ENDOSCOPE APPARATUS AND METHOD OF MEASURING OBJECT

• US 20120140989A1
• Filed: 12/01/2010
• Published: 06/07/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evident Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: HORI, Fumio
• Granted Patent: US 8,903,144 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/106
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10068 Endoscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/136 involving thresholding
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/62 of area, perimeter, diameter or volume

Abstract

An endoscope apparatus including: an image pickup portion that picks up an image of an object; and a measurement portion that measures the object based on the image of the object obtained by the image pickup portion, in which the measurement portion includes: a specification portion that specifies three base points on the image; a composing point calculation portion that calculates composing points forming an object region of the object, based on an image region that is based on a plurality of points, the points set on a line determined by the three base points that are specified by the specification portion; and a size calculation portion that calculates a size of the object based on the composing points.

Claims

1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

an image pickup portion that picks up an image of an object; and

a measurement portion that measures the object based on the image of the object obtained by the image pickup portion, wherein

the measurement portion comprises;

a specification portion that specifies three base points on the image;

a composing point calculation portion that calculates composing points forming an object region of the object, based on an image region that is based on a plurality of points, the points set on a line determined by the three base points that are specified by the specification portion; and

a size calculation portion that calculates a size of the object based on the composing points.

2. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composing point calculation portion extracts an edge of the object region based on the image region that is based on the plurality of points, calculates an approximation line approximating to the edge, and calculates the composing points on the edge based on the approximation line.

3. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the composing point calculation portion controls a number of the composing points in accordance with a degree of correspondence between the edge and the approximation line.

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

an image processing portion that binarizes the image, wherein

the composing point calculation portion calculates the composing points based on the image after binarization.

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

an image processing portion that binarizes the image, wherein

the base point specification portion specifies the three base points on the image after binarization.

6. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the composing point calculation portion converts a dynamic range of the image, and furthermore, binarizes the image after dynamic range conversion, and calculates the composing points based on the image after the binarization processing.

7. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an input portion for inputting a threshold value that is used in the binarization processing of the image.

8. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display portion that displays the image and a result of the measurement processing; and

a control portion that switches a display state of the display portion between a first display state in which the result of the measurement processing is superimposed on at least a part of measurement information including the image of the object and a second display state in which the measurement information on which the result of the measurement processing is superimposed on the first display state is made visible.

9. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a composing point correction portion that corrects the composing point based on an instruction from a user.

10. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the composing point correction portion corrects a position of the composing points which is selected based on a position instructed by the user on the image and a position calculated by the composing point calculation portion to the position instructed by the user.

11. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the composing point correction portion further determines whether a shape of an edge line made of line segments that connect the composing points including the corrected composing point is twisted or not.

12. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the composing point correction portion adds a new composing point at a point that is instructed by the user on the image.

13. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the composing point correction portion further determines, based on positions of the composing points calculated by the composing point calculation portion and a position of the newly added composing position, an edge line made of lines that connect all the formation points.

14. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the composing point correction portion further determines the edge line so that the newly added composing point and the composing point selected based on the instruction from the user are connected by a line.

15. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a memory portion that stores correction result information for showing a result of a correction made by the composing point correction portion, wherein

the composing point correction portion corrects, based on an instruction from the user, the composing point after correction that is indicated by the correction result information, the composing point after correction being selected based on an instruction from the user.

16. The endoscope apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the composing point calculation portion binarizes the image based on the image region that is based on the plurality of points, extracts an edge of the object region based on the image after binarization processing, calculates an approximation line that approximates to the edge, and calculates the composing points on the edge based on the approximation line.

17. A method of measuring an object, comprising:

obtaining an image of an object picked up by an image pickup portion provided in an endoscope apparatus; and

measuring the object based on the image, wherein

the measuring step comprises;

specifying three base points on the image;

determining a line based on the three base points specified in the specifying;

calculating composing points that form an object region of the object, based on an image region that is based on a plurality of points that are set on the line; and

calculating a size of the object based on the formation points.