JP7486385B2 - Endoscope Use Support System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an endoscope use support system that provides at least one of information on one endoscope out of multiple endoscopes and information on at least one endoscope accessory part that should be used out of multiple endoscope accessories in conjunction with the use of the endoscope.

An endoscope is used to insert into a subject's lumen to inspect the biological tissue in the lumen and, if necessary, to treat a lesion in the biological tissue using forceps. Lesions have various shapes, and there are various types of inspections, such as a normal inspection in which white light is irradiated to observe the surface of the biological tissue, an ultrasonic inspection in which ultrasonic waves are emitted from the tip to inspect the inside of the biological tissue, an inspection combining a normal inspection and an ultrasonic inspection, an inspection specialized in inflammation to calculate the degree of inflammation in the lesion, an inspection of the presence or absence of malignant tumors and the degree of progression, etc. Furthermore, there are various types of inspections in different locations, such as an inspection of the large intestine, an inspection of the stomach, an inspection of the throat, etc.
In order to accommodate these various examinations, there are many different endoscopes and endoscopic accessories (hereinafter simply referred to as accessories) that are attached to the endoscope. Therefore, once the content of the examination has been decided, it is necessary to create an endoscopic system by selecting an endoscope and accessories according to the content of the examination.

In view of this situation, an endoscope storage cabinet has been proposed that makes it easy to determine the mutual correspondence between a plurality of endoscopes and a plurality of accessories (Patent Document 1).
The endoscope storage cabinet includes two or more endoscope storage sections for storing endoscopes, two or more accessory storage sections for storing accessories for the endoscope, a linking section for linking the accessory storage section in which the accessory is stored to the endoscope to which the accessory is attached when the endoscope is stored in one of the endoscope storage sections and the accessory is stored in at least one of the accessory storage sections, and an alarm section for notifying the endoscope to which the accessory storage section is linked to the endoscope being removed from the endoscope storage section when the endoscope is removed from the endoscope storage section.

JP 2018-64630 A

In the endoscope storage cabinet described above, it is possible to easily determine the correspondence between multiple endoscopes and multiple accessories, but the accessories to be attached to the endoscope are predetermined, and depending on the content of the examination or treatment of the subject being examined or treated, it is not known which endoscope and accessories should be combined to create an endoscopic system, and it is not possible to select the appropriate endoscope and accessories.

The present invention aims to provide an endoscope usage support system that can provide at least one of the following equipment information depending on the contents of the examination or treatment: information on one endoscope out of multiple endoscopes, and information on at least one endoscope accessory part out of multiple endoscope accessories that should be used in conjunction with the use of the endoscope.

One aspect of the present invention is an endoscope usage support system that provides at least one of device information of one endoscope among a plurality of endoscopes and information of at least one endoscope accessory to be used among a plurality of endoscope accessories in association with the use of the endoscope.
a server including a storage unit that stores, in association with each other, examination and treatment content history information including, for each examination and treatment, the contents of past examinations and treatments performed using one of the plurality of endoscopes, and past equipment use information including, for each examination and treatment, information on the endoscope used during the examination and treatment and information on at least one endoscope accessory used in conjunction with the use of the endoscope;
The data processing device includes a prediction unit that predicts the equipment information based on the content of the examination/treatment to be performed using at least the examination/treatment content history information and the past equipment usage information, and an information providing unit that provides the predicted equipment information.

The prediction unit preferably includes a first prediction model that uses the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information as learning data to machine-learn the relationship between the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information corresponding to the examination procedure content history information, and the first prediction model predicts and outputs the equipment information by inputting the contents of the examination/treatment to be performed into the first prediction model.

The storage unit stores, in addition to the examination and treatment content history information and the past device use information, lesion progress information including information on the date and time when the examination and treatment were performed and information on the progression of the lesion at the time of the examination and treatment, for each subject who was examined and treated;
It is preferable that the prediction unit predicts the content of the examination/treatment to be performed now using the lesion progress information of a subject other than the subject to be examined/treated now, the lesion progress information of the subject to be examined/treated now, and examination/treatment date and time information for the examination/treatment to be performed now.

The prediction unit preferably includes a second prediction model that uses the lesion progress information to perform machine learning to determine the relationship between the information on the progression of the lesion and the date and time information in the lesion progress information, and inputs the date and time information of the examination/treatment to be performed and the lesion progress information of the subject to be examined/treated into the second prediction model, thereby causing the second prediction model to predict the progression of the lesion of the subject to be examined/treated, and providing information on the content of the examination/treatment to be performed according to the prediction result of the progression of the lesion.

The prediction unit predicts a plurality of candidates as the device information to be predicted, and calculates a correct answer rate for each candidate, the correct answer being the past device use information with respect to the examination procedure content history information;
It is preferable that the prediction unit displays the predicted candidates on a display connected to the data processing device in order of the highest correct answer rate.

The plurality of endoscopes and the plurality of endoscope accessories are stored in different storage locations;
It is preferable that the information providing unit provides the information of the storage location so as to enable selection of a predicted endoscope and endoscope accessories to be used.

A notification device is provided in each of the storage locations;
It is preferable that the information providing unit activates an announcing device provided at a storage location of the predicted device information to provide an alert.

Each of the devices including the plurality of endoscopes and the plurality of endoscope accessories is provided with an information storage unit in which unique information that allows the device to be identified from other devices is stored;
Each of the storage locations is provided with an information reading device capable of reading the unique information,
It is preferable that the information providing unit provides the location information of the storage location as information about the storage location using a correspondence between the location information of the storage location where the information reading device is installed and the unique information read by the information reading device.

an operation of each of the plurality of endoscopes and an endoscope processor connected to each of the plurality of endoscopes is controlled by control operation information including a selected one of a plurality of control programs executed by the endoscope processor and one of a plurality of operation modes;
the prediction unit outputs the control operation information to be used in accordance with the predicted device information;
It is preferable that the information providing unit provides the control operation information.

The endoscope use support system of the present invention can provide device information for at least one of the endoscope and endoscope accessories depending on the content of the examination or treatment to be performed on the subject.

1 is an external perspective view of an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an air/water supply valve including an air/water supply button provided in an endoscope of one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a suction valve including a suction button provided in an endoscope of one embodiment. FIG. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an example of a hood provided in an endoscope according to an embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating another example of a hood included in the endoscope of the embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of an endoscope use support system according to an embodiment; 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of a first prediction model used in the endoscope use support system of one embodiment. 11A to 11C are diagrams illustrating an example of the operation of a second prediction model used in the endoscope use support system of one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of an endoscope according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The endoscope system 1 shown in Fig. 1 mainly includes an electronic endoscope (hereinafter referred to as an electronic scope) 10, a processor 300, a light source device 350, and a monitor 400. The electronic scope 10, the light source device 350, and the monitor 400 are each connected to the processor 300. Note that the light source device 350 and the processor 300 are configured as separate entities, but the light source device 350 may be configured as an integral part of the processor 300. The processor 300 is connected to a server 500 via a communication line so as to be able to communicate with each other.

The electronic scope 10 includes an operating section 52, a flexible tube 58 extending forward from the operating section 52 and having flexibility, a bending tube 60 connected to the front of the flexible tube 58 via a connecting section, a universal tube 51 extending rearward from the operating section 52, and a connector 50 fixed to the rear end of the universal tube 51. A plurality of bending operation wires are inserted into the operating section 52, the flexible tube 58, and the bending tube 60, and the tip of each bending operation wire is connected to the rear end of the tip section 56, and the rear end of each bending operation wire is connected to a bending operation lever 52A (bending operation mechanism) of the operating section 52. The bending tube 60 bends in any direction and at any angle in response to the operation of the bending operation lever 52A.

A tip portion 56 is provided at the tip of the curved tube 60. The tip portion 56 is made of a hard resin material that does not substantially deform elastically, and the flat tip surface of the tip portion 56 is provided with an opening equipped with an objective lens (observation lens), an emission port equipped with an illumination lens, an air/water supply port for discharging gas or liquid, a suction port for sucking gas or liquid from within the body cavity, a forceps port, etc.

An LCB (Light Carrying Bundle) cable (not shown) that creates an optical path for illumination light and whose front end is connected to the illumination lens is provided inside the operation unit 52, the flexible tube 58, the bending tube 60, the universal tube 51, and the connector 50. Furthermore, an imaging element (not shown) is provided inside the tip portion 56, located immediately behind the objective lens.
The flexible tube 58, the bending tube 60, and the tip portion 56 form an insertion portion that is inserted into a body cavity. An image signal cable extending from an image pickup device provided at the tip portion 56 passes through the inside of the bending tube 60, the flexible tube 58, the operation portion 52, and the universal tube 51, and extends to the inside of the connector 50. The connector 50 is connected to an endoscope processor (hereinafter, simply referred to as a processor) 300. The processor 300 processes the image signal sent from the image pickup device, and controls so that an image of a subject captured by the image pickup device is displayed on a monitor (not shown). Illumination light emitted from the light source device 350 is transmitted through the connector 50 to the tip portion 56 in the LCB cable.

The operation section 52 of the electronic scope 10 is provided with an air/water supply button 52B and a suction button 52C.
The air/water supply button 52B is an operation button for supplying a cleaning fluid such as air or water from the air/water supply port of the tip portion 56 into the body cavity. Air or water is an example, and other gases or liquids may be used. By operating the air/water supply button 52B, it is possible to control the on/off of the discharge of air or water from the tip portion 56. The tip portion 56 is provided with an air/water supply port for supplying air or water into the body cavity, and this air/water supply port is connected to an air or water supply source (not shown) via a supply path for supplying air or water in the flexible tube 58 and the air/water supply button 52B of the operation unit 52.

The suction button 52C is an operation button for aspirating gas or liquid from within the body cavity through the suction port of the tip 56. By operating the operation button, the suction of gas or liquid can be controlled to be turned on and off. The tip 56 is provided with a suction port (not shown) for aspirating gas or liquid from within the body cavity, and is connected to a suction pump (not shown) via a suction path that collects the gas or liquid aspirated from the body cavity and the suction button 52C. The aspirated gas or liquid is discharged to the outside through a suction nozzle provided on the side of the connector 50.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an air/water supply valve including an air/water supply button 52B, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a suction valve including a suction button 52C.
The air/water valve including the air/water button 52B is detachably attached to the air/water port 52E as shown in Fig. 2, and is an accessory that is attached to the air/water port 52E by changing the type of the air/water button 52B (the operation differs depending on the type) according to the contents of the examination/treatment. Similarly, the suction valve including the suction button 52C is detachably attached to the suction port 52F as shown in Fig. 3, and is an accessory that is attached to the suction port 52F by changing the type of the suction button 52C (the operation differs depending on the type) according to the contents of the examination/treatment.

A hood is provided on the tip 56 where the imaging element is provided. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hood 20 of one embodiment. The hood 20 is strongly pressed into the tip 56 and attached. The hood 20 prevents the illumination lens and objective lens from becoming soiled with foreign matter, and also makes it easy to insert into the pharynx, stomach, colon, duodenum, esophagus, etc., and prevents damage to mucous membranes and blood vessels. The hood also functions to ensure a good observation area while maintaining a constant observation distance from the tip 56. The hood 20 is an accessory that can be attached and detached as necessary, and the type of hood 20 can be changed depending on the contents of the examination or treatment and attached to the tip 56.

Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hood 22 according to another embodiment. The hood 22 shown in Figure 5 is provided with a flexible protruding element 22b protruding radially outward from the hood body 22a. For example, when the large intestine is examined or treated with the electronic scope 10, it is inserted to the deepest part of the lumen of the large intestine, and then the electronic scope 10 is pulled out from the lumen to examine the biological tissue inside the lumen. At this time, there are multiple folds in the large intestine, and the flexible protruding element 22b is provided on the hood body 22a so that the folds can be turned up in contact with the surface of the biological tissue to turn up the folds in order to closely examine the presence or absence of a lesion by turning up the folds. This type of hood 22 is also an accessory that is attached to the tip 56 according to the contents of the examination or treatment.

The operating section 52 is also provided with a forceps opening 52D for inserting forceps. The forceps inserted into the forceps opening 52D and protruding from the distal end surface of the distal end section 56 are used for procedures such as pinching biological tissue, pinching a portion of biological tissue, and excising the tissue. The forceps are also an accessory that are inserted from the forceps opening 52D, with different types depending on the examination or procedure.

Such accessories are accessories to the electronic scope 10, and vary depending on the specifications of the electronic scope 10 selected depending on the examination/treatment to be performed. Therefore, in this embodiment, an endoscope use support system is provided that selects one electronic scope 10 from multiple electronic scopes depending on the examination/treatment to be performed, and provides information on at least one accessory part to be used among multiple accessories when using the selected electronic scope 10. Note that in this embodiment, both information on the electronic scope 10 and information on the accessories are provided, but it is also possible to provide device information on either one of them.

Figure 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an endoscope use support system according to an embodiment. The endoscope support system includes a server 500 and a data processing device 600. The server 500 is connected to the processor 300 in the endoscope system 1 shown in Figure 1. The server 500 is connected to the data processing device 600 so as to be able to communicate with it.

The server 500 includes a CPU (not shown) and a storage unit 510 that stores various information. The various information stored in the storage unit 510 includes data on the examination results obtained by the endoscope system 1, electronic medical records of the patients who are the subjects of the examinations and treatments, history information on the contents of past examinations and treatments performed using one of the multiple electronic scopes, and past equipment usage information including information on the electronic scope used during the examination and treatment and information on at least one accessory part used in conjunction with the use of the electronic scope. The contents of the examinations and treatments performed in the past and the equipment usage information at that time are stored in association with each examination and treatment case.

The examination and treatment content history information is a data group that includes the examination and treatment content for each examination and treatment performed, and includes the examination content (e.g., an examination of the extent of progression of a malignant tumor in a lesion by irradiating the lesion with white light and narrowband light) and the treatment content (e.g., a treatment in which a part of a living tissue is removed using forceps) regarding what examination and treatment were performed on the target area, such as the sigmoid colon, for each of the many examinations and treatments. Therefore, like the examination and treatment content history information, the past equipment usage information is also a data group corresponding to many examinations and treatments.

The information about an electronic scope is individual identification information that identifies each electronic scope. When there are multiple electronic scopes with the exact same specifications, the information can be managed so that they are not individually identified as the same device. However, since there are quirks and differences in characteristics between devices, it is preferable to manage the information about the electronic scope by device separately so that they can be individually identified even if there are multiple electronic scopes with the same specifications.

The accessory information is information that can identify the air/water valve including the air/water button 52B, the suction valve including the suction button 52C, the hoods 20, 22, etc., as described above. When there are multiple accessory parts with the same specifications, the information can be managed so that they are not individually identified as the same device, but since there are quirks and differences in characteristics between devices, it is preferable to manage the accessory information separately for each device so that even if there are multiple accessory parts with the same specifications, they can be individually identified.

The data processing device 600 includes a CPU and memory (not shown), and by reading and executing software stored in the memory, a prediction unit 610 and an information providing unit 620 are formed as software modules. Thus, the data processing device 600 includes a prediction unit 610 and an information providing unit 620. A display 630 and an input device 640 are connected to the data processing device 600. The display 630 displays the processing results obtained by the data processing device 600, and also displays an input setting screen for inputting instructions to the data processing device 600. The input operation device 640 is a mouse, keyboard, etc., for inputting information.

The prediction unit 610 acquires the examination and treatment content history information stored in the memory unit 510 and past equipment use information corresponding to the examination and treatment content history information via a communication line, and predicts, using the acquired examination and treatment content history information and past equipment use information, information on one electronic scope from among multiple electronic scopes according to the contents of the examination and treatment to be performed, and information on at least one accessory part to be used, as equipment information. The contents of the examination and treatment to be performed are input and instructed from the input operation device 640.

The prediction by the prediction unit 610 can be configured to establish the above relationship by, for example, analyzing in advance the relationship between the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information corresponding to the examination procedure content history information (for example, by performing cluster analysis or correlation analysis), and outputting information on the electronic scope and information on the accessory parts to be used as equipment information when the contents of the examination/treatment are instructed to be input. In addition, as described below, it can also be configured to output information on the electronic scope and information on the accessory parts to be used as equipment information when the contents of the examination/treatment are instructed to be input, using a first prediction model that has been machine-learned to learn the relationship between the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information machine that corresponds to the examination procedure content history information.

The information providing unit 620 provides information on the predicted electronic scope and information on the accessories to be used. The information may be provided in the form of a screen display on the display 630, or in the form of a notification to the user in a storage management device 700 provided in a storage location where the electronic scope and accessories are stored, which will be described later, so that the storage location where the relevant electronic scope and accessories are stored can be distinguished from other storage locations and identified.

In this way, the prediction unit 610 uses the examination/treatment content history information and past equipment usage information corresponding to the examination/treatment content history information to predict, as equipment information, information on one electronic scope from among multiple electronic scopes according to the content of the examination/treatment to be performed and information on at least one accessory part to be used, and can provide information on an electronic scope suitable for the content of the selected examination/treatment and information on at least one endoscope accessory part to be used in conjunction with the use of this electronic scope. Therefore, the user can select the electronic scope 10 and accessories that are optimal for the content of the examination/treatment to be performed.

According to one embodiment, it is preferable for the prediction performed by the prediction unit 610 of the data processing device 600 to be performed using a first prediction model that is machine-learned to learn the relationship between the examination procedure content history information and the corresponding past equipment usage information, in order to perform stable prediction. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the first prediction model.
Specifically, the prediction unit 610 uses the examination procedure content history information and past equipment use information as learning data, and causes the first prediction model to perform machine learning in advance of the relationship between the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information corresponding to the examination procedure content history information. When the first prediction model performs machine learning using the learning data to construct a model, the first prediction model predicts and outputs information on one electronic scope from among multiple electronic scopes and information on accessories to be used as equipment information, by inputting the contents of the examination/treatment to be performed into the first prediction model.

The first prediction model may be, for example, a neural network model constructed using multiple layers and nodes. In this case, deep learning using a neural network is used for the machine learning of the first prediction model. A random forest using a tree structure may also be used as part of the first prediction model. The first prediction model may be a well-known model such as a convolutional neural network or a stag- ged autoencoder.

According to one embodiment, the contents of the examination/treatment to be performed now to be input to the first prediction model may be predicted using lesion progress information of a subject other than the subject to be examined/treated now, lesion progress information of the subject to be examined/treated now, and examination/treatment date/time information of the subject to be examined/treated now. In this case, the storage unit 510 of the server 500 stores lesion progress information including information on the date and time when the examination/treatment was performed and information on the progression of the lesion at the time of the examination/treatment, for each subject who has been examined/treated, in addition to the examination/treatment content history information and past equipment use information, and it is preferable to predict the contents of the examination/treatment to be performed now using the lesion progress information up to now of a subject other than the subject to be examined/treated now, the lesion progress information of the subject to be examined/treated now, and the examination/treatment date/time information of the subject to be examined/treated now. This makes it possible to appropriately predict the information of one electronic scope and the information of the accessories to be used according to the degree of progression of the lesion.

The progression of the lesion in the affected area of a subject who is about to be examined and treated can be predicted using the past lesion progress information of another subject and the examination and treatment date and time information, and the information of one electronic scope and the information of the accessories to be used can be appropriately predicted so that the examination and treatment can be performed according to this prediction. This makes it possible to efficiently select the electronic scope and accessories. In this case, it is necessary that the past lesion progress information of the other subject is ahead of the progression of the lesion in the affected area of the subject who is about to be examined and treated.

When using a prediction model that has been machine-learned in the prediction unit 610 for prediction, it is preferable to use a second prediction model other than the first prediction model in terms of accurately predicting the degree of progression of the lesion. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the second prediction model. In this case, the second prediction model performs machine learning in advance using the lesion progress information of another subject to determine the relationship between the information on the progression of the lesion and the date and time information in the lesion progress information. The prediction unit 610 inputs the date and time information of the examination/treatment to be performed and the lesion progress information of the subject to be examined/treated into this second prediction model, and preferably causes the second prediction model to predict the progression of the lesion of the subject to be examined/treated, and provides information on the contents of the examination/treatment to be performed according to the prediction result.

The second prediction model may also be, for example, a neural network model constructed using multiple layers and nodes. In this case, deep learning using a neural network is used for the machine learning of the second prediction model. A random forest using a tree structure may also be used as part of the second prediction model. The second prediction model may be a well-known model such as a convolutional neural network or a stag- ged autoencoder.

According to one embodiment, when predicting a plurality of sets, each set being a set of information on one predicted electronic scope and information on at least one accessory to be used, the prediction unit 610 calculates a correct answer rate for each set, which regards past equipment use information as a correct answer for past examination procedure content history information, and the prediction unit 610 preferably causes the display 630 connected to the data processing device 600 to display the plurality of predicted sets of information in descending order of correct answer rate. That is, the prediction unit 610 preferably predicts a plurality of candidates as equipment information to be predicted, calculates a correct answer rate for each candidate, which regards past equipment use information as a correct answer for past examination procedure content history information, and causes the prediction unit 610 to display the plurality of predicted candidates in descending order of correct answer rate on the display 630 connected to the data processing device 600.
Since the past examination and treatment content history information is a data group including the examination and treatment content for each examination and treatment, for example, when making a prediction using a first prediction model using machine learning, the past examination and treatment content history information for each examination and treatment can be input into the first prediction model to obtain predicted information on the electronic scope and information on the accessories.Whether or not this predicted information on the electronic scope and information on the accessories matches the past equipment use information for the corresponding examination and treatment can be verified for the many cases of examination and treatment described above, and the accuracy rate can be calculated.
In this way, a plurality of pairs (candidates) are displayed on the screen in order of the rate of correct answers, so that the user can select the most suitable pair (candidate) according to the content of the examination/treatment to be performed.

According to one embodiment, the multiple electronic scopes and the multiple accessories are stored in different storage locations, and the information providing unit 620 preferably provides information on the storage locations to enable selection of a predicted electronic scope and accessories to be used. A user can easily create an endoscope system 1 suitable for the examination or treatment content by taking out the electronic scopes and accessories stored in the storage locations.
The information on the storage locations may be displayed on the display 630. When location identification information is assigned to each storage location, the location identification information is displayed on the screen. Even if location identification information is not assigned, a notification device that can notify the user of the storage location where the predicted electronic scope or accessory is stored may be provided in each storage location.

In one embodiment, FIG. 6 shows a storage management device 700 having a storage location. The storage management device 700 has an alarm device 710. It is preferable that the information providing unit 620 activates the alarm device 710 provided at each storage location of the predicted electronic scope and accessories to provide an alarm. This allows the user to reliably take out the predicted electronic scope and accessories without making a mistake in the storage location. An example of the alarm device 710 is a lamp that lights up as an alarm means.

According to one embodiment, each of the electronic scopes and the accessories is provided with an information storage unit (e.g., an RF tag) that stores device-specific information that can be distinguished from other electronic scopes or accessories, and each storage location is provided with an information reading device 720 (see FIG. 6) that can read the device-specific information. In this case, it is preferable that the information providing unit 620 provides the location information of the storage location as the information of the storage location using the correspondence between the location information of the storage location where the information reading device 720 is provided and the unique information read by the information reading device 720. Providing the location information of the storage location includes displaying the location information of the storage location on the display 630 and reporting by the notification device 710 provided at the storage location. When displaying the location information of the storage location on the display 630, for example, location identification information of the storage location (e.g., which row of which shelf of the storage cabinet) is displayed on the screen.

According to the above-described embodiment, the prediction unit 610 predicts the electronic scope information and the accessory information using the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment usage information, but in addition to the electronic scope information and the accessory information, it may also predict operation control information including at least one of the control program and the operation mode to be executed by the processor 300.
That is, the operation of each of the multiple electronic scopes and the processor 300 connected to each of the multiple electronic scopes is controlled by a selected one of the multiple control programs executed by the processor 300 and one of the multiple operating modes.

The control programs are stored in a memory (not shown) in the processor 300, and a selected control program is read out and executed. The operation mode is each operation form defined in the control program, and includes, for example, a normal observation mode in which a living tissue is irradiated with white light and observed, and a narrowband light observation mode in which a living tissue is irradiated with narrowband special light having a specific narrowband wavelength. The narrowband special light also has various narrowband wavelength ranges. In addition, even if a control program is selected, various processing contents of the captured image can be set. Therefore, the control operation information also includes information on the processing contents of the image. Furthermore, the operation mode also includes various operating conditions when operating the electronic scope 10 and the processor 300. For example, in the case of the electronic scope 10, the operating conditions include the frame rate and exposure time for capturing a moving image of the living tissue, the light amount and wavelength band of the illumination light, and in the case of the processor 300, the operating conditions include the clock frequency for controlling the operating clock of each data processing unit inside the processor 300.
In the predicted and selected control program, the operation mode can be specified for the predicted and selected control program so that the electronic scope 10 and the processor 300 operate in the predicted and selected operation mode. Information on a plurality of operation modes is stored in a memory (not shown) in the processor 300, and the selected operation mode is read out and set.
At this time, the prediction unit 610 may output control operation information to be used by the electronic scope 10 and the processor 300 according to the predicted device information. In this case, the information providing unit 620 provides the output control operation information by displaying it on a screen or the like so that the control operation information can be selected.

The type of data obtained by the electronic scope 10, the image processing content in the processor 300, and even the operating conditions of the electronic scope 10 and the processor 300 often differ depending on the content of the examination or treatment to be performed. For this reason, it is preferable to use control operation information appropriate for the content of the examination or treatment.

As described above, in the embodiment, depending on the content of the examination/treatment to be performed on the subject who is about to be examined/treated, at least one of the following equipment information can be provided: information on the electronic scope and information on the accessories to be used in conjunction with the use of the electronic scope.

The endoscope usage support system of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the endoscope usage support system of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1 Endoscope system 10 Electronic endoscope 20, 22 Hood 22a Hood body 22b Protruding element 50 Connector 51 Universal tube 52 Operation unit 52A Bending operation lever 52B Air/water supply button 52C Suction button 52D Forceps port 52E Air/water supply port 52F Suction port 56 Tip 58 Flexible tube 60 Bending tube 300 Processor 350 Light source device 400 Monitor 500 Server 510 Memory unit 600 Data processing device 610 Prediction unit 620 Information providing unit 630 Display 640 Input operation device 700 Storage management device 710 Notification device 720 Reading device

Claims (9)

An endoscope use support system that provides at least one of device information of one endoscope among a plurality of endoscopes and information of at least one endoscope accessory to be used among a plurality of endoscope accessories in association with the use of the endoscope, comprising:
a server including a storage unit that stores, in association with each other, examination and treatment content history information including, for each examination and treatment, the contents of past examinations and treatments performed using one of the plurality of endoscopes, and past equipment use information including, for each examination and treatment, information on the endoscope used during the examination and treatment and information on at least one endoscope accessory used in conjunction with the use of the endoscope;
and a data processing device including: a prediction unit that predicts the equipment information based on the content of the examination/treatment to be performed using at least the examination/treatment content history information and the past equipment use information; and an information providing unit that provides the predicted equipment information. The endoscope use support system according to claim 1, wherein the prediction unit is provided with a first prediction model that uses the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information as learning data to machine-learn the relationship between the examination procedure content history information and the past equipment use information corresponding to the examination procedure content history information, and the first prediction model predicts and outputs the equipment information by inputting the contents of the examination/treatment to be performed into the first prediction model. The storage unit stores, in addition to the examination and treatment content history information and the past device use information, lesion progress information including information on the date and time when the examination and treatment were performed and information on the progression of the lesion at the time of the examination and treatment, for each subject who was examined and treated;
3. The endoscope use support system according to claim 1, wherein the prediction unit predicts the content of the examination/treatment to be performed now, using the lesion progress information of a subject other than the subject to be examined/treated now, the lesion progress information of the subject to be examined/treated now, and examination/treatment date and time information of the examination/treatment to be performed now. The endoscope use support system according to claim 3, wherein the prediction unit is provided with a second prediction model that uses the lesion progress information to perform machine learning to determine the relationship between the information on the progression of the lesion and the information on the date and time in the lesion progress information, and the second prediction model is caused to predict the progression of the lesion of the subject who is about to be examined or treated by inputting the examination/treatment date and time information and the lesion progress information of the subject who is about to be examined or treated into the second prediction model, and provides information on the content of the examination/treatment to be performed according to the prediction result of the progression of the lesion. The prediction unit predicts a plurality of candidates as the device information to be predicted, and calculates a correct answer rate for each candidate, the correct answer being the past device use information with respect to the examination procedure content history information;
5. The endoscope use support system according to claim 1, wherein the prediction unit displays the predicted candidates on a display connected to the data processing device in order of the highest accuracy rate. The plurality of endoscopes and the plurality of endoscope accessories are stored in different storage locations;
The endoscope usage support system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information providing unit provides information on the storage location so as to enable selection of a predicted endoscope and endoscope accessories to be used. A notification device is provided in each of the storage locations;
The endoscope use support system according to claim 6 , wherein the information providing unit activates a notification device provided in a storage location of the predicted device information for the purpose of providing the notification. Each of the devices including the plurality of endoscopes and the plurality of endoscope accessories is provided with an information storage unit in which unique information that allows the device to be identified from other devices is stored;
Each of the storage locations is provided with an information reading device capable of reading the unique information,
8. The endoscope use assistance system according to claim 6, wherein the information providing unit provides location information of the storage location as information of the storage location by using a correspondence relationship between location information of the storage location where the information reading device is installed and the unique information read by the information reading device. an operation of each of the plurality of endoscopes and an endoscope processor connected to each of the plurality of endoscopes is controlled by control operation information including a selected one of a plurality of control programs executed by the endoscope processor and one of a plurality of operation modes;
the prediction unit outputs the control operation information to be used in accordance with the predicted device information;
9. The endoscope usage support system according to claim 1, wherein the information providing unit provides the control operation information.

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