JPH0418850B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a photographing device for an endoscope, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a photographing device for an endoscope, and particularly to a photographing device for an endoscope, which is installed in an endoscope that has a solid-state image pickup device and works in conjunction with an electric scalpel device, and captures an image into an image information recording section provided separately. The present invention relates to an endoscope imaging device that transmits images.

In imaging systems that record images such as images inside body cavities by attaching an endoscope imaging device with a built-in solid-state imaging device (such as a CCD) to the endoscope in a detachable manner, it is necessary to miniaturize the imaging device. In order to achieve
An image information recording section including an image recording medium such as an optical disk is configured separately from the photographing device. in this case,
Image signals are transmitted between a photographing device attached to an endoscope and an image information recording section separated from each other via a relatively long signal cable.

In such a configuration, for example, when an electric scalpel device is attached to an endoscope and a scalpel treatment is performed on an affected part of a tissue in a body cavity of a living body, it is necessary to capture and record images of the body cavity during the scalpel treatment. , there are problems as shown below. In other words, the high frequency of about 575KHz generated from an electric scalpel device has a power of 4 to 5M.
It inevitably contains harmonic components on the order of Hz. Therefore, if an intra-body cavity image signal captured by an endoscope imaging device is transmitted to an external image recording medium via the long signal cable while an electric knife is being used, the image signal is likely to be adversely affected by the harmonic components. This adverse effect causes a deterioration of the S/N ratio, which undesirably lowers the quality of the recorded image and, in the worst case, makes it impossible to monitor. As a result, it becomes difficult to accurately and efficiently perform scalpel treatment on patients.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to record images inside the body cavity in an external image information recording section with good image quality regardless of the usage status of the external high frequency generation source including the electric scalpel device. An object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope imaging device that can perform the following tasks.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a case where an internal body cavity image during scalpel treatment is stored in an external recording unit with respect to an endoscope device that cooperates with an electric scalpel device that is a high frequency generation source. In FIG. 1, an endoscope 2 includes an eyepiece section 4, an operating section 6, and an insertion section 8 that is inserted into a body cavity and can be freely bent in a desired direction. Active electrode 12 of an electric scalpel device that generates a predetermined high frequency current
protrudes into the patient's body cavity 18 via a conductive wire 16 that is inserted through a forceps path 14 formed to extend from the forceps port 13 of the endoscope operation section 6 to the insertion section 8, for example. A return electrode plate (not shown) of the electric scalpel device (high frequency generation source) 10 is attached to the patient's body by a known method.

The endoscope imaging device 20, which is detachably attached to the endoscope eyepiece 4, is a solid-state image sensor (such as a CCD).
It has 22 built-in. Endoscope imaging device (solid-state image sensor camera) 20 including this type of solid-state image sensor
Therein further includes a memory 26 electrically connected to the solid-state image sensor 22 via a signal line 24.
A memory control unit 28 that controls the memory 26 is housed therein. The solid-state image sensor 22 transmits an image signal corresponding to intra-body cavity image light incident through an image guide (not shown) to a memory 26 through a signal line 24. The memory 26 is configured to temporarily store and output the image signal. The memory control unit 28 detects a harmonic component included in a high frequency signal generated during operation of the electric scalpel device 10, for example, a harmonic component applied to a metal camera frame 30, and during this period, the memory control signal 32 is detected. generate. The memory 26 is configured to temporarily stop outputting the image signal in response to the memory control signal 32 upon receiving the signal.

The output end of the memory 26 of the endoscope imaging device 20 is connected to, for example, a signal cable 36 that passes through the endoscope eyepiece 4, the operation unit 6, and the universal cord 34.
It is connected to an image information recording section 40 that includes an image recording medium (not shown) such as an optical disk provided in the endoscope light source device 38 via. The signal cable 36 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be configured to be connected to the image information recording section 40 independently without going through the universal cord 34.

The operation of one embodiment of the present invention configured in this manner will be described. When an endoscope operator such as a doctor operates the photographing device 20 while performing normal endoscopic diagnosis, the intra-body cavity image light incident through the endoscopic image guide (not shown) is Solid-state image sensor 2
2 is converted into an image signal and transmitted to the memory 26. The memory 26 temporarily stores the image signal and transmits it via a signal cable 36 to an image information recording section 40 including an image recording medium such as an optical disk.

When the electrocautery device 10 starts operating in order to ablate and treat the affected tissue within the body cavity, a high frequency current is supplied to the active electrode 12 . During the scalpel treatment period, when the endoscope imaging device 20 is operated by the operator, the image light near the affected area during the scalpel treatment continues.
The memory 2 is incident on a solid-state image sensor 22 such as a CCD.
6, an image signal is transmitted. In this situation, the high frequency signal generated from the electric scalpel device 10 has 4
A harmonic component of about 5 MHz is included, and the memory control unit 28 detects the generation of the harmonic component based on the amount of the harmonic component applied to the metal part of the camera frame 30. At this time, the memory control unit 28 outputs a control signal 32 to control the memory 26 so as to temporarily stop the transmission of the image signal between the memory 26 and the image recording medium. Therefore, during this time, the image signal from the solid-state image sensor 22 is stored in the memory 26.
It remains temporarily stored inside. Thereafter, when the scalpel treatment of the affected area in the body cavity is completed and the operation of the electric scalpel device 10 is stopped, the camera frame 30
The harmonic components applied to are also substantially zero.
At this time, the memory control section 28 stops outputting the control signal 32, so the memory 26 again starts transmitting the image signal to the external image information recording section 40 via the signal cable 36.

According to one embodiment of the present invention configured and operated in this manner, data is stored from the memory 26 in the endoscope imaging device 20 to the external image information recording unit 40 only when the electric scalpel device 10, which is a high frequency generation source, is in use. Since image signal transmission is temporarily prohibited, it is possible to more reliably prevent noise from being applied to the image signal due to harmonic components contained in the high frequency signal from the electric scalpel device 10 during image signal transmission. The image signal is temporarily stored in the memory 26 while the scalpel is in use, and is transmitted after the scalpel is used, so images near the affected area in the body cavity related to scalpel treatment can be obtained with good image quality with a high S/N ratio. can be recorded in the image information recording section 40.

Note that FIG. 2 shows a configuration for detecting harmonic components. A harmonic detection circuit 50 is connected to the memory control unit 28 for detecting harmonic components applied to the endoscope imaging device 20 when the electric knife is used. Therefore, when the electric scalpel device 10 starts operating and a harmonic component to be applied to the endoscope imaging device 20 is supplied to the input end 52 of the detection circuit 50, the detection circuit 50
outputs a detection signal. Since the memory control unit 28 supplies the control signal 32 to the memory 26 in response to the detection signal 54, the memory 26 temporarily stops image signal transmission to the external image information recording unit 40 during the scalpel use period in the same way as described above. It has a structure that is prohibited.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to any of the embodiments described above, and may be modified in various ways within the scope of the present invention by those skilled in the art.

As described above, according to the present invention, when transmitting an intrabody cavity image signal obtained by a solid-state image sensor attached to an endoscope to an image information recording section including a recording medium such as an optical disk, a high-frequency generation source such as an electric By temporarily stopping the above-mentioned signal transmission only when using the scalpel device, it is possible to reliably prevent the image signal from deteriorating due to harmonic components contained in high frequencies, and to always keep the S/
It is possible to provide an endoscope imaging device that can record intra-body cavity images on an image recording medium with a high N ratio and good image quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall structure of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram showing the structure of the main part of an endoscope imaging device according to another embodiment of the present invention. be. 2... Endoscope, 4... Eyepiece, 10... Electric scalpel device (high frequency generation source), 20... Endoscope imaging device, 22... Solid-state image sensor, 24... Signal line, 26 ...Memory, 28...Memory control unit, 3
6...Signal cable, 38...Light source device, 40...
...Image information recording section, 50...Harmonic detection circuit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A solid-state image sensor that is attached to an endoscope and outputs an image signal corresponding to an image obtained through the endoscope, and transmits the image signal from the solid-state image sensor to an external image information recording unit via a signal transmission path. In the endoscopic imaging device, the endoscopic imaging device has a memory means for storing image signals from the solid-state image sensor and a memory control section, and the memory control section has an external high-frequency generator including an electric scalpel device. detecting the operating period of the source based on the amount of harmonic components applied to the frame metal part of the endoscope imaging device, and transmitting the image signal from the memory means to the external image information recording unit only during the operating period; An endoscope imaging device, characterized in that the memory means is controlled to temporarily stop the operation.