Endoscope system

• US 8,212,862 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2011
• Issued: 07/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Kura, Yasuhito, Kase, Seigo, Sakamoto, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, TUNG T
• Application Number:
  US13/012,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20110273549A1
• Time in Patent Office: 526 Days
• Field of Search: 348 68- 70
• US Class Current: 348/68
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00147 Holding or positioning arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00177 for 90 degrees side-viewing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00179 for off-axis viewing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/012 characterised by internal passages or accessories therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/018 for receiving instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/05 characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0661 Endoscope light sources
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/126 provided with means for cleaning in-use

Abstract

An endoscope system of the present invention has an endoscope which acquires a direct-view field of view image and a side-view field of view image of an object to be observed, a light source apparatus which supplies an illuminating light for illuminating the object to be observed, a detection section which detects a change of a physical quantity with respect to movement of an insertion section provided at the endoscope, which occurs due to an operation of the endoscope, an image processing unit which generates and outputs a video signal including the direct-view field of view image and the side-view field of view image in a same screen, and a light adjustment area selection section which detects a brightness of the direct-view field of view image and a brightness of the side-view field of view image individually, selects a field of view image corresponding to a moving direction in which the change of the physical quantity increases out of the direct-view field of view image and the side-view field of view image as a light adjustment target based on a detection result of the detection section, and performs control so as to make a luminance of the field of view image selected as the light adjustment target relatively higher than a luminance of the other field of view image.

Claims

1. An endoscope system, comprising:

an endoscope which acquires a direct-view field of view image and a side-view field of view image of an object to be observed in a body cavity;

a light source apparatus which supplies an illuminating light for illuminating the object to be observed;

a sensor section which detects a change of a physical quantity indicative of a moving direction of an insertion direction or an extraction direction of an insertion section with respect to the object to be observed in the body cavity, the insertion section being provided at the endoscope, and the change of the physical quantity occurring due to an operation of the endoscope;

an image processing unit which generates an observed image including the direct-view field of view image and the side-view field of view image in a same screen, and outputs the observed image as a video signal;

a detection section which detects a brightness of the direct-view field of view image and a brightness of the side-view field of view image individually based on the video signal;

an insertion/extraction detection section which detects whether the moving direction of the insertion section is the insertion direction or the extraction direction based on a detection result of the sensor section;

a light adjustment area selection section which selects the direct-view field of view image as a light adjustment target when the moving direction of the insertion section is the insertion direction, and selects the side-view field of view image as the light adjustment target when the moving direction of the insertion section is the extraction direction based on a detection result of the insertion/extraction detection section; and

a light quantity adjusting section which performs control so as to make a luminance of the field of view image selected as the light adjustment target relatively higher than a luminance of the other field of view image.

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

an insertion shape acquiring apparatus which acquires an insertion shape of the insertion section,

wherein the sensor section detects that the insertion section is inserted or extracted based on a signal including the insertion shape of the insertion section obtained in the insertion shape acquiring apparatus.

3. The endoscope system according to claim 1,

wherein the sensor section detects information relating to a predetermined landmark included in the observed image based on the video signal, and

the light adjustment area selection section selects the one field of view image as a light adjustment target based on a detection result of the information relating to the predetermined landmark, and

the light quantity adjusting section performs control with respect to the light source apparatus so that the one field of view image reaches a predetermined brightness target value.

4. The endoscope system according to claim 3,

wherein the sensor section detects a moving direction of the predetermined landmark in the observed image.

5. The endoscope system according to claim 3,

wherein the sensor section detects a change with time of a size of the predetermined landmark in the observed image.

6. The endoscope system according to claim 3,

wherein the sensor section detects a position where the predetermined landmark is present in the observed image.