WO2016092941A1

WO2016092941A1 - Capsule endoscope system and image capture method thereof

Info

Publication number: WO2016092941A1
Application number: PCT/JP2015/078022
Authority: WO
Inventors: 政敏穂満
Original assignee: オリンパス株式会社
Priority date: 2014-12-12
Filing date: 2015-10-02
Publication date: 2016-06-16
Also published as: JPWO2016092941A1; JP6132984B2

Abstract

Provided is a capsule endoscope system, in which a capsule endoscope comprises: a first image capture unit and a second image capture unit; a transmission unit which time-division transmits intermittently obtained first and second captured images; a receiving unit which receives control signals from an external device; and a first control unit which, on the basis of the control signals which the receiving unit has received, controls the image capture actions of the first and second image capture units and the transmission actions of the transmitting unit. The external device further comprises: a display control unit which has a display unit display the received first and second captured images simultaneously with the receipt thereof; and a second control unit which, with one of the first and second captured images treated as images of interest and the other thereof as images of non-interest, in order to raise the frame rate of the images of interest above the frame rate of the images of non-interest, generates and transmits to the capsule endoscope the control signals to control the first and second image capture units and the transmission unit.

Description

Capsule endoscope system and imaging method thereof

The present invention relates to a capsule endoscope system configured by a capsule endoscope that images the inside of the body, and an extracorporeal device that displays the captured image, and an imaging method thereof.

Recently, a capsule endoscope system that inspects the inside of a body cavity using a capsule endoscope that is easy to swallow has been proposed. A capsule endoscope is an endoscope in which an imaging element is provided in a capsule-shaped airtight container (capsule), and imaging is performed in a process in which a capsule swallowed by a patient advances through the body.

In an examination using a capsule endoscope, there is a case in which a magnetic field generator is provided outside the body to control the movement of the capsule endoscope. For example, in a stomach examination, a liquid is stored in the stomach and the capsule is suspended in the liquid. The movement of the capsule is controlled by arranging a permanent magnet inside the capsule and applying a magnetic force from outside the body. In this way, it is possible to perform imaging by moving the capsule endoscope to an arbitrary position in the stomach.

Such a capsule endoscope has its movement direction limited by the capsule shape, and the movement is mainly performed in the long axis direction of the capsule. Even in this case, in order to facilitate photographing in an arbitrary direction, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-388501 discloses an image sensor in the front-rear direction of the capsule by providing image pickup devices on both the front and rear portions of the capsule. A capsule endoscope has been proposed that can capture the image.

In the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-388501, two images acquired by two imaging elements in a capsule are transmitted to an extracorporeal device, and these two images are displayed on the display screen of the display unit by the extracorporeal device. Is displayed. In this case, in order to facilitate movement and photographing in an arbitrary direction, both images from the two image sensors are configured to be displayed.

However, for the surgeon, the image to be observed is often one of the two images, and the other image is only used, for example, for moving the capsule endoscope or confirming the direction. As described above, conventionally, an image output from one of the two image sensors is transmitted to an extracorporeal device even though it is hardly observed, and power is consumed due to useless image transmission. There was a problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a capsule endoscope system and an imaging method thereof that can perform efficient image transmission by changing the frame rate at the time of imaging of a plurality of imaging units.

A capsule endoscope system according to the present invention is a capsule endoscope system including a capsule endoscope and an extracorporeal device that performs communication between the capsule endoscope, and the capsule endoscope is A first imaging unit that obtains a first captured image, a second imaging unit that obtains a second captured image, and the first and second imaging units obtained by intermittently imaging the first and second imaging units. A transmission unit that transmits a second captured image in a time-sharing manner, a reception unit that receives a control signal from the extracorporeal device, and the first and second imaging units based on the control signal received by the reception unit. A first control unit that controls an imaging operation and a transmission operation of the transmission unit, and the extracorporeal device displays the received first and second captured images at the same time as being received by the display unit. The control unit and one of the first and second captured images are displayed as a target image. And generating the control signal for controlling the first and second imaging units and the transmission unit so that the frame rate of the target image is higher than the frame rate of the non-target image with the other as the non-target image. And a second control unit for transmitting to the capsule endoscope.

In addition, the imaging method of the capsule endoscope system according to the present invention is an imaging method of a capsule endoscope system configured by a capsule endoscope and an extracorporeal device that performs communication between the capsule endoscope. A determination step in which one of the first and second captured images obtained by intermittently capturing images by the first and second imaging units of the capsule endoscope is a target image and the other is a non-target image; Generating a control signal for making the frame rate of the target image higher than the frame rate of the non-target image, transmitting the control signal to the capsule endoscope, receiving the control signal, An imaging and transmission control step for controlling the imaging operation of the first and second imaging units and the transmission operation of transmitting the first and second captured images to the extracorporeal device based on the received control signal. To Bei.

1 is a block diagram showing a capsule endoscope system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the specific structure of the capsule endoscope of FIG. The timing chart for demonstrating a frame rate. The timing chart for demonstrating a frame rate. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating a screen display. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing for demonstrating the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a capsule endoscope system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific structure of the capsule endoscope of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, a capsule endoscope system 1 is inserted into a body cavity of a patient (not shown), for example, from the mouth, and is placed outside the patient's body, and is placed outside the body of the patient. The extracorporeal device 20 has a function of receiving an image wirelessly transmitted by the endoscope 10 and displaying it in real time.

As shown in FIG. 2, the capsule endoscope 10 includes a cylindrical outer case 51a having a front end surface that is transparent and having a hemispherical shape, and a cylindrical outer case 51b having a rear end surface that is transparent and having a hemispherical shape, for example. The exterior body 50 is provided. The cylindrical

outer cases

51a and 51b are fitted and bonded and fixed, and the outer body 50 has a capsule shape in which the inside is watertight. The cylindrical portion other than the hemispherical portion of the outer package 50 is configured as a colored casing that is opaque to visible light.

In the exterior body 50, an image sensor 56a that has an optical axis in the major axis direction (front-rear direction) and images the front and an image sensor 56b that images the rear are provided. Thereby, the capsule endoscope 10 can obtain a front image and a rear image of the exterior body 50. In this embodiment, a capsule endoscope including two imaging units that capture the front-rear direction will be described as an example. However, a capsule endoscope including a plurality of imaging units that capture different viewing directions is used. It may be adopted.

In the exterior body 50, a power circuit 53 is disposed at the center in the optical axis direction. A drive and control circuit 52 is disposed on the front side of the power supply circuit 53, and a radio unit 54 is disposed on the rear side. An imaging board 55a is disposed in front of the drive and control circuit 52, and an imaging element 56a configured by a CCD, a CMOS sensor, or the like is mounted on the surface of the imaging board 55a. An imaging unit 57a is configured by the imaging substrate 55a and the imaging element 56a. An imaging board 55b is disposed on the rear side of the wireless unit 54, and an imaging element 56b configured by a CCD, a CMOS sensor, or the like is mounted on the surface of the imaging board 55b. An imaging unit 57b is configured by the imaging substrate 55b and the imaging element 56b.

The drive and control circuit 52 controls driving of the

imaging units

57a and 57b, performs signal processing on images obtained by the

imaging units

57a and 57b, communication control for the wireless unit 54, and the like. The drive & control circuit 52 is provided with a non-illustrated non-volatile memory that stores an imaging procedure such as an EEPROM.

A lens frame 58a is disposed in front of the imaging unit 57a, and an objective optical system 59a is disposed in the lens frame 58a. A lens frame 58b is disposed behind the imaging unit 57b, and an objective optical system 59b is disposed on the lens frame 58b. The objective optical system 59a forms an object optical image incident through the case 51a on the imaging surface of the imaging element 56a. The objective optical system 59b forms an object optical image incident through the case 51b on the imaging surface of the imaging element 56b.

A ring-shaped LED substrate 60a is disposed around the imaging unit 57a, and a plurality of LEDs 61a are mounted on the LED substrate 60a. A ring-shaped LED substrate 60b is disposed around the imaging unit 57b, and a plurality of LEDs 61b are mounted on the LED substrate 60b. Illumination light from the

LEDs

61a and 61b is irradiated to the subject via the

cases

51a and 51b, respectively, and return light from the subject enters the

image sensors

56a and 56b via the objective

optical systems

59a and 59b, respectively. .

1, the control unit 11 and the output unit 14 in the capsule endoscope 10 are included in the drive and control circuit 52 in FIG. 2. The illumination unit 13 includes the illumination device using the LED substrate 60a and the LED 61a and the illumination device using the LED substrate 60b and the LED 61b in FIG. The illumination unit 13 emits light under the control of the control unit 11 and can irradiate at least one subject on the front side and the rear side of the capsule endoscope 10.

Illumination light from the illuminating unit 13 is applied to the front and rear subjects of the capsule endoscope 10, and return light from the front subject is guided to the imaging unit 57a by the objective optical system 59a, and return light from the rear subject. Is guided to the imaging unit 57b by the objective optical system 59b. The

imaging units

57a and 57b are individually controlled by the control unit 11, and photoelectrically convert each incident subject optical image to obtain a captured image. The captured images from the

imaging units

57a and 57b are supplied to the output unit 14.

The output unit 14 is controlled by the control unit 11 and outputs the captured images from the

imaging units

57a and 57b to the wireless unit 54 in a time-sharing manner. In other words, in the present embodiment, both the captured image based on the output of the imaging unit 57a (hereinafter also referred to as the front image) and the captured image based on the output of the imaging unit 57b (hereinafter also referred to as the rear image) are wireless as they are. It is given to the unit 54 and wirelessly transmitted, and the captured images from the

imaging units

57a and 57b can be displayed in real time by the extracorporeal device 20 described later.

Depending on the processing speed, wireless transmission may be performed after predetermined signal processing or the like is performed on the captured images from the

imaging units

57a and 57b. For example, predetermined video signal processing may be performed on the captured images from the

imaging units

57a and 57b, and the captured images from the imaging units 57a57b are respectively compressed and processed in the time division manner via the memory to the wireless unit 54. You may come to give.

The wireless unit 54 is controlled by the control unit 11 and can exchange signals with the wireless unit 21 of the extracorporeal device 20. For example, the wireless unit 54 can modulate the captured image from the output unit 14 into a radio frequency signal and wirelessly transmit it to the wireless unit 21. In addition, the wireless unit 54 can receive the control signal transmitted from the wireless unit 21 and give it to the control unit 11.

The power supply circuit 53 has a battery (not shown) and can supply a power supply voltage to each part of the capsule endoscope 10. The capsule endoscope 10 is provided with a magnet 16 made of a permanent magnet. The magnet 16 receives a force in a direction corresponding to the magnetic force from the outside of the exterior body 50. The magnet 16 is fixed inside the exterior body 50 of the capsule endoscope 10 and can move the exterior body 50 in the body in accordance with a magnetic force from the outside.

The setting memory 17 stores setting information for defining the operation of the capsule endoscope 10. For example, the setting memory 17 stores information on the frame rate (hereinafter also referred to as an imaging frame rate) at the time of imaging by the imaging unit 57a and the imaging unit 57b, and the frame rate (hereinafter referred to as the transmission frame rate) of the image transmitted by the wireless unit 54. Also, the setting information in which the setting is made is also stored.

The control unit 11 can be configured by a processor such as a CPU, for example, and may operate according to a program stored in a memory (not shown). The control unit 11 can read the setting information from the setting memory 17 and control each unit. For example, the control unit 11 can cause the

imaging units

57a and 57b to image the subject at an imaging frame rate based on the setting information. Further, the control unit 11 can wirelessly transmit the captured image from the wireless unit 54 at a transmission frame rate based on the setting information.

In the present embodiment, according to the setting information, the control unit 11 can set the imaging frame rate of the imaging unit 57a and the imaging frame rate of the imaging unit 57b to different rates, and the front image in the wireless unit 54. The transmission frame rate and the rear image transmission frame rate can be set to different rates. The setting memory 17 includes a plurality of setting information relating to an imaging frame rate, a transmission frame rate, and the like. The control unit 11 reads setting information designated from the extracorporeal device 20 via the

wireless units

21 and 54 and controls each unit. can do.

Further, in the present embodiment, according to the setting information, the control unit 11 sets which of the imaging frame rate and transmission frame rate of the front image and the imaging frame rate and transmission frame rate of the rear image are to be increased. You can also do that. As described later, the extracorporeal device 20 can designate which setting information is to be used for the control unit 11 via the

radio units

21 and 54. For example, the extracorporeal device 20 generates a rate control signal for designating the control unit 11 to use setting information that makes the imaging frame rate and transmission frame rate of the front image higher than the imaging frame rate and transmission frame rate of the rear image. It can also occur.

When the frame rate of all images transmitted by the wireless unit 54 increases, the power consumption increases. Therefore, in general, the

imaging units

57a and 57b are controlled so as to take time-lapse images so as to minimize power consumption by preventing collection of redundant images, and average imaging in time-lapse photography. The frame rate is set to a rate according to mode settings such as a low-speed shooting mode and a high-speed shooting mode, for example, 2 fps (frame / second), 5 fps, 30 fps, and the like.

Note that, when an image captured by the capsule endoscope 10 is transmitted to the extracorporeal device 20 and displayed in real time, the imaging frame rate and the transmission frame rate are the same. If there is no, it is simply called the frame rate. For example, the control unit 11 sets the average frame rate of the front image and the average of the rear image in a state where the frame rate of all the images transmitted from the wireless unit 54 (hereinafter also referred to as the transmission rate) is constant according to the setting information. One of the typical frame rates can be made higher than the other. Also in this case, the extracorporeal device 20 can designate whether to increase the frame rate of either the front image or the rear image.

The control unit 11 may control the frame rate by intermittently transmitting the front and rear image frames according to the setting information. For example, the control unit 11 controls transmission of the wireless unit 54 at the maximum transmission rate that can be transmitted, and transmits image frames at time intervals according to the frame rate. For example, in the case of transmitting an image at 5 fps, assuming that an image frame of 30 frames per second can be transmitted between the

wireless units

54 and 21, the image frame may be transmitted at an interval of 6/30 seconds.

The control unit 11 can also update the setting information in the setting memory 17 in accordance with a control signal from the extracorporeal device 20.

The extracorporeal device 20 includes a control unit 23 that controls each unit of the extracorporeal device 20. The control unit 23 can be configured by a processor such as a CPU, for example, and may operate according to a program stored in a memory (not shown). The control unit 23 controls each unit in accordance with a user operation on the operation unit 41. The rate setting unit 25 can be controlled by the control unit 23 to generate a rate control signal for setting the imaging frame rate and the transmission frame rate for the front image and the rear image and output the rate control signal to the radio unit 21. For example, when the setting memory 17 of the capsule endoscope 10 stores a plurality of types of setting information with different imaging frame rates and transmission frame rates of the front image and the rear image, the rate setting unit 25 includes the control unit 23, a rate control signal for determining which setting information should be selected is output.

The control unit 23 can determine one of the front image and the rear image by the capsule endoscope 10 as a target image and the other as a non-target image, and determines any captured image of the front image and the rear image as a target image. It can be specified to the rate setting unit 25. The rate setting unit 25 can generate a rate control signal that makes the frame rate of the image designated as the target image higher than the frame rate of the other image (non-target image).

The radio unit 21 can transmit various control signals to the radio unit 54 under the control of the control unit 23. For example, the radio unit 21 transmits a rate control signal from the rate setting unit 25 to the radio unit 54. The radio unit 21 is controlled by the control unit 23 to receive a captured image from the capsule endoscope 10 and gives the received captured image to the image acquisition unit 22.

The image acquisition unit 22 is controlled by the control unit 23 to separate and extract the front image and the rear image from the input captured image, and give them to the display control unit 26. The display control unit 26 changes the input front image and rear image to a format that can be displayed on the display unit 45, and then gives the display image to the display unit 45. For example, the display control unit 26 can display a picture-out-picture (POP) that displays a front image and a rear image on two left and right screens, and a picture-in-picture (PIP) that displays a child image in the parent image. It can also be displayed. In this case, the display control unit 26 displays an image captured at a high rate among the front image and the rear image larger than the other image, or any of the displayed images is captured at a high rate. It is also possible to perform display such as thickening the frame surrounding the image, for example.

The extracorporeal device 20 is provided with a magnetic field control unit 24. The magnetic field control unit 24 is controlled by the control unit 23 to control the generated magnetic field of the magnetic field generation unit 30 disposed around the capsule endoscope 10. The magnetic field generator 30 can be controlled by the magnetic field controller 24 to generate a predetermined magnetic field. The magnetic field control unit 24 controls the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generation unit 30 to change the direction and strength of the force applied to the magnet 16 to move the capsule endoscope 10 to a desired direction and position. it can. For example, the magnetic field control unit 24 can move the capsule endoscope 10 in the forward direction or the backward direction.

The control unit 23 can control the magnetic field control unit 24 based on the operation of the operation unit 41 indicating the moving direction of the capsule endoscope 10.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 4. FIG. 3A and 3B are timing charts for explaining the frame rate. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the screen display.

Assume that the capsule endoscope system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used to observe and examine the patient's body cavity. For example, a liquid is stored in the stomach and the capsule endoscope 10 is suspended in the liquid. In this state, the operator operates the operation unit 41, for example, and moves the capsule endoscope 10 to a position where a predetermined position of the stomach wall can be examined. Based on the operation of the operation unit 41, the control unit 23 controls the magnetic field control unit 24 to cause the magnetic field generation unit 30 to generate a magnetic field necessary for the movement of the capsule endoscope 10. The magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generator 30 acts on the magnet 16, and the magnet 16 moves together with the capsule endoscope 10. In this way, the capsule endoscope 10 is arranged at a position for observing the stomach wall of the examination site.

In this state, the surgeon operates the operation unit 41, for example, to cause the capsule endoscope 10 to image the stomach wall and the like. The control unit 23 controls the rate setting unit 25 to output a predetermined rate control signal, for example, a rate control signal for transferring a captured image at 30 frames per second.

In the present embodiment, the operator designates which of the front image and the rear image captured by the two

image capturing units

57a and 57b provided in the capsule endoscope 10 is the attention image. For example, when the front side of the capsule endoscope 10 is in close proximity to the stomach wall of the examination site, the surgeon designates the front image by the imaging unit 57a that images the front side as the attention image.

Thereby, the rate setting unit 25 generates a rate control signal for making the frame rate of the front image higher than the frame rate of the rear image. For example, the rate setting unit 25 sets 5 fps for capturing and transmitting the rear image every 6/30 seconds, and sets 25 fps for capturing and transmitting the front image during a period other than the rear image capturing and transmission period. The rate control signal is generated. The rate control signal is transmitted to the capsule endoscope 10 via the

wireless units

21 and 54 and is given to the control unit 11.

The control unit 11 reads the setting information in the setting memory 17 based on the received rate control signal. The control unit 11 controls each unit based on the read setting information. For example, the control unit 11 causes the imaging unit 57b that acquires the rear image to perform imaging every 6/30 seconds, and the imaging unit 57a that acquires the front image excludes the imaging period of the imaging unit 57b. Imaging is performed during a period of / 30 seconds.

The captured images from the

imaging units

57a and 57b are supplied to the output unit 14. The output unit 14 outputs the front image and the rear image from the

imaging units

57a and 57b to the wireless unit 54 in a time division manner. The wireless unit 54 can transmit, for example, at 30 fps, and is controlled by the control unit 11 to wirelessly transmit the rear image every 6/30 seconds and to remove the front image from the transmission period of the rear image. Wireless transmission in seconds. Thus, in this case, the front image is transmitted in a time division manner at 25 fps and the rear image is transmitted at 5 fps.

3A and 3B show the output contents of a signal transmitted from the wireless unit 54. Each frame indicates the transmission period of one frame image, and the numbers in the frames indicate the numbers of the frames to be transmitted. Show. FIG. 3A shows the transmission of the front image on the top and the transmission of the back image on the bottom. That is, in the example of FIG. 3A, when transmission at 30 fps is possible in the wireless unit 54, the rear image is wirelessly transmitted every 6/30 seconds and the front image is 25/30 excluding the transmission period of the rear image. It shows that wireless transmission is performed in a second period.

The image transmitted from the wireless unit 54 is received by the wireless unit 21 of the extracorporeal device 20 and supplied to the image acquisition unit 22. The image acquisition unit 22 separates and extracts the front image and the rear image from the image of each frame transmitted in a time-division manner, and gives it to the display control unit 26. The display control unit 26 converts the extracted front image and rear image into a form that enables POP display or PIP display, for example, and outputs the converted image to the display unit 45. In this way, the front image and the rear image can be confirmed on the display screen of the display unit 45.

Fig. 4 shows the screen display in this case. On the display screen 71 of the display unit 45, a front image 72a and a rear image 72b are displayed. The front image 72a is surrounded by a thick frame 73 indicating that it is captured at a higher frame rate than the rear image 72b. In addition, the front image 72a, which is the attention image, is displayed in a larger area than the rear image 72b.

Note that the display control unit 26 may output a previous image for a frame period in which no image is transmitted. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 3A, on the display screen of the display unit 45, the front image is displayed at 25 fps, while the rear image is displayed at 5 fps. That is, the rear image, which is a reference image for the surgeon, is imaged and transmitted at a low frame rate because the display is updated less frequently. On the other hand, the front image designated as the image of interest by the surgeon can take a longer time for transmission as much as the time required for transmission of the rear image is shortened, and can increase the frame rate. Thereby, the display is updated relatively frequently, and the change in the state of the examination site is easily observed. That is, it is possible to easily observe the change in the state of the examination site while preventing the increase in power consumption by increasing the transmission rate.

Here, it is assumed that the operator changes the orientation of the patient and moves the capsule endoscope 10 by operating the operation unit 41 in order to observe other examination sites. For example, it is assumed that the capsule endoscope 10 advances rearward due to this movement, or the rear side approaches and faces the examination site. In this case, the surgeon designates the rear image as the attention image. With this designation, the rate setting unit 25 outputs a rate control signal for making the frame rate of the rear image higher than the frame rate of the front image. The rate control signal is given to the control unit 11 via the

radio units

21 and 54, and the control unit 11 reads setting information corresponding to the rate control signal received from the setting memory 17.

The control unit 11 performs control to make the frame rate of the rear image higher than the frame rate of the front image based on the read setting information. For example, the control unit 11 causes the imaging unit 57a that acquires the front image to perform imaging every 6/30 seconds, and the imaging unit 57b that acquires the rear image excludes the imaging period of the imaging unit 57a. Imaging is performed during a period of / 30 seconds. The wireless unit 54 is controlled by the control unit 11 to wirelessly transmit the front image every 6/30 seconds and wirelessly transmit the rear image during a period of 25/30 seconds excluding the transmission period of the front image. Therefore, in this case, the front image is transmitted in a time division manner at 5 fps, and the rear image is transmitted at 25 fps.

FIG. 3B shows an example of this case. When transmission at 30 fps is possible in the wireless unit 54, the front image is wirelessly transmitted every 6/30 seconds, and the rear image has a transmission period of the front image. It indicates that wireless transmission is performed during a period of 25/30 seconds excluding the above.

In this case, the display control unit 26 of the extracorporeal device 20 generates an image for POP display or PIP display from the front image of 5 fps and the rear image of 25 fps and outputs the generated image to the display unit 45. In this way, on the display screen of the display unit 45, a front image with a relatively low update frequency and a rear image that is frequently updated are displayed.

That is, the frame rate of the rear image, which is the image of interest, can be increased by an amount corresponding to the reduction in the frame rate of the front image, which is a reference image for the operator, and the consumption rate can be increased without increasing the transmission rate. Without increasing the power, it is possible to easily observe the change in the state of the capsule endoscope 10 in the traveling direction and the state of the examination site.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the capsule endoscope having a plurality of imaging units, the frame rate of the image obtained by each imaging unit is set to a different value to increase the overall transmission rate. Without being increased, that is, without increasing the power consumption, it is possible to frequently update the image of interest and obtain an image that can be easily observed, thereby enabling efficient transmission.

In the above embodiment, the number of frames is an example, and any number of frames may be used. Even when the transmission rate is changed, efficient transmission can be performed by making the frame rate of the image of interest higher than the frame rate of other images.

In the above embodiment, a plurality of setting information is stored in the setting memory, and the rate control signal has been described as determining the setting information to be read. The frame rate and the frame rate of the rear image may be obtained, and the information on the obtained frame rate may be transmitted as it is to the control unit of the capsule endoscope. Further, the rate setting unit may output a timing signal that directly designates the imaging timing of the front image and the rear image instead of the rate control signal. In addition, by adding a unique identification signal to each of the front image and the rear image and transmitting the images, the image acquisition unit 22 of the extracorporeal device 20 identifies which image is the transmitted image. Can do.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. The hardware configuration in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, it has been described that the surgeon directly designates the image of interest. However, in general, the target image is often an image from an imaging unit that captures the moving direction of the capsule endoscope 10. For example, it is necessary to observe a captured image in order to move the capsule endoscope 10, and in this case, the target image is considered to be an image from an imaging unit that captures the moving direction. Therefore, the present embodiment shows an example in which the target image can be automatically set by detecting the moving direction of the capsule endoscope 10.

In the capsule endoscope system shown in FIG. 5, the extracorporeal device is configured by a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) 81, and the PC 81 has functions of each part except for the radio unit 21 of the extracorporeal device 20 in FIG. It can be realized by processing. In FIG. 5, the magnetic field generator 30 is not shown. 1 is configured by a keyboard 41a provided on the PC 81 and a joystick 41b connected to the PC 81 in FIG. Moreover, the display part 45 of FIG. 1 is comprised by the display panel 45a provided in PC81 in FIG. Moreover, the radio | wireless part 21 of FIG. 1 is comprised by the radio | wireless apparatus 21a connected to PC81 in FIG.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 23 of the extracorporeal device 20 realized by a CPU (not shown) in the PC 81 receives an operation signal from the joystick 41b, and functions of each unit of the extracorporeal device 20 based on the operation signal. It can be controlled. For example, the control unit 23 controls the magnetic field control unit 24 realized by the CPU in the PC 81 by the operation signal from the joystick 41b, and generates the magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generation unit 30 according to the operation direction of the lever of the joystick 41b. The direction of movement of the capsule endoscope 10 can be determined by control.

The control unit 23 can determine the target image based on the operation signal of the joystick 41b that determines the moving direction of the capsule endoscope 10. For example, when the operation signal from the joystick 41b moves the capsule endoscope 10 to the front side, the control unit 23 uses the image captured by the imaging unit 57a on the front side of the capsule endoscope 10 as the attention image. In the case of setting and moving to the rear side, the image captured by the rear imaging unit 57b is set as the attention image.

Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

In the embodiment configured as described above, the surgeon moves the capsule endoscope 10 by operating the joystick 41b. For example, the operator operates the joystick 41b to move the capsule endoscope 10 in the direction of the arrow 85 in FIG. 5, that is, the capsule endoscope 10 forward. The control unit 23 controls the magnetic field control unit 24 by an operation signal from the joystick 41b, and generates a magnetic field for moving the capsule endoscope 10 in the direction of the arrow 85 from the magnetic field generation unit 30.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 23 determines the image of interest as a captured image by the imaging unit 57a on the front side of the capsule endoscope 10 in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 41. As a result, the rate setting unit 25 generates a rate control signal that makes the frame rate of the front image higher than the frame rate of the rear image. Thus, in this case, among the images transmitted from the capsule endoscope 10, the front image has a higher frame rate than the rear image. The display control unit 26 of the extracorporeal device 20 realized by the CPU in the PC 81 displays the front image 82a and the rear image 82b on the display panel 45a, and the frame rate of the front image is higher than the frame rate of the rear image. The front image 82a is surrounded and displayed by a thick frame indicating the above.

Other operations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the attention image is automatically set in accordance with the operation of moving the capsule endoscope 10 to obtain the attention image. Enables imaging and transmission at a high frame rate. Thus, the surgeon can increase the frame rate for the image to be observed without performing complicated operations. For example, when it is desired to move the capsule endoscope, it is better to perform an operation for movement while viewing the destination image. In this case, since the destination image is displayed at a high frame rate, even when the image is moved at a relatively high speed, confirmation of the image up to the position to be moved is easy, and the movement can be performed reliably.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the attention image is determined by detecting the moving direction of the capsule endoscope according to the operation signal of the joystick has been described. However, the output of the magnetic field generation control unit and the generation of the magnetic field generation unit are described. The moving direction of the capsule endoscope may be detected by detecting the magnetic field, and the movement of the capsule endoscope may be detected by another method. For example, movement can be detected by image processing. For example, a specific subject in the captured image may be detected, and the moving direction may be determined based on whether the size of the specific subject in the image increases or decreases. The determination of the moving direction may be performed by the control unit of the capsule endoscope so that information on the moving direction may be transmitted from the wireless unit to the extracorporeal device, and the image acquiring unit may be transmitted by the control unit of the extracorporeal device. The moving direction of the capsule endoscope may be detected from the acquired image.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the third embodiment. 6 and 7, the same components as those in FIG. 1 or FIG.

In the second embodiment, the example in which the movement of the capsule endoscope 10 is detected and the attention image is determined based on the moving direction has been described. In the present embodiment, regardless of the moving direction of the capsule endoscope 10, it is detected whether the surgeon is paying attention to the displayed front image or the captured image, and the attention image is automatically set. An example is shown.

FIG. 6 is different from the second embodiment in that the control unit 23 of the extracorporeal device 20 captures the detection result of the line-of-sight detection unit 91. In this embodiment, the operator's line of sight is detected to detect an image that the operator is paying attention to, and the line-of-sight detection unit 91 detects the operator's line of sight by a known method. The detection result is output to the control unit 23.

7 is obtained by attaching a camera 91a corresponding to the line-of-sight detection unit 91 in FIG. 6 to the capsule endoscope system in FIG. The line-of-sight detection unit 91 of FIG. 6 is configured by the camera 91a and the CPU in the PC 81. The camera 91a is disposed in the vicinity of the display panel 45a so that the eye part of the face of the surgeon who looks at the display panel 45a can be photographed. The captured image of the camera 91a is given to the CPU in the PC 81 and analyzed, and the operator's line of sight in the captured image is detected.

The control unit 23 of the extracorporeal device 20 can determine a target image based on the detection result of the line-of-sight detection unit 91. For example, the control unit 23 sets the front image as a noticed image when a detection result is given in which the operator's line of sight is directed to the front image 82a displayed on the display panel 45a of FIG. When a detection result is given in which the line of sight of the camera is directed toward the rear image 82b, the front image is set as the target image.

Other configurations and operations are the same as those in the second embodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and an attention image is automatically set by detecting an image focused on by the operator by eye gaze detection. The imaging and transmission of the image of interest at a high frame rate is enabled. Thus, the surgeon can increase the frame rate of the image only by looking at the image to be observed without performing a complicated operation.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the attention image is determined by operating the joystick or detecting the operator's line of sight has been described. However, the attention image may be determined using other methods. For example, when a touch panel is provided on the display screen, the target image may be determined by touching an image portion to be set as the target image in the display image, or voice recognition may be employed to The attention image may be designated by

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, you may delete some components of all the components shown by embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

This application is filed on the basis of the priority claim of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-252105 filed in Japan on December 12, 2014. The above disclosure is included in the present specification and claims. Shall be quoted.

Claims

A capsule endoscope system including a capsule endoscope and an extracorporeal device that communicates between the capsule endoscope,
The capsule endoscope is:
A first imaging unit that obtains a first captured image and a second imaging unit that obtains a second captured image;
A transmission unit that transmits the first and second captured images obtained by intermittent imaging by the first and second imaging units in a time-sharing manner;
A receiving unit for receiving a control signal from the extracorporeal device;
A first control unit that controls an imaging operation of the first and second imaging units and a transmission operation of the transmission unit based on a control signal received by the reception unit;
The extracorporeal device is:
A display control unit for displaying the received first and second captured images on the display unit at the same time as received,
The first and second imaging units are configured such that one of the first and second captured images is a target image and the other is a non-target image, and the frame rate of the target image is higher than the frame rate of the non-target image. And a second control unit that generates and transmits the control signal for controlling the transmission unit to the capsule endoscope.
The second control unit generates a control signal for switching the target image from one of the first and second captured images to the other without changing the transmission rate of the transmission unit. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 1.
The second control unit switches between transmission of the first captured image and transmission of the second captured image according to a frame rate of the attention image and a frame rate of the non-notice image, and transmits in a time-sharing manner. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the control signal for generating the control signal is generated.
The said display control part updates the said 1st and 2nd captured image displayed on the said display part according to the frame rate of the said attention image, and the frame rate of the said non-notice image. The capsule endoscope system according to any one of 1 to 3.
The said 2nd control part determines which of the said 1st and 2nd captured images is made into the said attention image based on operation of an operation part. The any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The capsule endoscope system described in 1.
The extracorporeal device has a magnetic field control unit for controlling a magnetic field generated in the magnetic field generation unit,
The capsule endoscope has a magnet that receives a force due to a magnetic field generated by the magnetic field generator,
The capsule endoscope system according to claim 5, wherein the operation of the operation unit is to move the capsule endoscope by controlling the magnetic field control unit.
The second control unit determines any one of the first and second captured images as the attention image based on a detection result of an operator's line of sight with respect to the first and second images displayed on the display unit. The capsule endoscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the capsule endoscope system is determined.
8. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit performs display indicating that the first and second captured images are images having a higher frame rate or images having a lower frame rate. The capsule endoscope system according to one.
9. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein an image having a higher frame rate among the first and second captured images is displayed larger than an image having a lower frame rate. 10. The capsule endoscope system as described.
An imaging method of a capsule endoscope system configured by a capsule endoscope and an extracorporeal device that communicates between the capsule endoscope,
A determination step in which one of the first and second captured images obtained by intermittently capturing images by the first and second imaging units of the capsule endoscope is set as a target image, and the other is set as a non-target image;
Generating a control signal for making the frame rate of the target image higher than the frame rate of the non-target image;
Transmitting the control signal to the capsule endoscope;
Imaging for receiving the control signal and controlling the imaging operation of the first and second imaging units and the transmission operation for transmitting the first and second captured images to the extracorporeal device based on the received control signal; An imaging method for a capsule endoscope system, comprising: a transmission control step.
In the imaging and transmission step, the transmission of the first captured image and the transmission of the second captured image are switched according to the frame rate of the attention image and the frame rate of the non-attention image, and transmitted in a time division manner. .
The imaging method of the capsule endoscope system according to claim 10.
11. The capsule endoscope system according to claim 10, wherein the determining step determines which of the first and second captured images is the attention image based on an operation of an operation unit. Imaging method.
Displaying the first and second captured images received at the extracorporeal device simultaneously with being received on a display unit;
The determining step determines which of the first and second captured images is the attention image based on a detection result of the operator's line of sight with respect to the first and second images displayed on the display unit. The imaging method of the capsule endoscope system according to claim 10, wherein the determination is performed.