JP2583884B2 - Endoscope device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus capable of obtaining an optical image and an ultrasonic image.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In recent years, various electronic endoscopes using a solid-state imaging device such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) as imaging means have been proposed.

In addition, ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses that use ultrasound to diagnose internal tissues and organs have rapidly advanced. In recent years, an ultrasonic endoscope that allows a probe to be inserted into a body cavity and observed from within the body cavity has also been used. This ultrasonic endoscope inserts a vibrator into the body and does not have any intervening tissue such as skin or fat that attenuates ultrasonic waves, so it has good ultrasonic transparency and a clear image with good resolution. There is an advantage that it can be.

Further, for example, as shown in JP-A-58-133232, a means for obtaining an optical image of a solid-state imaging device and the like and a means for obtaining an ultrasonic image are provided at the distal end of the insertion portion, and the optical image and An ultrasonic endoscope has been proposed in which the relative positional relationship with an ultrasonic image is clarified so that an optical image and an ultrasonic image can be associated with each other.

By the way, when the endoscope is provided with a solid-state imaging device as a means for obtaining an optical image and a probe as a means for obtaining an ultrasonic image, a video processor that performs signal processing on the solid-state imaging device, An ultrasonic observation device that performs signal processing on the probe and a light source device that supplies illumination light to the solid-state imaging device are required. However, conventionally,
Since each of these devices is separately configured, there is a problem that the entire endoscope device is increased in size, cost is increased, and operation is complicated.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an endoscope apparatus that can obtain an optical image and an ultrasonic image, and that can reduce the size and cost of the apparatus. It is intended to provide.

Means and Action for Solving the Problems An endoscope apparatus according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that outputs an imaging signal that can be inserted into a subject and forms an optical image in a body cavity of the subject, and an ultrasonic wave of the subject. An endoscope scope having a built-in ultrasonic probe that outputs an ultrasonic signal for forming an image, and a single image obtained by synthesizing the imaging signal and the ultrasonic signal output from the endoscope scope. A signal processing means including a mixing circuit for enabling simultaneous display of the optical image and the ultrasonic image on a single monitor without a video signal.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus, FIG. The figure is a sectional view showing the distal end of the video ultrasonic scope.

As shown in FIG. 2, the endoscope apparatus 1 is connected to the video ultrasonic scope 2, the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3 to which the video ultrasonic scope 2 is connected, and the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3. And an observation monitor 4 as a display device.

The video ultrasonic scope 2 includes an elongated, for example, flexible insertion section 6, and a large-diameter operation section 7 is connected to the rear end of the insertion section 6. A flexible universal cord 8 extends laterally from the rear end of the operation unit 7, and a connector 9 is provided at the tip of the universal cord 8. The connector 9 is connected to the video ultrasonic observation device 3.
, For example, can be connected to a connector receiver 10 provided on the side.

The insertion section 6 includes a flexible section 12 provided on the operation section 7 side.
And a bendable portion continuously connected to the distal end of the flexible portion 12.
13 and a rigid distal end 14 connected to the distal end of the curved portion 13
It is composed of The operating section 7 is provided with a bending operation knob 16. By rotating the bending operation knob 16, the bending section 13 can be bent in the vertical and horizontal directions. At the rear end of the operation unit 7, for example, a remote switch 17 for stopping the observation image or the like is provided.

The connector 9 is formed by integrating an illumination system connector 21, an air supply system connector 22, and an electric system connector 23. On the side of the connector 9, a water supply base 24 and a suction base 25 are provided. An air supply / water supply channel that communicates with the air supply system connector 22 and the water supply base 24 from the connector 9 to the distal end portion 14 through the inside of the universal cord 8, the operation section 7, and the insertion section 6; A suction channel communicating with the suction base 25 is provided. The operation unit 7 is provided with an air / water supply button 26 for performing air / water supply and a suction button 27 for performing suction.

The tip portion 14 is configured as shown in FIG.

That is, the distal end portion 14 includes a substantially cylindrical distal end portion main body 31 made of a hard material such as a metal. This tip body
In the vicinity of the central axis, an observation through-hole 32 is formed near the center axis and penetrates in parallel to the axial direction of the insertion portion 6. On one side of the observation through-hole 32, an illumination through-hole 33 and a suction channel A hole 34 is formed, and on the other side of the observation through hole 32, the observation through hole 32 is formed.
An air supply / water supply channel through hole 35 is formed adjacent to 32. An ultrasonic probe 50 as a means for obtaining an ultrasonic image exposed on the side of the distal end portion 14 is provided on the outer peripheral side of the air / water supply channel through hole 35.

The observation through-hole 32 is provided with an objective lens system 38 on the distal end side, and a solid-state imaging device as an imaging unit for obtaining an optical image, such as a CCD4, at an image forming position of the objective lens system 38.
0 is provided. A signal cable 41 is connected to the CCD 40, and the signal cable 41
And is inserted into the universal cord 8 and connected to the electrical connector 23 of the connector 9. Further, a light distribution lens 43 is attached to the distal end side of the illumination through hole 33,
A light guide fiber 44 is provided at the rear end of the light distribution lens 43.
Are arranged. The light guide fiber 44 is inserted into the insertion section 6 and the universal cord 8 and connected to the illumination system connector 21 of the connector 9. In addition, the suction channel through hole 34 has a suction channel.
A suction channel tube (not shown) that forms 45 is connected to the suction channel tube.
Is connected to the suction base 25 of the suction port. Further, an air / water nozzle 47 which is open to the front end side of the objective lens system 38 is mounted in the air / water channel through hole 35. An air / water channel tube (not shown) forming an air / water channel 48 is connected to the air / water nozzle 47, and the air / water channel tube is inserted into the insertion section 6 and the universal cord 8. The connector 9 is connected to an air supply / water supply base 24 of the connector 9.

The ultrasonic probe 50 includes a vibrator 52 for generating an ultrasonic pulse mounted on a flexible substrate 51, and a first matching layer 53 and a second matching layer 54 on the vibrator 52. An acoustic lens 55 is provided, and the acoustic lens 55 is exposed on the outer peripheral portion of the distal end portion 14. The acoustic lens 55 has a function of protecting the human body from insulation and protecting the vibrator 52.Moreover, by using an appropriate material and shape, it is possible to use the refraction of sound to focus ultrasonic waves. Is also possible. The first matching layer 53 and the second matching layer 54 are provided for matching so that ultrasonic waves can smoothly enter the human body. On the back side of the flexible substrate 51, a damper layer 56 is provided. The damper layer 56 has a function of quickly dissipating the vibration energy confined in the vibration element 52 and preventing the width of the ultrasonic pulse from becoming long. A signal cable 58 is connected to the flexible board 51, and the signal cable 58 is inserted into the insertion section 6 and the universal cord 8 and connected to the electrical connector 23 of the connector 9.

In this embodiment, an ultrasonic matching circuit that performs electrical matching between the ultrasonic probe 50 and a signal processing circuit for the ultrasonic probe 50 and a type of a scope are shown in the connector 9. A scope recognition circuit is built in. When a scope such as the video ultrasonic scope 2 is connected to the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3, the scope recognition circuit is connected to an identification circuit (not shown) provided in the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3 and connected by the identification circuit. The type of scope that was created is identified.

On the other hand, the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3 supplies signal processing means for performing signal processing on the CCD 40, signal processing means for performing signal processing on the ultrasonic probe 50, and illumination light for obtaining an optical image. Light source device and one housing
It is housed integrally in 61. Then, by connecting the connector 9 of the video ultrasonic scope 2 to the connector receiver 10 provided at, for example, a side portion of the housing 61, the CCD 40 and the ultrasonic probe 50 in the video ultrasonic scope 2 are connected. Are connected to the respective signal processing means, and the light guide fibers 44 are connected to the light source device.

For example, on the front surface of the housing 61, a video controller 62 for performing an operation on an optical image by the CCD 40,
An ultrasonic controller 63 that performs an operation on an ultrasonic image by the ultrasonic probe 50 is provided on the left and right sides, and below these, a common operation that can perform an operation on an optical image and an operation on an ultrasonic image can be performed. A keyboard 64 is provided. An external storage device 65 such as a video tape recorder can be stored below the keyboard 64.
An external recording device 66 such as a polaroid camera (trade name) or a printer can be attached to the side of the housing 61. The casing 61 is provided with a caster 68 so as to be movable.

The internal configuration of the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3 is as shown in FIG. In this figure, the signal flow of the ultrasonic image is indicated by a solid line, and the signal flow of the optical image is indicated by a chain line.

In this embodiment, an example is shown in which sector electronic scanning is used as a scanning method as a signal processing means for obtaining an ultrasonic image.

In the case of the sector electronic scanning, the transducer of the ultrasonic probe 50
52, a large number of, for example, N vibrating element groups are provided, and the video ultrasonic scope 2 and the video ultrasonic observation device 3
When connected to each vibration element of the vibration element group,
Each of them is connected to a transmission drive circuit 71 for exciting the vibration element. This transmission drive circuit 71
For example, N pieces are provided corresponding to the number of the vibrating elements. Each transmission drive circuit 71 is operated with a time difference of a predetermined interval by a transmission delay control circuit 72 controlled by an ultrasonic control circuit 73. Then, by sequentially changing the time difference, the ultrasonic beam generated from the ultrasonic probe 50 is scanned in a fan shape. Note that the ultrasonic control circuit 73 can be operated by an ultrasonic controller 63 provided on the front surface of the housing 61.

The ultrasonic beam generated from the ultrasonic probe 50,
The light is transmitted to the inside of the living body, is reflected at the boundary of the body tissue, returns to the ultrasonic probe 50 as an echo again, and is converted into an electric signal by the vibrator 52. The electric signals from the respective vibrating elements of the vibrator 52 are each amplified by a preamplifier 75 and then input to a reception delay circuit 76. The number of the preamplifiers 75 is N, for example, corresponding to the number of the vibrating elements. Ultrasonic echoes from the same site in the body reach the respective vibrating elements at different times. The reception delay circuit 76 has a delay amount controlled by a reception delay control circuit 77 controlled by the ultrasonic control circuit 73, and delays ultrasonic echo signals from the respective vibrating elements with different delay amounts, respectively, and is the same. The phase of the ultrasonic echo signal corresponding to the site is adjusted. The ultrasonic echo signal from the reception delay circuit 76 is input to a logarithmic amplifier 78. This logarithmic amplifier 78
Is designed to logarithmically compress the dynamic range of an ultrasonic echo signal and amplify a wide range of ultrasonic echo signals without distortion. Further, the ultrasonic echo signal is logarithmically compressed by the logarithmic amplifier 78 and the STC (sensing).
The sensitivity is corrected by a sitivity time control circuit 79. That is, since the ultrasonic wave is attenuated when propagating in the living body, the STC circuit 79 eliminates the difference in the size of the echo due to this attenuation, and displays the image as a constant brightness image. The sensitivity is corrected for the propagation distance. The ultrasonic echo signal logarithmically compressed by the logarithmic amplifier 78 is input to a detection circuit 80 and detected by the detection circuit 80 to become an envelope signal (also referred to as an A-mode signal). This A-mode signal is supplied to the A / D converter 81
The digital signal is converted into a digital signal by a digital scanning converter (hereinafter, referred to as DSC) 83 controlled by the ultrasonic control circuit 73. The DSC 83 stores the A-mode signal as a digital quantity, and is read out, for example, as a television video signal for displaying in the B-mode. The digital video signal read from the DSC circuit 83 is input to a freeze memory 85. Then, the freeze image 85 can stop the ultrasonic image. The output signal of the freeze memory 85 is converted into an analog video signal by a D / A converter 86, output to the observation monitor 4 via the mixing circuit 87, and an ultrasonic image is displayed on the observation monitor 4, for example, in B mode. It has become so.

On the other hand, in order to obtain an optical image, a light source device 91 is provided in the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3. The light source device 91 includes, for example, a light source lamp 92 and a light source lamp
Red (R), green (G), blue (B)
And a rotating color filter 94 which has a color transmission filter for each color and is rotated by a motor 93. And
The illumination light emitted from the light source lamp 92 passes through the rotating color filter 94, is sequentially converted into light of each wavelength of R, G, and B, and is collected by the condenser lens 95. Is incident on the incident end of the light guide fiber 44 of the video ultrasonic scope 2 connected to the video ultrasonic scope 2. This illumination light is guided to the distal end portion 14 by the light guide fiber 44, emitted from the emission end, and
After 43, the subject is irradiated.

The subject image corresponding to each of the R, G, and B color lights is formed on the CCD 40 by the objective lens system 38. The CCD 40 is provided with a CCD driving circuit 9 provided in the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3.
7 to be driven. The CCD drive circuit 97 is controlled by a CCD drive control circuit 98 controlled by a video control circuit 100 to control the tamping. The signal read from the CCD 40 is amplified by a preamplifier 101.

In this embodiment, the preamplifier 101 and a preamplifier 75 for amplifying an ultrasonic echo signal from the ultrasonic probe 50
Thus, the preamplifier unit 102 sharing a part of the circuit is configured. The signal amplified by the preamplifier 101 is input to an A / D converter 81 for A / D converting the ultrasonic echo signal after detection, and is converted into a digital signal. That is, the A / D converter 81 is shared by the signal of the ultrasonic image and the signal of the optical image. The digital signal output from the A / D converter 81 is switched by, for example, a multiplexer (not shown) in synchronization with color-sequential illumination, and sequentially stores frame memories 103R and 103G corresponding to R, G, and B colors. , 103B. The digital R, G, and B signals read from the frame memories 103R, 103G, and 103B are used to freeze an ultrasonic image, and a common freeze memory 85 that is also used to freeze an optical image. After that, the signal is converted into a digital signal by the common D / A converter 86. That is, the freeze memory 85 and the D / A converter 86 are shared by the ultrasonic image signal and the optical image signal. After the analog R, G, B signals from the D / A converter 86, respectively, after passing through low-pass filters 105R, 105G, 105B to eliminate the discontinuity of the signal generated at the time of D / A conversion,
The data is input to the observation monitor 4 and input to the matrix circuit 106. Then, the luminance signal Y
Are converted into color difference signals RY and BY, and the
Thus, for example, it is converted into a composite color video signal (composite signal). The video signal from the encoder 107 is input to the mixing circuit 87, is synthesized with the video signal of the ultrasonic image, and is output to the observation monitor 4. Then, the first observation monitor 4
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, an ultrasonic image 111 and an optical image 112
Are displayed side by side, for example.

Further, the common keyboard 64 that can perform operations on the optical image and operations on the ultrasonic image can perform operations on the transmission delay control circuit 72, the reception delay control circuit 77, and the DSC 83 on the ultrasonic image side. On the optical image side, an operation on the CCD drive control circuit 98 can be performed. The keyboard 64 can input patient data and the like to a superimpose circuit 114 provided in the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 3. A mixer 11 for mixing the output of the superimposing circuit 114 and the output of the mixing circuit 87 is provided between the mixing circuit 87 and the observation monitor 4.
The patient data and the like input by the keyboard 64 are displayed in the image on the observation monitor 4 by the superimpose by the superimpose circuit 114 and the mixer 115. 1 and 2, reference numeral 116 indicates patient data and the like displayed on the observation monitor 4.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the signal processing means for obtaining an ultrasonic image and the signal processing means for obtaining an optical image are housed in one casing 61, and both signal processing means have similar functions. , For example, the preamplifier unit 102, the A / D converter 81, the freeze memory 85, the D / A converter 86, the mixing circuit 87, the superimpose circuit 114, the keyboard 64, and the observation monitor 4 are common. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 121 denotes a dedicated part for obtaining an ultrasonic image, 122 denotes a dedicated part for obtaining an optical image, and 123 denotes a part shared by a means for obtaining an ultrasonic image and a means for obtaining an optical image. ing.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to reduce the size of the device and the cost.

In addition, a video controller 62 and an ultrasonic controller 63 are provided in one housing 61, and a common keyboard 64 capable of operating on an optical image and an ultrasonic image is provided, so that operation is facilitated. .

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing an entire endoscope apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the distal end side of the universal cord 132 of the video ultrasonic scope 131 is branched into two, a video scope connector 135 is provided at one distal end, and an ultrasonic connector 136 is provided at the other distal end. ing. The video scope connector 135, the illumination system connector 21,
The air supply connector 22 and an electric connector 137 for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the CCD 40 are integrated. The side of the connector 135 has a water feed port 24
And a suction base 25 are provided. On the other hand, the ultrasonic connector 136 is a signal connector for transmitting and receiving signals to and from the ultrasonic probe 50.

The video ultrasonic observation device 138 includes, for example, a housing 61
A video scope connector receiver 139 to which the video scope connector 135 is connected, and an ultrasonic connector 1
An ultrasonic connector receiver 140 to which 36 is connected is provided.

In this embodiment, an ultrasonic image is displayed on the common observation monitor 4.
111 and the optical image 112 are displayed side by side.

 Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

According to the present embodiment, the video scope connector receiver
To 139, a video scope without the ultrasonic probe 50 is connected to perform observation of only an optical image, or to the ultrasonic connector receiver 140, for example, a probe of a type to be brought into contact with the body surface is connected. Thus, observation of only an ultrasonic image can be performed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, an endoscope connector 143 is provided at the distal end of the universal cord 142 of the video ultrasonic scope 141, and a signal cable 144 is provided from the base of the endoscope connector 143.
The electrical connector 145 is provided at the end of the signal cable 144. The endoscope connector 143
In the figure, an illumination system connector 21 and an air supply system connector 22 are integrated. Meanwhile, the electrical connector 14
Reference numeral 5 denotes a signal connector for transmitting / receiving a signal to / from the CCD 40 and transmitting / receiving a signal to / from the ultrasonic probe 50.

The video ultrasonic observation device 146 includes, for example, a housing 61
Are provided with an endoscope connector receiver 147 to which the endoscope connector 143 is connected, and an electric connector receiver 148 to which the electric connector 145 is connected.

In this embodiment, a common observation monitor 149 having a vertically long screen is used. The observation monitor 149 has an ultrasonic image 111 and an optical image 112 such that the ultrasonic image 111 is on the upper side. Are arranged vertically.

 Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

According to the present embodiment, the endoscope connector receiver 147 includes:
It becomes possible to perform macroscopic observation by connecting an endoscope such as a fiberscope capable of macroscopic observation.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, the video ultrasonic observation apparatus 161 includes a dedicated portion 121 for obtaining an ultrasonic image, for example, in FIG.
A dedicated part 122 for obtaining an optical image, a part 123 shared by a means for obtaining an ultrasonic image and a means for obtaining an optical image, respectively, are housed in separate casings, and an ultrasonic unit 162,
It is unitized into a camera control unit 163 and a common unit 164. Each unit 162,163,164
They are connected to each other by, for example, a BNC connector 165. Also,
For example, connector receivers 166, 167, 168 are provided on the front side of the units 162, 163, 164, respectively. Also, each unit 162, 163, 164 is a shelf 172, 173,
174 is detachably accommodated in this order from the bottom, for example.

On the other hand, the video ultrasonic scope 151 is provided with a common connector 153 that can be connected to the connector receiver 168 of the common unit 164 at the distal end of the universal cord 152, and a signal cable 154 and a signal cable 155 are provided from the base of the common connector 153. A video scope connector 156 that can be connected to the connector receiver 167 of the camera control unit 163 is provided at the distal end of the signal cable 154, and the connector receiver of the ultrasonic unit 162 is provided at the distal end of the signal cable 155. An ultrasonic connector 157 connectable to 166 is provided.

 Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

According to the present embodiment, the CCD 40 of the video ultrasonic scope 151
The camera control unit 163 and the ultrasonic unit 162 other than the common unit 164 can be exchanged according to the difference between the solid-state imaging devices and the difference between the ultrasonic probes 50. For example, as the camera control unit 163, a unit corresponding to a CCD having a large number of pixels for the digestive tract,
A unit or the like corresponding to a CCD having a small number of pixels for bronchi may be provided and selectively used according to the CCD to be used. Further, as the ultrasonic unit 162, a unit corresponding to a probe of a radial mechanical (mecha radial) scanning method, a unit corresponding to a probe of a linear electronic scanning method,
A unit or the like corresponding to the sector electronic scanning type probe may be provided and selectively used according to the probe to be used.

Also, by providing a plurality of types of common units 164 and making them interchangeable, for example, it is possible to expand common functions.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and for example,
The scanning method of the ultrasonic probe 50 is not limited to the sector electronic scanning, but may be linear electronic scanning, convex sector electronic scanning,
Linear mechanical scanning, arc mechanical scanning, sector mechanical scanning, radial mechanical scanning, or the like may be used. Also in the case of these scanning methods, the common part with the optical image signal processing means is substantially the first.
The configuration can be the same as that shown in FIG.

In addition, the color imaging method is not limited to the frame sequential method, and a color filter array in which color filters transmitting respective color lights such as R, G, and B are arranged in a mosaic pattern or the like is provided on the front surface of the solid-state imaging device. The system may be used. The imaging means may be a television camera attached to an eyepiece of a scope such as a fiber scope capable of observing the naked eye.

The signal processing means for performing signal processing on the imaging means for obtaining an optical image and the signal processing means for performing signal processing on the probe for obtaining an ultrasonic image have the same function. At least one circuit or device in the shared portion 123 in FIG. 1, an external storage device such as a video tape recorder, and an external storage device such as a camera and a printer may be provided. And so on.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a signal processing unit that performs signal processing on an imaging unit for obtaining an optical image,
Since at least a part of a portion having the same function as a signal processing unit that performs signal processing on a probe for obtaining an ultrasonic image is shared, an optical image and an ultrasonic image can be obtained, and an apparatus can be obtained. This has the effect that the size and cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 3 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the endoscope apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the distal end of a video ultrasonic scope, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus according to the second embodiment, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the entire endoscope apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Endoscope apparatus 2 ... Video ultrasonic scope 3 ... Video ultrasonic observation apparatus 4 ... Observation monitor, 40 ... CCD 50 ... Ultrasonic probe, 64 ... Keyboard 81 ... A / D converter 85 ... Freeze memory 86 ... D / A converter 102 ... Preamplifier part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Jun Yoshinaga, Inventor 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside the Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Ozeki 2-43-2, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside the Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeaki Nakamura 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside the Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Yoshikazu Tojo 2-43, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Shinichi Nishigaki, inventor 2-43-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (72) Hiromasa Suzuki 2-43, Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 2 Inside Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-59-104618 (JP, A) JP-A-52-139484 (JP, A) )

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image pickup means which can be inserted into an object and outputs an image signal for forming an optical image of a body cavity of the object, and an ultrasonic probe which outputs an ultrasonic signal for forming an ultrasonic image of the object An endoscope with a built-in element, and the imaging signal and the ultrasonic signal output from the endoscope are combined into a single video signal, and the optical image and the ultrasonic image are formed. Signal processing means including a mixing circuit for enabling simultaneous display on a single monitor; and an endoscope apparatus.