JPH1147090A - Endoscope imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To input index information with no contact and to designate the recording region of a recording medium with an index. SOLUTION: A digital video signal from a DSP 35 is outputted to a digital I/F circuit 41 under the control of a CPU 40 as well and the digital I/F circuit 41 outputs the digital video signal to a discrimination circuit 42 and a compression circuit 43. At the discrimination circuit 42, an endoscope 4 with TV camera picks up one index in an index image sheet provided on a surgical operation bed before surgical operation so that this index image is recognized, and recognized data are transmitted to the digital I/F circuit 41 so that the digital I/F circuit 41 outputs these recognized data to the DSP 35 while superimposing them on the digital video signal. A recording part 44 records the image compressing the digital video signal from the DSP 35 through the compression circuit 43 in the recording region of a PC card 12 designated by the index.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an endoscope image pickup apparatus, and more particularly to an endoscope image pickup apparatus having a feature in a portion for setting an endoscope image recording area.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscopes have been widely used in the medical and industrial fields. Also, recently, an endoscope externally mounted with a television camera equipped with a television camera equipped with an imaging unit at an eyepiece of an optical endoscope, or an electronic endoscope having a built-in imaging unit at a distal end, has been used. Endoscope imaging devices that display an endoscope image on a monitor have also been widely used.

When an endoscopic examination is performed using, for example, a medical field using such an endoscope imaging apparatus, an operator uses an endoscopic imaging apparatus so as to make a detailed diagnosis later. The user captures and records a mirror image or obtains a hard copy of an endoscope image using a video printer.

However, in the case of a photographing device, it takes a long time to develop a film, and therefore, it is not possible to cope with a demand for immediately confirming an image. In addition, the photographing apparatus and the video printer have the disadvantage that the management of the photographed film or printer paper becomes complicated, and it takes a very long time to search for an endoscopic image.

[0005] Therefore, an endoscope imaging apparatus that records an endoscope image as a digital signal has been proposed, and a database of the endoscope image has been made as an image file.

Further, it has been practiced to record an endoscope image on an external recording medium (for example, a PC card), capture the endoscope image with a personal computer or the like, and use it for creating a medical chart or a report.

[0007]

However, conventional endoscope images recorded as digital signals are usually sequentially compressed and written in a free area of an external recording medium.
When recording data of a plurality of patients on one recording medium,
It is generally recorded on a recording medium in the order of recording date and time, for example, the date and patient name and the like are recorded together with the recording image,
It is used as an index when editing. In this case, it is necessary to previously input the index using a keyboard or the like.

Further, there is an endoscope image pickup apparatus which can record the index by superimposing the index on the image data of the endoscope image. However, it is necessary to use a keyboard or the like to input the index.

However, for example, in endoscopic surgery in the field of surgery, the input of an index by a keyboard or the like must be performed by a sterilized keyboard or a keyboard via a sterilized cover in order for the main doctor to perform the operation during the operation. In addition, it is difficult to accept it in terms of technical and practical use, and there is no suitable place to put the keyboard in the surgical operating room, and it is cumbersome and cannot be used as a result. There's a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an endoscope imaging apparatus capable of inputting index information in a non-contact manner and specifying a recording area of a recording medium by the index. It is an object.

[0011]

An endoscope imaging apparatus according to the present invention is an endoscope imaging apparatus having an endoscope that is inserted into a body cavity to capture an image of a subject. Area selection setting means for selecting and setting a recording area, index image setting storage means for setting and storing an index image for selecting and setting the recording area, and determining the index image by determining the index image. Determining means for setting the recording area as an image recording area.

[0012] In the endoscope imaging apparatus according to the present invention, the discrimination means discriminates the index image and sets the recording area determined by the index image as a recording area of an image, so that index information can be input without contact. The recording area of the recording medium can be designated by the index.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 7 relate to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope imaging apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a displayed index image sheet, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of an index recognized by imaging the index image sheet of FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a recording area of a PC card corresponding to an index of the index image sheet of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is a first flowchart for explaining the operation of the endoscope imaging apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a second flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a modified example of display of an index recognized by imaging of the index image sheet of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, an endoscope imaging apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an endoscope 4 with a TV camera in which a TV camera 3 is mounted on a rigid endoscope 2 and a rigid endoscope 2. A light source device 5 that supplies illumination light, a camera control unit (abbreviated as CCU) 7 that performs signal processing on a charge-coupled device (abbreviated as CCD) 6 that is a solid-state imaging device built in the TV camera 3, and a CCU 7 A color monitor 8 for displaying an endoscope image in accordance with an output video signal, and a PC card 12 as a recording medium is detachably connected to a PC card slot 11 provided in the CCU 7. .

The rigid endoscope 2 includes an elongated insertion portion 21, a grip portion 22 provided at a rear end of the insertion portion 21, and an eyepiece portion 23 provided at a rear end of the grip portion 22. The grip portion 22 is provided with a light guide base 24, and is connected to the light source device 5 via a light guide cable 25.

Although not shown, the illumination light from the lamp in the light source device 5 is condensed by the condenser lens and supplied to the incident end face of the light guide in the light guide cable 25. The light is emitted forward through the light guide of the endoscope 2 from the front end of the light guide attached to the illumination window at the front end of the insertion section 21 to illuminate a subject such as an affected part.

An objective lens is attached to an observation window adjacent to the illumination window at the distal end of the insertion section 21 to form a subject image at the image forming position. The formed image is transmitted by a relay lens system arranged in the insertion section 21 facing the objective lens, and forms an image near the eyepiece section 23. This image is obtained by the eyepiece provided in the eyepiece 23 and the imaging lens 26 in the TV camera 3 arranged opposite to the eyepiece.
An image is formed on D6.

A mosaic filter (not shown) is attached immediately before the imaging surface (photoelectric conversion surface) of the CCD 6, and optically separates the light input to each pixel.
That is, the imaging means of this embodiment uses a simultaneous imaging means for obtaining a color imaging signal under white illumination.

The CCD 6 of the TV camera 3 is connected to the CCU 7, and a CCD driver 31 in the CCU 7 applies a CCD drive signal to the CCD 6.
The CCD output signal (image signal), which is photoelectrically converted and output at, is input to the amplifier 32 in the CCU 7 and
The signal amplified by is input to the pre-processing circuit 33.

The CCD input to the pre-processing circuit 33
The output signal is CDS (correlated double sampling) or S / H
A / D after pre-processing such as (sample hold)
After being input to the conversion circuit 34 and converted into a digital signal, a digital signal processor (abbreviated as DSP) 35
Is input to

In the DSP 35, the input digital signal is line-sequentially separated into three digital signals of Y, Cr and Cb and converted into RGB digital signals by a matrix conversion formula. The RGB digital signal converted by the matrix conversion formula is subjected to digital processing such as enhancement processing, γ correction, and character superimposition after white balance / black balance adjustment is performed.
The signal is input to the A conversion circuit 36.

The digital signal input to the D / A conversion circuit 36 is converted to an analog signal, converted to a standard video signal in a post-processing circuit 37, and output to the color monitor 8.

The CCU 7 is provided with a reference signal generating circuit (abbreviated as SSG) 38, and a timing signal generating circuit (abbreviated as TG) 39 generates a timing signal based on a clock signal generated from the SSG 38. The CCD driver 31 receives the timing signal and controls the CCD.
6 is driven. The clock signal from the SSG 38 is also output to the pre-processing circuit 33, the A / D conversion circuit 34, the DSP 35 and the D / A conversion circuit 36, and the CCD output signal (image signal) from the CCD driver 31 is Processing is performed based on the clock signal.

The digital video signal from the DSP 35 is also output to the digital I / F circuit 41 under the control of the CPU 40. The digital I / F circuit 41 outputs the digital video signal to the discrimination circuit 42 and the compression circuit 43. It is supposed to. In the discriminating circuit 42, the endoscope 4 with a TV camera is operated before the operation by an operating table (not shown) as shown in FIG.
By capturing an image of one index in the index image sheet 51 provided in the digital I / F circuit 41, the index is image-recognized, and the recognized data is transmitted to the digital I / F circuit 41.
The / F circuit 41 superimposes this recognition data on the digital video signal and outputs it to the DSP 35. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the recognized character is displayed on the color monitor 8, for example, at the upper right of the captured image.

The index corresponds to a pre-divided recording area of the PC card 12 as shown in FIG. 4, and the recording section 44 uses a compression circuit 43 to indicate a compressed image obtained by compressing the digital video signal from the DSP 35 as an index. Is recorded in the recording area of the PC card 12 designated by.

Next, the operation of the thus configured endoscope imaging apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

For example, when performing an operation on the abdomen under the observation of the endoscope, the TV camera 3 is attached to the rigid endoscope 2, the light source device 5 and the CCU 7 are connected, and the color monitor 8 is connected to the CCU 7. . Further, the PC card 12 is connected to the PC card slot 11 of the CCU 7.

As shown in FIG. 2, the index image sheet 51
The index images are, for example, numbers 1 to 100 and letters A, B,
X, Y, and Z, and the recording area of the PC card is divided as shown in FIG. 4 corresponding to the index image.

Here, the operator can arbitrarily set the recording area. For example, the patient Y can be set to one area and the patient X can be set to two areas.
Area, malignant cancer in area A, peculiar image in area B, images that you want to take preliminary, in area D, doctor I in area I, and S in area S. In addition, it can be determined in a directory (folder) shape of a personal computer.

Then, the index image is taken in before the operation. In this processing, as shown in FIG. 5, it is determined whether or not an index image is input in step S1, and if it is an index image, the index image is determined by the determination circuit 42 in step S2. The processing returns to the F circuit 41, and the character information as the determination result is displayed on the color monitor 8 as shown in FIG.

Then, in a step S4, it is determined whether or not the determination result is OK.
Sets a recording area for the recording unit 44 and ends the processing.
If it is not OK, the character code for displaying the re-input instruction is sent to the digital I / F circuit 41 in step S6, and the character information of the re-input instruction is displayed on the color monitor 8, and the process is terminated.

Then, the insertion portion 21 of the rigid endoscope 2 is inserted through the trocar into the abdomen of the patient, so that the affected part such as an organ inside the abdomen can be observed. In that case (endoscope)
The image is displayed on the color monitor 8, and the operator observes the image. When the image to be recorded is displayed on the color monitor 8, the operator operates a hand release switch or a foot switch (not shown) to take a picture as shown in FIG. The mirror image can be recorded in the designated area of the PC card 12, and the image recorded by a personal computer or the like can be used later.

More specifically, during the operation, for example, in the case of the operation of the patient Y, when recording in the area 1, the setting is made by imaging the index image 1 in the index image sheet 51 with the endoscope 4 with a TV camera. (The result of the determination circuit 42 is displayed on the color monitor 8, and in the example of FIG. 3, 1 is displayed at the upper right of the screen, and if OK, the release switch and the like are turned ON). After the setting, all the images to be recorded are recorded in the recording area of the PC card designated by the index image 1.

The determination of the index image can be performed by, for example, image processing based on edge extraction, and can be easily performed by, for example, capturing an image in which 1 is written in black letters on a white background over the entire monitor screen.

Further, for example, when it is desired to change the recording area during the operation, it can be easily changed. For example, while the recorded image of the patient Y is being recorded in the area of the index image 1 and one image is to be recorded in the area of B as a unique image, the index image of B is written by the method described above. What is necessary is just to image, change the area, and record.

In this embodiment, numbers and characters are used for the index image. However, it is needless to say that the index image can be applied to any color or shape as long as the image can be identified. In addition, as long as it can be determined by image processing, such as a person's face or a fingerprint, such a thing may be used as an index.

The correspondence between the index image and the recording area can be obtained by capturing the index image with the endoscope 4 with a TV camera in advance and selecting the area of the memory to be associated. The information may be displayed on the color monitor 8.

Further, the determination circuit 42 and the compression circuit 4
3. The recording unit 44 may be connected to the TV camera 3 by the digital I / F circuit 41. With such a configuration, versatility that any TV camera can be connected is created, and image recording can be managed without specially providing a special index insertion function or the like inside the TV camera.

[0040]

As described above, according to the endoscope imaging apparatus of the present invention, the discriminating means discriminates the index image and the recording area determined by the index image is used as the image recording area.
Index information can be input in a non-contact manner, and the index can specify a recording area of a recording medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an index image sheet imaged before surgery by the endoscope imaging apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of an index recognized by imaging the index image sheet of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a recording area of a PC card corresponding to an index on the index image sheet of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a first flowchart illustrating the operation of the endoscope imaging apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a second flowchart illustrating the operation of the endoscope imaging apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a modification of display of an index recognized by imaging the index image sheet of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope imaging device 2 ... Rigid endoscope 3 ... TV camera 4 ... Endoscope with TV camera 5 ... Light source device 6 ... CCD 7 ... CCU 8 ... Color monitor 11 ... PC card slot 12 ... PC card 31 ... CCD driver 32 ... Amplifier 33 ... Pre-processing circuit 34 ... A / D conversion circuit 35 ... DSP 36 ... D / A conversion circuit 37 ... Post-processing circuit 38 ... SSG 39 ... TG 40 ... CPU 41 ... Digital I / F circuit 42 ... Discrimination circuit 43 ... Compression circuit 44 ... Recording unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akihiko Mochida 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Kuniaki Kami 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Makoto Tsunagawa 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Kanichi Matsumoto 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Wataru Ohno 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Kotaro Ogasawara 2-43-2, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Hagiwara 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Olimpa Within Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Tashiro 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Orimus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazutaka Nakachi 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Ori Inside of Opus Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope imaging apparatus having an endoscope that inserts into a body cavity and captures an image of a subject, wherein a recording area is selected and selected according to the type or capacity of a recording medium.
Area selection setting means to be set; and an index image for selecting and setting the recording area.
An endoscope imaging apparatus, comprising: an index image setting storage unit that stores therein; and a determination unit that determines the index image and sets the recording area determined by the index image as an image recording area.