IMAGING APPARATUS AND IN-VIVO IMAGE OBTAINING APPARATUS

• US 20090299138A1
• Filed: 06/03/2009
• Published: 12/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: MITSUHASHI, Kei
• Granted Patent: US 8,487,985 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/109
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10068 Endoscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20182 Noise reduction or smoothing in the temporal domain; Spatio-temporal filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30028 Colon; Small intestine
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/555 for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/74 by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/81 for suppressing or minimising disturbance in the image signal generation

Abstract

An imaging apparatus includes a noise reduction circuit which eliminates a random noise generated in an analogue signal processing by equalizing, via an averaging processing, image data of correlated multiple images within one frame period which is captured by an image sensor and to which the analogue signal processing is performed in an AFE block, and the imaging apparatus in itself deals with the image data of the correlated multiple images within the one frame period and outputs the data to a wireless module after eliminating the random noise generated in the analogue signal processing.

Claims

1. An imaging apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit which obtains image information by imaging;

an analogue signal processor which performs an analogue signal processing to digitalize the image information captured by the imaging unit into image data;

a digital signal processor including a noise reduction circuit that eliminates a noise generated in the analogue signal processing by equalizing image data of correlated multiple images within one frame period which is captured by the imaging unit and to which the analogue signal processing is performed in the analogue signal processor;

a storage unit which updates and stores image data before and after the noise reduction performed by the noise reduction circuit; and

an outputting unit which outputs the image data updated and stored in the storage unit after the noise reduction.

2. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction circuit includes an adder that sequentially adds the image data of correlated multiple images for each pixel for the equalization.

3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction circuit includes a bit shift circuit that performs a bit shifting on image data for each pixel and an adder that adds one of image data before and after the bit shifting performed by the bit shift circuit for each pixel, and calculates an average value for each pixel of the image data of correlated multiple images for the equalization.

4. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction circuit includes a comparator that eliminates a maximum value and a minimum value for each pixel from the image data of correlated multiple images, and extracts an intermediate value which is obtained after eliminating the maximum value and the minimum value for each pixel for the equalization.

5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data of correlated multiple images within the one frame period is image data based on same image information which is repetitively read out as multiple images from the imaging unit within the one frame period.

6. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image data of correlated multiple images within the one frame period is image data based on image information which is imaged in succession by the imaging unit as multiple images and sequentially read out from the imaging unit within the one frame period.

7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the noise reduction circuit inputs and outputs the image data of correlated multiple images in one of a pixel unit, a line unit, and a frame unit.

8. The imaging apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the storage unit is one of a pixel unit memory, a line unit memory, and a frame unit memory corresponding to the unit of the processing of the noise reduction circuit.

9. An in-vivo image obtaining apparatus, comprising an imaging apparatus which includes:

an imaging unit which obtains image information by capturing;

an analogue signal processor which performs an analogue signal processing to digitalize the image information captured by the imaging unit into image data;

a digital signal processor including a noise reduction circuit that eliminates a noise generated in the analogue signal processing by equalizing image data of correlated multiple images within one frame period which is captured by the imaging unit and to which the analogue signal processing is performed in the analogue signal processor;

a storage unit which updates and stores image data before and after the noise reduction performed by the noise reduction circuit; and

an outputting unit which outputs the image data updated and stored in the storage unit after the noise reduction,

the in-vivo image obtaining apparatus being inserted into an inside of a subject, obtaining image information of the inside of the subject by the imaging unit, and wirelessly outputting image data from the outputting unit to an outside of the subject.