53 results about "Fluorescence endoscopy" patented technology

Excitation light for normal light observation with wavelengths in the visible spectrum, which is output from a lamp, and excitation light with wavelengths in the infrared spectrum for exciting a fluorescent substance characteristic of being accumulated readily in a lesion are irradiated simultaneously to a living tissue, to which the fluorescent substance has been administered, through an endoscope. Fluorescence components are separated from light stemming from the living tissue by means of a separator such as a dichroic mirror, introduced to a first imaging device, and then imaged. Light components with wavelengths in the visible spectrum are introduced to a second imaging device and then imaged. Signals representing the images are subjected to signal processing, whereby a video signal is produced. For better diagnosis, two images are displayed while, for example, one of the images is superimposed on the other.

This present invention relates to a fluorescence endoscope apparatus, developed for diagnosing various illnesses within a body, especially for diagnosing a tumor inflamed region; and an application method of the same. The purpose of this invention is to enhance the accuracy of the examination. The fluorescence light endoscope apparatus in accordance with the present invention is comprised of an endoscope probe; a multiple light source that provides illumination light or excitation light of short wavelength onto a diagnostic region; a color CCD camera and a high sensitive monochromatic CCD camera placed on the back of an endoscope ocular lens; a reference test sample; a computer; and a monitor. The method of the present invention embodies a preliminary correction of the fluorescence endoscope apparatus of the present invention in accordance with the reference test sample; a general endoscopy using the illumination light, and an image observation and examination of the same diagnostic region using the fluorescence light and the reflected excitation light simultaneously; an auto-correction of brightness and unevenness of the fluorescence light images of the diagnostic region according to the reference test sample data; an evaluation of the brightness of the fluorescence light in the diagnosis region; storing numerical data that characterizing images and brightness of the fluorescence light in the diagnosis region; and storing image collected via two cameras as digital video clips.

A fluorescent image obtainment apparatus includes a light illumination means that illuminates a region to be observed with illumination-light and excitation-light at the same time, and an imaging means that captures an image composed of light reflected from the region illuminated with the illumination-light and an image composed of fluorescence output from the region illuminated with the excitation-light. Further, the apparatus includes an image processing means that produces an ordinary image based on the image of the reflection light and a fluorescent image based on the image of fluorescence, and a light amount control means that controls the light amount of the illumination-light so that a representative luminance value of the ordinary image becomes a predetermined luminance value and the light amount of the excitation-light so that the ratio of the light amount of the excitation-light to that of the illumination-light becomes a predetermined ratio.

In fluorescent endoscopic examinations, excitation light and light adjusted by an adjuster filter are alternately projected to an object under observation, the fluorescence light is received by one channel out of three channels by disposing barrier filters before a black-and-white CCD, or received without any filter by the channel of a color CCD which does not react with excitation light but with the fluorescent light, the light adjusted by an adjuster filter is received by the other two channels to capture the background image, the signals sent through the three channels are combined, and the fluorescent image is superimposed on the background image on a monitor. Thus, a sharp fluorescent image and bright field of view are formed and viewed on the same screen simultaneously, and the portions where fluorescence is emitted can be easily specified in the background.

A fluorescent image obtainment apparatus includes a light illumination means (130, 150) that illuminates a region to be observed with illumination-light and excitation-light at the same time, and an imaging means (110) that captures an image composed of light reflected from the region illuminated with the illumination-light and an image composed of fluorescence output from the region illuminated with the excitation-light. Further, the apparatus includes an image processing means (170) that produces an ordinary image based on the image of the reflection light and a fluorescent image based on the image of fluorescence, and a light amount control means (186) that controls the light amount of the illumination-light so that a representative luminance value of the ordinary image becomes a predetermined luminance value and the light amount of the excitation-light so that the ratio of the light amount of the excitation-light to that of the illumination-light becomes a predetermined ratio.

A correction function is calculated based on a reference image formed of reflected light reflected upon the irradiation of a predetermined living tissue, for which a diseased state is known, with a reference light. This correction function is employed to administer distance correction on calculated standardized values based on fluorescence images to which an offset has been added, to correct the fluctuations of the calculated standardized values caused by the distance between living tissue and the distal end of a fluorescence endoscope, thereby generating a corrected standardized fluorescence image.

A fluorescence endoscope is provided that can easily judge whether body-cavity tissue is benign or malignant when fluorescence generated at the entire inner circumferential face of the body cavity serving as a subject is observed. The fluorescence endoscope includes: an insertion portion (5) be inserted into a body cavity (3); a balloon (15) brought into contact with an inner wall of the body cavity (3) located in radial directions of the insertion portion (5), thereby positioning the insertion portion (5) with respect to the body cavity (3) in the radial directions of the insertion portion (5); a light emitting and introducing unit (17, 19) emits excitation light for irradiating the inner wall, outward in the radial directions of the insertion portion (5), and introduces fluorescence generated at the inner wall to the inside of the insertion portion (5) from a plurality of different radial directions of the insertion portion (5); an image-acquisition unit (21) acquires an image with the fluorescence introduced by the light emitting and introducing unit (17, 19); a correction-signal calculating unit (57) calculates a correction signal for correcting an image-acquisition signal output from the image-acquisition unit (21), based on a distance between the insertion portion (5) and a contact surface of the balloon (15) that is brought into contact with the inner wall; and a signal processing unit (57) corrects the intensity of the image-acquisition signal based on the correction signal and generates an image signal from the corrected image-acquisition signal.

An imaging device for an endoscope includes an image pickup lens, a spectral characteristics variable optical element, and a CCD. The spectral characteristics variable optical element passes only light of a specific wavelength in accordance with the distance between first and second plates, and reflects light of the other wavelengths. The CCD converts the light reflected from the variable optical element into an image signal. In fluorescence endoscopy, a fluorescent labeling agent is administered on an internal body part to be examined. Application of excitation light to the body part causes the fluorescent labeling agent to emit fluorescence. The variable optical element removes the excitation light from the fluorescence by regulation of the distance between the first and second plates.

An endoscope apparatus includes a fiber optic cable with a proximal end and a distal end opposite the proximal end. The endoscope apparatus also includes a light source optically coupled to the proximal end of the fiber optic cable to emit visible light and excitation light into the fiber optic cable for output from the distal end. The light source is configured to emit both the visible light and the excitation light simultaneously, and a wavelength of the excitation light is outside a wavelength spectrum of the visible light. An image sensor coupled to the distal end of the fiber optic cable and positioned to receive a reflection of the visible light as reflected visible light.

The present invention relates to a filter switching device for a fluorescence endoscopic television camera system, and more particularly, to a filter switching device for a fluorescence endoscopic television camera system, which selectively transmits light to a detector sensor of a television camera according to the white light condition or the fluorescence condition to diagnose patients using a fluorescence endoscope.

The present invention provides a filter switching device for a fluorescence endoscopic television camera system, which is configured to conveniently switch filters according to the rotational movement of the camera head, by inducing a change of magnetic forces according to the rotation of the camera head by magnetic substances disposed therein while maintaining a sealed structure inside the camera head connecting between a fluorescence endoscope and a television camera and thus allowing the frame of the camera head mounted with two types of filter to move upward and downward.

A fluorescent endoscopy apparatus includes an endoscope insertion unit that is inserted into a body cavity and that guides excitation light to illuminate a region to be observed, and an imaging unit that images a fluorescent image by receiving fluorescence that has been output from the region to be observed by illumination with the excitation light and guided by the endoscope insertion unit. Further, the fluorescent endoscopy apparatus includes a facial information detection unit that detects facial information about a person in an imaging image that has been imaged by the imaging unit by receiving light guided by the endoscope insertion unit, and an interlock unit that prohibits illumination with the excitation light when the facial information detection unit has detected the facial information.

The apparatus for imaging diagnosis of tissue (1) has selectivity to use at least two methods of diagnosis. One working mode uses diagnostic white light endoscopy (DWLE) and another mode uses diagnostic auto fluorescence endoscopy (DAFE). Optionally, a further DAFE diagnosis mode can be used. A lamp (2) delivers light to the tissue through an optic fiber (3). A lens (4) is used either by the human eye, or in combination with a camera (5) linked to an image processing unit (6) and a monitor (7). Most of the light used for both DAFE modes is generated from a narrow spectral band not more than30 nm, with a wavelength of 405 nm.

The invention relates to a fluorescent endoscope exposure parameter adjustment method and device, and a fluorescent endoscope. The fluorescent endoscope exposure parameter adjustment method comprisesthe following steps: obtaining a first exposure parameter of a fluorescent endoscope image; judging an environment scene of the fluorescent endoscope according to the image characteristics of the fluorescent endoscope image; and adjusting the first exposure parameter to a second exposure parameter according to a comparison result of the first exposure parameter and a preset exposure parameter andthe environment scene, wherein the environment scene corresponds to the second exposure parameter. By means of the method and the device, the problems that the brightness of the light source of the endoscope is manually adjusted through a rotary knob, errors are large, the endoscope is prone to burning in-vivo tissue or causing discomfort to human eyes, and safety is low are solved, automatic adjustment of the brightness of a color light source and the brightness of a fluorescent light source of the fluorescent endoscope is achieved, and harm to the human body due to the fact that the total power of the light source is too large is avoided.

An imaging method of a fluorescent image performs image processing before generating colored-fluorescent images, including steps: respectively imaging the red, green and blue lights of the white light on three monochromatic sensors under the precondition that the software processing speed is not affected; imaging the near infrared fluorescent light on one of the monochromatic sensors; determining whether the sensor used to receive the near infrared fluorescent light receives the fluorescent signal; calculating the light intensity received by the sensor receiving the fluorescent signal and the light intensities received by the other two sensors; automatically adjusting the projection intensity of the white light source and/or the excitation light source according to the difference of the intensities of the two types of light signals, whereby a closed-loop system is formed to simultaneously present the colored-florescent images on a picture with the best contrast.

An endoscope apparatus includes an excitation-light radiation unit; a fluorescence-image acquisition unit; a fluorescence-spectrum storage unit; a density computation unit, an image combining portion; and an image display portion; wherein when coefficients at wavelengths of fluorescent components obtained from the fluorescence spectra in the storage unit, and when intensities of fluorescence images at the wavelengths acquired by the acquisition unit, the density computation unit calculates the densities of the fluorescent components from an equation, and when the densities are calculated, in accordance with a change in the value of an exposure condition item during acquisition of the fluorescence image at a wavelength, the density computation unit changes the coefficients at the wavelength using the ratio of the value after the change to the value of the exposure condition items under the reference exposure conditions has been made.

The invention relates to a hemostasis scalpel for assisting in cutting treatment through targeted fluorescence imaging. The hemostasis scalpel comprises a laser device, a hemostasis cutting module, acatheter, an endoscope, a suction head and a wound surface treatment module. The catheter sprays up-conversion dye modified targeted antibody to an affected part to be specifically combined with a tumor; the suction head sucks away residual materials; laser is coupled to a knife edge optical fiber head to stimulate dye of the affected part to emit fluorescence; the endoscope displays and observesfocus luminescence; the hemostasis cutting module adjusts output energy to a cutting gear and cuts a luminescence part; the catheter sprays a cleaning solution to an operation area and cleans the operation area; the process is repeated until no visible fluorescence exists; a cancer suppressant is sprayed; and a hemostasis module stops bleeding. The invention aims to realize precise cutting and assist in surgical treatment of tumors.

The invention discloses an intraoperative three-dimensional point cloud generation method and device and an intraoperative local structure navigation method, and belongs to the field of surgical navigation, and the intraoperative three-dimensional point cloud generation method comprises the following steps: obtaining a white light image and a fluorescence image; identifying two-dimensional pixel points of the physiological tissue from the white light image; identifying a fluorescent point from the fluorescent image; the fluorescent point is an image of the position where the fluorescent gel is dispensed on the physiological tissue in advance on the fluorescent image; calculating the object distance of the fluorescent gel according to the brightness of the fluorescent points; the three-dimensional point cloud of the two-dimensional pixel points is obtained through matching according to the corresponding positions of the fluorescent points in the two-dimensional pixel points and the object distance of the fluorescent gel, the three-dimensional point cloud aiming at the physiological tissue can be generated only through a common fluorescent endoscope without the help of a 3D lens, and the local structure navigation method in the operation is small in calculation amount, high in anti-interference capacity and high in accuracy. And the problems of poor flexible tissue matching and difficulty in real-time navigation in the operation are solved.