Endoscope Mask Image Generation for Oxygen Saturation Correlation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current endoscope systems lack clear identification of non-healthy parts, such as lesions, in visceral tissues and blood vessels due to insufficient image information regarding oxygen saturation distribution, making it difficult to determine the positional relationship between tissues and oxygen saturation levels.
Innovation Solution
An endoscope system and image display device that process image data to generate a mask image based on hemoglobin concentration, overlaying it onto oxygen saturation distribution images, allowing for enhanced visualization of non-healthy parts by setting pixels above a threshold as transmissive with varying transmittance levels, thereby improving diagnostic support images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If oxygen saturation distribution images are displayed without mask images, then the calculation and display of oxygen saturation is simple, but the identification of non-healthy parts and positional relationships with living tissue is unclear
Solution Approach 1:
A mask image derived from hemoglobin concentration distribution serves as an intermediary between the oxygen saturation distribution and the living tissue structure. This mask image provides anatomical reference information that helps identify non-healthy parts and their positions, while the oxygen saturation image provides functional information. The combination resolves the contradiction by adding positional context without requiring complete reprocessing of the original images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the oxygen saturation distribution image and the mask image (derived from hemoglobin concentration) into a composite display. This merging allows simultaneous visualization of both functional oxygen saturation data and anatomical structural information, enabling clear identification of non-healthy parts and their positions without significantly increasing processing complexity.
2Loss of information
If multiple images (living tissue image and oxygen saturation image) are arranged simultaneously on screen, then both images are available for observation, but it is difficult to grasp the positional relationship between living tissue and oxygen saturation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of displaying separate images that require mental alignment, the patent merges the oxygen saturation distribution with the mask image derived from hemoglobin concentration. This integration directly overlays functional and anatomical information, eliminating the need for users to manually correlate positions between separate images and significantly improving ease of interpretation.
Solution Approach 2:
The mask image provides localized anatomical reference information at each pixel position, allowing users to immediately understand the tissue context for each oxygen saturation measurement. This local correspondence between anatomical structure and functional data enhances interpretability without requiring global image alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope system includes: a processor that generates first and second feature amount distribution images of a living tissue from an imaged image of the living tissue and generates a second feature amount distribution processed image from these distribution images; and a display that displays the second feature amount distribution processed image. The processor generates a mask image of the second feature amount distribution image by, in the first feature amount distribution image, setting a pixel whose pixel value representing the first feature amount is less than a lower limit value as a non-transmissive pixel having a transmittance of zero and setting a pixel between an upper limit value and the lower limit value as a transmissive pixel while giving the pixel a transmittance determined continuously or stepwise in accordance with the pixel value in the first feature amount distribution image.