JP2022185357A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an imaging device capable of suppressing influence on an operation time or accuracy of treatment itself due to a difference in experience values of operators.SOLUTION: An imaging device includes: a light source for emitting laser beams of a plurality of wavelengths; a light source optical system for radiating each of the laser beams of a plurality of wavelengths; an imaging part for photoelectrically converting reflected and scattered light, and generating imaging information; a calculation part for calculating a plurality of blood flow rates by executing laser speckle blood flow measurement for the imaging information; a video output part for generating a plurality of pieces of display information in which each of the plurality of blood flow rates is converted using any of a plurality of display characteristics, and outputting a video signal; and a control part for integrally controlling the light source, the imaging part, the calculation part, and the video output part, and identifying and displaying differences in the blood flow rates on the basis of an operation input by an operator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present disclosure relates to a medical imaging device.

When performing brain tumor resection to remove a tumor that has developed in the brain, it is necessary for the operator to distinguish between the tumor site and the normal brain site. In performing such identification, basically, the doctor makes a judgment on a case-by-case basis based on his/her experience.

In recent years, an identification method using photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2731032

However, the prior art has the following problems.
As described above, when performing brain tumor resection, the operator distinguishes between the tumor site and the normal brain site based on experience.

Visual information such as subtle colors and brightness obtained from the surgical field, physical information transmitted from the hand such as elasticity and crunchy feeling when touching with a scalpel, etc. It is necessary to perform tumor identification while referring to one's own empirical database generated from accumulated achievements. The operator must continue to perform such work with high accuracy at all times during the craniotomy in which the situation changes from moment to moment.

Therefore, naturally, there is a problem that the difference in the experience value of the operator affects the accuracy of the operation itself as well as the operation time. In addition, when relying only on the judgment of the operator in this way, even an operator with a high experience value will have an effect on the identification ability due to the degree of fatigue such as changes in visual acuity and dullness of touch over time. there is a possibility. In particular, there is a problem that it is difficult to continue the operation with constant high precision in operations on difficult sites or operations over a long period of time.

As a method for identifying a tumor site, there is a conventional method using a photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) method, such as the above-mentioned Patent Document 1. In this conventional method, a fluorescent contrast agent is administered to the patient before surgery, the operative field is illuminated with a wavelength close to ultraviolet light, and the reflected light is imaged with a dedicated imaging device. The tumor site is identified by observing the fluorescence emission in the red band emitted from the tumor site.

However, in this conventional method, a special fluorescent contrast agent is required for each operation, and there is concern about the burden on the patient due to side effects of the agent. Furthermore, the conventional method involves irradiation with a wavelength close to that of ultraviolet rays, which poses the problem of adversely affecting the affected area when irradiation is performed for a long period of time.

This disclosure has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and to obtain an imaging apparatus capable of suppressing the influence of the difference in the experience of the operator on the operation time or the accuracy of the operation itself. With the goal.

The imaging device according to the present disclosure includes a light source that emits laser light of a plurality of wavelengths, and light source optics that irradiates the surgical field including the treatment target with the laser light of a plurality of wavelengths emitted from the plurality of light sources. a system, an imaging unit that photoelectrically converts reflected and scattered light from laser beams of a plurality of wavelengths obtained from the surgical field to generate imaging information, and imaging information related to each reflected and scattered light generated by the imaging unit By performing laser speckle blood flow measurement using a calculation unit that calculates a plurality of blood flow volumes corresponding to each imaging information, and based on the calculation result of the calculation unit, using one of a plurality of display characteristics, A video output unit that generates a plurality of display information by converting each of a plurality of blood flow volumes and outputs a video signal for displaying at least one of the plurality of display information on a screen, a light source, an imaging unit, and a calculation unit , and an image output unit, and outputting an image signal corresponding to one or more wavelengths out of a plurality of wavelengths using desired display characteristics based on an operation input by the operator, thereby increasing blood flow. and a control unit for identifying and displaying the difference.

According to this disclosure, by distinguishingly displaying the difference in the blood flow volume in the surgical field including the surgical target, it is possible to suppress the influence of the difference in the experience value of the operator on the surgical time or the accuracy of the surgical procedure itself. An imaging device can be obtained.

1 is a schematic block diagram of an imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of optical loss characteristics in a living body of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing light source emission characteristics of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of blood flow-luminance display characteristics of the imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of blood flow measurement of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an actual tumor position of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an observation display example for each depth of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of performing simultaneous observation display in the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing blood flow-color display characteristics of the imaging device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram when the blood flow volume-brightness display characteristic of the imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is changed by an operator's operation; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first image example regarding observation display of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second image example regarding observation display of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a light source system of an imaging device according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure; FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of an imaging system of an imaging device according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure; FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a three-dimensional observation display example of an imaging device according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure;

An embodiment of an imaging device according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure has a configuration for identifying and displaying differences in blood flow in the surgical field including the surgical target, so that the difference in the operator's experience value affects the surgical time or the precision of the surgical procedure itself. The technical feature is that an image pickup apparatus capable of suppressing noise can be realized.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. In FIG. 1, the first light emitting element 4 is a laser light emitting element, and performs light emitting operation by a first light emitting circuit 5 and a first light emission control section 6, and its operation is controlled by a light source control section 10. controlled.

Similarly, the second light emitting element 7 uses a laser light emitting element, performs light emitting operation by the second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emission control section 9, and its operation is controlled by the light source control section 10. be.

The light emitted from each of the first light emitting element 4 and the second light emitting element 7 is combined by the light mixer 3 and irradiated to the surgical field 1 through the light source optical system 2 . Reflected and scattered light from the surgical field 1 is guided from the imaging optical system 11 through the optical filter 12 to the first imaging element 13 and the second imaging element 15, and photoelectrically converted by each imaging element. , a video signal is generated as imaging information.

A video signal captured by the first imaging device 13 is input to the video processing calculation unit 17 via the first video signal processing unit 14 . Similarly, a video signal captured by the second image pickup device 15 is input to the video processing calculation section 17 via the second video signal processing section 16 .

Here, in Embodiment 1, the first imaging device 13 and the first video signal processing unit 14 and the second imaging device 15 and the second video signal processing unit 16 are the imaging units. corresponds to Also, the video processing calculation unit 17 corresponds to a calculation unit.

The calculation result by the video processing calculation section 17 is output as video to an external monitor through the video output section 19 and the external output 21 .

The system control unit 20 comprehensively controls the imaging control unit 18 that controls the imaging system, the light source control unit 10 that controls the light source system, and the operation unit 22 that inputs external commands. It should be noted that the light source control section 10, the imaging control section 18, and the system control section 20 can be combined into one and configured as a control section.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of optical loss characteristics in a living body of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The example of optical loss characteristics in a living body shown in FIG. 2 is a characteristic showing the relationship between the wavelength of light and the amount of loss when light is applied to human living tissue. More specifically, FIG. 2 shows the characteristics of total loss 30 and scattering loss 31 over wavelengths from the visible region 32 to the near-infrared region 33 .

The near-infrared region 33 includes a first near-infrared 34 near visible wavelengths of 700 to 1000 nm, a second near-infrared 35 with a wavelength of more than 1000 nm and a wavelength of more than 1500 nm, and a wavelength of more than 1500 nm. and a third near-infrared 36 near infrared up to around 1900 nm, each having different optical loss characteristics.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing light source emission characteristics of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The light source emission characteristics shown in FIG. 3 are examples of emission wavelengths of the light source system of the present disclosure. A case where wavelength 42 and wavelength 43 of 1300 nm are emitted, and wavelength 44 of 1700 nm is emitted by the third near-infrared 36 is illustrated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of blood flow-luminance display characteristics of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The display characteristic example of blood flow versus luminance shown in FIG. 4 shows an example of display characteristics when the result of laser speckle blood flow measurement based on a captured image is displayed as an image with changes in luminance. The X-axis represents blood flow and the Y-axis represents brightness level.

The area of blood flow is divided into a tumor area 54 and a normal site/vascular area and other area 55 . As the display characteristics, there is a first luminance display characteristic 50 in which luminance changes linearly with respect to changes in blood flow, and a luminance display characteristic 50 in which luminance changes are large in portions with low blood flow so that tumor regions 54 can be easily identified. Two types of display characteristics are illustrated, a second luminance display characteristic 51 having non-linear display characteristics.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the luminance range of the tumor region 54 is the first luminance range 53 when the first luminance display characteristic 50 is used, but the second luminance display characteristic is used. When 51 is used, it becomes the second luminance range 52, and the luminance change range can be made larger. Note that the third luminance display characteristic 56 will be described later.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of blood flow measurement of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The display example of blood flow measurement shown in FIG. 5 shows a specific example of displaying on the screen the display information generated as the change in luminance of the blood flow in the surgical field 1 based on the display characteristic example of blood flow vs. luminance in FIG. ing. For example, the normal site 60 is displayed in gray, and the tumor site 61 is displayed considerably darker because of the low blood flow.

Note that FIG. 5 illustrates a case where a boundary portion 62 that is a boundary between a tumor site 61 and a normal site and a blood vessel portion 63 are also displayed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an actual tumor position example of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The actual tumor position example shown in FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between structures such as a tumor site 61 and a blood vessel portion 63 and layers 73 to 76 measurable for each wavelength.

Specifically, the first layer 73 is the measurement layer at the wavelength closest to the visible. In addition, the second layer 74, the third layer 75, and the fourth layer 76 with longer emission wavelengths have deeper measurement layers in this order. Note that FIG. 6 also shows the surgical field surface 70 .

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an observation display example for each depth of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The display examples for each depth shown in FIG. 7 are based on the actual tumor position examples shown in FIG. This is a displayed example. That is, FIG. 7 is an example of screen display of two-dimensional information made up of layers for each depth.

In the measurement results at that time, the blood flow is displayed as layer screens 73a to 76a for each layer based on the blood flow volume-brightness display characteristic example shown in FIG. is displayed.

For example, the display screens corresponding to the first layer 73 to the fourth layer 76 in FIG. 6 are the first layer screen 73a to the fourth layer display screen 76a. In the order of 76a, the metrology layer becomes deeper. Note that the captured image of the vicinity of the surgical field 1 is shown as the surgical field image 78 in FIG. 7 instead of the blood flow measurement result.

Next, the operation of the imaging device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, when the power is turned on, the system control unit 20 activates the entire system including the imaging control unit 18 and the light source control unit 10, and the imaging apparatus becomes operable. At this time, imaging is possible, but light emission from the light source is stopped, and the observation standby mode is in effect.

From this state, for example, when the operator selects tumor observation mode 1 by operating a button on the operation unit 22, the system control unit 20 controls the light source control unit 10 to control the first light emitting circuit 5 and the first light emitting circuit 5. The light emitting element 4 is operated to emit laser light having a wavelength of about 700 nm, which is the first emitted light. The first emitted light is two-dimensionally irradiated onto the surgical field 1 as uniform light through the light mixing unit 3 and the light source optical system 2 .

The first radiated light having a wavelength of about 700 nm is near-infrared light, and near-infrared light causes less light loss than visible light when the human body is irradiated with the near-infrared light. Therefore, the near-infrared light reaches a certain depth by penetrating the surgical field 1 . Its characteristics are as shown in FIG. 2, the wavelength near 700 nm corresponds to the first near-infrared rays 34, and the reaching depth is about 5 mm with respect to the surface 70 of the surgical field.

Also, the first emitted light having a wavelength of about 700 nm is laser light, which is coherent light having coherence. When a living body is irradiated with this light, light scattered by particles in the living body interferes with each other, so that a speckle pattern can be obtained as a random pattern in the reflected and scattered light from the surgical field 1 .

By emitting the first radiation, reflected scattered light from the first layer 73 about 5 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. 6 is obtained. This reflected and scattered light becomes light that only passes through the imaging optical system 11 and the optical filter 12 with a wavelength of about 700 nm. By performing signal processing, it is converted into a first video signal.

Tumor tissue is generally an aggregate of abnormal cell proliferation that occurs during cell metabolism. Therefore, tumor tissue is said to have a low blood flow compared to normal cells due to abnormal proliferation.

Furthermore, it is said that the blood flow tends to partially increase at the boundary between the tumor site 61 and the normal site because oxygen is required in the process of abnormalization of cells. The present disclosure is characterized by identifying the position of a tumor-related site, including a boundary portion, by measuring the difference in blood flow, which is this feature.

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation for blood flow measurement based on the first video signal obtained by the first video signal processing unit 14 . A speckle pattern obtained by a laser beam changes from moment to moment as blood cells move in living tissue.

The greater and faster the blood cell particles move, the greater the change in the speckle pattern per unit time. This speckle pattern is imaged as a video signal by a two-dimensional imaging sensor, and by measuring the change per unit time of the luminance signal at the same spatial position, the amount of blood flow or the blood flow velocity is measured. Blood flow information proportional to is obtained.

A video signal at a position with a large blood flow contains many high frequency components, and a video signal at a position with a small blood flow contains many low frequency components. Therefore, the video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation such as frequency analysis for each position on the video signal from the first video signal processing unit 14, thereby obtaining information proportional to the blood flow rate. can be done. That is, the video processing calculation unit 17 can calculate the blood flow volume corresponding to the video signal.

The blood flow information obtained by this calculation is converted by the video output unit 19 into the form of luminance changes on the video signal, such that areas with high blood flow are bright and areas with low blood flow are dark, according to the characteristics of FIG. Transformed to generate display information. Furthermore, display information corresponding to the video signal after conversion as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on an external monitor connected to the external output 21, so that the operator can confirm the measurement result as a captured video. can.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the image output unit 19 has a first luminance display characteristic 50 that is a linear characteristic of the relationship between the blood flow and the luminance level, and a second luminance display characteristic that is a nonlinear characteristic. Any of the display characteristics 51 can be employed.

As an example, the image output unit 19 can display a converted image signal generated by adopting the second luminance display characteristic 51 in normal tumor observation. The reason for adopting the second luminance display characteristic 51 is that the tumor region 54 has a relatively small blood flow, and therefore, the tumor region 61 and the normal/other regions can be visually recognized by increasing the luminance change in this portion. One example is to make it easier to identify visually.

As a result, the image that the user confirms when identifying the tumor is as shown in FIG. The blood vessel portion 63 with a large amount of blood can be displayed with a brightness close to white.

In addition, as another tendency, the boundary portion 62 between the tumor site 61 and the normal site may have a relatively large amount of blood flow, and in such a case, there is a possibility that the color will be bright gray close to white. The blood vessel part 63 such as arteries, veins, and perforating branches depends on the wall thickness or condition thereof, but basically, the status information of the blood flowing through the blood vessel part 63 is displayed. In this case, a whitish linear object is displayed on the screen, so that the operator can also grasp the presence of the deep blood vessel.

Thus, in observation with the first synchrotron radiation in tumor observation mode 1 selected by the operator, one wavelength of 700 nm is used, so the depth of the surgical field 1 is approximately 5 mm. As a result, the vicinity of the first layer 73 shown in FIG. 6 can be observed, and the first layer screen 73a shown in FIG. 7 is displayed as the display screen.

This first layer 73 is a position that can be directly confirmed by the operator with the naked eye. It will be very useful information for decision making. Therefore, by confirming the screen display contents in the tumor observation mode 1, the operator can proceed with the current treatment more reliably.

In this tumor observation mode 1, only a single layer of observation information with a depth of about 5 mm can be obtained, so observation information in a deeper layer may be required to perform reliable tumor resection. In this case, the operator can select and input tumor observation mode 2 from the operation unit 22 .

When the tumor observation mode 2 is selected, the system control unit 20 controls the light source control unit 10 to once stop emitting the first emitted light, and at the same time, the second light emission control unit 9 causes the second emission control unit 9 to The second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emitting element 7 are operated. As a result, laser light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm, which is the second emitted light, can be emitted. This second radiated light passes through the light mixer 3 and the light source optical system 2 and is two-dimensionally irradiated onto the surgical field 1 as uniform light.

This radiated light with a wavelength of about 1000 nm has a smaller amount of light loss than the first radiated light with a wavelength of about 700 nm, which is the first radiated light. Therefore, the second synchrotron radiation reaches the surgical field 1 deeper than the first synchrotron radiation. The light loss characteristic of the second radiant light is as shown in FIG.

Moreover, like the first emitted light, this second emitted light is also laser light, which is coherent light having coherence. When a living body is irradiated with this light, light scattered by particles in the living body interferes with each other, so that a speckle pattern can be obtained as a random pattern in the reflected and scattered light from the surgical field 1 .

By emitting the second emitted light, reflected scattered light from a third layer 75 about 20 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. 6 is obtained. This reflected and scattered light is converted into light that only passes through the imaging optical system 11 and the optical filter 12 with a wavelength of about 1000 nm. By performing signal processing, it is converted into a second video signal.

The video processing calculation unit 17 can obtain information proportional to the blood flow rate by performing calculation such as frequency analysis on the video signal from the second video signal processing unit 16 for each position.

The blood flow information obtained by this measurement is converted by the video output unit 19 into the form of luminance changes on the video signal such that areas with high blood flow are bright and areas with low blood flow are dark, according to the characteristics shown in FIG. converted. Furthermore, by displaying the converted video signal as shown in FIG. 5 on the external monitor connected to the external output 21, the operator can confirm the measurement result as a captured video.

In this way, in the observation with the second synchrotron radiation in the tumor observation mode 2 selected by the operator, one wavelength of 1000 nm is used, so the depth of the surgical field 1 is approximately 20 mm. As a result, the vicinity of the third layer 75 shown in FIG. 6 can be observed, and the third layer screen 75a shown in FIG. 7 is displayed as the display screen.

This third layer image 75a is an observation result of a deep layer of about 20 mm, and is information of a region that cannot be seen by the operator with the naked eye.

In this way, the operator first confirms the current state of the treatment in tumor observation mode 1, so that the operator can compare and confirm the image with the naked eye at a position close to the surface of the surgical field that can be seen with the naked eye. , tumor resection can proceed.

In addition, when the operator wants to check whether the tumor exists in a deeper position at the key point of the operation, or whether there are other structures such as normal parts and blood vessels behind the tumor. There is In such a case, the operator switches to tumor observation mode 2 in order to make a prospective confirmation as to whether or not it is permissible to continue excision of the tissue when performing the next surgical action. Deep images can be observed.

In other words, the operator can selectively use images in tumor observation mode 1 and tumor observation mode 2 as needed to observe tumors in different layers non-invasively and in real time during surgery. can. For this reason, if an operator with a certain amount of experience can use the imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment to identify a tumor, the results can be almost the same regardless of the operator's experience or the difficulty of the operation. It is possible to perform surgery with a high degree of accuracy, which is very beneficial.

In the above case, the observation of the tumor with the first radiant light having a wavelength of about 700 nm and the observation of the tumor with the second radiant light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm are individually performed by switching the display mode by the operator's selection operation. explained. However, in the imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 1, it is also possible to provide a tumor observation mode 3 in which these two tumor observations are performed simultaneously. Therefore, this tumor observation mode 3 will be described below.

When the operator selects tumor observation mode 3 from the operation unit 22, the system control unit 20 simultaneously emits the first radiant light having a wavelength of approximately 700 nm and the second radiant light having a wavelength of approximately 1000 nm. Control.

Specifically, the system control unit 20 operates the first light emission control unit 6, the first light emission circuit 5, and the first light emitting element 4 through the light source control unit 10, and operates the second light emission control unit 9, the second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emitting element 7 are operated.

The first radiant light with a wavelength of about 700 nm and the second radiant light with a wavelength of about 1000 nm, which are emitted simultaneously, are mixed by the light mixing unit 3, and passed through the light source optical system 2 to form two-dimensionally uniform light. The operative field 1 is irradiated simultaneously.

These two emitted light beams are laser beams, which are coherent light beams having coherence. Strictly speaking, it is conceivable that they will interfere with each other to some extent when they are irradiated at the same time. With respect to such an interference problem, it is possible to suppress mutual interference to some extent by setting the relationship between wavelength and phase to a level that does not actually affect them.

In Embodiment 1, for example, the light source control unit 10 performs a control operation such as regularly or irregularly shifting the phase of one of the emission wavelengths, so that interference countermeasures can be implemented.

However, if a characteristic relationship in terms of interference can be confirmed in advance, such as two wavelengths differing by 150 nm or more and reaching depths to the surgical field 1 differing by 5 mm or more, at the level of the present disclosure Assuming that there is actually no problem in measuring blood flow, there is no problem even if no particular countermeasures against interference of multiple wavelengths are taken.

By emitting the first radiation, reflected scattered light is obtained from the first layer 73 about 5 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. Further, by emitting the second synchrotron radiation, reflected scattered light can be obtained from the third layer 75 which is about 20 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. After passing through the imaging optical system 11 , these reflected scattered lights are separated into two wavelengths by the optical filter 12 .

A wavelength near 700 nm is transmitted only to the first imaging element 13 side, and photoelectric conversion and electrical signal processing are performed in the first video signal processing unit 14 to generate a first video signal. On the other hand, wavelengths in the vicinity of 1000 nm are transmitted only to the second imaging element 15 side, and are subjected to photoelectric conversion and electrical signal processing in the second video signal processing unit 16 to generate a second video signal. be.

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculations such as frequency analysis on the two types of video signals from the first video signal processing unit 14 and the second video signal processing unit 16 individually and simultaneously for each position. , information proportional to the blood flow can be obtained simultaneously for each of the two wavelengths.

The blood flow information for each of the two wavelengths obtained by this measurement is processed by the image output unit 19 according to the characteristics shown in FIG. is converted into a luminance change of Furthermore, the video signal after conversion is displayed on the external monitor connected to the external output 21, so that the operator can simultaneously confirm the two types of measurement results as separate captured images.

In this tumor observation mode 3, two types of observation images are displayed on the same screen so that the operator can observe them simultaneously. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific example of performing simultaneous observation display in the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. As a display method, in FIG. 8, a shallow first layer screen 73a close to the actual operative field 1 with the naked eye is displayed relatively large, and a deep third layer screen 75a is displayed as a reference level. are made relatively small and displayed side by side.

Furthermore, by providing a display mode that switches the position of this large and small, or a display mode that changes the size of one screen and superimposes it on a part of the other screen, the operator can It is possible to select and switch between these display modes as appropriate.

In the above description, only the observed image obtained by imaging the measured blood flow is displayed on the monitor as the display screen. In addition to this, in the present disclosure, in order to perform confirmation at the operator's naked eye level or to record an image of the operative field, an image captured with the first synchrotron radiation is captured by the surgical operator as shown in FIG. 7 or 8 . It is also possible to provide a mode in which the field image 78 is displayed as it is and used as a surgical field monitor.

As a display mode for simultaneously displaying observed images, a method of switching and displaying each layer individually as shown in FIG. 7, and a method of displaying a plurality of images side by side or overlapping each other as shown in FIG. 8 are adopted. be able to. The operator can select a desired display mode from among these display modes according to the situation.

Also, since the light source is near-infrared, a normal captured image is basically a monochrome image, but it is also possible to display it in a light color or a pseudo-color if necessary.

Regarding the results of blood flow measurement, the case where changes in blood flow are converted into brightness changes and displayed on the screen based on the display characteristics shown in FIG. 4 has been described. Display characteristics can also be employed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing blood flow-color display characteristics of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The example of blood flow-color display characteristics shown in FIG. 9 shows an example of display characteristics when the result of performing laser speckle blood flow measurement based on a captured image is displayed as an image with changes in color. The X-axis represents blood flow and the Y-axis represents color.

In FIG. 9, as in FIG. 4 above, a first color display characteristic 80 in which the color changes linearly with respect to changes in blood flow, and a color display characteristic 80 for portions with low blood flow so that the tumor region 54 can be easily identified. 2 illustrates two types of display characteristics, a non-linear second color display characteristic 81 in which the change in is greater.

As shown in FIG. 9, it is also possible to display on the screen an observation image in which changes in blood flow are converted into color changes. In general, color changes can affect people's mental aspects. For this reason, it is conceivable to normally display a change in luminance, and to enable the operator to select a change in color display as necessary.

FIG. 9 shows a first color display characteristic 80 in which the color change is linear with respect to changes in blood flow, and a second color display characteristic 81 in which color changes are nonlinear with respect to changes in blood flow. Two properties are exemplified. The operator can select desired color display characteristics depending on the situation.

Usually, by displaying with the non-linear second color display characteristic 81, the color change in the portion with low blood flow is displayed as a larger amount of change so that the tumor region 54 can be more easily identified. be able to.

The display characteristics shown in FIGS. 4 and 9 are only examples, and it is desirable to have characteristics such that there is a large level difference between the tumor site 61 and the normal site during blood flow measurement, and the distinguishability between the tumor site and the normal site is higher. Therefore, in the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure, apart from the characteristic fixed mode, the operator directly operates while looking at the observation image of the measurement result, so that the tumor can be easily identified. There is also a mode in which the characteristics can be changed.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the blood flow volume-luminance display characteristics of the imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure are changed by an operator's operation. For example, the operator can obtain the desired display characteristic by changing the slope of the straight line so that the difference in the blood flow can be easily identified while viewing the screen, for example, as in the fourth luminance display characteristic 57 in FIG. can be changed to

When the operator discovers a tumor, the operator inputs the position of the tumor from the operation unit 22 in FIG. can be recognized.

Therefore, when performing display after such an input operation by the operator, the system control unit 20 uses the input brightness of the tumor site 61 as a starting point to distinguish between the tumor site 61 and the normal site. The display characteristics can be changed so that the differences can be displayed more clearly.

As examples of display characteristics at this time, the third luminance display characteristics 56 shown in FIG. 4 or the fifth display characteristics shown in FIG. 10 can be considered. If the blood flow rate at the input tumor position is within the range of the tumor region 54 in FIG. 4, display is performed using the third luminance display characteristic 56 shown in FIG. By doing so, the difference between the tumor site 61 and the normal site can be clarified.

Similarly, if the blood flow at the input tumor position is within the range of the tumor region 54 of FIG. 10, display is performed using the fifth luminance display characteristic 58 shown in FIG. The black fixation makes it possible to clarify the difference between the tumor site 61 and the normal site.

The imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure is configured such that an image of an affected area including a tumor obtained by MRI or CT obtained before surgery can be imported into the system from the input unit 23 of FIG. Also, an image or information for surgical navigation can be input via the input unit 23 .

With such a configuration, the system control unit 20 and the video output unit 19 display a composite image after aligning the positions of the observation image of the blood flow and the image captured from the input unit 23, and capture the observation image. Various displays can be performed, such as simultaneous display with an image.

In other words, the imaging device according to the present disclosure has an augmented reality function that superimposes other useful information or images on the current observation video, thereby further enhancing the identifiability of the tumor site 61. can be done.

Furthermore, in the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure, when displaying the image of the observation result in FIG. It is configured so that it can be displayed.

Specifically, the video processing calculation unit 17 in FIG. 1 can automatically identify the structure, and can superimpose or individually display the identification result on the observed image through the video output unit 19 . At that time, when there is a blood vessel or a structure that seems to be a normal site in a deep part, a warning display, a buzzer sound, or the like is used in combination to provide a notification function to the operator.

In addition, in the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure, information such as images and observation results of patients who have undergone surgery using the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure can be stored in the system control unit 20. ing. When the same patient undergoes reoperation, etc., after reading out the stored information, it is possible to switch between the simultaneous display as shown in FIG. 8 and the hierarchical display as shown in FIG. 7 as appropriate. By referring to the previous surgery information, the structure can be understood more accurately, so the surgery can be performed with higher precision.

Furthermore, the imaging device according to the present disclosure can be configured to have a plurality of learning functions for measurement results. As a first learning function, the blood flow rate of the tumor site 61 is learned by the imaging control unit 18 and the video processing calculation unit 17 based on the blood flow rate measurement results for the purpose of facilitating identification of the tumor site 61 .

Then, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 learn that the difference in blood flow displayed on one screen is, for example, ±50 (100 in absolute value) or more centered on the 256th gray scale. Thus, the slope of the fourth luminance display characteristic 57 shown in FIG. 10 is variably set to a desired value. By using such a learning function, it is possible to optimize the luminance level of the display by changing the desired display characteristics according to the blood flow measurement result.

Furthermore, as a second learning function, the positions of intracranial structures are preliminarily determined by the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 for the purpose of accurately identifying structures such as blood vessels 63 and nerves. to learn (input).

Then, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 discriminate between the tumor site 61 corresponding to the ischemic site and the normal site while predicting the existence of the structure learned in advance according to the blood flow measurement result. It can be performed. In this case, for example, it is assumed that the system is in a state of being able to ascertain the surgical position through cooperation with surgical navigation.

For example, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 acquire in advance shape information related to blood vessels or nerves in the surgical field 1 . Furthermore, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 identify a portion of the calculated blood flow volume that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value as a normal region, and align the normal region with the shape information. , a second learning function can be performed to locate the tumor site 61 corresponding to the ischemic site relative to the normal site.

As a result, the image output unit 19 modifies the generated display information so that the blood vessel part 63 or the nerve is displayed with respect to the position of the tumor site 61 specified by the second learning function. can output a video signal.

Further, in the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure, for the purpose of allowing the operator to identify the tumor site 61, as shown in FIG. It can be configured to provide a separate display means.

For example, the video output unit 19 can display the tumor site 61 clearly by converting the blood flow into approximately binary values and displaying them, as in the fifth luminance display characteristic 58 of FIG. .

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a first image example regarding observation display of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. In the first image example, as indicated by a tumor site 61b and a blood vessel section 63b in FIG. 11, an operative field superimposed image 79a with improved visibility in terms of contrast is displayed.

The display function as shown in FIG. 11, for example, is switched to the fifth luminance display characteristic 58 after the position of the tumor site 61b is once specified by another display characteristic, and the tumor is displayed more clearly. It is suitable for usage such as continuing the treatment after doing it.

Furthermore, in the present disclosure, as video information closer to the naked eye level of the operator, an observation image or information corresponding to the blood flow is superimposed on the image captured with the first radiation having a wavelength of about 700 nm and displayed on the monitor. can be configured to have the ability to

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a second image example regarding observation display of the imaging device according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. In the second image example, the video processing calculation unit 17, the imaging control unit 18, and the video output unit 19 display the surgical field superimposed image 79b as shown in FIG.

In this second image example, the observed image of the third layer screen 75a is superimposed on the captured image of the surgical field surface 70 such as the surgical field image 78 of FIG. At this time, the automatic identification result can be simultaneously displayed on the screen as character information such as character information 61c indicating "tumor" or character information 63c indicating "vascular part".

Furthermore, like the surgical field superimposed image 79a in FIG. 11, for example, the tumor site 61, the blood vessel part 63, etc. are displayed from the observation image of the third layer screen 75a using the fifth display characteristic shown in FIG. It can be converted into a value image, extracted, and only specific information can be superimposed. As a result, a display image with better visibility can be obtained.

By displaying the superimposed images 79a and 79b of the surgical field, the operator can view the tumor site 61 in a video state closer to observation with the naked eye without feeling uncomfortable and making use of his or her identification experience. can be identified.

Since the present disclosure performs blood flow measurement using laser speckle, the absolute value of the blood flow can be obtained. For example, it is possible to provide a mode in which the position on the screen is specified and the absolute value thereof is displayed. When adopting such a configuration, the operator can select the mode as necessary. That is, the operator can display the absolute value of the blood flow in the surgical field 1 for each layer based on a simple operation input, and can quantitatively grasp the blood flow.

However, the present disclosure focuses on enabling the operator to distinguish between the tumor site 61 and the normal site in a more comprehensible manner, and the measurement of the absolute value of the blood flow is not necessarily essential, and priority is given to ensuring the performance of the tumor identification function. and build the system.

For example, the absolute value of the blood flow is measured only in the first layer 73 close to the surface of the surgical field 70, and the other deep layers have large absolute value errors due to fluctuations, losses, etc. It may be specialized only for the function of recognizing tumors.

The wavelengths to be used are based on those shown in FIG. 3, but any near-infrared laser can be used. In some cases, wavelengths in the visible red region may be used. However, in order to perform accurate measurement in consideration of absolute value measurement, it is desirable to use a narrow-band laser emitting element with a wavelength of 1 nm or less.

In the above description, the first imaging element 13 and the second imaging element 15 are used. Here, the first imaging device 13 is a silicon-based sensor having a sensitivity band of wavelengths from visible to around 900 nm including near 700 nm, and a relatively wide band device is selected from among inexpensive consumer products. be able to.

On the other hand, the second imaging device 15 is a special imaging device with a wavelength close to infrared such as 900 to 1500 nm or a maximum of 2000 nm even if it is near infrared, and has a sensitivity band in the "second biological window". be. This allows the selection of sensors with sufficient sensitivity even in this band, for example InGaAs-based CCDs.

As described above, in the first embodiment, different imaging elements are used for each wavelength. may By doing so, effects such as simplification of the circuit configuration and suppression of variations in sensitivity between sensors can be obtained.

Further, it goes without saying that the imaging device in the first embodiment may be performed by one imaging device instead of a plurality of imaging devices. In that case, the above-mentioned visible or near-infrared band sensitivity in the vicinity of 600 nm to 2000 nm is used, and in cooperation with the light emitting side, the system is controlled so that synchronized light emission and imaging are performed in time division. Control by the unit 20 is performed.

At this time, for example, the emission wavelength is switched between a wavelength of 700 nm and a wavelength of 1000 nm for each frame. During imaging, the first layer screen 73a in FIG. 7 is constructed by imaging and calculation in the 700 nm emission frame period, and the third layer screen 75a is constructed by imaging and calculation in the 1000 nm emission frame period.

In addition, a consumer-grade imaging device that is inexpensive, stable in supply and performance, and easy to handle may be used. In that case, even if the sensitivity in the near-infrared band up to a wavelength of about 1100 nm is not sufficient, for example, it may have a performance capable of imaging with a sufficient sensitivity at a wavelength of about 850 nm.

In this case, after setting the second emission wavelength to 850 nm, the emission wavelength is switched between the wavelength of 700 nm and the wavelength of 850 nm for each frame. Then, at the time of imaging, the screen of the first layer screen 73a in FIG. 7 is constructed by imaging and calculation in the 700 nm emission frame period, and the second layer screen 74a is constructed by imaging and calculation in the 850 nm emission frame period. Build a screen.

In this case, although the depth is not so deep, for example, it is possible to construct a tumor observation system at different depths of 5 mm and 10 mm at low cost.

In the first embodiment, the identification of a brain tumor is assumed, but it goes without saying that it can be used for a tumor site 61 other than the brain as long as it can be identified based on the difference in blood flow. In this case, for example, if observation at a depth of 15 mm, such as the stomach or intestines/bladder, is sufficient, it is possible to construct an observation system using an inexpensive imaging device as described above.

Furthermore, by measuring the blood flow in the tissue in the surgical field and displaying information corresponding to the measurement, it is possible to not only specify the tumor site 61 but also observe the ischemic site and check progress. Needless to say. In this case, there is an effect that a quantitative blood flow can be grasped in each measurement layer for each deep part.

Embodiment 2.
A second embodiment of the light source device of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In Embodiment Mode 2, the case of using four light emitting elements will be described. 13 to 15 are newly added to the second embodiment, and FIGS. 1 to 12 used in the first embodiment are also used as necessary.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a light source system of an imaging device according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. The first light emitting element 4, the second light emitting element 7, the third light emitting element 90, and the fourth light emitting element 93 are all laser light emitting elements.

The first light emitting element 4 performs light emitting operation by the first light emitting circuit 5 and the first light emission control section 6 , and its operation is controlled by the light source control section 10 . The second light emitting element 7 emits light by the second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emission control section 9 , and its operation is controlled by the light source control section 10 .

The third light emitting element 90 emits light by means of a third light emitting circuit 91 and a third light emission control section 92 and its operation is controlled by the light source control section 10 . The fourth light emitting element 93 emits light by means of the fourth light emitting circuit 94 and the fourth light emission control section 95 , and its operation is controlled by the light source control section 10 .

The light emitted from each of the four light emitting elements consisting of the first light emitting element 4, the second light emitting element 7, the third light emitting element 90, and the fourth light emitting element 93 is synthesized by the light mixer 3. , through a light source optical system 2 onto an operating field 1 .

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of an imaging system of an imaging device according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. Reflected light from the surgical field 1 passes through the imaging optical system 11 and passes through four optical filters: a first optical filter 96 , a second optical filter 97 , a third optical filter 98 , and a fourth optical filter 101 . Light is guided to each.

The reflected light that has passed through the first optical filter 96 is photoelectrically converted by the first imaging element 13 , signal-processed by the first video signal processing unit 14 , and input to the video processing calculation unit 17 . The reflected light that has passed through the second optical filter 97 is photoelectrically converted by the second imaging element 15 , signal-processed by the second video signal processing unit 16 , and input to the video processing calculation unit 17 .

The reflected light that has passed through the third optical filter 98 is photoelectrically converted by the third imaging device 99 , signal-processed by the third video signal processing unit 100 , and input to the video processing calculation unit 17 . The reflected light that has passed through the fourth optical filter 101 is photoelectrically converted by the fourth image sensor 102 , signal-processed by the fourth video signal processor 103 , and input to the video processor 17 .

A first video signal processing unit 14, a second video signal processing unit 16, a third video signal processing unit 100, a fourth video signal processing unit 103, a video processing calculation unit 17, and a video output unit 19 , and the external output 21 are processed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and then output to an external monitor.

Here, in Embodiment 2, the grouping of the first imaging device 13 and the first video signal processing unit 14, the grouping of the second imaging device 15 and the second video signal processing unit 16, and the third imaging device A group of the device 99 and the third video signal processing unit 100 and a group of the fourth imaging device 102 and the fourth video signal processing unit 103 correspond to the imaging unit. Also, the video processing calculation unit 17 corresponds to a calculation unit.

The system control unit 20 shown in FIG. 13 includes an imaging control unit 18 that controls the imaging system shown in FIG. 14, a light source control unit 10 that controls the light source system shown in FIG. 13, and an operation unit 22 that inputs external commands. and overall control. It should be noted that the light source control section 10, the imaging control section 18, and the system control section 20 can be combined into one and configured as a control section.

Referring to the optical loss characteristics of FIG. 2 described in the first embodiment, the second near-infrared rays 35 and the third near-infrared rays 36 are not so different in terms of the depth they reach in vivo, Since the wavelength of the third near-infrared rays 36 is longer than that of the second near-infrared rays 35, the scattering loss 31 in the living body is relatively small.

Referring to the light loss characteristics in FIG. 2 and the light source generation characteristics in FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment, in the first near-infrared region 34, the light emission 40 with a wavelength of 700 nm and the light emission 41 with a wavelength of 850 nm Two are emitted.

Similarly, in the second near-infrared region 35, two of the light emission 42 with a wavelength of 1000 nm and the light emission 43 with a wavelength of 1300 nm are emitted. one is illuminated.

Referring to the blood flow-brightness display characteristic example of FIG. 4 described in the first embodiment, the result of laser speckle blood flow measurement based on the captured image is also displayed in the second embodiment. An image can be displayed with a change in color or the like.

Referring to the display example of blood flow measurement in FIG. 5 described in the first embodiment, in the second embodiment as well, the blood flow in the surgical field 1 is displayed based on the blood flow-brightness display characteristic example in FIG. The flow rate can be displayed on the screen as a change in brightness.

Referring to the actual tumor position example of FIG. 6 described in the previous Embodiment 1, also in the present Embodiment 2, the first layer 73, the second layer 74, and the third layer are formed according to the emission wavelength. Measurement in each layer of the layer 75 and the fourth layer 76 becomes possible.

Referring to the observation display example for each depth in FIG. 7 described in the previous first embodiment, also in the second embodiment, layer screens 73a to 76a are displayed based on the blood flow measurement results in each layer in FIG. can be displayed on the screen as

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a three-dimensional observation display example of the imaging device according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. In the three-dimensional observation display example shown in FIG. 15, instead of the mode in which multiple layers are individually displayed as in FIG. 4 shows an example of a mode for observation display in .

Further, referring to the blood flow-color display characteristics of FIG. 9 described in the first embodiment, the result of laser speckle blood flow measurement based on the captured image is also displayed in the second embodiment. The image can be displayed by changing the

Next, the operation of the imaging device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. 13 and 14, when the power is turned on, the system control unit 20 activates the entire system including the imaging control unit 18 and the light source control unit 10, and the imaging apparatus becomes operable. At this time, imaging is possible, but light emission from the light source is stopped, and the observation standby mode is in effect.

From this state, for example, when the operator selects the tumor observation mode A by operating a button on the operation unit 22, the system control unit 20 controls the light source control unit 10 to control the first light emitting circuit 5 and the first light emitting circuit 5. The light emitting element 4 is operated to emit laser light having a wavelength of about 700 nm, which is the first emitted light. The first emitted light is two-dimensionally irradiated onto the surgical field 1 as uniform light through the light mixing unit 3 and the light source optical system 2 .

The first radiated light having a wavelength of about 700 nm is near-infrared light, and near-infrared light causes less light loss than visible light when irradiated to a human body. Therefore, the near-infrared light reaches a certain depth by penetrating the surgical field 1 . Its characteristics are as shown in FIG. 2, the wavelength near 700 nm corresponds to the first near-infrared rays 34, and the reaching depth is about 5 mm with respect to the surface 70 of the surgical field.

Also, the first emitted light having a wavelength of about 700 nm is laser light, which is coherent light having coherence. When a living body is irradiated with this light, light scattered by particles in the living body interferes with each other, so that a speckle pattern can be obtained as a random pattern in the reflected and scattered light from the surgical field 1 .

By emitting the first radiation, reflected scattered light from the first layer 73 about 5 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. 6 is obtained. This reflected and scattered light passes through the imaging optical system 11 and the first optical filter 96 only in the vicinity of a wavelength of 700 nm. By performing conversion and electrical signal processing, it is converted into a first video signal.

Tumor tissue is generally an aggregate of abnormal cell proliferation that occurs during cell metabolism. Therefore, tumor tissue is said to have a low blood flow compared to normal cells due to abnormal proliferation.

Furthermore, it is said that the blood flow tends to partially increase at the boundary between the tumor site 61 and the normal site because oxygen is required in the process of abnormalization of cells. The present disclosure is characterized by identifying the position of a tumor-related site, including a boundary portion, by measuring the difference in blood flow, which is this feature.

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation for blood flow measurement based on the first video signal obtained by the first video signal processing unit 14 . A speckle pattern obtained by a laser beam changes from moment to moment as blood cells move in living tissue.

The greater and faster the blood cell particles move, the greater the change in the speckle pattern per unit time. This speckle pattern is imaged as a video signal by a two-dimensional imaging sensor, and by measuring the change per unit time of the luminance signal at the same spatial position, the amount of blood flow or the blood flow velocity is measured. Blood flow information proportional to is obtained.

A video signal at a position with a large blood flow contains many high frequency components, and a video signal at a position with a small blood flow contains many low frequency components. Therefore, the video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation such as frequency analysis for each position on the video signal from the first video signal processing unit 14, thereby obtaining information proportional to the blood flow rate. can be done.

The blood flow information obtained by this measurement is converted by the video output unit 19 into the form of luminance changes on the video signal such that areas with high blood flow are bright and areas with low blood flow are dark, according to the characteristics shown in FIG. converted. Furthermore, by displaying the converted video signal as shown in FIG. 5 on the external monitor connected to the external output 21, the operator can confirm the measurement result as a captured video.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the image output unit 19 has a first luminance display characteristic 50 that is a linear characteristic of the relationship between the blood flow and the luminance level, and a second luminance display characteristic that is a nonlinear characteristic. Any of the display characteristics 51 can be employed.

As an example, the image output unit 19 can display a converted image signal generated by adopting the second luminance display characteristic 51 in normal tumor observation. The reason for adopting the second luminance display characteristic 51 is that the tumor region 54 has a relatively small blood flow, and therefore, the tumor region 61 and the normal/other regions can be visually recognized by increasing the luminance change in this portion. One example is to make it easier to identify visually.

As a result, the image that the user confirms when identifying the tumor is as shown in FIG. The blood vessel portion 63 with a large amount of blood can be displayed with a brightness close to white.

In addition, as another tendency, the boundary portion 62 between the tumor site 61 and the normal site may have a relatively large amount of blood flow, and in such a case, there is a possibility that the color will be bright gray close to white. The blood vessel part 63 such as arteries, veins, and perforating branches depends on the wall thickness or condition thereof, but basically, the status information of the blood flowing through the blood vessel part 63 is displayed. In this case, a whitish linear object is displayed on the screen, so that the operator can also grasp the presence of the deep blood vessel.

Observation with the first radiation in tumor observation mode A selected by the operator uses one wavelength of 700 nm, so the depth of the surgical field 1 is approximately 5 mm. As a result, the vicinity of the first layer 73 shown in FIG. 6 can be observed, and the first layer screen 73a shown in FIG. 7 is displayed as the display screen.

This first layer 73 is a position that can be directly confirmed by the operator with the naked eye. It will be very useful information for decision making. Therefore, by confirming the screen display contents in the tumor observation mode A, the operator can proceed with the current treatment more reliably.

In this tumor observation mode A, since only a single layer of observation information with a depth of about 5 mm can be obtained, observation information in a deeper layer may be required to perform reliable tumor resection. In this case, the operator can select and input the tumor observation mode B using the operation unit 22 .

When the tumor observation mode B is selected, the system control unit 20 controls the light source control unit 10 to once stop emitting the first emitted light, and at the same time, the second light emission control unit 9 causes the second emission control unit 9 to The second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emitting element 7 are operated. As a result, laser light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm, which is the second emitted light, can be emitted. This second radiated light passes through the light mixer 3 and the light source optical system 2 and is two-dimensionally irradiated onto the surgical field 1 as uniform light.

The second radiant light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm has less light loss than the first radiant light having a wavelength of about 700 nm. Therefore, the second synchrotron radiation reaches the surgical field 1 deeper than the first synchrotron radiation. The light loss characteristic of the second radiant light is as shown in FIG.

Moreover, like the first emitted light, this second emitted light is also laser light, which is coherent light having coherence. When a living body is irradiated with this light, light scattered by particles in the living body interferes with each other, so that a speckle pattern can be obtained as a random pattern in the reflected and scattered light from the surgical field 1 .

By emitting the second emitted light, reflected scattered light from a third layer 75 about 20 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. 6 is obtained. This reflected and scattered light passes through the imaging optical system 11 and the second optical filter 97 only in the vicinity of a wavelength of 1000 nm. By performing conversion and electrical signal processing, it is converted into a second video signal.

The video processing calculation unit 17 can obtain information proportional to the blood flow rate by performing calculation such as frequency analysis on the video signal from the second video signal processing unit 16 for each position.

The blood flow information obtained by this measurement is converted by the video output unit 19 into the form of luminance changes on the video signal such that areas with high blood flow are bright and areas with low blood flow are dark, according to the characteristics shown in FIG. converted. Furthermore, by displaying the converted video signal as shown in FIG. 5 on the external monitor connected to the external output 21, the operator can confirm the measurement result as a captured video.

Thus, in the observation with the second synchrotron radiation in the tumor observation mode B selected by the operator, one wavelength of 1000 nm is used, so the depth of the surgical field 1 is approximately 20 mm. As a result, the vicinity of the third layer 75 shown in FIG. 6 can be observed, and the third layer screen 75a shown in FIG. 7 is displayed as the display screen.

This third layer image 75a is an observation result of a deep layer of about 20 mm, and is information of a region that cannot be seen by the operator with the naked eye.

In the same manner as described above, in tumor observation mode C, the third radiation having a wavelength of 850 nm is emitted by the third light emission control section 92, the third light emitting circuit 91, and the third light emitting element 90, and the light mixing section 3 and a light source optical system 2 to illuminate the surgical field 1 .

The third emitted light is photoelectrically converted by the third imaging device 99 through the third optical filter 98 as reflected scattered light from a depth of about 10 mm from the surface of the surgical field 70, and is transmitted through the third image signal processing unit 100 to the image. It is sent to the processing calculation unit 17 .

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation such as frequency analysis and generates information proportional to the blood flow rate. The video output unit 19 converts the blood flow into a luminance change on the video signal according to the characteristics of FIG. Is displayed. As a result, the operator can confirm information about 10 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 .

Furthermore, similarly, in tumor observation mode D, the fourth radiation having a wavelength of 1300 nm is emitted by the fourth light emission control section 95, the fourth light emitting circuit 94, and the fourth light emitting element 93, and the light mixing section 3 and a light source optical system 2 to illuminate the surgical field 1 .

The fourth radiant light passes through the fourth optical filter 101 and is photoelectrically converted by the fourth imaging device 102 as reflected scattered light from a depth of about 30 mm from the surgical field surface 70 . It is sent to the processing calculation unit 17 .

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation such as frequency analysis and generates information proportional to the blood flow rate. The video output unit 19 converts the blood flow into luminance changes on the video signal according to the characteristics of FIG. Is displayed. As a result, the operator can confirm information about 30 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 .

In this way, in order to confirm the current state of the treatment in tumor observation mode A, the operator first compares and confirms the image and the actual condition with the naked eye at a position close to the surface of the surgical field that can be confirmed with the naked eye. , tumor resection can proceed.

In addition, when the operator wants to confirm whether the tumor exists in a deeper position at the key point of the operation, or whether there are other structures such as a normal site or a blood vessel behind the tumor. There is In such a case, the operator should select one of the tumor observation modes B to D in order to make a prospective confirmation as to whether or not it is permissible to continue excision of the tissue when performing the next surgical action. By switching, you can observe a deeper image.

In this way, more detailed tumor observation can be performed non-invasively and in real time during surgery for each different layer. For this reason, if the operator has a certain amount of experience, by using the imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment together for tumor identification, substantially the same results can be obtained regardless of the operator's experience or the difficulty of the operation. It is possible to perform surgery with a high degree of accuracy, which is very beneficial.

In the above, the first radiant light with a wavelength of about 700 nm, the second radiated light with a wavelength of about 1000 nm, the third radiated light with a wavelength of about 850 nm, and the fourth radiated light with a wavelength of about 1300 nm are used for tumor observation. , the case where the display mode is switched individually by the operator's selection operation has been described.

However, in the imaging apparatus according to Embodiment 1, it is also possible to provide a tumor observation mode E in which two or more of these four tumor observations are performed simultaneously. Therefore, this tumor observation mode E will be specifically described below by taking as an example a case of simultaneously selecting tumor observation in all four layers.

When the operator selects the tumor observation mode E from the operation unit 22, the system control unit 20 controls the first radiant light having a wavelength of approximately 700 nm, the second radiant light having a wavelength of approximately 1000 nm, and the second radiant light having a wavelength of approximately 850 nm. Control is performed so that the third radiant light and the fourth radiant light having a wavelength of about 1300 nm are emitted simultaneously.

Specifically, the system control unit 20 operates the first light emission control unit 6, the first light emission circuit 5, and the first light emitting element 4 through the light source control unit 10, and operates the second light emission control unit 9. and the second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emitting element 7 are operated, the third light emission control unit 92, the third light emitting circuit 91 and the third light emitting element 90 are operated, and the fourth The light emission control section 95, the fourth light emitting circuit 94 and the fourth light emitting element 93 are operated.

The first radiant light with a wavelength of about 700 nm, the second radiant light with a wavelength of about 1000 nm, the third radiant light with a wavelength of about 850 nm, and the fourth radiated light with a wavelength of about 1300 nm emitted simultaneously are light After being mixed by the mixing unit 3 , the light is simultaneously irradiated onto the surgical field 1 as two-dimensionally uniform light through the light source optical system 2 .

These four emitted light beams are laser beams and coherent light beams having coherence. Strictly speaking, they may interfere with each other to some extent when they are irradiated simultaneously. With respect to such an interference problem, it is possible to suppress mutual interference to some extent by setting the relationship between wavelength and phase to a level that does not actually affect them.

In the second embodiment, for example, the light source control unit 10 performs a control operation such as regularly or irregularly shifting the phases of other emission wavelengths, so that interference countermeasures can be implemented.

However, if each of the four wavelengths has a characteristic relationship in terms of interference, such as a difference of 150 nm or more, a difference of 5 mm or more in the depth of arrival to the surgical field 1, etc., the present disclosure Assuming that there is actually no problem in measuring the blood flow at the level, there is no problem even if no special countermeasures against interference of multiple wavelengths are taken.

The image processing operation unit 17 uses four types of signals from each of the first image signal processing unit 14, the second image signal processing unit 16, the third image signal processing unit 100, and the fourth image signal processing unit 103. By performing calculations such as frequency analysis on the video signals individually and simultaneously for each position, it is possible to simultaneously obtain information proportional to the blood flow rate for each of the four wavelengths.

The blood flow information for each of the four wavelengths obtained by this measurement is processed by the image output unit 19 according to the characteristics shown in FIG. is converted into a luminance change of

Further, the video processing calculation unit 17 converts the information of each layer into stereoscopic information. The image processing operation unit 17 three-dimensionally superimposes the information of a plurality of different layers according to the depth, and constructs a three-dimensional image by estimating the information of the missing layer from the observation information before and after it.

When the relationship between the position of the actual tumor and the layers is shown in FIG. 6, the image processing operation unit 17 can construct an image as shown in FIG. 15, for example, as a three-dimensional image. Specifically, the video output unit 19 estimates and interpolates information between layers, including the 3D blood vessel part 63a, along with observation information of four types of depths of the first layer screen 73a to the fourth layer screen 76a. , and a 3D tumor 61a indicated by a broken line, three-dimensional display based on three-dimensional information can be performed.

That is, FIG. 15 is an example of screen display of three-dimensional information generated by interpolating information between layers based on two-dimensional information composed of layers at respective depths.

In the present disclosure, as described above, it is possible to two-dimensionally observe a tumor at different depths, and in particular, it is beneficial to simultaneously obtain information on a depth of 20 to 30 mm. Furthermore, in tumor observation mode E, information at multiple depths is summarized and displayed as three-dimensional information, making it possible to three-dimensionally grasp the surgical field 1 at a depth of approximately 30 mm from the surface, although roughly. becomes.

As a result, it is possible to interpolate the technique of the operator by visually providing deep observation information for areas that have relied on the experience of the operator until now. , it is possible to achieve a very useful effect of improving the accuracy of the entire treatment.

In the above description, only the observed image obtained by imaging the measured blood flow is displayed on the monitor as the display screen. In addition to this, in the present disclosure, in order to perform confirmation at the operator's naked eye level or to record an image of the operative field, an image captured with the first synchrotron radiation is captured by the surgical operator as shown in FIG. 7 or 8 . It is also possible to provide a mode in which the field image 78 is displayed as it is and used as a surgical field monitor.

As a display mode for simultaneously displaying observed images, a method of switching and displaying each layer individually as shown in FIG. 7, and a method of displaying a plurality of images side by side or overlapping each other as shown in FIG. 8 are adopted. be able to. Then, the operator can select a desired display mode from among these display modes according to the situation.

Also, since the light source is near-infrared, a normal captured image is basically a monochrome image, but it is also possible to display it in a light color or a pseudo-color if necessary.

Regarding the results of blood flow measurement, the case where changes in blood flow are converted into brightness changes and displayed on the screen based on the display characteristics shown in FIG. 4 has been described. Display characteristics can also be employed.

As shown in FIG. 9, it is also possible to display on the screen an observation image in which changes in blood flow are converted into color changes. In general, color changes can affect people's mental aspects. For this reason, it is conceivable to normally display a change in luminance, and to enable the operator to select a change in color display as necessary.

FIG. 9 shows a first color display characteristic 80 in which the color change is linear with respect to changes in blood flow, and a second color display characteristic 81 in which color changes are nonlinear with respect to changes in blood flow. It has two properties. The operator can select desired color display characteristics depending on the situation.

Usually, by displaying with the non-linear second color display characteristic 81, the color change in the portion with low blood flow is displayed as a larger amount of change so that the tumor region 54 can be more easily identified. be able to.

The display characteristics shown in FIGS. 4 and 9 are only examples, and it is desirable to have characteristics such that there is a large level difference between the tumor site 61 and the normal site during blood flow measurement, and the distinguishability between the tumor site and the normal site is higher. Therefore, in the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure, apart from the characteristic fixed mode, the operator directly operates while looking at the observation image of the measurement result, so that the tumor can be easily identified. It also has a mode that allows you to change the display characteristics.

For example, the operator can obtain the desired display characteristic by changing the slope of the straight line so that the difference in the blood flow can be easily identified while viewing the screen, for example, as in the fourth luminance display characteristic 57 in FIG. can be changed to

When the operator finds a tumor, the system controller 20 recognizes the tumor site 61 by inputting the position from the operation unit 22 in FIG. can be made

Therefore, when performing display after such an input operation by the operator, the system control unit 20 uses the input brightness of the tumor site 61 as a starting point to distinguish between the tumor site 61 and the normal site. The display characteristics can be changed so that the differences can be displayed more clearly.

As examples of display characteristics at this time, the third luminance display characteristics 56 shown in FIG. 4 or the fifth display characteristics shown in FIG. 10 can be considered. If the blood flow at the input tumor position is within the range of the tumor region 54 in FIG. 4, display is performed using the third luminance display characteristic 56 shown in FIG. 4, and the tumor region is fixed to black. Thus, the difference between the tumor site 61 and the normal site can be clarified.

Similarly, if the blood flow at the input tumor position is within the range of the tumor region 54 of FIG. 10, display is performed using the fifth luminance display characteristic 58 shown in FIG. The black fixation makes it possible to clarify the difference between the tumor site 61 and the normal site.

The imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure is configured such that an image of an affected area including a tumor obtained by MRI or CT obtained before surgery can be imported into the system from the input unit 23 of FIG. Also, an image or information for surgical navigation can be input via the input unit 23 .

With such a configuration, the system control unit 20 and the video output unit 19 display a composite image after aligning the positions of the observation image of the blood flow and the image captured from the input unit 23, and capture the observation image. Various displays can be performed, such as simultaneous display with an image.

In other words, the imaging device according to the present disclosure has an augmented reality function that superimposes other useful information or images on the current observation video, thereby further enhancing the identifiability of the tumor site 61. can be done.

Furthermore, in the imaging apparatus according to the present disclosure, when displaying the images of the observation results of FIGS. Based on this, it is configured to be identifiable and displayable.

Specifically, the video processing calculation unit 17 in FIG. 1 can automatically identify the structure, and can superimpose or individually display the identification result on the observed image through the video output unit 19 . At that time, when there is a blood vessel or a structure that seems to be a normal site in a deep part, a warning display, a buzzer sound, or the like is used in combination to provide a notification function to the operator.

In addition, the system control unit 20 can store information such as images and observation results of patients who have undergone surgery using the imaging apparatus of the present disclosure. When the same patient undergoes reoperation, etc., after reading out the stored information, it is possible to switch between the simultaneous display as shown in FIG. 8 and the hierarchical display as shown in FIG. 7 as appropriate. By referring to the previous surgery information, the structure can be understood more accurately, so the surgery can be performed with higher precision.

Furthermore, the imaging device according to the present disclosure can be configured to have a plurality of learning functions for measurement results. As a first learning function, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 learn the blood flow rate of the tumor site 61 based on the blood flow rate measurement results for the purpose of facilitating identification of the tumor site 61 .

Then, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 learn that the difference in blood flow displayed on one screen is, for example, ±50 (100 in absolute value) or more centered on the 256th gray scale. Thus, the slope of the fourth luminance display characteristic 57 shown in FIG. 10 is variably set to a desired value.

By using such a learning function, it is possible to optimize the brightness level of the display according to the blood flow measurement result. As a result, the video output unit 19 can distinguishably display the difference in blood flow using the appropriate display characteristics learned by the first learning function.

Furthermore, as a second learning function, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 preliminarily determine the positions of intracranial structures in order to accurately identify structures such as blood vessels 63 and nerves. to learn (input).

Then, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 discriminate between the tumor site 61 corresponding to the ischemic site and the normal site while predicting the existence of the structure learned in advance according to the blood flow measurement result. It can be performed. In this case, for example, it is assumed that the system is in a state of being able to ascertain the surgical position through cooperation with surgical navigation.

For example, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 acquire in advance shape information related to blood vessels or nerves in the surgical field 1 . Furthermore, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 identify a portion of the calculated blood flow volume that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value as a normal region, and align the normal region with the shape information. , a second learning function can be performed to locate the tumor site 61 corresponding to the ischemic site relative to the normal site.

As a result, the image output unit 19 modifies the generated display information so that the blood vessel part 63 or the nerve is displayed with respect to the position of the tumor site 61 specified by the second learning function. can output a video signal.

For the purpose of allowing the operator to identify the tumor site 61, the imaging control unit 18 and the image processing calculation unit 17 not only display the information corresponding to the blood flow as an image, but also perform further identification, as shown in FIG. It can be arranged to provide a separate display means for convenience purposes.

For example, the imaging control unit 18 and the video processing calculation unit 17 display the tumor site 61 clearly by converting the blood flow into approximately binary values and displaying them, as in the fifth luminance display characteristic 58 of FIG. It is possible to

In the first image example shown in FIG. 11, a surgical field superimposed image 79a with improved visibility in terms of contrast is displayed, as indicated by a tumor site 61b and a blood vessel section 63b.

The display function as shown in FIG. 11, for example, is switched to the fifth brightness display characteristic 58 after specifying the position of the tumor site 61 once with another display characteristic, and the tumor is displayed more clearly. It is suitable for usage such as continuing the treatment after doing it.

Furthermore, in the present disclosure, as video information closer to the naked eye level of the operator, an observation image or information corresponding to the blood flow is superimposed on the image captured with the first radiation having a wavelength of about 700 nm and displayed on the monitor. can be configured to have the ability to In this case, the video processing calculation unit 17, the imaging control unit 18, and the video output unit 19 display the surgical field superimposed image 79b as the second image example shown in FIG.

In this second image example, the observed image of the third layer screen 75a is superimposed on the captured image of the surgical field surface 70 such as the surgical field image 78 of FIG. At this time, the automatic identification result can be simultaneously displayed on the screen as character information such as character information 61c indicating "tumor" or character information 63c indicating "vascular part".

Furthermore, like the surgical field superimposed image 79a in FIG. 11, the tumor site 61, the blood vessel part 63, and the like are displayed from the observation image of the third layer screen 75a using the fifth display characteristic shown in FIG. can be converted into a binary image and extracted, and only specific information can be superimposed. As a result, a display image with better visibility can be obtained.

By displaying the superimposed images 79a and 79b of the surgical field, the operator can view the tumor site 61 in a video state closer to observation with the naked eye without feeling uncomfortable, and making use of his or her identification experience. can be identified.

Since the present disclosure performs blood flow measurement using laser speckle, the absolute value of the blood flow is obtained. It is possible to provide a mode in which the position on the screen is designated and the absolute value thereof is displayed. When adopting such a configuration, the operator can select the mode as necessary. That is, the operator can display the absolute value of the blood flow in the surgical field 1 for each layer based on a simple operation input, and can quantitatively grasp the blood flow.

However, the present disclosure focuses on enabling the operator to distinguish between the tumor site 61 and the normal site in a more comprehensible manner, and the measurement of the absolute value of the blood flow is not necessarily essential, and priority is given to ensuring the performance of the tumor identification function. and build the system.

For example, the absolute value of the blood flow is measured only in the first layer 73 close to the surface of the surgical field 70, and the other deep layers have large absolute value errors due to fluctuations, losses, etc. It may be specialized only for the function of recognizing tumors.

The wavelengths to be used are based on those shown in FIG. 3, but any near-infrared laser can be used. In some cases, wavelengths in the visible red region may be used. However, in order to perform accurate measurement in consideration of absolute value measurement, it is desirable to use a narrow-band laser emitting element with a wavelength of 1 nm or less.

In the above, the first imaging element 13, the second imaging element 15, the third imaging element 99, and the fourth imaging element are used. Here, the first imaging element 13 and the third imaging element 99 are silicon-based sensors having a wavelength sensitivity band from the visible to around 900 nm including near 700 nm, and are inexpensive for commercial use. A broadband element can be selected.

On the other hand, the second imaging element 15 and the fourth imaging element 102 have a wavelength close to the infrared such as 900 to 1500 nm or a maximum of 2000 nm even in the near infrared, and have a sensitivity band in the "second biological window". image sensor. This allows the selection of sensors with sufficient sensitivity even in this band, for example InGaAs-based CCDs.

As described above, in the second embodiment, different imaging elements are used for each wavelength. Further, a special sensor specialized only for the near-infrared wavelength band required for blood flow measurement may be used. By using a plurality of the same imaging elements in this way, effects such as simplification of the circuit configuration and suppression of variations in sensitivity between sensors can be obtained.

Further, it goes without saying that two or three types of image pickup elements may be used instead of four types of image pickup elements in the second embodiment. In that case, for example, as described above, for imaging from a wavelength of 700 nm to a wavelength of about 1000 nm, a relatively inexpensive silicon-based consumer-use device with a sensitivity band of wavelengths from the visible to about 900 nm including the vicinity of 700 nm is used. Using one sensor, for imaging in the vicinity of wavelengths from 1000 nm to 2000 nm, use a special second sensor that has a sensitivity band in the "second biological window" of wavelengths from 900 nm to 2000 nm even in the near infrared. .

Specifically, the system control unit 20 in FIG. 1 controls the system so that the imaging side and the light emitting side cooperate to perform synchronous light emission and imaging in a time division manner. At this time, in the first sensor, for example, the emission wavelength is switched between a wavelength of 700 nm and a wavelength of 850 nm for each frame. Then, at the time of imaging, the first layer screen 73a of FIG. 7 is constructed by imaging and calculation during the 700 nm emission frame period. Similarly, during imaging, the second layer screen 74a of FIG. 7 is constructed by imaging and computing during the 850 nm emission frame period.

Also, in the second sensor, for example, the emission wavelength is switched between a wavelength of 1000 nm and a wavelength of 1300 nm for each frame. 75a is constructed, and imaging and computation of the 1300 nm emission frame period constructs the fourth layer screen 76a of FIG.

In addition, a consumer-grade imaging device that is inexpensive, stable in supply and performance, and easy to handle may be used. If the upper limit of imaging capability of the imaging device to be used is around 1000 nm, four wavelengths of 700 nm, 800 nm, 900 nm and 1000 nm are used as blood flow observation wavelengths, for example. In this case, although the depth is relatively shallow, it is possible to construct a tumor observation system at different depths from 5 mm to 15 mm at a relatively low cost.

In the second embodiment, the description is made assuming identification of a brain tumor, but it goes without saying that it can be used for a tumor site 61 other than the brain as long as it can be identified by a difference in the amount of blood flow. In this case, for example, if observation at a depth of 15 mm, such as the stomach or intestines/bladder, is sufficient, it is possible to construct an observation system using an inexpensive imaging device as described above.

Furthermore, by measuring the blood flow in the tissue in the surgical field and displaying information corresponding to the measurement, it is possible to not only specify the tumor site 61 but also observe the ischemic site and check progress. Needless to say. In this case, there is an effect that a quantitative blood flow can be grasped in each measurement layer for each deep part.

Embodiment 3.
The operation of the imaging apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described by using the drawings shown in the first and second embodiments as necessary. The block diagrams of the light source system and imaging system are the same as those in FIGS. 13 and 14 shown in the second embodiment, but the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in the wavelengths handled.

In observation with the first radiation light in tumor observation mode A operated by the operator, one wavelength of 700 nm is used as described in the second embodiment. Therefore, the depth of the operative field 1 is about 5 mm, and observation is performed near the first layer 73 in FIG. 6, and the first layer screen 73a in FIG. 7 is displayed as the display screen.

In this tumor observation mode A, since only a single layer of observation information with a depth of about 5 mm can be obtained, observation information in a deeper layer may be required to perform reliable tumor resection. In this case, the operator can select and input the tumor observation mode B using the operation unit 22 .

When the tumor observation mode B is selected, the system control unit 20 controls the light source control unit 10 to once stop emitting the first emitted light, and at the same time, the second light emission control unit 9 causes the second emission control unit 9 to The second light emitting circuit 8 and the second light emitting element 7 are operated. As a result, laser light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm, which is the second emitted light, is emitted. This second radiated light is two-dimensionally irradiated onto the surgical field 1 as uniform light through the light mixing unit 3 and the light source optical system 2 .

The second radiant light having a wavelength of about 1000 nm has less light loss than the first radiant light having a wavelength of about 700 nm. Therefore, the second synchrotron radiation reaches the surgical field 1 deeper than the first synchrotron radiation. The light loss characteristic of the second radiant light is as shown in FIG.

Moreover, like the first emitted light, this second emitted light is also laser light, which is coherent light having coherence. When a living body is irradiated with this light, light scattered by particles in the living body interferes with each other, so that a speckle pattern can be obtained as a random pattern in the reflected and scattered light from the surgical field 1 .

By emitting the second emitted light, reflected scattered light from a third layer 75 about 20 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 in FIG. 6 is obtained. This reflected and scattered light passes through the imaging optical system 11 and the second optical filter 97 only in the vicinity of a wavelength of 1000 nm. By performing conversion and electrical signal processing, it is converted into a second video signal.

The video processing calculation unit 17 can obtain information proportional to the blood flow rate by performing calculation such as frequency analysis on the video signal from the second video signal processing unit 16 for each position.

The blood flow information obtained by this measurement is converted by the video output unit 19 into the form of luminance changes on the video signal such that areas with high blood flow are bright and areas with low blood flow are dark, according to the characteristics shown in FIG. converted. Furthermore, by displaying the converted video signal as shown in FIG. 5 on the external monitor connected to the external output 21, the operator can confirm the measurement result as a captured video.

Thus, in the observation with the second synchrotron radiation in the tumor observation mode B selected by the operator, one wavelength of 1000 nm is used, so the depth of the surgical field 1 is approximately 20 mm. As a result, the vicinity of the third layer 75 shown in FIG. 6 can be observed, and the third layer screen 75a shown in FIG. 7 is displayed as the display screen.

This third layer image 75a is an observation result of a deep layer of about 20 mm, and is information of a region that cannot be seen by the operator with the naked eye.

In the same manner as described above, in tumor observation mode D, the fourth radiation having a wavelength of 1300 nm is emitted by the fourth light emission control section 95, the fourth light emitting circuit 94, and the fourth light emitting element 93, and the light mixing section At 3 , the operating field 1 is irradiated with light through the light source optical system 2 .

The fourth radiant light passes through the fourth optical filter 101 and is photoelectrically converted by the fourth imaging device 102 as reflected scattered light from a depth of about 30 mm from the surgical field surface 70 . It is sent to the processing calculation unit 17 .

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation such as frequency analysis and generates information proportional to the blood flow rate. The video output unit 19 converts the blood flow into luminance changes on the video signal according to the characteristics of FIG. Is displayed. As a result, the operator can confirm information about 30 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 .

Furthermore, similarly, in tumor observation mode F, third radiation having a wavelength of 1700 nm is emitted by the third light emission control section 92, the third light emitting circuit 91, and the third light emitting element 90, and the light mixing section At 3 , the surgical field 1 is irradiated with light through the light source optical system 2 .

The third radiant light passes through the third optical filter 98 and is photoelectrically converted by the third imaging device 99 as reflected scattered light from a depth of about 30 mm from the surface of the surgical field 70. It is sent to the processing calculation unit 17 .

The video processing calculation unit 17 performs calculation such as frequency analysis and generates information proportional to the blood flow rate. The image output unit 19 converts the blood flow into a luminance change on the image signal according to the characteristics of FIG. is displayed like the fourth layer screen 76a. As a result, the operator can confirm information about 30 mm deeper than the surgical field surface 70 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the third synchrotron radiation and the fourth synchrotron radiation are not so different in terms of the depth they reach in the living body, but compared to the second near-infrared 35, the third near-infrared Since the wavelength of the outer 36 is longer, the scattering loss 31 in the living body is relatively small.

In other words, depending on the condition of the biological components in the deep part of the operative field, observation with the third synchrotron radiation wavelength of 1700 nm is more clear and accurate than observation with the fourth synchrotron radiation wavelength of 1300 nm. Sometimes it is possible. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of the sensitivity performance of a general near-infrared imaging sensor, the wavelength of the fourth radiant light of 1300 nm is more advantageous in terms of sensitivity than the wavelength of the third radiant light of 1700 nm.

For example, if structures other than simple brain tissue, such as optic nerves, arteries, veins, and perforators, are present in the observation target field 1, the degree of scattering differs for each structure. For this reason, the obtained observation image may become unclear. In such cases, observation at a wavelength of 1700 nm, which is less affected by scattering, is suitable.

Conversely, when observing structurally deep parts of the brain such as the cranial body, the synchrotron radiation itself may not irradiate with sufficient intensity. In such a case, observation at a wavelength of 1300 nm is recommended because the sensitivity of the imaging system is relatively advantageous.

In this manner, the operator selects tumor observation mode D using a wavelength of 1300 nm or tumor observation mode F using a wavelength of 1700 nm depending on the state of the surgical field 1, and an optimal observation image is obtained under each situation. It can be used by switching.

Reference Signs List 1 operating field 2 light source optical system 3 light mixing section 4 first light emitting element (light source) 5 first light emitting circuit 6 first light emission control section 7 second light emitting element (light source) 8 Second light emission circuit 9 Second light emission control unit 10 Light source control unit (control unit) 11 Imaging optical system 12 Optical filter 13 First image sensor (imaging unit) 14 First video signal processing Section (imaging section), 15 Second imaging device (imaging section), 16 Second video signal processing section (imaging section), 17 Video processing calculation section (calculation section), 18 Imaging control section (control section), 19 video output unit 20 system control unit (control unit) 21 external output 22 operation unit 23 input unit 50 first luminance display characteristic (display characteristic) 51 second luminance display characteristic (display characteristic) 56 Third luminance display characteristic (display characteristic), 57 Fourth luminance display characteristic (display characteristic), 58 Fifth luminance display characteristic (display characteristic), 61a 3D tumor (three-dimensional information), 73 First layer, 73a first layer screen (two-dimensional information), 74 second layer, 74a second layer screen (two-dimensional information), 75 third layer, 75a third layer screen (two-dimensional information), 76 second layer screen 4 layer, 76a fourth layer screen (two-dimensional information), 80 first color display characteristics (display characteristics), 81 second color display characteristics (display characteristics), 90 third light emitting element (light source), 91 third light emitting circuit 92 third light emitting control section 93 fourth light emitting element (light source) 94 fourth light emitting circuit 95 fourth light emitting control section 96 first optical filter 97 second Optical filter 98 Third optical filter 99 Third imaging device (imaging unit) 100 Third video signal processing unit (imaging unit) 101 Fourth optical filter 102 Fourth imaging device (imaging section), 103 a fourth video signal processing section (imaging section).

Claims (11)

a light source that emits laser light of multiple wavelengths;
A light source optical system that irradiates each of the laser beams of the plurality of wavelengths emitted from the plurality of light sources to the surgical field including the treatment target;
an imaging unit that photoelectrically converts reflected and scattered light from the laser beams of the plurality of wavelengths obtained from the surgical field to generate imaging information;
a calculation unit that calculates a plurality of blood flow volumes corresponding to each of the imaging information by performing laser speckle blood flow measurement on the imaging information related to each of the reflected scattered lights generated by the imaging unit;
generating a plurality of pieces of display information obtained by converting each of the plurality of blood flows using any one of a plurality of display characteristics based on the calculation results of the calculation unit, and generating at least one or more of the plurality of pieces of display information; a video output unit that outputs a video signal to be displayed on the screen;
The light source, the imaging unit, the calculation unit, and the image output unit are collectively controlled, and based on the operation input by the operator, one or more wavelengths out of the plurality of wavelengths are supported using desired display characteristics. and a control unit that discriminately displays the difference in blood flow by outputting the video signal. The light source emits a plurality of wavelengths in a near-infrared band as the laser light of the plurality of wavelengths,
The control unit performs overall control so as to output the video signal having a wavelength selected from among the plurality of wavelengths in the near-infrared band based on the operation input by the operator, so that the operative field 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, capable of displaying images at different depths. The control unit provides two-dimensional information consisting of layers at different depths corresponding to two or more wavelengths selected from the plurality of wavelengths in the near-infrared band based on the operation input by the operator. and performs the overall control so as to output the generated two-dimensional information as the video signal. The control unit outputs the video signal for simultaneously displaying one or more layers selected based on the operation input by the operator from the two-dimensional information consisting of layers at different depths. 4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the overall control is performed in such a manner as to The control unit generates three-dimensional information by estimating and interpolating information between layers based on the two-dimensional information consisting of layers at different depths, and uses the generated three-dimensional information as the video signal. The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the integrated control is performed so as to output. The control unit has a first learning function for learning appropriate display characteristics for distinguishing and displaying the difference in blood flow using the display information, based on the result of calculation of the blood flow by the calculation unit. death,
The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the video output unit generates the display information using the appropriate display characteristics learned by the first learning function. The control unit acquires in advance shape information about blood vessels or nerves in the operative field, and identifies a portion of the blood flow calculated by the calculation unit that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as a normal region. Also, having a second learning function of identifying the position of the ischemic site with respect to the normal site by aligning the normal site and the shape information,
The video output unit outputs the generated display information such that the blood vessel or the nerve is displayed with respect to the position of the ischemic site identified by the second learning function. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the video signal is output after being corrected. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the light source includes laser light in a wavelength band of 700 nm to 1000 nm as the laser light of the plurality of wavelengths. 2. From claim 1, wherein the light source includes laser light in a wavelength band of 700 nm to 1000 nm, a wavelength band of 1000 nm to 1500 nm, and a wavelength band of 1550 nm to 1800 nm as the laser light of the plurality of wavelengths. 8. The imaging device according to any one of 7. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the light source includes a laser beam with a wavelength of 700 nm and a laser beam with a wavelength of 1000 nm as the laser beams with the plurality of wavelengths. The light source includes laser light with a wavelength of 700 nm, laser light with a wavelength of 850 nm, laser light with a wavelength of 1000 nm, laser light with a wavelength of 1300 nm, and laser light with a wavelength of 1700 nm as the laser light with a plurality of wavelengths. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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