JPH0761309B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

Description: [Industrial application] The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus capable of displaying two images of the same size on the same screen.

[Prior Art] In recent years, instead of an optical endoscope (also called a fiberscope) that uses an image guide, an electronic endoscope (electronic endoscope that uses a solid-state imaging device such as a CCD as an imaging unit) Or it is also called electronic scope) has come into practical use.

In the case of the electronic scope, it is suitable for recording an image, performing signal processing, and the like, and is therefore widely used in the future.

In the case of the electronic scope, in addition to displaying the image captured by the electronic scope on the monitor in real time for observation or diagnosis, the image captured by the electronic scope is displayed in a stationary state for detailed observation, It has been proposed to perform image processing to obtain information different from normal moving images, and to observe changes over time in symptoms by comparing with images examined in the past. At that time, by comparing and observing the normal image and the special image, the conventional diagnostic index (read from the normal image) and the new diagnostic index (special image)
The key point is to contrast with.

In this case, if the normal image and the special image are displayed on different monitors, it becomes difficult to compare the eye movements when they are compared, and a wasteful space portion is generated when the monitors are photographed and compared. There is an inconvenience, for example, that both images cannot be taken side by side. That is, it is desirable that both images can be combined on the same screen. At that time, the tenth
As shown in the figure, the method of displaying TV in TV or parent-child images is not suitable for endoscopy (or diagnosis) because the sizes of the images of the parent and child are different.

For example, No. 4 of JP-A-59-69047 by the present applicant.
It is desirable to display the same size as in the related art example disclosed in the drawing. In this case, if the normal image and the special image are displayed on the same screen, if only the normal image is desired to be observed, the special image will be in the field of view, which will hinder the concentration of nerves on the normal image and obtain high diagnostic ability. I can't.

By the way, when displaying with the same size (equal magnification),
The resolution depends on the size of the image. In an NTSC image, the number of scanning lines is 525, which is 483 excluding the blanking area. By the way, the resolution in the vertical direction is determined by the number of scanning lines used. The aspect ratio of the monitor display screen is about 3: 4.

Generally, in an endoscope, do not overlook all directions,
In order to see everything, it is better that the shape of the image is as close to a circle as possible. In other words, it is desirable that the vertical and horizontal sizes are the same, but because of the above-mentioned restrictions, if you try to put two endoscopic images with the same vertical and horizontal dimensions on one screen, the vertical size is 293 scans. You have to make a line.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] In other words, the number of scanning lines on the monitor is 525 lines, which is 483 lines without blanking, and the actual display on the monitor is 4 lines.
It will be 40. Further, the aspect ratio is 3: 4, and if the two images are made equal in length and width, there will be 293 images, resulting in poor image resolution.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and when observing a normal image, it is possible to concentrate nerves only on the normal image to obtain high diagnostic ability, and to view two internal images in one screen. It is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscopic device capable of displaying while suppressing a reduction in resolution of a mirror image as much as possible.

[Means and Actions for Solving Problems] In the present invention, the first method is provided on the screen of the display monitor of a predetermined system.
A second display mode means for displaying the endoscopic image of the second endoscopic image, the first endoscopic image and a second endoscopic image which is a special image related to the first endoscopic image. A second display mode means for displaying one endoscopic image; and a display switching means for switching between the display by the first display mode means and the display by the second display mode means. The vertical dimension of each of the two endoscopic images displayed by the mode means is equal to or slightly greater than the vertical dimension of the first endoscopic image displayed by the first display mode means. The size of each of the two endoscopic images displayed by the second display mode means in the horizontal direction is reduced to approximately 1/2 of the screen size of the display monitor.

With this configuration, it is possible to select a display state according to a case or the like by the display switching unit, and obtain high diagnostic ability. Further, with respect to the two endoscopic images displayed on the display monitor, is the vertical size equal to the vertical size of the first endoscopic image displayed by the first display mode means? By making it slightly smaller and displaying it at half the monitor screen size in the horizontal direction,
An image area that is almost the same as in the case of displaying three images can be obtained, and this makes it possible to suppress the decrease in the resolution of the image as much as possible and facilitate comparison between the normal image and the special image.

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 8 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the endoscope apparatus of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which two images are displayed in the second display mode in the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which one image is displayed in the display mode, FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing input / output characteristics by the first image processing, and FIG. 5 is a configuration showing functional parts related to the first image processing. 6 and 6 are explanatory diagrams showing the number of scanning lines of an image to be displayed, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing that a trigger signal is output during image processing not performed in real time, and FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the functional part at the time of performing slow observation.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope apparatus 1 of the first embodiment has an imaging means formed by arranging an objective lens 3 and a CCD 4 on the focal plane of the objective lens 3 at the tip of an elongated insertion portion 2. Having an electronic scope 5, a control device section 6 to which the electronic scope 5 is attached (endoscope), two monitors 7 and 8 for displaying image signals of the control device section 6, and image signal data are recorded. It is composed of an external device such as the image file device 9. A light guide for transmitting illumination light is provided in the electronic scope 5.
The light guide 11 is inserted through the universal cord 13 that extends outward from the operation portion 12 that is connected to the rear end of the insertion portion 2. Then, the light guide connector 13 attached to the end of the universal cord 13
By mounting A on the control device unit 6, illumination light is supplied from the light source unit 14. The light source unit 14 is a strobe light source that emits light for 1/1000 seconds per frame (one field).

The illumination light supplied from the light source unit 14 passes through the light guide 11 and illuminates the subject illuminated from the front end surface of the light guide 11 to the subject side. The illuminated subject is imaged and photoelectrically converted by the objective lens 3 on the image pickup surface of the CCD 4. The CCD 4 is composed of, for example, 370 pixels in each length and width. Then,
The photoelectrically converted image signal (video signal) is read by application of a drive signal by a CCD drive circuit (not shown) in a camera control unit (hereinafter referred to as CCU) 16, and the read signal is transmitted by a cable. It is input into the CCU 16 electrically connected by the signal connector 13B. The CCU 16 performs signal processing on the signals of the CCD 4 to perform color separation, outputs RGB3 primary color signals, and inputs them to the memory unit 17 and the analog memory unit 18.

The memory unit 17 is a frame memory having a storage capacity of two frames, and can display one frame in the first display mode and display two frames in the second display mode. Further, the memory unit 17 is read from the memory, which is an A / D converter for A / D converting the output signal of the CCU 16, a memory for two frames which stores the digital signal data converted by the A / D converter, and a memory for two frames. It has a D / A converter that converts a signal to an analog signal, and NTS
A C encoder is also provided, and the signal output from the memory unit 17 becomes an NTSC composite video signal (composite video signal) output (NTSC.CV).

By the way, the RGB signals output from the CCU 16 are the first and second RGB signals.
It is input to the image processing circuits 21 and 22. First image processing circuit
Reference numeral 21 is for performing analog image processing, and in this embodiment, contrast enhancement is performed. The input / output characteristics for emphasizing the contrast are shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 4, the dark part and the bright part are cut, and the contrast of the intermediate brightness part (1/4 of the latitude) is quadrupled, for example. Also, contour enhancement is performed.

On the other hand, the second image processing circuit 22 is also an analog type image processing circuit and performs so-called color enhancement to emphasize the difference in hue.

The signals image-processed by the image processing circuits 21 and 22 can be stored by inputting them to the memory unit 17.

By the way, the other analog memory unit 18 is an analog memory having a still video floppy (hereinafter referred to as SVF), and is recorded after being converted into an NTSC composite video signal. The reproduced signal of the analog memory unit 18 is output as an RGB signal. 25 frames (frame recording) are recorded.

In the first display mode, the output of the memory unit 17 is a real-time moving image (original image) on the first monitor 7.
One is displayed in the center of the screen as shown in FIG. In this case, the endoscopic image is square and the length is 370 scanning line segments. For example, in the case of a 13-inch monitor, the height and width are each 15 cm, and the space above the endoscopic image is designed to display the patient data input by the data input unit 23 formed by the keyboard and the examination date. I am doing it.

By the way, the image displayed on the monitor 7 can be photographed by the photographing device 24 such as a 35 mm camera. In order to take this photograph, the control unit 6
When you press the release switch 25A of the switch section 25 provided on the front panel of the
Still image memory formed by optical disk or SVF via 6 27
A trigger signal is sent to, the image signal of the memory unit 17 displayed on the first monitor 7 is recorded for one frame, and a write stop signal is applied to the memory unit 17 via the control unit 26, for example, for 2 seconds. Image writing to the memory unit 17 is prohibited. Therefore, the image immediately before the writing is stopped remains on the first monitor 7 for 2 seconds, during which a trigger signal is sent to the photo-taking device 24 to take a photo. Then, after 2 seconds, the movie is returned to again.

The memory unit 17 is designed so that the image data recorded by the image file device 9 can be read out and displayed on the first monitor 7. Also, the image of the memory unit 17 can be recorded on the VTR 29,
The image recorded by the VTR 29 can be displayed on the first monitor 7.

The second monitor 8 displays the real-time image output from the CCU 16 regardless of the display mode of the first monitor 7.

Further, in this embodiment, the external image processing device 30 is provided separately from the control device section 6. The external image processing device 30 is a digital type image processing device and displays a difference in hue. That is, when the imaged light is divided into R, G and B, there is little blue component in the body cavity, so the difference in the ratio of R and G is displayed.
Specifically, for each point, how many times the size of R is larger than the size of G is calculated. In the body cavity, it is generally 3 to 8 times.
Then, the color corresponding to the value is output. For example, in the case of 3 times, as it becomes larger than blue, it is gradually changed as blue green → green → yellow green → yellow → yellow red → red. By doing this, when there is benign redness and anxious redness, it is possible to clearly recognize even the slight difference in color by comparing the colors after processing, and especially to miss the initial symptoms. Can be recognized without.

By the way, in this embodiment, in addition to the first display mode described above, a second display mode is provided so that two images can be displayed on the same screen with the same size, or an image processed image or a low speed display can be displayed. There is.

When the freeze switch 25B of the switch unit 25 is pressed, the freeze operation is performed. In this case, the still image in the still image memory 27 and the real-time moving image in the memory unit 17 are displayed on the first monitor 7 in the same size on the same screen as shown in FIG. That is, a still image is displayed on the right half of the screen of the monitor 7, and a moving image is displayed on the left half of the screen, and the state in the body cavity can be displayed in real time, so that safety can be ensured. The vertical dimension of each image displayed on the same screen is the same as in the first display mode, and the horizontal dimension is 1/2 of the screen size of the display monitor. In this case, the outside of the portion shown by the dotted line in FIG. 3 is cut and not displayed.

When the freeze switch 25B is pressed again, the freeze operation is canceled and the display mode returns to the first display mode.

By the way, in the NTSC system, the number of scanning lines is 525, but since there is actually a blanking period, the number of effective scanning lines is 483.
Become a book. Furthermore, monitors generally do not display all of the above valid portion, but only around 440. The aspect ratio is about 1: 1.3. Therefore, the number of scan lines that can be displayed is 440.
Assuming a book and an aspect ratio of 1: 1.3, when the endoscopic image is square in the first display mode, when the endoscopic image is 352 vertical and the second display mode is horizontal. 80%
Therefore, when the number is 408, the size is 70%. That is, the vertical is 4
At 08, the left and right are cut by 15% each, which is the limit that can be cut, and if you cut more than this, there is a high possibility that you will not be able to see important points. If the height is 352 or less, there is a problem in resolution. From these things, in this embodiment, the endoscopic image in the first and second display modes has 370 vertical scanning line segments.

By the way, the first image processing switch 25 in the switch unit 25
When C is pressed, the first image processing operation is performed in the second display mode.

That is, in the second display mode, the left side is the normal image (moving image) and the right side is the processed image (moving image). The left and right images differ only in brightness (contrast).

When the freeze switch 25B of the switch section 25 is pressed in this state, the freeze is maintained in the second display mode. Then, press the release 25A of the switch section 25 to record (take a picture). A comment indicating the content is displayed below each image.

By the way, the second image processing switch 25D in the switch section 25
When is pressed, the second image processing operation is started.

In this case, in the second display mode, the left side is the normal image (moving image) and the right side is the processed image (moving image) that emphasizes the hue difference. Also in this case, the freeze switch 25B can be used to make a still image, and the release switch 25A can be operated to record (shoot).

Next, press the slow shooting switch 25E of the switch section 25,
Slow observation is possible.

In endoscopy, there are many fast-moving subjects. For example, when observing esophageal venous retention, the subject itself moves, so even if you shoot with a strobe light source that emits light for 1/1000 seconds and shoot a still image without blur, the motion is too intense to see . Also, it may take longer to freeze, but it is unlikely to stop at the desired scene. Also, the area immediately after the pylorus or the vocal cords can be seen only for a moment because the endoscope cannot be kept stationary. In such a case, slow observation can be easily dealt with.

When you press the slow-motion shooting switch 25E on the switch section 25, C
The video signal of the CU16 is recorded in the SVF of the analog memory unit 18 every 0.1 seconds for 2.5 seconds, and after 2.5 seconds, the second display mode is entered, the left is the normal image and the right is the SVF.
The playback image (still image) from is displayed. In this case, the reproduced image is displayed for 0.5 seconds per frame, and 25 frames are sequentially reproduced in a slow display.

Then, when the reproduction of 25 frames is completed, the display mode is automatically returned to the first display mode.

It is possible to freeze during playback, and if the freeze switch 25B is pressed again, playback will continue for 0.5 seconds each.
If you press the release switch 25A on the way, it freezes for 2 seconds and shooting is done during that time, and playback continues after shooting.

When the slow observation is desired again, the reproduction is performed by pressing the reproduction switch 25F of the switch unit 25. If the reset switch 25G of the switch unit 25 is pressed when it is desired to stop the operation, the display mode returns to the first display mode. Since the recording means for a plurality of frames is provided and the reproduction is performed at an interval longer than the recording interval as described above, a fast-moving scene can be observed in detail.

The recording interval, the reproduction interval, and the number of recording frames may be variable, and the field reproduction may be switched to the frame reproduction.

Since I started the recording after pressing the switch, I can operate the endoscope with that intention. That is, the vocal cord can be photographed while pulling it out of the ball.

Since SVF is used, the structure is simple and access time can be shortened. A frame memory composed of RAM, a magnetic disk or the like may be used instead of the SVF. A VTR may be used, but it takes time to start recording / reproducing.

By the way, when the external image processing (still image) switch 25H of the switch unit 25 is pressed in the external processing device 30 separate from the control device unit 6, the signal is input to the external image processing device 30 via the control unit 26, It becomes operational. That is, when the switch 25H is pressed, the external image processing device 30 takes in one frame of the original image of the CCU 16 and performs preset processing.

Then, when the processing is completed, the control unit 26
And is input from the external image processing device 30 to the memory unit 17, and the processed image and the original image from the CCU 16 are written. Thus, in the second display mode, the original image (still image) is displayed on the left and the processed image (still image) is displayed on the right.

Even in this case, shooting (recording) can be performed by performing the release operation.

When the reset switch 25G is pressed, the display returns to the first display mode, that is, the normal moving image.

A second monitor 8 is provided, and this monitor 8
Since the original image of the CCU 16 can be displayed in real time, even when the operation of moving the electronic scope is performed, the movement can be monitored in real time, and operations such as observation with the scope 5 can be safely performed.

The external image processing (video) switch 25J of the switch section 25
Press to control an analog or digital real-time image processor. In the second display mode, the normal image (moving image) is displayed on the left and the processed image (moving image) is displayed on the right.

Even in this case, the operation by freeze release and reset is possible.

Since the external image processing device 30 can be controlled in this manner, expandability and applicability are expanded.

In this embodiment, the following image processing functions are provided in addition to those described above as the image processing suitable for performing an endoscopic examination.

(A) Monochrome display function of red component Red is strong inside the body cavity, and human has the highest visibility in green. Therefore, by displaying the bright and dark of red, which has the largest amount of information, in black and white (or in green), it is possible to visually recognize it in more detail. This method also has the advantage that the appearance is natural.

(B) Pseudo-color display function of red lightness In order to correspond to red lightness (light and dark), which has the largest amount of information,
The brightness difference is emphasized by displaying in pseudo color.

(C) Follow-up observation function Before the examination, the image filing device 9 is operated in advance to search for one important frame (for example, a front view of the lesion area at the time of the previous examination). Then, when the comparison switch 25J of the switch unit 25 is pressed, the frame is displayed on the right side and the normal image (moving image) is displayed on the left side in the second display mode.

In this case also, freeze, release and reset are possible.

Further, the following third display mode is further provided.
When the single display switch 25K of the switch unit 25 is pressed, the contents displayed on the right side in the second display mode are displayed in the first display mode. If this is filed in the image filing device 9, it is convenient for follow-up observation (time-lapse observation).

According to the first embodiment, not only the moving image can be displayed on the first monitor 7 in real time as shown in FIG. 3 by the first display mode, but also by operating each switch of the switch unit 25. Various images can be displayed in the same size on the same screen.

For example, when the first image processing switch 25C is pressed, a normal image (moving image) is displayed on the left side and a processed image (moving image) is displayed on the right side as shown in FIG. In this case, the left and right images differ only in contrast. When the components for performing this operation are extracted from FIG. 1, the block configuration shown in FIG. 5 is obtained. In other words, the output of CCD4 is the video process circuit 3 in CCU16.
The signal is output as an RGB signal via 1 and is input to the first image processing circuit 21 to be subjected to contrast-enhanced image processing and input to the memory unit 17.

The RGB signals of the video process circuit 31 are also input to the memory section 17, and these are read at the same time and input to the superimposing circuit 32. The operation of the image processing circuit 21 is controlled by the trigger signal of the trigger generation circuit 33, and the superimposing circuit 32 is controlled by the controller 34 to synthesize an image. The controller 34 outputs the superimpose display control signal shown in FIG. 6B from the normal display control signal shown in FIG. 6A to the superimpose circuit 34. With this control signal, the superimposing circuit 32 switches the analog switch so as to capture the image of the video process circuit 31 side in the first half period in each horizontal period with respect to the two input signals, and the processed image side in the latter half period. Switch to select. When each image is fetched from the memory section 17, a preset value is added to the address value to be read in the normal state, and the read value is read to obtain the image shown in FIG. 3 or 5 or 6 (b). Can be displayed as follows.

In this way, two images can be displayed on the same screen, which facilitates comparison.

Further, in this embodiment, when the freeze switch 25B is pressed, the freeze image of the image processed by the first image processing circuit 21 or another image processing device 41 is displayed on the monitor. This functional portion has a structure as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

The output signal of the video process circuit 31 is input to the image processing device 41 via the switching circuit 42. In this case, it may take time for the image processing in the image processing device 41. In this case, when the processing is completed and the processed image is output, the trigger signal is sent to the CCU1.
It outputs to 6 and the switching circuit 42 is switched to switch the image. At the same time, send a shooting trigger to SVF44. Therefore, when the release switch is pressed, shooting is performed.

When the image processing device 41 performs analog image processing in real time, the moving image of the processing may be output to the first monitor 7 and other monitors 45.

The structure of the slow-motion photographing function portion is as shown in FIG.

The output of CCD 4 is written in the frame memory 51 via the video process circuit 31. In this case, the frame memory 51 has a storage capacity for a plurality of fields N + 1, N fields are for slow motion, and 1 field is for real time. When the slow shooting switch 25E is pressed, a control signal for the frame memory 51 is sent via the controller 52, an image is taken in every 0.1 seconds, and output every 0.5 seconds. Then, when the number of frames is properly displayed, the display is returned to only the real-time image. If the freeze switch is pressed during slow playback, a freeze image will be displayed.

FIG. 9 shows the shape of image display in the second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, the first display mode is shown in FIG.
The image is displayed in a circular shape as shown in Fig. 2, and in the second display mode, two endoscopic images of the same size are displayed by cutting a part of the circle as shown in Fig. 7B. is there.

By doing so, the portion to be cut can be made small.

By the way, in each of the above-described embodiments, the vertical dimension in the second display mode is equal to the vertical dimension in the first display mode.

However, the present invention is not limited to having the same vertical dimension in both display modes, and may have different dimensions. For example, if the vertical in the first display mode is 352 scanning lines, the second
If the vertical in the display mode is set to 317 scanning lines, the vertical and horizontal dimensions can be made closer to each other in the second display mode to facilitate viewing. As described above, the vertical direction in the second display mode may be slightly smaller than that in the first display mode.

The shape of the endoscopic image may not be circular or square. For example, it may be an octagon or a quadrilateral with four corners cut out in an arc shape.

Further, regarding the images displayed on the left and right in the second display mode, the right may be a normal image, the left may be a special image, and the images may be interchangeable. Further, the vertical positions of the left and right images may be slightly shifted, and the sizes of the left and right images may be slightly changed. (The special image may be made slightly smaller so that a comment or the like may be inserted.) In the second display mode, the left and right edges of the endoscopic image are not displayed as compared with the first display mode. The left end of the left image and the right end of the right image are preferably output from the memory unit 17 as video signals. They are the first monitor 7
Although it is blocked by the mechanical visual field mask provided in, the displayed area can be enlarged when the first monitor 7 having a relatively long visual field mask is used.

In the above embodiment, the number of scanning lines for one frame is 525.
Although the case of the book (denoted as N1) has been described, the same can be applied to the case of a different number of scanning lines (denoted as N2). For example, when there are 370 scanning lines of the endoscopic image when the scanning line is N1, the number of scanning lines of the endoscopic image displayed when the scanning line is N2 is approximately 370 × (N2 / N1). In this case, it is desirable that the number of pixels of the CCD also have a value corresponding to this.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to select a display state according to a case or the like by the display switching means and obtain high diagnostic ability, and display on the same screen. The image areas of the two endoscopic images to be displayed are made substantially the same size as the image areas of the endoscopic images in the first display mode, the deterioration of the resolution of the image is suppressed as much as possible, and the normal image and the special image can be easily compared. is doing. Furthermore, even if the display switching means switches from the first display mode to the second display mode, the dimensions of the endoscopic images in these two display modes are relatively close to each other, and there is no discomfort.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 8 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing how two endoscope images are displayed in a second display mode according to the first embodiment, and FIG. Is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which one endoscopic image is displayed in the first display mode, FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram showing input / output characteristics by the first image processing, and FIG. 5 is related to the first image processing. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the functional parts that perform the above, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the number of scanning lines of an image displayed in two display modes, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a functional portion when performing slow observation, and FIG. 9 is an endoscopic image displayed on the monitor screen in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the shape, and FIG. 10 is an explanation showing an endoscopic image displayed on the monitor screen in the conventional example. It is. 1 ... Endoscope device, 4 ... CCD 5 ... Electronic scope, 6 ... Control device section 7 ... First monitor, 8 ... Second monitor 9 ... Image file device, 16 ... CCU 17 ... … Memory section 18 …… Analog memory section 21 …… First image processing circuit 22 …… Second image processing circuit 25 …… Switch section 27 …… Still image memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first display on a screen of a display monitor of a predetermined system.
A first display mode means for displaying the endoscopic image of the first endoscopic image, a first endoscopic image, and a second endoscopic image which is a special image related to the first endoscopic image. A second display mode means for displaying two endoscopic images; a display switching means for switching between the display by the first display mode means and the display by the second display mode means; The vertical dimension of each of the two endoscopic images displayed by the second display mode means is the vertical dimension of the first endoscopic image displayed by the first display mode means. It is equal to or slightly smaller than each other, and the lateral dimension of each of the two endoscopic images displayed by the second display mode means is approximately 1/2 of the screen size of the display monitor. Endoscope device.