TWI626921B - Arthroscopic system with disposable arthroscope and a method for image transmitting in an arthroscopic system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides an arthroscopy system including an arthroscope having a distal direction and a proximal direction, and a light source connected to the distal end of the arthroscope for providing illumination, a lens set, and a distal end of the arthroscope In the end direction, the light is collected, and an image sensing component is disposed beside the lens group for converting the collected illumination into digital original data and a transmitter, and is disposed between the distal direction and the proximal direction. The digital data is transmitted to the near-end direction, and the processing system is connected to the near-end direction for receiving the digital original data and converted into a digital image data; and an image playback device for playing the digital image data. The present application further provides a method of transmitting images in an arthroscopy system.

Description

Arthroscopic system with disposable arthroscope and method for transmitting image in arthroscopy system

The present application relates to an arthroscopic system, and more particularly to a system for achieving disposable arthroscopy using image transfer techniques.

Arthroscopic surgery is a minimally invasive procedure used to diagnose and treat a variety of joint problems and diseases such as meniscal tears, cartilage damage, and more. Arthroscopic surgery eliminates the need for physicians to create large wounds on the skin and soft tissues of patients, as well as joints.

A common arthroscopy system includes a camera module that includes an image sensing component, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a transmitter. In order to allow the physician to see the joint condition to operate the operation, the light source on the arthroscope generates light and illuminates the target object, and the light reflected by the target object is received by the image sensing element and converted into digital original data. The digital data is then converted to digital image data in RGB/YUV format by the digital signal processor using the SDI (serial digital interface) standard. The transmitter in the camera module transmits the digital image data to the image receiving device and plays on the image playing device, so that the doctor can perform surgery for the patient.

In arthroscopic surgery, the physician places the arthroscope into the patient's joint for testing. Current arthroscopy is usually a reusable device, so the sterilization step must be performed before each use to avoid infection of the patient due to contamination of the arthroscope. However, if the arthroscope is not effectively sterilized or sterilized completely, the risk of infection still exists. Furthermore, even if there is no problem with the sterilization step, the arthroscope still has a chance to be contaminated during the period of sterilization to the use of the arthroscope.

Disposing the arthroscope after use, using the arthroscope only once, is a way to avoid infection in patients, but this will greatly increase the cost of arthroscopic surgery because of the digital signal processor in the arthroscope ( The digital signal processor, DSP) is so expensive that the cost of discarding the arthroscope is too high to be achieved. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a cost-effective and economical method to abandon arthroscopy to reduce the risk of infection of patients due to arthroscopic surgery.

The present application provides an arthroscopy system comprising an arthroscope having a distal direction and a proximal direction; a light source connected to the distal end of the arthroscope for providing a light; a mirror set connected to the arthroscope The distal direction is used to collect illumination; an image sensing component is disposed beside the mirror group, and the collected illumination is converted into digital original data by the image sensing element; a transmitter is disposed at the distal end and the proximal end Between the directions, the digital data is transmitted to the near-end direction, a processing system is connected to the near-end direction for receiving the digital original data and converted into a digital image data; and an image playback device for playing the digital image data.

According to the above concept, the processing system is an image receiving and image processing system.

According to the above concept, the arthroscope is a disposable arthroscope.

According to the above concept, the arthroscope further has a transmission line.

According to the above concept, the transmitter is a Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES).

According to the above concept, wherein the transmitter is a low-voltage differential signaling device.

According to the above concept, the processing system is configured to convert the digital original data into an RGB/YUV digital image format for playing on the video playback device.

According to the above concept, the processing system further has a digital signal processor (DSP).

According to the above concept, the processing system has a computer with a central processing unit.

According to the above concept, the processing system further has a computer equipped with a graphic card.

In another aspect, the present application also provides a method for transmitting an image in an arthroscopy system, comprising: a light generating step, wherein a light is generated by a light source; and a light collecting step, wherein the light generated by the light source is collected by a mirror group; a conversion step, wherein the collected illumination is converted into digital original data by an image sensing component; and a transmitting step, wherein the digital raw material is transmitted from a distal direction of an arthroscope in the arthroscopy system to at least one transmitter a near-end direction; an image receiving and image processing step, wherein the digital original data transmitted by the transmitter is received and processed by the image to become digital image data; and a playing step, wherein the digital image data is played by an image playing device.

According to the above concept, the transmitter is a Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES).

According to the above concept, wherein the transmitter is a low-voltage differential signaling device.

According to the above concept, a discarding step is further included, the light source of the arthroscope, the lens group, the image sensing element, and the emitter are discarded.

The present application can be implemented in a variety of forms and manners, and the content described in the following embodiments and drawings is an embodiment of the present application. Those skilled in the art can implement the present application in other ways that are not shown. The scope of the claims should be based on the scope of the patent application.

1 is a conventional arthroscopy system 1, including an arthroscope 11, an image receiving device 12, and a video playback device 13. The arthroscope 11 has a mirror group 111, a light source 112, a light cord 113, and a camera module 114. The camera module 114 has an image sensing component 1141, a digital signal processor (DSP) 1142, and a transmitter 1143. There is also a transmission line 115 between the transmitter 1143 and the image receiving device 12.

The disadvantage of the arthroscopic system 1 of Fig. 1 is that in order to provide high intensity illumination to the arthroscope system and the arthroscope 11, the volume of the light source 112 must be bulky and cumbersome, and the camera module 114 is expensive to manufacture, the joint of the arthroscope system 1 The mirror 11 is based on cost considerations and cannot be discarded after one use. Therefore, it needs to be sterilized and reused after each use, which poses a certain risk of infection.

Figure 2 shows another common modified arthroscopic system 2 . The arthroscopy system 2 has an arthroscope 21, a video receiving device 22, and a video playback device 23. Since the end of the arthroscope in the distal direction is provided with the light source 212, the mirror group 211, and the image sensing element 2141, the need for a bulky, bulky light source is eliminated. The transmission line 215 is disposed between the camera module 214 and the image receiving device 22. The camera module 214 includes a digital signal processor 2142 and a transmitter 2143. However, the arthroscope 21 in the arthroscopy system 2 still needs to be equipped with an expensive camera module 214, and thus the arthroscope 21 cannot be discarded at a sufficiently low cost.

3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the present application, the arthroscope system 3 having a disposable arthroscope 31. Compared with the arthroscopic system 1 common in FIG. 1, the arthroscopy system 3 provided by the present application places the light source 312, the mirror group 311 and the image sensing element 3141 on the distal end of the arthroscope 31 without using the figure. 1 large, bulky light source 112. Light source 312 includes, but is not limited to, a light-emitting diode (LED) and a laser diode (LD). The image sensing element 3141 includes, but is not limited to, a Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS).

The digital raw data generated by the image sensing component 3141 is directly transmitted to the processing system 32PS connected to the proximal end of the arthroscope 31 by the transmitter 3141 and the transmission line 315. In the embodiment of FIG. 3, processing system 32PS is responsible for the functions of image reception and image processing. Processing system 32PS may be comprised of components known to those of ordinary skill in the art to perform its image receiving and image processing functions. The transmitter 3143 of the arthroscopy system 3 includes, but is not limited to, a Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES) and a low-voltage differential signaling device (LVDS). The digital original data is received by the processing system 32PS, saved for later use, and converted to digital image data in the RGB/YUV format for playback on the video playback device 33. The video playback device 33 includes, but is not limited to, a screen. In the arthroscopy system 3, since the arthroscope 31 does not include any digital signal processor, the arthroscope 31 can be discarded in a relatively low cost manner.

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, because the image processing function performed by the digital signal processor 1142 in the original arthroscope 11 is removed, and a suitable transmitter 3143 is selected, including but not limited to the serializer-deserialization. The Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES) and the low-voltage differential signaling device (LVDS) can process the digital raw data from the distal direction to the proximal end of the arthroscope 31. The system 32PS allows the arthroscope 31 to eliminate the need for the otherwise expensive digital signal processor 1142, thereby allowing the arthroscope 31 to be discarded at a lower cost, greatly reducing the risk of infection.

3 and 4, when the method of the present application is applied, there is a use step 40 in which the arthroscope 31 contacts the patient for diagnosis or surgery. Light source 312 performs illumination generation step 41 to produce a illumination. The resulting illumination is collected by mirror set 311, which is a light collection step 42. The collected illumination is further converted by the image sensing component 3141 into digital raw material via a conversion step 43. Further via a transfer step 44, the digital source material is transmitted from the distal end of the arthroscope 31 to its proximal direction by at least one emitter 3143; in some embodiments, a further transmission line 315 is provided to facilitate the transfer. The transmitter 3143 is preferably a Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES) or a low-voltage differential signaling device (LVDS). In image capture and image processing step 45, processing system 32PS receives the digital raw material and processes it into digital image data. In a playback step 46, the digital image data is broadcast by the video playback device 33 to assist the physician in performing the procedure. After the surgery is completed, the arthroscope 31 contacting the patient is detachable and discarded together with the lens group 311, the light source 312, the image sensing element 3141, the transmitter 3143, and the transmission line 315, and a discarding step 47 is completed to avoid the next use. The patient is at risk of infection.

Since most of the existing arthroscopic systems use the SDI standard to transmit data to the image receiving device in the arthroscope in the RGB/YUV format, this application uses a suitable transmitter 3143, such as a serializer-deserializer. (Serializer-Deserializer, SERDES) or a low-voltage differential signaling device (LVDS), which extends the transmission distance of the digital data and allows the image processing function to be moved from the inside to the near end of the arthroscope. Processing system (such as processing system 32PS of Figure 3). In some embodiments, the processing system 32PS functions as an image processing by an internal digital signal processor (DSP) component. In other embodiments, the processing system 32PS functions as a video processing by a central processing unit (CPU) or a display card in a computer. Therefore, the present application enables the removal of an expensive digital signal processor in the arthroscope contacting the patient, so that the arthroscopy system provided by the present application can discard the arthroscope at a lower cost.

1‧‧‧Arthroscopy system

11‧‧‧Arthroscopy

12‧‧‧Image receiving device

13‧‧‧Video playback device

111‧‧‧Mirror

112‧‧‧Light source

113‧‧‧Light guide strips

114‧‧‧ camera module

115‧‧‧ transmission line

1141‧‧‧Image sensing components

1142‧‧‧Digital Signal Processor

1143‧‧‧transmitter

2‧‧‧Arthroscopy system

21‧‧‧Arthroscopy

22‧‧‧Image receiving device

23‧‧‧Video playback device

211‧‧‧Mirror

212‧‧‧Light source

214‧‧‧ camera module

215‧‧‧ transmission line

2141‧‧‧Image sensing components

2142‧‧‧Digital Signal Processor

2143‧‧‧transmitter

3‧‧‧Arthroscopy system

31‧‧‧Arthroscopy

32PS‧‧‧Processing System

33‧‧‧Video playback device

311‧‧‧Mirror

312‧‧‧Light source

315‧‧‧ transmission line

3141‧‧‧Image sensing components

3143‧‧‧transmitter

41‧‧‧Lighting steps

42‧‧‧Light collection steps

43‧‧‧ Conversion steps

44‧‧‧Transfer steps

45‧‧‧Image receiving and image processing steps

46‧‧‧Playback steps

47‧‧‧Disposal steps

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a common arthroscopy system. Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of another common modified arthroscopy system. 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the arthroscopy system of the present application. 4 is a flow chart of a method of transmitting images in an arthroscopy system.

Claims (9)

An arthroscopy system comprising an arthroscope, the arthroscope being disposable, having a distal direction and a proximal direction; a light source connected to the distal direction of the arthroscope for providing a Illuminating; a mirror group connected to the distal direction of the arthroscope for collecting the illumination; an image sensing element disposed adjacent to the mirror group, and the collected illumination is Converting the image sensing element into digital raw material; a transmitter, the transmitter is a Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES) disposed in the distal direction and the proximal direction For transmitting the digital source data to the proximal direction; a transmission line disposed in the proximal direction of the arthroscope for assisting in transmitting the digital source data; a processing system, The transmission lines of the arthroscope are connected to each other for receiving the digital original data and converting it into a digital image data; and an image playback device for playing the digital image data. The arthroscopy system of claim 1, wherein the processing system is an image receiving and image processing system for converting digital raw data into an RGB/YUV digital image format for playing on the image. The playback system has a digital signal processor (DSP). The arthroscopy system of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a low-voltage differential signaling device. The arthroscopy system of claim 2, wherein the processing system is further Has a computer with a central processing unit. The arthroscopy system of claim 2, wherein the processing system further has a computer loaded with a graphic card. A method of transmitting an image in an arthroscopy system, comprising: a light generating step, wherein a light is generated by a light source; and a light collecting step, wherein the light generated by the light source is collected by a mirror group; a converting step, Converting the collected illumination into digital raw material by an image sensing component; a transmitting step, wherein the digital raw material is from a distal direction of an arthroscope in the arthroscopy system by at least one emitter Passing to a near-end direction; an image receiving and image processing step, wherein the digital original data transmitted by the transmitter is digital image data after being received and processed by an image; and a playback step, wherein the digital image is The data is played by an image playback device. The method of claim 6, wherein the transmitter is a Serializer-Deserializer (SERDES). The method of claim 6, wherein the transmitter is a low-voltage differential signaling device. The method of claim 7, further comprising a discarding step of discarding the source of the arthroscope, the set of mirrors, the image sensing element, and the emitter.