Patent Application
20100182412
The present invention relates to displaying of observation images captured by a capsule endoscope.
In recent years, capsule endoscope systems have been attracting attention. Capsule endoscope systems can sequentially capture images of organs such as the stomach, small intestine, etc., transmit those captured images to an external receiver for recording the images, and display/reproduce the recorded images on a display device of a computer such as a work station or the like during an observation term starting when a patient swallows, via the mouth, a capsule endoscope having an image capturing device and a wireless device and ending when the capsule endoscope is naturally excreted from the body of the patient (See Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2007-75158 for example).
An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an obtainment unit for obtaining time-series image data, which is image data captured in time series by a capsule endoscope; an image detection unit for detecting prescribed image data from the obtained time-series image data; and a display control unit for displaying a list of detection image data, which is the detected image data.
An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: an obtainment unit for obtaining time-series image data, which is image data captured in time series by a capsule endoscope; an image detection unit for detecting prescribed image data from the obtained time-series image data; a display unit including a main display area for displaying an image, and two sub-display areas that are smaller than the main display area and that are for displaying an image; a display control unit for reproducing, in the main display area, detection image data detected from the time-series image data by the image detection unit, reproducing and displaying detection image data before and after the detection image data in each of the sub-display areas, displaying, when the reproduction is stopped, detection image data at the moment of the stoppage in the main display area, and displaying the time-series image data corresponding to frame images before and after the detection image data in the sub-display areas.
A method of operating an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: obtaining time-series image data, which is image data captured in time series by a capsule endoscope; detecting prescribed image data from the obtained time-series image data; and displaying a list of detection image data, which is the detected image data.
A method of operating an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: obtaining time-series image data, which is image data captured in time series by a capsule endoscope; detecting prescribed image data from the obtained time-series image data; displaying a main display area for displaying an image, and two sub-display areas that are smaller than the main display area and that are for displaying an image; reproducing, in the main display area, detection image data detected from the time-series image data, reproducing and displaying detection image data before and after the detection image data in each of the sub-display areas, displaying, when the reproduction is stopped, detection image data at the moment of the stoppage in the main display area, and displaying the time-series image data corresponding to frame images before and after the detection image data in the sub-display areas.
An image display program for making a computer perform a process of displaying an image according to the present invention makes the computer execute: an obtainment step of obtaining time-series image data, which is image data captured in time series by a capsule endoscope; an image detection step of detecting prescribed image data from the obtained time-series image data; and a display control step of displaying a list of detection image data, which is the detected image data.
As described above, in contrast to a normal endoscope, a capsule endoscope continuously captures images of organs for a long time period starting when an examinee swallows the capsule endoscope and ending when the endoscope is naturally excreted, and the observation (or examination) is continued for a long time, e.g., eight hours. Consequently, it has required a very long time and a huge amount of work to confirm all of an immense number of images captured over a long time and to find desired images in a consultation phase, etc. In view of this, a capsule endoscope system having a function of editing examination data obtained over about eight hours by a small-intestine capsule endoscope into a digest of about one or two minutes so as to display the digest as a moving image is disclosed.
However, displaying of a digest as a moving image is not always the best way because displaying of a moving image is performed by displaying still images sequentially in a one-by-one manner, and when, for example, a lesion site is included in the last image, that site cannot be found until a moment immediately before the end of the display, and also, the speed of reproducing the moving image may not be appropriate to the user in some cases.
An observation device of a capsule endoscope has a red-color detection function for detecting a lesion such as bleeding from among at most about 60000 images captured over eight hours. The position of a detected red color is displayed in a red-color detection bar. Doctors have conventionally been required to make the detection position displayed on a red-color detection bar correspond to the position of the reproduced images in a one-by-one manner in order to find images including the detected red color. For example, when all images detected by the red-color detection are to be selected so as to be included in a report, it has been required that such images be selected in a one-by-one manner by pressing a “Frame Step Reproduction” button, and this takes a long time.
In view of the above problem, it is an object of the present invention to realize a listing display of a digest made of a series of images captured by a capsule endoscope or a listing display of images detected in a prescribed image processing.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a listing display of a digest of a series of images captured by a capsule endoscope. Use of the present embodiment enables a listing display of a digest of a series of images captured by a capsule endoscope or images detected in prescribed image processing, and thereby necessary images can be determined efficiently.
The capsule endoscope 1 is swallowed by a patient 2 via the mouth so that it can perform examinations in the body cavity. The external device 5 is a receiver that is provided out of the body of the patient 2 and is connected to a plurality of antenna pads 4 for wirelessly receiving data of images captured by the capsule endoscope 1.
The external device 5 has a portable storage medium such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory card so that the image information transmitted from the capsule endoscope 1 and received by the external device 5 is recorded during an examination in a body cavity.
The above image information is retrieved by a terminal device 7 such as a personal computer, a work station, or the like (the present embodiment uses the work station 7) via the portable storage medium.
The external device 5 is mounted on a cradle 6 as shown in
The work station 7 retrieves images on the basis of operations on an input/manipulation device such as a keyboard 9, a mouse 10, or the like. Upon doing this, it is also possible to detect an electrical connection of a USB or the like so as to retrieve images on the basis of the detection. The images retrieved by the work station 7 can be displayed on a display device 8 or be output to a printer.
As shown in
The memory 20 is memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), or the like that is used for various processes. The large-capacity storage device 21 is a hard disk drive (HDD) for storing a large amount of data.
The input I/F 23 is an input interface for retrieving image data from the external device 5 (or a transportable storage medium such as a compact flash (registered trademark) memory card or the like) and inputs data or instructions given from the manipulation unit such as the keyboard 9, the mouse 10, or the like. The output I/F 24 is an output interface for outputting images captured by the capsule endoscope to the display device 8 and outputting data to a printer or the like.
The control unit 22 is implemented by a CPU or the like that executes various processing programs stored in the large-capacity storage device 21. The control unit 22 also controls screens for performing a listing display or a moving image display, or various types of processing in the above embodiment of the present invention.
An image processing unit 25 obtains image data from the external device 5 or the large-capacity storage device 21 on the basis of control performed by the control unit 22, and performs, on the obtained image data, various image processes such as concentration conversion (gamma conversion or the like), smoothing (noise elimination or the like), sharpening (edge reinforcement or the like), image recognition (detection of characteristic image region, calculation of average color, or the like) or the like.
The data of images captured by the capsule endoscope 1 is transmitted to the external device 5 in a point-by-point manner, and is stored in the portable storage medium in the external device 5. The stored image data is stored in the large-capacity storage device 21 in the work station 7 via the external device 5 mounted on the cradle 6 or via the portable storage medium set on the reading device to be electrically connected to the work station 7. Thereby, the images captured by the capsule endoscope 1 are retrieved by the work station 7.
In the main display area 32, a main display image 33 that is an image selected from among examinee body cavity images, an antenna arrangement chart 34 for schematically showing the arrangement of the antennas 11 on the patient 2, a patient information display box 35, and a digest display manipulation area 40 are displayed together with instruction information input through a manipulation unit such as the keyboard 9, the mouse 10, or the like.
The patient information display box 35 displays, as text information, the name of the patient 2, the ID number, the sex, the age, the birth date, the data of the image capturing, the clock time at which the image was captured, and the like in an associated state with the examinee body cavity image selected as the main display image 33. The main display area 32 can display two or more prescribed main display images in accordance with prescribed instructions.
The antenna arrangement chart 34 schematically displays an arrangement of the antenna pads 4 together with the partial outline of the body of the patient 2. Also, the antenna arrangement chart 34 displays, near the antennas 11, the antenna numbers of the respective antennas as the identification numbers.
The digest display manipulation area 40 displays digest display algorithm selection switches 41 (41a, 41b, 41c, 41d, and 41e), digest display method selection switches 42 (a “List” switch 42a and a “Moving Image” switch 42b), and a moving-image control key 43.
The digest display algorithm selection switches 41 are switches for specifying an algorithm for selecting images to be displayed as a digest (referred to as digest images hereinafter) when, for example, several hundred through several thousand images are to be extracted from among an immense number of time-series images (case data) captured by the capsule endoscope and are to be displayed as a digest.
When switch 1 (41a) is pressed, images are extracted at prescribed intervals from among an immense number of images captured by the capsule endoscope so that, for example, the 20th image, the 40th image, the 60th image . . . are extracted to be displayed as a digest.
When switch 2 (41b) is pressed, when, for example, the n-th image and the (n+1)th image are similar to each other, the n-th image is deleted, and this process is performed for all the images, and only images involving large changes (movement) with respect to the other images remain, so that such images are displayed as a digest. Whether or not an image is similar to other images can be determined on the basis of, for example, whether or not the difference in pixel value between the two images is higher than a threshold value.
In addition, combinations of compared images are not limited to the combination of the n-th image and the (n+1)th image, and the n-th image and the (n±m)th image can be compared, where m is an arbitrary integer. It is also possible to extract image data on the basis of a difference in image data between the n-th image and the average value of the p images (where n and p are arbitrary integers) before and after the n-th image.
When switch 3 (41c) is pressed, only images involving characteristic sites that seem to be bleeding or a lesion are extracted to be displayed as a digest. As an example of a method of extracting images involving bleeding areas, images including red-color components in excess of a prescribed threshold value in a local image region may be extracted. As an example of a method of extracting images involving lesion sites, images including a pattern that corresponds to or corresponds to within a prescribed range of allowable error, patterns such as colors of a lesion site or a lesion shape that are registered in advance may be extracted.
When switch 4 (41d) is pressed, images unnecessary to diagnoses such as images including only organs other than the organ to be observed or images including only residue are not extracted, and only the remaining images are extracted to be displayed as a digest. As an example of extracting images including organs to be observed, images may be extracted on the basis of similarity of characteristics (such as color components) of images of the target organ because organs can be identified on the basis of the average of the color components in an entire image.
When switch 5 (41e) is pressed, digest images based on the combination of the functions of switch 2 (41b), switch 3 (41c), and switch 4 (41d) can be displayed. In other words, images involving movement, lesions, and a red color can only be extracted to be displayed as a digest.
When switch 6 (41f) is pressed, one of the functions of switches 1 (41a) through 5 (41e) can be applied for about eight hours only to an organ portion (such as a small intestine portion) selected by a user in advance from among the case data.
When the “List” switch 42a is pressed, digest images can be displayed in a listed manner. While digest images are displayed, the moving-image control key 43 is made to enter a hidden state or a non-active state. The listing display of digest images will be described in detail when
When the “Moving Image” switch 42b is pressed, digest images are displayed sequentially as a moving image. When doing this, while the moving-image control key 43 is in a hidden state or a non-active state, the “Moving Image” control key 43 is displayed in a usable state. The displaying of digest images as a moving image will be described in detail when
The moving-image control key 43 is a switch for performing controls such as reproduce, reverse reproduce, and pause when digest images are displayed as a moving image.
The color bar 36 displays, in time series, the average colors of the respective images included in a series of examinee body cavity images. Specifically, each display area corresponding to a clock time on the color bar 36 displays the average color of the examinee body cavity image captured at that clock time. A series of examinee body cavity images have average colors peculiar to the organs that have been captured, and accordingly observers or others can easily determine what organs are included in the respective examinee body cavity images captured at the respective clock times, on the basis of the transition of the average colors along the time axis (horizontal axis in
On the time bar 37, a slider 37a that can be moved along the time axis on the time bar 37 is displayed. The slider 37a specifies a clock time at which the examinee body cavity image displayed as the main display image 33 was captured, and can move along the time bar 37 in association with the switching of the main display image 33 to be displayed.
The sub-display area 38 displays thumbnail images selected and extracted from among a series of examinee body cavity images. Specifically, in response to prescribed button manipulations or mouse manipulations, etc., the examinee body cavity image that is being displayed as the main display image 33 at the moment of that manipulation is added as a thumbnail image and displayed on the sub-display area 38.
When the digest images are displayed in a listed manner, a frame image including a characteristic site that seems to be bleeding or a lesion is displayed in an emphasized manner by, for example, being highlighted by a frame denoted by numeral 52 or is displayed with prescribed identification information. Thereby, such images can be noticeable to users.
When an arbitrary image is selected from among the listed digest images, a pop-up menu 54 displaying plural commands is displayed. The commands displayed on the pop-up menu 54 include “Comment Addition” 54a, “Thumbnail Addition” 54b, “Report Addition” 54c, “Landmark Assignment” 54d, “Reproduce from This Frame” 54e, and “Reproduce around This Frame” 54f.
When “Comment Addition” 54a is selected, a comment input screen 53 is displayed so that remarks on the frame image on the displayed list can be added as a comment. It is also possible to automatically add, to a report, a frame image to which a comment has been added.
When “Thumbnail Addition” 54b is selected, the thumbnail image of the selected frame image can be registered (thumbnail register) in the sub-display area 38. It is also possible to permit the addition of a thumbnail image when the selected frame image is double-clicked or right-clicked.
When “Report Addition” 54c is selected, the selected frame image can be directly pasted to a report that describes the remarks, diagnosis, or the like on the case.
When “Landmark Assignment” 54d is selected, a landmark can be assigned to the selected frame image. When a landmark is assigned, a prescribed mark is displayed at the position, along the time bar 37, corresponding in time to the image that has been assigned the landmark.
When “Reproduce from This Frame” 54e is selected, the window transitions to the window 31 so that a normal moving image after the selected frame image is reproduced on the main display area 32.
When “Reproduce around This Frame” 54f is selected, the current window transitions to the window 31 so that the x (x is an arbitrary integer) images before and after the selected frame images are sequentially displayed in a one-by-one manner in the main display area 32. The number (x) of the images may be set using the “Setting” on the menu bar in advance, or may be set by selecting “Reproduce around This Frame” 54f on a pop-up menu displayed in response to double-clicking and setting a setting command in a new pop-up menu that has been additionally displayed. When the “Reproduce around This Frame” 54f is selected, the window transitions to the window 31, and all images between the selected frame image and the image extracted immediately before the selected frame image or all images between the selected frame image and the image extracted immediately after the selected image are sequentially displayed in a one-by-one manner on the main display area 32, as shown in
On the left side of the screen, a “Frame Rate” setting box 61, a “Number of Images” setting box 62, and a “Time” display box 63 are displayed. In the “Frame Rate” setting box 61, a frame rate can be set for sequentially displaying images extracted in accordance with the digest display algorithm selection switch 41 as a moving image. In the “Number of Images” setting box 62, a number of the images to be displayed sequentially as a moving image can be set when images extracted in accordance with the digest display algorithm selection switch 41 are to be displayed. The “Time” display box 63 displays a time period of reproducing a moving image based on the frame rate and the number of images respectively set in the “Frame Rate” setting box 61 and the “Number of Images” setting box 62.
When digest images are displayed as a moving image, frame images including characteristic sites that seem to be bleeding or to be a lesion are emphasized by means of, for example, highlighting, or are displayed with prescribed identification information. Thereby, such images are noticeable to users.
A pause button on the moving-image control key 43 is pressed while a moving image is being reproduced so that the moving image is paused with an arbitrary frame image being displayed. When this paused image is right-clicked or double-clicked, a pop-up menu 64 displaying plural commands is displayed. The commands displayed on a pop-up menu 64 include “Comment Addition” 64a, “Thumbnail Addition” 64b, “Report Addition” 64c, “Landmark Assignment” 64d, “Reproduce from This Frame” 64e, and “Reproduce around This Frame” 64f.
When “Comment Addition” 64a is selected, a comment input screen 63 is displayed so that comments can be added to the selected frame image on the list. It is also possible to automatically add, to a report, a frame image to which a comment has been added.
When “Thumbnail Addition” 64b is selected, the thumbnail image of the selected frame image can be registered (thumbnail register) in the sub-display area 38. It is also possible to permit addition of a thumbnail image when the selected frame image is double-clicked or right-clicked.
When “Report Addition” 64c is selected, the selected frame image can be directly pasted to a report.
When “Landmark Assignment” 64d is selected, a landmark can be assigned to the selected frame image. When a landmark is assigned, a prescribed mark is displayed at the position, on the time bar 37, corresponding in time to the image that has been assigned the landmark.
When “Reproduce from This Frame” 64e is selected, a normal moving image after the selected frame image is reproduced.
When “Reproduce around This Frame” 64f is selected, the x (x is an arbitrary integer) images before and after the selected frame image are sequentially displayed in a one-by-one manner. The number (x) of the images may be set using “Setting” on the menu bar in advance, or may be set by selecting “Reproduce around This Frame” 64f on a pop-up menu displayed in response to double-clicking and setting a setting command in a new pop-up menu that has been additionally displayed.
In addition, the commands are displayed on a pop-up menu in the present embodiment. However, this example is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and they may be displayed on, for example, a pull-down menu or buttons that are displayed in advance.
Also, in the present embodiment, images extracted by a digest display algorithm are displayed in a listed manner. However, this example is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and images other than such images may be displayed in a listed manner.
According to the present embodiment, an algorithm for performing digest display can be selected in accordance with the purpose of a user. Also, plural digest display methods may also be provided so that users can select a desired method. Also, observation methods mainly for digest display can be provided so that the observation time period can be reduced.
In the first embodiment, digest images are displayed in a listed manner. However, in the present embodiment, at least one image process routine is performed for case data obtained by a capsule endoscope, and images detected in each image process are listed and displayed with the names of the assigned image processing routines as labels. The work station 7 that is used in the first embodiment is also used in the present embodiment, and accordingly the explanation thereof is omitted.
Next, the control unit 22 generates list data 72 including only images detected by the image processing from among the case data 71. In the pieces of the list data 72, the images detected in the image processing and the label names are associated with each other. Label names are the names of the image detection routines (such as red-color detection, white-color detection, etc.) used in the above image processing.
Next, the control unit 22 displays, in a listed manner, the images of the case data as a detection result listing display 73 on the display device 8 on the basis of the list data 72. In this displaying, the label names are displayed near the listed images. Additionally, not only text but also marks such as identification figures or the like can be displayed as label names.
This makes it possible to see a list of the images detected by a prescribed image processing routine, and accordingly a time period consumed for observing detection results can be reduced.
Next, explanations will be given for assignment of comments to the listed images.
Then, the input comment data 72c is assigned to its corresponding image data in the list data 72.
Further, when an image is to be included in a report by means of an input device such as a mouse or the like, that comment is automatically included in the report 74.
Thereby, comments can easily be added to images detected by a red-color detection function, a white-color detection function, or the like so that diagnoses can be made efficiently. Also, an image to be included in a report can easily be selected from among detected images so that reports can be prepared efficiently.
As shown in
According to the present embodiment, list data including all detected images is generated, and the images based on that list data are displayed on a screen so that detection results can be viewed quickly. Also, comments that can be used in reports or the like can be input, by means of an input device such as a keyboard or the like, to the images displayed in a list of the detection results. Further, by pressing a prescribed button set on the screen, all images detected can automatically be output to reports.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which a listing display based on thumbnail images and an abstract information display covering all images (a color bar, a time bar, and the like) are performed on the same screen, and information for linking a thumbnail image selected/displayed on the list and the abstract information of all images is displayed.
The position information on an image 102 being focused upon on the list can be displayed by using a mark such as a cursor 104 or a line or by changing a color on a position along the color bar/time bar 103.
Also, when a focused upon frame (hereinafter, a screen selected by a focused upon frame on a list is referred to as a focused image 102) is moved on a list, the position display such as the cursor 104 is also moved to the focused image. When the cursor 104 is moved along the color bar/time bar 103, the focused upon frame is also moved in an associated manner on the list so that a different image becomes the focused image 102. Upon this, if the cursor 104 is moved to an area where the list is not displayed, the list is scrolled so that an image corresponding to the movement destination of the cursor 104 is focused upon on the list.
The present example is different from example 1 above in that the list display area based on thumbnail images and the abstract information display area for displaying abstract information covering all images such as the color bar/time bar 103 are divided into separate windows, i.e., into the list display window 111 and the abstract information display window 112.
The operations on the screen are the same as those in example 1, and the movement of the focused upon frame on the list window and the position of the cursor 104 on the abstract information display window 112 are associated with each other. Accordingly, when one of them is operated, the displayed content of the other is changed in an associated manner. In addition, the number of screens is not limited, and there can be as many screens as there are data items that are to be displayed.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for displaying of what portion in abstract information covering all images the section of the listed images correspond to. There are various ways for displaying the portion, such as drawing a line or using a different color.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which the list display screen can be scrolled, and the scrolling can be conducted not only in units of lines, but also in selected units, i.e., in units of plural lines, in units of screens, or in units of images.
As described above, units of scrolling can be set in advance. Accordingly, the amount of scrolling of images when scrolling operations are performed varies depending upon the set values.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be give to (1) selecting/displaying distinguishing images from the first of successive images, (2) selecting/displaying characteristic images before and after the image being currently displayed on the moving-image display screen, (3) selecting/displaying distinguishing images in a range including the image being currently displayed on the moving-image display screen, performed when the screen for displaying moving images transitions to the list display screen.
In the present example, when the moving-image display screen 31 transitions to the list display screen 100, characteristic images are listed starting from the top of the successive images regardless of whether the current moving image is being reproduced.
Thereby, when the moving-image display screen 31 transitions to the list display screen 100, distinguishing images can be selected/displayed from the first of successive images under any situation. Also, images can be confirmed from the first of successive images regardless of operations being conducted.
Also, it is possible to set which one is to be selected from among the sixth embodiment (example 1) shown in
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for (1) displaying the first of successive images, (2) displaying images before being displayed in a list, and (3) displaying images selected on the list display screen, performed when the list display screen 100 transitions to the moving-image display screen 31.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which when images selected/displayed on the list display screen are to be displayed over plural pages, display lines for indicating the borders between pages are displayed on abstract information (color bar/time bar) for all images. Various ways can be used for displaying the borders, such as drawing lines or using a different color.
Thereby, page sections on a list can clearly be displayed. Additionally, borders between pages can be displayed not only in the form of lines but also, for example, in the form of marks, as shown in the fourth embodiment.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a list display screen on which a check mark can be placed on an image that attracts a user's attention on the list display screen.
As shown in
As shown in
When a check mark is placed on an arbitrary image being listed and displayed, discrimination information is added to a part near a thumbnail image for a listing display, such as a mark or a differently-colored frame (for emphasis), and also a sub-display area can be used for displaying the checked image.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which an interesting image that is checked on the list display screen so as to be displayed in the sub-display area is scrolled in connection with the list display area being scrolled. For this, it is possible to select whether or not to display an image when that image is not in the image section displayed as a list.
Only an interesting image in the section of the image being currently displayed in the list display area 101 is displayed in the sub-display area 135. Accordingly, when the list display area 101 is scrolled so that all the images are replaced, the thumbnail image in the sub-display area 135 is also replaced in response to that replacement. Also, it is possible to set whether or not to replace the sub-display area 135 in response to a replacement of images in the list display area 101.
In the present example, all interesting images in a section not being displayed in the list display area 101 are also displayed in the sub-display area 135. Accordingly, even when the list display area 101 is scrolled so that all images are replaced, there are no changes in thumbnail images in the sub-display area.
However, when there are a number of thumbnail images that cannot be included in the sub-display area 135, the thumbnail image closest to the image display position is displayed at the center. In addition, it is possible to set whether or not to replace an image in the sub-display area 135 in response to a replacement of images in the list display area 101.
In the present embodiment, it is possible to perform setting so that when there is an image that has already been selected as a characteristic image used for moving-image display, that image can be displayed in a list even when the image is not selected by the algorithm selected for displaying the list. Also, explanations will be given for placing marks on those images by means of marks or differently colored frames for displaying that the image is selected by a different algorithm.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which the position of each image to be displayed on the list display screen is overlapped and displayed on the abstract information covering all images. Thereby, portions from the entire image that correspond to the images extracted by the selected algorithm can be determined.
In the present embodiment, an example will be shown in which a digest image detected by a prescribed detection algorithm as explained in the above embodiment and time-series images before and after that digest image (images for a case when the detection algorithm is not executed) are displayed in the list display area 101.
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to confirm time-series images before and after the digest images detected by a prescribed detection algorithm. Thereby, images before and after characteristic images can be displayed in a listed manner, leading to an increase in observation efficiency.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for an enlarged display of images performed when a mouse cursor 161 is on one of the respective images in the list display area 101.
According to the present embodiment, when a cursor is on an interesting image among images displayed in a listed manner, that image can be displayed in an enlarged manner. Thus, that interesting image can be displayed in an enlarged manner without opening another window, thereby increasing observation efficiency.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for setting of a threshold value for detecting a digest image.
In
When setting content of the above detection condition is to be set and updated, an “OK” button 174 is pressed. When the screen is to be closed, a “Close” button 175 is pressed.
According to the present embodiment, a detection condition can be set by a user when detection is to be performed, and accordingly detection that is more suitable for the user can be performed.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which a group of images in a particular section is specified in a group of time-series images, and time-series images in the specified section are displayed in a listed manner.
On the color bar/time bar 103, the starting point and the ending point of a section is specified by a particular-section-starting cursor 181 and a particular-section-ending cursor 182, respectively. Then, time-series images in the specified section are detected, and the detected images are displayed in a listed manner as denoted by numeral 183. Upon this occurring, time-series images out of the specified section may be included in the displayed list.
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to display time-series images in a particular section. Thus, by setting a section in which images of an arbitrary organ were captured, it is possible to display only time-series images of that organ.
Thus, it is also possible to set a threshold value of characteristic detection in a particular section that has been set when the sixteenth embodiment is combined with the fifteenth embodiment. Thereby, a list of digest images in that particular section can be displayed.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which plural particular sections of time-series images are specified and a threshold value is set for detecting digest images for each of the sections specified.
First, respective sections are specified by the particular-section-starting cursor 191, the particular-section-ending cursor 192, and the specifying cursors 193-1, . . . 193-n. Next, the characteristic levels (threshold values) for the corresponding sections specified are set in the setting fields 195-1, . . . 195-n in the setting screen 196.
When a digest image is detected on the basis of the above setting content, digest images in each section are detected, and are displayed on the list display screen. Upon this occurring, time-series images out of the specified sections may be included in the displayed list.
According to the present embodiment, a detection threshold value can be set for each organ (site) or for each particular section. This makes it possible to respond to a problem in which a different threshold value for detecting characteristics has to be set for each site due to the fact that a capsule endoscope moves at different speeds depending upon the organs (sites) it is passing through.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which pages in a listing display are turned sequentially after a time period set by a user has elapsed.
According to the present embodiment, when a list to be displayed cannot be included in one page, pages are turned automatically, and thereby it is possible to relieve users of the burden of scrolling the screen.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for specifying of an observation time period as a detection condition in order to determine a threshold value for detecting digest images.
When a time period (in units of minutes) is set in the “Observation Time Period” input box 201 and the “OK” button 174 is pressed, digest images can be reproduced within the set observation time period. Specifically, the number of images to be observed is calculated on the basis of the set time period information and the frame rate so that the manipulator can perform observation within the set time period. A threshold value of similarity (characteristic level) used for detection from time-series images is determined so that the calculated number of digest images can be obtained.
According to the present embodiment, busy observers can observe images that are at a high characteristic level over a finite period of time.
In the present embodiment, explanations will be given for a configuration in which the main display area 32 described in
In the main display area 32, the main display image 33 is displayed at the center, and sub-display images 211 and 212 are displayed on the right and left sides of the main display image 33. While, for example, digest image T2 is reproduced as the main display image 33, digest images T1 and T3, which are images before and after digest image T2, are reproduced as the sub-display images 211 and 212.
When a digest image has ceased to be reproduced, digest image T2 is displayed as the main display image 33 as the display stop instruction. At that time, time-series images T2−1 and T2+1, which are images before and after digest image T2, are displayed as the sub-display images 211 and 212, respectively.
According to the present embodiment, time-series images before and after that digest image can be displayed at the same time that a digest image is displayed, increasing observation efficiency.
According to embodiments of the present invention, when case data is confirmed on a displayed list, the data can be checked together with the entire positional relationship so that time-series information about images can be easily understood. Also, by achieving closer association between existing functions, list displaying, and moving-image displaying, characteristic sites can be detected from among a series of images at a higher speed.
Additionally, in all the embodiments of the present invention described herein, various modifications are allowed without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also, the two or more embodiments described above can be combined in an arbitrary manner as long as the combined embodiments are feasible.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-183582 | Jul 2007 | JP | national |
| 2007-268144 | Oct 2007 | JP | national |
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2007-183582 and 2007-268144, filed Jul. 12, 2007 and Oct. 15, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is a continuation application of International PCT Application No. PCT/JP2008/001549 which was filed on Jun. 16, 2008.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2008/001549 | Jun 2008 | US |
| Child | 12683679 | US |
