Endoscope-image processing apparatus for performing image processing of emphasis in endoscope image by pigment concentration distribution

• US 5,675,378 A
• Filed: 04/18/1996
• Issued: 10/07/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 03/19/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Olympus Optical Company Ltd. (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Takasugi, Kei, Nakamura, Kazunari
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Tommy P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAO, ANAND SHASHIKANT
• Application Number:
  US08/634,263
• Time in Patent Office: 537 Days
• Field of Search: 348/65, 348/66, 348/72, 348/70, 348/67
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0638 providing two or more wavelengths
• 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

Abstract

In an endoscope apparatus, an image processing unit for an endoscope, and a method of emphasizing an endoscope image, conversion processing is performed in which an amount of pigment, such as a hemoglobin pigment, is calculated from the endoscope image which is detected by the use of the endoscope, by a pigment calculating circuit. The amount of pigment is substituted for an amount of pigment in which an amount of shift from a value such as average of the amount of pigment is enlarged, and the amount of pigment is returned to the endoscope image having an amount of pigment in which the amount of shift from an average is enlarged, whereby tone of most parts having the amount of pigment of the average is not changed to an original endoscope image, but the endoscope image in which tone of a portion having the amount of pigment which is shifted from the average is emphasized is generated.

Claims

1. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

an endoscope provided with an inserting section insertable into an organism, illuminating-light outputting means for outputting illuminating light to a part to be inspected within said organism, from the side of a forward end of said inserting section, and an image pickup device for photoelectrically converting an optical image on the basis of an objective optical system which is provided on the side of the forward end of said inserting section;

signal processing means for performing signal processing for displaying an image of said part to be inspected, from an output signal from said image pickup device;

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to said part to be inspected, from the output signal from said image pickup device;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means,

wherein said pigment-amount calculating means has judging means for judging whether or not it is adequate to find said amount of pigment with respect to an output signal from said image pickup device, and wherein said pigment-amount calculating means finds said amount of pigment with respect to the output signal from the image pickup device which is not excluded by said judging means.

2. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

an endoscope provided with an inserting section insertable into an organism, illuminating-light outputting means for outputting illuminating light to a part to be inspected within said organism, from the side of a forward end of said inserting section, and an image pickup device for photoelectrically converting an optical image on the basis of an objective optical system which is provided on the side of the forward end of said inserting section;

signal processing means for performing signal processing for displaying an image of said part to be inspected, from an output signal from said image pickup device;

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to said part to be inspected, from the output signal from said image pickup device;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means,

wherein said illuminating-light outputting means performs illumination by the illuminating light of a wavelength region in which a pigment which emits fluorescence is excited.

3. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

an endoscope provided with an inserting section insertable into an organism, illuminating-light outputting means for outputting illuminating light to a part to be inspected within said organism, from the side of a forward end of said inserting section, and an image pickup device for photoelectrically converting an optical image on the basis of an objective optical system which is provided on the side of the forward end of said inserting section;

signal processing means for performing signal processing for displaying an image of said part to be inspected, from an output signal from said image pickup device;

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to said part to be inspected, from the output signal from said image pickup device;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means,

wherein said image pickup device has separating means for optically separating lights of a plurality of wavelength regions from each other.

4. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to an image signal corresponding to an endoscope image which is produced by the use of the endoscope;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means, wherein said pigment-amount calculating means has most-dominant-value calculating means for calculating a most dominant value in distribution of the amount of pigment which is contained in said endoscope image.

5. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to an image signal corresponding to an endoscope image which is produced by the use of the endoscope;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means,

wherein said pigment-amount calculating means has concentration distribution calculating means for calculating amounts of pigments with respect to respective parts of said endoscope image, from said image signal to calculate concentration distribution of the amount of pigment with respect to said endoscope image,

wherein said emphasis means performs such emphasis processing that frequency distribution of said amount of pigment which is calculated with respect to various parts of said endoscope image spreads in a direction of said amount of pigment in the vicinity of a most dominant value which is the highest in frequency.

6. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to an image signal corresponding to an endoscope image which is produced by the use of the endoscope;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means,

wherein said pigment-amount calculating means has concentration distribution calculating means for calculating amounts of pigments with respect to respective parts of said endoscope image, from said image signal to calculate concentration distribution of the amount of pigment with respect to said endoscope image,

wherein said emphasis means performs emphasis processing by filtering processing with respect to two-dimensional distribution of said amount of pigment.

7. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to an image signal corresponding to an endoscope image which is produced by the use of the endoscope;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means,

wherein said pigment-amount calculating means has concentration distribution calculating means for calculating amounts of pigments with respect to respective parts of said endoscope image, from said image signal to calculate concentration distribution of the amount of pigment with respect to said endoscope image,

wherein said emphasis means performs emphasis processing by a weighting function with respect to two-dimensional distribution of said amount of pigment.

8. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to an image signal corresponding to an endoscope image which is produced by the use of the endoscope;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means, including limiting means for limiting said emphasis-processed image so that a level of said emphasis-processed image may not exceed a set value.

9. An endoscope apparatus comprising:

pigment-amount calculating means for calculating an amount of pigment with respect to an image signal corresponding to an endoscope image which is produced by the use of the endoscope;

emphasis means for performing emphasis processing to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of the amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating means; and

display means for displaying said emphasis-processed image which is processed in emphasis by said emphasis means, including means for administrating material containing said pigment, to said part to be inspected, before at least said amount of pigment is calculated.

10. A method of emphasizing an endoscope image, comprising:

a pigment-amount calculating step of calculating an amount of pigment contained in an endoscope image, from an image signal corresponding to the endoscope image which is produced by the use of an endoscope;

an emphasis-processed image signal generating step of generating an emphasis-processed image signal in which emphasis processing is applied to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of said amount of pigment which is calculated in said pigment-amount calculating step; and

a display step of displaying said emphasis-processed image signal,

wherein said pigment amount calculating step has a concentration distribution calculating step of calculating amounts of pigments at respective various parts of said endoscope image from said image signal, to calculate concentration distribution of the amount of pigment with respect to said endoscope image,

wherein said emphasis-processed image signal generating step replaces various amounts of pigments in said endoscope image such that an amount of shift from a reference amount of pigment which serves as a reference is enlarged, to thereby generate said emphasis-processed image,

wherein said pigment-amount calculating step has an exclusion step of excluding an image signal of a portion which is inadequate for calculation of said reference amount of pigment in a case where said reference amount of pigment is calculated from said image signal.

11. A method of emphasizing an endoscope image, comprising:

a pigment-amount calculating step of calculating an amount of pigment contained in an endoscope image, from an image signal corresponding to the endoscope image which is produced by the use of an endoscope;

an emphasis-processed image signal generating step of generating an emphasis-processed image signal in which emphasis processing is applied to said image signal so as to obtain an emphasis-processed image having a color-tone of said endoscope image, on the basis of said amount of pigment which is calculated in said pigment-amount calculating step; and

a display step of displaying said emphasis-processed image signal,

wherein said emphasis-processed image-signal generating step generates said emphasis-processed image signal with respect only to an interest region of a part of said endoscope image.

12. A method of emphasizing an endoscope image, according to claim 11, wherein said pigment-amount calculating step judges whether or not it is said interest region, on the basis of a reference amount of pigment which serves as a reference.

13. A method of emphasizing an endoscope image, comprising:

a pigment-amount calculating step of calculating an amount of pigment which is contained in an endoscope image, from an image signal corresponding to said endoscope image which is produced by the use of an endoscope;

an emphasis-processed image signal generating step of applying emphasis processing to said image signal by an amount of shift from a reference amount of pigment which serves as a reference, with respect to said amount of pigment which is calculated by said pigment-amount calculating step to thereby generate an emphasis-processed image signal which emphasizes an endoscope image portion having an amount of pigment which is shifted from said reference amount of pigment; and

a display step of displaying said emphasis-processed image signal,

wherein said emphasis-processed image-signal generating step does not generate an emphasis-processed image signal, with respect to an endoscope image portion having an amount of pigment in a case where an amount of shift from said reference amount of pigment breaks away from a set range.