Imaging device and control method thereof

Abstract

To provide an imaging apparatus which allows a user to confirm medical information and an imaging parameter and also allows the user to confirm the medical information before imaging of image data.SOLUTION: An imaging apparatus comprises: an imaging unit; display control means which causes a display unit to display a live image captured by the imaging unit and medical information; and control means which associates the image data captured by the imaging unit with the medical information according to the full-pressing operation of a shutter button. The display control means performs control so as to switch between a first display of displaying the medical information together with the live image and a second display of displaying an imaging parameter related to imaging together with the live image according to a prescribed user operation, and performs control so as to switch the display to the first display according to a half-pressing operation of a shutter button different from the prescribed user operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an imaging device and a control method for an imaging device. [Background technology]

[0002] A technology has been proposed for associating an image with information about the subject of the image. Patent Document 1 describes a method in which an imaging device captures an image of a code, analyzes the code, obtains patient information corresponding to the code from a database, displays the patient information superimposed on a live view image, and records the captured image data in association with the patient information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-145984 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For cameras that store medical information such as patient information in association with image data, it is important for users to confirm that the medical information is correct, and they want to be able to check the medical information when taking a photo. Furthermore, checking the shooting parameters (Av / Tv / exposure compensation / Iso, etc.) when taking a photo is also important for capturing high-quality image data.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an imaging device that enables confirmation of medical information and imaging parameters, and also enables confirmation of medical information before capturing image data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an imaging device of the present invention comprises: The device has an imaging unit, a display control means for displaying live images captured by the imaging unit and medical information on a display unit, and a control means for associating image data captured by the imaging unit with the medical information in response to a full press of the shutter button, wherein the display control means controls to switch between a first display that displays medical information together with the live image and a second display that displays shooting parameters related to shooting together with the live image in response to a predetermined user operation, and controls to switch to the first display in response to a half press of the shutter button that is different from the predetermined user operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] It is possible to provide an imaging device that enables confirmation of medical information and imaging parameters, and also enables confirmation of medical information before imaging image data. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an external view of an imaging device 100. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an imaging device 100. [Figure 3] 10 is an example of a live view screen in a medical mode. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart of a process in a medical mode. [Figure 5] 10 shows examples of screens for patient information acquisition processing and photographer information acquisition processing. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart of a patient information acquisition process. [Figure 7] 10 is an example of a screen for body part information acquisition processing; [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart of a part information acquisition process. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart of an affected area photographing process. [Figure 10] 10 is an example of a screen for diseased area image confirmation processing. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart of an affected area image confirmation process. [Figure 12] 10 is an example of a screen for diseased area image retransmission processing. [Figure 13] 10 is a flowchart of an affected area image retransmission process. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart of a medical mode switching process. [Figure 15] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network system between an in-hospital system and an imaging device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] <External view of imaging device 100> 1(a) and 1(b) show external views of a digital camera 100 (image capture device) as an example of a device (electronic device) to which the present invention can be applied. Fig. 1(a) is a front perspective view of the digital camera 100, and Fig. 1(b) is a rear perspective view of the digital camera 100.

[0011] The display unit 28 is a display unit provided on the back surface of the digital camera 100, and displays images and various information. The touch panel 70a can detect touch operations on the display surface (touch operation surface) of the display unit 28. The out-of-viewfinder display unit 43 is a display unit provided on the top surface of the digital camera 100, and displays various settings of the digital camera 100, including the shutter speed and aperture. The shutter button 61 is an operation member for issuing shooting instructions. The mode selector switch 60 is an operation member for switching between various modes. The terminal cover 40 is a cover that protects a connector (not shown) for connecting a connection cable or the like that connects the digital camera 100 to an external device.

[0012] The main electronic dial 71 is a rotary operation member, and by turning the main electronic dial 71, it is possible to move the selection frame (cursor) and change settings such as shutter speed and aperture depending on the display state. The power switch 72 is an operation member that switches the power of the digital camera 100 on and off. The sub electronic dial 73 is a rotary operation member, and by turning the sub electronic dial 73, it is possible to move the selection frame (cursor), change settings such as shutter speed and aperture, and advance through images depending on the display state. The four-way key (cross key) 74 is configured so that the up, down, left, and right parts can each be pressed, and depending on the display state, it is possible to move the selection frame (cursor) and perform processing corresponding to the part of the four-way key 74 that is pressed. The SET button 75 is a push button that is mainly used to confirm a selection item.

[0013] The movie button 76 is used to start or stop movie shooting (recording). The AE lock button 77 is a push button that can fix the exposure by pressing it in shooting standby mode. The enlarge button 78 is an operation button for switching the enlargement mode on and off in the live view display (LV display) of the shooting mode. By turning the enlargement mode on and operating the main electronic dial 71, the live view image (live image, LV image) can be enlarged or reduced. In the playback mode, the enlargement button 78 functions as an operation button for enlarging the playback image or increasing its magnification. The playback button 79 is an operation button for switching between the shooting mode and the playback mode. Pressing the playback button 79 in the shooting mode switches to the playback mode, and the most recent image recorded on the recording medium 200 (described below) can be displayed on the display unit 28. The menu button 81 is a push button used to issue an instruction to display a menu screen. Pressing the menu button 81 displays a menu screen on the display unit 28 that allows various settings to be configured. The user can intuitively make various settings using the menu screen displayed on the display unit 28, the four-way key 74, and the SET button 75.

[0014] The touch bar 82 (multifunction bar: M-Fn bar) is a line-shaped touch operation member (line touch sensor) that can receive touch operations. The touch bar 82 is positioned so that it can be touched (touched) with the thumb of the right hand when the grip unit 90 is held in the right hand (holding it with the little finger, ring finger, and middle finger of the right hand) so that the shutter button 61 can be pressed with the index finger of the right hand. In other words, the touch bar 82 is positioned so that it can be operated when the user places his / her eye on the eyepiece unit 16, looks through the viewfinder, and is in a position (shooting posture) so that the shutter button 61 can be pressed at any time. The touch bar 82 is a reception unit that can receive tap operations (operations in which the user touches and then releases the touch bar without moving within a predetermined period of time) and slide operations (operations in which the user touches and then moves the touched position while keeping the touch) on the touch bar 82. The touch bar 82 is an operation member that is different from the touch panel 70a and does not have a display function.

[0015] The display switching button 83 is a push button used to switch the information superimposed on the LV in the LV display in the imaging mode. When the medical mode is ON, it is used to switch between displaying medical information and displaying imaging parameter information. When the medical mode is OFF, it is used to switch between several display patterns of imaging parameter information.

[0016] The communication terminal 10 is a communication terminal through which the digital camera 100 communicates with the lens unit 150 (described below; detachable). The eyepiece 16 is the eyepiece of the eyepiece finder 17 (a peer-type finder), and the user can view an image displayed on an internal EVF 29 (Electronic Viewfinder) through the eyepiece 16. The eyepiece detection unit 57 is an eyepiece detection sensor that detects whether the user (photographer) has placed their eye on the eyepiece 16. The cover 202 is a cover for a slot that stores a recording medium 200 (described below). The grip unit 90 is a holding unit shaped to be easily held in the user's right hand when holding the digital camera 100. The shutter button 61 and main electronic dial 71 are positioned so that they can be operated with the index finger of the right hand when the digital camera 100 is held by gripping the grip unit 90 with the little finger, ring finger, and middle finger of the right hand. In the same state, the sub electronic dial 73 and touch bar 82 are also arranged in positions that can be operated with the thumb of the right hand. The thumb rest 91 (thumb standby position) is a grip member provided on the rear side of the digital camera 100 in a position where it is easy to place the thumb of the right hand that is holding the grip 90 when none of the operation members are being operated. The thumb rest 91 is made of a rubber member or the like to increase the holding strength (grip feeling).

[0017] <Configuration block diagram of imaging device 100> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a digital camera 100 (image capture device). The lens unit 150 is a lens unit equipped with an interchangeable photographic lens. The lens 103 is usually composed of multiple lenses, but FIG. 2 shows only one lens for simplicity's sake. The communication terminal 6 is a communication terminal through which the lens unit 150 communicates with the digital camera 100, and the communication terminal 10 is a communication terminal through which the digital camera 100 communicates with the lens unit 150. The lens unit 150 communicates with the system controller 50 via these communication terminals 6 and 10. The lens unit 150 controls the aperture 1 via the aperture drive circuit 2 by the internal lens system control circuit 4. The lens unit 150 also adjusts the focus by displacing the position of the lens 103 via the AF drive circuit 3 by the lens system control circuit 4.

[0018] The shutter 101 is a focal plane shutter that can freely control the exposure time of the imaging unit 22 under the control of the system control unit 50.

[0019] The imaging unit 22 is an imaging element (image sensor) configured with a CCD, CMOS element, or the like that converts an optical image into an electrical signal. The imaging unit 22 may have an imaging surface phase difference sensor that outputs defocus amount information to the system control unit 50. The A / D converter 23 converts the analog signal output from the imaging unit 22 into a digital signal.

[0020] The image processing unit 24 performs predetermined processing (pixel interpolation, resizing such as reduction, color conversion, etc.) on data from the A / D converter 23 or data from the memory control unit 15. The image processing unit 24 also performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and the system control unit 50 performs exposure control and distance measurement control based on the arithmetic results obtained by the image processing unit 24. This allows TTL (through-the-lens) type AF (autofocus) processing, AE (autoexposure) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, etc. to be performed. The image processing unit 24 also performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and performs TTL type AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the arithmetic results obtained.

[0021] The output data from the A / D converter 23 is written to the memory 32 via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15. Alternatively, the output data from the A / D converter 23 is written to the memory 32 via the memory control unit 15 without going through the image processing unit 24. The memory 32 stores image data obtained by the imaging unit 22 and converted into digital data by the A / D converter 23, as well as image data to be displayed on the display unit 28 and the EVF 29. The memory 32 has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined period of moving images and audio.

[0022] The memory 32 also serves as a memory (video memory) for image display. The D / A converter 19 converts the image display data stored in the memory 32 into an analog signal and supplies it to the display unit 28 or the EVF 29. In this way, the display image data written to the memory 32 is displayed on the display unit 28 or the EVF 29 via the D / A converter 19. The display unit 28 and the EVF 29 are each a display such as an LCD or an organic EL, and perform display according to the analog signal from the D / A converter 19. The digital signal that has been A / D converted by the A / D converter 23 and stored in the memory 32 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 19, and the analog signal is sequentially transferred to and displayed on the display unit 28 or the EVF 29, thereby performing a live view display (LV). Hereinafter, an image displayed in live view display will be referred to as a live view image (LV image).

[0023] The system control unit 50 is a control unit made up of at least one processor and / or at least one circuit, and controls the entire digital camera 100. The system control unit 50 is both a processor and a circuit. The system control unit 50 executes programs recorded in nonvolatile memory 56 to realize each process of this embodiment, which will be described later. The system control unit 50 also performs display control by controlling the memory 32, D / A converter 19, display unit 28, EVF 29, etc.

[0024] The system memory 52 is, for example, a RAM, and the system control unit 50 loads constants and variables for the operation of the system control unit 50, programs read from the nonvolatile memory 56, and the like into the system memory 52.

[0025] The nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable and recordable memory, such as an EEPROM. Constants, programs, etc. for the operation of the system control unit 50 are recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56. The programs referred to here are programs for executing various flowcharts described later in this embodiment.

[0026] The system timer 53 is a timekeeping unit that measures the time used for various controls and the time of a built-in clock.

[0027] The communication unit 54 transmits and receives video and audio signals to and from external devices connected wirelessly or via a wired cable. The communication unit 54 can also connect to a wireless local area network (LAN) or the Internet. The communication unit 54 can also communicate with external devices via Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Bluetooth Low Energy. The communication unit 54 can transmit images (including LV images) captured by the imaging unit 22 and images recorded on the recording medium 200. In this embodiment, the digital camera 100 can communicate with an external device, such as an in-hospital system (a medical system including an electronic medical record system and a medical accounting system), via a server. The digital camera 100 can receive medical information (including patient information, photographer information, and affected area information), image data, and various other information from the in-hospital system. As shown in FIG. 15 , the in-hospital network system in the hospital includes a server 1501 and an in-hospital system 1502. Multiple digital cameras (imaging devices) 100a and 100b can connect to the server 1501 via their respective communication units 54 and acquire various information from the in-hospital system 1502. In this embodiment, a server 1501 separate from the in-hospital system 1502 is provided. Because the server 1501 is used, information can be transmitted and received between the imaging device 100 and the in-hospital system 1502 without significantly modifying the in-hospital system 1502. Alternatively, the imaging device 100 may be directly connected to the in-hospital system 1502 without using the server 1501, or the functions of the server 1501 may be provided within the in-hospital system 1502. In this manner, the imaging device of the present invention can connect to a predetermined specific system (the server 1501 or the in-hospital system 1502) and acquire information on patients, doctors, nurses, and the like from the electronic medical records, medical accounting system, and the like of the in-hospital system 1502. In this embodiment, the medical system is described as an in-hospital system, but it does not necessarily have to be located within a hospital. A system in which the imaging device 100 communicates with a server or medical system located outside the hospital via the Internet is also possible.

[0028] The orientation detection unit 55 detects the orientation of the digital camera 100 with respect to the direction of gravity. Based on the orientation detected by the orientation detection unit 55, it is possible to determine whether an image captured by the imaging unit 22 was captured with the digital camera 100 held horizontally or vertically. The system control unit 50 can add orientation information corresponding to the orientation detected by the orientation detection unit 55 to the image file of the image captured by the imaging unit 22, or rotate and record the image. An acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, or the like can be used as the orientation detection unit 55. The acceleration sensor or gyro sensor of the orientation detection unit 55 can also be used to detect movement of the digital camera 100 (panning, tilting, lifting, whether the digital camera 100 is stationary, etc.).

[0029] The eyepiece detection unit 57 is an eyepiece detection sensor that detects (approach detection) whether an eye (object) approaches (approach) or moves away (away) from the eyepiece 16 of the eyepiece viewfinder 17 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "viewfinder"). The system control unit 50 switches the display unit 28 and the EVF 29 between on (display state) and off (non-display state) depending on the state detected by the eyepiece detection unit 57. More specifically, at least in a shooting standby state and when the display destination switching setting is automatic switching, when the eye is not in contact with the camera, the display is turned on with the display on the display unit 28 and the EVF 29 is hidden. When the eye is in contact with the camera, the display is turned on with the display on the EVF 29 and the display unit 28 is hidden. For example, an infrared proximity sensor can be used as the eyepiece detection unit 57, and it can detect the approach of an object to the eyepiece 16 of the viewfinder 17 that incorporates the EVF 29. When an object approaches, infrared light emitted from a light-emitting unit (not shown) of the eyepiece detection unit 57 is reflected by the object and received by a light-receiving unit (not shown) of the infrared proximity sensor. The amount of received infrared light can also determine the distance the object is approaching the eyepiece 16 (eyepiece distance). In this way, the eyepiece detection unit 57 performs eyepiece detection, which detects the proximity of an object to the eyepiece 16. When an object approaching within a predetermined distance from the eyepiece 16 is detected from a non-eyepiece state (non-approach state), it is detected as being in eye contact. When an object detected as approaching moves away from the eyepiece state (approach state) by more than a predetermined distance, it is detected as being away from the eye. The threshold for detecting eye contact and the threshold for detecting eye separation may be different, for example, by providing hysteresis. Furthermore, after eye contact is detected, the eyepiece remains in the eye contact state until eye separation is detected. After eye separation is detected, the eyepiece remains in the non-eye contact state until eye contact is detected. The infrared proximity sensor is just an example, and other sensors may be used for the eye proximity detector 57 as long as they can detect a state that can be considered as eye proximity.

[0030] Various camera settings such as shutter speed and aperture are displayed on the outside viewfinder display 43 via an outside viewfinder display drive circuit 44 .

[0031] The power supply control unit 80 is composed of a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching between powered blocks, etc., and detects whether a battery is installed, the type of battery, and the remaining battery power. The power supply control unit 80 also controls the DC-DC converter based on the detection results and instructions from the system control unit 50, and supplies the required voltage for the required period to each unit, including the recording medium 200. The power supply unit 30 is composed of primary batteries such as alkaline batteries or lithium batteries, secondary batteries such as NiCd batteries, NiMH batteries, or Li batteries, an AC adapter, etc.

[0032] The recording medium I / F 18 is an interface with a recording medium 200 such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 is a recording medium such as a memory card for recording captured images, and is composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

[0033] The operation unit 70 is an input unit that accepts operations from the user (user operations) and is used to input various operational instructions to the system control unit 50. As shown in Fig. 2, the operation unit 70 includes a shutter button 61, a mode selector switch 60, a power switch 72, a touch panel 70a, other operation members 70b, etc. The other operation members 70b include a main electronic dial 71, a sub electronic dial 73, a four-way key 74, a SET button 75, a video button 76, an AE lock button 77, a magnification button 78, a playback button 79, a menu button 81, a touch bar 82, a display switching button 83, etc.

[0034] The shutter button 61 includes a first shutter switch 62 and a second shutter switch 64. The first shutter switch 62 is turned on when the shutter button 61 is pressed halfway (a shooting preparation command) during operation, generating a first shutter switch signal SW1. The system control unit 50 starts shooting preparation operations such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (pre-flash) processing in response to the first shutter switch signal SW1.

[0035] The second shutter switch 64 is turned on when the shutter button 61 is fully pressed (photographing instruction) and generates a second shutter switch signal SW2. The second shutter switch signal SW2 causes the system control unit 50 to start a series of photographing processing operations, from reading out a signal from the imaging unit 22 to writing the captured image to the recording medium 200 as an image file.

[0036] The mode selector switch 60 switches the operating mode of the system control unit 50 to one of still image capture mode, video capture mode, playback mode, etc. Modes included in the still image capture mode include auto capture mode, auto scene determination mode, manual mode, aperture priority mode (Av mode), shutter speed priority mode (Tv mode), and program AE mode (P mode). There are also various scene modes and custom modes that provide capture settings for specific capture scenes. The mode selector switch 60 allows the user to directly switch to one of these modes. Alternatively, after first switching to a list screen of capture modes with the mode selector switch 60, the user may selectively switch to one of the displayed modes using another operating member. Similarly, the video capture mode may also include multiple modes.

[0037] The touch panel 70a is a touch sensor that detects various touch operations on the display surface of the display unit 28 (the operation surface of the touch panel 70a). The touch panel 70a and the display unit 28 can be configured as an integrated unit. For example, the touch panel 70a is configured so that its light transmittance does not interfere with the display of the display unit 28, and is attached to the upper layer of the display surface of the display unit 28. Input coordinates on the touch panel 70a are associated with display coordinates on the display surface of the display unit 28. This makes it possible to provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) that allows the user to directly operate the screen displayed on the display unit 28.

[0038] The system control unit 50 can detect the following operations or states on the touch panel 70a. A finger or pen that has not been touching the touch panel 70a touches the touch panel 70a again, that is, the start of touching (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Down). A state in which the touch panel 70a is touched with a finger or a pen (hereinafter referred to as Touch-On). The finger or pen is moved while touching the touch panel 70a (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Move). The finger or pen that has been touching the touch panel 70a is released from the touch panel 70a, that is, the end of touch (hereinafter referred to as "touch-up"). A state in which nothing is touching the touch panel 70a (hereinafter referred to as Touch-Off)

[0039] When a touch down is detected, a touch on is also detected at the same time. After a touch down, a touch on is usually continued to be detected unless a touch up is detected. If a touch move is detected, a touch on is also detected at the same time. Even if a touch on is detected, a touch move is not detected unless the touch position moves. Once it is detected that all fingers or pens that were touching have touched up, a touch off occurs.

[0040] These operation states and the position coordinates of the finger or pen touching the touch panel 70a are notified to the system control unit 50 via the internal bus. The system control unit 50 then determines what kind of operation (touch operation) was performed on the touch panel 70a based on the notified information. Regarding touch-move, the movement direction of the finger or pen moving on the touch panel 70a can also be determined for each vertical and horizontal component on the touch panel 70a based on changes in the position coordinates. If a touch-move of a predetermined distance or more is detected, it is determined that a slide operation has been performed. An operation in which a finger is touched on the touch panel 70a, moved quickly for a certain distance, and then released is called a flick. In other words, a flick is an operation in which a finger is quickly traced across the touch panel 70a as if flicking it. If a touch-move of a predetermined distance or more at a predetermined speed or more is detected and a touch-up is then detected, it is determined that a flick has been performed (it can be determined that a flick occurred following a slide operation). Furthermore, a touch operation in which multiple points (for example, two points) are touched together (multi-touch) and the touch positions are brought closer together is called a pinch in, and a touch operation in which the touch positions are moved farther apart is called a pinch out. Pinch out and pinch in are collectively called a pinch operation (or simply a pinch). The touch panel 70a may be of any of a variety of touch panel types, including resistive film type, capacitive type, surface acoustic wave type, infrared type, electromagnetic induction type, image recognition type, and optical sensor type. There are types that detect a touch by contact with the touch panel, and types that detect a touch by the approach of a finger or pen to the touch panel, and either type is acceptable.

[0041] Next, the basic operation of the imaging device (digital camera 100) according to this embodiment will be described.

[0042] As will be described later, the imaging device can switch the medical mode on and off by setting it on the menu screen. When switching is possible, the operation described below is enabled when the medical mode is on. When the medical mode is off, the normal imaging mode is used. In this embodiment, the medical mode and normal imaging mode are switched by operating the menu screen, but the medical mode and normal imaging mode may also be switched in response to the operation of a specific operating member.

[0043] The operations in the medical mode include patient information acquisition processing, photographer information acquisition processing, body part information acquisition processing, affected part photographing processing, affected part image confirmation processing, affected part image retransmission processing, and the like.

[0044] In the patient information acquisition process, the imaging device transmits image data, such as a barcode or two-dimensional code of the patient ID, captured or acquired as an LV image, to the hospital system via the communication unit 54. Then, patient information, such as name, gender, and age, based on the code contained in the image data is received and acquired from the hospital system via the communication unit 54. Note that the data to be transmitted to the hospital system may be transmitted by acquiring a code from the image data within the imaging device, transmitting the code information to the hospital system, and acquiring the patient information from the hospital system based on the code. Alternatively, the imaging device may acquire an ID code from an IC chip embedded in the patient's patient card and acquiring the patient information corresponding to the code from the hospital system.

[0045] In the photographer information acquisition process, the imaging device captures the ID code (barcode, two-dimensional code, etc.) of the photographer (doctor, nurse) of the medical image, or transmits image data captured as an LV image to the in-hospital system via the communication unit 54. Then, photographer information such as the name of the photographer (doctor / nurse, etc.) and medical department based on the code included in the image data is received and acquired from the in-hospital system via the communication unit 54. Note that the data to be transmitted to the in-hospital system may be transmitted by acquiring the code from the image data within the imaging device, transmitting the code information to the in-hospital system, and acquiring the photographer information from the in-hospital system based on the code.

[0046] In the region information acquisition process, the imaging device acquires region list information from the hospital system via the communication unit 54, and the user selects and determines the region corresponding to the affected area from the region list.

[0047] In the affected area photographing process, the imaging device photographs image data of the subject (the affected area of ​​the patient) through photographing operations by the user, and the photographed image data is linked to medical information including patient information, photographer information, and body part information, recorded on the recording medium 200, and transmitted to the hospital system from the communication unit 54. The method of linking the image data and the medical information may be to embed the medical information in part of the image data, or to store the information in separate files and link the files together using file names or the like.

[0048] In the affected area image confirmation process, the thumbnail image taken in the affected area photography process and the medical information linked to the image data are displayed and the user is asked to confirm. The result of the user's confirmation, whether it is OK or not, is sent to the hospital system.

[0049] The affected area image retransmission process retransmits image data that was generated during the affected area photography process but could not be transmitted correctly to the hospital system. Causes of incorrect transmission include communication errors between the imaging device and the hospital system, or communication errors between the hospital system and the database.

[0050] <Processing for switching to medical mode> The process for switching the medical mode on and off will be described below with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow for switching the medical mode on and off in an embodiment of the present invention. This flowchart starts when the user presses the MENU button on the operation member, regardless of whether the medical mode is on or off. However, during the patient information acquisition process, photographer information acquisition process, body part information acquisition process, affected area photography process, affected area image confirmation process, and affected area image retransmission process, the start of this flowchart is disabled even if the user presses the MENU button. Note that each process in FIG. 14 is realized by the system control unit 50 loading a program stored in the non-volatile memory 56 into the system memory 52 and executing the program.

[0051] In S1401, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the medical mode item on the MENU screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to the medical mode frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, the system control unit 50 proceeds to S1402; if not, the system control unit 50 ends this sequence.

[0052] In S1402, the system control unit 50 displays ON and OFF as sub-items and determines whether the user touched an ON item or pressed the SET button with the selection frame set to ON by operating the dial or cross key. If YES, proceed to S1403; if not, proceed to S1404.

[0053] In S1403, the system controller 50 sets the medical mode to ON.

[0054] In S1404, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the OFF item or pressed the SET button with the selection frame set to OFF by operating the dial or cross key. If YES, proceed to S1405; if not, proceed to S1402.

[0055] In S1405, the system control unit 50 sets the medical mode to OFF. That is, the imaging device does not operate in the medical mode, but operates in the normal imaging mode. In the normal imaging mode, as described above, exposure control and distance measurement control are performed on the subject in response to SW1 being turned ON. Then, in response to SW2 being turned ON, an image is captured and recorded as a still image file on the recording medium 200, thereby performing the operation of a digital camera in the normal imaging mode.

[0056] <Live view screen display> 3(a) and 3(b) are examples of live view screens on the display unit 28 during standby for imaging when the medical mode is ON in this embodiment.

[0057] The LV display settings include a medical information display and an imaging parameter display, and the user can switch between the medical information display and the imaging parameter display by pressing the display switching button 83.

[0058] FIG. 3(a) is an example of a live view screen when the LV display setting is set to medical information.

[0059] A live view image captured by the image capturing unit 22 is displayed in 301, and icons, text boxes (display frames), and buttons in 302 to 309 are displayed superimposed on the live view image.

[0060] Reference numeral 302 denotes an icon indicating the photographer, and the adjacent text box 303 indicates photographer information. After photographer information is acquired in photographer information acquisition processing S410, the icon display may be switched to one that matches the photographer information.

[0061] The text box 303 is a display frame for displaying photographer information. By touching the photographer information frame 303 or by operating the dial / cross key to move the selection frame (cursor) to the photographer information text box 303 and pressing the SET button, the process proceeds to photographer information acquisition processing S10. If photographer information has not been set, the message "Select photographer" is displayed as shown in FIG. 3 to indicate that it has not been set. After the photographer information is acquired in the photographer information acquisition processing S410, the photographer information (photographer name) is displayed in the photographer information frame 303.

[0062] An icon 304 indicates a patient, and the adjacent text box 305 indicates patient information. After the patient information is acquired in the patient information acquisition process S408, the icon may be changed to match the patient information. For example, the icon may be changed depending on the patient's gender and age.

[0063] The text box 305 is a display frame for displaying patient information. By touching the patient information frame 305 or by using the dial / arrow key to move the selection frame to the patient information frame and pressing the SET button, the process proceeds to patient information acquisition processing S408. If patient information has not been set, the message "Select Patient" is displayed as shown in FIG. 3 to indicate that the information has not been set. After the patient information is acquired in the patient information acquisition processing S408, the acquired patient information (patient name) is displayed in the patient information frame 305. Since patient information is important information that must not be incorrect, it is also possible to display not only the patient name but also the gender and age.

[0064] Reference numeral 306 denotes an icon indicating a region, and an adjacent text box 307 indicates information for selecting a region. After region information is acquired in region information acquisition processing S412, the icon may be switched to one that matches the region information.

[0065] The text box 307 is a display frame for displaying body part information. By touching the body part information frame 307 or by operating the dial / cross key to move the selection frame to the body part information frame 307 and pressing the SET button, the process proceeds to body part information acquisition processing S412. If body part information has not been set, the message "Select Body Part" is displayed as shown in FIG. 3 to indicate that the information has not been set. After the body part information has been acquired in the body part information acquisition processing S412, the acquired body part information (body part name) is displayed in the body part information frame 307.

[0066] When the user presses the shutter button fully while the live view screen is displayed, the process transitions to the affected area photographing process S425. In the affected area photographing process of S425, an image is taken, and the captured image data is recorded in association with the photographer information, patient information, and part information displayed in 303, 305, and 307, respectively, and transmitted to the hospital system.

[0067] Reference numeral 308 denotes an end button. When the user has taken the required number of images of the patient's affected area, the user presses the end button 308. Pressing the end button 308 transitions to affected area image confirmation processing S427, where the user selects OK or Cancel, and the selection result is sent to the hospital system. Note that pressing the end button may also clear the settings of the photographer information 303, patient information 305, and body part information 307.

[0068] Reference numeral 309 denotes a resend button, and by touching the resend button on the screen or by using the dial to move the selection frame to the resend button and then pressing the SET button, the process transitions to the affected area image resend process S429. In the affected area image resend process S429, image data for which the user selected OK in the affected area image confirmation process S427 but which could not be sent correctly to the hospital system is resent.

[0069] An icon 310 indicates the communication status, and indicates whether the hospital system (server) is currently connected or not.

[0070] FIG. 3(b) is an example of a live view screen when the LV display setting is set to shooting parameter display. 311 is a live view image of the subject. When the shooting parameter display is set, the following information about the shooting settings is displayed together with the live view image (live image): 312 is a shooting mode icon indicating the shooting mode; 313 is the shutter speed setting value; 314 is the aperture value; 315 is the exposure compensation value; and 316 is the ISO value.

[0071] In this way, when the imaging parameter display is set, the currently set imaging parameters (imaging mode setting and various imaging parameter setting values) are displayed. Note that, even when the imaging parameter display is set, the end button 308, resend button 309, and communication status 310 that were displayed when displaying medical information in the medical mode may be displayed.

[0072] <Medical Mode Processing> The processing of the imaging device 100 in medical mode according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 4. The processing of FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the imaging device from the start to the end of medical mode. The medical mode is started when the user turns on the power with the medical mode set to ON, or when the user switches the medical mode setting from OFF to ON. The processing of FIG. 4 is realized by the system control unit 50 loading a program stored in the non-volatile memory 56 into the system memory 52 and executing the program when the power switch 72 is turned on. Note that the processing of FIGS. 6, 8, 9, 11, and 13, which are subflows of FIG. 4, is also realized by the system control unit 50 loading a program stored in the non-volatile memory 56 into the system memory 52 and executing the program.

[0073] In S401, the system control unit 50 reads the image transmission list from the nonvolatile memory 56. If there is any unsent image data from the previous operation in the medical mode, this is used to resend it in the affected area image resend process in S429.

[0074] In S402, the system control unit 50 connects to the in-hospital system via the communication unit 54. In this embodiment, the system control unit 50 is connected wirelessly to the in-hospital system 1502 via the server 1501 as shown in FIG. 15 , but the system control unit 50 may also be connected to the in-hospital system 1502 via a wired connection.

[0075] In S403, the system control unit 50 acquires a display / non-display setting for each piece of medical information (photographer information, patient information, and body part information) from the hospital system. This setting is used to switch between displaying and hiding the medical information 302 to 307.

[0076] In S404, the system control unit 50 acquires from the hospital system a list of regions to be selected by the user in the region information acquisition process.

[0077] In S405, the system control unit 50 sets the LV display setting to medical information. This is because the initial state in medical mode is to display the medical information as shown in Fig. 3(a). Therefore, when the power is turned on with the medical mode ON or when the medical mode is switched on, the live view screen is first displayed with the medical information displayed as shown in Fig. 3(a).

[0078] In S406, the system control unit 50 displays medical information (patient information, photographer, and body part information) as shown in Figure 3(a) when the LV display setting is medical information, and displays specific shooting parameters as shown in Figure 3(b) when the LV display setting is shooting parameter display.

[0079] In S407, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the patient information frame 305 on the screen, or pressed the SET button while the patient information frame 305 was selected as the selection frame by a dial operation or cross key operation, which will be described later. Note that a dial operation refers to an operation on the main electronic dial 71 or the sub electronic dial 73, and a cross key operation refers to an operation on the four-way key 74. If the result is YES, the process proceeds to S408; otherwise, the process proceeds to S409.

[0080] In S408, the system control unit 50 transmits the patient's barcode image captured by the imaging unit 22 to the in-hospital system, and executes a patient information acquisition process to receive patient information from the in-hospital system. The patient information acquired from the in-hospital system includes the patient's name, patient ID, age, gender, etc. Alternatively, the system control unit 50 may analyze the captured barcode image, transmit the analyzed code information to the in-hospital system, and receive the patient information from the in-hospital system. The patient information acquisition process will be described in detail later.

[0081] In S409, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the photographer information frame 303 on the screen, or pressed the SET button by operating the dial or cross key while the selection frame was selected in the photographer information frame 303. If YES, proceed to S410; if not, proceed to S411.

[0082] In S410, the system control unit 50 transmits a barcode image of the photographer (doctor or nurse) to the in-hospital system and executes photographer information acquisition processing to receive photographer information from the in-hospital system. The photographer information includes the photographer's name, photographer ID, affiliation name, etc. Alternatively, the system control unit 50 may analyze the barcode image, transmit the analyzed code information to the in-hospital system, and receive the photographer information from the in-hospital system. The photographer information acquisition processing will be described in detail later.

[0083] In S411, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the body part information frame 307 on the screen, or pressed the SET button with the selection frame selected on the body part information frame 307 by operating the dial or cross key. If YES, proceed to S412; if not, proceed to S413.

[0084] In S412, the system control unit 50 displays the body part list acquired in S404, prompts the user to select a body part from the list, and executes body part information acquisition processing to determine body part information. The body part information acquisition processing will be described in detail later.

[0085] The processes of SS407 to S412 are executed only when the medical information display is displaying the photographer information frame 303, patient information frame 305, and body part information frame 307. When the LV display setting is the imaging parameter display, the photographer information frame 303, patient information frame 305, and body part information frame 307 are not displayed, and therefore the processes of SS407 to S412 are not executed. In other words, when the LV display setting is the medical information display, the medical information can be changed in response to user operations, but when the LV display setting is the imaging parameter display, the medical information cannot be changed in response to user operations.

[0086] In S413, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the user has pressed the display switching button. If YES, the process proceeds to S414, and if not, the process proceeds to S417.

[0087] In S414, the system control unit 50 determines whether the LV display setting is medical information. If YES, the system control unit 50 proceeds to S415, and if not, the system control unit 50 proceeds to S416.

[0088] In S415, the system control unit 50 sets the LV display setting to the imaging parameter display, and proceeds to S406. In this case, since the LV display setting has been changed from the medical information display to the imaging parameter display, in S406, the display is changed to display the imaging parameter information together with the live view image, as shown in FIG. 3(b).

[0089] In S416, the system control unit 50 sets the LV display setting to medical information display, and proceeds to S406. In this case, since the LV display setting has been changed from shooting parameter display to medical information display, in S406, the setting is changed to display medical information together with the live view image, as shown in FIG. 3(a). In S417, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has operated the dial of the operating member. If YES, proceeds to S418; if not, proceeds to S421.

[0090] In S418, the system control unit 50 determines whether the LV display setting is medical information. If YES, the process proceeds to S419, and if not, the process proceeds to S420.

[0091] In S419, the system control unit 50 moves the medical information selection frame. The medical information selection frame is displayed on any one of the photographer information 303, patient information 305, and body part information 307, and moves in the order of photographer information 303, patient information 305, and body part information 307. After the body part information, it moves to photographer information 303. Note that if the operation is performed while the shutter button is half-pressed, the movement of the medical information selection frame may be disabled. Furthermore, while the medical information is being displayed, the medical information selection frame can be moved not only by dial operation but also by cross key operation in the same way as by dial operation.

[0092] In S420, the system control unit 50 changes the shooting parameters. Examples of shooting parameters include shutter speed, aperture value, exposure compensation, and ISO, which are assigned to the main electronic dial 71 and the sub electronic dial 73 for each shooting mode. For example, when the shooting mode is Tv mode, the setting value of the shutter speed is changed in response to operation of the main electronic dial, and when the shooting mode is Av mode, the setting value of the aperture is changed in response to operation of the main electronic dial.

[0093] In this way, while medical information is being displayed, the selection frame for the medical information moves in response to dial operation, and while imaging parameters are being displayed, the setting values ​​of the imaging parameters assigned to the dial for each imaging mode are changed in response to dial operation. Note that if a function for changing imaging parameters is assigned to another operating member such as the touch bar 82, the imaging parameters may be changed regardless of the LV display setting. In this case, even when the LV setting is for displaying medical information, the imaging parameters can be changed in response to user operation.

[0094] In S421, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has half-pressed the shutter button, that is, whether SW1 has occurred. If YES, the process proceeds to S422, and if not, the process proceeds to S426.

[0095] In S422, the system control unit 50 sets the LV display setting to medical information. Note that in the medical mode, as in the normal shooting mode, shooting preparation operations are performed in response to half-pressing the shutter button.

[0096] In S423, since the LV display setting was changed to medical information display in S422, the system control unit 50 changes the LV display setting to medical information display as shown in FIG.

[0097] In this way, when the shutter button is pressed halfway, even if the LV display setting is the shooting parameter display setting, the LV display is switched to medical information display and live view display is performed. This allows the photographer to always check the medical information before shooting, preventing errors in entering medical information. Note that in this embodiment, the LV display setting is changed to medical information display in response to the halfway press of the shutter button, but it may also be changed to medical information display temporarily only while the shutter button is halfway pressed. In that case, when the shutter button is released, the display returns to the LV display setting before the shutter button was halfway pressed.

[0098] In S424, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has fully pressed the shutter button, that is, whether SW2 has occurred. If YES, the process proceeds to S425, and if not, the process proceeds to S426.

[0099] In S425, the system control unit 50 performs an affected area imaging process to capture an image and generate image data, link the image data to medical information (photographer information, patient information, and body part information), and record the linked image data, and also transmit the image data to the hospital system. The affected area imaging process will be described in detail later.

[0100] In S426, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has touched the end button 308 on the screen. Alternatively, it may determine whether the SET button was pressed when the selection frame was selected as the end button frame by operating the dial or cross key. Alternatively, a specific operating member may be assigned to the end button function, and the determination may be made based on whether the button assigned to the end button was pressed. If YES, proceed to S427; if not, proceed to S428.

[0101] In S427, the system control unit 50 executes an affected area image confirmation process in which the user is prompted to confirm the affected area image, select OK or Cancel, and transmits the selection result to the in-hospital system from the communication unit 54. The affected area image confirmation process will be described in detail later.

[0102] In S428, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the resend button 309 on the screen. Alternatively, it may determine whether the SET button was pressed while the selection frame was set to the resend button frame by operating the dial or cross key. Alternatively, a specific operating member may be assigned to the resend button function, and the determination may be made based on whether the button assigned to resend was pressed. If YES, proceed to S429; if not, proceed to S430.

[0103] In S429, the system control unit 50 determines from the image transmission list which images were selected as OK in the affected area image confirmation process in S427 and which could not be transmitted correctly in S425, and executes affected area image retransmission process to retransmit these images to the in-hospital system from the communication unit 54. The affected area image retransmission process will be described in detail later.

[0104] In S430, the system control unit 50 determines whether the medical mode has been terminated based on whether the user has switched the medical mode to OFF or turned the power OFF. If YES, proceed to S431; if not, proceed to S406.

[0105] In S431, the system control unit 50 writes image file information whose status in the image retransmission list is "waiting for retransmission" to the nonvolatile memory 56. When the power is turned off, the current mode (medical mode / normal imaging mode) is also written to the nonvolatile memory 56 so that the next time the power is turned off, operation starts in the power-off mode.

[0106] <Patient information acquisition process / Photographer information acquisition process> 5(a) to 5(c) are examples of screens for the patient information acquisition process in S408 and the photographer information acquisition process in S410 in this embodiment.

[0107] FIG. 5(a) is an example of a barcode acquisition screen.

[0108] A live view image is displayed in 501. As shown in Fig. 5(a), a frame for the area in which to photograph the barcode and text prompting the user to photograph the barcode, "Please photograph the barcode," may be displayed together with the live view image.

[0109] Reference numeral 502 denotes a button for exiting the barcode photographing screen, and also indicates that the barcode photographing screen can be exited by pressing the menu button.

[0110] FIG. 5B is an example of an information confirmation screen that allows the user to confirm the information received in S605, which will be described later.

[0111] The information confirmation screen displays the received information (either patient information or photographer information) 503, an OK button 504, and a re-photograph button 505.

[0112] An OK button 504 is a button that allows the user to check the acquired information and select OK.

[0113] The re-shoot button 505 is a button that allows the user to select whether or not to take a re-shoot.

[0114] FIG. 5(c) is an example of an error screen that appears when information cannot be received normally.

[0115] The error screen displays a message 506 informing the user of the error, an end button 507, and a retake button 508. The message 506 may be changed to match the type of error.

[0116] The patient information acquisition process (S408) / photographer information acquisition process (S410) will be described below with reference to Fig. 6. The patient information acquisition process and the photographer information acquisition process have the same basic operations, so they will be described using one flowchart.

[0117] In S601, the system control unit 50 displays the barcode acquisition screen shown in FIG. 5(a).

[0118] In S602, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has touched the MENU button on the screen or pressed the MENU button on the operation member. If YES, this process ends, and if not, the process proceeds to S603.

[0119] In S603, the system control unit 50 determines whether the shutter button has been fully pressed. If YES, the process proceeds to S604, and if not, the process proceeds to S602.

[0120] In S604, the system control unit 50 captures a barcode image using the imaging unit 22 and transmits the captured barcode image to the in-hospital system from the communication unit 54. Instead of transmitting the barcode image, the system control unit 50 may analyze the barcode image to obtain the code, and transmit the code information from the communication unit 54 to the in-hospital system.

[0121] In S605, the system control unit 50 determines whether information has been received from the hospital system. If YES, the process proceeds to S606, and if not, the process proceeds to S605.

[0122] In S606, the system control unit 50 determines whether the received information is normal. If YES, the process proceeds to S607, and if not, the process proceeds to S608.

[0123] In S607, the system control unit 50 displays a confirmation screen for the received information shown in FIG. 5(b).

[0124] In S608, the system control unit 50 displays the error screen shown in FIG. 5(c).

[0125] In S609, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the end button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to the end frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the determination is YES, the process ends; if not, the process proceeds to S610.

[0126] In S610, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the re-shoot button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was selected as the re-shoot frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, proceed to S601; if not, proceed to S609.

[0127] In S611, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the OK button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to the OK frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, the process proceeds to S613; if not, the process proceeds to S612.

[0128] In S612, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the re-shoot button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was selected as the re-shoot frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, the process proceeds to S601; if not, the process proceeds to S611.

[0129] In S613, the system control unit 50 sets the information received in S605 as patient information in the case of the patient information acquisition process of S408, and sets the information received in S605 as photographer information in the case of the photographer information acquisition process of S410. As described above, the patient information acquisition process and photographer information acquisition process are executed only when the LV setting is the medical information display setting, so when this process ends, the screen returns to the medical information display screen of Figure 3(a). At that time, the information set in this process is displayed in the patient information frame 305 and the photographer information frame 303.

[0130] <Part information acquisition process> 7(a) and 7(b) are examples of screens in the body part information acquisition process (S412).

[0131] FIG. 7(a) is an example of a region list selection screen.

[0132] The part list selection screen displays a part list 701 and a button 702. The part list 701 is a list display of the part list acquired in S404. A button 702 is used to exit the part list selection screen.

[0133] Figure 7(b) is an example of an error screen.

[0134] The error screen displays a message 703 informing the user of the error and an end button 704. The message 703 may be changed to match the content of the error.

[0135] The part information acquisition process in S412 will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0136] In S801, the system controller 50 determines whether or not the region list was acquired from the hospital system in S404. If YES, the process proceeds to S802, and if not, the process proceeds to S803.

[0137] In S802, the system control unit 50 displays the part list selection screen of Fig. 7(a) In part list 701, the part list acquired in S404 is displayed.

[0138] In S803, the system control unit 50 displays the error screen of FIG. 7B, and ends this process in response to the operation of the end button 704.

[0139] In S804, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user has touched the MENU button on the part list selection screen or pressed the MENU button on the operation member. If YES, this process ends; if not, the process proceeds to S805.

[0140] In S805, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched any of the parts in the part list 701 on the part list selection screen, or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to any of the parts in the part list by operating the dial or cross key. If YES, proceed to S806; if not, proceed to S804.

[0141] In S806, the system control unit 50 sets the body part selected by the user in S805 as body part information.

[0142] As mentioned above, the body part information acquisition process is executed only when the LV setting is the medical information display setting, so when this process ends, the screen returns to the medical information display screen of Fig. 3(a). At this time, the body part information set in this process is displayed in the body part information frame 307.

[0143] <Affected area photography processing> The affected area photographing process (S425) will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0144] In S901, the system control unit 50 causes the imaging unit 22 to capture an image of the affected area and obtains image data of the affected area image.

[0145] In S902, the system control unit 50 displays a preview of the image of the affected area captured in S901. The preview display may be superimposed with the medical information that has been set (patient information, photographer information, and body part information). The preview display may be switched on or off and the display time may be switched according to user settings.

[0146] In S903, the system control unit 50 associates medical information (patient information, photographer information, and body part information) with the image data of the affected area image and stores the associated information in the non-volatile memory 56. The information may be recorded in the recording medium 200 instead of the non-volatile memory 56. In this embodiment, the medical information is associated by storing it as attribute information of the image data in the image file in which the image data is recorded.

[0147] In S904, the system control unit 50 transmits an image file including image data of the affected area image and medical information to the in-hospital system via the communication unit 54. In this embodiment, the medical information is included in the image file, but the medical information may be stored as a file separate from the image data, and the image file and the medical information file may be transmitted in association with each other.

[0148] In S905, the system control unit 50 stores the image file information and the status "sending" in the image transmission list stored in the nonvolatile memory 56. An example of the stored image file information is the image file name.

[0149] In this way, in the affected area photographing process, an image of the affected area is photographed, and the photographed image data of the affected area is associated with medical information and transmitted to the hospital system.

[0150] <Affected area image confirmation processing> FIG. 10 shows an example of a screen for the affected area image confirmation process in S427 in this embodiment.

[0151] 10A is an example of the confirmation screen for the affected area image. The confirmation screen for the affected area image is a screen on which the user can confirm the image data that was captured in S901 and whose transmission has not yet been completed, and the medical information that has been set.

[0152] 1001 is patient information, and displays patient information (patient name) from the medical information associated with image data whose status in the image transmission list is "sending." If multiple images of image data whose status is "sending" have been taken, the medical information associated with the first or last image data taken may be displayed, or the medical information of all image data may be displayed.

[0153] A field 1002 displays the number of image data items whose status in the image transmission list is "transmitting."

[0154] 1003 displays thumbnail images of image data whose status in the image transmission list is "sending." If there are multiple images of image data whose status is "sending," the thumbnail image of the first or last image data captured may be displayed, or thumbnail images of all the image data may be displayed as in FIG. 10(a).

[0155] Reference numeral 1004 denotes an OK button and a Cancel button, which allow the user to check the medical information and thumbnail image and select whether or not it is OK.

[0156] The affected area image confirmation process (S427) will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0157] In S1101, the system control unit 50 reads the image transmission list stored in the nonvolatile memory 56.

[0158] In S1102, the system control unit 50 determines whether there is image file information with a status of "resending" in the image transmission list acquired in S1101. If YES, proceed to S1103; if not, end this process.

[0159] In S1103, the system control unit 50 displays the affected area image confirmation screen shown in FIG. 10(a).

[0160] In S1104, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the cancel button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to the cancel frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, the process proceeds to S1105; if not, the process proceeds to S1107.

[0161] In S1105, the system control unit 50 transmits a cancellation notice to the in-hospital system via the communication unit .

[0162] In S1106, the system control unit 50 deletes the list information (image file information, status) of the image transmission list whose status is “transmitting” from the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56.

[0163] In S1107, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the OK button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to the OK frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, the process proceeds to S1108; if not, the process proceeds to S1104.

[0164] In S1108, the system control unit 50 transmits an OK notification to the hospital system via the communication unit .

[0165] In S1109, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not a transmission result of the image data transmitted to the hospital system in S904 has been received from the external device. If YES, proceed to S1110; if not, proceed to S1113.

[0166] In S1110, the system controller 50 determines whether the transmission result of the image data received from the external device is normal. If YES, the process proceeds to S1111, and if not, the process proceeds to S1112.

[0167] In S1111, the system control unit 50 changes the status corresponding to the image file information for which the transmission result has been received from the hospital system in the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56 to "transmission completed."

[0168] In S1112, the system control unit 50 changes the status in the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56 that corresponds to the image file information for which the transmission result has been received from the hospital system to "transmission failed."

[0169] In S1113, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not a transmission result has been received from the hospital system within a certain period of time since the image data was transmitted to the hospital system in S904. If YES, proceed to S1114; if not, proceed to S1115.

[0170] In S1114, the system control unit 50 changes the status of the image file information in the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56 for which the transmission result was not received from the hospital system to "transmission failed."

[0171] In S1115, the system control unit 50 determines whether there is a list in the image transmission list whose status is “sending.” If YES, the process proceeds to S1109, and if not, the process proceeds to S1116.

[0172] In S1116, the system control unit 50 deletes the list information in the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56 that has the status "transmission successful."

[0173] In S1117, the system control unit 50 changes the status of the list information in the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56, which has a status of "transmission failed", to "waiting for retransmission".

[0174] In this way, in the affected area image confirmation process, it is possible to check image data that has not yet been sent to the hospital system, and also to cancel the transmission of unsent image data. Note that the processes of S1109 to S1117 are also executed when the result of image data (image file) transmission is received from the hospital system, when a transmission timeout occurs, when the status indicates that there is no image data being sent, and so on, even when the affected area image confirmation process is not being executed. In other words, the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56 is updated as appropriate according to the image data transmission status.

[0175] <Affected area image retransmission process> 12(a) to 12(d) are examples of screens displayed during the affected area image retransmission process.

[0176] FIG. 12(a) shows the resend confirmation screen.

[0177] Reference numeral 1201 denotes patient information (patient name) associated with image data whose status in the image transmission list is "waiting for retransmission." If multiple images of image data whose status is "waiting for retransmission" have been taken, the medical information associated with the first or last image data taken may be displayed, or the medical information of all image data may be displayed.

[0178] A field 1202 indicates the number of image data items whose status in the image transmission list is "waiting for retransmission."

[0179] Reference numeral 1203 denotes a thumbnail image of image data whose status in the image transmission list is "waiting for retransmission." If there are multiple images of image data whose status is "waiting for retransmission," the thumbnail image of the first or last image data captured may be displayed, or thumbnail images of all the image data may be displayed.

[0180] Reference numeral 1204 denotes an OK button that allows the user to confirm whether or not to resend the message and select whether or not it is OK.

[0181] 1205 is a cancel button that allows the user to confirm whether to resend and select OK or not.

[0182] FIG. 12(b) shows the screen during retransmission.

[0183] The resending screen displays a message 1206 indicating that transmission is in progress and a cancel button 1207. A progress display may also be displayed showing which of the many images is being transmitted. By operating the cancel button 1207, it is possible to instruct the transmission to be interrupted midway.

[0184] FIG. 12(c) is a transmission success screen indicating that the retransmission was successful.

[0185] The transmission success screen displays a message 1208 indicating that the transmission was successful, and an end button 1209.

[0186] FIG. 12(d) is a transmission failure screen showing that the retransmission was not successful.

[0187] The transmission failure screen displays a message 1210 indicating that the transmission has failed and an end button 1211.

[0188] The affected area image retransmission process (S429) will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0189] In S1301, the system control unit 50 determines whether there is a "waiting for retransmission" list in the status of the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56. If YES, proceed to S1302, and if not, end this process.

[0190] In S1302, the system control unit 50 displays the retransmission confirmation screen of FIG. 12(a).

[0191] In S1303, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the cancel button on the screen or pressed the SET button while the selection frame was set to the cancel frame by operating the dial or cross key. If YES, this process ends; if not, the process proceeds to S1304.

[0192] In S1304, the system control unit 50 determines whether the user touched the OK button on the screen or pressed the SET button with the selection frame set to the OK frame by operating the dial or cross key. If the answer is YES, the process proceeds to S1305; if not, the process proceeds to S1303.

[0193] In S1305, the system control unit 50 displays the retransmission screen shown in FIG. 12(b).

[0194] In S1306, the system control unit 50 transmits one of the image data files whose status in the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56 is "waiting for retransmission" to the in-hospital system via the communication unit 54. Depending on the form, if the medical information linked to the image data is separate data from the image data, the data of the linked medical information is also transmitted as a set.

[0195] In S1307, the system control unit 50 of the external system device determines whether or not a transmission result of the image data transmitted to the hospital system in S1306 has been received from the hospital system. If YES, proceed to S1309; if not, proceed to S1308.

[0196] In S1308, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not a transmission result has been received from the hospital system within a certain period of time since the image data was transmitted to the hospital system in S1306. If YES, proceed to S1312; if not, proceed to S1307.

[0197] In S1309, the system controller 50 determines whether the transmission result received from the hospital system is normal. If YES, the process proceeds to S1310, and if not, the process proceeds to S1312.

[0198] In S1310, the system controller 50 changes the status of the image transmission list corresponding to the transmission result received from the hospital system to "retransmission completed."

[0199] In S1311, the system control unit 50 determines whether there is a list with the status "waiting for retransmission" in the image retransmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56. If YES, the process proceeds to S1306, and if not, the process proceeds to S1314.

[0200] In S1312, the system control unit 50 deletes the list information of “retransmission completed” from the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56.

[0201] In S1313, the system control unit 50 displays the retransmission failure screen shown in FIG. 12(d).

[0202] In S1314, the system control unit 50 deletes the list information of “retransmission completed” from the image transmission list in the nonvolatile memory 56.

[0203] In S1315, the system controller 50 displays the retransmission success screen shown in FIG. 12(c).

[0204] In this way, in the affected area image retransmission process, the status of the image transmission list is "waiting for retransmission", and untransmitted image data can be retransmitted to the hospital system.

[0205] <LV display in normal shooting mode> As described above, in medical mode, the LV display setting is switched between the shooting parameter display and the medical information display in response to operation of the display switching button 83. In contrast, in normal shooting mode (medical mode OFF), the LV display setting can be switched between ON / OFF of the shooting parameter display, the type of shooting parameter to be displayed, ON / OFF of the level display, ON / OFF of the live view display, etc. in response to operation of the display switching button 83. In normal shooting mode, operating the display switching button 83 does not switch to the medical information display.

[0206] In addition, in medical mode, in response to SW1 (half-pressing the shutter button), shooting preparation operations such as AF processing, AE processing, AWB processing, and EF processing are performed, and the LV display is switched to medical information display, so that medical information can be confirmed before capturing an image of the affected area. In contrast, in normal shooting mode, in response to SW1, shooting preparation operations are performed, and the LV display is switched to LV display ON and specific shooting parameters (for example, AF frame (frame indicating the in-focus area), shutter speed, and aperture value). Other shooting parameters and various information are hidden to make it easier to check the live view and specific shooting parameters. Therefore, before capturing a still image with SW2, shooting preparation operations are performed, and the live image after shooting preparation operations can be confirmed, making it possible to confirm shooting parameters that are important for still image capture.

[0207] (Other embodiments) The various controls described above as being performed by the system control unit 50 may be performed by a single piece of hardware, or the entire device may be controlled by multiple pieces of hardware (e.g., multiple processors or circuits) sharing the processing.

[0208] Furthermore, although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the gist of the present invention are also included in the present invention. Furthermore, each of the above-described embodiments merely represents one embodiment of the present invention, and each embodiment can be combined as appropriate.

[0209] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to an imaging device (digital camera) 100, but the present invention is not limited to this example and can be applied to any device that has an imaging means. That is, the present invention can be applied to personal computers, PDAs, mobile phone terminals, portable image viewers, printer devices with displays, digital photo frames, music players, game consoles, e-book readers, and the like.

[0210] The present invention is not limited to application to the imaging device itself, but can also be applied to a control device that communicates with an imaging device (including a network camera) via wired or wireless communication and remotely controls the imaging device. Examples of devices that remotely control an imaging device include smartphones, tablet PCs, and desktop PCs. The imaging device can be remotely controlled by issuing commands from the control device to the imaging device to perform various operations and settings based on operations or processes performed on the control device. Furthermore, a live view image captured by the imaging device may be received via wired or wireless communication and displayed on the control device.

[0211] The present invention can also be realized by executing the following process. That is, software (programs) that realize the functions of the above-described embodiments are supplied to a system or device via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or device reads and executes the program code. In this case, the program and the storage media storing the program constitute the present invention.

Claims

1. An imaging unit; a display control means for displaying the live image captured by the imaging unit and medical information on a display unit; a control means for associating the image data captured by the imaging unit with the medical information in response to a full press of the shutter button, The display control means controlling, in response to a predetermined user operation, to switch between a first display that displays the medical information together with a live image and a second display that displays imaging parameters related to imaging together with the live image; controlling the display to be switched to the first display in response to a half-press operation of the shutter button different from the predetermined user operation; An imaging device characterized by:

2. The imaging device according to claim 1 , wherein the medical information includes at least one of patient information and body part information.

3. 3. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined user operation is an operation on a specific operation member assigned to display switching.

4. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has a control means that controls so that when the first display is being performed, the medical information and the shooting parameters can be changed in accordance with user operation, and when the second display is being performed, the medical information cannot be changed in accordance with user operation, but the shooting parameters can be changed in accordance with user operation.

5. 5. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control means controls the display so that the first display is displayed while the shutter button is half-pressed.

6. a switching means for switching between a medical mode and a normal imaging mode, 6. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means switches to the first display in response to a half-press of the shutter button in the medical mode, and does not switch to the first display in the normal shooting mode even if the shutter button is half-pressed.

7. 7. The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display control means controls the display so that specific shooting parameters are displayed in response to a half-press of the shutter button in the normal shooting mode.

8. 8. The imaging device according to claim 7, wherein the specific shooting parameters include at least one of a focus area, a shutter speed, and an aperture value.

9. 9. The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the display control means controls the imaging device so that, in the medical mode, the first display and the second display are switched in response to the specified user operation, and, in the normal imaging mode, the display control means does not switch to the first display in response to the specified user operation.

10. 10. The imaging device according to claim 6, wherein the display control means controls the display to perform the first display when the mode is switched to the medical mode.

11. 11. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls the image data and the medical information to be recorded in association with each other on a recording medium.

12. a communication unit for communicating with a predetermined medical system; 12. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the display control means controls the display of medical information acquired from the predetermined medical system.

13. 13. The imaging device according to claim 12, wherein the control means associates the image data with the medical information and transmits the image data to a medical system.

14. the communication unit communicates with a predetermined server, 14. The imaging device according to claim 12, wherein the display control means controls the display of medical information acquired from the medical system via the predetermined server.

15. The imaging device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that the control means acquires the medical information from the medical system based on a code image captured by the imaging unit, and controls the acquired medical information to be associated with the image data.

16. A control method for an imaging device having an imaging unit, comprising: a first display control step of displaying the live image captured by the imaging unit and medical information on a display unit; a control step of associating image data captured by the imaging unit with the medical information in response to a full press of a shutter button; a second display control step of switching between a first display that displays the medical information together with a live image and a second display that displays imaging parameters related to imaging together with the live image in response to a predetermined user operation; a third display control step of controlling the display to be switched to the first display in response to a half-press operation of the shutter button that is different from the predetermined user operation; 10. A method for controlling an imaging device, comprising:

17. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Images