Medical Image Reporting Unit for Endoscope Assistance State Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical image processing systems do not adequately inform users about the operation state of assistance functions, potentially distracting users during examinations and failing to recognize when assistance should be terminated.
Innovation Solution
A medical image processing apparatus that includes an image acquiring unit, a recognizing unit, a reporting unit, and a switching notifying unit. The reporting unit provides recognition results in multiple styles and automatically switches to a non-reporting state based on predetermined conditions, while the switching notifying unit alerts the user to these state changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the reporting unit continuously provides recognition results to assist the user, then the assistance function improves diagnostic efficiency, but the user may become distracted and lose concentration during the examination
Solution Approach 1:
The reporting unit operates in periodic cycles, alternating between reporting states where recognition results are provided and non-reporting states where silence is maintained. This periodic operation allows the system to deliver assistance information at intervals rather than continuously, thereby maintaining diagnostic efficiency while preventing user distraction during critical observation periods
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically switches between reporting and non-reporting states based on predetermined conditions such as detection of specific lesions or time intervals. This dynamic adjustment enables the assistance function to adapt its behavior to the current examination context, providing information when needed and remaining silent when user concentration is paramount
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the reporting unit automatically switches to non-reporting state based on predetermined conditions, then excessive assistance is prevented, but the user may not recognize when the assistance function is active or inactive
Solution Approach 1:
The switching notifying unit provides feedback to the user about the current state of the reporting unit. When the system transitions between reporting and non-reporting states, the notifying unit informs the user of this change, ensuring that the user remains aware of when assistance information will be provided or withheld, thus compensating for the automatic switching behavior
3Loss of information
If the switching notifying unit provides notifications about state changes, then user awareness of assistance function is improved, but the notification itself may become an additional source of distraction
Solution Approach 1:
The switching notifying unit provides targeted notifications only at specific moments when state transitions occur, rather than continuously informing the user. This localized notification approach ensures that awareness is maintained at critical transition points while minimizing the overall disturbance to user concentration during the examination process
Data Source
AI summary
An object of the present invention is to provide a medical image processing apparatus, an endoscope system, and a medical image processing method that are capable of causing a user to appropriately recognize an operation state of an assistance function. A medical image processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an image acquiring unit that acquires a chronological medical image; a recognizing unit that performs recognition of a region of interest in the acquired medical image; a reporting unit that performs reporting of a result of the recognition in at least one style and that, in response to a predetermined condition being satisfied after start of a reporting state of performing the reporting, is switched to a non-reporting state of not performing the reporting; and a switching notifying unit that provides a notification indicating that switching from the reporting state to the non-reporting state is to occur.