JP5690124B2 - Endoscope apparatus, endoscope image reproducing apparatus, and recording medium recording data structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus, an endoscope image reproduction apparatus, and a data structure, and more particularly, an endoscope apparatus and an endoscope image reproduction that can quickly detect a desired examination site from a moving image in which an examination image is recorded. The present invention relates to an apparatus and a recording medium on which a data structure is recorded .

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an endoscope apparatus that includes an endoscope that obtains an inspection target image by inserting an insertion portion into the inspection target and a display unit that displays the inspection target image is generally used. . An endoscope incorporates an objective optical system, an image guide fiber, and the like for obtaining an image to be inspected in the duct at the insertion section to be inserted into the duct or at the distal end thereof. Further, the endoscope has a bending portion at the distal end portion of the insertion portion for freely directing the direction of the distal end portion of the insertion portion in a desired direction. An endoscope having such a configuration has a complicated shape while bending the bending portion and directing the distal end portion of the insertion portion in various desired directions or twisting the insertion portion. It can be inserted into the pipeline.

  Such an endoscope apparatus has a function of recording the inspection video as a still image or a moving image, and records a still image of the inspection region or a moving image of the video under inspection and pastes it on the inspection report. Or leave it as evidence.

  In particular, in recent years, the capacity of recording media has been increasing, and it is possible to record a moving image with an endoscope apparatus and reproduce the moving image with an endoscope apparatus or a personal computer after recording to perform a detailed inspection. It is getting more.

  However, in this case, since the recorded moving image is a monotonous image such as a pipe to be inspected, there is a problem that the inspector has a hard time finding the inspection site to be confirmed from the moving image. .

  Therefore, for example, an endoscope apparatus has been proposed that compares insertion length information serving as a reference with a live image under examination based on the insertion length of the endoscope into the examination target (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

Japanese Patent No. 4436638

  However, although the endoscope apparatus of patent document 1 can detect a desired inspection site in a live image at an inspection site, it cannot detect a desired inspection site from a moving image recording the inspection image. .

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope apparatus that can quickly detect a desired inspection site from a moving image in which an inspection image is recorded.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image processing unit that performs image processing on an imaging signal captured by an imaging device provided at a distal end portion of an endoscope insertion unit and generates an endoscopic image; and the distal end portion An insertion length signal for detecting insertion length information by performing predetermined signal processing on the information on the insertion length detected by the insertion length detection unit A processing unit, a recording medium detachable, a recording medium read / write unit that stores the data of the insertion length information in association with the data of the endoscopic image in one moving image file, and records the data on the recording medium; , the reproduction of the moving image file is instructed, starts the reproduction of the moving image file in playback window, the provided playback window, inserted in any insertion length the possible insertion length designation box And a control unit that performs control to start reproduction from the first frame associated with the specified insertion length when the length is specified. .

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, when a recording medium is detachable, a recording medium read / write unit that reads a moving image file recorded on the recording medium, and a reproduction window when an instruction to reproduce the moving image file is given It starts the playback of the moving image file in the provided playback window, if the insertion length of any insertion length the possible insertion length specified box is specified, corresponding to the designated insertion length It is possible to provide an endoscopic image reproduction device including a control unit that performs control to start reproduction from the first frame.

Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of stream data areas divided per unit time, a plurality of image storage areas provided in each of the plurality of stream data areas,
And a computer-readable recording medium recording a data structure of a moving image file, wherein endoscopic image data having the same insertion length is stored for each of the plurality of image storage areas. be able to.

  According to the endoscope apparatus of the present invention, a desired inspection site can be quickly detected from a moving image in which an inspection image is recorded.

It is a figure showing composition of an endoscope apparatus concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the structure of an AVI file. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a reproduction | regeneration window. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the reproduction | regeneration window when insertion length is designated. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the endoscopic image reproduction apparatus which reproduces | regenerates an AVI file. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the example of the flow of a process when insertion length is designated. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the reproduction | regeneration window which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the reproduction | regeneration window which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the structure of an AVI file when the unit of a reproduction | regeneration bar is made into insertion length. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the example of the flow of a process when the reproduction | regeneration unit switching button is pressed down. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the example of the flow of a process of FIG.10 S13. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the example of the flow of a process of FIG.10 S15. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the reproduction | regeneration window based on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the example of the flow of a process which makes a gravity direction correspond. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of an inspection manual file.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)

  First, based on FIG. 1, the structure of the endoscope apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention is demonstrated.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the endoscope apparatus 1 has a long insertion portion 2 having a distal end portion 2 a, a main body portion 3, a display device 4 having a display portion 4 a, and the endoscope device 1. And an operation unit 5 for performing a desired operation. In addition, the endoscope apparatus 1 includes a root portion 6 having an insertion length detector 7 that detects the length of the insertion portion 2 inserted into the examination target, that is, the insertion length, at the base of the insertion portion 2. ing.

  The distal end portion 2a includes an imaging element 8 such as a CCD that photoelectrically converts a subject image to generate an imaging signal. Moreover, the insertion part 2 is provided with the gravity direction detection part 9 which detects the information regarding the gravity direction of the front-end | tip part 2a in the base end vicinity of the front-end | tip part 2a.

  The gravity direction detection unit 9 is, for example, a gravity sensor, and outputs a signal corresponding to the detected information about the gravity direction of the tip 2 a, that is, an information signal about the gravity direction of the tip 2 a to the main body 3.

  The insertion length detection unit 7 includes, for example, two rollers that sandwich the insertion unit 2 and an optical rotary encoder, and detects the number of rotations of the roller with the optical rotary encoder. The insertion length detection unit 7 outputs an information signal regarding the detected number of rotations of the roller, that is, the insertion length, to the main body unit 3.

  The main body unit 3 includes an image processing unit 11, a gravity signal processing unit 12, an insertion length signal processing unit 13, a graphic generation unit 14, an image synthesis unit 15, a recording medium read / write unit 16, a storage unit 17, The main control unit 18 is provided.

  The image processing unit 11 receives an imaging signal output from the imaging element 8 built in the distal end portion 2 a of the insertion unit 2. The image processing unit 11 performs an image process such as a gamma correction process, an edge enhancement process, and a digital zoom process on the imaging signal, and generates an endoscopic image. The image processing unit 11 supplies the generated endoscopic image to the image synthesis unit 15.

  The gravity signal processing unit 12 receives an information signal related to the gravity direction of the distal end portion 2 a output from the gravity direction detection unit 9. The gravity signal processing unit 12 converts the information signal into gravity information such as an inclination angle from the vertically downward direction, and supplies the converted gravity information to the main control unit 18.

  The insertion length signal processing unit 13 receives an information signal regarding the number of rotations of the roller output from the insertion length detection unit 7. The insertion length signal processing unit 13 converts the information signal related to the number of rotations into the insertion length of the insertion unit 2 and supplies the converted insertion length information to the main control unit 18.

  The gravity information and the insertion length information are supplied from the main control unit 18 to the graphic generation unit 14. The graphic generation unit 14 generates an indicator indicating the gravity direction and insertion length of the insertion unit 2 based on the gravity information and insertion length information supplied from the main control unit 18, and supplies the generated indicator to the image composition unit 15. To do.

  The image synthesis unit 15 synthesizes the endoscopic image supplied from the image processing unit 11 and the indicator supplied from the graphic generation unit 14 as one piece of video data, and outputs the synthesized image to the display device 4. To do. As a result, the composite image is displayed on the display unit 4 a of the display device 4.

  In addition, the image composition unit 15 can also perform processing for independently displaying an endoscopic image on the display unit 4 a of the display device 4 in accordance with control by the main control unit 18. Therefore, an endoscopic image or a composite image of an endoscopic image and an indicator is displayed on the display unit 4a of the display device 4.

  For example, the recording medium read / write unit 16 is detachably connected to a recording medium 19 such as a flash memory card. When the inspector operates the operation unit 5 to instruct a recording operation in a state where the recording medium 19 is mounted on the recording medium read / write unit 16, the recording medium read / write unit 16 performs image synthesis according to control from the main control unit 18. The endoscope image data, insertion length information data, and gravity information data supplied to the unit 15 are read out and supplied to the recording medium 19 for recording. In such a recording process, the recording medium read / write unit 16 transfers the endoscope image data, insertion length information data, and gravity information data to the recording medium 19 as one moving image file, for example, an AVI file in Motion JPEG format. Record.

  In addition, the recording medium read / write unit 16 can read the endoscope image data, gravity information data, and insertion length information data recorded on the recording medium 19 in accordance with control by the main control unit 18. At this time, the recording medium read / write unit 16 supplies endoscopic image data to the image synthesis unit 15, and supplies gravity information and insertion length information data to the main control unit 18. The gravity information and insertion length information data supplied to the main control unit 18 is supplied to the graphic generation unit 14, and an indicator indicating the direction of gravity and the insertion length is generated. The indicator indicating the gravitational direction and the insertion length is supplied to the image composition unit 15, and a composite image obtained by combining the endoscope image and the indicator is generated. As a result, the composite image is displayed on the display unit 4 a of the display device 4.

  The storage unit 17 is, for example, a ROM or the like, and data is written and read by the main control unit 18. Further, the storage unit 17 stores reproduction software for reproducing a moving image file.

  The operation unit 5 is provided with an operation switch (not shown) for performing the bending operation of the distal end portion 2a and the recording operation on the recording medium 19 described above, and the inspector operates the operation switch of the operation unit 5. Then, a desired operation such as a bending operation and a recording operation is performed. The operation unit 5 supplies an operation signal corresponding to the operation of the examiner to the main control unit 18.

  As will be described later, when the insertion length is designated in the insertion length designation edit box, the main control unit 18 reproduces the AVI file from the first frame associated with the designated insertion length. Further, the main control unit 18 controls each circuit unit and the like so as to perform processing according to the operation signal from the operation unit 5, and controls the operation of the entire endoscope apparatus 1. Further, when the main control unit 18 is instructed to reproduce the moving image file, the main control unit 18 reads and executes the reproduction software stored in the storage unit 17, writes data to the storage unit 17, or reads data from the storage unit 17. Is read out.

  Next, the structure of the AVI file recorded on the recording medium 19 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the structure of the AVI file.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the AVI file 20 has a format called RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format), and in order from the top of the file, a header portion 21 indicated by LIST “hdrl”, a dummy chunk 22 indicated by JUNK, and a LIST. It has a structure having a stream data part 23 indicated by “movi” and an index 24 indicated by idx1.

  The header section 21 has a structure including an AVI main header 25 indicated by Avih, a stream list 26 for video data indicated by LIST “str”, and a stream list 27 for audio data indicated by LIST “str”. ing.

  The stream list 27 for audio data has a structure including an AVI stream header 28 indicated by strh, a stream format 29 indicated by strf, and option data 30 indicated by strn.

  In the present embodiment, an additional information flag is added to the option data content of the option data 30 in the header section 21. This additional information flag is a flag indicating whether or not gravity information and insertion length information data are stored in the AVI file 20. When gravity information and insertion length information data are not stored in the AVI file 20, flag information of the additional information flag is set to 0, and when gravity information and insertion length information data are stored in the AVI file 20, The flag information of the additional information flag is set to 1. The setting of the flag information of the additional information flag is executed by the main control unit 18.

  Further, the stream data section 23 has a structure having a plurality of, here two, stream data 23a and 23b divided for each unit time. In FIG. 2, only two stream data 23 a and 23 b are illustrated, but stream data corresponding to the moving image shooting time is stored in the stream data unit 23. That is, when a 60-second moving image is recorded in the AVI file 20, the stream data unit 23 has 60 stream data. Since the configuration of each stream data is the same, the configuration of the stream data 23a will be described below as an example.

  The stream data 23a as the stream data area is composed of 30 image streams 31a as the image storage area and one audio stream 32a. Further, when data of gravity information and insertion length information is added, information is stored. An area of the information stream 33a as an area is secured. When data of gravity information and insertion length information is added, gravity information and insertion length information data are stored in the area of the information stream 33a. Endoscopic image data is stored in the 30 image streams 31a serving as the image storage areas, and audio information data associated with the endoscopic image data is stored in the audio stream 32a. The information stream 33a stores gravity information and insertion length information data associated with the endoscopic image data.

  The stream data 23a per unit time stores 30 image streams 31a, that is, the frame rate is 30, but the frame rate is not limited to 30, for example, 24 may be sufficient.

  If audio recording is not performed, the audio stream 32a area may not be provided. Alternatively, gravity information and insertion length information data may be stored in the area of the audio stream 32a, and the information stream 33a may not be provided. Thereby, the file size of the AVI file 20 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, endoscope data, gravity information, and insertion length information data are stored and saved in one AVI file 20. For example, when there are a large number of moving image files, copying and moving the files is troublesome if the data of the endoscopic image and the data of gravity information and insertion length information are stored in separate files. In addition, when there are a large number of moving image files, if the endoscope image data and the gravity information and insertion length information data are stored in separate files, leakage such as copying and moving of the files may occur. There is. That is, if there is a copy omission or the like in one of the endoscope image data file and the gravity information and insertion length information data file, detailed inspection cannot be performed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the endoscope image, gravity information, and insertion length information data are recorded in one AVI file 20, file copy omission etc. can be prevented, and file management can be performed. Becomes easier.

  The format of the moving image file is not limited to the AVI file 20, and may be a MOV file or the like. The MOV file is configured in units of tracks, and can include a text track, a chapter track, and the like in addition to a moving image and audio. For example, gravity information and insertion length information data can be recorded on the text track or chapter track.

  Next, a reproduction window when an instruction to reproduce the AVI file 20 is given will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of the playback window, and FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of the playback window when the insertion length is designated.

  The reproduction window 40 is a window that is displayed first when the inspector instructs the reproduction of the AVI file 20, and is displayed on the display unit 4a.

  The reproduction window 40 is displayed on the display unit 4a when the main control unit 18 reads out and executes reproduction software from the storage unit 17. When the examiner gives an instruction to reproduce the AVI file 20, the main controller 18 instructs the graphic generator 14 to generate the reproduction window 40. The graphic generation unit 14 generates a graphic image signal for displaying the reproduction window 40 in accordance with an instruction from the main control unit 18 and outputs the graphic image signal to the image synthesis unit 15. The image synthesizing unit 15 synthesizes an endoscope image and an indicator indicating the insertion length with the graphic image signal and outputs them to the display unit 4a, whereby the reproduction window 40 is displayed on the display unit 4a. The function of the graphical user interface (GUI) of the playback window 40 will be described below.

  The image display box 41 is a box for displaying an endoscopic image. When the reproduction software is executed, the endoscopic images stored in the AVI file 20 are sequentially displayed in the image display box 41. An insertion length indicator 42 indicating the insertion length is combined with the endoscopic image displayed in the image display box 41. An indicator indicating the direction of gravity may be combined with the endoscopic image and displayed.

  The playback bar 43 is a bar for representing the total playback time of the moving image file, here, the AVI file 20 instructed to be played back. A total playback time of the AVI file 20 is displayed below the right end of the playback bar 43. Is done. Thus, the unit of the playback bar 43 is time.

  The playback pointer 44 is provided in the playback bar 43 and is a pointer for indicating how much playback has been performed with respect to the total playback time. During playback of the AVI file 20, the playback pointer 44 moves to the right. To go. Below the playback pointer 44, the current playback time is displayed. The inspector can also fast-forward or rewind the AVI file 20 during reproduction by dragging the reproduction pointer 44 with a cursor (not shown) using the operation unit 5.

  The playback button 45 is a button for playing back the AVI file 20 while the moving image is stopped, and the stop button 46 is a button for stopping the moving image while playing the AVI file 20. The rewind button 47 is a button for rewinding the AVI file 20 during playback, and the fast-forward button 48 is a button for fast-forwarding the AVI file 20 during playback.

  The insertion length designation edit box 49 is a box for designating an insertion length. When the inspector inputs a specific insertion length in the insertion length designation edit box 49, the main control unit 18 searches for the first frame associated with the insertion length designated from the AVI file 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the main control unit 18 reproduces the AVI file 20 from the first frame associated with the specified insertion length. Further, when the insertion length is designated, the main control unit 18 displays the insertion length under the playback time. In this case, the insertion length indicator 42 may not be combined with the endoscopic image displayed in the image display box 41.

  The AVI file 20 recorded in such a recording medium 19 can be reproduced by the endoscope apparatus 1, but when the inspector takes the recording medium 19 back to the company or the like and performs a detailed inspection, the weight is reduced. It is troublesome to carry an endoscope apparatus 1 with a large size. Therefore, the inspector can bring back only the recording medium 19 to the company or the like and reproduce the AVI file 20 recorded on the recording medium 19 with the reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an endoscopic image reproduction device that reproduces an AVI file.

  The endoscopic image reproduction device 100 is, for example, a personal computer, a main body 101, a display device 102 including a display unit 102a such as an LCD, an operation unit 103 for performing various operations such as a keyboard or a mouse, and the like. It is comprised.

  The main body 101 includes a recording medium read / write unit 111, a storage unit 112, a main control unit 113, a graphic generation unit 114, and an image composition unit 115.

  When the inspector instructs the reproduction process using the operation unit 103, the operation signal is supplied to the main control unit 113. The storage unit 112 stores the above-described reproduction software. In response to the operation signal, the main control unit 113 reads out and executes the reproduction software from the storage unit 112 and instructs the recording medium read / write unit 111 to read out the data recorded in the AVI file 20. The recording medium read / write unit 111 reads the AVI file 20 recorded on the mounted recording medium 19 under the control of the main control unit 113.

  The recording medium read / write unit 111 outputs the endoscope image data read from the AVI file 20 to the image composition unit 115 and outputs the insertion length information to the main control unit 113. Then, the main control unit 113 instructs the graphic generation unit 114 to generate the playback window 40 and the insertion length indicator 42. In response to an instruction from the main control unit 113, the graphic generation unit 114 generates a graphic image signal for displaying the playback window 40 and an insertion length indicator 42 indicating the insertion length, and outputs the graphic image signal to the image composition unit 115.

  The image synthesis unit 115 synthesizes the endoscope image data and the insertion length indicator 42 indicating the insertion length in the playback window 40 and outputs the synthesized data to the display device 102. As a result, the playback window 40 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 102a, and the moving image recorded in the AVI file 20 is played back. When the insertion length is designated in the insertion length designation edit box 49, the main control unit 113 reproduces the AVI file 20 from the first frame associated with the designated insertion length. As a result, the inspector, after bringing back the moving image data from the inspection site, reproduces the AVI file 20 and designates the insertion length in the insertion length designation edit box 49 of the reproduction window 40 when performing a detailed examination. A desired inspection site can be quickly detected from the AVI file 20 in which the inspection image is recorded.

  Here, processing when the insertion length is designated in the insertion length designation edit box 49 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow of processing when the insertion length is designated.

  First, it is determined whether or not an insertion length has been designated (step S1). If the insertion length is not specified, NO is determined and the process is terminated. On the other hand, when the insertion length is designated, the answer is YES, and the designated insertion length (distance) is stored in the storage unit 17 (step S2). The first frame associated with the insertion length stored in the storage unit 17 is searched from the AVI file 20 being reproduced (step S3). Playback is started from the frame obtained by the search (step S4), and the process is terminated.

  As described above, when the insertion length is designated in the insertion length designation edit box 49, the endoscope apparatus 1 controls the AVI from the first frame associated with the designated insertion length under the control of the main control unit 18. File 20 was played back.

Therefore, according to the endoscope apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a desired examination site can be quickly detected from a moving image in which an examination image is recorded.
(Second Embodiment)

  Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, an endoscope apparatus capable of switching the unit of the reproduction bar 43 will be described. Note that the configuration of the endoscope apparatus 1a according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  7 and 8 are diagrams for explaining an example of a playback window according to the second embodiment.

  When the inspector instructs the reproduction of the AVI file 20 recorded on the recording medium 19, the main control unit 18 instructs the graphic generation unit 14 to generate the reproduction window 40a in which the unit of the reproduction bar 43 shown in FIG. To do. The playback window 40a is substantially the same as the playback window 40 of FIG. 3, and includes a playback unit switching button 50 for switching the playback unit in place of the insertion length designation edit box 49.

  The display of the playback unit switching button 50 is “meter” when the unit of the playback bar 43 is time. When the examiner presses the reproduction unit switching button 50 in the lower right of FIG. 7 in order to confirm the endoscopic image of the examination site to be subjected to the detailed examination while reproducing the AVI file 20, the main control unit 18 Instructs the graphic generation unit 14 to generate the playback window 40b shown in FIG.

  The playback window 40b is configured by using a playback bar 51 whose playback unit is an insertion length instead of the playback bar 43 whose playback unit is time. Below the right end of the reproduction bar 51, the total insertion length is displayed. In the playback window 40b, the current insertion length is displayed below the playback pointer 44, and the insertion length indicator 42 is not displayed. Further, when the playback unit is changed to the insertion length, the display of the playback unit switching button 50 is changed from “meter” to “time” under the control of the main control unit 18. When the inspector presses the playback unit switching button 50 again, the playback unit 40 switches to a playback window 40a whose time is the playback unit.

  In such a playback window 40b, since the unit of the playback bar 51 is the insertion length, the inspector can drag the playback pointer 44 and quickly specify the position of the insertion length for playback.

  When the inspector performs the reproduction operation of the AVI file 20 recorded on the recording medium 19, the main control unit 18 generates and stores the AVI file 20a (see FIG. 8) having the reproduction bar 51 as the insertion length. Store in unit 17. If the inspector uses the unit of the playback bar 43 as time, the AVI file 20 is played in the same way as general video playback, and if the inspector specifies the unit of the playback bar 51 as the insertion length, the memory is stored. The AVI file 20a stored in the unit 17 is reproduced.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of the structure of the AVI file when the playback bar unit is the insertion length.

  The AVI file 20a shown in FIG. 9 has substantially the same structure as the AVI file 20 in which the unit of the playback bar 43 is time, but has a structure having stream data 52a and 53a instead of the stream data 23a and 23b. Yes.

  The stream data 52a as a stream data area is composed of 30 image streams 54a as an image storage area and one audio stream 55a, and the stream data 53a is composed of 30 image streams 54b and one audio stream. 55b. As in FIG. 2, an information stream area may be provided to store gravity information data.

  The 30 image streams 54a and 54b store endoscopic image data for each specific insertion length. For example, endoscopic image data with an insertion length of 0 m is stored in 30 image streams 54 a, and endoscopic image data with an insertion length of 0.1 m is stored in 30 image streams 54 b. Is done. Since the insertion length information is associated with the endoscope image data in the AVI file 20, 30 pieces of endoscope image data having the same insertion length are read from the AVI file 20, and 30 image streams are read. 54a.

  At this time, if the endoscope image data corresponding to the same insertion length in the AVI file 20 is equal to or greater than the number of frames for one second, that is, 30 frames or more in this embodiment, 31 frames or less that do not fit in the image stream 54a. Endoscopic image data is discarded. When the endoscope image data corresponding to the same insertion length in the AVI file 20 is 30 frames or less, the image stream 54a in which no endoscope image data is stored is included in the last frame of the insertion length. Stores the data of the endoscopic image.

  Note that the AVI file 20a when the playback bar 51 is the insertion length may be temporarily stored in another storage medium such as a hard disk without being stored in the storage unit 17. The AVI file 20a is generated when the AVI file 20 is played back. For example, the AVI file 20a may be generated when the AVI file 20 is recorded on the recording medium 19, or before the AVI file 20 is played back. Alternatively, it may be generated by issuing a generation instruction.

  When the inspector presses the reproduction unit switching button 50 and designates the unit of the reproduction bar 51 as the insertion length, the main control unit 18 reads the AVI file 20a generated from the AVI file 20 and stored in the storage unit 17. To play.

  Next, processing when the playback unit switching button 50 is pressed will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow of processing when the playback unit switching button is pressed.

  First, it is determined whether or not the playback unit switching button 50 has been pressed (step S11). If the playback unit switching button 50 is not pressed, the determination is NO and the process is terminated. If the playback unit switching button 50 is pressed, the determination is YES, and it is determined whether the unit (mode) of the current playback bar 43 is time (step S12). If the unit (mode) of the current playback bar 43 is time, the answer is YES, and the AVI file 20a whose insertion bar is the unit of the playback bar 51 paired with the AVI file 20 being played back is inserted into the insertion length corresponding to the current time. Playback is started from the first frame (step S13), and the process ends. On the other hand, if the unit (mode) of the current playback bar 43 is not time, the determination is NO, and it is determined whether or not the unit (mode) of the current playback bar 43 is the insertion length (step S14). When the current unit (mode) of the playback bar 43 is not the insertion length, NO is determined and the process is terminated. On the other hand, when the unit (mode) of the current playback bar 43 is the insertion length, the answer is YES, and the unit of the playback bar 43 paired with the AVI file 20a being played corresponds to the current insertion length of the AVI file 20 with the time. Playback is started from the first frame of the time to be performed (step S15), and the process ends.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the process flow of step S13 of FIG.

  First, the time of the AVI file 20 being reproduced is stored in the storage unit 17 (step S21). The AVI file 20 being reproduced is paused and hidden (step S22). The AVI file 20a having the insertion length of the unit (mode) of the playback bar 51 paired with the AVI file 20 being played back is opened (step S23). The first frame of the insertion length corresponding to the time stored in the storage unit 17 is searched from the AVI file 20a whose playback bar 51 unit is the insertion length (step S24). Finally, reproduction is started from the frame obtained by the search (step S25), and the process is terminated.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the process flow of step S15 of FIG.

  First, the insertion length of the AVI file 20a being reproduced is stored in the storage unit 17 (step S31). The AVI file 20a being reproduced is paused and hidden (step S32). The AVI file 20 whose time is the unit (mode) of the playback bar 43 paired with the AVI file 20a being played back is opened (step S33). The first frame of time corresponding to the insertion length stored in the storage unit 17 is searched from the AVI file 20 whose unit (mode) of the playback bar 43 is time (step S34). Finally, reproduction is started from the frame obtained by the search (step S35), and the process is terminated.

  As described above, when the reproduction of the AVI file 20 is instructed, the endoscope apparatus 1a generates the AVI file 20a having the insertion length of the unit of the reproduction bar 43. The endoscope apparatus 1 is configured to reproduce the AVI file 20 when the reproduction unit switching button 50 is pressed.

Therefore, the endoscope apparatus 1a can quickly detect a desired examination site from a moving image in which an examination image is recorded, as in the first embodiment.
(Third embodiment)

  Next, a third embodiment will be described.

  Conventionally, industrial endoscope devices are used for periodic inspections of power plants or aircraft engines. In this case, the previous inspection results of the same inspection site are compared with the current inspection results, and cracks are detected. It is used to evaluate the progress of defects such as. However, even when two moving images are played back simultaneously, the examination site with the passage of time differs depending on the examination time, and therefore the same examination site cannot be displayed side by side for comparison.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, two moving images are compared, for example, a moving image recorded in a periodic inspection one year before the same inspection object is compared with a moving image recorded one year after this periodic inspection. An endoscope apparatus capable of performing the above will be described. Note that the configuration of the endoscope apparatus 1b according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the endoscope apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of a playback window according to the third embodiment.

  The playback window 40c shown in FIG. 13 has a configuration using a playback bar 51 that has two image display boxes 60a and 60b and whose playback unit is the insertion length. Since other configurations are the same as those of the playback window 40, description thereof is omitted. The playback window 40c has two image display boxes 60a and 60b, but is not limited to this, and may have three or more image display boxes.

  For example, when the inspector selects two AVI files 20 recorded on the recording medium 19 and performs a comparison playback operation, the main control unit 18 sets the unit of the playback bar 51 for each of the two AVI files 20. The AVI file 20a having the insertion length is generated, the two generated AVI files 20a are simultaneously reproduced, and an endoscope image is displayed in the image display boxes 60a and 60b. Note that the method of generating and playing back the AVI file 20a with the playback bar 51 unit as the insertion length is the same as in the second embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Conventionally, when the AVI file 20 in which the same inspection object is recorded is reproduced at the same time, it cannot be reproduced while displaying the same inspection site to be inspected because the insertion portion 2 is inserted into the inspection object in two inspections at different speeds. .

  On the other hand, since the endoscope apparatus 1b generates an AVI file 20a with the unit of the playback bar 51 as an insertion length from each of the two AVI files 20, and reproduces them simultaneously, the image display boxes 60a and 60b include Endoscopic images with the same insertion length are displayed. For this reason, the inspector can easily compare the two moving images.

  Therefore, according to the endoscope apparatus 1b of the present embodiment, it is possible to easily compare two moving images.

  When two AVI files 20a are arranged and played back simultaneously, based on the gravity information stored in the AVI file 20a, the direction of gravity of one endoscopic image matches that of the other endoscopic image. You may rotate and display.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the flow of processing for matching the gravity directions.

  First, the roll angle in the gravity direction (the rotation angle of the image with respect to the gravity direction) associated with the currently reproduced frame is acquired in the image display box 60a on the left side in FIG. 13 (step S41). Next, the roll angle in the gravitational direction associated with the currently reproduced frame is acquired in the right image display box 60b toward FIG. 13 (step S42). Finally, the difference between the acquired roll angles is calculated, and the right-side endoscope image is rotated and displayed by the calculated rotation angle (step S43). By the above processing, the examiner can further easily compare the endoscope images.

  Moreover, when comparing two moving images, you may use the following usage method.

  In general, the tip 2a is inspected by attaching an interchangeable optical adapter (lens). At that time, a plurality of videos obtained by photographing the same inspection object with optical adapters having different viewing directions are compared and reproduced. To do. At this time, the direction of gravity is combined with the endoscopic image and displayed. Thereby, the examiner can confirm the endoscope images obtained by imaging the same examination site in different viewing directions side by side.

  Further, in industrial endoscopy, it is sometimes manual to periodically inspect an inspection site in an inspection object. Therefore, the main control unit 18 may insert a chapter into the AVI file 20 using an inspection manual file when recording a moving image.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining an example of an inspection manual file.

  In the inspection manual file 61 shown in FIG. 15, the insertion length corresponding to the inspection location is listed. The inspector designates the inspection manual file 61 when instructing the reproduction of the AVI file 20 or 20a. The main control unit 18 sets a chapter at the insertion length specified in the inspection manual file 61.

  The inspector may specify the inspection manual file 61 when operating the operation unit 5 to instruct a recording operation. The main control unit 18 sets the chapter to the insertion length specified in the inspection manual file 61 when recording as the AVI file 20. Further, chapters may be set when the insertion length has not changed for a predetermined time or when there has been a significant change in the direction of gravity.

  Thereby, the inspector can easily cue the endoscope image associated with the insertion length in which the chapter is set when reproducing the AVI file 20 or 20a.

  Further, when comparing the AVI files 20a having the insertion length as the unit of the playback bar 51, the main control unit 18 detects whether there is a difference between the endoscope images having the same insertion length in the two AVI files 20a. It may be. When the detected difference reaches a predetermined level or higher, the main control unit 18 automatically sets the insertion length at which the difference has reached a predetermined level or more as a chapter. Further, the main control unit 18 may automatically set the insertion length in which the difference has reached a predetermined level or more as the inspection location in the inspection manual file 61. Thereby, from the next examination, it is possible to easily find an endoscope image having an insertion length in which the difference has reached a predetermined level or more.

  It should be noted that the steps in the flowcharts in this specification may be executed in a different order for each execution by changing the execution order and performing a plurality of steps at the same time, as long as the steps are not contrary to the nature.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1a, 1b ... Endoscope apparatus, 2 ... Insertion part, 2a ... Tip part, 3 ... Main-body part, 4 ... Display apparatus, 4a ... Display part, 5 ... Operation part, 6 ... Root part, 7 ... Insertion length Detecting unit, 8 ... imaging device, 9 ... gravity direction detecting unit, 11 ... image processing unit, 12 ... gravity signal processing unit, 13 ... insertion length signal processing unit, 14 ... graphic generation unit, 15 ... image composition unit, 16 ... Recording medium read / write unit, 17 ... storage unit, 18 ... main control unit, 19 ... recording medium, 20, 20a ... AVI file, 40, 40a, 40b, 40c ... playback window, 41 ... image display box, 42 ... insertion length indicator 43 ... Playback bar, 44 ... Playback pointer, 45 ... Playback button, 46 ... Stop button, 47 ... Rewind button, 48 ... Fast forward button, 49 ... Insert length designation edit box, 50 ... Playback unit switching button, 51 ... Raw bar, 60a, 60b ... image display box, 61 ... inspection manual file, 100 ... endoscopic image reproduction device, 101 ... main body, 102 ... display device, 102a ... display unit, 103 ... operation unit, 111 ... recording medium Reading / writing unit, 112 ... storage unit, 113 ... main control unit, 114 ... graphic generation unit, 115 ... image synthesis unit.

Claims (9)

An image processing unit that performs image processing on an imaging signal imaged by an imaging device provided at a distal end portion of the endoscope insertion unit, and generates an endoscope image;
An insertion length detection unit for detecting information related to an insertion length in which the tip portion is inserted into an inspection object;
An insertion length signal processing unit that performs predetermined signal processing on information related to the insertion length detected by the insertion length detection unit, and detects insertion length information;
A recording medium is detachable, the endoscope image data is associated with the data of the insertion length information, stored in one moving image file, and recorded on the recording medium;
When the playback of the movie file is instructed, the movie file is played back in the playback window, and when the insertion length is specified in the insertion length specification box for specifying the insertion length provided in the playback window, the specified A control unit that performs control to start playback from the first frame associated with the inserted length;
An endoscope apparatus characterized by comprising: A graphic generation unit that generates an insertion length indicator indicating an insertion length of the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion unit from data of the insertion length information included in the moving image file;
An image compositing unit that displays in the playback window a composite image obtained by compositing data of an endoscopic image included in the moving image file and an insertion length indicator indicating the insertion length generated by the graphic generation unit; The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1. When the playback of the video file is instructed, the control unit generates a video file having a playback bar unit as an insertion length from the video file, stores the video file in a storage unit, and is provided in the playback window. When the playback unit switching button for switching the playback bar unit between insertion length and time is pressed, playback starts from the first frame of the insertion length corresponding to the current time of the video file with the playback bar unit as the insertion length. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope apparatus is started.   The control unit generates a moving image file having the playback bar unit as an insertion length from each of a plurality of moving image files obtained by imaging the same inspection target, and inserts the generated plurality of the reproducing bar units. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a moving image file having a long length is reproduced in the reproduction window. A recording medium detachable, and a recording medium read / write unit for reading a moving image file recorded on the recording medium;
When the playback of the movie file is instructed, the movie file is played back in the playback window, and when the insertion length is specified in the insertion length specification box for specifying the insertion length provided in the playback window, the specified A control unit that performs control to start playback from the first frame associated with the inserted length;
An endoscopic image reproduction device comprising: A graphic generation unit that generates an insertion length indicator indicating an insertion length of the distal end portion of the endoscope insertion unit from data of the insertion length information included in the moving image file;
An image compositing unit that displays in the playback window a composite image obtained by compositing data of an endoscopic image included in the moving image file and an insertion length indicator indicating the insertion length generated by the graphic generation unit; The endoscopic image reproduction device according to claim 5. When the playback of the video file is instructed, the control unit generates a video file having a playback bar unit as an insertion length from the video file, stores the video file in a storage unit, and is provided in the playback window. When the playback unit switching button for switching the playback bar unit between insertion length and time is pressed, playback starts from the first frame of the insertion length corresponding to the current time of the video file with the playback bar unit as the insertion length. The endoscope image reproduction device according to claim 5, wherein the endoscope image reproduction device is started.   The control unit generates a moving image file having the playback bar unit as an insertion length from each of a plurality of moving image files obtained by imaging the same inspection target, and inserts the generated plurality of the reproducing bar units. 6. The endoscopic image reproduction device according to claim 5, wherein a long moving image file is reproduced in the reproduction window. A plurality of stream data areas separated by unit time;
A plurality of image storage areas provided in each of the plurality of stream data areas;
With
A computer-readable recording medium recording a data structure of a moving image file, wherein endoscopic image data having the same insertion length is stored for each of the plurality of image storage areas.

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