Signal processing device for biological observation apparatus

• US 8,279,275 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2006
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Gono, Kazuhiro, Amano, Shoichi, Takahashi, Tomoya, Ohshima, Mutsumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chambers, Michael A
• Application Number:
  US11/914,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20090058999A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,401 Days
• Field of Search: 600/317, 600/109, 348/188, 348/65, 348/71
• US Class Current: 348/65
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/000094 extracting biological structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00186 with imaging filters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/045 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0638 providing two or more wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0646 with illumination filters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0655 Control therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0075 by spectroscopy, i.e. measuring spectra, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy A61B5/0071 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0084 for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters A61B5/1459 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7242 using integration
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/1213 Filters in general, e.g. dichroic, band
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2003/1221 Mounting; Adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/32 Investigating bands of a spectrum in sequence by a single detector
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/50 using electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/501 Colorimeters using spectrally-selective light sources, e.g. LEDs
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/513 having fixed filter-detector pairs
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/255 Details, e.g. use of specially adapted sources, lighting or optical systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 23/24 Instruments or systems for viewing the inside of hollow bodies, e.g. fibrescopes
• 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

Tissue information of a desired deep portion of a biological tissue based on a spectral image obtained from signal processing is adjusted to image information in a color tone suitable for observation. Outputs of a matrix computing section 436 are respectively connected to integrating sections 438a to 438c, and after integrating computation is performed for them, color conversion computation is performed for respective spectral image signals ΣF1 to ΣF3 in a color adjusting section 440, spectral color channel image signals Rch, Gch and Bch are created from the spectral image signals ΣF1 to ΣF3, and images of the spectral color channel images Rch, Gch and Bch are sent to a display monitor 106 via a switching section 439.

Claims

1. A signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus comprising a signal processing control unit for photoelectrically converting light reflected from a living body that is a test subject based on illumination light from an illumination unit that irradiates light to the living body, controlling an operation of an image pickup unit creating an image pickup signal, and outputting the image pickup signal to a display device, the signal processing device comprising:

a spectral signal creating section for creating a first spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in a wavelength band centered on a range from 400 nm to 440 nm, and a second spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in a wavelength band centered on a range from 520 nm to 560 nm by performing computation processing using a predetermined coefficient for spectral signal creation corresponding to an image in a narrow band of an optical wavelength based on the image pickup signal; and

a color adjusting section for adjusting a color tone for each of a plurality of wavelength bands forming the spectral signal when outputting the spectral signal to the display device, the color adjusting section configured to output the first spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in the wavelength band centered on the range from 400 nm to 440 nm to B and G channels of the display device, and to output the second spectral signal corresponding to the when illumination or image pickup is performed in the wavelength band centered on the range from 520 nm to 560 nm to an R channel of the display device.

2. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the spectral signal creating section creates the spectral signal by electronic circuit processing.

3. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the spectral signal creating section creates the spectral signal by numeric data processing.

4. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the spectral signal creating section uses coefficients calculated based on spectral characteristics of at least one of the illumination unit and the image pickup unit.

5. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the spectral signal creating section uses a coefficient calculated based on a reflection characteristic of the test subject.

6. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the spectral signal includes a negative signal.

7. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein calculation of coefficients used for creation of the spectral signal is performed on assumption that the spectral characteristic of the test subject can be approximated by a linear sum of a plurality of basic spectral characteristics.

8. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein a number of the basic spectral characteristics is a number of color separations of the reflected light or less.

9. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the basic spectral characteristics are calculated by performing main component analysis or orthogonal expansion for a set of spectral characteristic data of the test subject.

10. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein calculation of coefficients used for creation of the spectral signal is performed on assumption that each of a spectral characteristic of the test subject, a spectral characteristic of the illumination unit and a spectral characteristic of an image pickup unit can be approximated by one numeric value within a predetermined wavelength band width.

11. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the color adjusting section performs predetermined output adjustment for a plurality of the spectral signals and outputs a plurality of the spectral signals to a B, G and R color channels of a display output section in order of wavelength, the shortest wavelength first.

12. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the color adjusting section performs signal conversion so that a channel including test subject information desired to be outputted with a highest contrast among a plurality of the spectral signals is reproduced as luminance in a display output device.

13. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the color adjusting section performs adjustment output so that a characteristic of the test subject is reproduced in a predetermined target color in a display output device.

14. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the test subject has at least one of a blood vessel and a mucosal microstructure.

15. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the biological observation apparatus is an electronic endoscope apparatus.

16. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the image pickup signal is created by passing through a color separating section.

17. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the image pickup unit is included in an endoscope.

18. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the endoscope is a flexible endoscope.

19. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the endoscope is a rigid endoscope.

20. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the image pickup unit is included in an oral camera.

21. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the image pickup unit is included in a camera picking up an image of the living body in a state in which the image pickup unit is in contact with a surface of the living body.

22. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the color separating section is a color filter provided at the image pickup unit.

23. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein the color separating section is a color filter provided at the illumination unit.

24. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein primary colors of the color separating section are RGB primary colors.

25. The signal processing device for a biological observation apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein primary colors of the color separating section include CMY complementary colors.

26. A biological observation apparatus photoelectrically converting light reflected from a living body based on illumination light irradiated to the living body that is a test subject, controlling an operation of an image pickup unit creating an image pickup signal in a wide band, and outputting the image pickup signal to a display device, the biological observation apparatus comprising:

a spectral signal creating section for creating a first spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in a wavelength band centered on a range from 400 nm to 440 nm and a second spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in a wavelength band centered on a range from 520 nm to 560 nm by performing computation processing using a predetermined coefficient for spectral signal creation corresponding to an image in a narrow band of an optical wavelength based on the image pickup signal;

a color adjusting section for adjusting a color tone for each of a plurality of wavelength bands for forming the spectral signal when outputting the spectral signal to the display device, the color adjusting section configured to output the first spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in the wavelength band centered on 400 nm to 440 nm to B and G channels of the display device and to output the second spectral signal corresponding to when illumination or image pickup is performed in the wavelength band centered on 520 nm to 560 nm to an R channel of the display device; and

a plurality of light sources for emitting a plurality of illumination lights differing in spectral characteristic from each other as the illumination light.

27. The biological observation apparatus according to claim 26, further comprising a signal processing control section including the spectral signal creating section and the color adjusting section,

wherein the signal processing control section performs control of determining which one of the plurality of light sources is used for the illumination light.

28. The biological observation apparatus according to claim 26,

wherein the spectral signal creating section creates a plurality of illumination lights having desired spectral characteristics from a plurality of the light sources.

29. The biological observation apparatus according to claim 26,

wherein at least one of a plurality of light sources is a semiconductor light source.

30. The biological observation apparatus according to claim 26,

wherein at least one of a plurality of light sources has a bright line spectrum.

31. The biological observation apparatus according to claim 26,

wherein the biological observation apparatus comprises an ordinary image observation mode for performing an ordinary image observation based on the image pickup signal and a spectral image observation mode for performing a spectral image observation based on the image pickup signal,

the spectral signal creating section creating spectral signals corresponding to images in a plurality of narrow bands of optical wavelengths by signal processing based on the image pickup signal in the spectral image observation mode, and

the biological observation apparatus further comprises a light source control section for controlling a first light source of the plurality of light sources to emit the illumination light in the ordinary image observation mode and controlling the first light source and a second light source of the plurality of light sources to emit the illumination light in the spectral image observation mode, the second light source having irradiation intensity in a predetermined wavelength band higher than irradiation intensity in the wavelength bands of the other of the plurality of light sources.