JP2006271695A - Medical image preparation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To take consistency of times recorded in respective images generated from a plurality of medical image preparation apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: An endoscopic image processor 10 and an ultrasonic image processor 30 connected so as to be communicable with each other record obtained time respectively in an endoscopic image and an ultrasonic image. When a built-in clock in an endoscope time management part 17 holds a reference time in this case, when starting the ultrasonic image processor 30, an ultrasonic time management part 36 transmits a request for obtaining reference time to the endoscope time management part 17 via communication interfaces 37 and 19. The endoscope time management part 17 returns the reference time held by itself to the ultrasonic time management part 36 via the communication interfaces 37 and 19. The ultrasonic time management part 36 corrects a built-in clock of itself to the returned reference time, and records reference time synchronized with the endoscopic image in the ultrasonic image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical image generation apparatus that generates a diagnostic image of a subject.

  Various medical image generation devices such as an endoscope image generation device, an ultrasonic image generation device, and an X-ray image generation device are used as devices for generating various images for diagnosis and treatment of a subject. An image of the inside of the specimen is acquired. In addition to being used alone, the medical image generation apparatus may be used in combination with other types of medical image generation apparatuses. In some cases, the same type of medical image generation apparatus is used in combination.

As an example of a combination of different types of medical image generation apparatuses, an apparatus that uses an endoscope image generation apparatus and an ultrasonic image generation apparatus in combination is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. An endoscopic image generation device displays an endoscopic image of the surface of a body cavity by inserting an endoscope into the body, and the ultrasonic image generation device is an ultrasonic tomographic image (ultrasonic image) up to a predetermined depth. Is something to get. By using a combination of the endoscopic image generation device and the ultrasonic image generation device, an ultrasonic image by the ultrasonic image generation device is acquired for a lesion found on the surface of the body cavity by the endoscopic image. Can be used for diagnosis and treatment of a subject.
JP 2001-87265 A

  By the way, when acquiring an image using a plurality of medical image generation devices as well as an endoscopic image and an ultrasonic image, the images are not only displayed but also stored in a storage device such as a filing device. Some of them are used for reports, presentations, or organizing images after various processing as later diagnosis, follow-up observation, and clinical data. In addition, an image stored in the filing apparatus can be used as an electronic medical record. When acquiring an endoscopic image and an ultrasonic image using an endoscopic image generation device and an ultrasonic image generation device, a large number of images are acquired instead of only one image.

  Here, when an endoscopic image and an ultrasonic image are acquired, the times acquired by the endoscopic image generating device and the ultrasonic image generating device are normally recorded in the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image, respectively. Is done. Therefore, the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image are associated with each other according to the time. Here, if the time recorded in the endoscopic image and the time recorded in the ultrasound image match, there is no other problem, but if they do not match, the endoscopic image and the ultrasound image It becomes impossible to take consistency. That is, when a time difference is recorded between the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image, the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image acquired at the same time cannot be associated with each other. Conversely, an endoscopic image that should have been originally acquired at a different time may be associated with an ultrasonic image. As a result, there is a problem that the relationship between the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image cannot be verified.

  This problem is caused by the fact that the endoscope image generation apparatus and the ultrasonic image generation apparatus are different diagnosis apparatuses. That is, since the endoscopic image generation apparatus and the ultrasonic image generation apparatus are separate and independent diagnostic apparatuses, each apparatus has a built-in clock independently. It is generally known that such a built-in clock causes a shift with time. Therefore, the built-in clock of the endoscope image generation apparatus and the built-in clock of the ultrasonic image generation apparatus gradually shift in time to be engraved. come. For this reason, the time given to the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image accumulated in the filing device is shifted. Therefore, the consistency between the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image cannot be obtained, which is an adverse effect of use as clinical data.

  Of course, this problem is not limited to between the endoscopic image generation apparatus and the ultrasonic image generation apparatus, but occurs when a plurality of medical image generation apparatuses are used in combination. In particular, the diagnostic device's built-in clock is not timed in seconds or minutes, but in hours or days, when the diagnostic device is turned on, and has been disconnected for a long time. There may be a significant shift in units. Here, when a plurality of medical image generation devices are used in combination, if the medical image generation device used in combination is frequently used, even if a deviation occurs in the built-in clock, the error is within an allowable range. May fit. If the deviation of the built-in clock is within an allowable error range, it may be used for clinical data and various purposes. However, when a certain medical image generation device is used frequently, but a certain medical image generation device is used very rarely, each medical image generation device has a time greatly shifted from the generated image. Will be recorded. In this case, it can no longer be used as clinical data.

  In view of this, the present invention provides a medical image that can synchronize the times of a plurality of medical image generation apparatuses connected to be communicable with each other and can take time consistency of images acquired by the respective medical image generation apparatuses. An object is to provide a generation device.

In the medical image generation apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of medical image generation apparatuses that can be used at the same time are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other, and the plurality of medical image generation apparatuses each manage their own time. And a reference time holding means for holding a reference time in any one of the plurality of medical image generation devices or other devices connected to the plurality of medical image generation devices. The medical image generating apparatus that does not have the reference time holding unit performs communication to acquire the reference time from the reference time holding unit, and stores the reference time in the time management unit included in the medical image generating apparatus. The plurality of medical examination apparatuses record the reference time synchronized with the image generated by themselves, and can communicate with the plurality of medical image generation apparatuses. The reference time in a storage means connected to and recording the images recorded on.

  The medical image generation apparatus of the present invention can take time consistency of images acquired from different medical image generation apparatuses.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As the medical image generation apparatus of the present invention, an endoscope image generation apparatus, an ultrasonic image generation apparatus, an X-ray image generation apparatus, and other arbitrary apparatuses can be used in combination. Here, a combination of an endoscope image generation apparatus and an ultrasonic image generation apparatus will be described as an example, but of course, the present invention is not limited to this, and any combination can be used.

  The medical image generation apparatus in FIG. 1 includes an endoscopic image generation apparatus 1 and an ultrasonic image generation apparatus 3, and the endoscopic image generation apparatus 1 and the ultrasonic image generation apparatus 3 can be used simultaneously. Therefore, it is installed in the same examination room. The endoscope image generating apparatus 1 includes an endoscope image processing apparatus 10, a scope 10 </ b> S connected to the endoscope image processing apparatus 10, and a monitor 50. The ultrasonic image generating apparatus 3 includes an ultrasonic wave. The image processing apparatus 30 includes an ultrasonic probe 30 </ b> P connected to the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30 and a monitor 60. The endoscope image processing apparatus and the ultrasonic processing apparatus 30 are communicably connected to the same filing apparatus 70. Further, the endoscope image processing apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30 are connected to other apparatuses including the filing apparatus 70 (for example, other computers installed in the hospital) so as to communicate with each other.

  The endoscope image processing apparatus 10 includes a TG 11, a CCD driving device 12, a CDS / AGC (Correlated Double Sampling / Auto Gain Control) 13, an A / D (Analog Digital Converter) 14, an endoscope signal processing unit 15, and a D / An A (Digital Analog Converter) 16, an endoscope time management unit 17, a standard time creation unit 18, a communication interface 19, and an external connection interface 20 are configured. On the other hand, the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30 includes a scanning control unit 31, a transmission / reception circuit 32, an A / D 33, an ultrasonic signal processing unit 34, a D / A 35, an ultrasonic time management unit 36, a communication interface 37, and an external connection interface 38. It is configured.

  First, the endoscope image processing apparatus 10 will be described. The scope 10 </ b> S connected to the endoscope image processing apparatus 10 includes a main body operation unit and an insertion unit that is inserted into a body cavity. A solid-state imaging device (CCD: Charge Coupled device) 10C is provided at the distal end of the insertion portion of the scope 10S, and the solid-state imaging device 10C is driven based on a drive control signal from the endoscope image processing apparatus 10, and also the surface inside the body cavity Are output to the endoscope image processing apparatus 10. The TG 11 is a so-called timing generator, and generates various timing pulses for performing drive control of the solid-state imaging device 10C of the scope 10S. The CCD drive device 12 outputs a drive control signal to the solid-state imaging device 10C based on the timing pulse from the TG 11.

  The image data output from the solid-state imaging device 10C is subjected to correlated double sampling for removing unwanted noise in the CDS / AGC 13, automatic gain control for correcting the output signal to a constant intensity, and analog data in the A / D 14 To digital data. The digital data is subjected to predetermined signal processing such as color correction and gamma correction in the endoscope signal processing unit 15. Thereby, an endoscopic image is generated. Here, the endoscope signal processing unit 15 records the time information output from the endoscope time management unit 17 with respect to the generated endoscope image in the endoscope image. The endoscope image including the time information is converted from digital data to analog data in the D / A 16 and displayed on the screen of the monitor 50. At this time, the D / A 16 outputs an endoscopic image including time information not only to the monitor 50 but also to the filing device 70 via the external connection interface 20.

  The endoscope time management unit 17 includes a built-in clock provided in the endoscope signal processing apparatus 10, and performs synchronization of the built-in clock, output of time to other control units, and other controls. Here, the time of the internal clock of the endoscope time management unit 17 is defined as the reference time. Therefore, the endoscope time management unit 17 constitutes a reference time holding unit that holds the reference time. The standard time creation unit 18 is for creating a standard time of a country (hereinafter referred to as “use country”) in which the medical image generation apparatus is used, for example, and a built-in clock of the endoscope time management unit 17 at the standard time. By adjusting the reference time, the reference time can be adjusted to the standard time of the country of use.

  An example of the standard time creation unit 18 is shown in FIGS. FIG. 2 (a) shows that the reference time is adjusted to the standard time of the country of use by a radio clock. In this case, a standard radio wave including standard time information is received by the receiver 183 from the radio wave transmitting station S, the standard radio wave is decoded by the microprocessor 182, and the standard time is viewed through the output interface 181 as the reference time. Output to the mirror time management unit 17. FIG. 2B shows a case where the reference time is adjusted to the standard time by an NTP (Network Protocol Server) server. In this case, the computer 185 receives the standard time from the NTP server that provides the standard time information of the country of use via the Internet network IN, and the standard time received by the computer 185 via the output interface 184 is used as the reference time. Output to the endoscope time management unit 17.

  Using these, the reference time of the endoscope time management unit 17 can be adjusted to the standard time of the country of use. However, in the present invention, as long as the time recorded in the endoscopic image and the time recorded in the ultrasound image are consistent with each other at the minimum, the time does not necessarily coincide with the standard time in the country of use. Also good. In this case, the standard time creation unit 18 is not an essential component, but it is preferable that the reference time is the same as the standard time of the country of use.

  The endoscope image processing apparatus 10 includes a communication interface 19. The communication interface 19 is communicably connected to the communication interface 37 of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30. As a connection method, either wired or wireless can be applied. With this connection, the endoscope image processing apparatus 10 and the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30 can exchange information.

  Next, the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30 will be described. An ultrasonic probe 30 </ b> P is connected to the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30. An ultrasonic transducer 30T that scans in a radial direction or a linear direction is provided at the tip of the ultrasonic probe 30P. The ultrasonic transducer 30T transmits ultrasonic waves toward the subject and converts the received reflected echoes into reception signals. Output to the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 30. The ultrasonic probe 30 is inserted into a treatment instrument insertion channel for inserting a forceps or other treatment instrument provided at the distal end of the insertion portion of the scope 10S connected to the endoscope image processing apparatus 10, and the body of the subject. Can be ultrasonically scanned.

  The transmission / reception circuit 31 of the ultrasonic image processing device 30 is connected to the ultrasonic transducer 30T of the ultrasonic probe 30P, transmits a drive signal for driving the ultrasonic transducer 30T, and is output from the ultrasonic transducer 30T. Receives received signals. The received signal received from the ultrasonic transducer 30T is converted from analog data to digital data by the A / D 33 and input to the ultrasonic signal processing unit 34. The ultrasonic signal processor 34 converts the received digital data in the scanning direction to form an ultrasonic image for one frame. At this time, the ultrasonic signal processing unit 34 records time information output from the ultrasonic time management unit 36 for the formed ultrasonic image. Then, the ultrasonic image including the time information is converted from digital data to analog data in the D / A 35, and the ultrasonic image is displayed on the screen of the monitor 60. At this time, an ultrasonic image including time information is also output from the D / A 35 to the filing device 70 via the external connection interface 38.

  The ultrasonic time management unit 36 includes a built-in clock, like the endoscope time management unit 17 of the endoscope image processing apparatus 10, and synchronizes the built-in clock, outputs time to other control units, and other controls. I do. The internal clock of the ultrasonic time management unit 36 operates independently of the internal clock of the endoscope time management unit 17. Therefore, there may be a time lag between the time of the internal clock of the endoscope time management unit 17 and the time of the internal clock of the ultrasonic time management unit 36.

  Therefore, when the ultrasonic image processing device 30 is turned on, the ultrasonic time management unit 36 is connected via the communication interface 19 of the endoscope image processing device 10 that is communicably connected to the communication interface 37. A request for acquiring the reference time of the built-in clock is transmitted to the endoscope time management unit 17. When receiving the request, the endoscope time management unit 17 returns the reference time held by the built-in clock to the ultrasonic time management unit 36 via the communication interfaces 19 and 37. When receiving the reference time, the ultrasonic time management unit 36 corrects the time of its own internal clock to the received reference time. As a result, the internal clock of the endoscope time management unit 17 and the internal clock of the ultrasonic time management unit 36 are synchronized. Therefore, a time synchronized with the time (reference time) recorded in the endoscopic image is recorded in the ultrasonic image generated in the ultrasonic signal processing unit 34.

  The filing device 70 is a storage device that records various types of information, and is communicably connected to the endoscope image processing device 10 and the ultrasonic image processing device 30. An endoscopic image including time information is output from the endoscopic image processing device 10 to the filing device 70, and an ultrasonic image including time information is output from the ultrasonic image processing device 30. The filing device 70 accumulates these endoscopic images and ultrasonic images, performs subsequent medical treatment, follow-up observation, and various processing as clinical data, and then reports and presents or organizes each image. Can also be used for. Further, the time information recorded in the endoscopic image stored in the filing device 70 and the time information recorded in the ultrasonic image are synchronized, so that there is no time lag. Therefore, there is no problem that the consistency between the endoscopic image and the ultrasonic image cannot be obtained.

  The above describes the type in which the ultrasonic probe is inserted into the treatment instrument insertion channel of the scope. For example, the endoscope observation unit and the ultrasonic observation unit are integrally mounted at the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion. The present invention can also be applied to an ultrasonic endoscope. The ultrasonic endoscope is configured by providing a solid-state imaging device having a visual field in front at the distal end hard portion of the insertion portion, and arranging a large number of ultrasonic transducers in the axial direction or around the axis of the distal end hard portion. At this time, the endoscope observation means is connected to the endoscope image generating apparatus, and the ultrasonic observation means is connected to the ultrasonic image generating apparatus. Therefore, even in the case of an ultrasonic endoscope, a separate and independent processing device is required. Therefore, the present invention is applied to synchronize the internal clock of the endoscopic image generation device and the internal clock of the ultrasonic image generation device. be able to.

  However, in an ultrasonic endoscope, both the endoscope image generation device and the ultrasonic image generation device are frequently used, but the type that inserts the ultrasonic probe into the treatment instrument insertion channel of the scope is used. In some cases, endoscopic images are mainly acquired, and ultrasonic images are acquired supplementarily. In such a case, the endoscopic image generating apparatus is frequently used, while the ultrasonic wave is less frequently used by the image processing apparatus. Therefore, the present invention is more effective.

  The present invention is also applicable to a case where a plurality of medical image generation devices of the same type are installed in the same examination room, in addition to the combination of an endoscope image generation device and an ultrasonic image generation device. Can be applied. For example, the present invention can be applied to a case where a plurality of endoscopic image generation apparatuses are installed in the same examination room.

  The time of the internal clock on the endoscope image generation device side is described as the reference time, but the time on the ultrasonic image generation device side may be set as the reference time. In this case, when the power of the endoscope image generating device is turned on, the ultrasonic image generating device is requested to acquire the reference time, and the endoscope image generating device is incorporated at the reference time returned from the ultrasonic image generating device. If the clock is corrected, the time at which the endoscopic image is recorded and the time at which the ultrasonic image is recorded can be matched. In short, when a plurality of medical image generation apparatuses are connected so as to be communicable with each other, any one of the medical image generation apparatuses is provided with a reference time holding means, and the other medical image generation apparatuses are used as reference What is necessary is just to synchronize own internal clock with the time information acquired from the time holding means. Further, even when none of the plurality of medical image generation apparatuses is provided with the reference time holding means, for example, it is connected to a medical image generation apparatus such as a hospital computer in which a filing apparatus or a medical image generation apparatus is installed. Other devices may include reference time holding means, and all medical image generation apparatuses may synchronize their own internal clocks with the time information acquired from the reference time holding means.

  In addition, although the timing at which the power is turned on has been described as the timing for synchronizing the time of the built-in clock, the synchronization may be performed at other timing. For example, synchronization may be performed when the endoscopic image generation apparatus and the ultrasonic image generation apparatus are connected, or synchronization may be performed at regular intervals while both are connected. Further, the operator or the like may manually take the synchronization timing.

  As described above, the present invention can synchronize the times of a plurality of medical image generation apparatuses with a unified reference time, so that the time recorded in the image generated by each medical image generation apparatus is shifted. It does not occur. For this reason, there is no problem that the consistency of each image cannot be obtained when it is later used as clinical data or used as an electronic medical record.

It is a schematic block diagram when using an endoscope image generation apparatus and an ultrasonic image generation apparatus in combination. It is a schematic block diagram of a standard time preparation part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Endoscope image processing apparatus 15 Endoscope signal processing part 17 Endoscope time management part 18 Standard time preparation part 30 Ultrasonic image processing apparatus 34 Ultrasonic signal processing part 36 Ultrasonic time management part 19, 27 Communication interface
70 Filing equipment

Claims (4)

A plurality of medical image generation devices that can be used at the same time are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other, and the plurality of medical image generation devices each include a time management unit that manages the time of each device,
Any one of the plurality of medical image generation devices or other devices connected to the plurality of medical image generation devices has a reference time holding means for holding a reference time;
The medical image generation apparatus that does not include the reference time holding unit is stored in the time management unit included in the medical image generation apparatus by performing communication to acquire the reference time from the reference time holding unit. Synchronize the reference time with the reference time,
Each of the plurality of medical examination apparatuses records the reference time synchronized with an image generated by the plurality of medical examination apparatuses, and the reference time is recorded in a storage unit that is communicably connected to the plurality of medical image generation apparatuses. A medical image generating apparatus, wherein the image is recorded. The plurality of medical examination apparatuses are composed of one or more ultrasound image generation apparatuses and one or more endoscope image generation apparatuses,
The storage means includes an ultrasonic image generated by the ultrasonic image generation device in which the reference time is recorded, and an endoscopic image generated by the endoscopic image generation device in which the reference time is recorded. The medical image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medical image generation apparatus is recorded.   The medical image generation apparatus that does not include the reference time holding unit communicates with the apparatus having the reference time holding unit when the medical image generation apparatus is activated, acquires the reference time, and performs the time management. The medical image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the time stored in the means is synchronized with the reference time. The medical image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reference time holding unit generates the reference time based on a time of a radio timepiece that transmits a standard time.

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