Pentax Corporation

Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Hoya Corporation

Nec Corporation

Ryo Ozawa

Tetsuya Nakamura

Masaru Eguchi

Koichi Furusawa

Tetsuya Utsui

Shinsuke Okada

Hideo Sugimoto

Tadashi Takahashi

Kohei Iketani

Kouhei Iketani

Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Makoto Koike

Mikihito Kimishima

A processor for an electronic endoscope includes first and second image storing units and a controller, which in a first mode, image data is converted sequentially into a video signal and is outputted while being stored sequentially in the first and second image storing units. In a second mode, image data stored in the first image storing unit is outputted while generated image data is sequentially stored in the second image storing unit. In a third mode, image data stored in the second image storing unit is outputted while generated image data is sequentially stored in the first image storing unit. In the second and third modes, it is possible to switch between a first playback mode that continuously outputs the multiple stored image data and a second playback mode that repeatedly outputs one of the multiple stored image data.

Processor for electronic endoscope and electronic endoscope apparatus

A processor for an electronic endoscope includes first and second image storing units; a motion detector obtains a difference of image data; and a controller executes control in one of a first mode where the image data is sequentially converted into the video signal, and the image data and the difference are sequentially stored in the first and second image storing units; a second mode where the image data stored in the first image storing unit is outputted, and the generated image data and the difference are sequentially stored in the second image storing unit; and a third mode where the image data stored in the second image storing unit is outputted, and the generated image data and the difference are sequentially stored in the first image storing unit, and in the second and the third modes, based on the difference.

An edge enhancement processing unit comprising a determination block and a signal processing block is provided. The determination block determines whether the luminance of a surrounding pixel is greater than at zero level. The surrounding pixel is located around a focused pixel. The signal processing block carries out an edge enhancement process for a pixel signal generated by the focused pixel. The edge enhancement process is carried out if the determination block determines that the luminance of the surrounding pixel is greater than at zero level.

Edge enhancement processing unit, endoscope processor, and computer program product

A display device includes a main LCD, a sub LCD, and a backlight. The main LCD displays information. The sub LCD is arranged to make its rear surface oppose that of the main LCD to display information different from that of the main LCD. The backlight illuminates the main LCD and sub LCD. A portable terminal apparatus is also disclosed.

Display device and portable terminal apparatus

In an electronic endoscope system including a video scope having a solid-state image sensor that successively produces a frame of red, green, and blue image-pixel signals, a difference value is calculated between a value of each of corresponding central red, green, and blue image-pixel signals and an average of values of circumferential image-pixel signals surrounding the central image-pixel signal. When the respective values of the central red and green image-pixel signals are smaller than the corresponding averages of values, they are decreased in proportion to the absolute values of the corresponding difference values. When the value of the central blue image-pixel signal is smaller than the corresponding average of values, it is increased in proportion to the absolute value of the corresponding difference value.

Electronic endoscope system with color-balance alteration process

An electronic endoscope system includes a video scope having a solid-state image sensor for successively producing a frame of color image-pixel signals, and an image-signal processor for producing a color video signal based on the frame of color image-pixel signals. A calculation system calculates a difference value between a value of a central single-color image-pixel signal and an average of values of one selected from single-color image-pixel signals surrounding the central single-color image-pixel signal. A color-balance alteration system alters the value of the central single-color image-pixel signal based on the difference value calculated by the calculation system. A selection system performs the selection of the circumferential image-pixel signals such that the circumferential image-pixel signals to be selected are farther from the central image-pixel signal, as a spatial frequency of an endoscope image to be reproduced based on the color video signals is lower.

An electronic endoscope system which captures an image of an object and displays the same on a display device is provided with a noise reduction system. The noise reduction system reduces noise included in a frame of an image signal for each color component. The noise-reduced color components are stored in a buffer, and then output as a video signal to be transmitted to a display where a color image of the object is displayed.

Electronic endoscope system for reducing random noise of a video signal

An electronic endoscope system with a color-balance alteration system includes a video scope having a CCD image sensor for producing a frame of color image-pixel-signals composed of frames of red, green, and blue image-pixel-signals. In the color-balance alteration system, nine red signals are extracted from the frame of red image-pixel-signals, and the nine signals form a 3&#xd7;3 matrix including a central signal, and the eight circumferential signals. All four sets of three signals are selected from the nine signals, and each set of three signals is composed of the central signal, and two neighbouring signals aligned with each other such that the central signal lies therebetween. When a signal level of the central signal is smaller than both signal levels of the two circumferential signals with respect to even one set of three signals, the signal level of signal is decreased.

An electronic endoscope system has a plurality of video-processors, a plurality of video-scopes, a selector, a monitor and an input device. The plurality of video-processors, the monitor and the input device are connected to the selector. Each of the plurality of video-processors processes image signals from the corresponding video-scope to obtain and output video signals to the selector. The selector selects one of the plurality of video-processors and feeds video signals from a selected video-processor to the monitor. The input device operates the selected video-processor.

Electronic endoscope system including a plurality of video-processors

An endoscope system is provided with a light guide including a plurality of optical paths, and a low-coherent light source that emits a low-coherent light beams. The low-coherent light source is provided at a proximal end side of the light guide. The light beams emitted by the low-coherent light source are incident on the plurality of optical paths, respectively. The endoscope system is further provided with an interferometer unit. The interferometer unit includes a beam splitting element that splits each of the low-coherent beams emitted from the distal end of the light guide and emits split one of each of the beams to an object, a reference optical system that guides the other split beam of each of the beams, a reflector unit that reflects the beams guided by the reference optical system toward the beam splitting element, and a light detecting device that detects an interfered beam generated by interference, at the beam splitting element, between the beam reflected by the object and the beam reflected by the reflector unit. The endoscope system is further provided with a driving unit that moves the interferometer unit toward/away from the object, and a signal processing system that generates a tomogram based on signals detected by the light detecting device.

Endoscope system

An endoscope system which can obtain a tomographic image in accordance with optical coherence tomography (OCT). An OCT section of the endoscope system comprises a first optical fiber, a second optical fiber, an optical coupler, a super-luminescent diode (SLD), a photodetector, and a reference mirror. The first optical fiber is opposed to the SLD at its proximal end. The second optical fiber is opposed to the photodetector at its proximal end. The optical coupler establishes optical connection between the optical fibers. The reference mirror is arranged movable in front of the distal end of the second optical fiber. The distal end of the first optical fiber is introduced to an OCT scanning unit at a tip of an endoscope. This OCT scanning unit includes a polygon mirror having a plurality of reflecting surfaces, which are tilted in different angles from each other. The OCT scanning unit forms a plurality of scanning lines aligned in parallel over a subject at regular intervals. Here, the OCT scanning unit irradiates the subject with light emitted from the distal end of the first optical fiber, and introduces the light reflected by the object to the first optical fiber.

Endoscope system, scanning optical system and polygon mirror

An electronic endoscope includes a processor by which an image captured by an endoscope is displayed on a screen of a monitor. Panel switches, a central processing unit (CPU), a magneto-optic disc and a RAM are mounted in the processor. A keyboard and the monitor are connected to the processor. By operating the panel switches, operation conditions of the devices, mounted in the processor or connected to the processor, are set. The set values, which are set by the panel switches or the keyboard, are temporarily stored in the RAM. The set values stored in the RAM are recorded in the magneto-optic disc at every regular time interval. When character information displayed on the screen of the monitor is renewed by operating the keyboard, the renewed character information is recorded in the magneto-optic disc.

Electronic endoscope

A light transmitting part is formed on a second rotary shutter to intermittently transmit excitation light emitted from an excitation light source, which has a circumferential length substantially equal to a half of the entire periphery of the second rotary shutter in order to extend the period during which excitation light is emitted through a light distribution lens. As a living tissue is irradiated with excitation light, it generates autofluorescence. Although the autofluorescence is weak, a CCD can convert the image of the object under examination formed from the autofluorescence into a fluorescence video signal of a sufficient intensity level because excitation light is irradiated for an extended period of time. The obtained fluorescence video signal does not need to be amplified to an undesirable extent and hence can be processed with a high S/N to provide an appropriate diagnostic video signal that is free from noise.

Video endoscope system

In an electronic endoscope system, a scope has an image sensor provided at a distal end thereof to generate image-pixel signals. A proximal end of the scope is connected to an image-signal processing unit, in which the image-pixel signals are processed to produce a video signal. A light source device is provided in the processing unit. An optical light guide extends through the scope. When the connection is established between the scope and the processing unit, the light guide is optically connected to the light source device. The light source device includes a white light lamp, and an ultraviolet lamp, and a mirror for selectively introducing either the white light or the ultraviolet light into the light guide.

Electronic endoscope system

A fiber bundle for image transmission includes pluralities of first optical fibers and a plurality of second optical fibers. Both pluralities of optical fibers being tied at their distal ends to form a composite bundle portion. The first optical fibers being tied at their proximal ends to form a first branched bundle portion and the second optical fibers being tied at their proximal ends to form a second branched bundle portion.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Ryo Ozawa