Image orientation for endoscopic video displays

• US 20020161280A1
• Filed: 03/08/2002
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Karl Storz Imaging, Inc (Karl Storz Se & Co. Kg)
• Original Assignee: Karl Storz Imaging, Inc (Karl Storz Se & Co. Kg)
• Inventors: Amling, Marc R., Chatenever, David, Mattsson-Boze, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,037,258 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/112
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00045 Display arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/042 characterised by a proximal camera, e.g. a CCD camera

Abstract

An apparatus and technique for compensating the display of an image obtained from a video camera system associated with an endoscope as it is moved through various orientations are described. The received optical image is converted to an electrical signal with an image sensor that can be a CCD or a CMOS detector. The endoscope video camera system has an inertial sensor to sense rotations of the received image about the optical axis of the endoscope and the sensor'"'"'s output signals are used to rotate either the image or the image sensor. In case of rotation of the image sensor the rotation sensor can be a gyroscope or a pair of accelerometers. In case of a rotation of the image obtained with the image sensor the inertial sensor, which can be an accelerometer or a gyroscope, the image is rotated within a microprocessor for subsequent viewing on a video display.

Claims

1. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference, said sensor being rotatably attached to said video camera system;

b) at least three accelerometers, positioned in a predetermined spatial relationship with said image sensor, to provide rotation signals representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis with respect to the direction of gravity, said spatial relationship being so arranged that at least one of said accelerometers provides a rotation signal for the orientation of said image sensor;

c) a processor to receive said rotation signals and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from one or more of said rotation signals; and

d) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

2. The video camera system of claim 1 wherein said processor further receives and stores a user supplied rotational offset signal to alter said vertical reference of said image sensor.

3. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis and a vertical reference, said image sensor being rotatably attached to said video camera system to provide image signals representative of said image;

b) at least one gyroscope, having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor;

c) a processor responsive to said rotation signal to provide a compensating rotator driver signal derived from said rotation signal; and

d) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction to establish a desired orientation of a display of said image signals.

4. The video camera system of claim 3 wherein said processor further receives and stores a user supplied rotational offset signal to alter said vertical reference of said image sensor.

5. The video camera system of claim 3 further comprising at least one accelerometer to provide a rotation signal representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis with respect to the direction of gravity, and wherein said processor is responsive to one or more of said rotation signals provided by said at least one gyroscope and said at least one accelerometer.

6. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference, said sensor being rotatably attached to said video camera system;

b) an image analysis unit which analyzes said image signals to provide a rotation signal representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis;

c) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from said rotation signal; and

d) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

7. The video camera system of claim 6 wherein said processor further receives and stores a user supplied rotational offset signal to alter said vertical reference of said image sensor.

8. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference, said sensor being rotatably attached to said video camera system;

b) a machine vision system which analyzes the relative position of the endoscope to provide a rotation signal representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis;

c) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from said rotation signal; and

d) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

9. The video camera system of claim 8 wherein said processor further receives and stores a user supplied rotational offset signal to alter said vertical reference of said image sensor.

10. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor mounted to the camera system and having a sensor optical axis, said sensor being aligned to receive said image and provide image signals representative of said image;

b) at least one inertial sensor for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor;

c) a processor responsive to said image signals and the rotation signal; and

d) said processor including an image rotator processor for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal and producing display signals indicative of the rotated image.

11. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor is an accelerometer.

12. The video camera system of claim 10 further including a second inertial sensor for providing a second rotation signal indicative of the rotation of the image sensor for enhanced sensing of image sensor rotation.

13. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor includes a pair of accelerometers mounted substantially orthogonally with respect to each other.

14. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor includes a plurality of accelerometers, positioned in a predetermined spatial relationship with said image sensor, to provide rotation signals representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis with respect to the direction of gravity, said spatial relationship being so arranged that at least one of said accelerometers provides a rotation signal for the orientation of said image sensor.

15. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor includes at least one gyroscope.

16. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor includes at least one gyroscope and at least one accelerometer.

17. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor comprises an image analysis unit which analyzes said image signals to provide rotation signals representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis.

18. The video camera system of claim 10 wherein said inertial sensor comprises a machine vision system which analyzes the relative position of the endoscope to provide rotation signals representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis.

20. The video camera system of claim 19 wherein said sensor is rotatably attached to said video camera system, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signals and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from one or more of said rotation signals; and

b) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

21. The video camera system of claim 19 wherein said image rotator comprises an image rotator processor for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by one or more of said rotation signals.

19. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference;

b) at least three accelerometers, positioned in a predetermined spatial relationship with said image sensor, to provide rotation signals representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis with respect to the direction of gravity, said spatial relationship being so arranged that at least one of said accelerometers provides a rotation signal for the orientation of said image sensor; and

c) an image rotator for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signals and producing display signals indicative of the rotated image.

22. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference;

b) at least one gyroscope, having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor; and

c) an image rotator for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal and producing display signals indicative of the rotated image.

23. The video camera system of claim 22 wherein said sensor is rotatably attached to said video camera system, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from said rotation signal; and

b) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

24. The video camera system of claim 22 wherein said image rotator comprises an image rotator processor for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal.

26. The video camera system of claim 25 wherein said sensor is rotatably attached to said video camera system, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signals and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from one or more of said rotation signals; and

b) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

27. The video camera system of claim 25 wherein said image rotator comprises an image rotator processor for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by one or more of said rotation signals.

29. The video camera system of claim 28 wherein said sensor is rotatably attached to said video camera system, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from said rotation signal; and

b) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

30. The video camera system of claim 28 wherein said image rotator comprises an image rotator processor for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal.

31. The video camera system of claim 28 further comprising an optical image rotator rotatably attached to said endoscope between said received image and said image sensor, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal derived from said rotation signal; and

b) an optical image rotator driver being effectively responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said optical image rotator to obtain a desired orientation of a display of the image signals.

25. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference;

b) at least one gyroscope having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis, and at least one accelerometer positioned in a predetermined spatial relationship with said image sensor, to provide rotation signals representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis; and

c) an image rotator for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by one or more of said rotation signals and producing display signals indicative of the rotated image.

28. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference;

b) an image analysis unit which analyzes said image signals to provide a rotation signal representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis; and

c) an image rotator for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal and producing display signals indicative of the rotated image.

32. A video camera system for modifying the orientation of a display of an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis aligned to receive the image to provide image signals representative of said image and having a vertical reference;

b) a machine vision system which analyzes the relative position of the endoscope to provide a rotation signal representative of angular orientation of said image sensor around said sensor optical axis; and

c) an image rotator for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal and producing display signals indicative of the rotated image.

33. The video camera system of claim 32 wherein said sensor is rotatably attached to said video camera system, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal calculated from said rotation signal; and

b) a sensor rotator responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said image sensor in a direction that maintains a desired orientation of a display of the image.

34. The video camera system of claim 32 wherein said image rotator comprises an image rotator processor for rotating the image represented by the image signals by an amount effectively determined by said rotation signal.

35. The video camera system of claim 32 further comprising an optical image rotator rotatably attached to said endoscope between said received image and said image sensor, and wherein said image rotator comprises:

a) a processor to receive said rotation signal and provide a compensating rotator driver signal derived from said rotation signal; and

b) an optical image rotator driver being effectively responsive to said compensating rotator driver signal to rotate said optical image rotator to obtain a desired orientation of a display of the image signals.

37. The video camera system as claimed in claim 36 and wherein said image rotator comprises an electronic image rotator for a rotation of the image signals.

38. The video camera system as claimed in claim 36 and further including an accelerometer associated with said video camera system to generate an accelerometer output signal indicative of an angular position of said image sensor relative to vertical;

and

wherein said image rotator is responsive to said accelerometer output signal and said gyro rotator signal to produce said desired orientation of the display of said image signals.

36. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a vertical reference and a sensor optical axis along which the image is being received, said image sensor producing image signals representative of said image as it is incident on the image sensor;

b) at least one gyroscope, having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor due to rotation of said endoscope;

c) a processor responsive to said rotation signal to provide a compensating signal derived from said rotation signal; and

d) an image rotator responsive to said compensating signal to produce display signals for a display of said image with a rotation in a direction that establishes a desired orientation of said display of said image signals.

39. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a sensor optical axis and a vertical reference and producing image signals representative of said image;

b) an inertial sensor for providing rotation signals representative of angular rotation of said image sensor and an oblique position thereof relative to the image;

c) a processor responsive to said rotation signals to derive compensating signals representative of a distortion of the image attributable to an oblique orientation of the image sensor; and

d) an image corrector responsive to said compensating signals to produce display signals representative of a desired orientation of said image.

40. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a vertical reference and a sensor optical axis along which the image is being received, said image sensor producing image signals representative of said image as it is incident on the image sensor;

b) at least one gyroscope, having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor due to rotation of said endoscope;

c) a processor responsive to said rotation signal to provide a compensating signal derived from said rotation signal; and

d) a rotational mount attached to said camera system for said image sensor and a motor drive to rotate said image sensor responsive to said compensating signal to produce display signals for a display of said image with a rotation in a direction that establishes a desired orientation of said display of said image signals.

41. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a vertical reference and a sensor optical axis along which the image is being received, said image sensor producing image signals representative of said image as it is incident on the image sensor;

b) at least one gyroscope, having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor due to rotation of said endoscope;

c) a processor responsive to said rotation signal to provide a compensating signal derived from said rotation signal;

d) an image rotator responsive to said compensating signal to produce display signals for a display of said image with a rotation in a direction that establishes a desired orientation of said display of said image signals;

e) an accelerometer associated with said video camera system to generate an accelerometer output signal indicative of an angular position of said image sensor relative to vertical, wherein said image rotator is responsive to said accelerometer output signal and said gyro rotator signal to produce said desired orientation of the display of said image signals; and

f) a detector for sensing when the angle sensed by the accelerometer is within a predetermined angle from the vertical to produce a gyro drift correction signal and a gyro drift corrector actuated by the gyro drift correction signal to effectively correct said gyro rotator signal for gyro drift.

42. A video camera system for modifying an image received by an endoscope, comprising:

a) an image sensor having a vertical reference and a sensor optical axis along which the image is being received, said image sensor producing image signals representative of said image as it is incident on the image sensor;

b) at least one gyroscope, having an axis of rotation bearing a predetermined angle relative to said sensor optical axis for providing a rotation signal representative of angular rotation of said image sensor due to rotation of said endoscope;

c) a processor responsive to said rotation signal to provide a compensating signal derived from said rotation signal;

d) an image rotator responsive to said compensating signal to produce display signals for a display of said image with a rotation in a direction that establishes a desired orientation of said display of said image signals

e) an accelerometer for sensing the angular position of the camera system relative to vertical and producing an accelerometer signal indicative thereof;

f) a gyro zone sensor responsive to the accelerometer signal for detecting when the angular orientation of the camera system enters a predetermined gyro zone having a known angle relative to vertical and in which zone the gyro controls correction of the orientation of the display of the image signals and producing a reference signal indicative thereof; and

g) a gyro drift corrector responsive to the reference signal for effectively enabling an adjustment for gyro drift.