JPH066104B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application] The present invention obtains functional information such as submucosal oxygen saturation and hemoglobin amount as an image from the difference in absorbance of a plurality of monochromatic light images. The present invention relates to an endoscope device, and more particularly to improvement of a technique for improving the resolution of a functional information image.

(Prior Art) In a conventional endoscope apparatus of this type, for example, one interference filter is selected one by one by a solenoid drive mechanism, and the interference filters are inserted into the optical path of the light emitted from the light source and inserted into the body cavity through each inserted interference filter. The inside of the body cavity is imaged under each irradiation to guide the irradiation light to create a plurality of monochromatic light images, the difference in the absorbance of the plurality of monochromatic light images is calculated, and the mucosa in the body cavity is calculated from the obtained difference in the absorbance. I got the following function information as an image.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the case of the method of inserting the interference filters one by one on the path of the light emitted from the light source as in the conventional case,
There is a limit in reducing the time difference between the monochromatic light images, and thus it has been impossible to further improve the resolution of the functional information image obtained by calculation in the related art.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope apparatus capable of reducing a time difference between monochromatic light images as much as possible.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the first invention of the present application obtains a difference in absorbance between a plurality of monochromatic light images by calculation, and based on the calculation result, organ mucosa. An endoscopic device for obtaining the following functional information as an image has a transparent filter, an ND filter, and an interference filter corresponding to the above calculation, and a filter disc in which these filters are arranged adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction. And a disk drive control means for rotating and driving the filter disk so as to insert each of the filters in time series in the optical path of the light emitted from the light source. Further, a second invention is an endoscope apparatus in which the difference in absorbance between a plurality of monochromatic light images is calculated and the oxygen saturation under the mucous membrane of the organ and the amount of hemoglobin are obtained as an image based on the calculation result. At least 2 for determining oxygen saturation
One interference filter and at least two interference filters for determining the hemoglobin amount, the interference filters for determining the oxygen saturation are adjacent to each other, and the interference fill for determining the hemoglobin amount is adjacent to each other. And a disk drive control means for rotating and driving the filter disk so that the interference filters are temporally and continuously inserted into the optical path of the light emitted from the light source. .

(Operation) In the present invention configured as described above, since the plain filter, the ND filter, and the interference filter are arranged along the circumference on one filter disc, the light amount of the light source is increased when the functional information image is captured. Even in such a case, a normal light image can be obtained by using the ND filter. Further, since the interference filter for determining the oxygen saturation and the interference filter for determining the hemoglobin amount are adjacent to each other on the filter disk, the required functional information image data can be obtained in a short time. Therefore, the influence of the movement of the mucous membrane can be suppressed.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The endoscope apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a CPU 1 as a control center of the entire system, and by this CPU 1, a light source controller 2 and a camera controller unit (hereinafter C
CU) 3, A / D converter 4, switching device 5, normal optical frame memory 6, λ ₁ frame memory 7, λ ₂ frame memory 8, λ ₃ frame memory 9, λ ₄ frame memory 10, arithmetic circuit 11, The functional image frame memory 12, display memory 13, D / A converter 14 and the like are controlled by a microprocessor.

Then, when the guiding center portion of the endoscope 15 is introduced into the body cavity of the subject and the inside of the body cavity is imaged, the light source controller 2 causes the xenon (Xe) lamp 16 and the drive motor 1 to operate.
7 is driven and controlled.

Further, a filter disc 18 is detachably attached to the rotary shaft of the drive motor 17, and the filter disc 18 is used for obtaining a functional information image corresponding to the amount of hemoglobin.
As shown in the figure, each interference filter indicated by λ ₁ and λ ₂ is arranged adjacent to each other along the circumferential direction, and a filter disc is formed by arranging a plain filter indicated by OPEN and a light amount attenuation filter indicated by ND. . Here, the ND filter (light amount attenuation filter) is used to obtain a normal light image when the light amount of the light source is increased. That is, at the time of functional image diagnosis, it is necessary to increase the light amount of the light source in consideration of the attenuation of the interference filter, and when trying to observe a normal image in this state, halation occurs in the observed image due to the excessive light amount. Therefore, halation can be prevented by using an ND filter.

Further, when obtaining functional information images corresponding to the amount of hemoglobin and the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, as shown in FIG. ₃ , the interference filters indicated by λ ₃ , λ ₄ , λ ₁ , and λ ₂ are arranged along the circumferential direction. Are arranged adjacent to each other, and a transparent filter indicated by OPEN and a light amount attenuation filter indicated by ND are arranged.

However, in the interference filter, λ ₁ has 569 nm, λ ₂ has 650 nm, λ ₃ has 577 nm, and λ ₄ 586 nm has central transmission wavelengths.

That is, the filter disk having the filter arrangement as shown in FIG. 2 is configured to be repeatedly inserted in the optical path of the emitted light of the Xe lamp 16 in the order of OPEN → ND → λ ₁ → λ ₂ .

Further, the filter disk having the filter arrangement as shown in FIG. 3 is repeatedly inserted in the optical path of the emitted light of the Xe lamp 16 in the order of OPEN → ND → λ ₃ → λ ₄ → λ ₁ → λ _2. It is said that.

In FIG. 1, 19 is a condenser lens, 20 is a reflector, and 2 is a reflector.
Reference numeral 1 is a CRT display.

With such a filter array configuration as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the interference filters λ _{1 to} λ ₄ corresponding to the calculation of the difference in absorbance are adjacent to each other. , It is possible to change from a central transmission wavelength having a large absorbance to a central transmission wavelength having a low absorbance. This relationship is shown in the central transmission wavelength-absorbance characteristics as shown in FIG. 4, and from the relationship of the characteristics shown in FIG. 4, the oxygen saturation:
ISO ₂ and hemoglobin amount: IHb is obtained. In addition,
In FIG. 4, the absorbance difference A is the central transmission wavelength: λ ₁ (569
nm) and the central transmission wavelength: λ ₄ with respect to the line segment connecting the respective absorbance points, the absorbance height at the central transmission wavelength: λ ₃ (577 nm) absorbance point is shown as a difference. The absorbance difference B is determined by the central transmission wavelength: λ ₁ (569 nm) and the central transmission wavelength: λ ₄ (5
(86 nm) and the difference in each absorbance. The absorbance difference indicates the difference in absorbance between the central transmission wavelength: λ ₁ (569 nm) and the central transmission wavelength: λ ₂ (650 nm).

That is, the oxygen saturation: ISO ₂ is ISO ₂ = 0.673 · A / B.

Further, the amount of hemoglobin: IHb is obtained by IHb = 200 · C.

In the configuration as described above, O in the filter disc 18
PEN is usually used during observation. ND is used to obtain a normal light image at the time of capturing a functional image.

Then, at the time of capturing the functional information, the interference filters corresponding to the calculation for obtaining the difference in the absorbance are adjacent to each other and are continuously XE
When the light emitted from the lamp 16 can be inserted into the optical path, it is possible to minimize the displacement of the object image on the image due to the movement of the mucous membrane of the organ.

Further, if the image obtained under illumination with the central transmission wavelength having a large absorbance is temporally close to the image obtained under ND illumination, the subject on the image due to the movement between the functional information image obtained by calculation and the ND image The position shift of the image can be reduced. This is because the image of the wavelength having a large absorbance contains a lot of information about the structure of the subject.

Next, the operation will be described. During normal observation, the OPEN portion of the filter disc 18 is selected by the drive control of the motor 17 by the light source controller 2 controlled by the CPU 1 and is arranged on the optical path of the Xe lamp 16. The electrical signal obtained by imaging the inside of the body cavity with the endoscope 15 is CC
It is converted into analog image data by U3, digitized by the A / D converter 4, and stored in the normal optical frame memory 6 through the switch 5. Image data is sent from the normal optical frame memory 6 to the display memory 13 under the read control P of the CPU 1, and the image data once stored therein is converted into analog image data by the D / A converter 14 and then displayed on the display 21. Sent out. Therefore, the normal shooting content is displayed as an image on the display 21.

It is assumed that it is necessary to measure the amount of hemoglobin during the normal observation. In this case, for example, the filter disc shown in FIG. 2 is used as the filter disc 18. When an image collection button (not shown) provided on the grip portion of the endoscope 15 is pressed in this state, the filter disk 18 is rotated by the drive control of the motor 17 by the light source controller 2 under the control of the CPU 1. Then, the λ ₁ portion and the λ ₂ portion are sequentially and repeatedly selected and inserted into the optical path of the emitted light of the Xe lamp 16. Since in synchronization with this switching unit 5 under control of the CPU1 sequentially selecting lambda ₁ frame memories 7 and lambda ₂ frame memory 8, lambda _1, the filtered image lambda ₂ is lambda ₁ frame memories 7 and lambda ₂ frame memory 8 respectively.

At this time, under the control of the CPU 1, the arithmetic circuit 11 executes the arithmetic operation for obtaining the hemoglobin amount for each pixel of each filter image stored in the λ ₁ frame memory 7 and the λ ₂ frame memory 8, and the arithmetic result is obtained. After being temporarily stored as functional information image data in the functional image frame memory 12, it is sent to the display memory 13. The function information image data once stored in the display memory 13 is converted into analog function information image data by the D / A converter 14 and sent to the display 21. Therefore, the function information image showing the amount of hemoglobin is displayed on the display 21.

In this way, when displaying the functional information image showing the hemoglobin amount on the display 21, the interference filter: λ ₁
And the interference filter: λ ₂ are arranged adjacent to each other,
It was hardly affected by the movement of the mucous membrane of the organ, and therefore the resolution of the functional information image was improved compared to the conventional one.

Further, when it becomes necessary to measure the amount of hemoglobin and the oxygen saturation of hemoglobin, the filter disc 18 shown in FIG. 3 is used as the filter disc 18. When an image collection button (not shown) provided on the grip portion of the endoscope 15 is pressed in this state, the filter disk 18 is rotated by the drive control of the motor 17 by the light source controller 2 under the control of the CPU 1. , Sequentially, λ ₃ part, λ ₄ part, λ ₁
The portion and the λ ₂ portion are repeatedly selected and inserted into the optical path of the emitted light of the Xe lamp 16. CPU1 in synchronization with this
Since the switch 5 sequentially selects the λ ₃ frame memory 9, the λ ₄ frame 10, the λ ₁ frame memory 7, and the λ ₂ frame memory 8 under the control of, the filter images of λ ₃ , λ ₄ , λ ₁ , and λ ₂ are selected. Are stored in the λ ₃ frame memory 9, the λ ₄ frame memory 10, the λ ₁ frame memory 7, and the λ ₂ frame memory 8, respectively.

Therefore, in the arithmetic circuit 11, the λ ₃ frame memory 9
And the calculation of the oxygen saturation for each pixel of each filter image stored in the λ ₄ frame memory 10 is performed, and subsequently, the calculation of the oxygen saturation is performed for each pixel of the filter images stored in the λ ₁ frame memory 7 and the λ ₂ frame memory 8. A calculation for obtaining the amount of hemoglobin is executed for each pixel, and the calculation result is sent to the display memory 13 via the functional image frame memory 12, so that a functional information image showing the oxygen saturation and the amount of hemoglobin is displayed on the display 21. Will be done. Also in this case, the resolution of the functional information image is improved as compared with the conventional case.

Although the respective embodiments for measuring the functional information of the amount of hemoglobin and the oxygen saturation have been described above, the present invention can be applied to the case of measuring other various functional information. For example, it can be applied to a case where ICG (indocyanine green) is intravenously injected into a subject to obtain an image of functional information under the mucous membrane of an organ under an angiographic state.

In the case of the measurement by this angiography, as shown in FIG. 5, an interference filter having a central transmission wavelength of 805 nm and an interference filter having a central transmission wavelength of 600 nm are arranged adjacent to each other along the circumferential direction, and indicated by OPEN. Plain filter, N
A filter disc formed by arranging a light amount attenuation filter indicated by D is used. In addition, 805nm in this filter disk
The center transmission wavelength-absorbance characteristic showing the relationship between the interference filter of No. 1 and the interference filter of 600 nm is as shown in FIG.

When the interference filter is arranged as shown in FIG. 5, since the filter disc is repeatedly inserted in the optical path of the light emitted from the light source in the order of OPEN → ND → 805 nm → 600 nm, the center transmission wavelength with a large absorbance is low. It can be changed to the central transmission wavelength. And the whole system configuration is the first
If the same configuration is used in the figure, a functional information image under angiography can be obtained with high resolution.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the first invention of the present application. Since the plain filter, the ND filter, and the interference filter are arranged adjacent to each other on the filter disk along the circumferential direction, the normal light image can be obtained by using the ND filter even when the light amount of the light source is increased at the time of capturing the functional image. You will be able to observe. Further, in the second invention of the present application, since the interference filter for obtaining the oxygen saturation and the interference filter for obtaining the hemoglobin amount are arranged adjacent to each other, the interference filters can be switched instantaneously, and the movement of the organ mucosa can be achieved. It is possible to obtain the effect that the functional information image can be created with almost no influence of.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an endoscope apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and FIGS.
Detailed explanation drawing of the filter disk in the embodiment configuration of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a characteristic curve diagram showing a central transmission wavelength-absorbance characteristic in the interference filter in the embodiment configuration of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a filter disc in another embodiment to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a characteristic curve diagram showing the central transmission wavelength-absorbance characteristic in the interference filter of another embodiment of FIG. 1 ... CPU, 2 ... Light source controller 3 ... CCU, 4 ... A / D converter 5 ... Switching device, 6 ... Normal optical frame memory 7 ... λ ₁ frame memory 8 ... λ ₂ frame memory 9 ... λ ₃ frame memory 10 ... λ ₄ frame memory, 11 ... Arithmetic circuit 12 ... Functional image frame memory 13 ... Display memory, 14 ... D / A converter 15 ... Endoscope scope, 16 ... Xe lamp 17 ... Drive motor, 18 ... Filter disc

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-234941 (JP, A) JP-A-63-40528 (JP, A) JP-A-1-308531 (JP, A) JP-A-1-308528 (JP , A) JP-A 1-297042 (JP, A) JP-A 1-217415 (JP, A) JP-A 1-136630 (JP, A) JP-A 1-74522 (JP, A) JP-A 1-43228 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An endoscope apparatus for obtaining a difference in absorbance between a plurality of monochromatic light images by calculation and obtaining functional information of submucosa of an organ as an image based on the calculation result. A filter disc that has at least corresponding interference filters, and each of these filters is adjacently arranged along the circumferential direction; and the filter disc is rotationally driven so that each of the filters is consecutively arranged in time series. An endoscopic device comprising: a disc drive control unit that is inserted into an optical path of emitted light. 2. The difference in absorbance between a plurality of monochromatic light images is calculated and the oxygen saturation under the mucous membrane of an organ is calculated based on the calculation result.
And an endoscopic device for obtaining the amount of hemoglobin as an image, comprising at least two interference filters for obtaining the oxygen saturation and at least two interference filters for obtaining the amount of hemoglobin, and obtaining the oxygen saturation An interference filter for adjoining, and a filter disc formed by adjoining an interference filter for determining the hemoglobin amount, and the interference discs are rotatably driven so that each interference filter is chronologically continuous. An endoscopic device comprising: a disc drive control unit that is inserted into an optical path of light emitted from a light source.