JP2012000160A - Endoscope apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an endoscope apparatus in which a palpation to a specified site in a body cavity is performed, and based on this result, an illumination is automatically changed to such an illumination light that can observe the condition of the affected part in more detail to support a diagnosis by the endoscope.SOLUTION: The endoscope apparatus 100 irradiates an illuminative light from the tip of an endoscope inserting part 19 and takes an image of an object to be observed by an photographing element 21 to acquire image taking information. The endoscope apparatus 100 includes: a light source part 45 for selectively emitting a white light, and a special light with a spectrum different from the white light; a pressing member 41 projecting a contactor 75 formed on one end from the tip of the endoscope inserting part 19 and pressing the same on the surface of a living body of the object to be observed; a characteristic quantity detecting part 67 for detecting the characteristic quantity of the surface of the living body from the image taking information which is photographed by pressing the contactor 75 of the pressing member 41 on the surface of the living body; and an observing mode switching part for switching to either an ordinary observation mode or a special light observation mode in accordance with the detected characteristic quantity.

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus.

  A general endoscope apparatus is configured to observe a living tissue from an observation window at the tip of an endoscope insertion portion. However, with the recent advancement of endoscopic diagnosis, there is an increasing demand for palpation not only for observing the affected area but also for confirming the elasticity and hardening of the affected area. In particular, when a tumor is present in the affected area, the degree of progression of a disease state that cannot be known only by observation, such as hardening of the tumor area from the surroundings, can be accurately diagnosed by palpation. Therefore, an endoscope apparatus that detects the hardness of the tissue by pressing the inside of the body cavity under observation with a predetermined pressure by the pressing means and detecting the displacement of the tissue due to the pressing has been proposed (Patent Document). 1). According to this endoscope apparatus, the hardness with respect to the specific site | part in a body cavity can be measured.

  However, in the diagnosis using the endoscope apparatus, the hardness of the affected area is merely measured, and the affected area cannot be observed in more detail. That is, by performing special light observation by irradiation of narrow band light of a specific wavelength, it becomes easy to diagnose the state of capillaries and pit patterns on the tissue surface layer. After removing the mirror device from the body cavity, the procedure becomes complicated, for example, by reinserting the endoscope device for special light observation into the body cavity.

JP-A 63-186621

  The present invention provides an endoscopic device that supports endoscopic diagnosis by performing palpation on a specific part in a body cavity and automatically changing to an observation mode in which the state of an affected part can be observed in more detail based on the result. The purpose is to provide.

The present invention has the following configuration.
An endoscope that irradiates illumination light toward an object to be observed in the living body from the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into the living body, and obtains imaged image information by imaging the object to be observed with an image sensor. A mirror device,
A light source unit that selectively emits white light and special light having a spectrum different from that of white light;
A pressing member that protrudes from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion and presses the contact portion formed at one end thereof against the surface of the subject to be observed;
A feature amount detection unit that detects a feature amount of the living body surface from captured image information obtained by pressing the contact portion of the pressing member against the living body surface; and
Observation switching to either a normal observation mode in which the white light is observed as illumination light or a special light observation mode in which light including the special light is observed as illumination light according to the feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit A mode switching unit;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:

  According to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, palpation of a specific part in the body cavity is performed, and based on the result, the state of the affected part is automatically changed to an observation mode that can be observed in more detail, and endoscopic diagnosis is performed. Can help.

It is a figure for demonstrating embodiment of this invention, and is a notional block block diagram of an endoscope apparatus. It is an external view as an example of the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG. It is a graph which shows the emission spectrum of the illumination light by a light source part. It is a partially broken side view of a pressing member. It is an external view at the time of observation of the normal biological body surface by a pressing member. It is an external view at the time of the observation of the lesioned part of the biological body surface by a pressing member. It is an observation image of FIG. It is the observation image of FIG. (A), (B), (C) is explanatory drawing which shows a mode that a feature-value is calculated according to the magnitude | size of a lesioned part. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of palpation observation by an endoscope apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of switching of the illumination light in normal observation mode and special light observation mode. It is explanatory drawing which shows the mode of switching of illumination light. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a light source part. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a light source part. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a light source part. It is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a light source part. (A) is a block diagram which shows the other structural example of a light source part, (B) is a front view of the rotary filter applied to (A).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, and is a conceptual block diagram of an endoscope apparatus. FIG. 2 is an external view as an example of the endoscope apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an endoscope apparatus 100 includes an endoscope 11, a control device 13 to which the endoscope 11 is connected, a display unit 15 such as a monitor that displays image information and the like. And an input unit 17 for receiving an input operation such as a keyboard.

  The endoscope 11 includes an electronic optical system including an illumination optical system that emits illumination light from the distal end of the endoscope insertion unit 19 and an imaging optical system that includes an imaging element 21 (see FIG. 1) that captures an observation region. It is a mirror. The endoscope 11 includes an endoscope insertion portion 19 inserted into a subject, an operation portion 23 (see FIG. 2) for performing a bending operation and an observation operation of the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion 19, and Connector portions 25 and 27 for detachably connecting the endoscope 11 to the control device 13 are provided. The endoscope insertion portion 19 is provided with a pressing member 41 that presses against the living body surface at the tip thereof. Although not shown, various channels such as a forceps channel for inserting a tissue collection treatment instrument and the like, a channel for air supply / water supply, and the like are provided inside the operation unit 23 and the endoscope insertion unit 19. .

  The endoscope insertion portion 19 includes a flexible soft portion 29, a bending portion 31, and a distal end portion (hereinafter also referred to as an endoscope distal end portion) 33. As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope distal end portion 33 has irradiation ports 35 and 37 for irradiating light to the observation region, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or CMOS for acquiring image information of the observation region. (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) An image sensor 21 such as an image sensor is disposed. An objective lens unit 39 is disposed on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 21.

  The bending portion 31 is provided between the soft portion 29 and the distal end portion 33, and can be bent by a turning operation of an angle knob 43 disposed in the operation portion 23. The bending portion 31 can be bent in an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary angle according to a part of the subject in which the endoscope 11 is used, and the irradiation ports 35 and 37 of the endoscope distal end portion 33 and the imaging element 21. Can be directed to a desired observation site.

  The control device 13 includes a light source unit 45 that generates illumination light to be supplied to the irradiation ports 35 and 37 of the endoscope distal end 33, and a processor 47 that performs image processing on an image signal from the imaging device 21, and the connector units 25 and 27. It is connected to the endoscope 11 via. Further, the display unit 15 and the input unit 17 are connected to the processor 47. The processor 47 performs image processing on the imaging signal transmitted from the endoscope 11 based on an instruction from the operation unit 23 or the input unit 17 of the endoscope 11, and generates a display image on the display unit 15. Supply.

  The light source unit 45 includes a violet laser light source (special light source) LD1 having a center wavelength of 405 nm and a blue laser light source (white illumination light source) LD2 having a center wavelength of 445 nm as light sources. Light emission from the semiconductor light emitting elements of these light sources LD1 and LD2 is individually controlled by the light source control unit 49, and the light quantity ratio between the emitted light of the violet laser light source LD1 and the emitted light of the blue laser light source LD2 is freely changeable. It has become. That is, the light source unit 45 can selectively emit light from a plurality of light sources including a white light source and a special light source that emits spectrum light in a narrower band than the white light source.

  As the violet laser light source LD1 and the blue laser light source LD2, a broad area type InGaN laser diode can be used, and an InGaNAs laser diode or a GaNAs laser diode can also be used. In addition, a light-emitting body such as a light-emitting diode may be used as the light source.

  Laser light emitted from each of the light sources LD1 and LD2 is input to an optical fiber by a condenser lens (not shown), and is connected to a connector via a combiner 51 as a multiplexer and a coupler 53 as a demultiplexer. Is transmitted to the unit 25. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a configuration in which the laser light from each of the light sources LD1 and LD2 is directly transmitted to the connector unit 25 without using the combiner 51 and the coupler 53 may be employed.

  The laser beam combined with the blue laser beam having the center wavelength of 445 nm and the violet laser beam having the center wavelength of 405 nm and transmitted to the connector unit 25 is transmitted through the optical fibers 55 and 57 to the distal end portion of the endoscope 11. Up to 33. Then, the blue laser light excites the phosphor 59 which is a wavelength conversion member disposed at the light emitting end of the optical fibers 55 and 57 of the endoscope distal end portion 33 to emit fluorescence. Some of the blue laser light passes through the phosphor 59 as it is. The violet laser light is transmitted without strongly exciting the phosphor 59 and becomes illumination light with a narrow band wavelength.

  The optical fibers 55 and 57 are multimode fibers. For example, a thin fiber cable having a core diameter of 105 μm, a cladding diameter of 125 μm, and a diameter of 0.3 to 0.5 mm including a protective layer serving as an outer shell can be used. .

The phosphor 59 includes a plurality of types of phosphors (for example, a YAG phosphor or a phosphor such as BAM (BaMgAl ₁₀ O ₁₇ )) that absorbs a part of the blue laser light and emits light by excitation from green to yellow. Composed. As a result, green to yellow excitation light using blue laser light as excitation light and blue laser light that is transmitted without being absorbed by the phosphor 59 are combined into white (pseudo-white) illumination light. If a semiconductor light-emitting element is used as an excitation light source as in this configuration example, high-intensity white light can be obtained with high luminous efficiency, the intensity of white light can be easily adjusted, and the color temperature and chromaticity of white light can be adjusted. Can be kept small.

  The phosphor 59 described above can prevent noise superposition and flickering when performing moving image display due to speckle caused by the coherence of laser light. In addition, the phosphor 59 takes into account the difference in refractive index between the phosphor constituting the phosphor and the fixing / solidifying resin serving as the filler, and changes the particle size relative to the phosphor itself and the filler to light in the infrared region. In contrast, it is preferable to use a material that has low absorption and high scattering. This enhances the scattering effect without reducing the light intensity for red or infrared light, and reduces the optical loss.

  Illumination light composed of blue laser light and white light generated by excitation light emitted from the phosphor 59 and narrow-band light generated by violet laser light is emitted from the distal end portion 33 of the endoscope 11 toward the observation region of the subject. The Then, the state of the observation area irradiated with the illumination light is imaged on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 21 by the objective lens unit 39 and imaged.

  An image signal of a captured image output from the image sensor 21 after imaging is transmitted to the A / D converter 63 through the scope cable 61 and converted into a digital signal, and is transmitted to the image processing unit 65 of the processor 47 via the connector unit 25. Entered. Although described in detail later, the image processing unit 65 converts the input digital image signal into image data and outputs desired output image information to the control unit 69. The feature amount detection unit 67 emits white light from the light source unit 45 and the living body surface from the captured image information captured by the imaging element 21 in a state where the contact portion 75 included in the pressing member 41 is pressed against the living body surface. The feature amount of is detected. The light source control unit 49 changes the emitted light from the light source unit 45 according to the feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit 67.

  The output image information input to the control unit 69 is displayed on the display unit 15 as an endoscopic observation image, and is stored in a storage unit 71 including a memory or a storage device as necessary. The endoscope 11 is provided with a mode change button 73 for manually changing the observation mode, and a switching signal from the mode change button 73 is input to the control unit 69. The mode change button 73 switches an observation mode to be described later every time the pressing operation is performed.

  FIG. 3 is a graph showing the violet laser light from the violet laser light source LD1, the blue laser light from the blue laser light source LD2, and the emission spectrum obtained by wavelength conversion of the blue laser light by the phosphor 59. The violet laser beam is represented by an emission line having a center wavelength of 405 nm. The blue laser light is represented by a bright line having a center wavelength of 445 nm, and the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 59 by the blue laser light has a spectral intensity distribution in which the emission intensity increases in a wavelength band of approximately 450 nm to 700 nm. The white light described above is formed by the excitation light and the blue laser light.

  Here, the white light referred to in this specification is not limited to one that strictly includes all wavelength components of visible light, and may be any light that includes light in a specific wavelength band such as R, G, and B, for example. For example, light including a wavelength component from green to red, light including a wavelength component from blue to green, and the like are included in a broad sense.

  In the endoscope apparatus 100, the light intensity of the violet laser light from the violet laser light source LD1 and the blue laser light from the blue laser light source LD2 is relatively increased and decreased by the light source control unit 49, and an arbitrary luminance balance is obtained. The illumination light can be generated.

  FIG. 4 shows a partially broken side view of the pressing member 41. The pressing member 41 includes a contact portion 75 at the distal end portion, a wire 76 connected to the contact portion 75, a sheath 78 that covers the outer periphery of the wire 76 so that the wire 76 can move forward and backward, and a proximal end portion. And an operation unit 79. The operation portion 79 includes a fixed portion 79A connected to the wire 76 and a movable portion 79B connected to the sheath 78. By pulling the movable portion 79B with respect to the fixed portion 79A, the tentacle portion 75 is moved to the sheath 78. Protrudes from the tip of the. The pressing member 41 is inserted into a forceps hole formed along the axial direction of the endoscope insertion portion 19, and the living body surface is depressed by pressing the movable and retractable contact portion 75 against the living body surface. The touch part 41 of the pressing member 41 can adjust a slight protrusion and subtraction from the distal end of the endoscope insertion part 19 by an operation from the operation part 79. Further, by retracting the palpation part 75 before performing palpation at the lesioned part, observation on other biological surfaces is not obstructed.

  Note that the push-up member 41 may be configured to project a contact portion at the distal end portion of the endoscope in addition to being provided as a treatment instrument inserted from the forceps hole of the endoscope.

Here, palpation by the pressing member 41 will be described.
It has been reported that the mucosal surface layer of living tissue is formed between blood vessels in the deep mucosa and capillaries such as resinous vascular networks from the mucosal surface layer, and lesions in living tissue appear in the fine structures such as capillaries. Yes. Therefore, in endoscopic examinations, capillary blood vessels on the mucosal surface layer are image-enhanced and observed, and early detection of micro-lesions and diagnosis of lesion areas have been attempted. In particular, it has been reported that the lesioned part generated on the surface of the living body is hard and altered compared to the surrounding living body surface, for example, when calcified. Therefore, the hardened lesioned part is depressed integrally by pressing the contact part 75 of the pressing member 41 against the hardened and altered lesioned part.

  FIG. 5 shows an external view when observing a normal living body surface with the pressing member 41, and FIG. 6 shows an external view when observing a lesion on the living body surface with the pressing member 41. As shown in FIG. 5, when the contact portion 75 of the pressing member 41 is pressed against a normal living tissue, the living tissue is locally recessed so as to cover the contact portion 75 because the living body surface B is flexible. . On the other hand, when the lesioned part A exists as shown in FIG. 6, when the contact part 75 is pressed against the living body surface B, the entire lesioned part A cured from the living body surface B is integrally depressed and the depressed area is large. Become.

  By observing such a depressed state from above, the size of the hardened region of the lesion A can be confirmed. FIG. 7 shows an observation image in the case shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 shows an observation image in the case shown in FIG. The degree of hardening of the lesion A can be evaluated by detecting the vertical and horizontal dimensions and area of the depressed area. That is, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, the size of the lesion (cured region) can be observed as the size of the depressed region. Between the state of the normal biological surface B as shown in FIG. 9A and the state where the lesion A is present as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, the size of the lesion A is changed in the horizontal direction. The diameter dah, the diameter dav in the vertical direction, or the areas A1 and A2 of the depressed area are obtained by image analysis. These parameters are feature amounts representing the size of the lesion A.

  More specifically, the size of the depressed area due to the lesioned part A can be obtained in relation to the amount of change in the color tone or luminance of the living body surface B in the vicinity of and around the touching part 75 of the pressing member 41. For example, by using a well-known image processing technique such as an averaging process or a binarization process, a feature amount corresponding to the actual state of the lesion A can be accurately obtained. In detecting the feature amount of the lesioned part, the uneven state may be analyzed three-dimensionally by using a light cutting method or the like, and a three-dimensional quantity such as the volume of the lesioned part may be used as the feature quantity.

In observing the above lesion A, it is known that more detailed information on the tissue surface layer can be obtained by irradiating narrow-band light with a visible short wavelength.
When illumination light enters a living tissue, the incident light propagates diffusively through the living tissue, but the absorption and scattering characteristics of the living tissue have wavelength dependence, and the shorter the wavelength, the stronger the scattering characteristics. Tend. That is, the depth of light changes depending on the wavelength of illumination light. Therefore, blood vessel information from capillaries on the surface of the mucosa is obtained when the illumination light is in the wavelength region near 400 nm, and blood vessel information including deeper blood vessels is obtained in the wavelength region near the wavelength of 500 nm. In order to obtain information on the surface layer of the lesion A, a light source having a central wavelength of 360 to 800 nm, preferably 365 to 515 nm is used. In particular, for observation of superficial blood vessels, a light source having a central wavelength of 360 to 470 nm, preferably 360 to 450 nm is used.

  Thus, in the observation image when the narrow band light of visible short wavelength is used as the illumination light, fine capillaries and pit patterns on the mucous membrane surface layer can be seen clearly. Further, in the observation image when the illumination light is white light, a blood vessel image close to the tissue deep layer can be obtained.

  As described above, by generating an image obtained by synthesizing the observation image by narrow band light in addition to the observation image by white light, it is possible to make the image easy to diagnose the affected part in which the microvessel of the mucosal surface layer of the living tissue is emphasized. . In the endoscope apparatus 100 of the present configuration, one frame of the captured image is configured such that the emitted light amounts of the white light and the narrowband light emitted from the endoscope distal end portion 33 can be independently and continuously changed. Can be freely made into an observation image irradiated with only one illumination light, or an observation image containing light components of both illumination lights.

Next, a procedure for palpation and observation using the endoscope apparatus will be described.
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart for explaining the procedure of palpation observation by the endoscope apparatus 100. First, white light is emitted by blue laser light from the blue laser light source LD2 and excitation light emitted from the phosphor 59 (S1). In a state where white light is irradiated, the contact portion 75 of the pressing member 41 is pressed against the living body surface B (S2). In addition, when the position of the lesioned part to be observed is known, the touch part 75 is pressed against the lesioned part.

  Then, after pressing the touch part 75 against the living body surface B, the state of the living body surface B irradiated with the illumination light is imaged by the imaging element 21 through the objective lens unit 39 (S3).

  Next, the feature amount is detected (S4). When the touch part 75 of the pressing member 41 is pressed in the direction perpendicular to the living body surface B, the living body surface B to which the touch part 75 is pressed is normal and no lesion exists or exists. Even if it is very small (see FIGS. 7 and 9A), it is observed that the size of the depressed area of the biological surface B is small. In this case, since the feature amount of the lesioned part is within the predetermined range, the control unit 69 serving as the observation mode switching unit sets the observation mode to the normal observation mode (S5, S6). In the normal observation mode, white light is emitted by the blue laser light from the blue laser light source LD2 and the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 59.

  On the other hand, when a large lesioned part A is confirmed on the living body surface B against which the touching part 75 is pressed when the touching part 75 of the pressing member 41 is pressed in a direction perpendicular to the living body surface B (see FIG. 8, see FIGS. 9B and 9C), since the feature amount of the lesion A exceeds the predetermined range, the controller 69 sets the observation mode to the special light observation mode (S7). At this time, the light source control unit 49 controls the violet laser light source LD1 and the blue laser light source LD2 via the control unit 69 in accordance with the switching command signal output from the feature amount detection unit 67, and the violet laser light source LD1. Only light is emitted. As a result, image information picked up by visible short wavelength narrowband light is input to the control unit 69 and displayed on the display unit 15 as an endoscopic observation image.

  FIG. 11 shows how illumination light is switched between the normal observation mode and the special light observation mode. In detecting the feature amount of the lesioned part A, when the contact part 75 of the pressing member 41 is pressed against the living body surface B and the living body surface B is depressed, the size of the depressed area of the living body surface B is the feature amount threshold value C1. Is detected by the feature amount detection unit 67, the normal observation mode in which white light is emitted by the blue laser light from the blue laser light source LD2 and the excitation light emitted from the phosphor 59 is set.

  On the other hand, when the feature amount detection unit 67 detects that the feature amount threshold C1 is exceeded, the light source control unit 49 obtains an observation image in which light from the violet laser light source LD1 is irradiated onto the lesioned part A.

  In this way, since the observation mode is automatically switched according to the feature amount of the observation image, the endoscopic surgeon continuously performs palpation of the lesion and detailed observation of the lesion without manual operation. The procedure can be performed smoothly. In addition, since the observation mode is automatically switched, the observation image displayed on the monitor changes when there is a lesion, so the surgeon is more likely to notice this visual change, and there is a problem lesion. Can be recognized more reliably. Therefore, it can contribute to prevention of overlooking of the lesioned part. In addition to palpating by aligning the position of the distal end of the endoscope with the desired observation target, when searching for a lesion by palpating randomly within the body cavity, the image displayed on the monitor due to the presence of the lesion Therefore, it becomes easy for an operator to find a lesion, and diagnostic accuracy is improved.

Next, a modified example of the above configuration will be described.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing how illumination light is switched. As indicated by the control pattern P1, when the detected feature amount does not exceed the threshold C2, the light quantity ratio between the violet laser light source LD1 and the blue laser light source LD2 is set to 1: 4. When the feature amount exceeds the threshold C2, the light amount ratio between the violet laser light source LD1 and the blue laser light source LD2 is set to 7: 1.

  In addition to the two-stage control pattern P1, as shown in the control pattern P2, the light quantity ratio between the violet laser light source LD1 and the blue laser light source LD2 is set to change continuously according to the size of the feature amount. Also good. When changing continuously, it can observe with the appropriate illumination light according to the state of a lesioned part.

The light source unit 45 can be configured as follows.
FIG. 13 shows another configuration example of the light source unit 45. As shown in the figure, the light source unit 45 includes a laser light source LD3 having a central wavelength of 405 nm in addition to a purple laser light source LD1 having a central wavelength of 405 nm and a blue laser light source LD2 having a central wavelength of 445 nm. The light source control unit 49 irradiates the observation region with light from the laser light source LD3 having a center wavelength of 405 nm from the diffusion plate 77 disposed at the distal end portion of the endoscope through an optical fiber. According to this configuration, since the laser light from the LD 3 can be emitted without passing through the phosphor, the narrow band light having the center wavelength of 405 nm can be irradiated to the living body without disturbance due to light in other wavelength bands (e.g., light emission of the phosphor). . Therefore, the observation image of weak autofluorescence from a fluorescent substance such as collagen existing in the living body and the observation image of weak emission intensity for photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) have increased S / N. It is obtained by. As shown in Table 1, PDD excitation light (irradiation light), PDD fluorescence (luminescence), and for reference, the wavelength of photodynamic therapy (PDT) light (irradiation light) is shown for each drug as PDD excitation light. Can use laser light having a central wavelength of 405 nm regardless of the use of photofluorin, resaphyrin, or 5-ALA.

  In addition, if the center wavelength of LD3 is 780 nm, indocyanine green (ICG) can be excited to observe near-infrared (820 nm) fluorescence. If the center wavelength of LD3 is 375 nm, The fluorescence at 490 nm can be observed by exciting the luciferase.

  FIG. 14 shows another configuration example of the light source unit 45. As shown in the figure, the light source unit 45 includes a white LED 101 disposed at the distal end portion of the endoscope and a light source control unit 49 that controls the LEDs 103, 105, and 107 that emit light of each wavelength of λa, λb, and λc. Each LED 103, 105, 107 is composed of various light emitting elements having center wavelengths of 405 nm, 445 nm, 473 nm, 665 nm, 785 nm, and the like. One of these light emitting elements is selectively turned on according to the purpose of observation or the above-described feature amount to form a desired observation image, thereby enhancing the convenience of endoscopic diagnosis. Moreover, since a general-purpose LED light-emitting element is used as the light-emitting element, it can be manufactured economically and power consumption can be suppressed.

  FIG. 15 shows another configuration example of the light source unit 45. As shown in the figure, the light source unit 45 includes a white light source 109 for white illumination such as a xenon lamp or a metal halide lamp, and a laser light source LD for special light observation. The light source control unit 49 causes the light from the white light source 109 to be emitted from the diffuser plate 117 from the distal end portion of the endoscope through the fiber bundle 111 including a plurality of optical fibers. Further, the light source control unit 49 guides the light from the laser light source LD 113 through the single optical fiber 115 and transmits the light through the diffusion plate 117 at the distal end portion of the endoscope. According to this configuration, the illumination optical system corresponding to the above-mentioned various observation purposes can be obtained by simply using the white illumination system using the widely used white light source 109 and adding the special light illumination system of the LD 113. Can be built easily.

  FIG. 16 shows another configuration example of the light source unit 45. As shown in the figure, the light source unit 45 includes a laser light source LD123 for special light observation. The light source control unit 49 is connected to each LED 119 that emits R, G, and B colors disposed at the distal end portion of the endoscope through the signal line 121, and irradiates white light by color mixture from each LED 119 from the distal end portion of the endoscope. Let Further, the light source control unit 49 drives the LD 123 to emit special light having a desired wavelength from the diffusion plate 117 at the distal end portion of the endoscope through the optical fiber 115. According to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the size of the illumination optical system and to connect the signal line 121 and the optical fiber 115 to the distal end portion of the endoscope, thereby reducing the diameter of the endoscope insertion portion. .

  FIGS. 17A and 17B show another configuration example of the light source unit 45. As shown in FIG. 17A, the light source unit 45 includes a white light source 129, a rotary filter 133 that is rotationally driven by the motor 131, and a light source control unit 49 that controls the white light source 129 and the motor 131. As shown in FIG. 17B, the rotary filter 133 includes an R filter 135 for extracting red light, a G filter 137 for extracting green light, and a B filter 139 for extracting blue light. Special light filters 141 for extracting special light are arranged in the circumferential direction. In this configuration example, an R image, a G image, a B image, and a special light image are sequentially acquired by capturing images in synchronization with the rotation of the rotation filter 133, and these images (R image + G image + B image, G image + This is a frame-sequential type that generates a single color image by synchronizing special light images.

  According to the endoscopic device 100 of each configuration example described above, palpation of a specific part in the body cavity is performed, and automatically changed to an observation mode in which the state of the affected part can be observed in more detail based on the result, Diagnosis with an endoscope can be smoothly supported.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and those skilled in the art can modify and apply the present invention based on the description of the specification and well-known techniques, and seek protection. Included in the range.
For example, the observation mode can be changed according to the stroke amount when the touch part 75 of the pressing member 41 contacts the living body surface and the touch part 75 is pushed back. When the contact portion 75 of the pressing member 41 abuts on the surface of the living body, it can be considered that the distal end portion of the endoscope is close to the surface of the living body and the foreground is photographed. In such a case, it is preferable to observe in the special light observation mode so that the capillary blood vessel information on the tissue surface layer is emphasized. Thereby, the details of the lesioned part can be easily observed. On the other hand, when the contact portion 75 of the pressing member 41 does not contact the living body surface and the contact portion 75 is not pushed back, there is a distance between the distal end portion of the endoscope and the living body surface, and a distant view is photographed. Can be considered. In such a case, the observation may be performed in the normal observation mode in which the back of the body cavity is illuminated in a wide range.

  Further, the larger the stroke amount that the touch part 75 is pushed back in contact with the surface of the living body, the more the narrow-band light component due to the violet laser light (center wavelength 405 nm) in the special light observation mode is increased. It is preferable to perform control to increase the white light component by laser light (center wavelength 445 nm). In this case, the observation image does not change sharply before and after the mode switching, and an image display suitable for continuous observation can be performed by switching smoothly according to the stroke amount.

  As for the stroke amount of the touch part 75, a position sensor (not shown) for detecting the movement amount of the touch part 75 or the wire 76 (see FIG. 4) connected thereto is provided in the sheath 78 and the operation part 79. Can be measured. In addition to the position sensor, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of movement, an electrical switch element that switches contacts when receiving an external force, a strain gauge that detects pressure and strain by a voltage change, and the like may be used. Each of these detection elements functions as a touch part movement detection unit that detects the forward and backward movement of the touch part 75.

  Further, the shape of the contact portion 75 in this case is not limited to a spherical shape, and may be a cylindrical member that does not affect the observation visual field. That is, the function of the color part movement detection unit may be added to an endoscope hood attached to the distal end of the endoscope insertion unit.

As described above, the following items are disclosed in this specification.
(1) Irradiating illumination light toward the object to be observed in the living body from the tip of the endoscope insertion part inserted into the living body, and capturing the image information by capturing the object to be observed with an image sensor An endoscope device for
A light source unit that selectively emits white light and special light having a spectrum different from that of white light;
A pressing member that protrudes from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion and presses the contact portion formed at one end thereof against the surface of the subject to be observed;
A feature amount detection unit that detects a feature amount of the living body surface from captured image information obtained by pressing the contact portion of the pressing member against the living body surface; and
Observation switching to either a normal observation mode in which the white light is observed as illumination light or a special light observation mode in which light including the special light is observed as illumination light according to the feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit A mode switching unit;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:
According to this endoscope apparatus, the touch part of the pressing member is pressed against the surface of the living body, the feature amount of the living body surface is detected from the captured image information captured by the image sensor, and the observation mode is set according to the feature amount. By switching automatically, the state of the lesioned part can be changed to illumination light that can be observed in more detail, and the diagnosis by the endoscope can be performed smoothly.

(2) The endoscope apparatus according to (1),
The light source unit includes a plurality of light sources including a light source for white light for generating white illumination light and a special light source that generates spectrum light in a narrower band than the white illumination light, and the plurality of light sources Endoscope apparatus that combines and emits light from a light at a predetermined light quantity ratio.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it is possible to easily obtain arbitrary illumination light suitable for observation by generating illumination light by combining light from a plurality of light sources with a predetermined light amount ratio.

(3) The endoscope apparatus according to (2),
An endoscope apparatus in which the observation mode switching unit changes the predetermined light amount ratio in accordance with a feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit.
According to this endoscope apparatus, the normal observation mode and the special light observation mode can generate illumination light suitable for observation by adjusting the light quantity ratio of light from each light source.

(4) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3),
An endoscope apparatus, wherein the feature amount is a feature amount related to a size of a depressed region of the living body surface when the contact portion of the pressing member is pressed against the living body surface to be depressed.
According to this endoscope apparatus, when the feature amount detection unit detects that the depressed area on the surface of the living body is large and the obtained feature amount exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the special light observation is performed from the normal observation mode. Switch to mode. Thereby, based on the palpation result with respect to the specific site | part of a to-be-observed area | region, observation mode is switched appropriately.

(5) The endoscope apparatus according to (4),
The endoscope apparatus, wherein the feature amount is a change amount of at least one of a color tone and a luminance of the living body surface around a touch part of the pressing member.
According to this endoscope apparatus, a change in the shape of a lesion caused by a pressing member can be extracted as information on a color tone or luminance change.

(6) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (5),
An endoscope apparatus in which the pressing member protrudes from a distal end of the endoscope insertion portion so as to be able to press the touch portion in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the living body.
According to this endoscope apparatus, it becomes easy to confirm the presence of a lesioned part by pressing the contact portion of the pressing member in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the living body.

(7) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (6),
An endoscope apparatus in which the pressing member is inserted through a forceps channel formed along the axial direction of the endoscope insertion portion so as to be able to advance and retract.
According to this endoscope apparatus, since the tentacle portion of the pressing member can freely advance and retreat to the forceps channel formed along the axial direction of the endoscope insertion portion, it is possible to adjust subtle protrusion adjustment. In addition, the palpation part is retracted except when palpation is performed at the lesioned part, so that observation is not disturbed.

(8) The endoscope apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7),
An endoscope apparatus in which a center wavelength of emitted light of the special light source is included in a wavelength range of 360 nm to 470 nm.
According to this endoscope apparatus, since the lower limit value of the central emission wavelength is 360 nm, it is easy to obtain a commercially available semiconductor light emitting element. When the upper limit value of the central emission wavelength is 470 nm or less, the illumination light has a wavelength range suitable for narrowband light observation that emphasizes the fine structure of the mucosal tissue surface layer.

<Appendix>
(A) Irradiating illumination light toward the object to be observed in the living body from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion inserted into the living body, and capturing the image information by capturing the object to be observed with an image sensor An endoscope device for
A light source unit that selectively emits white light and special light having a spectrum different from that of white light;
A pressing member that protrudes from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion so that the contact portion formed at one end of the endoscope insertion portion can freely advance and retreat and press against the biological surface of the observation target;
A tactile part movement detecting unit for detecting advancing and retreating movement of the tentacle part;
A light source control unit that changes the emitted light from the light source unit according to the stroke amount when the contact part of the pressing member is pushed back in contact with the surface of the living body;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising:
(B) The endoscope apparatus according to (A),
An endoscope apparatus in which the light source control unit adjusts an outgoing light amount ratio between the white light and the special light.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 19 Endoscope insertion part 21 Image pick-up element 41 Pushing member 45 Light source part 49 Light source control part 67 Feature-value detection part 100 Endoscope apparatus LD1 Blue laser light source (light source for white illumination, white light source)
LD2 Purple laser light source (special light source)

Claims (8)

An endoscope that irradiates illumination light toward an object to be observed in the living body from the distal end of an endoscope insertion portion that is inserted into the living body, and obtains imaged image information by imaging the object to be observed with an image sensor. A mirror device,
A light source unit that selectively emits white light and special light having a spectrum different from that of white light;
A pressing member that protrudes from the distal end of the endoscope insertion portion and presses the contact portion formed at one end thereof against the surface of the subject to be observed;
A feature amount detection unit that detects a feature amount of the living body surface from captured image information obtained by pressing the contact portion of the pressing member against the living body surface; and
Observation switching to either a normal observation mode in which the white light is observed as illumination light or a special light observation mode in which light including the special light is observed as illumination light according to the feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit A mode switching unit;
An endoscopic apparatus comprising: The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1,
The light source unit includes a plurality of light sources including a light source for white light for generating white illumination light and a special light source that generates spectrum light in a narrower band than the white illumination light, and the plurality of light sources Endoscope apparatus that combines and emits light from a light at a predetermined light quantity ratio. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
An endoscope apparatus in which the observation mode switching unit changes the predetermined light amount ratio in accordance with a feature amount detected by the feature amount detection unit. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An endoscope apparatus, wherein the feature amount is a feature amount related to a size of a depressed region of the living body surface when the contact portion of the pressing member is pressed against the living body surface to be depressed. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The endoscope apparatus, wherein the feature amount is a change amount of at least one of a color tone and a luminance of the living body surface around a touch part of the pressing member. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An endoscope apparatus in which the pressing member protrudes from a distal end of the endoscope insertion portion so as to be able to press the touch portion in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the living body. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An endoscope apparatus in which the pressing member is inserted through a forceps channel formed along the axial direction of the endoscope insertion portion so as to be able to advance and retract. The endoscope apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An endoscope apparatus in which a center wavelength of emitted light of the special light source is included in a wavelength range of 360 nm to 470 nm.

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