JPH02279131A - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simultaneously observe plural information and to furthermore improve the overall diagnostic function by allocating plural information related to a spectral characteristic in a body to be inspected to plural image signals which can be separated as visual observation and can be displayed, and displaying plural image signals which are allocated. CONSTITUTION:Image signals of three kinds of wavelength regions are clamped by clamping circuits 101 to 103, brought to gamma' correction by gamma' correcting circuits 104 to 106, converted to digital image data by A/D converters 107 to 109, and inputted to an arithmetic processing part 110. In the arithmetic processing part 110, bring/dark information V, hemoglobin distribution information Hb and hemoglobin oxygen saturation information SO2 are obtained, and output image data V, Hb and SO2 are converted to analog image data by A/D converters 111 to 113, inputted to a matrix circuit 114, and distributed to luminance informa tion and vectors R-Y, B-Y for showing two orthogonal colors. Outputs of the circuit 114 are brought to gamma correction by gamma correcting circuits 115 to 117, and outputted as R, G and B signals through buffer circuits 118 to 120.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an endoscope device suitable for observing changes in pigment concentration and spectral characteristics of pigments in living organisms.

[Prior Art] In recent years, it has become possible to observe organs within a body cavity by inserting an elongated insertion section into a body cavity, and to perform various therapeutic procedures as necessary using a treatment instrument inserted into a treatment instrument channel. Endoscopes are widely used.

Furthermore, various electronic endoscopes using solid-state image carriers such as charge-coupled devices (CODs) as image carriers have been proposed.

By the way, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-25
As disclosed in Publication No. 7692 and Publication No. 63-311937, hemoglobin fd (H
b) and hemoglobin oxygen saturation a (802).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional example, an image showing the distribution of blood flow corresponding to the amount of hemoglobin and an image showing the distribution of oxygen saturation of hemoglobin were each displayed separately. This image is completely different from the image that the doctor used to make a diagnosis based on the shape and color tone of the lesion, so it is difficult to match it with the original image, and the problem is that it takes a lot of time to make a diagnosis. There is. Furthermore, it is also difficult to associate multiple pieces of information such as the amount of hemoglobin and the oxygen saturation level of hemoglobin.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an endoscope device that can simultaneously observe multiple pieces of information related to the spectral characteristics of a subject, thereby further improving comprehensive diagnostic performance. is intended to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The endoscope apparatus of the present invention is capable of obtaining image information of a subject, and from the image information of the subject, a plurality of images related to spectral characteristics of the subject are determined. means for obtaining information; means for allocating a plurality of pieces of information 1q by the means for obtaining information into a plurality of image signals that are visually separable from each other and can be displayed simultaneously; and display means for displaying an image signal.

[Operation] In the present invention, a plurality of pieces of information related to the spectral characteristics of the subject are obtained from image information of the subject, and this plurality of information is divided into a plurality of images that can be visually separated from each other and can be displayed simultaneously. The plurality of image signals are displayed.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 10 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a signal processing circuit which is the main part of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an assignment of biological information to image signals. 3 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of the endoscope device, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the bandpass filter turret, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing the entire endoscope device. , FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams showing changes in blood absorbance due to changes in hemoglobin oxygen saturation, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the transmission wavelength range of each filter of the rotating filter, and FIGS. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the transmission wavelength range of each filter of the bandpass filter turret.

The endoscope apparatus of this embodiment includes an electronic endoscope 1, as shown in FIG. The electronic endoscope 1 has an elongated, for example, flexible insertion section 2, and a large-diameter operation section 3 is connected to the rear end of the insertion section 2.

A flexible cable 4 is connected to the side from the rear end of the operating section 3.
is extended, and a connector 5 is provided at the tip of this cable 4. The electronic endoscope 1 is connected via the connector 5 to a video processor 6 in which a light source device and a signal processing circuit are built-in. moreover,
A monitor 7 is connected to the video broker 6.

On the distal end side of the insertion portion 2, a hard distal end portion 9 and a bendable curved portion 10 adjacent to the distal end portion 9, which can be bent, are sequentially provided. Furthermore, by rotating a bending operation knob 11 provided on the operating section 3, the bending section 10 can be bent in the left-right direction or the up-down direction. In addition, the operation section 3 includes a
An insertion port 12 is provided that communicates with a treatment instrument channel provided in the treatment instrument channel.

As shown in FIG. 3, inside the insertion section 2 of the electronic endoscope 1,
A light guide 14 that transmits illumination light is inserted.

The distal end surface of this light guide 14 is located at the distal end 9 of the insertion section 2.
The distal end portion 9 can emit illumination light. Further, the incident end side of the light guide 14 is inserted into the universal cord 4 and connected to the connector 5. Further, the tip portion 9 is provided with an objective lens system 15, and a solid-state image sensor 16 is disposed at the imaging position of the objective lens system 15. This solid-state image sensor 16 has sensitivity in a wide wavelength range from the ultraviolet region to the infrared region, including the visible region.

Signal lines 26 and 27 are connected to the solid-state dynamic image element 16, and these signals 1i 126 and 27 are inserted into the insertion portion 2 and the universal cord 4 and connected to the connector 5.

On the other hand, inside the video processor 6, a lamp 21 is provided that emits a wide band of light ranging from ultraviolet light to infrared light. As this lamp 21, a general xenon lamp, a strobe lamp, or the like can be used. The xenon lamp and the strobe lamp emit a large amount of not only visible light but also ultraviolet light and infrared light. This lamp 21 is configured to be supplied with electric power by a power supply section 22. A rotary filter 50 that is rotationally driven by a motor 23 is disposed in front of the lamp 21 .

This rotary filter 50 usually has red (R) for ml detection,
Filters that transmit light in the green (G) and blue (8) wavelength regions are arranged along the circumferential direction.

The transmission characteristics of each filter of this rotary filter 50 are shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, in this embodiment, the filter that transmits B has a characteristic that it also transmits a wavelength range 1iiiIB' near 800 nm in the infrared band.

Further, the motor 23 is driven by a motor driver 25 with its rotation being controlled in an iil manner.

Further, a bandpass filter turret 51 is disposed on the illumination optical path between the rotary filter 50 and the incident end of the light guide 14. As shown in FIG. 4, this bandpass filter turret 51 includes two types of filters 51a and 51, each having different bandpass characteristics.
b are arranged along the circumferential direction. Each filter 51
The transmission and characteristics of 8.51b are shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.

That is, the filter 518 has 5 filters as shown in FIG.
It transmits a narrow band centered at 69 nm, a narrow band centered at 650 nm, and a narrow band centered at soonm. As shown in FIG. 10, the filter 51b has a diameter of about 40
Transmits visible band from 0 to 750 nm.

The bandpass filter turret 51 is rotated by a motor 52 whose rotation is controlled by a filter switching device 55.

Further, the filter switching device 55 is controlled by a control signal from the switching circuit 43. Then, by selecting the observation wavelength by the switching circuit 43, the bandpass filter turret 51
Behind each filter 51a, 51b, the switching circuit 4
The motor 52 is rotated so that the filter corresponding to the v4 detection wavelength selected in step 3 is interposed on the illumination optical path, and the position of the bandpass filter turret 51 in the rotational direction is changed.

The light transmitted through the rotary filter 50 and separated in time series into light in each wavelength region of R, G, and B is further transmitted through a selected filter of the band-pass filter turret 51 and sent to the light guide. The light enters the incident end of the light guide 14, is guided to the tip 9 through the light guide 14, and is emitted from the tip 9 to illuminate the observation site.

The returned light from the observation site due to the illumination light is imaged by the objective lens system 15 onto the solid-state image carrier 16 and photoelectrically converted. A driving pulse from the driver circuit 31 in the video processor 6 is applied to the solid-state image device 16 via the signal line 126,
Reading and transfer are performed by this drive pulse. The video signal read out from this solid-state image carrier 16 is the signal! 227, the signal is input to a preamplifier 32 provided within the video processor 6 or within the electronic endoscope 1. The video signal amplified by the preamplifier 32 is input to a process circuit 33, subjected to signal processing such as γ correction and white balance, and converted into a digital signal by an A/D converter 34. This digital video signal is selected by a select circuit 35 such as red (R), green (
Three memories (1) 3 corresponding to each color: G) and blue (B)
6a, memory (2) 36b, and memory (3) 36c.

The memory (1) 36a and the memory (2) 36b.

The memory (3) 360 is simultaneously read out and converted into an analog signal by the D/A converter 37.
In addition to being output as G and B color signals, the encoder 38
The encoder 38 outputs the signal as an NTSC composite signal.

The R, G, and B color signals or the NTSC composite signal are input to the color monitor 7, and the observed region is displayed in color by the color monitor 7.

Further, a timing generator 42 is provided in the video processor 6 to generate timing for the entire system, and the timing generator 42 controls the motor drivers 25 . Driver circuit 31. Each circuit, such as the select circuit 35, is synchronized.

In this embodiment, when the filter switching device 55 is controlled by the switching circuit 43 and one of the filters 51a and 51b of the bandpass filter turret 51 is selectively inserted into the illumination optical path, the selected By filter,
The wavelength range of the light transmitted through the rotating filter 50 is further restricted.

When filter 51a is selected, 650
A narrow band centered on nrn is transmitted, a narrow band centered on 569 nm is transmitted at the timing when the G transmission filter is inserted in the illumination optical path, and soonm is transmitted at the timing when the 8 transmission filter is inserted in the illumination optical path. A narrow band at the center is transmitted. These three narrow-band lights are irradiated onto the subject at the R and G timings, respectively, and an image of the subject based on this illumination light is captured by the solid-state image sensor 16.

The images in the two wavelength ranges are then output as RlG images.

By the way, Figure 6 shows the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (S0
Also written as 2. As shown in this figure, 569 nm is a wavelength at which the absorbance of blood hardly changes due to changes in 802. Also, in Figure 7, 8
In order to show the change in the absorbance of blood due to the change in 02, the spectral characteristics of oxy (R) hemoglobin and deoxy (reduced) hemoglobin are shown, but as shown in this figure,
The vicinity of 800 nm is a region where the absorbance of blood hardly changes due to changes in S02, and the region near 569 nm
This is a region where the absorbance is smaller than m. Also, 650n
The vicinity of m is a region where the absorbance of blood changes due to a change in 802. Therefore, the distribution of hemoglobin M can be observed using images in the two wavelength regions of 569 nm and 800 nm, and changes in SO2 can be observed using images in the two wavelength regions of 650 nm and 800 nm.

Also, when the filter 51b is selected, the rotating filter 50
The transmission wavelength range of the eight transmission filters is limited to only visible light, and the subject is irradiated with regular R, G, and B light sequentially. Therefore, a normal color image in the visible band can be seen.

In this embodiment, the inner diameter as shown in FIG. 3 is used. Image signals in three different wavelength ranges necessary to obtain information on the amount of hemoglobin, which is a pigment on the surface of biological mucous membranes, and oxygen saturation, which are output from the J21m device, are further processed by the signal processing circuit shown in Figure 1. is now entered. This signal processing circuit includes clamp circuits 101, 102, and 103 that clamp three types of input image signals, and the signals clamped to a constant value by the clamp circuits 101 to 103 are processed by a γ' correction circuit, respectively. 104, 105, and 106. This γ-correction circuit 104
- 106 performs γ correction (this type of γ correction is applied) to γ-corrected image data for display on a television screen or the like in an endoscope device so that the video signal level and the brightness of the image have a linear relationship. In the embodiment, this is referred to as γ-correction).

The outputs of the γ′ correction circuits 104 to 106 are as follows:
The analog image data is converted into digital image data by A/D converters 107, 108, and 109, and is input to the arithmetic processing section 110. This numbing processing unit 110 generates image data (V) showing brightness and darkness due to distance or shadow from image data in three different wavelength regions.
and image data (Hb) showing the distribution of hemoglobin.
The image data (802>) indicating the degree of hemoglobin M cord saturation is subjected to arithmetic processing.
The three output image data of 0 are converted into analog image data by D/A converters 111, 112, and 113, respectively, and input to the matrix circuit 114. This matrix circuit 114 outputs each signal level of the brightness information V, hemoglobin distribution information 1b, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation information 302 to the television screen.
Vectors representing brightness information and two orthogonal colors are generally distributed on the RY and BY planes. The three outputs of the matrix circuit 114 are processed by the γ correction circuits 115, 116, and 117, respectively.
The signals are gamma corrected for display on a television screen and output as R, G, and B signals via buffer circuits 118, 119, and 120.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

3P! The image signals in different wavelength regions are clamped by clamp circuits 101 to 103, and then sent to a γ correction circuit 104.
~106, γ' correction is performed, and the A/D converter 107~
At step 109, the image data is converted into digital image data and input to the arithmetic processing section 110.

Then, in this arithmetic processing unit 110, brightness information V, hemoglobin distribution information Hb, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation information SO2 are obtained from image data in three different wavelength regions.
Obtained through numbing treatment.

That is, the hemoglobin supply distribution information Hb is obtained by the difference between the images in the two wavelength regions of 569 nm and soonm, and the hemoglobin oxygen saturation information S02 is obtained by the difference between the images in the two wavelength regions of 650 nm and 800 nm. Brightness information (2) is obtained by the sum of images in two wavelength regions of 800 nm. This arithmetic processing unit 1100 three output image data V, 1-1b, 302
is converted into analog image data by D/A converters 111 to 113, and input to the matrix circuit 114,
The signal levels of the brightness information V, hemoglobin distribution information Hb, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation information 302 are distributed into vectors RY and BY indicating brightness information and two orthogonal colors. Then, the output of this matrix circuit 114 is γ-corrected in γ-correction circuits 115 to 117, and buffer 7
The signals are output as R, G, and B signals via circuits 118 to 120.

Here, in the matrix circuit 114, as shown in FIG. 2, hemoglobin distribution information Hb is expressed on the RY axis.
When hemoglobin oxygen saturation information 802 is assigned to the B-Y axis, distances and shadows are visualized as a luminance signal Y, resulting in an image that does not give any discomfort to the naked eye. Depending on the combination of changes in saturation, the hue changes as follows.

If the normal or general hemoglobin amount and hemoglobin oxygen saturation level are set to the origin for each of R-Y and B-Y, that is, achromatic color, the mucous membrane area where the oxygen saturation does not change and there is a lot of hemoglobin will be R or B-Y. The color tone changes in the Mg (magenta) direction, so it is expressed as red, and a region with less hemoglobin is expressed in the blue-green color as the color tone changes in the G and Cy (cyan) directions.

Further, a region with a large amount of hemoglobin and a high hemoglobin oxygen saturation becomes a highly saturated orange, and a region where hemoglobin M is a set value and a high hemoglobin oxygen saturation becomes Ye (yellow).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the distribution of hemoglobin amount and changes in hemoglobin/oxygen saturation, which are extremely important as biological information, can be grasped simultaneously as changes in color and can be distinguished from each other. Since brightness information is also added, the morphology of the lesion can also be diagnosed. Therefore, it becomes possible for doctors to apply their existing medical knowledge, and it becomes easier to visually confirm minute color differences that conventionally occur due to minute changes in hemoglobin m and hemoglobin oxygen saturation, making comprehensive diagnosis possible. This has the effect of improving performance.

In this embodiment, the three types of video signals are converted to R and G as they are without conversion by the matrix circuit.

You can also assign it to someone else.

11 and 12 relate to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a signal processing circuit which is the main part of this embodiment, and FIG. 12 is an assignment of biological information to an image signal. FIG.

In this embodiment, in place of the arithmetic processing unit 110 in the first embodiment, an arithmetic processing circuit 121 that arithmetic processes brightness information (1), hemoglobin distribution information, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation information from image data in three different wavelength regions. And this t
A coordinate transformation circuit 122 for coordinate transformation of the output of the t calculation processing circuit 121 is provided. The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, the amount of hemoglobin calculated in the arithmetic processing circuit 121 is calculated as E, which is the magnitude of the vector in the RY, BY plane shown in FIG. θ which is the angle of
It is extracted as a value represented by .

The calculated θ and E are coordinate-converted from the polar coordinate system to the R-Y, BY-coordinate system of the orthogonal coordinate system in the coordinate conversion circuit 122. In the coordinate conversion circuit 122, the brightness information (2) calculated by the arithmetic processing circuit 121 is assigned to the luminance signal Y, as in the first embodiment. The third output image data of the coordinate conversion circuit 122 is converted into analog image data by the D/A converters 111 to 113, respectively, and converted into R, G, and B signals by the matrix circuit 114, as in the first embodiment. After being distributed at a distribution ratio suitable for
8-120, R,G.

It is output as a B signal.

In this example, changes in the amount of hemoglobin and oxygen saturation of hemoglobin expressed on the television monitor are expressed as changes in saturation for hemoglobin amount and changes in hue for hemoglobin oxygen saturation, as shown in FIG. be done.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to simultaneously observe changes in the amount of hepatic globin and hemoglobin oxygen saturation, and
It becomes possible to visually separate different video signal data. In other words, the three attributes of color are hue and saturation.

By assigning hemoglobin oxygen saturation and hemoglobin amount to hue and saturation of brightness, areas with a large amount of hemoglobin M (that is, a lot of blood) have a high red saturation, and areas with a low amount of hemoglobin have a high red saturation. The degree becomes lower. On the other hand, changes in hemoglobin oxygen saturation were difficult to observe with conventional endoscopes, but according to this example,
Expressing the calculated change in SO2 in a wide range of hues has the effect of improving diagnostic performance.

Note that by limiting the hue change region to a certain range rather than 360 degrees, it becomes easier to separate the maximum and minimum hemoglobin oxygen saturation levels. Furthermore, the assignment of biometric information to each of hue, saturation, and brightness is not limited to the example of this embodiment.
For example, the amount of hemoglobin may be assigned to the brightness.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and for example, it is possible to display not only hemoglobin amount and hemoglobin oxygen saturation as biological information, but also changes in the spectral characteristics of a living body in combination with a dye such as methylene blue and indocyanine green. It's good if you do.

Furthermore, the wavelength range for obtaining information on the hemoglobin amount and hemoglobin oxygen saturation level is not limited to those shown in the embodiments, and can be selected from various wavelength ranges.

Also, an endoscope! Is! The area to be detected may be observed using transmitted illumination. In this case, illumination can be done from outside the living body,
Light may be guided into the living body and only tissues may be illuminated.

Furthermore, the present invention is applicable not only to electronic endoscopes having a solid-state image sensor at the distal end of the insertion section, but also to or replacing the eyepiece of an endoscope capable of visual observation such as a fiberscope. Therefore, an external device having a solid-state imaging device such as a COD can also be applied to an endoscope device that is used by connecting a television camera.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of pieces of information related to the spectral characteristics of a subject are assigned to a plurality of image signals that can be visually separated from each other and can be displayed simultaneously. This has the effect of making it possible to observe a plurality of pieces of information about the subject at the same time, further improving the overall diagnostic ability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 10 relate to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a signal processing circuit which is the main part of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an assignment of biological information to image signals. 3 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of the endoscope device, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the bandpass filter turret, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing the entire endoscope device. Figures 6 and 7 are explanatory diagrams showing changes in blood absorbance due to changes in hemoglobin oxygen saturation, Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram without showing the transmission wavelength range of each filter of the rotary filter, and Figures 9 and 7 are Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the transmission wavelength range of each filter of the bandpass filter turret, Figures 11 and 12 relate to the second embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 11 is the main part of the real IM@. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the signal processing circuit, and is an explanatory diagram showing assignment of biological information to image signals. 1...Electronic endoscopy &lt 50...Rotating filter 51...Band pass filter turret 110.
...Arithmetic processing unit 114...Matrix circuit W & 6 Figure 7e! 1 Sanyasu- (nm) 8th! ! l wave f + nm) Figure 9 5] F π tsu a f 0 wave + (nm) 1st factor wavelength (nml

Claims (1)

[Claims] An endoscope apparatus capable of obtaining image information of a subject, comprising means for obtaining a plurality of pieces of information related to spectral characteristics of the subject from the image information of the subject, and a plurality of pieces of information obtained by the means for obtaining the information. It is characterized by comprising means for allocating a plurality of pieces of information into a plurality of image signals that can be visually separated from each other and can be displayed simultaneously, and a display means for displaying the plurality of image signals allocated by the allocating means. Endoscope equipment.