Endoscope system, control method, and recording medium

Abstract

To provide an endoscope system, a control method and a recording medium, capable of quickly providing an image of excellent image quality in follow-up processing for making the image follow up a prescribed region of interest.SOLUTION: The endoscope system includes an endoscope that acquires a captured image, a drive mechanism that moves a field of view of the endoscope, and a processor that controls the drive mechanism. The processor detects and observes a predetermined region of interest in the captured image, selects a part of the captured image as a display range to generate an S2 image to be displayed on the display apparatus from the display range, starts the digital follow-up processing S4, and then starts the physical follow-up processing S5, thereby causing the S3 image to follow the predetermined region of interest. The digital following processing is processing of causing the first target region in the display range to follow the region of interest by changing the position of the display range in the captured image, and the physical following processing is processing of causing the second target region in the captured image to follow the predetermined region of interest by moving the field of view of the endoscope.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an endoscope system, a control method, and a recording medium. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in endoscopic surgery, a technology is known in which an image of an endoscopic camera displayed on a display device automatically tracks an object such as a tool (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a system that uses a high-resolution image and digital zoom and digital pan to automatically track the image digitally without physically moving the endoscope. Specifically, a partial area such as a region of interest is selected from a full image with high resolution and a wide field of view, a digital zoom image is generated from the selected area, and the digital zoom image is displayed on a display device. By moving the selected area within the full image, the digital zoom image digitally tracks the object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 10,038,888 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Image tracking by digital processing has the advantage of quick response to movement of the object compared to image tracking by physical movement of the endoscope. On the other hand, generally, the further away from the center of the image, the lower the image quality. In particular, when a wide-angle camera is used to obtain a wide-field image, distortion at the periphery of the image becomes significant. Therefore, when digitally tracking an image by digital panning, the quality of the digitally zoomed image displayed on the display device may be degraded.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide an endoscopic system, a control method, and a recording medium that can quickly provide images of good image quality in a tracking process that tracks an image to a predetermined region of interest. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is an endoscopic system comprising: an endoscope that acquires an image; a drive mechanism that moves the field of view of the endoscope by moving at least the tip of the endoscope; and a processor that controls an observation image displayed on a display device and the drive mechanism, the observation image being an image generated from a portion of the image, wherein the processor detects a predetermined region of interest within the image, selects the portion of the image as a display range, generates the observation image from the display range, and performs digital tracking processing and physical tracking processing in cooperation to cause the observation image to track the region of interest, the digital tracking processing being a process of changing the position of the display range within the image to cause a predetermined first target region at or near the center of the display range to track the region of interest, and the physical tracking processing being a process of moving the field of view of the endoscope to cause a predetermined second target region at or near the center of the image to track the region of interest.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is a control method for controlling movement of an observation image displayed on a display device and a field of view of an endoscope, wherein the observation image is an image generated from a portion of an image captured by the endoscope, and the control method includes detecting a predetermined region of interest within the captured image, selecting the portion of the captured image as a display range and generating the observation image from the display range, and performing digital tracking processing and physical tracking processing in cooperation to cause the observation image to track the region of interest, wherein the digital tracking processing is processing for causing a predetermined first target region at or near the center of the display range to track the region of interest by changing the position of the display range within the captured image, and the physical tracking processing is processing for causing a predetermined second target region at or near the center of the captured image to track the region of interest by moving the field of view of the endoscope.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a control program for causing a computer to execute the above-described control method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, an image of good image quality can be quickly provided in a tracking process for tracking an image to a predetermined region of interest. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an example of an endoscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the endoscope system of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating movement of the field of view due to bending of the bending portion of the endoscope. [Figure 4A] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a process of making an observation image follow a ROI, and are diagrams showing an example of a captured image and a display range. [Figure 4B]10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a process of making an observation image follow a ROI, and are diagrams showing an example of a captured image and a display range. [Figure 4C] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a process of making an observation image follow a ROI, and are diagrams showing an example of a captured image and a display range. [Figure 4D] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a process of making an observation image follow a ROI, and are diagrams showing an example of a captured image and a display range. [Figure 4E] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a process of making an observation image follow a ROI, and are diagrams showing an example of a captured image and a display range. [Figure 5A] 3 is a flowchart of a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5B] 5B is a flowchart of the digital tracking processing routine of FIG. 5A. [Figure 5C] 6 is a flowchart of a physical following processing routine in FIG. 5. [Figure 6A] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of changes over time in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view. [Figure 6B] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating other examples of changes over time in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view. [Figure 6C] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating other examples of changes over time in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a movable range of a display area within a captured image. [Figure 8A] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of temporal changes in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view when physical tracking processing starts before digital tracking processing. [Figure 8B] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of temporal changes in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view when digital tracking processing starts before physical tracking processing. [Figure 9A] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an example of temporal changes in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view when a dead zone is set in the center of a captured image. [Figure 9B]10A and 10B are diagrams showing an example of temporal changes in the amount of movement of the display range and the amount of movement of the field of view when the field of view is moved until the ROI passes through a second target area in a captured image in physical tracking processing. [Figure 10A] 9B is a diagram showing an example of a captured image and a display range in the tracking process of FIG. 9A. FIG. [Figure 10B] 9C is a diagram showing an example of a captured image and a display range in the tracking process of FIG. 9B. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An endoscope system, a control method, and a recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the endoscopic system 1 of this embodiment includes an endoscope 2 that is inserted into the body, a drive mechanism 3 that moves at least the tip of the endoscope 2, a display device 4, and a control device 5 that controls the images displayed on the drive mechanism 3 and the display device 4. FIG. 1 shows, as an example, an endoscope system 1 for laparoscopic surgery in which a treatment tool 7 inserted into the abdominal cavity of a patient X is used to treat an affected area with the treatment tool 7 while the treatment tool 7 is being observed by an endoscope 2.

[0012] As shown in Figure 3, the endoscope 2 has a long, rigid insertion section 2a, an electrically driven bending section 2b provided on the insertion section 2a, and an imaging section 2c provided at the tip of the insertion section 2a. The driving mechanism 3 is the bending section 2b. The bending section 2b can be bent in a direction intersecting the longitudinal axis of the insertion section 2a, and bending of the bending section 2b moves the tip of the insertion section 2a and the field of view F of the endoscope 2. In Figure 3, the dashed-dotted line represents the optical axis of the endoscope 2. The endoscope 2 is inserted into the body, for example, via a trocar that penetrates the body wall and is supported by the trocar.

[0013] The endoscope system 1 may further include a moving device 6 for holding and moving the endoscope 2. The moving device 6 includes, for example, an electric holder made up of an articulated robot arm, and is controlled by the control device 5. In this case, the drive mechanism 3 may be the moving device 6 instead of the bending section 2b, and the endoscope 2 may not have the bending section 2b. Alternatively, the field of view F of the endoscope 2 may be moved using both the bending section 2b and the moving device 6 as the drive mechanism 3.

[0014] The imaging unit 2c has an imaging element such as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and captures a captured image A (see FIGS. 4A to 4E) including a predetermined region of interest (ROI). The captured image A is transmitted from the endoscope 2 to the control device 5, which generates an observed image B from the captured image A and displays the observed image B on the display device 4. As will be described later, the observed image B is a digitally zoomed image of a portion of the captured image A. Therefore, it is preferable that the captured image A be an image with a wide field of view and high resolution, and it is therefore preferable to use a wide-angle endoscope 2 and a high-resolution imaging unit 2c. The display device 4 is any display, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0015] The control device 5 controls the operation of the bending section 2b, which is the drive mechanism 3, and / or the movement device 6, and the observation image B displayed on the display device 4. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2, the control device 5 includes at least one processor 5a, a memory 5b, a storage unit 5c, and an input / output interface 5d. The control device 5 is connected to other surrounding devices 2, 3, 4, and 6 via an input / output interface 5d, and transmits and receives images, signals, and the like via the input / output interface 5d. The memory 5b is, for example, a semiconductor memory including a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM) area.

[0016] The storage unit 5c is a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory. The storage unit 5c stores various programs including the control program 5e and data necessary for the processing of the processor 5a. Some of the processing executed by the processor 5a, which will be described later, may be realized by dedicated logic circuits or hardware, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a system-on-a-chip (SoC), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a programmable logic device (PLD).

[0017] 4A to 4E, the processor 5a selects a portion of the captured image A as a display range C, enlarges the display range C by digital processing to generate an observed image B, and displays the observed image B on the display device 4. The display range C is, for example, a rectangular range having a predetermined size.

[0018] Here, the ROI is an area that the surgeon focuses on during surgery, such as the treatment tool 7, tissue, or organ. For example, the ROI moves inside the body when the surgeon moves the treatment tool 7, or when the tissue or organ is deformed as the surgery progresses. When the ROI moves away from a predetermined target region P2 (described later) in the captured image A, for example, when the distance from the target region P2 to the ROI in the captured image A exceeds a predetermined threshold, the processor 5a executes a control method for automatically aligning the observation image B displayed on the display device 4 with the position of the ROI by controlling the position of the display range C in the captured image A and the drive mechanism 3.

[0019] Next, a control method executed by the processor 5a will be described with reference to Figures 5A to 5C. The processor 5a executes this control method by executing processing in accordance with a control program 5e loaded from the storage unit 5c into the memory 5b. As shown in FIG. 5A, the control method according to this embodiment includes step S1 of receiving a captured image A, step S2 of detecting a predetermined ROI within the captured image A, and step S3 of making the observed image B follow the ROI.

[0020] 4A to 4E show captured images A acquired by the endoscope 2 during execution of the control method. Specifically, FIG. 4A shows captured image A at the start of the control method, and FIG. 4E shows captured image A at the end of the control method, with time progressing from FIG. 4A to FIG. 4E. As shown in FIG. 4A, at the start of the control method, the display range C is typically positioned at the center of the captured image A where the first target region P1 coincides with the second target region P2. The first target region P1 is a predetermined region at or near the center of the display range C, and the second target region P2 is a predetermined region at or near the center of the captured image A. Each of the target regions P1 and P2 may be a single point or a two-dimensional region having an area.

[0021] In step S2, the processor 5a detects the ROI in the captured image A using known means such as image recognition using artificial intelligence or detection of a marker provided in advance in the ROI. Step S3 includes step S4 for performing digital tracking processing and step S5 for performing physical tracking processing.

[0022] The digital tracking process is a process of changing the position of the display range C in the captured image A to digitally make a predetermined first target region P1 in the display range C follow the ROI. The physical tracking process is a process in which a predetermined second target region P2 in the captured image A is physically (mechanically) tracked to the ROI by operating the drive mechanism 3 to move the field of view F of the endoscope 2 at a constant speed. The processor 5a starts the digital tracking process and the physical tracking process simultaneously, and executes the digital tracking process and the physical tracking process simultaneously in a coordinated manner.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5B, step S4 includes step S41 of determining a movement amount d1 of the display range C, step S42 of selecting the display range C from the captured image A based on the movement amount d1, step S43 of generating an observation image B from the display range C, and step S44 of transmitting the observation image B to the display device 4.

[0024] 4A and 4B, in step S41, the processor 5a determines a movement amount d1 of the display range C based on the positional relationship between the first target region P1 and the ROI within the display range C. The movement amount d1 is the movement amount of the display range C required to move the first target region P1 to the ROI.

[0025] 4B and 4C, in step S42, the processor 5a changes the position of the display range C from its current position in a direction in which the amount of movement d1 approaches zero, i.e., in a direction in which the first target region P1 approaches the ROI. The amount of movement of the display range C at this time is set, for example, so that the moving speed of the subject in the observation image B on the display device 4 is appropriate for the user. In FIG. 4B, the display range C indicated by the two-dot chain line indicates the display range C before its position is changed.

[0026] Next, in step S43, the processor 5a selects a display range C at the changed position from the captured image A, and generates an observation image B by enlarging the size of the selected display range C. Next, in step S44, the processor 5a transmits the generated observation image B to the display device 4, and causes the display device 4 to display the observation image B.

[0027] As a result of the digital tracking process in step S4, the display range C moves to a position shifted from the center of the captured image A. The physical tracking process is a process for returning the display range C to the center of the captured image A. As shown in FIG. 5C, step S5 includes step S51 of determining the movement amount d2 of the field of view F, and step S52 of moving the field of view F.

[0028] 4A and 4B, in step S51, the processor 5a determines a movement amount d2 of the field of view F based on the positional relationship between the second target region P2 and the ROI in the captured image A. The movement amount d2 is the movement amount of the field of view F required to move the second target region P2 to the ROI.

[0029] Next, as shown in Fig. 4B, in step S52, the processor 5a moves the field of view F from its current position in a direction in which the movement amount d2 approaches zero, i.e., in a direction in which the second target region P2 approaches the ROI. At this time, the field of view F is moved, for example, at the maximum speed that can be achieved by the drive mechanism 3. In Fig. 4B, the ROI indicated by the two-dot chain line indicates the ROI before the field of view F was moved.

[0030] As a result of the digital tracking process S4 and the physical tracking process S5 being executed simultaneously once, the ROI in the observation image B on the display device 4 moves toward the center of the observation image B by a total movement amount which is the sum of the movement amount of the display range C and the movement amount of the field of view F.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 4A to 4E and 6A, the processor 5a repeatedly executes steps S1 to S5, causing the movement amounts d1 and d2 to gradually approach zero. The processor 5a repeats steps S1 to S5 until the second target region P2 in the captured image A reaches the ROI (YES in step S6). In the example of Fig. 6A, the distance D (see Fig. 4A) from the second target region P2 to the ROI at the start of tracking is "15", the movement amount per unit time of the digital tracking process (the movement amount from time ti to time ti+1) is "3", the movement amount per unit time of the physical tracking process (the movement amount from time ti to time ti+1) is "2", and step S3 is repeated until time t8.

[0032] 6A to 6C and 8A to 9B, "digital tracking" represents the amount of movement of display range C due to digital tracking processing, "physical tracking" represents the amount of movement of field of view F due to physical tracking processing, and "total" represents the sum of the amount of movement of display range C and the amount of movement of field of view F. Each amount of movement is the total amount of movement from the position at the start of tracking, and represents the amount of two-dimensional movement along the image plane in the coordinate system of captured image A. In these figures, time t1, t2, t3, ... (sec) progresses from left to right.

[0033] Here, since the digital tracking process and the physical tracking process are executed simultaneously by parallel processing, as shown in Fig. 4C, the first target region P1 in the display range C reaches the ROI before the second target region P2 in the captured image A reaches the ROI, and the ROI is positioned at or near the center of the observed image B on the display device 4. In the example of Fig. 6A, the first target region P1 reaches the ROI at time t3.

[0034] The processor 5a stops the digital tracking process when the first target region P1 reaches the ROI and the movement amount d1 becomes zero, and then performs only the physical tracking process until the second target region P2 reaches the ROI and the movement amount d2 becomes zero, as shown in Figures 4D and 4E. That is, after the first target region P1 reaches the ROI, the processor 5a moves the field of view F in a direction in which the second target region P2 approaches the ROI, and at the same time, changes the position of the display range C in the captured image A in a direction in which the first target region P1 approaches the second target region P2 by an amount equal to the amount of movement of the field of view F. In this way, the processor 5a moves the display range C to the center of the captured image A while maintaining the first target region P1 of the display range C in the ROI.

[0035] The movement of the ROI, such as the treatment tool 7, may be faster than the physical (mechanical) movement of the tip of the endoscope 2. Therefore, when the captured image A or the observed image B is made to physically follow the ROI by simply moving the field of view F, there is the disadvantage of slow tracking responsiveness. On the other hand, when the observed image B is made to digitally follow the ROI by changing the position of the display range C within the captured image A, high tracking responsiveness can be easily achieved.

[0036] According to this embodiment, there is an advantage that high response in tracking can be achieved by combining physical tracking processing and digital tracking processing. In particular, since the movement speed of the field of view F caused by the operation of the driving mechanism 3 such as the bending portion 2b or the moving device 6 is slower than the movement speed of the ROI, in the initial stage of tracking, it is difficult to capture the ROI at the center of the captured image A by only moving the field of view F. By starting the digital tracking process S4 simultaneously with the start of tracking, there is an advantage that high responsiveness can be achieved even in the initial stage of tracking.

[0037] Furthermore, image quality is generally good in the center of an image and poor in the periphery. In particular, in the case of a wide-angle endoscope 2, distortion occurs in the periphery of the captured image A. According to this embodiment, after the second target region P2 of the display range C reaches the ROI at a position away from the center of the captured image A, the display range C quickly moves to the center of the captured image A by moving the field of view F, and the image quality of the observed image B is quickly improved. Therefore, even if the image quality of the observed image B temporarily deteriorates due to the digital tracking process, there is an advantage that an observed image B of good image quality with no or little distortion can be quickly provided to the user.

[0038] Furthermore, when only the bending portion 2b is used as the drive mechanism 3 for moving the field of view F, the field of view F moves only with the movement of the tip of the endoscope 2 placed inside the body. Therefore, the moving device 6, such as a robot arm that holds the endoscope 2, does not move, and interference between the moving device 6 and the surgeon can be prevented. The field of view F can also be moved by swinging the entire endoscope 2 around a predetermined pivot point or by moving the entire endoscope 2 using the movement device 6. In this case, there is a possibility that the moving endoscope 2 or movement device 6 may interfere with nearby surgeons, etc.

[0039] On the other hand, if it is desired to maintain the observation direction of a subject such as biological tissue, it is preferable to use a moving device 6 as the drive mechanism 3. That is, when the field of view F is moved by bending the bending portion 2b, the observation direction of the subject changes. In contrast, when the endoscope 2 is moved by a moving device 6 such as an electric holder, the field of view F can be moved while maintaining the observation direction by translating the endoscope 2 while maintaining the attitude of the tip of the electric holder.

[0040] In the above embodiment, the movable range of the display range C in the digital tracking process may be the entire range of the captured image A, but alternatively, the movement of the display range C in the digital tracking process may be limited to within a predetermined range of the captured image A. As mentioned above, the image quality of the captured image A may be reduced in the peripheral areas. Therefore, for example, as shown in Fig. 6B, an upper limit may be set on the total movement amount of the display range C (the distance from the second target area P2 to the first target area P1), and the display range C may be allowed to move within the captured image A within a range that does not exceed the upper limit. In the example of Fig. 6B, the upper limit on the total movement amount of the display range C is "6".

[0041] 7, the central area excluding the hatched peripheral area is the predetermined range, and the display range C can be moved only within the central area of ​​the captured image A. This prevents degradation in the image quality of the observed image B displayed on the display device 4, and allows the user to view the observed image B with better image quality.

[0042] In the above embodiment, the movement speed of the visual field F in the physical tracking process (that is, the amount of movement from time ti to time ti+1) is constant, but instead, the movement speed of the visual field F may be changed. For example, as shown in FIG. 6C, in order to improve the responsiveness of tracking the movement of the ROI, the processor 5a moves the field of view F at the highest speed until the first target region P1 in the display range C reaches the ROI. After the first target region P1 reaches the ROI, the processor 5a may reduce the movement speed of the field of view F to a speed slower than the highest speed. In the example of FIG. 6C, the movement speed of the field of view F is "2" until time t2, and is "1" from time t3 onwards.

[0043] If the movement speed of the field of view F is fast, the user may be bothered by a sudden change in image quality of the observation image B on the display device 4. After the first target region P1 reaches the ROI, the movement speed of the field of view F is reduced, so that the image quality of the observation image B can be changed slowly so that the change in image quality is not bothersome to the user.

[0044] In the above embodiment, the processor 5a starts the digital tracking process S4 and the physical tracking process S5 simultaneously, but instead, as shown in Figures 8A and 8B, the digital tracking process S4 and the physical tracking process S5 may be started at different times. 8A shows an example of the amount of movement when the processor 5a starts the physical tracking process S5 and then starts the digital tracking process S4. While the digital tracking process can increase the tracking speed, it can also cause abrupt changes in image quality, such as distortion. By starting the digital tracking process S4 after the physical tracking process S5 has started and the second target region P2 has come somewhat close to the ROI, abrupt changes in image quality can be prevented. 8B shows an example of the movement amount when the processor 5a starts the digital following process S4 and then starts the physical following process S5. This configuration can reduce the load on hardware such as the drive mechanism 3.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the processor 5a moves the field of view F in the physical tracking process S5 until the ROI reaches the second target region P2 in the captured image A. Alternatively, the processor 5a may move the field of view F until the ROI reaches another position near the second target region P2. That is, the position in the captured image A where the ROI should ultimately reach can be changed as appropriate depending on the surgical scene, the user's request, etc.

[0046] 9A and 10A, a dead zone E including the second target region P2 may be set in the center of the captured image A, and the processor 5a may terminate the physical tracking process S5 when the ROI that was located outside the dead zone E enters the dead zone E. In this case, the processor 5a moves the field of view F until the ROI reaches a position just before the second target region P2. 9B and 10B, the processor 5a may move the field of view F until the ROI passes through the second target region P2. For example, the processor 5a may terminate the physical tracking process S5 when the ROI passes through the second target region P2 by a predetermined distance.

[0047] In the examples of FIGS. 9A and 10A, after the tracking process, a larger space is formed on the upper left side of the ROI. Therefore, in the next tracking process, the display range C can be tracked to the upper left side with a margin. On the other hand, in the examples of FIGS. 9B and 10B, after the tracking process, a larger space is formed on the lower right side of the ROI. Therefore, in the next tracking process, the display range C can be tracked to the lower right side with a margin. 9A to 10B are suitable when the next movement direction of the ROI can be predicted in advance, i.e., the position where the ROI should ultimately reach may be determined so that a wide space is formed on the side where the ROI will next move.

[0048] In the above embodiment, in order to make it easier for the user to observe the ROI in the observation image B, the first target region P1 is a point at or near the center of the display range C, but the position of the first target region P1 may be any position other than the center or near the center of the display range C. For example, the position of the first target region P1 may be changeable as appropriate according to the request of a user such as an operator. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, in order to achieve good image quality in the observed image B even when a wide-angle endoscope 2 is used, the second target region P2 is set to a point at or near the center of the captured image A, but the position of the second target region P2 may be any position other than at or near the center of the captured image A. For example, if the image quality is good throughout the captured image A, or if a decrease in the image quality of the observed image B does not pose a problem for the user, the position of the second target region P2 may be changeable as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Endoscopy system 2 Endoscopy 2b Bending section, drive mechanism 3 Drive mechanism 4 Display device 5. Control device 5a processor 6. Moving device, driving mechanism A. Captured image B. Observation image C. Display range E Dead band F field of view P1 1st target area P2 Second target area ROI Region of Interest

Claims

1. an endoscope for acquiring captured images; a drive mechanism for moving the field of view of the endoscope; a processor that controls the drive mechanism; The processor Detecting a predetermined region of interest within the captured image; selecting a portion of the captured image as a display range, and generating an observation image to be displayed on a display device from the display range; initiating a digital tracking process followed by a physical tracking process to track the observed image to the region of interest; the digital tracking process is a process of changing a position of the display range within the captured image to cause a predetermined first target region at or near the center of the display range to track the region of interest, An endoscopic system, wherein the physical tracking process is a process of moving the field of view of the endoscope to cause a predetermined second target area at or near the center of the captured image to track the area of ​​interest.

2. The endoscope system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor executes the digital tracking process and the physical tracking process in parallel.

3. The endoscope system according to claim 2 , wherein the processor stops the digital tracking process when the first target region reaches the region of interest, and thereafter performs only the physical tracking process.

4. The endoscope system according to claim 1 , wherein movement of the display range is limited to within a predetermined range of the captured image in the digital tracking process.

5. The endoscope system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor reduces the speed of movement of the field of view in the physical tracking process after the first target region reaches the region of interest.

6. a dead zone including the second target area is set in the center of the captured image; The endoscope system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor terminates the physical tracking process when the region of interest enters the dead zone.

7. The endoscope system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor, in the physical tracking process, moves the field of view until the region of interest passes through the second target region.

8. The endoscope system according to claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism includes a bending portion provided at the distal end of the endoscope.

9. The endoscopic system of claim 1 , wherein the drive mechanism comprises a movement device that holds and moves the endoscope.

10. A control method for controlling movement of a field of view of an endoscope, comprising: detecting a predetermined region of interest in an image captured by the endoscope; selecting a portion of the captured image as a display range and generating an observation image to be displayed on a display device from the display range; and and initiating a digital tracking process followed by a physical tracking process to track the observed image to the region of interest; the digital tracking process is a process of changing a position of the display range within the captured image to cause a predetermined first target area at or near the center of the display range to track the region of interest; A control method, wherein the physical tracking process is a process of moving a field of view of the endoscope to cause a predetermined second target region at or near the center of the captured image to track the region of interest.

11. A computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing a control program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 10.

Images