CN116784768A

CN116784768A - Electronic endoscope and 3D electronic endoscope

Info

Publication number: CN116784768A
Application number: CN202211448867.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 付强; 郭松; 李克威
Original assignee: Shanghai First Peoples Hospital
Current assignee: Shanghai First Peoples Hospital
Priority date: 2022-11-18
Filing date: 2022-11-18
Publication date: 2023-09-22

Abstract

The application provides an electronic endoscope and a 3D electronic endoscope, the electronic endoscope comprises: a disposable endoscope body and a reusable image processing apparatus; wherein the disposable endoscope body comprises: the working mirror body and the operating device are connected with the rear end of the working mirror body; the working lens body comprises an image sensor assembly for acquiring external image information at the front end of the working lens body; the image processing device is used for processing the image acquired by the image sensor assembly. The 3D electronic endoscope includes: a disposable 3D endoscope body, and a reusable 3D image processing device. The traditional optical imaging is replaced by the image sensor, and the split design of the endoscope main body and the image processor is adopted, wherein the endoscope part is disposable, so that the cost of the endoscope is greatly reduced.

Description

Electronic endoscope and 3D electronic endoscope

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of medical instruments, in particular to an electronic endoscope and a 3D electronic endoscope.

Background

In recent years, the quality of life of people is seriously affected due to joint problems caused by aging and injury, the field of minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment based on the physiological and pathological characteristics of joints is rapidly developed, but the traditional arthroscope used for minimally invasive joint treatment at present has certain defects, and the development of minimally invasive joint treatment is hindered. The traditional arthroscope widely used at present is an optical lens, so that the requirements on lens processing are high, and the limitations of high processing cost, high-definition imaging cost and the like exist; the traditional spinal endoscope is reused, and needs to be cleaned and disinfected after each use, and damage to lenses and internal parts is inevitable in the cleaning and disinfecting processes, so that the operation safety is affected. In addition, the minimally invasive joint surgery requires the omnibearing observation of the condition of tissue in a joint cavity, and the traditional arthroscope has only a single angle, so that the tissue is difficult to comprehensively observe. Most importantly, the repeated use of the traditional arthroscope is extremely easy to cause intra-articular infection, the operation effect of a patient is seriously affected, and the occurrence probability of postoperative complications is increased. At present, the optical endoscope is basically imported, the price is high, and the production of domestic high-quality lenses is difficult. Accordingly, the existing optical arthroscope has a plurality of technical defects, and needs improvement.

Over the years, spinal endoscopy has become one of the important clusters in the spinal surgical system. Spinal endoscopy requires that the endoscopic equipment provide good visual conditions due to its complex physiological structure and important features related to spinal cord manipulation. However, the existing endoscope device has a plurality of defects. Firstly, a conventional spinal endoscope belongs to a two-dimensional display endoscope, a doctor lacks stereoscopic vision, depth sensation is lost, the hand-eye coordination difficulty is high, the operation difficulty is increased, and the nerve injury risk is increased; secondly, the traditional spinal endoscope is reused, and needs to be cleaned and disinfected after each use, and the lenses and internal parts are inevitably damaged in the cleaning and disinfecting processes, so that the operation safety is affected; most importantly, the spinal cord is used as a central nervous system of a human body, once the infection results are not supposed, the traditional spinal endoscope is repeatedly used, so that the central nervous system is easily infected, the operation effect of a patient is seriously affected, and serious patients can cause life danger.

Accordingly, there are a number of technical drawbacks to the existing two-dimensional spinal endoscopes, and improvements are needed.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the problems in the prior art, the application provides an electronic endoscope and a 3D electronic endoscope, solves the problem of easy infection caused by repeated disinfection, and has low device cost.

To solve one or more of the above technical problems, an aspect of the present application provides an electronic endoscope, including: a disposable endoscope body, and a reusable image processing apparatus;

wherein the disposable endoscope body comprises: the working mirror body and the operating device are connected with the rear end of the working mirror body;

the working lens body comprises an image sensor assembly for acquiring external image information at the front end of the working lens body;

the image processing device is used for processing the image acquired by the image sensor assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, the image sensor assembly comprises: an imaging optical system for imaging the environment outside the working lens body, and an image sensor positioned at the imaging surface of the imaging optical system.

In a preferred embodiment, the imaging optical system includes an objective lens group and a turning prism group for turning an optical axis of the imaging optical system by a predetermined angle.

In a preferred embodiment, the front end surface normal of the working mirror body forms a first angle with the central axis of the working mirror body.

In a preferred embodiment, the first angular included angle corresponds to a rotational angle of the steering prism group to an optical axis of the imaging optical system.

In a preferred embodiment, the working mirror further comprises: and the illumination device is used for illuminating the outside of the front end of the working lens body.

In a preferred embodiment, the illumination means is a plurality of illumination means and is disposed around the image sensor assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, the illumination device includes a built-in light source provided near a front end face of the working mirror body.

In a preferred embodiment, the illumination device comprises a light guide device for transmitting light rays emitted by the external light source onto the front end face of the working mirror body.

In a preferred embodiment, the working mirror further comprises: a power supply circuit for supplying power to the illumination device and to the image sensor assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, the operating means is an operating handle means.

In a preferred embodiment, the working mirror further comprises: and a water inlet and outlet passage.

In a preferred embodiment, the water inlet and outlet inner port of the water inlet and outlet channel is positioned at the front end face of the working mirror body, and the water inlet and outlet outer port of the water inlet and outlet channel is positioned at two sides of the operating device.

In a preferred embodiment, the image processing apparatus includes a signal conversion unit, a signal processing unit, and an image processing unit.

In a preferred embodiment, the signal conversion unit includes: noise removal circuitry, automatic gain adjustment circuitry, and analog-to-digital converters.

In a preferred embodiment, the signal processing unit comprises: a signal processing circuit that performs at least one of color separation, color interpolation, gain correction, white balance adjustment, and gamma correction.

In a preferred embodiment, the image processing unit includes: an image processing circuit performs at least one of the functions of scaling, color enhancement processing, and edge enhancement processing.

According to the specific embodiment provided by the application, the application discloses the following technical effects:

the application avoids the problems of unstable performance and easy infection caused by repeated disinfection of the prior equipment by the design of the disposable endoscope body and the reusable image processor, and is beneficial to reducing the cost of the endoscope.

In another aspect, the present application also provides a 3D electronic endoscope, including: a disposable 3D endoscope body, and a reusable 3D image processing device;

wherein, disposable 3D endoscope body includes: the working mirror body and the operating device are connected with the rear end of the working mirror body;

the working lens body comprises a 3D image sensor assembly for acquiring 3D image information outside the front end of the working lens body;

the 3D image processing device is used for processing the 3D image information acquired by the image sensor assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, the 3D image sensor assembly includes: and each image sensor assembly is used for acquiring 3D image information of a corresponding visual angle outside the front end of the working lens body.

In a preferred embodiment, the 3D image sensor assembly includes: the image sensor assembly is used for acquiring image information of one view angle outside the front end of the working lens body, and the depth information sensor assembly is used for acquiring distance and depth information of an object outside the front end of the working lens body.

In a preferred embodiment, each image sensor comprises: the imaging optical system is used for imaging the environment outside the working lens body corresponding to the visual angle, and the image sensor is positioned at the imaging surface position of the imaging optical system.

In a preferred embodiment, the operating means is an operating handle means.

In a preferred embodiment, the 3D image processing apparatus comprises an image processing unit.

In a preferred embodiment, the image processing unit includes: a 3D format image generation unit and a 3D display image generation unit;

wherein the 3D format image generation unit is configured to generate an image in a predetermined 3D format based on the image information acquired by the 3D image sensor assembly;

the 3D display image generation unit is used for processing the image with the preset 3D format generated by the 3D format image generation unit into a stereoscopic image suitable for being displayed by the 3D display device.

In a preferred embodiment, the 3D display image generating unit uses the device parameter of the 3D display device as an algorithm parameter, and processes the image generated by the 3D format image generating unit in a predetermined 3D format by using a map arranging algorithm to obtain a mixed stereoscopic image suitable for being displayed by the 3D display device.

In a preferred embodiment, the device parameters of the 3D display device include: the 3D display is used for displaying at least one parameter of the structural size, the setting position and the arrangement inclined angle of the light splitting device.

according to the embodiment of the application, through the design of the disposable 3D endoscope body and the reusable image processor, the problems of unstable performance and easy infection caused by repeated disinfection of the existing equipment are avoided, and the cost of the endoscope is reduced. And because the 3D image sensor assembly is adopted to acquire the 3D image, a user can clearly see the 3D image in the operation, more details can be observed, and the operation safety can be improved during the operation, so that a better operation effect is achieved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings may be obtained according to these drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the overall structure of an electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the working mirror near the front end;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the shape of the front end of the working mirror;

FIG. 4 is a schematic layout of the front end face of the working mirror;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an internal structure of the operation device;

FIG. 6 is a system block diagram of the electronics portion of the electronic endoscope;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a 3D electronic endoscope according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8-1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the working mirror near the front end;

FIG. 8-2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the working mirror near the front end;

FIG. 9 is a shape of the front end face of the working mirror;

FIG. 10 is a schematic layout of the front end face of the working mirror;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of an internal structure of the operation device;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an external structure of the operating device;

fig. 13 is a system block diagram of the electronics portion of the 3D electronic endoscope.

Detailed Description

For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more apparent, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the application without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the application.

Example 1

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the overall structure of an electronic endoscope according to a first embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 1, the electronic endoscope includes a disposable endoscope body 1 and a reusable image processing apparatus 4. In a preferred manner, a display 5 for displaying the output image of the image processing apparatus 4 may also be added.

The design of the disposable endoscope body and the reusable image processor avoids the problems of unstable performance and easy infection caused by repeated disinfection of the existing equipment, and is beneficial to reducing the cost of the endoscope.

It should be noted that the endoscope in the present embodiment may be a plurality of types of endoscopes, such as arthroscopes.

The disposable endoscope body 1 comprises a working endoscope body 2 and an operating device 3 connected with the rear end of the working endoscope body. The form of the operation device 3 may be various, for example, for a scene of using the disposable endoscope body 1 by hand, the operation device 3 may take the form of a handle as shown in fig. 1; in contrast, for a scene in which, for example, the surgical robot operates the disposable endoscope body 1, the operation device 3 may be in another form that is convenient to detachably connect to the robot arm.

The diameter of the working mirror body 2 may be 1-20mm.

In operation, the disposable endoscope body 1 which is in a sterile state is independently packaged in a sterile sealed package, and is taken out when in use.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the working mirror body 2 near the front end. The working mirror body 2 includes an image sensor assembly 7 for acquiring image information of the outside of the front end of the working mirror body. The image acquired by the image sensor unit 7 is processed by the image processing device 4. Therefore, the application replaces the traditional optical imaging by the image sensor, adopts the split design of the endoscope main body and the image processor, and the endoscope part is disposable, thereby greatly reducing the cost of the endoscope.

The image sensor assembly 7 may include an imaging optical system that images the environment outside the working lens body, and an image sensor 10 located at the imaging plane position of the imaging optical system. The image sensor 10 thus converts the optical imaging result of the imaging optical system on the environment outside the working mirror body into a corresponding electrical signal. Types of image sensors 10 include, but are not limited to, CMOS sensors. The light inlet of the imaging optical system is positioned on the front end face of the working mirror body 2. The number of pixels of the image sensor 10 may be set to 100 ten thousand or more, and the hole diameter may be set to 1mm or more. The angle of view of the imaging optical system may be set to 120 degrees.

The image sensor assembly 7 may further include a driving circuit 11 that drives the image sensor 10.

As shown in fig. 2, the imaging optical system may include an objective lens group 8 and a turning prism group 9, the turning prism group 9 being for turning an optical axis of the imaging optical system by a predetermined angle. Therefore, the requirements of different visual fields in operation can be met through the steering prism group 9, and the steering prism group 9 can enable the visual fields to be asymmetric relative to the central axis of the working lens body. When the turning prism group 9 is used, the front end surface normal of the working lens body 2 forms a first angle with the working lens body central axis, for example, an angle β is formed between the front end surface normal L1 of the working lens body 2 and the working lens body central axis L2 shown in fig. 3. The included angle β may be any value within a closed interval of 0 degrees to 90 degrees. In practice, the predetermined angle at which the prism group 9 turns the optical axis of the imaging optical system may correspond to the above-described first angle included angle, and may be set equal to each other, for example. The field of view obtained by the imaging optical system at this time is symmetrical with respect to the normal line of the front end face.

The turning prism group 9 may be located between the optical paths of two of the lenses within the objective lens group 8. And the steering prisms. The relative positions of the objective lens group 8 and the steering prism group 9 can be flexibly arranged according to actual needs by a person skilled in the art, so long as the system aberration is controlled within the allowable range of the medical operation scene.

In some endoscopic procedures, additional illumination is required to illuminate the environment outside the front end of the working scope, improving imaging quality. For this purpose, the working mirror body 2 may further comprise illumination means for illuminating the outside of the front end of the working mirror body.

Referring to the schematic layout of the front end face of the working mirror body 2 shown in fig. 4, in particular, the shape of the front end face interface is circular, and in practice, other cross-sectional shapes, such as oval, rectangular, etc., may be selected as required. The light entering position of the image sensor assembly 7 is located near the center of the front end face, the lighting device 6 may be provided in plural in order to ensure more uniform lighting, and the light exiting position of the lighting device 6 is provided around the image sensor assembly 7 and substantially in a ring-shaped distribution.

The lighting device schemes may include two types, one of which is a built-in light source scheme, as shown in fig. 2, the lighting device 6 includes a built-in light source 12 and a power supply circuit 13. The built-in light source 12 is disposed near the front end face of the working mirror body 2, and the light outlet of the built-in light source 12 is located on the front end face of the working mirror body 2. The power supply circuit 13 is used to supply power to the built-in light source 12. The built-in light source 12 may be various types of light sources such as LEDs.

The second scheme of the lighting device is an external light source scheme, and the lighting device 6 comprises a light guide device for transmitting light rays emitted by the external light source into the front end face of the working mirror body 2. The light source is arranged outside the working mirror body 2, and the external light source can be reused because the light source is arranged outside. The light guide may be various types of light guides using total reflection for light transmission, such as an optical fiber. The light-emitting end face of the light guide device may be located on the front end face of the working mirror body 2.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of the internal structure of the operating device 3. The operating device 3 comprises a housing 14, an output cable 15, an input cable 16. Wherein the output cable 15 and the input cable 16 are located at the tail of the operating device 3. The connector of the input cable 16 may be a USB interface. The interface of the output cable 15 may be an HDMI interface. The output cable 15 is externally connected to the image processing device 4 to transmit the acquired image information. The input cable 15 is externally connected with a power supply to supply power to the image sensor assembly 7. When the lighting device employs a built-in light source scheme, the input cable 15 may also power the built-in light source 12.

The working mirror body 2 may further comprise a water inlet and outlet channel. The water inlet and outlet inner port of the water inlet and outlet channel is positioned at the front end face of the working lens body 2, and the water inlet and outlet outer port of the water inlet and outlet channel is positioned at two sides of the operating device 3.

The specific implementation of the image processing apparatus is described in detail below.

Fig. 6 shows a system block diagram of the electronics portion of the electronic endoscope. The image processing device receives the image information output by the image sensor assembly through the output cable, processes the image information and displays the processed image information through the display.

The image processing apparatus includes a signal conversion unit, a signal processing unit, and an image processing unit.

Wherein the signal conversion unit may include: noise removal circuitry, automatic gain Adjustment (AGC) circuitry, and analog to digital converters. The noise removal circuit may be, for example, a double sampling (CDS) circuit. Wherein the noise removing circuit performs noise removing processing on the image signal output from the image sensor assembly, and the automatic gain Adjusting (AGC) circuit performs amplification processing on the signal processed by the noise removing circuit. The analog-to-digital converter is used for converting the image signal processed by the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) circuit into a digital image signal.

The signal processing unit may include: a signal processing circuit that performs at least one of color separation, color interpolation, gain correction, white balance adjustment, and gamma correction.

The image processing unit may include: an image processing circuit performs at least one of the functions of scaling, color enhancement processing, and edge enhancement processing.

The image processing apparatus may further include an output unit for converting the image signal processed by the image processing unit into a video signal conforming to a specification of the display, and outputting the video signal to the display through a video signal line.

Furthermore, the image processing apparatus may further include a control unit. The control unit includes a CPU, a ROM, a Random Access Memory (RAM), and the like, and a control program stored in advance in the ROM is selected on the RAM and executed by the CPU. The control unit is not limited to the above configuration, and may include a single-core CPU, a multi-core CPU, a microcomputer. The control unit may also have functions such as a clock that outputs information related to the current time, a timer that measures the elapsed time from the provision of the measurement start instruction to the provision of the measurement end instruction, and a counter that counts the number.

In addition, the image processing apparatus may further include a storage unit. The storage unit includes an erasable writable read-only memory or a recording device equipped with a hard disk, and can store data generated in the image processor. In other examples, the storage unit may be a portable recording medium such as a general-purpose USB memory and an SD card, and may be connected to the image processing apparatus or removed.

In addition, the image processing apparatus may further include an operation unit. The operation unit includes an input device such as an operation panel including various switches and buttons provided on a housing of the image processor, a mouse and a keyboard connected to the processor device, and the like. The operation unit outputs a signal according to an operation of an operator to the control unit.

In order to control the illumination device, the image processing device may further include a light source control unit. The light source control unit comprises a control circuit for controlling the driving of the light source and the motor under the control of the control unit, and can control the working state of the external light source or the internal light source.

According to the first embodiment, the image processing device is arranged, so that output of various image formats is realized, and universality of the equipment is improved. And the front section uses optics and an image sensor assembly to realize image shooting, and the rear section uses an image processing device, so that the advantages of the traditional optical endoscope and the traditional electronic endoscope are combined, and the problem of providing higher optical imaging resolution at low cost is solved.

A procedure for using the electronic endoscope according to the first embodiment will be described below. When the operation starts, firstly, the disposable endoscope main body is taken out, an output cable at the tail end of an operation device (such as a handle) is connected with the image processing device and the power interface, then the video output interface (such as an HDMI or USB socket) of the image processing device is connected with the display through a signal wire, connection is completed, puncture is completed by using the sheath and the puncture needle, and then the disposable endoscope main body is inserted into the operation part of a patient along a pore canal, and the light source is started for illumination. In the operation process, doctors combine the real-time images of the tissue surface seen on the display screen to develop the operation until the operation is finished.

Example two

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the overall structure of a 3D electronic endoscope according to a second embodiment of the present application, and as shown in fig. 1, the 3D electronic endoscope includes a disposable endoscope body 201 and a reusable 3D image processing device 204. In a preferred manner, a display 205 for displaying the output image of the 3D image processing apparatus 204 may also be added.

By means of the design of the disposable 3D endoscope body and the reusable image processor, the problems that the existing equipment is unstable in performance and easy to cause infection due to repeated disinfection are avoided, and the cost of the endoscope is reduced. And because the 3D image sensor assembly is adopted to acquire the 3D image, a user can clearly see the 3D image in the operation, more details can be observed, and the operation safety can be improved during the operation, so that a better operation effect is achieved.

It should be noted that the endoscope in the second embodiment may be a 3D endoscope of various types, such as a spinal endoscope.

The disposable endoscope 3D body 201 includes a working scope 202 and an operating device 203 connected to the rear end of the working scope. The form of the operation device 203 may be various, for example, for a scene of using the disposable 3D endoscope body 201 by hand, the operation device 203 may take the form of a handle as shown in fig. 7; for a scenario where, for example, the surgical robot operates the disposable 3D endoscope body 201, the operation device 203 may take other forms that facilitate detachable connection with the robot arm.

The working mirror 202 may have a diameter of 1-20mm.

In operation, the disposable endoscope body 201, which is in a sterile state, is independently packaged in a sterile sealed package, and taken out when in use.

The working mirror 202 includes a 3D image sensor assembly for acquiring 3D image information external to the front end of the working mirror. The 3D image acquired by the image sensor assembly is processed by the image processing device 204. Therefore, the application replaces the traditional optical imaging by the image sensor, adopts the split design of the endoscope main body and the image processor, and the endoscope part is disposable, thereby greatly reducing the cost of the endoscope. The 3D image sensor assembly may include a plurality of image sensor assemblies each for acquiring 3D image information of a corresponding viewing angle outside the front end of the working mirror 202.

There are a variety of architectural schemes for implementing a 3D image sensor assembly. For example, one architecture scheme is: the 3D image sensor assembly includes: an image sensor assembly and a depth information sensor assembly. The image sensor component is used for acquiring image information of a visual angle outside the front end of the working lens body, and the depth information sensor component is used for acquiring distance depth information of an object outside the front end of the working lens body. The image sensor assembly herein may include an RGB color image sensor. The depth information sensor assembly may include a depth information sensor that detects forward object distance information using TOF, structured light, etc. techniques.

Another architectural solution for a 3D image sensor assembly is: the 3D image sensor assembly comprises a plurality of image sensor assemblies, and each image sensor assembly is used for acquiring 3D image information of a corresponding visual angle outside the front end of the working lens body. There is a certain parallax between the viewing angles corresponding to adjacent image sensor assemblies.

Fig. 8-1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view near the front end of the working mirror body, and fig. 8-2 is a vertical cross-sectional view near the front end of the working mirror body.

As shown in fig. 8-1 and 8-2, the 3D image sensor assembly includes an image sensor assembly 2010 and an image sensor assembly 2011. Taking the image sensor assembly 2010 as an example, the image sensor assembly includes an imaging optical system that images a corresponding angle of view of an environment outside the working lens body, and an image sensor 2016 located at an imaging surface position of the imaging optical system. The image sensor 2016 thus converts the optical imaging of the working lens' external environment by the imaging optical system into corresponding electrical signals. The type of image sensor 2016 includes, but is not limited to, a CMOS sensor. The light entrance of the imaging optical system is located at the front end face of the working mirror 202. The number of pixels of the image sensor 2016 may be set to 100 ten thousand or more, and the hole diameter may be set to 1mm or more. The angle of view of the imaging optical system may be set to 120 degrees.

The image sensor assembly 2010 may also include a drive circuit 2017 that drives the image sensor 2016.

As shown in fig. 8-1, the imaging optical system may include an objective lens group 2014 and a turning prism group 2015, the turning prism group 2015 for turning an optical axis of the imaging optical system by a predetermined angle. Thus, the requirements of different visual fields in the operation can be realized through the steering prism group 2015, and the steering prism group 2015 can enable the visual field to be asymmetric relative to the central axis of the working lens body. When the turning prism group 2015 is used, the front end surface normal of the working lens body 202 forms a first angle with the working lens body central axis, for example, an angle β is formed between the front end surface normal L1 of the working lens body 202 and the working lens body central axis L2 as shown in fig. 9. The included angle β may be any value within a closed interval of 0 degrees to 90 degrees. In practice, the predetermined angle at which the steering prism group 2015 steers the optical axis of the imaging optical system may correspond to the above-described first angle included angle, and may be set equal to each other, for example. The field of view obtained by the imaging optical system at this time is symmetrical with respect to the normal line of the front end face.

The turning prism group 2015 may be located between the optical paths of two of the lenses within the objective lens group 2014. And the steering prisms. The relative positions of the objective lens group 208 and the turning prism group 209 can be flexibly arranged according to actual needs by a person skilled in the art, as long as the system aberration is controlled within the allowable range of the medical operation scene.

As shown in fig. 8-2, a working channel 209 is also provided within the working mirror 202. The working channel 209 may be 1-15mm in diameter.

In some endoscopic procedures, additional illumination is required to illuminate the environment outside the front end of the working scope, improving imaging quality. For this purpose, the working mirror 202 may further comprise illumination means for illuminating the exterior of the front end of the working mirror.

Referring to the schematic view of the front end surface of the working mirror 202 shown in fig. 10, in particular, the front end surface interface is circular, and in practice, other cross-sectional shapes, such as oval, rectangular, etc., may be selected as desired. The opening of the working channel 209 is located at the front end surface, and the light incident position of the 3D image sensor assembly 206 is set near the working channel 209, so that the shooting position of the 3D image sensor assembly 206 is ensured to be as close to the position where the working channel 209 faces as possible. The 3D image sensor assembly 206 includes an image sensor assembly 2010 and an image sensor assembly 2011. To ensure more uniform illumination, the illumination device 207 is provided in plural, and the illumination device 7 is arranged around the image sensor assembly 2010 and the image sensor assembly 2011.

The lighting device schemes may include two types, one of which is a built-in light source scheme, as shown in fig. 8-1 and 8-2, the lighting device 207 includes a built-in light source 2012 and a power supply circuit 2013. The built-in light source 2012 is disposed near the front end face of the working mirror 202, and the light outlet of the built-in light source 2012 is located on the front end face of the working mirror 202. Power supply circuit 2013 is configured to supply power to built-in light source 2012. Built-in light source 2012 may be various types of light sources such as LEDs.

The second scheme of the lighting device is an external light source scheme, and the lighting device 207 includes a light guide device that transmits light emitted from the external light source onto the front end surface of the working mirror 202. The light source is located outside the working mirror 202, and the external light source can be reused because the light source is located outside. The light guide may be various types of light guides using total reflection for light transmission, such as an optical fiber. The light-emitting end surface of the light guide device may be located on the front end surface of the working mirror 202.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic view of an internal structure of the operation device 203. The operation device 203 includes a housing, an output cable 2019, and an input cable 2018. Wherein the output cable 2019 and the input cable 2018 are located at the tail of the handling device 203. The connector of the input cable 2018 may be a USB interface. The interface of the output cable 2019 may be an HDMI interface. The output cable 2019 is externally connected to the 3D image processing device 204 to transmit the acquired image information. An input cable 2018 is externally connected to a power supply to power the 3D image sensor assembly 206. When the lighting device employs an in-built light source scheme, the input cable 2018 may also power the in-built light source 2012.

Referring to the external structure of the operating device shown in fig. 10 and 12, the working mirror 202 may further include a water inlet and outlet channel 208. The water inlet and outlet inner port of the water inlet and outlet channel 208 is positioned at the front end face of the working mirror body 202, and the water inlet and outlet outer port of the water inlet and outlet channel 208 is positioned at two sides of the operating device 203.

The electronics portion of the 3D electronic endoscope is shown in system block diagram in fig. 13. The 3D image processing apparatus receives 3D image information output from the 3D image sensor assembly (including the image sensor assembly 2010 and the image sensor assembly 2011) through an output cable, processes the 3D image information, and displays the processed 3D image information through a display.

The 3D image processing apparatus includes an image processing unit.

The image processing unit comprises a 3D format image generating unit and a 3D display image generating unit.

The 3D format image generation unit is configured to generate an image in a predetermined 3D format based on the image information acquired by the 3D image sensor assembly. For example, when the predetermined 3D format is a left-right eye picture mosaic format, the 3D format image generation unit may stitch each frame picture having parallax acquired by the 3D image sensor assembly into a stereoscopic image in the left-right eye format.

The 3D format is a general standard established in the industry, but the display technology and display specification adopted by the actual 3D display are different, and the image in the predetermined 3D format is directly output to the 3D display, so that normal 3D image viewing experience cannot be obtained. For this purpose, a 3D display image generating unit is required to generate an image of a predetermined 3D format by the 3D format image generating unit, and process the generated image into a stereoscopic image suitable for display by a 3D display device. Such a processing procedure may be, for example, processing an image of a predetermined 3D format generated by the 3D format image generating unit using a map layout algorithm with the device parameters of the 3D display device as algorithm parameters, to obtain a mixed stereoscopic image suitable for display by the 3D display device. The device parameters of the 3D display device include: the 3D display is used for displaying at least one parameter of the structural size, the setting position and the arrangement inclined angle of the light splitting device.

For example, when the 3D display device is a Lenticular Lens (naked eye) 3D display device, the structural dimension of the light splitting device may be the width of each Lenticular Lens unit. The set position may be the relative position of the first lenticular element of the lenticular film with respect to a reference pixel of the display screen, which may be defined as the first pixel in the upper left corner of the display screen. The arrangement tilt angle may be the angle of each lenticular element axis relative to the screen pixel column or row direction.

The processing algorithm of the 3D display image generating unit may also be referred to as an interleaving algorithm, and this name vividly describes a process in which the processing algorithm interleaves and maps a plurality of 3D images having a parallax relationship by columns.

The interleaving algorithm may be: firstly, dividing each picture into a plurality of columns by taking a as a unit according to an external signal, and then alternately arranging and recombining pictures of a left camera and a right camera into a picture; and adjusting the single-column and double-column contents in the combined photo in the first step according to the signal b, wherein b is 0 or 1, the first column of the left picture is firstly arranged if 0, and the first column of the right picture is firstly arranged if 1. When the specific left and right eye images are spliced, photos from the two image sensor assemblies at the same time are combined into a left and right eye format in real time (compressed into 8:9 from left to right, and the total picture is still 16:9) to be sent out. Description: a is an external signal that varies in real time and is a number between 1 and 28. The columns in the several columns refer to new columns that are newly composed in units of a, so the new columns are a times the columns in the original image. For example, if this number is 3, 1-3 in the picture acquired by the original image sensor is the first column of the new column, and 4-6 is the second column of the new column.

In practice, the 3D display image generating unit and the 3D format image generating unit can be both realized by the FPGA, which is conducive to high-degree-of-freedom customization and convenient later modification of iterative algorithms and algorithm parameters.

The 3D image processing apparatus may further include an output unit for converting the image signal processed by the 3D image processing unit into a video signal conforming to a specification of the display and outputting the video signal to the display through a video signal line.

The application can realize the output of various image formats by arranging the image processing device, thereby improving the universality of the equipment. And the front section uses optics and an image sensor assembly to realize image shooting, and the rear section uses an image processing device, so that the advantages of the traditional optical endoscope and the traditional electronic endoscope are combined, and the problem of providing higher optical imaging resolution at low cost is solved.

The following describes a use procedure of the 3D electronic endoscope provided in this embodiment, taking a scenario in which the 3D electronic endoscope is applied to a spinal endoscope as an example. When spine operation is carried out on a patient with spine disease, a working mirror body is inserted along a mirror sheath duct, under the illumination of a light source, two miniature image sensor assemblies shoot pictures in the patient, the pictures enter a 3D format image generating unit of a 3D image processing device through a driving circuit and an output cable to generate stereoscopic image signals, then the stereoscopic image signals enter a 3D display image generating unit which is adaptive to 3D display equipment, then the image signals enter a 3D display through the output unit, at the moment, a doctor can see details such as the space position of a spine anatomy structure, the morphology of pathological tissues, the condition of surgical instruments and the like which are clear in real time through the 3D display, and finally, the operation can be carried out on the patient through an operation hole of the working mirror body.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, for example; can be mechanically or electrically connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present application will be understood in specific cases by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the application is not intended to limit the application to the precise form disclosed, and any such modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the application are intended to be included within the scope of the application.

Claims

1. An electronic endoscope, comprising: a disposable endoscope body, and a reusable image processing apparatus;

2. The electronic endoscope of claim 1, wherein the image sensor assembly comprises: an imaging optical system for imaging the environment outside the working lens body and an image sensor positioned at the imaging surface of the imaging optical system.

3. The electronic endoscope of claim 1 or 2, wherein the front end surface normal of the working lens body has a first angle with the working lens body central axis.

4. The electronic endoscope of claim 1, wherein the working scope further comprises: and the illumination device is used for illuminating the outside of the front end of the working lens body.

5. The electronic endoscope of claim 1, wherein the working scope further comprises: and a water inlet and outlet passage.

6. A 3D electronic endoscope, comprising: a disposable 3D endoscope body, and a reusable 3D image processing device;

7. The 3D electronic endoscope of claim 6, wherein the 3D image sensor assembly comprises: and each image sensor assembly is used for acquiring 3D image information of a corresponding visual angle outside the front end of the working lens body.

8. The 3D electronic endoscope of claim 6, wherein the 3D image sensor assembly comprises: the image sensor assembly is used for acquiring image information of one view angle outside the front end of the working lens body, and the depth information sensor assembly is used for acquiring distance and depth information of an object outside the front end of the working lens body.

9. The 3D electronic endoscope of claim 8, wherein each image sensor assembly comprises: the imaging optical system is used for imaging the environment outside the working lens body corresponding to the visual angle, and the image sensor is positioned at the imaging surface position of the imaging optical system.

10. The 3D electronic endoscope of claim 6, wherein the 3D image processing device comprises an image processing unit comprising: a 3D format image generation unit and a 3D display image generation unit;