ENDOSCOPE APPARATUS AND METHOD

• US 20100128115A1
• Filed: 11/19/2009
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evident Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: NAKANO, Sumito
• Granted Patent: US 8,480,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/026 by measuring distance between sensor and object G01B11/0608 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/03 by measuring coordinates of points
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/2415 Stereoscopic endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/2484 Arrangements in relation to a camera or imaging device processing or control of video signals generated by an endoscope H04N23/60, H04N23/70

Abstract

An endoscope apparatus includes: an endoscope that generates an image of an object; a display portion that displays the image and a cursor that designates a position on an image based on the image; a characteristic quantity calculating portion that calculates, based on the image, a characteristic quantity of the image on the basis of the position designated by the cursor; and a control portion that controls movement of the cursor in accordance with the characteristic quantity.

Claims

1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

an endoscope that generates an image of an object;

a display portion that displays the image and a cursor that designates a position on the image;

a characteristic quantity calculating portion that calculates, based on the image, a characteristic quantity of the image on the basis of the position designated by the cursor; and

a control portion that controls movement of the cursor in accordance with the characteristic quantity.

2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising

a measurement processing portion that performs measurement processing of the object based on the position on the image that is designated by the cursor,

wherein the characteristic quantity calculating portion calculates the characteristic quantity based on a measurement result of the object that was measured by the measurement processing portion.

3. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the measurement processing portion calculates as the measurement result at least one of a matching degree of partial images in a plurality of object images related to the same object and an object distance of the object.

4. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the measurement processing portion measures the object that is included in a predetermined area based on a position on the image that is designated by the cursor;

the characteristic quantity calculating portion calculates the characteristic quantity of the object in the predetermined area based on the measurement result; and

the control portion moves the cursor to a position suited to the measurement processing in the predetermined area based on the characteristic quantity.

5. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the measurement processing portion measures the object that is included in a predetermined area based on a position on the image that is designated by the cursor;

the characteristic quantity calculating portion calculates the characteristic quantity of the object in the predetermined area based on the measurement result; and

the control portion controls the movement direction of the cursor so that the cursor moves to a position suited to the measurement processing in the predetermined area based on the characteristic quantity.

6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising

a detecting portion that detects a movement instruction of the cursor from an input device,

wherein the measurement processing portion determines the predetermined area based on the movement direction of the cursor detected by the detecting portion.

7. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising

a detecting portion that detects a movement instruction of the cursor from an input device,

wherein the measurement processing portion determines the predetermined area based on the movement direction of the cursor detected by the detecting portion.

8. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control portion makes the movement speed of the cursor slow when the characteristic quantity is suited to the measurement processing.

9. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic quantity calculating portion calculates the characteristic quantity based on at least one of brightness and texture value of the image on the basis of the position designated by the cursor.

10. A method comprising the following steps of:

generating an image of an object;

displaying the image and a cursor that designates a position on the image;

calculating, based on the image, a characteristic quantity of the image on the basis of the position designated by the cursor; and

controlling the movement of the cursor in accordance with the characteristic quantity.