Olympus Corporation

Olympus Optical Company, Ltd.

Olympus Medical Systems Corporation

Katsuichi Imaizumi

Sakae Takehana

Takeshi Ozawa

Nobuyuki Doguchi

Isami Hirao

Mamoru Kaneko

Hitoshi Ueno

Kazunari Nakamura

Shunya Akimoto

Masaki Terakubo

Hiroshi Ibe

Kazuhiro Gono

Yoshinori Takahashi

Takefumi Uesugi

Koichi Yoshimitsu

Yuichi Morizane

Tadashi Hirata

Makoto Tomioka

Masahiro Kawauchi

Yasukazu Kogen

Akihiro Horii

Hiroki Hibino

Hitoshi Mizuno

Kenji Yoshino

Yoshinao Oaki

Toshimasa Kawai

Atsushi Okawa

Masahiro Ohno

Jun Hiroya

Yasuo Komatsu

Eiji Yasuda

Takayuki Hanawa

Hiroyuki Sangu

Hidemichi Aoki

Susumu Hashimoto

Akira Hasegawa

Takeaki Nakamura

Hironobu Takizawa

Yasushige Ishihara

Tetsuhide Takeyama

Hidekazu Iwaki

Nobuaki Akui

Hideyuki Adachi

Naoki Miura

Tomoya Sato

Katsuya Ono

Seiichi Hosoda

Hideyuki Takaoka

Junichi Nozawa

Kei Kubo

Shuhei Iizuka

Shunji Takei

Fumiyuki Okawa

Daisuke Akiyama

Masahide Yamaki

Suguru Okaniwa

Manabu Yajima

Mitsuhiro Ito

Sakae Takahana

An endoscope apparatus includes a detecting section to which an observation image of a subject is sequentially inputted, the detecting section being configured to detect a characteristic region in the observation image based on a predetermined feature value concerning the observation image, and an emphasis processing section configured to apply, when the characteristic region is continuously detected in the detecting section, emphasis processing of a position corresponding to the characteristic region to the observation image of the subject inputted after elapse of a first predetermined time period from a time when the characteristic region is detected.

Endoscope apparatus

An optical scanning type observation apparatus includes: a light source portion for supplying illuminating light; an optical fiber for guiding the illuminating light and emitting the illuminating light from an emission end portion; an actuator portion for displacing an irradiation position of the illuminating light by swinging the emission end portion; a control portion for controlling the actuator portion such that at least a first frame and a second frame are periodically obtained; an image generating portion for sequentially generating at least a first image in the first frame and a second image in the second frame; a motion detecting portion for detecting a motion of an image between different frames; and an image outputting portion for outputting one or both of the first and second images based on a motion detected by the motion detecting portion.

Optical scanning type observation apparatus and method for operating optical scanning type observation apparatus

A scanning endoscope apparatus includes: a light source section that emits illuminating light; an optical fiber that guides and applies the illuminating light from a distal end, the illuminating light having directionality; a drive element and a scanning drive section that scan the distal end of the optical fiber; a light detecting section that detects light from a subject; a shutter and an intermittent light output control section that controls a light application period and an interruption period for the illuminating light; an extrinsic light component removal section that outputs a result of an average value of a plurality of light detection results obtained in the interruption period being subtracted from each of a plurality of light detection results obtained in the light application period; and an image processing section that forms image information for display, based on the result outputted by the extrinsic light component removal section.

Scanning endoscope apparatus, image processing apparatus and operation method of image processing apparatus

A scanning endoscope apparatus includes a light source section that emits illumination light, an optical fiber that irradiates the illumination light from a distal end to a subject with directivity, a drive element and a scanning drive section that perform scanning by the distal end of the optical fiber, a first light detection section that detects light from a direction of the distal end of the optical fiber, a second light detection section that detects light from an entire scanning range, and an image processing section that forms image information to be outputted to a display section based on a result of addition of a detection result corresponding to an external factor light component in a first light detection result and a second light detection result.

Scanning endoscope apparatus

A processor of an endoscope apparatus that is a medical apparatus generates two images that are a normal-light observation image and a special-light observation image that are obtained by picking up a return light, determines matching of observation fields of view with respect to the two images, generates a marker M that indicates a position on a living tissue for at least one of the two images based on the determination result, causes the generated two images to be displayed within a screen of a monitor, and displays the generated marker M by superimposing the marker M on at least one of the two images.

Medical apparatus, method for controlling marker display in medical image and medical processor

An optical imaging device of the present invention comprises: a light source device; a light guide and illumination lens, provided in an insertion section that can be inserted into a body cavity, for constituting an illumination light path for guiding an illumination light from the light source device to a subject; an objective lens for receiving return lights from the subject; an image capturing section for acquiring a visible light band image from the return light; an excitation light cut filter and image capturing section for acquiring a fluorescent image from the return lights; and an illumination light filter, provided on the illumination light path, for decreasing light in a band overlapping with the band of light of which image is captured by the image capturing section from the illumination light incident on.

Optical imaging device having illumination light filter section

The electronic endoscope device in accordance with the present invention comprises an image pick-up unit capable of acquiring an object image with respect to illumination light employed for illuminating the object for each prescribed wavelength band, an exposure period setting circuit for setting the exposure period of the image pick-up unit corresponding to the each wavelength band, an amplification circuit for amplifying picked-up image signals of the object image obtained with the image pick-up unit corresponding to the each wavelength band, and a control circuit for controlling the amplification circuit such that the picked-up image signals corresponded to the each wavelength band of the object image that are acquired with the image pick-up unit at the exposure period set corresponding to the each wavelength band set by the exposure period setting circuit are amplified at amplification factors computed corresponding to the exposure period that is set corresponding to the each wavelength band.

Electronic endoscopic device having a color balance adjustment system

An endoscope system includes a light source for supplying three narrow wavelength bands including one wavelength band for exciting fluorescence, an excitation light cut filter for transmitting light having a wavelength greater than either 470 nm or 490 nm, and an image capturing unit for capturing the light transmitted by the excitation light cut filter and outputting three wavelength band signals corresponding to the three narrow wavelength bands of the light source. Also included are first, second and third frame memories for inputting and storing the three wavelength band signals, respectively, and first, second and third output ends for outputting first, second and third color signals, respectively, to a monitor for displaying an image. An image processor receives signals from the first, second and third frame memories respectively and selects among the first output end, the second output end and third output end for outputting the received signals to the monitor.

Endoscope system using normal light and fluorescence

A CCD driver circuit adjusts and supplies pulse-type signals to a CCD in order to adjust the sensitivity of the CCD. A metering circuit meters a signal output from the CCD. A sensitivity control circuit controls the sensitivity of the CCD by controlling the sensitivity multiplication factor of the CCD based on a metering result by the metering circuit. A metering correcting circuit corrects a metering result from the metering circuit based on a charge multiplication factor from the sensitivity control circuit. An aperture control circuit controls an aperture based on a metering signal corrected by the metering correcting circuit. Thus, an image of an object of which strength of light largely varies can be obtained as an image under a proper dimming state.

Endoscope apparatus for obtaining properly dimmed observation images

Illumination light supplied from an illumination light supplying unit that can selectively supply a plurality kinds of illumination lights whose wavelengths fall in different regions is supplied to an object. A signal picking up an image of the object is received by a programmable circuit unit that is programmably constructed based on circuit data, and then subjected to signal processing. A circuit data holding unit holds a plurality kinds of circuit data to be used for the programmable circuit unit. A control unit selects circuit data, which is used for the programmable circuit unit, from among all the circuit data items held in the circuit data holding unit corresponding to illumination light supplied from the illumination light supplying unit.

Programmable image processing unit which displays a tentative image during programming

An image pick-up apparatus includes an image pick-up device which picks-up an image of a subject and outputs an image signal, a first-amplitude changing portion which varies an amplitude of the image signal outputted form the image pick-up device, a second-amplitude changing portion which varies the amplitude of the image signal to be outputted, a comparing portion which compares the amplitude of the image signal with a value of a target amplitude, and a control portion which controls the first- and second-amplitude changing portions based on the comparison result of the comparing portion and changes the amplitude of the image signal so that it is approximate to the target amplitude so that an observed image of the subject displayed on display means has a desired brightness.

Image pick-up apparatus and endoscope apparatus

An endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope that has a solid-state image-pickup device in which charges are accumulated in order to pick up an object image. The endoscope apparatus further comprises a memory in which a plurality of pieces of information on the accumulation period during which charges are accumulated in the solid-state image-pickup device is stored, and a drive unit that controls the accumulation period, during which charges are accumulated in the solid-state image-pickup device, on the basis of the pieces of information on the accumulation period stored in the memory. The endoscope further includes an optical member whose surface is shaped rotationally asymmetric. Correction information stored in a memory and associated with the optical element is used to correct an output signal of the solid-state image-pickup device.

Endoscope apparatus with solid-state pick-up

An image processing device having a very straightforward construction, for obtaining an image in which normal tissue and diseased tissue are easy to identify, comprises: an image synthesizing section that generates a synthesized image by synthesizing an image signal of reflected light image produced by illumination light obtained by illuminating body tissue with illumination light and an image signal of a fluorescent image obtained by illuminating the body tissue with excitation light; and a gain adjustment section that adjusts the gain of the image signal of the reflected light image and/or the image signal of the fluorescent image such that the boundary of the hues of the normal tissue and diseased tissue found from the optical characteristics of the respective tissues is contained in a predetermined range with respect to a prescribed standard chromaticity diagram, depending on whether the body tissue that is displayed on the synthesized image generated by the image synthesizing section is normal tissue or diseased tissue.

Image processing device for fluorescence observation

An endoscopehas a CCDincorporated in the distal part of an insertion unitthereof. The sensitivity of the CCDcan be varied by applying a plurality of pulsating driving signals so as to change an electron multiplication rate. The endoscopeis connected to a processorso that it can be disconnected freely. Information representing a type of endoscope stored in advance in a ROMis transmitted to a controllerincorporated in the processor. The control meansuses a CCD sensitivity control meansto control the sensitivity of the CCDaccording to the type of connected endoscope. Consequently, a view image of proper brightness can be produced irrespective of the type of endoscope

Endoscope system with irradiated light switching feature

An endoscope system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes an endoscope with a monochrome image pickup device for capturing reflected light and fluorescence from the body cavity, an excitation light cut filter which is installed in front of the image pickup device for shielding excitation light, and an endoscope ID which includes information on the type of the endoscope. A light source unit includes a first switching filter that irradiates light including excitation light for a fluorescent image mode and a filter for generating continuous light for a normal-light image mode. The filters switch based between the fluorescent image mode and the normal-light image mode. A second switching filter with a limiting filter that limits certain wavelengths of excitation light of the first switching filter is provided. The limiting filters are switched according to the endoscope ID or observation state in the fluorescence mode. The excitation light cut filter shields excitation light generated by the first and second filters.

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Hino, Japan

Katsuichi Imaizumi