IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20080068454A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 03/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: HIRAKAWA, Katsumi
• Application Number:
  US11/864,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20080068454A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/273 for the upper alimentary canal, e.g. oesophagoscopes, gastroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30028 Colon; Small intestine
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

An image display apparatus according to the present invention includes an image processing controller which acquires an image from an image storage unit, controls various types of image processing on the acquired image, and stores a processed image in the image storage unit, a region detector which detects a feature image region having a predetermined feature from the image, a display mode setting unit which calculates the occupancy rate of the feature image region relative to the entire image region, and associates a predetermined image display mode with the image according to the calculated occupancy rate, and an image display controller which controls image display to sequentially display the series of images stored in the image storage unit based on the image display mode associated with each image.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus comprising:

a region detecting unit that detects a feature image region having a predetermined feature from each image included in a series of images;

an associating unit that calculates an occupancy rate of the feature image region relative to an entire image region of the each image to associate a predetermined image display mode with the each image according to the occupancy rate calculated; and

a display control unit that controls to sequentially display the series of images based on the image display mode associated with the each image.

2. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit that receives an input of a threshold for the occupancy rate, wherein the associating unit associates a predetermined image display mode with the each image according to a magnitude relation between the occupancy rate and the threshold.

3. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image display mode is represented by at least one of a display rate which indicates a speed of display of the each image, and displayability information which indicates whether the each image is to be displayed or not.

4. The image display apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display rate of the each image successively changes according to the occupancy rate of the feature image region.

5. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the predetermined feature includes plural features different from each other,

the region detecting unit detects feature image regions having the respective features from the each image,

the associating unit calculates occupancy rates of the feature image regions having the respective features in the each image, and associates a predetermined image display mode with the each image according to at least one of the occupancy rates calculated.

6. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the each image is an image obtained by image capture of an inside of a digestive system, and

the predetermined feature is a feature identifying a mucosa or a foreign substance in the digestive system.

7. The image display apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the foreign substance is at least one of excrement, foam, and mucus.

8. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the series of images are generated with a use of a capsule endoscope.