JP5005980B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus that superimposes additional data such as characters and menus on image data acquired by imaging.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, endoscope apparatuses that include an imaging element at the tip, an insertion portion that can be inserted into a lumen, and an electronic endoscope that images an observation site (subject) are widely used for medical or industrial purposes. (See, for example, Patent Document 1). Hereinafter, the configuration of a conventional endoscope apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The electronic endoscope 201 includes an optical system and an image sensor, and the image sensor photoelectrically converts an object image condensed by the optical system to generate an image signal.

  The CCU 202 (camera control unit) processes the imaging signal output from the electronic endoscope 201 and generates image data (video signal). The image data output from the CCU 202 is temporarily stored in the image memory 203. The image data stored in the image memory 203 is output to the subsequent superimposing unit 204 as it is during normal inspection. Recently, a stereo measurement technique for measuring distance, area, and the like of image data by applying a triangulation technique has been proposed. When performing stereo measurement, the CPU 207 reads out the image data stored in the image memory 203 and performs a measurement calculation process.

  The superimposing unit 204 superimposes (synthesizes) the image data and additional data such as characters, symbols, graphics, and menus, and outputs the resultant data to the display unit 205. The additional data is stored in the additional data memory 206. The display unit 205 displays an observation image of the endoscope to which characters or the like are added based on the image data on which the additional data is superimposed.

  A CPU 207 (central processing unit) controls each unit in the endoscope apparatus and performs various arithmetic processes as necessary. An external recording I / F 208 (external recording interface) is an interface to which an external recording medium such as a memory card can be connected. The image memory 203 is connected to the external recording I / F 208 via the bus Bu, and image data can be input / output under the control of the CPU 207. Further, image data necessary for stereo measurement is also read out via the bus Bu.

  In the above-described conventional endoscope apparatus, additional data such as characters is not added to the recorded image data, and only the image data obtained by imaging is recorded. If additional data is absolutely necessary, the CPU performs a process of superimposing the additional data on the image data read from the image memory, and then outputs it to the external recording interface.

As another method for recording additional data, Patent Document 2 describes a method of photographing a video image displayed on a display unit with a unit such as a still camera. Patent Document 3 describes a method of recording image data after synthesizing additional data with image data using superimposing means provided separately from superimposing means for display.
JP 2001-350104 A Japanese Patent No. 29625553 JP 2002-64699 A

  When only the image data lacking the additional data is recorded, it is necessary for the inspector to separately record the inspection conditions, numerical data, etc., and the work efficiency is poor. In particular, information indicating the measurement position and conditions displayed on the screen during stereo measurement that measures the spatial characteristics (length, area, surface shape, etc.) of the subject is important information. It is impossible for a person to add later.

  Further, the conventional technique that enables recording of additional data has the following problems. The method in which the CPU synthesizes and records the additional data with the image data has a problem that the processing becomes complicated and the processing time becomes extremely long. Needless to say, the method of taking a display image with a still camera or the like is inferior in image quality. Further, the method of separately providing the image superimposing means is disadvantageous in terms of the size of the apparatus and the manufacturing cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an endoscope apparatus having a simple configuration capable of recording image data on which additional data is superimposed at a high speed. .

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, images a subject, and an imaging means for generating image data, a temporary storage means for temporarily storing the image data, the temporary storage unit provided after a superimposing means for superimposing the additional data to the image data stored by the temporary storage means, display means for displaying an image based on superposed the image data of the additional data, the one o'clock The image data provided in the preceding stage of the storage means and input to the temporary storage means is between the image data generated by the imaging means and the image data on which the additional data is superimposed by the superimposing means. A first switching means for switching the recording data, and a recording control means for controlling the recording of the image data stored in the temporary storage means on a recording medium. An endoscope apparatus characterized by was e.

  In the endoscope apparatus according to the present invention, the image data input to the superimposing unit is between the image data stored in the temporary storage unit and the image data generated by the imaging unit. And a second switching means for switching at.

  In the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, the endoscope apparatus further includes reproduction control means for controlling reading of the image data from the recording medium and storage in the temporary storage means, and the second switching means includes the second switching means, The image data input to the superimposing unit is switched within a predetermined display period between the image data stored in the temporary storage unit and the image data generated by the imaging unit. To do.

  According to the present invention, the first switching unit switches the image data input to the temporary storage unit, thereby recording both the image data on which the additional data is superimposed and the image data on which the additional data is not superimposed. can do. In addition, since it is not necessary to perform a process of superimposing the additional data on the image data for recording as a process separate from the process of superimposing the additional data on the image data for display, the image data can be recorded at a high speed. Therefore, the device configuration can be simplified.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment. The electronic endoscope 101 includes an optical system and an image sensor, and the image sensor photoelectrically converts an object image condensed by the optical system to generate an image signal. The CCU 102 (camera control unit) processes the imaging signal output from the electronic endoscope 101 and generates image data (video signal). The image data output from the CCU 102 is input to the image memory 103 via the switching unit 109 and temporarily stored in the image memory 103. The image data stored in the image memory 103 is output to the subsequent superimposing unit 104 as it is during normal inspection.

  The superimposing unit 104 superimposes (synthesizes) the image data and additional data such as characters, symbols, figures, menus, and the like, and outputs them to the display unit 105. The additional data is stored in the additional data memory 106. The display unit 105 displays an observation image of the endoscope to which characters or the like are added based on the image data on which the additional data is superimposed.

  The data stored in the additional data memory 106 may be graphic data corresponding to the pixels of the display unit 105 on a one-to-one basis, or may be compressed data necessary for controlling the superimposing unit 104. For example, when the superimposing unit 104 performs line drawing while appropriately interpolating between two points given in advance, only the coordinate data of the start point and end point of the line is stored in the additional data memory 106. Rewriting of data stored in the additional data memory 106 is performed by the CPU 107 (central processing unit) connected to the additional data memory 106 via the bus Bu.

  The CPU 107 controls each unit in the endoscope apparatus and performs various arithmetic processes as necessary. The external recording I / F 108 (external recording interface) is an interface to which an external recording medium such as a memory card can be connected. The image memory 103 is connected to the external recording I / F 108 via the bus Bu, and image data can be input / output under the control of the CPU 107.

  In the present embodiment, the image data output from the superimposing unit 104 is also input to the switching unit 109. The switching unit 109 switches the image data input to the image memory 103 between the image data output from the CCU 102 and the image data output from the superimposing unit 104 (superimposed of additional data). That is, one of the image data on which the additional data is not superimposed and the image data on which the additional data is superimposed is selected by the switching unit 109 and stored in the image memory 103. By this operation, it is possible to record the image data on which the additional data is superimposed on a recording medium connected to the external recording I / F. The operation of the switching unit 109 is controlled by the CPU 107.

  FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment. The endoscope main body 1 contains the CCU 102, the image memory 103, the superimposing unit 104, the additional data memory 106, the CPU 107, the external recording I / F 108, and the switching unit 109 shown in FIG. The electronic endoscope 101 shown in FIG. 1 is provided at the distal end of the scope 2 that is inserted into the lumen to be examined. The monitor 3 has a configuration corresponding to the display unit 105 in FIG. 1 and displays an image captured by the electronic endoscope 101 and an additional image. The recording medium 4 is detachably connected to the endoscope main body 1 via the external recording I / F 108.

  On the monitor 3, an inspection image 301 obtained by imaging the subject 5 is displayed. A character image 302, a menu image 303, and a measurement line image 304 based on the additional data are also displayed on the monitor 3. The measurement line image 304 is an image displayed for assisting measurement when performing stereo measurement. In stereo measurement, various measurements such as the distance between two points, the distance between two points and the distance between one point, area, depth, and surface shape are possible. Here, the length of a line connecting two points is measured, and a measurement line image 304 indicates a measurement position. In addition to this, as the measurement line image 304, there are a plurality of points indicating a region to be measured.

  In this embodiment, the inspector determines whether to record an image on which the additional image is superimposed (image recording pattern 305 in FIG. 2) or an image on which the additional image is not superimposed (image recording pattern 306 in FIG. 2). Can be selected. When the inspector selects an image to be recorded by operating an operation unit (not shown), the CPU 107 determines the selection result based on a signal output from the operation unit, and inputs the input of the switching unit 109 as input A. Set to one of B.

  Next, the operation of the endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on the operation relating to the switching unit 109. When displaying an image for inspection on the display unit 105, the CPU 107 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 109 and sets the input of the switching unit 109 to input A. The signal flow in this state is the same as in the prior art. The display unit 105 displays an image in which an additional image such as a character is superimposed on an image captured by the electronic endoscope 101.

  When recording image data on which no additional data is superimposed, the CPU 107 reads the image data from the image memory 103 and inputs it to the external recording I / F 108 with the input of the switching unit 109 set to input A. Output. At this time, the CPU 107 communicates with an external recording unit connected to the external recording I / F 108 to control recording of image data on the recording medium.

  On the other hand, when recording image data on which additional data is superimposed, the operation is as follows. The CPU 107 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 109 and sets the input of the switching unit 109 to the input A. In this state, image data for one frame is stored in the image memory 103. Subsequently, the CPU 107 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 109 and sets the input of the switching unit 109 to the input B.

  Image data is read from the image memory 103 and output to the superimposing unit 104. Further, the additional data is read from the additional data memory 106 and output to the superimposing unit 104. The additional data is superimposed on the image data by the superimposing unit 104 and output to the display unit 105. At the same time, the image data on which the additional data is superimposed is also output to the switching unit 109 and stored in the image memory 103. The CPU 107 reads out this image data from the image memory 103 and outputs it to the external recording I / F 108.

  With the above operation, it is possible to generate image data for recording on which additional data is superimposed. In addition, when the input of the switching unit 109 is set to input A, it is possible to record image data on which no additional data is superimposed, and when the input of the switching unit 109 is set to input B. Can record image data on which additional data is superimposed.

  Note that when the image data on which the additional data is superimposed is stored in the image memory 103, the image data on which the additional data is not superimposed may be overwritten, or an image on which the additional data is not superimposed. You may make it store in the area | region different from the area | region where data is stored.

  Further, regardless of whether image data with additional data superimposed or non-superimposed image data is recorded on an external recording medium, the image data read via the external recording I / F 108 is written into the image memory 103. The once recorded image can be displayed on the display unit 105. However, in order to perform the display operation in this state, it is necessary to prohibit the image memory 103 from being overwritten by the image data output from the switching unit 109, but this can be easily realized by the control of the CPU 107. is there.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the switching unit 109 switches image data input to the image memory 103, image data on which additional data is superimposed, image data on which additional data is not superimposed, Both can be recorded. When image data on which additional data is superimposed is recorded, it is possible to confirm inspection conditions and the like later. Further, when image data on which no additional data is superimposed is recorded, it is possible to perform stereo measurement with another processing apparatus using the image data.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, there is no need to perform a process of superimposing the additional data on the image data for recording as a process separate from the process of superimposing the additional data on the image data for display. Data can be recorded at high speed (with the shortest processing time), and the apparatus configuration can be simplified. As a result, it is possible to improve the inspection efficiency while realizing downsizing and cost reduction of the apparatus.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the display image on the display unit 105 is not updated while image data is read from the image memory 103 and recorded on an external recording medium. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to display the latest image (hereinafter referred to as a live image) captured by the electronic endoscope 101 on the display unit 105 at the same time as recording image data on an external recording medium. An endoscope apparatus that performs this will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration of the endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, a switching unit 110 is provided, and other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment (FIG. 1). The switching unit 110 switches the image data input to the superimposing unit 104 between the image data stored in the image memory 103 and the image data output from the CCU 102. The operation of the switching unit 110 is controlled by the CPU 107.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the endoscope apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on the operation relating to the switching unit 110. When displaying an image for inspection on the display unit 105, the CPU 107 outputs a control signal to the switching unit 110 and sets the input of the switching unit 110 to the input D. When image data is recorded on an external recording medium in this state, after at least one frame of image data is stored in the image memory 103, the image data is read from the image memory 103, and the external recording I / O is recorded. It is recorded on the recording medium via F108. At this time, the input of the switching unit 109 may be set to either input A or input B.

  Even during and after the image data is stored in the image memory 103, the latest image data generated by the electronic endoscope 101 is output to the superimposing unit 104 through the input D of the switching unit 110 and then output to the display unit 105. Then, the live image is displayed on the display unit 105. Therefore, the updating of the display image does not stop during the recording of the image data.

  Further, when image data is read from an external recording medium and an image of the inspection result is displayed on the display unit 105, the following is performed. The CPU 107 communicates with external recording means connected to the external recording I / F 108 via the external recording I / F 108, and performs reproduction control for reading out image data from the recording medium and storing it in the image memory 103. After image data for one frame is stored in the image memory 103, the CPU 107 sets the input of the switching unit 110 to the input C. The input setting of the switching unit 110 is held at the input C until the inspector performs setting for displaying the live image again.

  In the above description, the input switching unit of the switching unit 110 is a frame unit, but control for switching the input of the switching unit 110 for each predetermined number of scanning lines may be performed. For example, when the total number of display pixels of the display unit 105 is m × n (m and n are integers), the switching unit 110 performs the first to m / 2th horizontal scanning lines within the display frame period. The input may be set to the input C, and the control of switching the input of the switching unit 110 to the input D may be performed for the m / 2 + 1 to m-th horizontal scanning lines. The superimposing unit 104 superimposes additional data on at least one of the two types of image data input within the display frame period, and sequentially outputs the two types of image data in synchronization with the image display on the display unit 105. To do.

  When such control is performed, a live image is displayed on half of the screen of the display unit 105, and in the other half, image data read from the image memory 103, that is, image data recorded in the past is displayed. Based on this, an inspection image can be displayed. As a result, the examiner can compare changes over time in the state of the subject on the screen, and a more accurate examination is possible.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the switching unit 110 switches the image data input to the superimposing unit 104, the image data is recorded while the live image captured by the electronic endoscope 101 is displayed. It becomes possible. In the first embodiment, while the image data is read from the image memory 103 and recorded on an external recording medium, the display image on the display unit 105 is not updated, so it is necessary to temporarily stop the inspection work. In this embodiment, it is not necessary to temporarily stop the inspection work for image recording, and work efficiency is improved. In addition, since a live image and an image recorded in the past can be displayed simultaneously, an accurate inspection can be performed.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and includes design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. . For example, in the above embodiment, the image data stored in the image memory 103 is stored in an external recording medium, but a recording medium such as a hard disk drive is provided inside the endoscope apparatus. In such a case, the image data may be stored in an internal recording medium.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an external view showing an external appearance of an endoscope apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the endoscope apparatus by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the conventional endoscope apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Electronic endoscope (imaging means), 102 ... CCU, 103 ... Image memory (temporary storage means), 104 ... Superimposition part (superimposition means), 105 ... Display part (display) Means), 106 ... additional data memory, 107 ... CPU (recording control means, reproduction control means), 108 ... external recording I / F, 109, 110 ... switching unit (first switching means) , Second switching means)

Claims (3)

Imaging means for imaging a subject and generating image data;
Temporary storage means for temporarily storing the image data;
A superimposing unit that is provided at a subsequent stage of the temporary storage unit and superimposes additional data on the image data stored by the temporary storage unit;
Display means for displaying an image based on the image data on which the additional data is superimposed;
The image data provided in the preceding stage of the temporary storage means and input to the temporary storage means includes the image data generated by the imaging means and the image data on which the additional data is superimposed by the superimposing means. First switching means for switching between,
Recording control means for controlling recording of the image data stored in the temporary storage means on a recording medium;
An endoscope apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus further includes second switching means for switching the image data input to the superimposing means between the image data stored in the temporary storage means and the image data generated by the imaging means. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1. A reproduction control means for controlling reading of the image data from the recording medium and storage in the temporary storage means;
The second switching unit is configured to change the image data input to the superimposing unit between the image data stored in the temporary storage unit and the image data generated by the imaging unit. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein switching is performed within a display period.

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