Endoscope Image Processor for High-Luminance Contour Enhancement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contour enhancement methods for electronic endoscopes suppress contour enhancement in high-luminance portions, leading to blurred images due to the prevention of large undershoots, particularly in images with specular reflections from mucous membranes.
Innovation Solution
A processor for electronic endoscopes that includes an edge detection unit, an edge component correction unit, and an enhancement processing unit, which adjusts edge components based on threshold settings and user-defined parameters to enhance contours while minimizing undershoots, using different illumination wavelengths and enhancement methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a relatively lower weight is applied to a high-luminance portion of an image to prevent large undershoot in whitened portions, then occurrence of large undershoot is suppressed, but contour enhancement in high-luminance portions other than whitened portions is suppressed, leading to blurred images
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing strategies to different regions based on their characteristics: whitened portions (specular reflection) receive one type of processing to suppress undershoot, while non-whitened high-luminance portions receive different processing to maintain contour enhancement. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing each region to be optimized for its specific needs rather than applying a uniform approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts processing parameters (weighting factors, threshold values) based on the specific characteristics of each region. By changing parameters according to whether a region is a whitened portion or a non-whitened high-luminance portion, the system achieves both undershoot suppression in appropriate areas and contour enhancement in areas where it is needed.
2Manufacturing precision
If contour enhancement processing is performed on high-luminance portions, then contour emphasis is improved, but large undershoot occurs in whitened portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image processing into distinct pathways: one for detecting and processing whitened portions (specular reflection regions) and another for processing non-whitened high-luminance portions. This segmentation allows contour enhancement to be applied selectively to appropriate regions while preventing undershoot in whitened portions through separate detection and processing logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary detection of whitened portions before applying contour enhancement processing. By identifying specular reflection regions in advance and applying counter-measures (suppressing enhancement or applying different processing), the system prevents the harmful undershoot effect from occurring in the first place, rather than attempting to correct it afterward.
3Device complexity
If uniform contour enhancement is applied to all high-luminance portions, then processing simplicity is maintained, but differentiation between whitened portions and other high-luminance portions cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary classification of high-luminance portions into whitened portions (specular reflection) and non-whitened portions before applying contour enhancement. This preliminary action, though adding some processing steps, enables precise differentiation and appropriate processing for each type, achieving high contour enhancement precision without excessive complexity through systematic organization.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3(a)~3(b)
AI summary
In an aspect of the present invention, an aspect of the present invention is a processor for an electronic endoscope that acquires a captured image of a living tissue and performs image processing. The processor for an electronic endoscope includes an enhancement calculation unit (27) for the captured image of the living tissue. The enhancement calculation unit (27) includes: an edge detection unit (272) that detects an edge component for each of pixels of the captured image of the living tissue; an edge component correction unit (273) that corrects the edge component of each of the pixels detected by the edge detection unit (272) with reference to threshold setting data in which a threshold of the edge component in accordance with a luminance value is set; and an enhancement processing unit (274) that performs contour enhancement processing on the captured image based on the edge component corrected by the edge component correction unit (273).