JP2006136662A - Electronic endoscope system - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
To provide an electronic endoscope system that allows an operator to execute a GUI operation that has been performed using a pointing device connected to a processor in the past without feeling complicated or useless.
[Solution]
An electronic endoscope system includes a processor that implements a GUI, and an electronic scope that is inserted into a body cavity and images a living tissue. The electronic scope is configured to operate the GUI with respect to the processor. The processor has a first operation unit, and the processor has a control unit that performs control so that processing corresponding to the operation of the first operation unit is performed.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic endoscope system including a solid-state imaging device at a tip used for observing a part inside the body.

  In general, a medical endoscope system for observing the inside of a body has a processor including a light source unit and an image processing unit, and an imaging element that performs imaging by illuminating the inside of the body at the distal end of a bendable insertion unit. It consists of an electronic scope. In recent processors, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) capable of performing operations related to many processes using an external input device such as a pointing device such as a keyboard or a mouse is mounted. In addition, the electronic scope has an operation unit composed of a plurality of buttons, levers, and the like for causing the electronic scope to execute a predetermined operation (for example, rotation of the bending unit, bending operation, water supply operation, etc.). Arranged. As described above, a conventional electronic endoscope system including a processor including a pointing device and an electronic scope having an operation unit on a gripping unit is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 below.

JP 2003-250756 A

  Generally, at the time of endoscopic observation, an operator who actually performs endoscopic observation using an electronic scope mainly operates an operation unit provided on the electronic scope gripping unit. Then, an operation related to the processor via the pointing device is performed by an assistant such as a nurse who supports the operator. However, when it is difficult to allocate enough personnel for endoscopic observation, such as in a medium-scale or small-scale hospital or clinic, the operator can operate not only using the electronic scope gripping unit but also using a pointing device. It may be necessary to do. In that case, the surgeon operates the pointing device accurately at an appropriate timing while taking care to grasp the electronic scope safely and reliably and observe the living tissue without damaging the body cavity of the subject. Must. Therefore, there is a possibility that the surgeon may be complicated and excessively burdensome.

  Thus, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention enables an operator to perform a GUI operation that has been performed using a pointing device connected to a processor in the past without feeling complicated or useless. An object is to provide an electronic endoscope system.

  Therefore, an electronic endoscope system according to claim 1 is an electronic endoscope system including a processor that implements a GUI and an electronic scope that is inserted into a body cavity and images a living tissue. It has the 1st operation means for performing operation by GUI about a processor, and a processor has a control means which controls so that processing corresponding to operation of the 1st operation means may be performed.

  According to the electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, since the first operating means is disposed in the electronic scope, the pointing device located at a position away from the operator can be used when the operator operates the GUI. There is no need to use it. Therefore, there is no fear that the operation will interfere with the endoscopic observation, and the operator can easily perform the operation using the GUI without feeling a burden.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is desirable that the first operation means is disposed on the grip portion of the electronic scope. It is desirable that a second operation means for performing at least an operation related to the operation of the electronic scope is also disposed in the gripping portion. Thereby, a series of operation means can be concentrated and arrange | positioned at a holding part. Therefore, the surgeon can perform all operations only with the fingers of the hand on the side holding the electronic scope, and the operability of the surgeon can be improved.

  The first operating means is preferably waterproofed (Claim 4).

  According to the invention described in claim 5, the electronic scope can have a prohibiting means for prohibiting the use of the first operating means. This provides an electronic scope that flexibly corresponds to the surgeon's preference.

  The prohibiting means may be configured as a detachable covering means that covers the first operating means (claim 6). For example, the covering means may be a waterproof cap.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, the first operating means can have a push-in trackball.

  Specifically, when the processor has a light source unit that emits light for illuminating a living tissue, the operation related to the light source unit is included in the operation using the GUI. When the processor includes an image processing unit that performs image processing on image data captured by the electronic scope, the operation related to the image processing unit is included in the operation using the GUI.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the first operation means for performing the operation related to the GUI is arranged in the electronic scope, so that the operator can grasp the electronic scope while holding the electronic scope during the endoscopic observation. An operation by the GUI of the processor can be executed using the finger on the side to be performed. Therefore, according to the present invention, unlike a conventional electronic endoscope system, an operator can easily perform an operation using a GUI of a processor without feeling burden and complexity. This also leads to a reduction in personnel required for endoscopic observation.

  Hereinafter, an electronic endoscope system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope system 100 of the present embodiment. The electronic endoscope system 100 includes an electronic scope 100a, a processor 100b, and a monitor 100c.

  The electronic scope 100 a includes a grip 10, a solid-state imaging device (including an optical unit, the same applies to the following) 60, and a drive circuit unit 80. The holding unit 10 includes a first operation unit 11 having a trackball 11a and a second operation unit 12 including a plurality of levers and buttons. The first operation unit 11 and the second operation unit 12 are both waterproof to effectively prevent the scattered liquid from adhering and entering the electronic scope 100.

  The processor 100b includes a main control unit 20, a light source unit 30, an image processing circuit 40, a light guide 50, and a front panel 70. The processor 100b can be connected to an external input device such as a mouse (not shown). Note that the processor 100b is equipped with a GUI, and is configured to perform an operation based on visual information displayed on the monitor 100c.

  When the electronic endoscope system 100 is used, endoscopic observation is performed as follows. First, the surgeon inserts an electronic scope into the body cavity of the subject. In the processor 100b, the main control unit 20 performs light emission control on the light source unit 30. The light emitted from the light source unit 30 passes through the light guide 50 and is irradiated from the light guide tip 50a to the outside (inside the body cavity).

  The solid-state imaging device 60 disposed at the distal end of the electronic scope is driven and controlled by the drive circuit unit 80, images a living tissue illuminated by light irradiated from the light guide distal end 50a, and the captured image data is converted into an image signal. To the image processing circuit 40 of the processor 100b.

  The image processing circuit 40 performs predetermined image processing on the image signal transmitted from the solid-state imaging device 60 driven by the drive circuit unit 80 under the control of the main control unit 20, and outputs the image signal to the monitor 100c. The surgeon observes the image displayed on the monitor 100c to identify or remove the lesioned part in the body cavity.

  During the above endoscope observation, the operator directly sets the electronic endoscope system 100 at an arbitrary timing by operating a plurality of operation means provided in the electronic endoscope system 100, A predetermined operation can be executed. Specifically, the above-described operation means includes a first operation unit 11 and a second operation unit 12 disposed in the grip unit 10.

  The trackball 11a of the first operation unit 11 is configured to be rotatable. The trackball 11a also functions as a pushable button. When the surgeon rotates the trackball 11a, the first operation unit 11 includes a pair of encoders (not shown) that detect movement in two directions orthogonal to each other. The rotational direction and rotational speed detected by the pair of encoders are converted into corresponding electrical signals. Further, when the surgeon performs an operation of pushing the trackball 11a, the pair of contacts disposed in the first operation portion 11 are brought into contact with each other, and an electric signal is generated. Each electric signal is transmitted to the first port 21 of the main control unit 20. Strictly speaking, the electrical signal from each encoder and the electrical signal from the contact point in contact are transmitted to different first ports 21 via different signal lines. In other words, for the sake of convenience, only one signal line and one first port 21 are shown in FIG. 1, but in reality, a set of signal lines and first port 21 is provided between the first operation unit 11 and the main control unit 20. Are arranged in three sets. In the present embodiment, the first port 21 is a digital input. Therefore, the electric signal input to the first port 21 is recognized as either HIGH or LOW level. The main control unit 20 determines the operation state of the trackball 11a by the operator depending on what electric signal is input to each first port 21. The main control unit 20 performs various controls based on the determination result.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a screen D displayed on the monitor 100 c based on the output from the image processing circuit 40 controlled by the main control unit 20. On the screen D, buttons 200a to 200e to which different functions are assigned, a cursor 201, and captured images 202a and 202b are displayed. The surgeon rotates the trackball 11a while viewing the image D displayed on the monitor 100c. The main control unit 20 moves the cursor 201 on the screen D based on the electrical signal transmitted from the first operation unit 11 in response to the rotation operation of the trackball 11a. The surgeon pushes the trackball 11a on the screen D with the cursor 201 moving to a predetermined position. When receiving an electrical signal indicating that the trackball 11a has been pushed in, the control unit 20 executes processing corresponding to the current position of the cursor 201 on the assumption that the position of the cursor 201 has been determined. In other words, when the surgeon rotates the trackball 11a to move the cursor 201 to a position corresponding to a desired function and pushes the trackball 11a, the function is selected and executed.

  For example, when the trackball 11a is pushed in with the cursor 201 positioned on the menu button 200a, as shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of areas divided by a plurality of first subordinate items (hereinafter referred to as the first A first pull-down menu P1 consisting of a lower item area is displayed. In FIG. 3A, “operation”, “character input”, “lighting”, and “setting” are illustrated as the first subordinate items constituting the first pull-down menu P1.

  While the pull-down menu shown in FIG. 3A is displayed, the surgeon further rotates the trackball 11a to move the cursor 201 to any one of the first lower item areas. When the cursor 201 moves to any one of the first lower item areas, the main control unit 20 uses the second lower item corresponding to each first lower item as shown in FIGS. Second pull-down menus P21 to P23 including a plurality of divided areas (hereinafter referred to as second sub-item areas) are displayed.

  For example, when the cursor 201 is moved to the “operation” item in the first pull-down menu P1, the main control unit 20 displays the second pull-down menu P21 corresponding to the “operation” item. In FIG. 3B, “marking”, “enlargement”, and “replacement” are illustrated as the second lower items constituting the second pull-down menu P21.

  When the operator wants to distinguish the currently active captured image 202a from other captured images, the operator operates the trackball 11a to select “marking”. FIG. 4 shows the state of the captured image 202a on the screen D when “marking” is selected by the surgeon. As shown in FIG. 4, when “marking” is selected by the operator, the main control unit 20 confirms that the currently active captured image 202 a is marked on the screen D via the image processing circuit 40. A mark M is displayed.

  When “enlarge” is selected in the second pull-down menu 21 shown in FIG. 3B, the main control unit 20 displays the currently active captured image 202a in an enlarged display, for example, a full screen display. The image processing circuit 40 is driven and controlled. When “Replace” is selected, the main control unit 20 drives the image processing circuit 40 so as to deactivate the captured image 202a that is currently active and activate the captured image 202b that is currently inactive. Control. When the processing corresponding to “replacement” is executed by the main control unit 20, on the screen D, the captured image 202b is displayed on the front surface, and the captured image 202a moves to the back surface of the captured image 202b.

  The surgeon observes the captured image 202a and moves the cursor 201 to the “character input” item in the first pull-down menu P1 when he / she wants to add some comment. When the cursor 201 enters the “character input” area, the main control unit 20 displays a second pull-down menu P22 corresponding to the “character input” item. FIG. 3C exemplifies “fixed sentences A to C”, “keyboard”, and “create fixed sentence” as the second subordinate items constituting the second pull-down menu P22. Note that the fixed sentences A to C are, for example, an index when the surgeon uses the captured image later for medical examinations such as “positive”, “negative”, “high progress level”, and “low progress level”. The terminology is exemplified. The fixed phrases A to C may be registered in advance at the time of shipment, and can be set to any word of the surgeon by selecting “Create fixed phrases”.

  FIG. 5A shows the state of the captured image 202a on the screen D when the surgeon selects “fixed sentence A”. As shown in FIG. 5A, when “fixed sentence A” is selected by the operator, under the control of the main control unit 20, the image processing circuit 40 puts the fixed phrase A in a partial area of the captured image 202a. Superimpose.

  FIG. 5B shows a screen D when the surgeon selects “keyboard”. As a situation where the “keyboard” is selected, there may be a case where the operator wants to add a comment other than the fixed sentence to the image. When the surgeon selects “keyboard”, the image processing circuit 40 displays the keyboard area 200f on the forefront of the screen D, and forms a text input area 205 in the currently active captured image 202a. While referring to the screen D shown in FIG. 5B, the surgeon sequentially selects characters corresponding to the words of comments attached to the image from the keyboard area 200f via the trackball 11a and inputs them to the text input area 205. To do. The operator who has completed the input selects the “CLOSE” button provided at the lower right of the screen D. As a result, the image processing circuit 40 ends the display process of the keyboard area 200f, and superimposes the words input to the captured image 202a on the image 202a.

  Furthermore, when the surgeon determines that the captured images 202a and 202b on the screen D are too dark or too bright, the cursor 201 is moved to the “illumination” item in the first pull-down menu P1. When the cursor 201 is in the “lighting” area, the main control unit 20 displays a second pull-down menu P23 corresponding to the “lighting” item. In FIG. 3D, “brightness UP” and “brightness DOWN” are illustrated as the second lower items constituting the second pull-down menu P23. When the surgeon selects either “brightness UP” or “brightness DOWN” using the trackball 11a, the main control unit 20 illuminates light emitted from the light source unit in response to the selection. Adjust the amount of light.

  The buttons 200b to 200e arranged at the lower part of the screen D shown in FIG. 2 are so-called shortcut buttons to which items frequently used by the surgeon are allocated among the various second sub-items described above. The allocation of items to the buttons 200b to 200e is executed by processing in the subordinate items of the “setting” item in the first pull-down menu P1 shown in FIG. By using each of the buttons 200b to 200e, the operator does not need to follow the menu 200a to the necessary lower items. For example, on the screen D shown in FIG. 2, when the operator presses the trackball 11a and selects the menu button 200b while the cursor 201 is positioned on the menu button 200b, the main control unit 20 displays the image processing circuit. The image processing circuit 40 is driven and controlled so that the captured image 202a shown in FIG. Thereby, for the operator, further improvement in operability and reduction in burden are achieved. The above is description of the process of the processor 100b centering on the main control part 20 when an operator operates the 1st operation part 11. FIG.

  The second operation unit 12 is a part for mainly performing an operation related to the electronic scope 100a itself, for example, a bending operation or a water supply operation of the distal end portion. When the surgeon operates the second operation unit 12, an electrical signal corresponding to the operation is transmitted to the main control unit 20. The electrical signal is input to the second port 22 of the control unit 20. Strictly speaking, the second operation unit 12 is provided with a plurality of operation members (buttons, levers, etc.). Accordingly, the same number of second ports 22 as the operation members of the second operation unit 12 are provided. Each operation member and each second port 22 are connected by a plurality of signal lines so as to correspond one-to-one. However, in FIG. 1, only the signal line and the second port 22 for one operation member are shown for convenience of explanation. Since the recognition process of the electric signal by the second port 22 is the same as that of the first port 21, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The main control unit 20 determines the operation state of the second operation unit 12 by the operator depending on what electric signal is input to each second port 22. The main control unit 20 performs various controls based on the determination result. For example, when the surgeon presses a button for which a freeze operation for obtaining a still image is set by the second operation unit 12, the main control unit 20 drives and controls the drive circuit unit 80 to display the captured image as an image processing circuit. 40. Then, the image processing circuit 40 superimposes and displays the still image on the monitor 100c under the control of the main control unit.

  The electronic endoscope system 100 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to execute some operations related to the system 100 using the front panel 70. This is to allow the assistant to operate according to the operator's instructions when there is an assistant. Examples of operations that can be performed using the front panel 70 include white balance adjustment.

  FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing the vicinity of the first operation unit 11 to which the protective cap 90 is attached in the electronic scope 100a. The protective cap 90 is formed as a male screw portion 91 in which an end portion on the electronic scope 100a side is threaded. The protective cap 90 is attached to the electronic scope 100a when the male screw portion 91 is screwed into a screw groove 91H formed around the first operation portion 11 in the electronic scope 100a. The protective cap 90 attached to the electronic scope 100a is in close contact with the electronic scope 100a by the male screw portion 91 and the screw groove 91H. That is, the first operation unit 11 inside the protective cap 90 is waterproof and antifouling.

  The protective cap 90 is attached not only to obtain a waterproof and antifouling effect on the first operation unit 11 as described above, but also when an operator who does not need to perform an operation using the GUI uses the electronic scope 100a. It can also be used to prevent erroneous operations.

  The above is the embodiment of the present invention. The electronic endoscope system 100 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, even when the electronic endoscope system 100 is modified as described below, the same effects as the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the first operation unit 11 having the trackball 11a that can be rotated and pushed in has been described. The first operation unit 11 is not limited to the configuration as long as the operation by the GUI in the processor 100b is possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a piezoelectric element joystick 11b may be provided instead of the trackball 11a, and the joystick 11b may be rotated and pushed.

  Moreover, the display mode of the screen D at the time of operation by GUI shown in FIGS. 2-5 is an example to the last, and is not limited to this. In the screen D, a plurality of items that can be selected with the cursor 201 are merely examples, and any of the plurality of items can be deleted or another item can be added.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electronic endoscope system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An example of the screen displayed on a monitor at the time of operation by GUI of embodiment of this invention is shown. An example of the screen displayed on a monitor at the time of operation by GUI of embodiment of this invention is shown. An example of the screen displayed on a monitor at the time of operation by GUI of embodiment of this invention is shown. An example of the screen displayed on a monitor at the time of operation by GUI of embodiment of this invention is shown. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view showing the vicinity of a first operation unit equipped with a protective cap. It is a figure which shows the modification of the electronic scope of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Electronic endoscope system 100a Electronic scope 100b Processor 11 1st operation part 11a Trackball 20 Main control part 30 Light source part 40 Image processing circuit 90 Protective cap

Claims (10)

In an electronic endoscope system having a processor that implements a GUI and an electronic scope that is inserted into a body cavity and images a living tissue,
The electronic scope has a first operation means for performing an operation with a GUI related to the processor,
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the processor includes a control unit that performs control so that processing corresponding to the operation of the first operation unit is performed. The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1,
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the first operation means is disposed in a grip portion of the electronic scope. The electronic endoscope system according to claim 2,
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the grasping unit includes at least second operation means for performing an operation related to the operation of the electronic scope. The electronic endoscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the first operation means is waterproofed. The electronic endoscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the electronic scope includes a prohibiting unit that prohibits use of the first operation unit. The electronic endoscope system according to claim 5, wherein
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the prohibiting unit includes a removable covering unit that covers the first operation unit. The electronic endoscope system according to claim 6, wherein
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the covering means is a waterproof cap. The electronic endoscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The electronic endoscope system according to claim 1, wherein the first operation means includes a pushable trackball. The electronic endoscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The processor has a light source unit that emits light for illuminating the living tissue via the electronic scope,
The operation using the GUI includes an operation related to the light source unit. The electronic endoscope system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The processor includes an image processing unit that performs image processing on image data captured by the electronic scope,
The operation using the GUI includes an operation related to the image processing unit.

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