ENDOSCOPE SYSTEM

• US 20160278612A1
• Filed: 03/25/2016
• Published: 09/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: MINAMIZATO, Miho, HASEGAWA, Jun
• Granted Patent: US 10,413,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/000095 for image enhancement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00045 Display arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/009 with bending or curvature detection of the insertion part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/051 Details of CCD assembly
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0638 providing two or more wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0646 with illumination filters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0684 using light emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/303 for the vagina, i.e. vaginoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/307 for the urinary organs, e.g. urethroscopes, cystoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/062 using magnetic field

Abstract

An endoscope system includes: an insertion portion to be inserted into a predetermined luminal organ in a subject; an image pickup section provided in a vicinity of a distal end of the insertion portion, the image pickup section picking up an image of a predetermined range; an image pickup information acquiring section acquiring position information and gaze information about the image pickup section; a model image generating section generating a planar model image of the predetermined luminal organ; an image pasting processing section generating a pasted image obtained by pasting a subject image of an inside of the predetermined luminal organ onto the planar model image based on the position information and gaze information about the image pickup section; and an image pasting/presentation processing section presenting an image pickup range of the image pickup section on the pasted image based on the position information about the image pickup section.

Claims

1. An endoscope system comprising:

an insertion portion to be inserted into a predetermined luminal organ in a subject;

an image pickup section provided in a vicinity of a distal end of the insertion portion, the image pickup section picking up an image of a predetermined range in the subject;

an image pickup information acquiring section acquiring position information and gaze information about the image pickup section;

a model image generating section generating a planar model image of the predetermined luminal organ;

an image pasting processing section generating a pasted image obtained by pasting a subject image of an inside of the predetermined luminal organ onto the planar model image based on the position information and gaze information about the image pickup section; and

an image pasting/presentation processing section presenting an image pickup range of the image pickup section on the pasted image generated by the image pasting processing section based on the position information about the image pickup section.

2. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the image pasting/presentation processing section changes an angle for presenting the subject image pasted on the planar model image based on the position information and gaze information about the image pickup section.

3. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the image pasting/presentation processing section changes a method for presentation on the planar model image according to a kind of the image pickup section.

4. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the image pasting/presentation processing section performs presentation so that a position corresponding to the position information in the planar model image is located at a center, based on the position information about the image pickup section.

5. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein

the image pickup section is formed at a distal end of a bendable bending portion;

and

the image pasting/presentation processing section comprises an image adjusting section performing adjustment so that orientations of a subject image picked up by the image pickup section and displayed on a display section and of the subject image pasted on the planar model image are caused to correspond to each other, according to a bending state of the image pickup section accompanying bending of the bending section.

6. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein

the model image generating section generates a three-dimensional model image of the predetermined luminal organ in addition to the planar model image;

the image pickup information acquiring section comprises an insertion shape information detecting section detecting information about an insertion shape in a case of the insertion portion being inserted into the predetermined luminal organ; and

the endoscope system further comprises an insertion shape information presenting section presenting the information about the insertion shape acquired by the insertion shape information detecting section in association with a three-dimensional model image of the predetermined luminal organ in the subject.

7. The endoscope system according to claim 1, further comprising an image pasting judging section judging whether or not the image pasting/presentation processing section pastes the image picked up by the image pickup section onto the planar model image.

8. The endoscope system according to claim 7, wherein

the image pasting judging section judges whether or not any of image processing for the image picked up by the image pickup section, a moving speed of the image pickup section, a distance from the image pickup section to an inner surface of the predetermined luminal organ, and an angle formed by a direction of a normal line of the inner surface of the predetermined luminal organ and a gaze direction of the image pickup section satisfies a predetermined condition;

and

the image pasting/presentation processing section pastes the image picked up by the image pickup section, which is judged to satisfy the predetermined condition by the image pasting judging section, onto the planar model image.

9. The endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein, when pasting a next picked-up image after pasting the image picked up by the image pickup section at a corresponding position on the planar model image as a picked-up image and as a first pasted image so that the picked-up image substantially corresponds to an area corresponding to the picked-up image, the image pasting/presentation processing section changes the first pasted image to a reduced pasted image.

10. The endoscope system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an image display apparatus displaying the picked-up image picked up by the image pickup section and the planar model image in a first display area and a second display area different from each other, respectively, on a same display screen; and

a presentation angle adjusting section adjusting an orientation or an angle of the surface model image so that, relative to upward, downward, right and left directions in a case of the picked-up image being displayed in the first display area, upward, downward, right and left directions of the image pasted on the planar model image displayed in the second display area by the image pasting/presentation processing section correspond, respectively, on the display screen.