observation image corresponding to the observation purpose can be obtained. I can get it.

  The LED 191 used in the above configuration is not limited to a light emitting diode, but may be a semiconductor light emitting element such as a laser light source or a lamp that emits light of a desired wavelength.

<Configuration example 7>
FIG. 28 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a light source device in which a light emitting element is provided separately from the white light source in the light source device shown in FIG. In FIG. 28, the same members as those shown in FIG. The light source device 41G of this configuration includes an LED 197 that emits a narrow band light with a visible short wavelength, and a half mirror 199 disposed in the optical path of the light that passes through the rotating color filter plate 175B. The half mirror 199 emits the emitted light from the LED 197 introduced through different optical paths and the transmitted light from the rotating color filter plate 175B to the rear of the optical path with their optical axes aligned. Then, light emitted from the half mirror 199 is introduced into the light guide 187 via the condenser lens 185.

  The rotating color filter plate 175B has R, G, and B color filters 173, and has a light shielding property except for the substrate portion on which the color filters 173 are arranged. The rotating color filter plate 175B shields the emitted light 189 from the white light source 171 when in the rotating position shown in FIG. The LED 191 is driven to emit light by the light source controller 49 at the rotational position of the rotating color filter plate 175B, and emits narrowband light.

  The light source control unit 49 turns on the white light source 171 and rotationally drives the rotating color filter plate 175B by the drive motor 179, and a light-shielding substrate portion other than the color filter 173 is disposed in the optical path of the emitted light 189 from the white light source 171. When the rotation position is reached, the LED 197 is turned on.

  According to the light source device 41G having the above configuration, in the irradiation patterns shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, in addition to the R light, G light, and B light from the white light source 171, the narrowband light from the LED 197 is sequentially or B light. At the same time, it can be emitted. The wavelength of the narrow band light can be set to an arbitrary wavelength corresponding to the emission wavelength of the LED 197 regardless of the white light source 171. Further, by providing an LED 197 separately from the white light source 171 and individually controlling the amount of light emitted from each light source, the degree of enhancement of the information on the tissue surface layer can be arbitrarily adjusted, and an appropriate observation image corresponding to the observation purpose can be obtained. I can get it.

<Configuration example 8>
FIG. 29 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a light source device in which a movable mirror 201 is arranged in place of the half mirror of the light source device shown in FIG. 28 and a mirror driving unit 203 that rotationally drives the movable mirror 201 is provided. is there. Apart from the difference in the above configuration, the configuration is the same as the configuration in FIG. 28. In FIG. 29, the same members as those in FIG.
The light source device 41H of this configuration includes an LED 197 that emits a narrow band light with a visible short wavelength, a movable mirror 201 disposed in the optical path of the light transmitted through the rotating color filter plate 175B, and a mirror driving unit 203. The movable mirror 201 has a first rotation position where the transmitted light from the rotating color filter plate 175B is irradiated to the condenser lens 185 as it is, and a second rotation position where the emitted light from the LED 197 is reflected toward the condenser lens 185. And is driven to rotate by the mirror driving unit 203.

  The light source control unit 49 turns on the white light source 171 and rotates the rotary color filter plate 175B by the drive motor 179. Further, the light source control unit 49 drives the mirror when the rotating color filter plate 175B is in a rotating position where a light-shielding substrate portion other than the color filter 173 is arranged in the optical path of the emitted light 189 from the white light source 171. A control signal for displacing the movable mirror 201 from the first position to the second position is output to the unit 203. The LED 197 may be lit when the movable mirror 201 is in the second position, but may be constantly lit, and in that case, the blinking control of the LED 197 can be omitted.

  According to the light source device 41H having the above configuration, narrowband light from the LED 197 can be sequentially emitted in addition to the R light, G light, and B light from the white light source 171 with the irradiation pattern shown in FIG. Moreover, the degree of emphasizing the information on the tissue surface layer can be arbitrarily adjusted by individually controlling the amount of light emitted from each light source. Then, the optical path of the R light, G light, and B light from the white light source 171 is blocked by the movable mirror 201, and the light emitted from the LED 197 is preferentially introduced into the condenser lens 185, so that the narrow band light from the LED 197 is emitted. In this case, simultaneous emission of the R light, G light, and B light from the narrow band light from the white light source 171 is reliably prevented without driving and controlling the movable mirror 201 in synchronization with the rotating color filter plate 175B. The

  In the configuration of each endoscope apparatus described above, the color tone of the illumination light is controlled by adjusting the amount of light emitted from each light source by the light source control unit 49. In addition to this, the emission of each light source is controlled. The color tone can be changed without changing the amount of light. For example, the color tone is changed by lighting each light source individually and changing the exposure time of the image sensor 21 at each lighting timing. That is, by controlling each light source and the image sensor 21 synchronously, for example, only the first light source such as a white light source is turned on and the exposure time for imaging and only the second light source such as a violet laser light source and an LED light source is turned on. Each exposure time with the exposure time to be imaged is individually increased or decreased, and the obtained captured images are combined to form observation image data. Since the exposure time under each light source corresponds to the light amount of the light source, the observation image data can be regarded as a pseudo change in the color tone of the illumination light. That is, instead of directly controlling the color tone of the illumination light by the ratio of the emitted light quantity of the light source, the exposure time of the image sensor 21 is individually controlled under each illumination light by the imaging control means for controlling the light source and the image sensor synchronously. The color tone of the illumination light can be indirectly changed by adjusting to.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art can change or apply the present invention based on the description of the specification and well-known techniques. included.

As described above, the following items are disclosed in this specification.
(1) An illuminating unit that emits illumination light from an endoscope distal end portion that is inserted into the subject; an imaging unit that includes an imaging element that images an observation region in the subject irradiated with the illumination light; An endoscopic device comprising:
The illumination means is
A first light source that emits white light;
A second light source that emits light having a spectrum different from that of the first light source;
A rotating color filter plate rotatably supported by having a plurality of color filters that transmit light emitted from the first light source and separate the light into different wavelength components;
Color tone control means for changing the ratio of the amount of emitted light between the transmitted light from which the emitted light from the first light source is emitted through any one of the color filters and the emitted light from the second light source;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:
According to this endoscope apparatus, the color tone of the illumination light can be arbitrarily changed by changing the emission light quantity ratio between the transmitted light from the rotating color filter plate and the emitted light from the second light source, Observation is possible with illumination light having a color tone optimal for endoscopic observation.

(2) The endoscope apparatus according to (1),
An endoscope apparatus in which the second light source is a light source having a central emission wavelength of 405 ± 40 nm.
According to this endoscope apparatus, by irradiating the living tissue with the light emitted from the second light source, it is possible to emphasize and observe fine capillaries and mucous membrane fine patterns on the surface of the living tissue.

(3) An endoscope apparatus in which the second light source is a semiconductor light emitting element.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the emitted light quantity ratio can be controlled accurately and with high responsiveness, and the color tone is less likely to change with time and the light emission efficiency is high, so that power saving can be achieved.

(4) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3),
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means continuously changes the ratio of the amount of emitted light of the first light source and the second light source.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it is possible to finely adjust the color tone by continuously changing the ratio of the emitted light quantity, and the target color tone of the illumination light can be obtained accurately.

(5) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4),
Rotation driving means for rotating the rotation filter plate in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the light emitted from the first light source, wherein the plurality of color filters are accompanied by rotation of the rotation color filter plate. Are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction of the rotating color filter plate so as to be sequentially arranged on the optical axis of the emitted light from the first light source,
The color tone control means synchronizes with the rotation driving of the color filter by the rotation driving means, and the transmitted light emitted from the first light source through one of the color filters, and the second An endoscope apparatus that changes the ratio of the amount of light emitted from the light source.
According to this endoscope apparatus, emitted light of a plurality of colors is obtained by the color filter, and the amount of emitted light of the emitted light of one of the emitted colors of the plurality of colors and the emitted light from the second light source is You can change the ratio. Moreover, the light quantity of the emitted light from the second light source can be adjusted independently with respect to the transmitted light from each color filter. Accordingly, the color tone of the illumination light can be freely changed even in the frame sequential imaging method.

(6) The endoscope apparatus according to (5),
An endoscope apparatus in which the second light source is arranged in a part of the circumferential direction in which the color filters are arranged side by side on the rotating color filter plate and emits light toward the transmitted light emission side of the color filter. .
According to this endoscope apparatus, light emitted from the second light source can be emitted to the rear of the optical path coaxially with the transmitted light from each color filter with a simple configuration.

(7) The endoscope apparatus according to (5),
The transmitted light from the color filter of the rotating color filter plate is introduced into one incident optical path, the emitted light from the second light source is introduced into the other incident optical path, and the transmitted light and the second light source An endoscope apparatus comprising a half mirror that emits emitted light to the rear of the optical path with the optical axis aligned.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the transmitted light from each color filter and the emitted light from the second light source can be emitted coaxially to the rear of the optical path by the half mirror. Moreover, the emitted light from the second light source can be supplied at an arbitrary timing, and can be superimposed on the transmitted light from the color filter.

(8) The endoscope apparatus according to (5),
A first rotation position where the transmitted light from the color filter of the rotating color filter plate is emitted as it is to the rear of the optical path, and the transmitted light is shielded and the emitted light from the second light source is reflected toward the rear of the optical path. An endoscope apparatus comprising a movable mirror having a second rotational position.
According to this endoscope apparatus, in the frame sequential imaging method, the ratio of the emitted light quantity between the transmitted light from the color filter and the emitted light from the second light source can be freely changed.

(9) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8),
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light based on proximity information between the observation region in the subject and the endoscope distal end portion.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the illumination light can be optimally controlled for each observation target and diagnosis scene by changing the color tone according to the proximity information indicating the distance between the observation region and the endoscope distal end. .

(10) The endoscope apparatus according to (9),
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control unit increases the proportion of a visible short wavelength component included in the illumination light as the approach degree of the approach degree information is higher.
According to this endoscopic device, the closer the degree of proximity is, that is, the shorter the distance between the observed region and the endoscope tip, the greater the ratio of the visible short wavelength component, so that at the time of enlarged imaging, The blood vessel information and the fine mucous pattern on the surface of the living tissue are highlighted.

(11) The endoscope apparatus according to (9) or (10),
An endoscope apparatus in which the proximity information is magnification information representing an observation magnification with respect to the observation region.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it is possible to change the color tone according to the degree of approach by using the information of the observation magnification that is linked to the degree of approach between the observation region and the distal end of the endoscope. Optimal observation according to the scene can be performed.

(12) The endoscope apparatus according to (11),
An endoscope apparatus in which the magnification information is information on optical magnification of an imaging optical system that optically changes an angle of view of an observation image captured by the imaging unit.
According to this endoscope apparatus, since the color tone is changed in synchronization with the operation of changing the optical magnification by an endoscope operator or the like, the color tone can be changed without reducing the resolution of the image sensor.

(13) The endoscope apparatus according to (11),
An endoscope apparatus in which the magnification information is information on a digital zoom magnification that electrically changes an angle of view of an observation image captured by the imaging unit.
According to this endoscope apparatus, since the color tone is changed in synchronization with the digital zoom magnification change operation by an endoscope operator or the like, the color tone can be quickly changed in real time.

(14) The endoscope apparatus according to (9) or (10),
An endoscope apparatus in which the proximity information is luminance information of a captured image captured by the imaging unit.
According to this endoscope apparatus, since the color tone is changed using the luminance information output from the image sensor that is always continuously obtained during endoscopic observation, it is possible to always adjust to the optimal color tone with high responsiveness. it can.

(15) The endoscope apparatus according to (14),
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control unit determines that the degree of approach is higher as the luminance value of the luminance information is higher.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the degree of approach can be estimated by utilizing the fact that the amount of light received by the image sensor increases as the distance between the region to be observed and the distal end of the endoscope decreases.

(16) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8),
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light based on information on an observation site of the subject.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it becomes easy to find and diagnose a lesioned part by matching the color tone suitable for diagnosis of the observation site.

(17) The endoscope device according to (16),
An endoscope apparatus in which the information on the observation site is information defined for each living organ of the subject.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it is possible to adjust the color tone optimal for diagnosis for each living organ.

(18) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (8),
An endoscope main body configured to include the endoscope distal end portion, and an endoscope control unit configured to include the color tone control means to which the endoscope main body is detachably connected,
The endoscope body has a body-side storage unit that stores individual identification information of the endoscope body,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control unit changes the color tone of the illumination light based on individual identification information stored in the main body storage unit.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the illumination light can be adjusted to the optimum color tone according to the individual identification information of the endoscope body.

(19) The endoscope apparatus according to (18),
The individual identification information includes model information that is information on an application site of a subject that can be handled by the endoscope body,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light according to the model information.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the illumination light can be observed in a color tone according to the application site of the subject.

(20) The endoscope device according to (19),
A phosphor that emits light emitted from at least one of the plurality of types of light sources as excitation light is disposed at the distal end portion of the endoscope,
The individual identification information includes information on spectral emission characteristics corresponding to the composition of the phosphor,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light based on information on spectral emission characteristics of the phosphor.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the color tone of illumination light that changes depending on the composition of the phosphor can be accurately corrected to a desired color tone.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Endoscope 13 Control apparatus 15 Display part 21 Image pick-up element 23 Operation part 35 Tip part 37A, 37B Irradiation port 39 Objective lens unit 41 Light source apparatus 43 Processor 45 Blue laser light source 47 Purple laser light source 49 Light source control part (color tone control means)
55A, 55B Optical fiber 57 Phosphor 61 Zoom control unit 67 Control unit 69 Storage unit 100, 200, 300 Endoscope device 111 Magnification drive mechanism 113 Focus drive mechanism 115 Zoom operation unit 117 Operation switch 121 Network 131 Main body side storage unit 133 Storage device 141 Blue green laser light source 143 Red laser light source 145, 147, 149 Light diffusion member 151 White light source 155 Laser light source 159 Light diffusion member 161 Blue light emitting diode 163 Green light emitting diode 165 Red light emitting diode

Claims (20)

Illuminating means for emitting illumination light from an endoscope distal end portion inserted into the subject, and an imaging means having an image sensor for imaging an observation region in the subject irradiated with the illumination light. An endoscopic device,
The illumination means is
A first light source that emits white light;
A second light source that emits light having a spectrum different from that of the first light source;
A rotating color filter plate rotatably supported by having a plurality of color filters that transmit light emitted from the first light source and separate the light into different wavelength components;
Color tone control means for changing the ratio of the amount of emitted light between the transmitted light from which the emitted light from the first light source is emitted through any one of the color filters and the emitted light from the second light source;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising: The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1,
An endoscope apparatus in which the second light source is a light source having a central emission wavelength of 405 ± 40 nm. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the second light source is a semiconductor light emitting element. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means continuously changes the ratio of the amount of emitted light of the first light source and the second light source. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Rotation driving means for rotating the rotation filter plate in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the light emitted from the first light source, wherein the plurality of color filters are accompanied by rotation of the rotation color filter plate. Are arranged side by side along the circumferential direction of the rotating color filter plate so as to be sequentially arranged on the optical axis of the emitted light from the first light source,
The color tone control means synchronizes with the rotation driving of the color filter by the rotation driving means, and the transmitted light emitted from the first light source through one of the color filters, and the second An endoscope apparatus that changes the ratio of the amount of light emitted from the light source. An endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the second light source is arranged in a part of the circumferential direction in which the color filters are arranged side by side on the rotating color filter plate and emits light toward the transmitted light emission side of the color filter. . An endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
The transmitted light from the color filter of the rotating color filter plate is introduced into one incident optical path, the emitted light from the second light source is introduced into the other incident optical path, and the transmitted light and the second light source An endoscope apparatus comprising a half mirror that emits emitted light to the rear of the optical path with the optical axis aligned. An endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
A first rotation position where the transmitted light from the color filter of the rotating color filter plate is emitted as it is to the rear of the optical path, and the transmitted light is shielded and the emitted light from the second light source is reflected toward the rear of the optical path. An endoscope apparatus comprising a movable mirror having a second rotational position. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light based on proximity information between the observation region in the subject and the endoscope distal end portion. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control unit increases the proportion of a visible short wavelength component included in the illumination light as the approach degree of the approach degree information is higher. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the proximity information is magnification information representing an observation magnification with respect to the observation region. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 11, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the magnification information is information on optical magnification of an imaging optical system that optically changes an angle of view of an observation image captured by the imaging unit. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 11, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the magnification information is information on a digital zoom magnification that electrically changes an angle of view of an observation image captured by the imaging unit. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9 or 10, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the proximity information is luminance information of a captured image captured by the imaging unit. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 14, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control unit determines that the degree of approach is higher as the luminance value of the luminance information is higher. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light based on information on an observation site of the subject. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 16, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the information on the observation site is information defined for each living organ of the subject. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An endoscope main body configured to include the endoscope distal end portion, and an endoscope control unit configured to include the color tone control means to which the endoscope main body is detachably connected,
The endoscope body has a body-side storage unit that stores individual identification information of the endoscope body,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control unit changes the color tone of the illumination light based on individual identification information stored in the main body storage unit. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 18, wherein
The individual identification information includes model information that is information on an application site of a subject that can be handled by the endoscope body,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light according to the model information. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 19, wherein
A phosphor that emits light emitted from at least one of the plurality of types of light sources as excitation light is disposed at the distal end portion of the endoscope,
The individual identification information includes information on spectral emission characteristics corresponding to the composition of the phosphor,
An endoscope apparatus in which the color tone control means changes the color tone of the illumination light based on information on spectral emission characteristics of the phosphor.

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