JPS5970381A - Endoscope video system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reproduce the process of a disease on a monitor, by displaying continuously each frame signal on the CRT monitor in the order of photographing time. CONSTITUTION:An output signal of a television camera 12 is stored in picture memory 38 or a small capacity memory 20. When one diagnosis is finished, the data is transferred to a large capacity memory 18. This is repeated at each diagnosis, and all picture signals in a coelom observed by an endoscope are stored in the large capacity memory 18. In case of the comparative diagnosis, all the picture information of one diseased part of one patient is read out from the large capacity memory 18 and stored in the picture memory 38 in the order of photographing time. Each frame signal is read out from the picture memory 38 in the other of photographing time and displayed continuously on a CRT monitor 22.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] This invention relates to an endoscopic imaging system.

In recent years, television cameras have been connected to the eyepiece of endoscopes,
An endoscopic imaging system that displays images inside a body cavity on a monitor has been developed. According to this, the image of the eyepiece of the endoscope is displayed in an enlarged form on the monitor, which makes it easier to see and allows diagnosis by a large number of doctors.

However, conventional systems only display the current image viewed through the endoscope or the recorded past images, making it impossible to make a comprehensive diagnosis based on various information. There wasn't.

This invention was made to deal with the above-mentioned circumstances,
The purpose is to provide an endoscopic imaging system that can perform comprehensive diagnosis by comparing past and current medical conditions.

An embodiment of the endoscopic imaging system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing its appearance. A television camera 12 is connected to the eyepiece of the endoscope 10, and its output image signal is sent to the control unit 14.
is supplied to A light source unit 16 is also connected to the endoscope 10. Large capacity memory 18, small capacity memory 20, ORT
A monitor 22, a keyboard 24, and a light pen 26 are connected to the control unit 14.

The configuration of this embodiment will be explained in detail with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. The television camera 12 uses a solid-state image sensor such as an OOD, and although the optical system is not shown, it is intended to capture color images. Furthermore, the television camera 12 has a shutter mechanism and is configured to be capable of capturing still images.The output signal of the C0D 32 scanned by the driver 3o is supplied to the process up 34. 00 D,,92
may be provided in the objective section of the endoscope 1o. CCD32 is 2
Consisting of pixels arranged in a dimensional array, pixel information for each element is signal-processed in the process up 34, and one frame of lI!
11 (supplied as a liI signal to the control unit 14. The control unit 14 is composed of a CPU, ?6 and an image memory 38. The two-way image memory 38 is a dynamic RAM.
It is composed of a semiconductor memory such as, and has a capacity to store several frames of image signals. A large capacity memory J8, a small capacity memory 2o, an ORT monitor 22, and a keyboard 24 are connected to the 0PU 36 via a system bus 4o. A magnetic disk memory is used as the large capacity memory 18. The small capacity memory 2011'l consists of a floppy disk memory with a capacity of several ten frames. A keyboard 24 is provided for imprinting data and instructing various operations of the system.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained. An endoscope IO is inserted into the body cavity and the affected area is examined. When the desired image is obtained,
A single still image is taken by operating the release of the television camera 12 or by pressing the keyboard 24. At this time, data such as the patient's name, affected area name, photographing date, and search data are also taken. The output signals of the television camera 12 are stored in the image memory 38 and the small capacity memory 20. - When the consultation is completed, these data are transferred to the large capacity memory 18. This is done every time, and the large-capacity memory 18j stores all image signals of the body cavity observed by the endoscope.For comparative diagnosis, the large-capacity memory 18j2 stores All image information regarding the same affected area of the same patient is read out from the image memory 38 and stored in the image memory 38 in the order of the shooting time.The signals of each frame are read out from the image memory 38 in the order of the shooting time and are displayed continuously on the CRT monitor 22. The display time of each frame is several seconds, and each frame image from the past to the present is displayed as a slow motion video.

As a result, dynamic changes in the disease can be grasped instantaneously, the progress of the disease can be diagnosed, and the speed at which the disease progresses can be predicted. Furthermore, since it is a slow motion video, it is convenient to search for a desired frame image.

Here, if all frames are not shot at the same angle and magnification, the desired slow motion video C2 will not be obtained. The image orientations and magnifications of all frames are aligned by image processing on the image memory 38. The orientation of the image is changed by rotating the coordinate axes of the image with respect to the pixel information on the 1-image memory 38. The magnification of the image can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the number of pixels (reduced or enlarged, respectively. 9F. Place the image on the CRT monitor 22 (:) and use the light pen 26 to point out two points in the area where the size of the area other than the affected area should remain the same. The image is processed so that the reference vector connecting the two is at the same position in all frames.

As explained above, according to the present invention, an endoscopic imaging system is provided in which the progression of a disease is reproduced on a monitor, so that changes in symptoms can be instantly detected and comprehensive diagnosis can be made. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an endoscopic imaging system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram thereof.
4 10... Endoscope, 12... Television camera, 1
4... Control unit, 18... Large capacity memo ν, 22
...ORT momota, 24...keyboard, 26...
・Light pen. Applicant's agent: Patent attorney Takehiko E Takehiko Continued from page 10 Inventor: Hiroyuki Furiyo, 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Lymphus Optical Industry Co., Ltd.0 Inventor: Hiroharu Taniyo, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 2-43-2 Hatagaya 2-43-2 Lymphus Optical Co., Ltd. Author: Takeaki Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Lymphus Optical Co., Ltd. 0 Inventor: Marudo Ogawa Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 2-43-2 Hatagaya, 2-43-2, Lymphus Optical Co., Ltd. Inventor: Taketo Kawasaki, 2-43-2, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, 452-2, Lymphus Optical Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] means for capturing an optical image obtained by an endoscope, means for storing image signals output from the image capturing means, and reading out image signals of a plurality of frames regarding the same subject from the storage means in order of capturing time. C. An endoscopic imaging system comprising means for continuously displaying two images at the same magnification on the same screen.