Processor for electronic endoscope, method for controlling processor for electronic endoscope, and program

Abstract

To improve operability to a touch screen in a processor for an electronic endoscope provided with the touch screen.SOLUTION: A processor 20 for an electronic endoscope processes an image transmitted from an electronic scope 10. The processor 20 for the electronic endoscope includes a touch screen 24, an imaging part 28 arranged so that a space facing the touch screen 24 is included in an imaging range, and a system controller 21 for determining the presence / absence of an operator on the basis of an image acquired by the imaging part 28, and for locking or unlocking the touch screen 24 according to the presence / absence of the operator.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a processor for an electronic endoscope that can be connected to an electronic endoscope that takes images of living tissue. [Background technology]

[0002] In the field of medical equipment, there is known an electronic endoscope system that can generate images suitable for diagnosing lesions hidden within a body cavity by illuminating biological tissue within the body cavity and capturing images of the illuminated biological tissue within the body cavity.The electronic endoscope system includes an electronic endoscope (electronic scope) equipped with an imaging element at its tip, and an electronic endoscope processor that processes the images captured by the imaging element. For example, Patent Document 1 describes, as a processor for an electronic endoscope, a video processor equipped with a touch screen (or touch panel) on which operation objects such as buttons for making various settings are provided. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 033858 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] If the flexible tube of an electronic endoscope or other medical equipment comes into contact with the touch screen of an electronic endoscope processor, unintended operation may occur. To prevent such unintended operation, a lock button may be provided on the touch screen or somewhere other than the screen, and the touch screen may be locked and unlocked by pressing and holding the lock button. However, in this case, the operator must unlock the touch screen before operating the touch screen to change settings, etc., which reduces operability (user friendliness).

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to improve the operability of a touch screen in a processor for an electronic endoscope equipped with a touch screen. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is a processor for an electronic endoscope that processes images transmitted from the electronic endoscope, the processor including a touch screen, an imaging unit arranged so that a space opposite to the touch screen is included in an imaging range, and a control unit that determines the presence or absence of an operator based on images acquired by the imaging unit and locks or unlocks the touch screen depending on the presence or absence of the operator.

[0007] The control unit may determine the presence or absence of an operator by using a trained model trained through machine learning to determine whether the image acquired by the imaging unit contains at least one of a human face, a mask, or a human hand.

[0008] An operation button for locking or unlocking the touch screen may be provided, in which case the control unit locks or unlocks the touch screen when the operation button is operated.

[0009] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for an electronic endoscope processor that includes a touchscreen and processes images transmitted from the electronic endoscope, the method comprising: sequentially acquiring images by an imaging device that is positioned so that a space opposite the touchscreen is included in an imaging range; locking the touchscreen when it is determined based on the images acquired by the imaging device that an operator is not present; and unlocking the touchscreen when it is determined based on the images acquired by the imaging device that an operator is present.

[0010] Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is a program that, when installed in a processor for an electronic endoscope that has a touch screen and processes images transmitted from the electronic endoscope, causes a computer to execute the following steps: sequentially acquiring images from an imaging device that is positioned so that the space opposite the touch screen is included in the imaging range; locking the touch screen when it is determined based on the images acquired by the imaging device that an operator is not present; and unlocking the touch screen when it is determined based on the images acquired by the imaging device that an operator is present. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, in a processor for an electronic endoscope equipped with a touch screen, it is possible to improve the operability of the touch screen. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a processor for an electronic endoscope; [Figure 3] 1 is a functional block diagram of an electronic endoscope system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating state transitions of a touch screen in the electronic endoscope processor according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the states in which the touch screen of the electronic endoscope processor according to the embodiment is in a temporarily unlocked state and a locked state, respectively. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] The electronic endoscope system 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an electronic endoscope system 1 of this embodiment. The electronic endoscope system 1 is a system specialized for medical use, and includes an electronic scope (endoscope) 10 and an electronic endoscope processor 20 (hereinafter simply referred to as "processor 20"), and is used by connecting the electronic scope 10 to the processor 20. The electronic scope 10 captures images of biological tissue within a body cavity, and the processor 20 processes the images of the biological tissue obtained by the electronic scope 10 and outputs them to a monitor 30 (see FIG. 3) so that the surgeon can view them.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1, the tip of the electronic endoscope 10 is provided with a flexible insertion section 120 for insertion into the human body. A bending section 104 is provided near the tip of the insertion section 120, and is bent in response to remote control from a handheld operation section 122 connected to the base end of the insertion section 120. The bending mechanism of the bending section 104 is a well-known mechanism incorporated in general endoscopes. The bending structure bends the bending section 104 by pulling an operation wire linked to the rotation of a bending operation knob provided on the handheld operation section 122. A tip section 102 equipped with a solid-state image sensor (hereinafter referred to as image sensor) 14 (see FIG. 3) is connected to the tip of the bending section 104. The orientation of the tip section 102 changes in response to the bending movement of the bending section 104 caused by the rotation of the bending operation knob, thereby moving the imaging area of ​​the electronic endoscope 10.

[0015] An LCB (Light Carrying Bundle) 11 (see FIG. 3) is disposed over substantially the entire length of the electronic scope 10, from the connector 10c to the tip 102. The LCB 11 is an optical fiber bundle, and guides the illumination light supplied from the light source device 26 (see FIG. 3) built into the processor 20 to the tip 102 of the electronic scope 10.

[0016] The processor 20 is a device that processes a video signal of an image of a subject obtained by the imaging element 14 of the electronic scope 10 capturing an image of the subject, and supplies the processed signal to a monitor 30 (see FIG. 3). 1, the processor 20 is provided with a connector section 20c for connecting to the electronic scope 10. As shown in FIG. A connector section 10c is provided at the base end of the electronic scope 10 for connection to the connector section 20c of the processor 20. By mechanically connecting the connector section 10c and the connector section 20c, the electronic scope 10 and the processor 20 are electrically connected, and the electronic scope 10 and the processor 20 (light source device 26) are optically connected.

[0017] 2, a touch screen 24 is provided on the front surface 20f of the processor 20. The touch screen 24 is configured to recognize touch inputs from an operator such as a surgeon, and to enable the operator to input and display various information, change setting information, etc., in response to the touch inputs. For example, patient information can be input, brightness adjustment, white balance adjustment, and dimming method change can be performed through the touch screen 24. The imaging unit 28 is disposed on the front surface 20f of the housing of the processor 20 so that the space opposite to the touch screen 24 is included in the imaging range. As will be described later, the imaging unit 28 is provided to determine the presence or absence of an operator operating the touch screen 24. The viewfinder of the imaging unit 28 is not limited to the position shown in FIG. 2 (directly above the touch screen 24), and may be disposed at any position on the front surface 20f as long as it can capture an image of the space opposite to the touch screen 24.

[0018] Next, the internal configuration of the electronic endoscope system 1 will be described with reference to the functional blocks in FIG. 3, the electronic scope 10 includes an LCB 11, a light distribution lens 12, an objective lens 13, an image sensor 14, a scope control unit 15, and a memory 16. The processor 20 includes a system controller 21, an image processing unit 22, a memory 23, a touch screen 24, a condenser lens 25, a light source device 26, and an image capturing unit 28.

[0019] The system controller 21 executes various programs stored in the memory 23 and comprehensively controls the entire electronic endoscope system 1. The system controller 21 is also connected to a touch screen 24. The system controller 21 changes each operation and parameters for each operation of the electronic endoscope system 1 in response to instructions from the surgeon input to the touch screen 24. The system controller 21 outputs clock pulses to each circuit in the electronic endoscope system 1 to adjust the timing of the operation of each part.

[0020] The touch screen 24 incorporates a position information detection mechanism for recognizing the position of a finger or pen that touches the screen of a display panel such as a liquid crystal panel. There are no limitations on the position information detection mechanism, and various types, such as a capacitance type or a resistive film type, can be used. The touch screen 24 transmits input signals input by touch operations by the operator to the system controller 21 and displays images supplied from the system controller 21 .

[0021] The light source device 26 emits illumination light L for illuminating a subject, such as biological tissue within a body cavity. The illumination light L includes white light, pseudo-white light, or special light. According to one embodiment, the light source device 26 selects one of a mode in which white light or pseudo-white light is constantly emitted as the illumination light L and a mode in which white light, pseudo-white light, and special light are alternately emitted as the illumination light L, and preferably emits white light, pseudo-white light, or special light based on the selected mode. White light is light with a flat spectral intensity distribution in the visible light range, while pseudo-white light is light with a non-flat spectral intensity distribution that is a mixture of light from multiple wavelength bands. The special light is light in a narrow wavelength band, such as blue or green, within the visible light range. Light in the blue or green wavelength band is used to emphasize and observe specific areas of biological tissue. The illumination light L emitted from the light source device 26 is condensed by the condenser lens 25 onto the incident end face of the LCB 11 and is incident into the LCB 11 of the electronic scope 10 .

[0022] Illumination light L incident on the LCB 11 propagates through the LCB 11 of the electronic endoscope 10. The illumination light L propagates through the LCB 11 and is emitted from the exit end face of the LCB 11 located at the tip 102 of the electronic endoscope 10, and is irradiated onto the subject via the light distributing lens 12. Return light from the subject illuminated by the illumination light L from the light distributing lens 12 forms an optical image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 14 via the objective lens 13.

[0023] The imaging element 14 is a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor with a Bayer pixel arrangement. The imaging element 14 accumulates an optical image formed at each pixel on its light-receiving surface as an electric charge according to the amount of light, and generates and outputs R (Red), G (Green), and B (Blue) image signals. Note that the imaging element 14 is not limited to a CMOS image sensor, and may be replaced with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or other types of imaging devices. The imaging element 14 may also be equipped with a complementary color filter.

[0024] A clock pulse is supplied from the system controller 21 to the scope control unit 15 of the electronic scope 10. In accordance with the clock pulse supplied from the system controller 21, the scope control unit 15 drives and controls the image sensor 14 at a timing synchronized with the frame rate of the video processed by the processor 20. The frame rate is, for example, 1 / 30 seconds. The scope control unit 15 performs predetermined processing, including A / D conversion, on the image signal input from the image sensor 14 and outputs the result to the image processing unit 22 of the processor 20. The memory 16 stores information specific to the image sensor 14, such as the number of pixels and resolution, as well as information related to the optical system, such as the angle of view, focal length, and depth of field. The scope control unit 15 reads out the information stored in the memory 16 and outputs it to the system controller 21 as necessary.

[0025] The image processing unit 22 of the processor 20 performs predetermined signal processing such as demosaic processing, matrix calculation, and noise reduction processing on the image signal obtained from the scope control unit 15. The image processing unit 22 may include an image memory for buffering the processed image signal (image). After performing predetermined signal processing on the image signal, the image processing unit 22 converts the image signal into a video format signal for monitor display and outputs it to the monitor 30. As a result, an image of the subject is displayed on the display screen of the monitor 30.

[0026] As described above, the imaging unit 28 of the processor 20 is provided to capture images of the space opposite to the touch screen 24, and transmits the captured images to the system controller 21 one by one.

[0027] Next, the control of the touch screen 24 by the processor 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, the electronic endoscope system 1 is used by connecting an electronic scope 10 having a long flexible tube to a processor 20. Therefore, it is possible that the flexible tube of the electronic scope 10 may come into contact with the touch screen 24. Therefore, when the processor 20 recognizes an input to the touch screen 24, it is configured to determine whether the input is the result of an operation performed intentionally by the operator or the result of the flexible tube of the electronic scope 10 or other medical equipment touching the touch screen 24 (i.e., whether it is a false detection).

[0028] Specifically, the system controller 21 sequentially acquires images of the area in front of the processor 20 (i.e., the direction in which the touch screen 24 faces) obtained by the imaging unit 28, and determines whether or not an operator is present. If the system controller 21 determines that the operator is not in front of the processor 20, it locks the touch screen 24 and does not accept input to the touch screen 24. On the other hand, if the system controller 21 determines that the operator is in front of the processor 20, it temporarily unlocks the touch screen 24 and accepts input to the touch screen 24.

[0029] In one embodiment, the system controller 21 uses a trained model trained by machine learning to determine whether at least one of a human face, a mask, or a human hand is included in the image acquired by the imaging unit 28, thereby determining the presence or absence of an operator. By using the trained model, the presence or absence of an operator can be determined with high accuracy. In this case, before starting operation, the processor 20 is trained to estimate whether a given image contains a human face, a mask, or a human hand. For example, a trained model is created by supervised learning using a large number of images containing human faces, masks, and human hands. During operation, the system controller 21 uses the created trained model to determine whether an image acquired by the imaging unit 28 contains at least one of a human face, a mask, and a human hand.

[0030] Note that when determining whether or not an operator is present, it is not necessary to use a trained model trained by machine learning. In one embodiment, an image recognition algorithm is used that extracts features contained in an image acquired by the imaging unit 28 and compares the extracted features with a database. For example, a face recognition algorithm that recognizes a human face extracts features such as the shape of the eyes and chin contained in the image acquired by the imaging unit 28 and compares them with a database to recognize the human face.

[0031] An example of control when determining the presence or absence of an operator and locking or unlocking the touch screen 24 is shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing state transitions of the touch screen 24 in the processor 20. In the state transitions shown in Fig. 4, the state immediately after startup of the processor 20 is an unlocked state or a temporary lock release state.

[0032] 4, when the system controller 21 detects an operator (determines that an operator is present) while the touch screen 24 is in a locked state, the system controller 21 temporarily unlocks the touch screen 24. Conversely, when the system controller 21 does not detect an operator (determines that no operator is present) while the touch screen 24 is in a temporarily unlocked state (that is, when the touch screen 24 is operable), the system controller 21 locks the touch screen 24.

[0033] Therefore, when an input is made to the touch screen 24 by an operation intentionally performed by the operator, the system controller 21 recognizes the presence of the operator and sets the touch screen 24 to a temporarily unlocked state (see FIG. 5), and accepts the operation input by the operator. On the other hand, when an input is made by touching the touch screen 24 with a flexible tube or the like of the electronic scope 10, the system controller 21 does not recognize the presence of the operator and sets the touch screen 24 to a locked state (see FIG. 5), and therefore does not accept the input.

[0034] In one embodiment, a lock button (an example of an operation button) is provided for locking or unlocking the touch screen 24. The lock button is, for example, a long press button (a button that accepts operation input when pressed continuously for a predetermined period of time) provided on the touch screen 24, but is not limited to this. The lock button may be provided as a physical button on a part of the front surface 20f of the processor 20 other than the touch screen 24, in which case it does not have to be a long press button. The system controller 21 is configured to lock or unlock the touch screen 24 when the lock button is pressed.

[0035] Providing a lock button is useful when operating the processor 20 in a relatively dark environment. In a dark environment, the accuracy of determining the presence or absence of an operator based on an image acquired by the imaging unit 28 decreases compared to a bright environment. As a result, even if the operator is intentionally attempting to operate the touchscreen 24, the presence of the operator may not be correctly recognized, and the locked state of the touchscreen 24 may not be temporarily unlocked. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 4, the operator can forcibly unlock the touchscreen 24 by pressing and holding the lock button. In other words, providing a lock button enables flexible unlocking of the touchscreen 24 according to the operating environment. If the touchscreen 24 is once unlocked by pressing and holding the lock button, the touchscreen 24 can be restored to the locked state by pressing and holding the lock button again. It is not essential to provide a lock button.

[0036] As described above, in the processor 20 described above, the imaging unit 28 is disposed so that the space opposite to the touch screen 24 is included in the imaging range. The system controller 21 of the processor 20 determines the presence or absence of an operator based on the image acquired by the imaging unit 28, and locks or unlocks the touch screen 24 depending on the presence or absence of the operator. In other words, the processor 20 determines whether the touch is due to an intentional operation by the operator or due to the touch screen 24 being touched by the flexible tube of the electronic scope 10 or other medical equipment (i.e., whether it is a false detection), and locks or unlocks the touch screen 24 depending on the determination result. This has the advantage that the operator is not bothered by unintended changes in the screen due to a false detection, and operability of the touch screen 24 is improved.

[0037] One embodiment is a control method for a processor 20 that is equipped with a touch screen 24 and processes images transmitted from an electronic scope 10, and includes the following steps I to III. (I) A step of sequentially acquiring images by the imaging unit 28 that is arranged so that the space opposite to the touch screen 24 is included in the imaging range. (II) A step of locking the touch screen 24 when it is determined that there is no operator present based on the image acquired by the imaging unit 28. (III) A step of unlocking the touch screen 24 when it is determined that an operator is present based on the image acquired by the imaging unit 28.

[0038] One embodiment is a program that, when installed in a processor 20 that includes a touch screen 24 and processes images transmitted from the electronic scope 10, causes a computer to execute the above steps I to III.

[0039] The above has described in detail the electronic endoscope processor, the control method for the electronic endoscope processor, and the program of the present invention. However, the electronic endoscope system of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The configuration of a system to which an electronic endoscope processor is applied is not limited to that shown in Fig. 1 and various other configurations are possible. For example, the present invention can be applied to a system in which the processor does not include a light source device, and the electronic scope does not include an LCB but instead includes a light source at the tip of the electronic scope. The present invention can also be applied to a system in which the light source device is configured separately from the processor and the electronic scope. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 1...Electronic endoscope system 10...Electron scope 10c...Connector part 102...Tip 104...Bend 120...insertion section 122...Hand control unit 11...LCB 12...Light distribution lens 13...Objective lens 14...Image sensor 15...Scope control section 16...Memory 20...Processor 20c...Connector part 20f...Front part 21...System controller 22...Image processing unit 23...Memory 24...Touchscreen 25...Condenser lens 26…Light source device 28...imaging unit 30...Monitor

Claims

1. A processor for an electronic endoscope that processes images transmitted from the electronic endoscope, Touch screen and an imaging unit disposed so that a space opposite to the touch screen is included in an imaging range; a control unit that determines whether or not an operator is present based on the image acquired by the imaging unit, and locks or unlocks the touch screen depending on whether or not the operator is present, Processor for electronic endoscopes.

2. The control unit determines the presence or absence of an operator by determining whether at least one of a human face, a mask, or a human hand is included in the image acquired by the imaging unit using a trained model trained by machine learning.

2. The processor for an electronic endoscope according to claim 1.

3. an operation button for locking or unlocking the touch screen is provided; the control unit locks or unlocks the touch screen when an operation is performed on the operation button.

3. A processor for an electronic endoscope according to claim 1 or 2.

4. A method for controlling a processor for an electronic endoscope, which is equipped with a touch screen and processes images transmitted from the electronic endoscope, comprising: sequentially acquiring images by an imaging device disposed so that a space opposite to the touch screen is included in an imaging range; locking the touch screen when it is determined that no operator is present based on the image acquired by the imaging device; unlocking the touch screen when it is determined that an operator is present based on the image acquired by the imaging device; A method for controlling a processor for an electronic endoscope.

5. The computer includes a touch screen, and when the computer is installed in a processor for an electronic endoscope, the processor processes images transmitted from the electronic endoscope. a step of sequentially acquiring images by an imaging device disposed so that a space opposite to the touch screen is included in an imaging range; locking the touch screen when it is determined that no operator is present based on the image captured by the imaging device; unlocking the touch screen when it is determined that an operator is present based on the image captured by the imaging device; A program to execute.

Images