JPH09116872A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the image recorder in which mis-shot is not caused even when video recording is made after a desired image appears in the case of video recording while observing an image during inspection. SOLUTION: The image recorder 4 receives a moving image denoting a series of motion of a reagent and has a write memory 45 as a storage means storing the image over a prescribed time, and a point of time tracing back a point of time when video recording is commanded by a specific time is used for a video recording start point of time. A point of time in a prescribed time after from the video recording start point of time is used for a video recording end point of time and a moving image from the video recording start point of time till the video recording end point of time is recorded on a magnetic disk 46.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus suitable for, for example, a digital filing system for digitally recording medical images, and is generated by diagnosis and examination using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an endoscope apparatus, etc. The present invention relates to an image recording device used when recording a medical image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image recording apparatus for recording a medical image generated by a diagnosis or inspection using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an endoscope apparatus, etc., on a recording medium such as an image memory or a magnetic disk, for example, Various things are already known.

For example, (1) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-70385 discloses the following endoscope apparatus. This device has means for compensating for the delay in the timing of the shooting operation when shooting a desired still image of an object having a specific motion.

(2) According to the so-called freeze function incorporated in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, moving image data for a certain period of time until the operator performs the freeze operation can be left in the memory. . This enables repeated observation or observation of a desired frame.

(3) According to a recording device such as a video tape recorder (VTR) which is well known in the related art,
The moving image data of the time from the start of the recording operation to the stop can be recorded in analog or digital.

Further, (4) the so-called image filing system can store (mark) an image of interest. According to this, once marking is performed, a desired image can be immediately called from the next observation.

However, the method of (1) is useful in an inspection in which a still image of only one frame is observed, but is an effective means in an inspection in which it is necessary to observe the movement of a region of interest in a plurality of frames. I can't say that there is.

Further, the item (2) has a problem that the memory up to where the freeze operation is performed is stored, and the frame after the freeze operation is not stored.
Further, in the case of (3), if all the images under inspection are continuously recorded, there is no fear of missing the desired image, but when observing after the inspection, it takes time to search for the desired image. There is a problem of this. Generally, the images actually required for observation are only images for a limited time of all images.

Further, in the case of (4), the problem of (3) is avoided by reviewing and marking the image, but as in (3), all the images under inspection including unnecessary images are recorded. Doing so is a waste of resources and is not preferable.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to address the above-mentioned circumstances, and when recording an image while observing an image during inspection, the recording operation is performed after the desired image appears. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording device that does not miss a shot.

[0011]

An image recording apparatus according to the present invention has an input terminal for inputting a moving image showing a series of movements of a subject, and the moving image input from the input terminal is input at a fixed time. A storage means that stores the entire recording time, and a recording start time point that is a specific time period that does not exceed the predetermined time from the recording instruction time point, and a recording end time point that is a predetermined time after the recording start time point and the recording start time point. And a recording unit for reading and recording the moving image up to the recording end time from the storage unit.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing the outer appearance of an embodiment of the image recording apparatus of the present invention. As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the inspection image display CRT 1, the inspection device 2,
It is composed of an image data transfer connection cable 3, an image recording device 4, a mouse 5, and a recorded image display CRT 6.
The inspection device 2 is an ultrasonic diagnostic device, but it may be another diagnostic device, an inspection device, such as an endoscope device.

The inspection device 2 obtains a moving image inspection image of a subject (for example, stomach, heart, etc.). The obtained inspection image is supplied to the inspection image displaying CRT 1 and the image recording device 4. The inspection image display CRT 1 is a monitor that displays the supplied inspection image as a moving image. The image recording device 4 inputs the image data of the inspection image via the image data transfer cable 3, and based on a recording instruction from the operator by the mouse 5, the moving image or a plurality of still images (multi-image image) is input. Is called), index information, and the like, and is recorded (that is, recorded) on a recording medium. The recorded image display CRT 6 is provided in the image recording device 4
It is a monitor that displays the inspection image recorded by the product for reference.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of the image recording apparatus 4. The image recording device 4 includes an A / D conversion unit 42, a collection memory 43, a compression unit 44, a writing memory 45,
Magnetic disk 46, read memory 47, decompression unit 4
8, a display memory 49, and a D / A conversion unit 50. Further, it has a control device 41 for controlling the operation of these devices based on setting data (described later) such as recording time, retroactive time, compression rate, etc. inputted by the operator or recording instruction by the mouse 5. Regarding the recording instruction, not only the mouse 5 but also a keyboard (not shown) included in the inspection device 2 is used to issue a recording instruction, and the recording instruction signal is transmitted to the control device 41 through the cable 32. Is also good.

The A / D converter 42 converts the analog image data output from the inspection device 2 via the image data transfer cable 3 into digital image data, and stores it in the collection memory 43 in frame units (or Output may be performed in field units, here in frame units). When the inspection device 2 is configured to output digital image data, the A / D conversion unit 42 is unnecessary, and the image data from the inspection device 2 is not shown as indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. , Image data transfer cable 31
The data is directly output to the collection memory 43 via.

The collection memory 43 is provided as a buffer memory for temporarily storing the image data for one frame output from the A / D converter 42. Further, the collection memory 43 outputs the image data to the compression unit 44 according to the predetermined timing given from the control device 41.
The compression unit 44 compresses the image data output from the collecting memory 43 and outputs the compressed image data to the writing memory 45. When the inspection device 2 is configured to output compressed image data, in addition to the A / D conversion unit 42,
The compression unit 44 is also unnecessary.

The writing memory 45 is a so-called FIFO (firsts) as a storage means for storing the image data output from the compression section 44 in time series over a fixed time.
The image data output from the compression unit 44 is sequentially input and accumulated, and new image data is input beyond the capacity of the memory 45. At the time point, the oldest image data is discarded and new image data is stored.

By the way, the retroactive time preliminarily input by the operator as the setting data for the control device 41 can be smaller than the "constant time" here.
One image data is stored and held in the memory 45 for at least a retroactive time from the time when it is input to the memory 45.

Further, in the memory 45, in response to an instruction from the control device 41 relating to a recording operation which will be described later, a time point traced back from the time point when the recording is instructed is the recording start time point, and from the start time point. The image data for the recording time input by the operator as setting data for the control device 41 is output to a magnetic disk drive device (not shown).

The recording time may be set to a value smaller than the retroactive time. For example, such a setting is effective when the movement of the subject is instantaneously ended and the image at the time when the recording is instructed is certainly unnecessary.

The magnetic disk drive device records (that is, records) all the sent image data on the magnetic disk 46 which is a recording medium. In the image recording device 4 of this embodiment configured as described above, the following recording operation is performed. That is, when the operator observing the inspection image (moving image) on the CRT 1 confirms the start of display of a desired moving image showing a series of movements of the subject with the mouse 5, recording is started for a predetermined time from that point. An image is recorded on the magnetic disk 46 for a preset recording time from the time when the process goes back to the start time. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining such a recording operation. As shown in the figure, from the time when the recording is instructed to a predetermined time (here, Δt = 2 seconds), that is, from the frame 201 at the recording start time to the frame 20n after the recording time (here T = 5 seconds). Recording is completed by recording all the frames in the magnetic disk 46.

According to the present embodiment as described above, even if the timing for the operator to instruct recording with the mouse 5 is slightly delayed, the recording is performed from the frame at the time point traced back by a predetermined time, so that it is possible to miss the recording. Moreover, since the recorded image is a moving image including frames before and after the desired image, it is particularly useful for observing the movement of the region of interest of the subject.

Further, as compared with the case where the images are continuously recorded during the collection of the inspection images, only the image for the predetermined time (retro time) from the time point at which the recording is instructed is additionally recorded, so that the recording capacity is small. The system resources for recording can be used efficiently.

The read memory 47 is the magnetic disk 4
It is provided as a buffer memory for temporarily storing the image data read from the image data No. 6, and outputs the image data to the decompression unit 48 at a predetermined timing given from the control device 41. The decompression unit 48 uses the read memory 4
The image data output from 7 is expanded and displayed in the display memory 4
Output to 9.

The display memory 49 temporarily stores the image data output from the decompression unit 48 and stores it in the D / A conversion unit 50.
Output to The D / A converter 59 D / A converts the image data output from the display memory 49 and outputs the D / A converted image data to the recorded image display CRT 6. Thus, the operator can refer to the contents (recording contents) recorded on the magnetic disk 46 by the recorded image display CRT 6.

Here, the case of performing blood flow diagnosis of the circulatory system by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus will be described. In the diagnosis,
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that uses the color Doppler method can display a movie (color mode, blood flow imaging) of symptoms such as blood regurgitation in the valves that separate the ventricles in the heart. There is a desire to observe closely in later diagnosis.

However, the backflow of blood appears from time to time, is not always seen, and is instantaneously terminated, so that it is difficult to record the image for later diagnosis. Therefore, the image recording device 4 of this embodiment is used.

The operator observes the movement of the heart by the color mode image obtained by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 2 (here, a color Doppler ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus) and displayed on the monitor 1. Further, the operator immediately gives an instruction to record by using the mouse 5 when the occurrence of backflow of blood (displayed in green, for example) is observed on the screen during observation.

As described above, the image recording device 4 sets the recording start time to a time point that is a specific time backward from the time point when the recording is instructed, and sets the recording end time to a predetermined time after that point to the recording end time from the recording start time. Up to, the moving image up to the point in time when the recording is instructed can be recorded. Therefore, particularly here, the period of at least one heartbeat including the time point at which the recording is instructed is automatically recognized, and the moving image of this period is recorded.

Then, in the subsequent diagnosis, the symptom can be closely observed by repeatedly reproducing (loop reproduction) the moving image of at least one heartbeat showing the blood regurgitation symptom, thus improving the diagnostic ability. .

Further, not only the backflow of blood but also arrhythmia, for example, is a symptom which is unknown when it appears, and image recording is difficult. Therefore, in the diagnosis of arrhythmia, the image may be recorded in the same manner as above.

By the way, when the recorded image is observed again after the inspection, it takes time and labor to find a desired image. In particular, this is remarkable in the case of the present embodiment in which the inspection image is recorded as a moving image instead of a still image.

Therefore, the index information for searching may be added to a predetermined image of the recorded images and recorded (marked). For example, in the present embodiment, the frame 205 shown in FIG. 3 is used as a marking image, and index information for directly referring to the image of the frame is recorded together with the image data of the recorded image when the image is searched.

Such marking (addition of index information)
May be automatically performed at the time of image recording, or may be performed again at the time of observation. Further, which image (frame) of the recorded image is used as the search image is arbitrary.

Further, after the recording of all the images is completed, a plurality of marking images are cut out from the moving image and subjected to reduction processing to create a so-called multi-image for displaying the plurality of images on one screen. It may be displayed at the time of search. According to this, the index images (marking images) for search can be listed, and the image search can be performed more efficiently. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented with various modifications.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a recording operation is performed while observing an image during inspection, an image recording that is not missed even if the recording operation is performed after the desired image appears. A device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of an image recording apparatus according to the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a recording operation according to the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... CRT for inspection image display, 2 ... Inspection device, 3 ... Cable for image data transfer, 4 ... Image recording device, 5 ... Mouse, 6 ... CRT for recording image display.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit having an input terminal for inputting a moving image showing a series of movements of a subject, and storing the moving image input from the input terminal for a predetermined time, and recording is instructed. The recording start time is a time point that is a specific time that does not exceed the certain time from the recording time point, and the recording end time point is a predetermined time period after the recording start time point. An image recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit for reading and recording. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit adds index information for image search to a predetermined image and records the image. 3. The recording means reduces a predetermined image,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the obtained reduced image is recorded as one image.