JP2002045328A - Device displaying fluorescent diagnostic image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fluorescent diagnostic device that displays a normal image based on a reflexed light from an observation site receiving an irradiation of an illumination light and a fluorescent diagnostic image based on a fluorescent light from an observation site receiving an irradiation of an excitation light, whereas an easily visible fluorescent diagnostic image is displayed even when the pixel of a fluorescent diagnostic image is less than that of a normal image. SOLUTION: From CCD photographic element 125 that photographed a fluorescent light irradiated from an observation site L image signals are read by means of beginning readout by adding a plurality of pixels before a fluorescent image with less pixels based on the image signal is generated. A portion for increasing the pixel 134 of a fluorescent diagnostic image generating unit 130 inputs the pixel of a normal image from a video signal processing circuit 144 of an image processing unit 140, and outputs the fluorescent diagnostic image to a video signal processing circuit 144 after increasing the pixel of a fluorescent diagnostic image up to that of a normal image, thereby displaying an easily visible fluorescent diagnostic image magnified as large as a normal image on a fluorescent diagnostic image monitor 162.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for irradiating an observation section of a living body with a fluorescent diagnostic agent previously injected with excitation light, capturing fluorescence emitted from the fluorescent diagnostic agent, displaying the image as an image,
Alternatively, the present invention relates to a fluorescence diagnostic image display device which captures autofluorescence emitted from a dye in a living body without previously injecting a fluorescent diagnostic agent and displays the image as an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a living body observation section is irradiated with excitation light in an excitation wavelength region of an in-vivo dye, an image of fluorescence emitted from the in-vivo dye is taken, and a fluorescence diagnostic image based on an image signal obtained by imaging. Fluorescent diagnostic image display device or to display a fluorescent diagnostic agent in advance into a living body, and irradiate excitation light in the excitation wavelength region of the fluorescent diagnostic agent to generate fluorescence from the fluorescent diagnostic agent,
There is known a fluorescence diagnostic image display device which captures the fluorescence and displays a fluorescence diagnostic image based on the image signal obtained by capturing the fluorescence.

For example, when a living tissue is irradiated with excitation light in the excitation light wavelength region of a dye existing in the living body, normal tissues and diseased tissues have different fluorescence intensities. There has been proposed a technique of irradiating excitation light and receiving fluorescence emitted from a dye in a living body to display the localization and infiltration range of a diseased tissue as a fluorescence diagnostic image.

Normally, when excitation light is irradiated, normal tissue emits strong fluorescence as shown by the solid line in FIG. 6 and weak tissue emits weak fluorescence as shown by the broken line in the diseased tissue. By doing so, it is possible to determine whether the living tissue is normal or in a pathological state.

When displaying the intensity of the fluorescence by the excitation light as an image, the intensity of the excitation light applied to the living tissue is not uniform because the living tissue has irregularities. Also,
The intensity of the fluorescence emitted from the living tissue is almost proportional to the illuminance of the excitation light, but the illuminance of the excitation light decreases in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. For this reason, a diseased tissue that is closer to a tissue than a normal tissue that is farther from the light source may receive stronger fluorescence.Accordingly, information on the intensity of the fluorescence received by the excitation light alone can accurately identify the tissue characteristics of the living tissue. Can not do it. In order to reduce such inconvenience, the inventors obtain a ratio of two types of fluorescence intensities obtained from different wavelength bands by division, and display a fluorescence diagnostic image based on the divided value, that is, a method of displaying a biological image. An image display method based on the difference in the shape of the fluorescence spectrum reflecting the tissue properties, and irradiating the living tissue with near-infrared light that is uniformly absorbed by various living tissues as reference light, A method has been proposed in which the intensity of reflected light reflected by living tissue that has been irradiated is detected, the ratio with respect to the fluorescence intensity is obtained by division, and a fluorescence diagnostic image is displayed based on the division value.

A hue, which is one of the three attributes of color, is determined based on the ratio of the two types of fluorescent light intensity and the ratio between the reflected light intensity of the reference light and the fluorescent light intensity, and based on the reflected light intensity of the reference light. For example, a method for displaying a fluorescence diagnostic image in which luminance is defined as one of the three attributes of color has been developed.

Further, the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the above-mentioned technology basically includes an excitation light emitting means for emitting excitation light, an illumination light emitting means for emitting illumination light, and an excitation light emitted to the observation unit. A fluorescent image capturing unit that captures a fluorescent image by fluorescence emitted from an observation unit, a normal image capturing unit that captures a normal image by reflected light reflected by the observation unit by irradiating the observation unit with illumination light, A fluorescent diagnostic image is generated based on the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing unit, a fluorescent diagnostic image display unit that displays the image, and a normal image based on the image signal output from the normal image capturing unit is generated.
These fluorescent diagnostic image display devices are often incorporated into an endoscope inserted into a body cavity, a colposcope, a surgical microscope, or the like. Composed into shapes.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned conventional fluorescence diagnostic imaging apparatus, various techniques have been applied to the method of imaging a fluorescent image in order to efficiently capture the slight fluorescence emitted from the observation unit. . For example, in capturing a fluorescent image, a method using binning readout in which signal charges received by a plurality of pixels of the image sensor are integrated and read out, or forming a fluorescent image on a smaller area than a normal image, and using one pixel Development of a method of imaging by increasing the intensity of the received light is also in progress. By using these methods, the signal charge included in each image signal output from the image sensor increases, so that the S / N is improved and a fluorescent image with less noise can be captured.

However, as described above, when binning readout is used or when a fluorescent image is formed on a small area and picked up, the number of pixels of the image signal output from the image pickup element that picks up the normal image is reduced. In addition, the number of pixels of the image signal output from the image sensor that has captured the fluorescent image is reduced. For this reason, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image generated based on the image signal of the fluorescent image is smaller than the number of pixels of the normal image generated based on the image signal of the normal image. When displayed as it is, the number of pixels on the display screen of the fluorescent diagnostic image becomes smaller than the number of pixels on the display screen of the normal image, and the displayed fluorescent diagnostic image becomes smaller, making it difficult for an observer to see. However, in the conventional fluorescent diagnostic image display device, these circumstances have not been sufficiently considered.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fluorescent diagnostic image display device in which the number of pixels of a fluorescent diagnostic image is smaller than the number of pixels of a normal image. It is an object to provide a diagnostic image display device.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus comprising: an excitation light emitting unit for emitting excitation light; an illumination light emitting unit for emitting illumination light; A fluorescent image capturing unit that captures a fluorescent image by fluorescence emitted from the observation unit by irradiating the observation unit with the excited excitation light, and observes by irradiating the observation unit with illumination light emitted from the illumination light emitting unit. A normal image capturing unit that captures a normal image by light reflected by the unit, a fluorescent diagnostic image display unit that generates and displays a fluorescent diagnostic image based on an image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing unit, and a normal image capturing unit Normal image display means for generating and displaying a normal image based on the image signal output from the means, the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image, the fluorescent diagnostic image display device less than the number of pixels of the normal image, Light diagnostic image display means, is characterized in that the one having a pixel number increasing means for increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image.

Here, the "fluorescence diagnostic image based on the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing means" is a fluorescent diagnostic image created based on at least one type of image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing means. Any image may be used, and specific examples include 2D output from the fluorescent image capturing means.
A fluorescence diagnostic image created based on the ratio of the types of image signals, and an image signal output from the fluorescence image capturing unit and an IR reflected image composed of reflected light of near-infrared light are captured based on the ratio of image signals. A fluorescent diagnostic image in which the hue is determined based on the created fluorescent diagnostic image or the ratio of two types of image signals output from the fluorescent image capturing unit, and the luminance is determined based on the image signal obtained by capturing the IR reflected image. And so on.

As the number-of-pixels increasing means, means for increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image so as to be substantially equal to the number of pixels of the normal image can be used.

Here, "increase the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image so as to be substantially equal to the number of pixels of the normal image" means, for example, that the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is 250.times.250 pixels. If the number of pixels is 500 × 500 pixels, the signal value of one pixel of the fluorescence diagnosis image is converted into a signal value corresponding to 2 × 2 pixels, thereby reducing the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image to 250. × 250 pixels to 500 × 50
It means increasing to 0 pixels. Any method of converting the signal value may be used. For example, a method of converting the signal value of one pixel as it is as a signal value of 2 × 2 pixels or calculating an average value of signal values between adjacent pixels is used. There is a method of using the value as a signal value of a pixel whose value increases, a method of calculating a signal value by performing weighting calculation from a signal value of an adjacent pixel, and using the value as a signal value of a pixel whose value increases.

The above-mentioned pixel number increasing means increases the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image so as to be substantially equal to the number of pixels on the display screen of the display device, or so as to become substantially equal to a preset number of pixels. Alternatively, a fluorescent diagnostic image that increases the number of pixels can be used.

In the case where the fluorescent diagnostic image display means displays the generated fluorescent diagnostic image after converting the fluorescent diagnostic image into a display signal, the pixel number increasing means sets the number of pixels immediately before the fluorescent diagnostic image is converted into the display signal. Alternatively, a fluorescent diagnostic image that increases the number of pixels can be used.

The pixel number increasing means may increase the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image by increasing the number of pixels of the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing means.

According to the second fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus of the present invention, an excitation light emitting means for emitting excitation light, an illumination light emitting means for emitting illumination light, and an excitation light emitted by the excitation light emitting means are observed. A fluorescent image capturing unit that captures a fluorescent image by the fluorescent light emitted from the observation unit by irradiating the unit,
A normal image pickup unit that picks up a normal image by reflected light reflected by the observation unit by irradiating the observation unit with illumination light emitted from the illumination light emission unit, and an image signal output from the fluorescence image pickup unit. A fluorescent diagnostic image display unit for generating and displaying the fluorescent diagnostic image, and a normal image display unit for generating and displaying a normal image based on an image signal output from the normal image capturing unit. However, in the fluorescence diagnostic image display device less than the number of pixels of the normal image,
The normal image display means may include a pixel number reducing means for reducing the number of pixels of the normal image so that the number of pixels is substantially equal to the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image.

The wavelength band of the excitation light is 400 nm to 4 nm.
A wavelength band of 20 nm can be used. Further, it is preferable to use a GaN-based semiconductor laser as a light source of the excitation light.

[0020]

According to the first fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, even if the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image is smaller than the number of pixels of the normal image,
By displaying the fluorescent diagnostic image after increasing the number of pixels, an enlarged and easy-to-read fluorescent diagnostic image is displayed, and the visibility of the fluorescent diagnostic image is improved.

If the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is increased so as to be substantially the same as the number of pixels of the normal image, an easy-to-view fluorescent diagnostic image enlarged to the size of the normal image is displayed. The visibility of the diagnostic image is improved, and the observer can easily recognize the correspondence between the part displayed on the fluorescence diagnostic image and the part displayed on the normal image.

When the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is increased to be substantially equal to the number of pixels of the display screen, an easy-to-view fluorescent diagnostic image enlarged to a size corresponding to the number of pixels of the display screen is displayed. In addition, the visibility of the fluorescence diagnostic image is improved. Further, even when the number of pixels on the display screen is changed, the fluorescence diagnostic image enlarged to a size substantially equal to the number of pixels on the display screen is automatically displayed, so that the convenience of the fluorescence diagnostic image display device is improved. .

In the case where the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is increased so as to be substantially equal to the number of pixels set in advance, the number of pixels may be set substantially equal to the number of pixels arbitrarily set by the observer in consideration of image quality and the like. The number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image can be increased so as to be equal, and when the observer is different, or when the observation site is different, it is possible to display an easy-to-view fluorescent diagnostic image enlarged to an arbitrary size desired by the observer, The visibility of the fluorescence diagnostic image is improved.

If the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image is increased immediately before the fluorescent diagnostic image is converted into a display signal, an enlarged and easy-to-read fluorescent diagnostic image can be displayed without increasing the number of image processing. can do.

If the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is increased by increasing the number of pixels of the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing means, for example, the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing means and the image signal For example, when a fluorescence diagnosis image is generated based on another image signal having a larger number of pixels than the image signal, the fluorescence diagnosis image can be generated without lowering the image quality.

In the second fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus of the present invention, the number of pixels of the normal image is reduced to substantially the same number of pixels as the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image, so that the normal image is displayed on one screen. Since the fluorescent diagnostic images are displayed side by side, even when the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image cannot be increased, or when it is not desirable to increase the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image in order to prevent a decrease in image quality, the same as the fluorescent diagnostic image is performed. A normal image reduced to the size can be displayed.
The correspondence between the part displayed in the fluorescence diagnostic image and the part displayed in the normal image can be easily recognized.

Further, by using excitation light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 420 nm, fluorescence from a living tissue can be obtained efficiently and with high reliability. Further, by using a GaN-based semiconductor laser as a light source for the excitation light, the size and cost of the device can be reduced.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a fluorescence endoscope apparatus as a first specific embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus. The fluorescent endoscope apparatus captures a color image of the reflected light of the observation unit 1 irradiated with the white light L1, displays a normal image created by normal color signal processing on the monitor 161, and displays the excitation light.
A hue in which a narrow-band fluorescent image and a broad-band fluorescent image are captured from the fluorescent light emitted from the observation unit 1 irradiated with L2, and the hue H in the Munsell color system is determined based on a value obtained by dividing the light intensity of both light images. A signal is created, an IR reflection image, which is a reflection image in a near-infrared wavelength band, is captured from the reflection light of the observation unit 1 irradiated with the white light L1, and the brightness in the Munsell color system is determined based on the light intensity of the IR reflection image. After generating a brightness signal defining V, generating a fluorescence diagnostic image by combining the two signals, and increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image to the same number of pixels as the normal image, the monitor
162 is displayed above.

The fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an endoscope insertion portion 100 inserted into a site suspected of a lesion of a patient, and a white light for imaging a normal image and an IR reflected image.
An illumination unit 110 including a light source that emits excitation light L2 for capturing L1 and a fluorescent image; an imaging unit 120 serving as a fluorescent image capturing unit that captures two types of fluorescent images having different wavelength bands and an IR reflected image; Calculate the light intensity divided by
A hue signal based on the divided value and a brightness signal based on the light intensity of the IR reflected image are obtained, a fluorescence diagnostic image based on both signals is generated, and the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is increased before being output. A fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 130, an image processing unit 140 that performs image processing for displaying a normal image and a fluorescence diagnostic image as visible images, a main control unit 150 that is connected to each unit and controls operation timing, And a monitor unit 160 for displaying the normal image and the fluorescence diagnostic image processed by the processing unit 140 as visible images.

The endoscope insertion section 100 includes a light guide 101, a CCD cable 102, and an image fiber 103 which extend inside to the distal end. An illumination lens 104 and an objective lens 105 are provided at the distal end of the light guide 101 and the CCD cable 102, that is, at the distal end of the endoscope insertion section 100. Further, the image fiber 103 is a multi-component glass fiber, and has a condenser lens 106 and an excitation light cut filter 107 for cutting a wavelength band of 420 nm or less, which is a wavelength near the excitation light from the fluorescence, at the tip thereof.

At the tip of the CCD cable 102, a CCD
An image sensor 108 is connected, and the CCD image sensor 108 has
A prism 109 is attached. Light guide 101
Is a multi-component glass fiber white light light guide 10
Excitation light light guide 1a and quartz glass fiber
101b is bundled and integrated into a cable shape,
White light guide 101a and excitation light guide 101b
Is connected to the lighting unit 110. CCD cable
One end of 102 is connected to the image processing unit 140, and one end of the image fiber 103 is connected to the fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit.
Connected to 130. The CCD image pickup device 108 is an image pickup device for picking up a color image in which a color filter (not shown) is on-chip, and an image signal obtained by the CCD image pickup device 108 is subjected to signal processing by a signal processing circuit 141 to be described later. The image is converted into a normal image which is a color image of × 500 pixels.

The illumination unit 110 includes a white light source 111 that emits white light L1 for capturing a normal image and an IR reflected image, and the white light source 111.
A driving circuit 112 for a white light source for supplying a driving current to the GaN-based semiconductor laser 11 for emitting excitation light L2 for imaging a fluorescent image;
4. A semiconductor laser drive circuit 115 for supplying a drive current to the GaN-based semiconductor laser 114 is provided.

The imaging unit 120 includes a switching filter 122 in which three kinds of optical filters are combined, the switching filter 122
Filter rotating device 124 for rotating 122, switching filter
The fluorescent image or IR reflected image transmitted through
CCD image sensor 125 that captures an image through an A / D conversion circuit that digitizes a signal captured by the CCD image sensor 125
126 and an image memory 127 for storing the image signal digitized by the A / D conversion circuit 126.

The CCD image pickup device 125 is an image pickup device of 500 × 500 pixels.
When a reflected image and a fluorescent image are taken, binning reading is performed after adding outputs of 2 × 2 pixels in order to increase the signal intensity. Therefore, when capturing the IR reflection image and the fluorescence image, the device operates as an apparently 250 × 250 pixel image sensor.

The switching filter 122 is, as shown in FIG. 2, an optical filter 123a which is a band-pass filter for transmitting light of 430 nm to 730 nm and an optical filter which is a band-pass filter for transmitting light of 480 nm ± 50 nm.
123b and an optical filter 123c which is a bandpass filter that transmits light of 750 nm to 900 nm. The optical filter 123a is an optical filter for capturing a broadband fluorescent image, the optical filter 123b is an optical filter for capturing a narrowband fluorescent image, and the optical filter 123c is an optical filter for capturing an IR reflected image. This switching filter 122
When the white light L1 is irradiated, the optical filters 123c are arranged on the optical path, and when the excitation light L2 is irradiated, the optical filters 123a or the optical filters 123b are arranged alternately. In addition, it is controlled by the main control unit 150 via the filter rotating device 124.

The image memory 127 is composed of a narrow band fluorescent image storage area, a broad band fluorescent image storage area, and an IR reflection image storage area (not shown). The image memory 127 is irradiated with excitation light L2, and an optical filter 123a for imaging a narrow band fluorescent image. The image signal of the narrow band fluorescent image captured in a state where is arranged on the optical path is stored in the narrow band fluorescent image storage area, irradiated with the excitation light L2, and the optical filter 123b for wide band fluorescent image imaging is placed on the optical path. The image signal of the broadband fluorescent image captured in the arranged state is stored in the broadband fluorescent image storage area. Further, the image signal of the IR reflection image captured in a state where the white light L1 is irradiated and the optical filter 123c for imaging the IR reflection image is arranged on the optical path is stored in the IR reflection image storage area.

The fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 130 has a
The range of the divided value of the image signal value of the narrow band fluorescent image and the image signal value of the wide band fluorescent image and the hue H (H
ue) is stored, and a lookup table corresponding to
The calculation unit 131 that determines the hue signal previously determines the range of the image signal value of the IR reflection image and the lightness V (Valu) in the Munsell color system.
e) a lookup table corresponding to the above is stored, an arithmetic unit 132 for determining a brightness signal, and an image synthesizing unit 133 for generating a fluorescence diagnostic image based on the hue signal and the brightness signal,
It comprises a pixel number increasing unit 134 for increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image generated by the image synthesizing unit 133.

The number-of-pixels increasing unit 134 receives the number of pixels of a normal image (500 × 500 pixels) from the video signal processing circuit 144 to be described later, and inputs the number of pixels of a fluorescence diagnostic image (250 × 250).
Pixels) up to the number of pixels in the normal image. Specifically, the signal value of one pixel of the fluorescence diagnosis image is directly converted into a signal value corresponding to 2 × 2 pixels, and the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is increased from 250 × 250 pixels to 500 × 500 pixels. .

The image processing unit 140 is a CCD image pickup device
108, a signal processing circuit 141 for creating a normal image which is a color image from the image signal, an A / D conversion circuit 142 for digitizing the normal image obtained by the signal processing circuit, Normal image memory 143 to save
And a video signal processing circuit 144 for converting the normal image output from the normal image memory 143 and the fluorescent diagnostic image generated by the fluorescent diagnostic image generation unit 130 into a video signal.

The monitor unit 160 includes a monitor 161 for displaying a normal image and a monitor 162 for displaying a fluorescence diagnostic image.
It has. The number of pixels of the monitor 161 and the number of pixels of the monitor 162 are the same.

Hereinafter, the operation of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus having the above-described configuration to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described. First, the operation at the time of displaying a normal image will be described, and then the operation at the time of displaying a fluorescence diagnostic image will be described.

In the present fluorescence endoscope apparatus, the imaging of the normal image and the IR reflection image and the imaging of the fluorescent image are performed in a time-sharing manner by 1/3.
It is performed alternately every 1/60 seconds every 0 seconds, a normal image based on the normal image is displayed on the monitor 161 and the fluorescent image and the IR image are displayed.
A fluorescence diagnostic image based on the reflection image is displayed on the monitor 162. Each image is displayed as a moving image that is updated every 1/30 second.

At the time of capturing the normal image and the IR reflection image, the white light source power supply 112 is driven based on the signal from the main control unit 150, and the white light source 111 emits white light L1. The white light L1 is incident on the white light guide 101a via the lens 113, is guided to the end of the endoscope insertion section, and is emitted from the illumination lens 104 to the observation section 1.

The reflected light L4 of the white light L1 is condensed by the objective lens 105, reflected by the prism 109, and formed on the CCD image pickup device 108.

In the signal processing circuit 141, the CCD image pickup device 10
A normal image, which is a color image of 500 × 500 pixels, is created from the image signal output from 8. The normal image is input to the A / D conversion circuit 142, digitized, and stored in the normal image memory 143. The normal image stored in the normal image memory 143 is converted into a video signal by the video signal processing circuit 144 and then input to the monitor 161 to be displayed on the monitor 161 as a visible image. The above series of operations is controlled by the main control unit 150.

On the other hand, at the same time, the reflected light L4 of the white light L1 is condensed by the condensing lens 106, is incident on the tip of the image fiber 103, passes through the image fiber 103, and passes through the lens 12
8 and the optical filter 123 of the switching filter 122
Transmit c.

The optical filter 123c has a wavelength band of 750 nm or more.
Since the band-pass filter transmits only 900 nm light, the reflected image transmitted through the optical filter 123c is reflected light.
Only the near-infrared wavelength band in L4 is an IR reflection image transmitted.

The IR reflected image is received by the CCD image sensor 125. The IR reflection image photoelectrically converted by the CCD image pickup device 125 is converted into a digital image signal by an A / D conversion circuit 126 and then stored in an IR reflection image storage area of an image memory 127.

Next, the operation when a fluorescent image is captured will be described. The excitation light source power supply 115 is driven based on a signal from the main control unit 150, and the GaN-based semiconductor laser 114 is driven.
, An excitation light L2 having a wavelength of 410 nm is emitted. Excitation light L2
Is transmitted through the lens 116, is incident on the excitation light guide 101b, is guided to the end of the endoscope insertion section, and is then emitted from the illumination lens 104 to the observation section 1.

The fluorescent light L3 from the observation unit 1 generated by the irradiation of the excitation light L2 is condensed by the condenser lens 106, passes through the excitation light cut filter 107, enters the tip of the image fiber 103, and The light is condensed by the lens 128 via the fiber 103 and passes through the optical filter 123a or 123b of the switching filter 122.

The optical filter 123a has a wavelength band of 430 nm to
A bandpass filter that transmits 730 nm light,
The fluorescent light transmitted through the optical filter 123a becomes a broadband fluorescent image. The optical filter 123b is a bandpass filter that transmits light in a wavelength band of 480 ± 50 nm, and is an optical filter.
The fluorescence transmitted through 123b becomes a narrow-band fluorescence image.

The broad band fluorescent image and the narrow band fluorescent image are CC
The light is received by the D image sensor 125, photoelectrically converted, read out by binning readout, converted into a digital image signal by the A / D conversion circuit 126, and stored in the wide band fluorescent image storage area and the narrow band fluorescent image storage of the image memory 127. Stored in the area. C
The signal charges photoelectrically converted by the CD image pickup device 125
When the image data is read from the image sensor 125, the data is integrated and then read by binning reading, so that the S / N of each read image signal is improved as compared with the case of reading by normal reading.

Hereinafter, the operation in generating the fluorescence diagnostic image will be described. First, the arithmetic unit 131 of the fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 130 generates an image signal (narrow band fluorescent image) and an image signal (wide band fluorescent image) stored in the broadband fluorescent image storage area and the narrow band fluorescent image storage area of the image memory 127. For each pixel, a signal value in the image signal (narrow band fluorescent image) is divided by a signal value in the image signal (broad band fluorescent image), and a Munsell table is obtained using the divided value and a look-up table stored in advance. Determine the hue H (Hue) in the color system,
The signal is output to the image combining unit 133 as a hue signal.

The calculation unit 132 uses the signal intensity and the look-up table for each pixel of the image signal (IR reflection image) stored in the IR reflection image storage area of the image memory 127 to calculate the brightness in the Munsell color system. V is determined and output to the image synthesizing unit 133 as a brightness signal.

The image synthesizing section 133 generates a fluorescent diagnostic image of 250 × 250 pixels based on the hue H and the lightness V obtained by the arithmetic section 132. When displaying images in color,
Since three attributes of color, hue, lightness, and saturation, are required, the saturation S in the Munsell color system is
As (Saturation), the maximum value is set for each hue and lightness, RGB conversion is performed, a fluorescence diagnostic image of 250 × 250 pixels is generated, and output to the pixel number increasing unit 134.

The number-of-pixels increasing unit 134 receives the number of pixels of a normal image (500 × 500 pixels) from the video signal processing circuit 144 and converts the signal of one pixel of the fluorescence diagnostic image into 2 × 2 pixels. After converting to a signal and increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image to 500 × 500 pixels, the video signal processing circuit
Output to 144.

The fluorescence diagnostic image converted into a video signal by the video signal processing circuit 144 is input to the monitor 162 and displayed on the monitor 162 as a visible image. The above series of operations is controlled by the main control unit 150.

By the above operation, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is increased to the same number of pixels as that of the normal image, and then displayed on the monitor 162.
1 An easy-to-view fluorescent diagnostic image enlarged to the same number of pixels as the normal image displayed on the upper part is displayed, and the visibility of the fluorescent diagnostic image is improved. Since the number of pixels of the displayed fluorescence diagnostic image is the same as the number of pixels of the normal image, the observer can easily recognize the correspondence between the part displayed in the fluorescent diagnostic image and the part displayed in the normal image. can do.

Further, by using the excitation light L2 having a wavelength of 410 nm, it is possible to obtain fluorescence from living tissue efficiently and with high reliability. Ga as an excitation light source
By using the N-based semiconductor laser 114, the size and cost of the device can be reduced.

Next, a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus. The same elements as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted unless necessary.

The present fluorescent endoscope apparatus captures a normal image,
Observation is performed in a normal observation mode in which a normal image is displayed on the monitor 161 or in a fluorescence observation mode in which a fluorescence image and an IR reflection image are captured and a fluorescence diagnosis image is displayed on the monitor 162. Is to increase the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image to the number of images on the display screen of the monitor 162 and then display the fluorescent diagnostic image on the monitor.

The fluorescent endoscope apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes an endoscope insertion section 100 inserted into a site suspected of a lesion of a patient, and a white light for imaging a normal image and an IR reflected image. An illumination unit 110 including a light source that emits excitation light L2 for imaging L1 and a fluorescence image; an imaging unit 200 as a fluorescence image imaging unit that captures two types of fluorescence images and IR reflection images having different wavelength bands; A fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 210 for generating the image, an image processing unit 140 for performing image processing, a control unit 220 connected to each unit for controlling operation timing and controlling an observation mode, and processed by the image processing unit 140 Monitor unit 160 that displays a normal image or a fluorescence diagnostic image as a visible image
And a foot switch 230 for switching the observation mode.

The imaging unit 200 includes a switching filter 122,
A filter rotating device 124, a CCD image pickup device 202 for picking up a fluorescent image or an IR reflected image transmitted through the switching filter 122 through an optical lens 201, an A / D conversion circuit 126 for digitizing a signal picked up by the CCD image pickup device 202, and An image memory 127 is provided.

The optical lens 201 forms a fluorescent image or an IR reflected image on a quarter of the image forming surface of the CCD image pickup device 202. For this reason, the CCD image sensor 202 is actually 500 ×
Although the imaging device has 500 pixels, it operates as an apparent 250 × 250 pixel imaging device when capturing a fluorescence image and an IR reflection image. Therefore, the amount of light received by one pixel is four times that in the case of receiving light by a 500 × 500 pixel image sensor, and the S / N of an image signal read from each pixel is improved.

The fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 210 has a calculation unit 131 for determining a hue signal and a calculation unit 132 for determining a brightness signal.
And an image synthesizing unit 133 for generating a fluorescent diagnostic image based on both signals, and a pixel number increasing unit 211 for increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image generated by the image synthesizing unit 133 and outputting the image. The pixel number increasing unit 211 receives the number of pixels on the display screen of the monitor 162 and increases the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image to this number of pixels.

The control unit 220 includes an observation mode switching unit 22
2 and a main control unit 221 connected to each unit and the observation mode switching unit 222. A foot switch 230 is connected to the observation mode switching unit 222, and when the foot switch 230 is pressed by the observer, a mode switching signal for switching the observation mode is sent to the main control unit 221.
Output to

The main control unit 222 is connected to each unit, and controls the operation timing of each unit in a normal observation mode for displaying a normal image or a fluorescence observation mode for displaying a fluorescence diagnostic image. When an observation mode switching signal is input from the observation mode switching unit 222, the mode is switched to the fluorescence observation mode when operating in the normal observation mode, and when the operation is performed in the fluorescence observation mode, The mode switches to the normal observation mode.

The monitor unit 160 includes a monitor 161 for displaying a normal image and a monitor 162 for displaying a fluorescence diagnostic image.
And the number of pixels on the display screen of the monitor 162 is 1000 × 1
000 pixels.

The operation of the fluorescent endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below.

In the present fluorescence endoscope apparatus, a normal observation mode in which a normal image is captured and a normal image which is a color image is displayed, and an IR reflection image and a fluorescence image are captured in a time division of 1/30.
The fluorescence observation mode, which is performed alternately every 1/60 seconds every second and displays a fluorescence diagnosis image based on the fluorescence image and the IR reflection image, is switched by the observer pressing down the foot switch 230. The operation in the normal observation mode is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and therefore, the description is omitted, and the operation in the fluorescence observation mode will be described.

At the time of capturing the IR reflected image, the observation unit 1 is irradiated with white light L1 emitted from the white light source 111, and the reflected light L4
Is focused by the condenser lens 106, passes through the excitation light cut filter 107, is incident on the tip of the image fiber 103, passes through the image fiber 103, is focused by the lens 128, and passes through the optical filter 123c of the switching filter 122. I do. After that, the IR reflected image is reflected by the optical lens
1/4 area (250 × 250) of the image plane of the image sensor 202
Pixel). The light is received by the CCD image sensor 202,
The photoelectrically converted IR reflection image is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 126 and then stored in the IR reflection image storage area of the image memory 127.

When capturing a fluorescent image, the observation unit 1 is irradiated with the excitation light L2 emitted from the GaN-based semiconductor laser 114,
The fluorescent light L3 from the observation unit 1 is condensed by the condenser lens 106, passes through the excitation light cut filter 107, is incident on the tip of the image fiber 103, passes through the image fiber 103, is condensed by the lens 128, and is switched. The light passes through the optical filter 123a or 123b of the filter 122. After that, the IR reflection image is formed by the optical lens 201 on a quarter area (250 × 250 pixels) of the imaging plane of the CCD image pickup device 202. The fluorescent image is received by the CCD image sensor 202, photoelectrically converted, read out and converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit 126, and stored in the image memory 127 in the wide-band fluorescent image storage area and the narrow-band fluorescent image storage area. Stored in the area.

The IR reflection image and the fluorescence image are obtained by a CCD image sensor.
Since an image is formed on a 1/4 area (250 × 250 pixels) of the image forming plane 202, the amount of light received by each pixel is formed on the entire image forming plane (500 × 500 pixels) of the CCD image pickup device 202. The S / N of each read image signal is improved as compared with the case of performing the above.

Hereinafter, an operation in generating a fluorescence diagnostic image will be described. First, the calculation unit 131 of the fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 130 determines the hue H (Hue) in the Munsell color system based on the narrowband fluorescence image and the broadband fluorescence image,
The signal is output to the image combining unit 133 as a hue signal. Arithmetic unit 132
Then, the brightness V in the Munsell color system is determined based on the IR reflection image, and is output to the image combining unit 133 as a brightness signal.

The image synthesizing unit 133 generates a fluorescence diagnostic image based on the hue H and the lightness V obtained by the arithmetic unit 132, and outputs RGB images.
By performing the conversion, a fluorescence diagnostic image of 250 × 250 pixels is generated and output to the pixel number increasing unit 211.

The number-of-pixels increasing section 211 receives the number of pixels (1000 × 1000 pixels) on the display screen of the monitor 162 and increases the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image to the maximum number of display pixels.
Specifically, the signal of one pixel of the fluorescence diagnosis image is converted into a signal corresponding to 4 × 4 pixels, and the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is increased to 1000 × 1000 pixels. Output.

The fluorescence diagnostic image converted into a video signal by the video signal processing circuit 144 is input to the monitor 162 and displayed on the monitor 162 as a visible image of 1000 × 1000 pixels. The above series of operations are performed by the main control unit 22.
Controlled by one.

By the above operation, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is increased so as to be substantially equal to the maximum number of display pixels of the display screen of the monitor 162, so that an enlarged and easy-to-read fluorescent diagnostic image is displayed. Also, even when the monitor is replaced and the number of pixels is changed, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image can be automatically increased to the maximum display pixel number of the monitor, so that the visibility of the fluorescent diagnostic image is improved. Further, the convenience of the fluorescence diagnostic image display device is also improved.

Next, a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a third embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display device according to the present invention is applied. The same elements as those in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted unless necessary.

The present fluorescence endoscope apparatus captures a normal image,
Observation is performed in a normal observation mode in which a normal image is displayed on the monitor 161 or in a fluorescence observation mode in which a fluorescence image and an IR reflection image are captured and a fluorescence diagnosis image is displayed on the monitor 162. Is to increase the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image to the number of pixels set by the observer, and then display the fluorescence diagnosis image on a monitor.

The fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes an endoscope insertion section 100 inserted into a site suspected of a lesion of a patient, a white light for imaging a normal image and an IR reflection image. An illumination unit 110 including a light source that emits excitation light L2 for imaging L1 and a fluorescent image, an imaging unit 200 that captures two types of fluorescent images and IR reflection images having different wavelength bands, and a fluorescent diagnostic image that generates a fluorescent diagnostic image A generation unit 300;
An image processing unit 140 for performing image processing, a control unit 220 connected to each unit for controlling operation timing and controlling an observation mode, and displaying a normal image or a fluorescence diagnostic image processed by the image processing unit 140 as a visible image Monitor unit 160, a foot switch 230 for switching the observation mode, and an input unit for inputting the set number of pixels.
240.

The fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 300 includes a calculation unit 131 for determining a hue signal and a calculation unit 132 for determining a brightness signal.
And an image synthesizing unit 133 for generating a fluorescence diagnostic image based on both signals, and a pixel number increasing unit 301 for increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image generated by the image synthesizing unit 133.
The number-of-pixels increasing unit 301 increases the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image to a preset number of pixels via the input unit 240.

The operation in the normal observation mode is the same as that of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and therefore, the explanation is omitted, and the operation in the fluorescence observation mode will be described.

First, as in the second embodiment shown in FIG.
An IR reflection image and a fluorescence image are captured, the IR reflection image is stored in an IR reflection image storage area of the image memory 127, and the broadband fluorescence image and the narrow band fluorescence image as the fluorescence images are stored in the broadband fluorescence image of the image memory 127. Area and the narrow band fluorescent image storage area.

The IR reflected image, the broadband fluorescent image and the narrow band fluorescent image are picked up in an area 領域 of the imaging plane of the CCD image pickup device 202 and have a number of 250 × 250 pixels.

The operation unit 13 of the fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 300
In 1, based on the narrow-band fluorescence image and the broadband fluorescence image,
The hue H (Hue) in the Munsell color system is determined and output to the image combining unit 133 as a hue signal. The calculation unit 132 calculates the lightness V in the Munsell color system based on the IR reflected image.
And outputs it to the image synthesizing unit 133 as a brightness signal.

The image synthesizing unit 133 generates a fluorescent diagnostic image based on the hue H and the lightness V obtained by the arithmetic unit 132, and outputs RGB images.
By performing the conversion, a fluorescence diagnostic image of 250 × 250 pixels is generated and output to the pixel number increasing unit 301.

The number-of-pixels increasing unit 301 increases the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image up to the number of pixels set in the input unit 240 in advance. For example, the observer considers the balance between image quality and the number of pixels,
750 as the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image via the input unit 240
If x750 pixels have been set, the pixel number increasing unit 301 converts the signal of one pixel of the fluorescence diagnostic image into a signal corresponding to 3x3 pixels, and Is increased to 750 × 750 pixels, and then output to the video signal processing circuit 144.

The fluorescence diagnostic image converted into a video signal by the video signal processing circuit 144 is input to the monitor 162 and displayed on the monitor 162 as a visible image of 750 × 750 pixels. The above series of operations are controlled by the main control unit 221.

By the above operation, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is increased so as to be substantially equal to the number of pixels set in advance by the observer, so that the observer can arbitrarily set the number in consideration of image quality and the like. The number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image can be increased to the number of pixels, and an enlarged and easy-to-read fluorescence diagnosis image is displayed. Further, even when the observer is different or the observation site is different, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image can be increased to the number of pixels desired by the observer, and the visibility of the fluorescent diagnostic image is improved, and the fluorescence diagnostic image is improved. The convenience of the display device is improved.

In each of the above embodiments, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is increased immediately before the conversion of the fluorescence diagnosis image into a video signal. However, as a modified example, the number of pixels of the image signal output from the CCD image pickup device is increased. It is also conceivable to generate a fluorescence diagnostic image after increasing the number. For example, since an IR reflection image has a large light intensity, a sufficient S / N may be obtained without performing binning readout, and binning readout is performed to read out an image signal obtained by capturing a fluorescent image. However, it is conceivable that the IR reflected image reads out an image signal without performing binning readout from the CCD image pickup device. In such a case, the IR reflection image is 500
Read out as an image signal of × 500 pixels, only the narrow band fluorescent image and the wide band fluorescent image are read out as an image signal of 250 × 250 pixels by performing binning readout from the CCD image sensor, and the number of pixels of this image signal is reduced to 500 × 500 pixels. After the increase, the brightness based on the image signal of the IR reflection image,
A fluorescence diagnostic image can be generated from a hue based on a divided value of the narrow band fluorescent image and the broad band fluorescent image. For this reason, the image quality related to lightness is improved.

As described above, when there is a variation in the number of pixels of the original image signal for generating the fluorescence diagnostic image, which is limited to the case where the binning readout is performed, a small number of image signals obtained from the image pickup device are included. If the fluorescence diagnostic image is generated after increasing the number of pixels of the image signal having the number of pixels, the fluorescence diagnostic image can be generated without deteriorating the image quality.

Next, a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus. The same elements as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted unless necessary.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus. This fluorescence endoscope apparatus captures a narrow-band fluorescence image and a broad-band fluorescence image from the fluorescence emitted from the observation unit 1 irradiated with the excitation light L2, and based on a Munsell image based on the light intensity of both light images divided. A hue signal that defines the hue H in the color system is created, an IR reflection image, which is a reflection image in the near-infrared wavelength band, is captured from the reflection light of the observation unit 1 irradiated with the white light L1, and the light of the IR reflection image is obtained. A brightness signal in which the lightness V in the Munsell color system is determined based on the intensity is created, and a fluorescence diagnostic image generated by combining the two signals and a reflected light of the observation unit 1 irradiated with the white light L1 are color-imaged. Then, the normal image created by the normal color signal processing is displayed side by side on the monitor 430 after the number of pixels of the normal image is reduced to the same number of pixels as the fluorescent finger diagnostic image.

The fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention comprises an endoscope insertion section 100, white light L1 and excitation light.
An illumination unit 110 including a light source that emits L2, an imaging unit 120 that captures two types of fluorescent images having different wavelength bands and an IR reflected image, and a division value of light intensity between the fluorescent images calculated.
A hue signal based on the divided value, and a fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 400 that determines a brightness signal based on the light intensity of the IR reflected image, generates and outputs a fluorescent diagnostic image based on both signals,
Image processing for displaying the normal image and the fluorescence diagnostic image as a visible image, an image processing unit 410 for reducing the number of pixels of the normal image, and a main control unit 420 connected to each unit and controlling operation timing, And a monitor 430 for simultaneously displaying the normal image and the fluorescence diagnostic image processed by the image processing unit 410 as a visible image.

The fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 400 includes a calculation unit 131 for determining a hue signal and a calculation unit 132 for determining a brightness signal.
And an image synthesizing unit 133 for generating a fluorescence diagnostic image based on both signals. CCD image sensor 125 (5
(00 × 500 pixels), the image signal has been read out by binning readout.
0 × 250 pixels.

The image processing unit 410 is a CCD image pickup device
108, a signal processing circuit 141 for creating a normal image which is a color image from the image signal, an A / D conversion circuit 142 for digitizing the normal image obtained by the signal processing circuit, Normal image memory 143 to save
, The number of pixels (250 × 250 pixels) of the fluorescence diagnostic image is read from the video signal processing circuit 144, and the number of pixels of the normal image (500 × 500 pixels) is read out.
A pixel number reduction unit 411 that reduces the number of pixels to 50 × 250 pixels);
A video signal processing circuit 144 is provided for converting the normal image output from the pixel number reduction unit 411 and the fluorescent diagnostic image generated by the fluorescent diagnostic image generation unit 400 into a video signal.

[0098] Specifically, the pixel number reduction unit 411 calculates the average value of the signal values of the four pixels of the normal image and converts it to a signal value corresponding to one pixel, thereby reducing the number of pixels of the normal image. The number is reduced from 500 × 500 pixels to 250 × 250 pixels. The monitor 430 is a monitor of 500 × 500 pixels, and can display 2 to 4 images in the case of an image of 250 × 250 pixels.

Hereinafter, the operation of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus having the above-described configuration to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied will be described. The description of the same operation as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is omitted, and only different portions will be described.

In the present fluorescent endoscope apparatus, the imaging of the normal image and the IR reflection image and the imaging of the fluorescent image are reduced to 1/3 in a time-division manner.
It is performed alternately every 1 second for 1/60 second, and a normal image based on the normal image and a fluorescence diagnostic image based on the fluorescent image and the IR reflection image are simultaneously displayed on the monitor 430. Each image is displayed as a moving image that is updated every 1/30 second.

First, the display of a normal image will be described. The signal processing circuit 141 creates a normal image as a color image of 500 × 500 pixels from the image signal output from the CCD image sensor 108. Normal image is A / D conversion circuit 14
2 and digitized, after which the normal image memory 14
Saved to 3.

The pixel number reduction unit 411 is a video signal processing circuit.
Then, the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image is input from 144, the number of pixels of the normal image is reduced to the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image (250 × 250 pixels), and output to the video signal processing circuit 144. The normal image is converted into a video signal, input to the monitor 161 and displayed on the monitor 161 as a visible image. The above-described series of operations is controlled by the main control unit 420.

In displaying the fluorescence diagnostic image, the arithmetic unit 131 of the fluorescent diagnostic image generation unit 400 uses the imaging unit 12
0, a hue H (Hue) in the Munsell color system is determined based on the image signal (narrow band fluorescent image) and the image signal (broad band fluorescent image) picked up at 0, and an image synthesizing unit as the hue signal
The calculation unit 132 determines the brightness V in the Munsell color system based on the image signal (IR reflection image) captured by the imaging unit 120, and outputs the brightness V to the image synthesis unit 133 as a brightness signal. The image synthesizing unit 133 generates a fluorescence diagnostic image based on the hue H and the lightness V, performs RGB conversion,
The image is output to the video signal generator 144 as a fluorescence diagnostic image of 50 × 250 pixels.

The fluorescence diagnostic image (250 × 250 pixels) and the normal image (250 × 250 pixels) converted into video signals by the video signal processing circuit 144 are input to the monitor 430 and displayed on the monitor 430 as visible images. You. The above-described series of operations is controlled by the main control unit 420.

By the above operation, the number of pixels of the normal image is
Since the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is reduced to the same number of pixels and then displayed on the monitor 430, the same size fluorescence diagnosis image and the normal image are simultaneously displayed on the monitor 430.
The observer can easily recognize the correspondence between the part displayed on the fluorescence diagnostic image and the part displayed on the normal image. Also, even when it is not desirable to increase the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image to prevent a decrease in image quality, by displaying a normal image reduced to the same size as the fluorescent diagnostic image, an easy-to-view image of the same size is displayed. Can be displayed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus as a first specific embodiment to which a fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a switching filter used in the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the first specific embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus as a second specific embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus as a third specific embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus as a fourth specific embodiment to which the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an intensity ratio distribution of a fluorescence spectrum of fluorescence.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Observation unit 100 Endoscope insertion unit 101 Light guide 102 CCD cable 103 Image fiber 108,125,202 CCD imaging device 110 Illumination unit 111 White light source 114 GaN semiconductor laser 120,200 Imaging unit 122 Switching filter 130,210,300,400 Fluorescence diagnostic image generation unit 134,211,301 Pixel number increase unit 140,410 Image processing unit 144 Video signal processing circuit 160 Monitor unit 161,162,430 Monitor 150,221,420 Main control unit 220 Control unit 222 Observation mode switching unit 230 Foot switch 240 Input unit 411 Pixel reduction unit L1 White light L2 Excitation light L3 Fluorescence L4 Reflected light

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (reference) G06T 3/40 G06T 3/40 B H04N 1/387 101 H04N 1/387 101 F term (reference) 2G043 AA03 BA16 CA05 DA02 EA01 FA01 FA05 GA04 GA21 GB18 GB19 GB21 HA01 HA02 HA05 JA03 KA02 KA05 LA03 NA05 NA06 4C061 CC06 LL02 NN01 NN05 QQ02 QQ04 RR04 RR18 SS03 SS11 WW17 5B057 AA07 BA02 CA01 CA12 CA16 CB01 CB12 BA05 A04 A06A05

Claims (9)

[Claims] An excitation light emitting unit that emits excitation light; an illumination light emitting unit that emits illumination light; and an excitation light emitted by the excitation light emitting unit is irradiated on the observation unit to cause the observation unit to emit the excitation light. A fluorescent image capturing means for capturing a fluorescent image by emitted fluorescent light; and irradiating illumination light emitted from the illumination light emitting means to the observation section to capture a normal image by reflected light reflected by the observation section. A normal image capturing unit, a fluorescent diagnostic image display unit that generates and displays a fluorescent diagnostic image based on the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing unit, and a fluorescent diagnostic image display unit based on the image signal output from the normal image capturing unit. A fluorescence diagnostic image display device, comprising: a normal image display unit configured to generate and display a normal image, wherein the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is smaller than the number of pixels of the normal image. , Fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus, wherein the one having a pixel number increasing means for increasing the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image. 2. The fluorescence diagnosis according to claim 1, wherein said number-of-pixels increasing means increases the number of pixels of said fluorescence diagnosis image so as to be substantially equal to the number of pixels of said normal image. Image display device. 3. The fluorescent diagnostic image display means displays the fluorescent diagnostic image on a display device, and the pixel number increasing means sets the number of pixels to be substantially equal to the number of pixels on a display screen of the display device. 2. The fluorescent diagnostic image display device according to claim 1, wherein the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image is increased. 4. The fluorescence diagnostic image according to claim 1, wherein said pixel number increasing means increases the number of pixels of said fluorescence diagnostic image so as to be substantially equal to a preset number of pixels. Display device. 5. The fluorescent diagnostic image display means displays the fluorescent diagnostic image generated after converting the fluorescent diagnostic image into a display signal, and the pixel number increasing means converts the fluorescent diagnostic image into a display signal. The fluorescence diagnostic image display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the number of pixels of the fluorescent diagnostic image is increased immediately before. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number-of-pixels increasing means increases the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image by increasing the number of pixels of an image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing means. The fluorescence diagnostic image display device according to claim 1. 7. An exciting light emitting means for emitting excitation light, an illuminating light emitting means for emitting illumination light, and an exciting light emitted by the exciting light emitting means irradiating the observing section with the exciting light. A fluorescent image capturing means for capturing a fluorescent image by emitted fluorescent light; and irradiating illumination light emitted from the illumination light emitting means to the observation section to capture a normal image by reflected light reflected by the observation section. A normal image capturing unit, a fluorescent diagnostic image display unit that generates and displays a fluorescent diagnostic image based on the image signal output from the fluorescent image capturing unit, and a fluorescent diagnostic image display unit based on the image signal output from the normal image capturing unit. A normal image display unit that generates and displays a normal image, wherein the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnosis image is smaller than the number of pixels of the normal image in a fluorescence diagnosis image display device, wherein the normal image display unit includes: Serial diagnostic fluorescence as image becomes substantially equal to the number of pixels of the fluorescence diagnostic image display apparatus, wherein the in which ordinary having the number of pixels reduction means for reducing the number of pixels of the image. 8. The wavelength band of the excitation light is 400 nm to 42 nm.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thickness is 0 nm.
Item 7. The fluorescence diagnostic image display device according to Item 1. 9. The fluorescence diagnostic image display device according to claim 1, wherein a light source of the excitation light is a GaN-based semiconductor laser.