IMAGE DISPLAY APPARATUS

• US 20080086028A1
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Published: 04/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Matsui, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,233,037 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/109
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0005 combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera

Abstract

Provided is an image display apparatus that includes a display unit that displays a series of images obtained by imaging an inside of a subject in time sequence, and displays a time bar indicating imaging periods of the series of images so that areas of the time bar are identified by different colors corresponding respectively to regions of the inside of the subject. The apparatus also includes a control unit that identifies the respective regions of the inside of the subject, which are displayed on the series of images, and controls the display unit so that, for each of the regions identified, an area of the time bar corresponding to a period when a series of images of the region are displayed is colored with a substitute color identifying the region.

Claims

1. An image display apparatus comprising:

a display unit that displays a series of images obtained by imaging an inside of a subject in time sequence, and displays a time bar indicating imaging periods of the series of images so that areas of the time bar are identified by different colors corresponding respectively to regions of the inside of the subject; and

a control unit that identifies the respective regions of the inside of the subject, which are displayed on the series of images, and controls the display unit so that, for each of the regions identified, an area of the time bar corresponding to a period when a series of images of the region are displayed is colored with a substitute color identifying the region.

2. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substitute color is determined to visually distinguish from an adjacent substitute color on the time bar.

3. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substitute color is a spectral color.

4. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects color information of each of the series of images to identify the respective regions of the inside of the subject based on the color information.

5. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects brightness information of each of the series of images to identify the respective regions of the inside of the subject based on said brightness information.

6. The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the display unit so that an index is displayed on the time bar, the index indicating a position where a currently-displayed image is on the time bar.