JP2002119463A - Fluorescence image storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fluorescence image storage device for observing organism tissue capable of eliminating unnecessary images for storing a large number of images. SOLUTION: An image Zk by fluorescence generated from the organism tissue 1 receiving radiation of excitation light Le is picked up by a fluorescence image obtaining unit 30 to obtain a fluorescence image. An image Zt by reflected normal light reflected by the organism tissue 1 receiving radiation of normal light Lt having a wavelength range of visible light is picked up by a normal light image obtaining unit 40 to obtain a normal light image. Based on the intensity of the fluorescence image and the normal light image, if these images are improper ones for observation or not is determined by an image determining means 62, and storage of the image determined as improper for observation to an image storage means 50 is prohibited.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fluorescent image storage device for observing a living tissue, and more particularly, to an image obtained by capturing an image of fluorescent light generated from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light and visible light. The present invention relates to a fluorescence image storage device for storing an image obtained by capturing an image of reflected light reflected by a living tissue having received light having a wavelength range of 2.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an apparatus for imaging fluorescence generated from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light as an image and observing a state of a disease change in the living tissue. For example, as a device to which an endoscope device having an elongated flexible insertion portion to be inserted into a living body is applied, a wavelength 41
Irradiation with excitation light in the vicinity of 0 nm, the fluorescence yield represented by the ratio of the intensity of the fluorescence generated from the living tissue by the irradiation of the excitation light to the intensity of the excitation light received by the living tissue, Disease change state of a living tissue by a fluorescence image created based on a normalized fluorescence intensity or the like represented by a ratio of an intensity of a wavelength region near 480 nm to an intensity of a wavelength region ranging from 430 nm to 730 nm in the generated fluorescence. Fluorescent endoscope devices for observing images have been studied.

[0003] Such a fluorescent endoscope apparatus not only displays a fluorescent image showing a state of disease change of the living tissue obtained by imaging an image of the fluorescent light generated from the living tissue, but also displays the wavelength of the visible light. A normal light image mainly representing the shape, color, etc. of the living body obtained by imaging the image by the reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue irradiated with the normal light having the region is also displayed, and both images are switched. Observation is performed while comparing and analyzing the living tissue.

The fluorescent image and the normal light image are stored as a still image or a moving image by an image storage means via a storage medium such as a video tape or a hard disk. It is used again for analysis. Further, there is a limit to the image storage capacity of the image storage means, and in particular, image storage requires a larger storage capacity than character information and the like, and unnecessary image storage is reduced as much as possible and limited. It is desired to make effective use of the storage capacity.

[0005]

However, in such a fluorescent endoscope apparatus, an operation of saving an image is also performed by an observer observing while switching between a fluorescent image and a normal light image. Since the switching of the image to be observed and the selection and saving operation of the image to be saved are performed in parallel, an image unnecessary for the analysis of the living tissue may be saved due to an operation error or a determination error. Specifically, for example, the fluorescent light image and the normal light image are mistakenly stored and the amount of light received when the subject is imaged is reduced due to the reason that the subject is located far away, and the S / S of the image is reduced. N may decrease, and an image that is inappropriate for observation that does not accurately represent the shape, color, state of disease change, and the like of the living tissue may be stored. When an unnecessary image is stored in this way, the storage capacity of the image storage unit is wasted, and as a result, a problem occurs that the storage capacity of an effective image used for analyzing a living tissue is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a fluorescent image storage device capable of storing more images by preventing unnecessary images from being stored. And more specifically,
An object of the present invention is to provide a fluorescent image storage device capable of preventing storage of an image inappropriate for observation, and a fluorescent image storage device capable of storing only an image to be observed. is there.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fluorescent image storing apparatus for obtaining a fluorescent image by capturing an image of fluorescent light emitted from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light. A normal light image acquiring unit that captures an image by reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue irradiated with the normal light having a visible light wavelength region to acquire a normal light image, and the acquired fluorescence A fluorescence image storage device comprising: an image storage unit configured to store an image and a normal light image, wherein the fluorescence image and / or the normal light image are based on the intensity of the acquired fluorescence image and / or the normal light image. An image determination unit that determines whether the image is an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation, and prohibits the image storage unit from storing the image determined to be an unsuitable observation image by the image determination unit. It is characterized in that a presence control means.

[0008] A second fluorescent image storage device of the present invention is a fluorescent image obtaining means for obtaining an image of fluorescent light emitted from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light to obtain a fluorescent image, and a wavelength of visible light. A normal light image acquisition unit that captures an image by reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue that has been irradiated with the normal light having an area to acquire a normal light image, and a fluorescence image and a normal light image that are acquired. A fluorescent image storage device comprising: a selection unit for selecting any one of the observation target images; a display unit for displaying the selected observation target image; and an image storage unit for storing the acquired fluorescence image and the normal light image. The apparatus further comprises a storage control unit that enables only the observation target image selected by the selection unit to be stored in the image storage unit.

[0009] A third fluorescent image storage device of the present invention is a fluorescent image obtaining means for obtaining an image of fluorescent light emitted from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light to obtain a fluorescent image, and a wavelength of visible light. A normal light image acquisition unit that captures an image by reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue that has been irradiated with the normal light having an area to acquire a normal light image, and a fluorescence image and a normal light image that are acquired. A fluorescence image storage device comprising: a selection unit that selects any one of the observation target images; a display unit that displays the selected observation target image; and an image storage unit that stores the fluorescence image and the normal light image. Then, based on the intensity of the acquired fluorescent image and / or normal light image, it is determined whether or not these fluorescent images and / or normal light images are unsuitable observation images that are not suitable for observation. Image determination means, and only the observation target image selected by the selection means can be stored in the image storage means, and the image determined by the image determination means to be an unsuitable observation image is transmitted to the image storage means. And storage control means for prohibiting storage of the data.

[0010] The intensity of the acquired fluorescent image can be the intensity of dark noise contained in the fluorescent image, and the intensity of the acquired ordinary light image can be the intensity of dark noise contained in the ordinary light image. Strength.

[0011] The selecting means may select an observation target image based on an external input signal.

[0012] The storage control means may cause the image storage means to store the image at predetermined time intervals,
It can be stored as a still image at a desired timing. Further, the image data may be stored at a predetermined time interval, and may be stored as a still image at a desired timing. In this case, the storage of the still image at the desired timing is prioritized over the storage of the image at a predetermined time interval. May be executed.

[0013] The fluorescence image storage device may be an endoscope device having a flexible insertion portion to be inserted into a living body.

The light source for emitting the excitation light may be a GaN-based semiconductor laser.

The image to be stored in the image storage means may be a moving image or a still image. If the moving image is to be stored at predetermined time intervals, the moving image divided in a short time is At each time interval.

It is needless to say that the image stored at a predetermined time interval and the image stored as a still image at a desired timing do not include an image determined to be an unsuitable observation image.

[0017]

According to the first fluorescent image storage device of the present invention, in the fluorescent image storage device provided with image storage means for storing the obtained fluorescent image and the normal light image, the obtained fluorescent image and / or Or, based on the intensity of the normal light image, an image determining unit that determines whether the fluorescent image and / or the normal light image is an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation, and is determined to be an unsuitable observation image. A storage control unit for prohibiting the storage of images in the image storage unit is provided, so that images inappropriate for observation are not stored in the image storage unit, and the storage capacity of the image storage unit is reduced by storing unnecessary images. Wasteful consumption can be prevented,
More effective images suitable for observation can be stored in the image storage means.

According to the second fluorescence image storage device of the present invention, a selection means for selecting any one of the acquired fluorescence image and the normal light image as an observation target image, and displaying the selected observation target image. In a fluorescence image storage device including a display unit and an image storage unit that stores a fluorescent image and a normal light image, a storage control unit that enables only the observation target image selected by the selection unit to be stored in the image storage unit. With this arrangement, only the image set as the observation target image can be stored in the image storage unit, and this image can be confirmed as a display image. That is, since only the image to be stored displayed as the observation target image can be stored, an image other than the image to be stored displayed as the observation target image is not erroneously stored as in the related art. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary saving of the storage capacity of the image storage unit due to storage of unnecessary images, and it is possible to store more effective images to be observed in the image storage unit.

According to the third fluorescence image storage device of the present invention, by combining the above configurations, only the observation target image selected by the selection device can be stored in the image storage device, and the image determination device can store the image. A storage control unit is provided for prohibiting the storage of an image determined to be unsuitable for observation in the image storage unit, so that only the observation target image can be stored, and the storage of an image inappropriate for observation can be performed. Since the use of the image storage unit is prohibited, wasteful consumption of storage capacity of the image storage unit due to storage of unnecessary images can be more reliably prevented, and more effective images can be stored in the image storage unit.

Further, the intensity of the acquired fluorescent image is defined as the intensity of dark noise included in the fluorescent image, and the intensity of the acquired normal light image is defined as the intensity of dark noise included in the normal light image. Then, it is possible to more accurately determine whether or not the acquired image is an unsuitable observation image.

Further, if the selection means selects an image to be observed based on an external input signal, the image can be selected more easily.

The storage control means may cause the image storage means to store the image at predetermined time intervals, may store the image as a still image at a desired timing, or may store the image at predetermined time intervals. If the image is stored as a still image at a desired timing, it is possible to further reduce unnecessary image storage due to, for example, an operation error or a determination error.

Further, if the still image storage at the desired timing is executed prior to the storage of the image at predetermined time intervals, the effective image observed at the desired timing can be stored more reliably. Can be done.

Further, if the fluorescent image storage device is an endoscope device having a flexible insertion portion to be inserted into a living body, the inside of the living body can be observed more easily.

If the light source is a GaN-based semiconductor laser, the size of the light source can be further reduced and the cost can be reduced.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment in which a fluorescent image storage device of the present invention is applied to a fluorescent endoscope device having a flexible insertion portion to be inserted into a living body. .

In the fluorescence endoscope apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the light source unit 10 for emitting the excitation light Le, the normal light Lt and the reference light Ls, and the light emitted from the light source unit 10 are propagated. An insertion unit 20 having a light guide 21 therein and inserted into a body cavity, excitation light Le
The fluorescence image acquisition unit 30 is a fluorescence image acquisition unit that captures an image Zk of the fluorescence emitted from the living tissue 1 that has been irradiated with the light and acquires a fluorescence image. The fluorescence image acquisition unit 30 receives the normal light Lt having a visible light wavelength region. A normal light image acquisition unit 40, which is a normal light image acquisition unit that captures an image with the reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue 1 and obtains a normal light image, or any one of the acquired fluorescence image and normal light image Is selected as an observation target image, a display 81 is a display unit that displays the selected observation target image, and an image storage unit 50 that stores the acquired fluorescence image and normal light image. .

The fluorescence endoscope apparatus 100 determines whether the fluorescence image and / or the normal light image is an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation based on the intensity of the acquired image. Determining means 62 and the image determining means 6
A storage control unit that prohibits the image storage unit 50 from storing an image determined to be an unsuitable image for observation and stores only the observation target image selected by the selection unit 61 in the image storage unit 50 63 are provided.

The light source unit 10 generates excitation light Le having a wavelength of 410 nm, ordinary light Lt having a wavelength region of visible light, and reference light Ls having a wavelength region of near infrared at different timings, and emits them to the light guide 21. I do. Note that a GaN-based semiconductor laser is used as a light source for the excitation light.

The insertion unit 20 has a light guide 21, a fluorescence image guide 25, and a normal light image guide 27 inside, and has an irradiation lens 22, an objective lens 23, and an objective lens 26 at its tip. An image (fluorescent image Zk) of the fluorescent light generated from the living tissue 1 under irradiation of the excitation light Le emitted through the light guide 21 and the irradiation lens 22 is formed on the end face 25A of the fluorescent image guide 25 by the objective lens 23, and the like. The light is propagated to the end face 25B of the end. Similarly, an image of the reference light Ls emitted through the light guide 21 and the illumination lens 22 and reflected by the living tissue 1 after being irradiated with the reference light Ls (reference light image Zs).
Also, an image is formed on the end face 25A of the fluorescent image guide 25 by the objective lens 23 and propagated to the other end face 25B. On the other hand, an image (normal light image Zt) due to the reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue 1 upon irradiation of the normal light t emitted through the light guide 21 and the irradiation lens 22 is reflected by the normal light image guide 27 by the objective lens 26. An image is formed on the end face 27A and propagated to the other end face 27B.

The excitation light included in the light that has entered the objective lens 23 and propagated to the end face 25A of the fluorescent image guide 25 is blocked by the excitation light cut filter 24.

The fluorescent image acquisition unit 30 is transmitted to the end face 25 B of the fluorescent image guide 25 and
Image Zk formed by imaging lens 31 through
And a fluorescence image sensor 33 that captures the reference light image Zs, a fluorescence image intensity detector 34 that detects the intensity of a fluorescence image output from the fluorescence image sensor 33 and an image signal representing the reference light image, and outputs a detected value. , Fluorescence image intensity detector 34
A / D converts an image signal transmitted via the A / D converter and outputs it as image data representing a fluorescent image and a reference light image
A / D converter 35 and a fluorescence image calculator 36 for creating a fluorescence image representing a normalized fluorescence intensity or a fluorescence yield based on the image data output from the A / D converter 35 are provided.

The rotary filter 32 includes a fan-shaped narrow band filter section 32A for transmitting light in a wavelength range of 430 nm to 530 nm, as shown in FIG.
The broadband filter unit 32B that transmits light in the wavelength range of ７730 nm and the near-infrared band filter unit 32C that transmits light in the wavelength range of 750 to 900 nm are combined and integrated. Has been rotated by.

The normal light image acquiring unit 40 is transmitted to the end surface 27 B of the normal light image guide 27 and is transmitted to the imaging lens 4.
A normal light image sensor 43 for picking up the normal light image Zt formed through 1, a normal light for detecting the intensity of the image signal representing the normal light image output from the normal light image sensor 43 and outputting the detected value. An image signal transmitted via the image intensity detector 44 and the normal light image intensity detector 44 is subjected to A / D conversion.
A that converts and outputs as image data representing a normal light image
A / D converter 45 is provided.

The image storing means 50 has a fluorescent image storing area 51 using a hard disk as a medium for storing a fluorescent image and a normal optical image storing area 52 using a video tape as a medium for storing a normal light image. The control means 63
An image that can be saved and an image that is prohibited to be saved are determined based on an input described later.

The image judging means 62 inputs the detected values of the intensity of the image signal representing the fluorescent image and the normal light image output from the fluorescent image intensity detector 34 and the normal light image intensity detector 44. If the value is less than the threshold value, the image is determined to be an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation, and the result is output to the storage control unit 63.

The threshold value of the fluorescence image set by the image determination means 62 is a value measured and determined in advance, and is detected by the fluorescence image intensity detector 34 many times without irradiating light such as the excitation light Le. Is determined by the sum of the average value D of dark noise intensities included in the obtained image and twice the standard deviation value σ when these dark noise intensities are applied to a normal distribution. That is, the threshold S is S = D +
It is determined by the equation of 2σ. Further, the threshold value of the normal light image is the same as that of the fluorescent image based on the intensity of dark noise included in the image detected many times by the normal light image intensity detector 44 without irradiating light such as the normal light Lt. Is determined by the method.

The selection means 61 includes an external foot switch 8
According to the input signal from the control unit 2, either the normal light image or the fluorescent image is selected as the observation target image, and the selection result is output to the storage control unit 63. The observation target image selected by the foot switch 82 is converted into a video signal by the video signal processing circuit 65 and then displayed on the display 81.

The storage control means 63 has a plurality of image storage modes for storing an image in the image storage means 50.
A first storage mode stores an image as a moving image or a still image at predetermined time intervals, a second storage mode stores an image as a still image at a desired timing, and a third storage mode stores an image as a predetermined image. At each desired time interval, and as a still image at a desired timing. In the third storage mode, storage of a still image at a desired timing is executed prior to storage of an image at predetermined time intervals. The storage of the still image at the desired timing is executed by pressing the hand switch 83 connected to the storage control unit 63.

The storage control unit 63 receives the selection result and the determination result output from the selection unit 61 and the image determination unit 62, and stores only the observation target image selected by the selection unit 61 into the image storage unit 50. And outputs a control signal to the image storage unit 50 that prohibits the image storage unit 50 from storing the image determined to be an unsuitable observation image by the image determination unit 62.

The timing of irradiating the excitation light Le, the normal light Lt, and the reference light Ls emitted from the light source unit 10 and the timing of imaging by the fluorescent image sensor 33 and the normal light image sensor 43 are synchronized with the rotation of the rotary filter 32. The timing and the like of these operations are controlled by the device control unit 64.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

First, the image storage mode of the storage controller 63 is set to the third image storage mode by setting means (not shown), and the fluorescent image obtaining unit 30 obtains a fluorescent image representing the normalized fluorescent intensity. The setting of the device control unit 64 is performed so as to be performed. That is, according to the command output from the device control unit 64, the light source unit 10 causes the excitation light Le or the normal light L
t is set to be emitted, and in the fluorescence image acquisition unit 30, the narrow-band fluorescence image and the wide-band fluorescence image are captured by the fluorescence image sensor 33, and the normalized fluorescence intensity is calculated by the fluorescence image calculator 36. It is set as follows.

Next, the foot switch 82 is set so that the selecting means 61 selects the fluorescent image as the image to be observed. The result of the setting is output from the selection unit 61 to the storage control unit 63 and the device control unit 64. Under the control of the storage control unit 63, only the fluorescent image can be stored in the image storage unit 50. Of the excitation light L from the light source unit 10
e is emitted.

The emitted excitation light Le is applied to the living tissue 1 through the light guide 21 and the irradiation lens 22, and the image generated by the fluorescent light generated from the living tissue 1 is converted into the objective lens 23, the fluorescent image guide 25, and the imaging lens 31. , And the image is formed and imaged on the fluorescent image sensor 33 through the rotary filter 32. At this time, the image of the fluorescence in the wavelength range of 430 nm to 530 nm transmitted through the narrow band filter portion 32A of the rotation filter 32 is captured as a narrow band fluorescence image, and the wavelength of 430 nm to 730 nm transmitted through the wide band filter portion 32B of the rotation filter 32 is transmitted. The image by the fluorescence in the wavelength region is captured as a broadband fluorescence image. These captured fluorescent images are A / D-converted by an A / D converter 35 via a fluorescent image intensity detector 34, and converted into narrow-band fluorescent image data and broad-band fluorescent image data by a fluorescent image calculator 36, respectively. Is input to

In the fluorescence image calculator 36 to which the above two types of image data have been input, the intensity ratio between the two images is determined, that is, the normalized fluorescence intensity is determined. Output as data,
The image is displayed on the display 81 as an observation target image via the video signal processing circuit 65.

At this time, since the fluorescent image has already been selected as the image to be observed, it can be stored in the image storing means 50. Further, the intensity of the fluorescent image detected by the fluorescent image intensity detector 34 is reduced. If the image has an intensity greater than or equal to the threshold value, the image determination unit 62 does not determine that the image is unsuitable for observation, so that the fluorescence image can be stored in the image storage unit 50. Accordingly, by applying the third image storage mode, the fluorescent image is stored as a short-time moving image in the fluorescent image storage area 51 of the image storage means 50 at predetermined time intervals, and the fluorescent light is pressed by pressing the hand switch 83. It is also possible to preferentially store the image as a still image in the image storage unit 50.

When the insertion unit 20 moves away from the living tissue 1 and the fluorescent image detected by the fluorescent image intensity detector 34 has an intensity less than the threshold value, the fluorescent image is determined by the image determining means. It is determined by 62 that the image is not suitable for observation and is not stored in the image storage unit 50. As a result, the storage of the fluorescent image in the image storage unit 50 at predetermined time intervals is interrupted, and the fluorescent image cannot be stored in the image storage unit 50 as a still image even if the hand switch 83 is pressed. However, when the fluorescence image becomes an image having an intensity equal to or greater than the threshold value, storage of the fluorescence image in the image storage unit 50 at predetermined time intervals is started again.

In the above state, when the setting of the selection means 61 is changed by the foot switch 82 and the normal light image is selected as the observation target image, the result of the setting is transmitted from the selection means 61 to the storage control means 63 and the device control unit 6.
4, only the normal light image can be stored in the image storage means 50, the irradiation of the excitation light Le is stopped by a command from the device control unit 64, and the normal light Lt is emitted from the light source unit 10. You. The emitted normal light Lt is applied to the living tissue 1 through the light guide 21 and the irradiation lens 22, and an image of the reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue 1 is formed by the objective lens 26, the normal light image guide 27, and the image formation. An image is formed on the normal optical image sensor 43 through the lens 41 and imaged.

The captured fluorescence image is converted into an A / D signal by an A / D converter 45 via a normal light image intensity detector 44.
After being D-converted and output as normal optical image data, it is displayed on the display 81 as an observation target image via the selection means 61 and the video signal processing circuit 65.

At this time, if the intensity of the fluorescence image detected by the ordinary light image intensity detector 44 is an image having an intensity equal to or greater than the threshold value, the ordinary light image is processed in the same manner as in the case of the fluorescence image. In the normal light image storage area 5 of the image storage means 50 at predetermined time intervals in accordance with the image storage mode 3
2, the normal light image is preferentially taken as a still image by pressing the hand switch 83.
You can also save to.

When the insertion unit 20 moves away from the living tissue 1 and the normal light image detected by the normal light image intensity detector 44 becomes an image having an intensity less than the threshold value, as described above, This normal light image is determined by the image determination unit 62 to be an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation, and storage in the image storage unit 50 is prohibited. Therefore, the image storage means 50 of the normal light image at predetermined time intervals is provided.
The normal light image cannot be stored in the image storage unit 50 as a still image even if the hand switch 83 is pressed. However, after that, when the normal light image becomes an image having an intensity equal to or larger than the threshold value, the storage of the normal light image in the image storage means 50 at predetermined time intervals is started again.

As described above, since only the image to be observed is stored and the storage of the unsuitable image whose image intensity is less than the threshold value is prohibited, unnecessary storage of the image is prevented. Effective image storage means 5
0 can be stored.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which the fluorescence image acquisition unit 30 acquires a fluorescence image based on the normalized fluorescence intensity. However, the setting of the device control unit 64 is performed by setting means (not shown). Alternatively, the fluorescence image acquisition unit 30 may acquire a fluorescence image based on the fluorescence yield. That is, by changing the setting of the device control unit 64, the excitation light Le and the reference light Ls are set to be emitted from the light source unit 10, and the broadband fluorescence image and the reference It is set so that an optical image is captured.
By setting so that the fluorescence yield is calculated in the above, a fluorescence image based on the fluorescence yield can be obtained.

That is, an image of the fluorescence in the wavelength range of 430 nm to 730 nm transmitted through the broadband filter section 32B of the rotary filter 32 is captured as a broadband fluorescent image, and 750 nm transmitted through the near infrared band filter section 32C of the rotary filter 32. An image formed by the reflected reference light in a wavelength range of up to 900 nm is captured as a reference light image. These captured images are A / D-converted by an A / D converter 35 via a fluorescence image intensity detector 34 and input to a fluorescence image calculator 36 as broadband fluorescence image data and reference light image data, respectively. You. In the fluorescence image calculator 36, the intensity ratio between the two images is obtained, that is, the fluorescence yield is obtained, and the result is output as the fluorescence yield image data, and the selection means 61 and the video signal processing circuit are output. 6
5 is displayed on the display 81 as an observation target image. It should be noted that the image storage means 50 of the fluorescent image representing the fluorescent yield
Is stored in the same manner as in the case of the fluorescence image representing the normalized fluorescence intensity.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the second embodiment is different from the configuration of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment in that a configuration that allows only the observation target image to be stored in the image storage unit is excluded. ,
Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the same components as those of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the storage control means 63 '
Is for inputting only the determination result output from the image determination unit 62 and prohibiting the image storage unit 50 from storing an image determined to be an unsuitable observation image. The storage control means 63 'has a plurality of image storage modes for storing images in the image storage means 50. The first storage mode includes a mode for storing images as still images at predetermined time intervals. Have.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described.

First, the image storage mode of the storage control unit 63 'is set to the first storage mode by the setting unit (not shown), and the apparatus control unit is configured to acquire only the broadband fluorescent image as the fluorescent image. 64 is set. That is, according to the command output from the device control unit 64, the excitation light Le and the normal light Lt are set to be emitted from the light source unit 10, and only the broadband fluorescence image is captured by the fluorescence image sensor 33 in the fluorescence image acquisition unit 30. Then, the setting is made so that the broadband fluorescent image input in the fluorescent image calculator 36 is output as it is as a fluorescent image.

Next, the foot switch 82 is set so that the selecting means 61 selects the fluorescent image as the image to be observed. This setting result is output from the selection means 61 to the device control unit 64, and the excitation light Le is emitted from the light source unit 10 according to a command from the device control unit 64, and the broadband wavelength region emitted from the living tissue 1 by the fluorescence image acquisition unit 30 is emitted. , A broadband fluorescence image is obtained. The acquired broadband fluorescence image is output from the fluorescence image acquisition unit 30 and displayed on the display 81 via the selection means 61 and the video signal processing circuit 65.

Further, since the image storage mode of the storage control means 63 'is set to the first storage mode, the acquired broadband fluorescent image is stored in the image storage means 50 at predetermined time intervals as a still image. You. On the other hand, in the normal light image acquisition unit 40 for acquiring the normal light image not selected by the selection unit 61, the normal light is not emitted from the light source unit 10, so that the normal light image intensity is the same as in the first embodiment. The intensity of the normal light image detected by the detector 44 is equal to or less than the threshold value, and the normal light image is prohibited from being stored, and the normal light image is not erroneously stored in the image storage unit 50.

When the intensity of the fluorescent light image and the intensity of the normal light image are weak and the intensity of both images is less than the threshold value, the storage of both images is prohibited. When the normal light image is repeatedly overwritten on the normal light image storage area 52 of the image storage means 50, and then the prohibition of storage of either the fluorescence image or the normal light image is released, the most recently overwritten normal light image is overwritten. Only the normal light image storage area 52 is stored.

When the image to be observed is set to the normal light image by the foot switch 82, the normal light image is stored in the first storage mode, and the storage of the fluorescent light image is prohibited. You. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the image storage means 50 for an unsuitable observation image having an intensity less than the threshold value.
Can be prevented from being stored.

In the fluorescent endoscope apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, the fluorescent image Zk and the normal light image Zt are converted into the fluorescent image acquisition unit 30 and the normal light image guide 27 by using the fluorescent image guide 25 and the normal light image guide 27, respectively. Although guided to the optical image acquisition unit 40, the fluorescent image guide 25 may be used in common for propagation of these two types of images.
In this case, a total reflection switching mirror or the like is installed after the imaging lens 31 so that the fluorescent image Zk is captured by the fluorescent image sensor 33 and the normal light image Zt is captured by the normal light image sensor 43, and the fluorescent image Zk is captured. What is necessary is just to make it possible to switch the optical path to the normal optical image Zt.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment eliminates the means for detecting and determining the intensity of an image in the configuration in the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment, and inserts a normal optical imaging element into the distal end of the insertion unit. And the normal light image Zt is directly picked up by the normal light image pickup device without passing through the image fiber. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the same components as those of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the storage control means 63 ″ of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment inputs only the selection result output from the selection means 61 and is selected as the observation target image. The storage control unit 63 ″ has a plurality of image storage modes for storing the image in the image storage unit 50, and the second image storage mode. The storage mode includes a mode for storing an image as a still image at a desired timing.

The normal light image acquisition unit 40 ′ has a normal light image pickup element 43 for picking up a normal light image Zt of the living tissue 1 formed through the objective lens 26 disposed at the tip of the insertion unit 20 ′, and a normal light image pickup. A transmission cable 46 for transmitting the image signal output from the element 43, and an A / D converter 45 for A / D converting the image signal transmitted by the transmission cable 46 and outputting it as image data representing a normal light image. ing.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described.

First, the image storage mode of the storage control unit 63 ″ is set to the second storage mode by the setting unit (not shown), and the fluorescent image obtaining unit 30 obtains a narrow band fluorescent image as a fluorescent image. The device control unit 64 is set so as to be as follows.

Then, the foot switch 82 is set so that the selection means 61 selects the normal light image as the observation target image. The selection result is output from the selection means 61 to the storage control means 63 "and the device control unit 64, and the storage control means 63" that has input the selection result outputs only the normal light image selected as the observation target image to the image storage means 50. And outputs a control signal for controlling the image storage means 50 so that the image can be stored. Further, under the control of the device control unit 64 to which the selection result has been input, the normal light Lt is emitted from the light source unit 10, and the normal light image based on the reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue 1 is converted to the normal light image acquisition unit 4.
0 '.

The acquisition of the normal light image by the normal light image obtaining unit 40 'is performed as follows. That is, the normal light image Zt is formed on the imaging surface of the normal light imaging device 43 through the objective lens 26 disposed at the tip of the insertion unit 20 ', is imaged, and is output from the normal light imaging device 43 as an image signal. The output image signal is transmitted to an A / D converter 45 via a transmission cable 46 to be A / D converter.
D conversion is performed.

The obtained normal light image is output from the normal light image obtaining unit 40 ′ as image data representing the normal light image, and displayed on the display 81 via the selection means 61 and the video signal processing circuit 65.

Since the image storage mode of the storage control means 63 "is set to the second storage mode, the normal light image obtained by the normal light image obtaining unit 40 'is stored as a still image at a desired timing. Is done.
That is, when the hand switch 83 is pressed, the normal light image is stored in the image storage unit 50 as a still image.

When the observation target image is switched to the fluorescent image by the foot switch 82, only the fluorescent image can be stored in the image storing means 50 in the opposite manner, and is stored in the second storing mode. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

As described above, in the third embodiment, since only the selected observation target image can be stored in the image storage means 50, unnecessary images not selected as the observation target image can be saved. Preservation can be prevented.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The fluorescence endoscope apparatus of the fourth embodiment is selected from the selection means 61 in the function of the storage control means 63 ″ shown in FIG. 4 in the configuration of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus of the third embodiment. The storage control unit 6 has a function of inputting a result and outputting a control signal for enabling only the observation target image to be stored to the image storage unit 50.
Except for 3 ″, this function is realized by changing the path for storing the observation target image in the image storage unit 50. Hereinafter, the same configuration as the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described. Are denoted by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the path for storing the fluorescent light image and the normal light image in the image storage The route e is set as a route e from the to the image storage means 50 '. Thus, only the observation target image selected by the selection unit 61 can be stored in the image storage unit 50 '. That is, in the fourth embodiment, the storage control unit that enables only the observation target image selected by the selection unit to be stored in the image storage unit is determined by the selection unit 61, the path e, and the storage control unit 63 ^* . Will be composed.

The image storage area 53 of the image storage means 50 'is not set so as to distinguish between the fluorescent image storage area and the normal light image storage area. The data is sequentially stored in the storage area sequentially. Other configurations and operations are the same as those of the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the fifth embodiment changes the display function in the configuration of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment, and causes a display for displaying a fluorescent image and a normal light image to be displayed. The display and the display are individually provided. Hereinafter, the same components as those of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the fluorescence endoscope apparatus of the fifth embodiment, two types of images are always displayed regardless of the type of the selected observation object image or the intensity of the image. . That is, the output from the fluorescent image acquisition unit 30 is always transmitted to the display 81A via the video signal processing circuit 65A.
The output from the normal light image acquisition unit 40 'is displayed on the display 81B via the display video signal processing circuit 65.

Selection means 61 by foot switch 82
^{When *} is set so as to select the normal light image as the observation target image, the selection result is output from the selection means 61 ^* to the storage control means 63 ″ and the apparatus control unit 64.
Upon input of the selection result, the storage control unit 63 ″ controls the image storage unit 50 so that only the normal light image selected as the observation target image can be stored in the image storage unit 50, and inputs the selection result. The device control unit 64 controls each unit, the normal light Lt is emitted from the light source unit 10, and the normal light image based on the reflected normal light reflected by the living tissue 1 is obtained by the normal light image obtaining unit 40 '.

Thus, the normal light image acquisition unit 4
The normal light image acquired by 0 'is displayed on the display 81B via the video signal processing circuit 65B, and the image storage means 50 can store only the normal light image.

On the other hand, for the fluorescence image not selected as the observation target image, the excitation light Le is supplied to the light source unit 10.
Therefore, the output from the fluorescent image acquisition unit 30 becomes dark noise, and this dark noise is displayed as an image on the display 81A.

Here, the image selected as the observation target image is confirmed by turning on the lamp by the identification signal output from the selection means 61 ^* to which the selection signal from the foot switch 82 is input. That is,
The identification signal output from the selection means 61 ^* is the fluorescent image identification lamp 8 corresponding to the image selected as the observation target.
Since any one of 9A and the normal light image identification lamp 89B is turned on, the observation target image can be confirmed by turning on this lamp. Other operations are the same as those of the third embodiment.

As described above, if the type of the image to be stored can be confirmed by turning on the lamp, the image can be stored even if an incorrect image is displayed on the display due to, for example, a failure of the apparatus. It is possible to confirm whether the present image is a fluorescent image or a normal light image.

The intensity of the image detected by the fluorescence image intensity detector and the normal light image intensity detector is not limited to the case where the detection intensities of all the regions of the captured image are used. The detection intensity of a region or the detection intensity at a plurality of points in an image may be used.

In addition, this type of fluorescent image storage apparatus uses a fluorescent light (auto-fluorescence) generated when a living tissue is irradiated with excitation light, and a fluorescent image storage device that emits a living tissue that has absorbed a fluorescent diagnostic agent in advance. This is commonly used for the fluorescence (drug fluorescence) generated in the above.

The image storage means may be an apparatus using any medium such as a video tape, a DVD, a hard disk, and an MD as a storage medium.

When a control signal for storing an image is output from the storage control means to the image storing means, the image storage time interval, whether the image is a still image, whether it is a fluorescent image or a normal image. The image may be stored by adding an index including information such as か. This allows
Searching of the observation image stored in the image storage unit, calling reproduction at a desired timing, and the like can be performed very easily.

Further, in the fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, the fluorescence imaging device is installed outside the insertion unit. However, this may be installed at the tip of the insertion unit. In this case, instead of the rotary filter 32 (optical transmission filter) shown in FIG. 2, a mosaic filter having the same function as the rotary filter may be provided on the front surface of the fluorescent image sensor.

Further, the fluorescent image storage device of the present invention can be applied not only to an endoscope but also to a colposcope, a surgical microscope and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a detailed structure of a rotary filter.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a fluorescence endoscope apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Living tissue 10 Light source unit 20 Insertion unit 30 Fluorescence image acquisition unit 40 Normal light image acquisition unit 50 Image storage means 61 Selection means 62 Image determination means 63 Storage control means 81 Display 100 Fluorescence endoscope apparatus 0 Le Excitation light Lt Normal Light Ls Reference light

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A fluorescent image acquiring means for acquiring an image by capturing an image of fluorescence emitted from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light to obtain a fluorescent image, and receiving irradiation of normal light having a wavelength region of visible light. A normal light image acquisition unit that captures an image of the normal light reflected by the living tissue to obtain a normal light image, and a fluorescent light that includes the acquired fluorescence image and an image storage unit that stores the normal light image. An image storage device, which determines whether the fluorescent image and / or the normal light image is an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation based on the intensity of the acquired fluorescent image and / or normal light image. A fluorescence image storage device comprising: a determination unit; and a storage control unit that prohibits the image storage unit from storing an image determined to be an unsuitable observation image by the image determination unit. 2. A fluorescent image acquiring means for acquiring an image of fluorescent light emitted from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light to obtain a fluorescent image, and receiving irradiation of normal light having a wavelength region of visible light. A normal light image acquisition unit that captures an image of the normal light reflected by the living tissue to acquire a normal light image, and a selection of selecting any of the acquired fluorescence image and the normal light image as an observation target image Means, a display means for displaying the selected observation target image, and an image storage means for storing the acquired fluorescence image and the normal light image, wherein the fluorescence image storage device comprises: A fluorescence image storage device, comprising: a storage control unit that enables only the observed image to be stored to be stored in the image storage unit. 3. A fluorescence image acquiring means for acquiring an image by fluorescence emitted from a living tissue irradiated with excitation light to acquire a fluorescence image, and receiving irradiation with normal light having a visible light wavelength region. A normal light image acquisition unit that captures an image of the normal light reflected by the living tissue to acquire a normal light image, and a selection of selecting any of the acquired fluorescence image and the normal light image as an observation target image Means for displaying the selected observation target image, and image storage means for storing the fluorescence image and the normal light image, wherein the acquired fluorescence image and / or Alternatively, an image determining unit that determines whether the fluorescent image and / or the normal light image is an unsuitable observation image that is not suitable for observation, based on the intensity of the normal light image, and a selection unit that selects the fluorescence image and / or the normal light image. Storage control means for enabling only the observation target image that has been stored to be stored in the image storage means, and prohibiting storage of the image determined to be an unsuitable observation image by the image determination means in the image storage means. A fluorescent image storage device, comprising: 4. The intensity of the acquired fluorescent image is the intensity of dark noise included in the fluorescent image, and the intensity of the acquired normal light image is the intensity of dark noise included in the normal light image. A fluorescence image storage device, characterized in that: 5. The fluorescence image storage device according to claim 2, wherein the selection means selects the observation target image based on an external input signal. 6. The fluorescence according to claim 1, wherein said storage control means causes said image storage means to store said image at predetermined time intervals. Image storage device. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage control unit causes the image storage unit to store the image as a still image at a desired timing. Fluorescent image storage device. 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage control means causes the image storage means to store the image at predetermined time intervals and to store the image as a still image at a desired timing. 6. The fluorescence image storage device according to any one of 1 to 5. 9. The fluorescent light according to claim 8, wherein the storage control means causes the storage of the still image at the desired timing to be executed prior to the storage of the image at the predetermined time interval. Image storage device. 10. The fluorescence according to claim 1, wherein the fluorescence image storage device is an endoscope device having a flexible insertion portion inserted into a living body. Image storage device. 11. The fluorescence image storage device according to claim 1, further comprising a light source that emits the excitation light, wherein the light source is a GaN-based semiconductor laser.