Endoscope Fluorescent Imaging Color Balance Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional endoscope apparatuses face challenges in maintaining color balance and reducing noise in fluorescent observation images due to uneven illumination and amplification of weak autofluorescence signals, leading to noisy and unclear images.
Innovation Solution
The endoscope apparatus incorporates a light adjustment system that synchronizes the illumination light from a light guide fiber and excitation light from a blue LED, maintaining a constant color tone by adjusting the light amounts and drive current, ensuring a predetermined amplification ratio between autofluorescence and G reflection light, and using a control unit to optimize image processing for clear fluorescent imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the amount of illumination light from the light guide fiber is increased to improve image brightness, then the brightness of the observation image is improved, but the color balance deteriorates due to uneven illumination and noise increases from amplification of weak autofluorescence signals
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit receives image pickup signals from the electronic image pickup section, determines the amount of illumination light based on these signals, and controls the light emitting diode to emit excitation light at an appropriate amount. This feedback mechanism ensures that as illumination light amount changes, the excitation light amount is automatically adjusted to maintain constant color tone and prevent noise from uneven illumination
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the parameter of excitation light amount emitted by the light emitting diode based on the determined illumination light amount. By adjusting the drive current to the LED, the system maintains an appropriate amplification ratio between autofluorescence and G reflection light, ensuring consistent color balance across different illumination conditions
2Measurement precision
If the amplification ratio between autofluorescence and G reflection light is increased to enhance fluorescent signal visibility, then the autofluorescence intensity is improved, but noise increases making the image unclear
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit determines the appropriate excitation light amount based on the image pickup signal and controls the light emitting diode accordingly. This feedback control ensures that the amplification ratio between autofluorescence and G reflection light is maintained at an appropriate level, enhancing fluorescent signal visibility while preventing excessive noise amplification
Solution Approach 2:
The light emitting diode acts as an intermediary light source that provides excitation light to enhance autofluorescence emission. By controlling the LED's excitation light amount, the system can selectively enhance the autofluorescence signal while maintaining an appropriate signal-to-noise ratio, as the LED provides controlled supplemental excitation without the uneven illumination characteristics of the light guide fiber
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach results in clear and balanced fluorescent observation images by maintaining the color tone and reducing noise, allowing for effective differentiation of neoplastic lesions like cancer through improved autofluorescence intensity and image quality.
Implementation Method 1
illumination light from a light guide fiber
Implementation Method 2
excitation light from a blue LED
Implementation Method 3
amplification ratio between autofluorescence and G reflection light
Data Source
AI summary
A medical apparatus includes: a first illumination window through which a first illumination light from a first light source is irradiated to a subject; a second illumination window at different position than the first illumination window, through which a second illumination light from a second light source is irradiated to the subject; an electronic image pickup section which picks up subject images; an image creation section which generates observation images based on image pickup signals obtained by the electronic image pickup section; a light adjustment section which synchronously adjusts respective amounts of illumination lights irradiated from the first and second illumination windows; and a control unit which controls the light adjustment section or image creation section to maintain color tone of the observation image to a predetermined one according to increase/decrease of the illumination light amount from the first illumination window.