JP4459654B2 - Endoscope system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope system, and more particularly to detection of the amount of illumination light.

The light source device to which the fiberscope is connected and the image processing processor to which the electronic scope is connected include a lamp such as a xenon lamp or a halogen lamp that supplies illumination light for illuminating the observation body. Further, there may be a life meter that detects the life of the lamp. The life meter is configured to integrate the time that the lamp is lit, and to display the lamp replacement time on a display or the like when it is confirmed that the accumulated lighting time has reached a predetermined level. The user determines whether or not the lamp needs to be replaced based on the display on the display.
JP 2000-66117 A

  The user sees the video obtained through the scope and performs the procedure. Therefore, if it is felt that the illuminance of the image obtained through the scope has decreased to a level at which the treatment is disturbed, the user often guesses that this is the cause of the lamp failure. Therefore, even if the display on the life meter indicates that the life of the lamp still remains, the lamp may be replaced at any time other than the treatment. As a result, since the lamp was replaced before the life of the life meter, there was a problem that a useless lamp was replaced, and the user had the impression that the lamp had a short life.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and aims to more appropriately perform maintenance of an endoscope system including a lamp.

  An endoscope system according to the present invention includes a light source for supplying illumination light for illuminating an object to be observed, a light amount level setting means for setting a lower limit value of the light amount of the illumination light, and illumination light irradiated to the object to be observed. The light quantity detection means for detecting the light quantity of the light, the comparison means for comparing the lower limit value set by the light quantity level setting means with the detected light quantity detected by the light quantity detection means, and as a result of comparison by the comparison means, the detected light quantity is the lower limit value. When it is confirmed that the light intensity has been reduced to a certain level, a light amount reduction informing means for informing the fact is provided.

  Preferably, the endoscope system includes an integrating unit that integrates the lighting time of the light source, and a lighting time notifying unit that notifies an integration result by the integrating unit.

  Preferably, the light amount level setting means sets the lower limit value based on the light amount of light emitted from the distal end of the insertion portion of the scope for insertion into the patient's body.

  The light amount level setting means has, for example, a white plate that is supported to be freely opened and closed on one cylindrical bottom surface, and the scope insertion portion is inserted through the opening opposite to the white plate in order to adjust the white balance. And a CCD sensor provided at a position corresponding to the bottom surface of the jig.

  Preferably, the jig and the CCD sensor described above are provided in an image signal processor to which a scope is connected.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the lower limit value of the amount of illumination light is set in advance, and the lower limit value is compared with the amount of illumination light applied to the object to be observed. Therefore, the suitability of the amount of illumination light is determined based not only on the lifetime of the light source alone but also on factors such as the user's preference for brightness, scope deterioration, and the optical connection state between the scope and the light source. Accordingly, it is possible to examine an appropriate measure for the reduction in the light amount.

  Further, if the configuration is such that the lighting time of the light source is integrated and notified, the user can determine whether or not the light source lifetime is the cause of the decrease in the amount of illumination light based on the result and the comparison result of the comparison means described above. Can be grasped. Therefore, although the light source is still usable, it is possible to avoid unnecessary replacement of the light source due to a decrease in the amount of illumination light.

  If the jig for white balance adjustment is also used as the light quantity detection means, it is not necessary to provide a special member, and the jig can be effectively used and the increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an endoscope system to which an embodiment according to the present invention is applied. The electronic scope 10 includes an insertion portion 11 to be inserted into a patient's body, an operation portion 12 provided with various operation buttons and the like, and a connection portion 13 connected to the video processor 20. The connection unit 13 is connected to a connection port (not shown) of the front panel 20F of the video processor 20. A lamp such as a halogen lamp or a xenon lamp is provided in the video processor 20. The image signal output from the CCD in the electronic scope 10 is subjected to predetermined image processing in the video processor 20. A TV monitor 30 is connected to the video processor 20. The image signal subjected to image processing by the video processor 20 is output to the TV monitor 30. As a result, the image to be observed is reproduced on the display of the TV monitor 30.

  The front panel 20F of the video processor 20 is provided with a white balance adjusting tube 21 (jig). The tube 21 is disposed so that the opening is exposed at a predetermined position of the front panel 20F. The insertion portion 11 of the electronic scope 10 can be inserted from the opening of the tube 21. FIG. 1 shows a state where the insertion portion 11 is inserted into the opening of the tube 21. In FIG. 1, other control buttons, display panels, and the like provided on the front panel 20F are omitted.

  An opening (not shown) is formed in the side surface 20S of the video processor 20, and a lid 22 is supported so as to be openable and closable so as to cover the opening. The lamp is removed and installed when the lamp is replaced as described above with the lid 22 opened.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the opening of the tube 21 in the front panel 20F. A setting panel 23 for setting a lower limit value of the amount of illumination light emitted from the distal end of the insertion portion 11 is provided below the opening of the tube 21. The setting panel 23 includes an up button 23U, a down button 23D, and an enter button 23S. The lower limit is set in a state where the insertion portion 11 of the electronic scope 10 is inserted into the tube 21 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the tube 21 in the video processor 20. A white plate 24 is disposed on the bottom surface of the cylindrical tube 21. The white plate 24 is supported so as to be freely opened and closed. A light amount sensor 25 is disposed at a separation position corresponding to the bottom surface of the tube 21. The light quantity sensor 25 is a sensor having a CCD. When adjusting the white balance, the insertion portion 11 of the electronic scope 10 is inserted into the tube 21 in a state where the white plate 24 is closed, that is, the bottom surface of the tube 21 is closed. The gain adjustment is performed in a state where the light receiving unit (shown) faces the white plate 24. On the other hand, when setting the above-mentioned lower limit, the insertion portion 11 is inserted into the tube 21 with the white plate 24 opened, that is, with the bottom surface of the tube 21 released. Illumination light emitted from the distal end of the insertion portion 11 enters the light amount sensor 25.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the endoscope system. An imaging sensor 100 including an objective optical system and a CCD image sensor is provided at the distal end of the insertion portion 11 of the electronic scope 10. A light guide 101 is inserted into the electronic scope 10. The emission end of the light guide 101 extends to the tip of the insertion portion 11.

  The system controller 200 of the video processor 20 is a microcomputer that controls the endoscope system as a whole. When the connecting portion 13 of the electronic scope 10 is connected to the video processor 20, the incident end of the light guide 101 is optically connected to a lamp 202 provided at a predetermined location in the video processor 20. Between the incident end of the light guide 101 and the lamp 202, a diaphragm (not shown) for adjusting the amount of light emitted from the lamp 202 and incident on the incident end of the light guide 101, and the emitted light of the lamp 202 A light control unit 203 having a condensing lens (not shown) for condensing light at the incident end of the light guide 101 is interposed. When the electronic scope 10 is connected to the video processor 20, the CCD image sensor of the image sensor 100 is connected to the image signal processing circuit 204 of the video processor 20 via a CCD buffer circuit (not shown).

  Based on a signal from a lamp lighting switch (not shown) provided on the front panel 20F of the video processor 20, the system controller 200 outputs a control signal to the lamp power circuit 205. In accordance with a control signal from the system controller 200, start / stop of power supply to the lamp 202 by the lamp power supply circuit 205 is appropriately controlled.

  When power supply to the lamp 202 is started during observation of the object to be observed, illumination light is emitted from the end face of the light guide 101 and the insertion portion 11 of the electronic scope 10 is inserted into the patient's body. The observation object is illuminated with illumination light, and the optical observation object image is formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor by the objective optical system of the image sensor 100. The imaging sensor 100 photoelectrically converts an optical observation object image formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor into an analog pixel signal for one frame. An analog pixel signal for one frame is sequentially read from the image sensor by a CCD driver (not shown) provided in the electronic scope 10. The analog pixel signal read from the image sensor 100 is subjected to predetermined image processing by the image signal processing circuit 204, and then converted into an output video signal by the output control unit 208, and then via the output terminal 209. It is sent to the TV monitor 30.

  A signal indicating the start / stop of power supply to the lamp 202 is output from the lamp power supply circuit 205 to the lighting time integrating circuit 206. The lighting time integration circuit 206 integrates the lighting time of the lamp 202 based on these signals. The integration result is stored in the memory 207. When the power supply to the lamp 202 is started, the lighting time integration circuit 206 acquires the integrated lighting time from the memory 207, and further calculates the time until the power supply to the lamp 202 is stopped for this data. The calculation result is stored again in the memory 207 and output to the system controller 200. The system controller 200 compares the maximum lighting time for which the operation of the lamp 202 is guaranteed with the integrated lighting time, and outputs information relating to the life of the lamp 202 to the image signal processing circuit 204. This information is subjected to predetermined signal processing by the image signal processing circuit 204 and sent to the TV monitor 30 via the output control unit 208 and the output terminal 209.

  During the setting operation of the lower limit value of the light amount, the insertion portion 11 is inserted into the tube 21 as shown in FIGS. In this state, a control signal for opening the white plate 24 is output from the system controller 200 to the white plate driving circuit 210. Based on this control signal, a drive signal is output from the white plate drive circuit 210, and the white plate 24 rotates so that the bottom surface of the tube 21 is released. As a result, the illumination light emitted from the distal end of the insertion portion 11 enters the light amount sensor 25.

  The illumination light is photoelectrically converted by the CCD of the light quantity sensor 25, and the luminance signal is input to the image signal processing circuit 204 through a different path from the analog image signal from the electronic scope 10. The image signal processing circuit 204 superimposes the luminance signal on the pseudo image stored in the memory 207 and outputs it to the output control unit 208. Similar to the image signal of the object to be observed, the pseudo image is converted into an output video signal by the output control unit 208 and then sent to the TV monitor 30 via the output terminal 209. Therefore, the user can confirm in advance the brightness of the object to be observed when the illumination light is irradiated via the pseudo image displayed on the TV monitor 30.

  In response to the operation of the up button 23U and the down button 23D of the setting panel 23 described above, a control signal indicating the up / down of the light amount level is input to the image signal processing circuit 204. The image signal processing circuit 204 adjusts the level of the luminance signal superimposed on the pseudo image according to the control signal. As a result, the illuminance of the pseudo image reproduced on the TV monitor 30 is adjusted. When the determination button 23S is pressed, a control signal indicating level determination is input to the image signal processing circuit 204. When this control signal is input, the image signal processing circuit 204 stores the current luminance signal level in the memory 207 as a lower limit value.

  The user can set an illuminance that is acceptable to the user at the time of observation by operating the up button 23U and the down button 23D while visually recognizing the pseudo image on the TV monitor 30. In other words, it is possible to set a lower limit value of the amount of illumination light that does not hinder observation for the user himself.

  As described above, when observing the object to be observed, the image signal processing circuit 204 performs predetermined image processing on the input image signal and outputs it to the output control unit 208. On the other hand, the luminance signal extracted from the image signal in the image processing is output to the light quantity comparison circuit 211. The light quantity comparison circuit 211 compares the level of the input luminance signal with the lower limit value stored in the memory 207, and outputs the result to the system controller 200. When the level of the input luminance signal has reached the lower limit value, the system controller 200 outputs a control signal indicating a warning message display to the image signal processing circuit 204. The image signal processing circuit 204 performs processing for displaying a warning message, and outputs a control signal for instructing the TV monitor to display the warning message via the output control unit 208 and the output terminal 209. As a result, a message indicating that the amount of illumination light has decreased to the limit value is displayed on the display of the TV monitor 30.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user sets the lower limit value of the amount of illumination light while viewing the pseudo image of the TV monitor 30 with the insertion portion 11 of the electronic scope 10 inserted into the tube 21. can do. Then, when observing the object to be observed, a decrease in the amount of illumination light is determined based on the luminance signal extracted from the image signal acquired by the electronic scope 10 and the lower limit value. Therefore, not only the life of the lamp 202 alone, but also the user's preference for brightness, the alignment state of the optical axis of the emitted light of the lamp 202 and the aperture of the light control unit 203, and the optical relationship between the lamp 202 and the light guide 101 The suitability of the amount of illumination light is determined based on factors such as the connection state.

  Further, the accumulated lighting time of the lamp 202 is calculated, and based on this, the life of the lamp 202 is displayed on the TV monitor 30. When a warning message indicating that the light amount of the illumination light has reached the set lower limit value is displayed, the user confirms the life of the lamp 202, and the cause of the light amount decrease of the illumination light is in the lamp 202. It can be judged whether or not. Therefore, although the lamp 202 is still usable, it is possible to avoid unnecessary replacement of the lamp 202 due to the decrease in the amount of illumination light. In other words, it is possible to provide detailed information to the manufacturer service person if the cause of the light intensity reduction is in a module other than the lamp (such as the inclination of the lamp installation state, deterioration of the alignment state of the optical axis, deterioration of the scope). It is possible to receive maintenance service without waste.

  In this embodiment, since the white balance adjusting tube 21 is also used for setting the lower limit value of the amount of illumination light, it is not necessary to provide a special member, and an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an endoscope system to which an embodiment according to the present invention is applied. It is a figure which expands and shows a part of front panel of a video processor. It is a figure which expands and shows the vicinity of the jig | tool in a video processor. It is a block diagram of an endoscope system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electronic scope 11 Insertion part 20 Video processor 21 Tube 23 Setting panel 25 Light quantity sensor 206 Lighting time integration circuit 211 Light quantity comparison circuit 30 TV monitor

Claims (5)

A light source for supplying illumination light to illuminate the object to be observed;
A light amount level setting means for setting a lower limit value of the light amount of the illumination light;
Said light quantity detecting means for detecting the light quantity of the illumination light more reflected on an observation object,
A comparison means for comparing the lower limit set by the light quantity level setting means with the detected light quantity detected by the light quantity detection means;
As a result of comparison by the comparison means, if it is confirmed that the detected light quantity has been reduced to the lower limit value, a light quantity reduction notification means for notifying that effect ,
Display means for displaying a pseudo image with adjustable illuminance ,
The endoscope system according to claim settable der Rukoto the lower limit value corresponding to the illuminance of the pseudo image being displayed. Integrating means for integrating the lighting time of the light source;
The endoscope system according to claim 1, further comprising a lighting time notifying unit that notifies a result of integration by the integrating unit.   2. The endoscope according to claim 1, wherein the light amount level setting unit sets the lower limit value based on a light amount of light emitted from a distal end of an insertion portion of a scope for insertion into a patient's body. Mirror system. The light amount level setting means includes:
A jig having a white plate that is openably and closably supported on one cylindrical bottom surface, and in which the insertion portion of the scope is inserted from the opening opposite to the white plate in order to adjust the white balance, The endoscope system according to claim 3, further comprising a CCD sensor provided at a position corresponding to the bottom surface.   The endoscope system according to claim 4, wherein the jig and the CCD sensor are provided in an image signal processor to which the scope is connected.

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