KR20170022571A

KR20170022571A - Endoscopy apparatus for taking fluorescence image

Info

Publication number: KR20170022571A
Application number: KR1020150117714A
Authority: KR
Inventors: 임재관
Original assignee: 고려대학교 산학협력단
Priority date: 2015-08-21
Filing date: 2015-08-21
Publication date: 2017-03-02

Abstract

The present invention relates to an endoscopy apparatus for taking a fluorescence image, comprising: an endoscope tube; a color image sensor which is installed at the end of a distal of the endoscope tube and takes a color image; a light source unit which irradiates light from the end of the distal of the endoscope tube; and a main control unit which controls the light source unit to irradiate light in a wavelength band of exciting a specific color fluorescent material, and generates a fluorescence image on the basis of light of a divergence wavelength band of the color fluorescent material received by the color image sensor. Accordingly, the light source unit separates and irradiates white light for each wavelength band, the color image sensor generates a fluorescence image by using light in a specific wavelength band, and it is possible to obtain a color fluorescence image by using the existing endoscope apparatus.

Description

ENDOSCOPY APPARATUS FOR TAKING FLUORESCENCE IMAGE -

The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus for capturing a fluorescent image, and more particularly, to an endoscope apparatus capable of capturing a fluorescent image in an endoscope apparatus provided with a color image sensor.

Conventionally known conventional endoscope apparatuses include a bundle of optical fibers for transmitting white light and white light for viewing the internal organs of the body, an objective lens for receiving the light reflected from the surface of the internal organ of the transmitted white light, An optical fiber bundle to be transmitted, and an eyepiece lens, or an ultra small color image sensor for receiving reflected light directly from an endoscope end and converting the light into an electronic signal.

That is, a conventional general endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope apparatus using an optical fiber and an optical lens system, and an optical fiber for transmitting light, but a color image sensor is installed at the distal end of the endoscope in a light receiving unit, Endoscopic device.

In addition, conventional fluorescence endoscopes use a white light source to look at the surface of internal organs of the body as in conventional endoscopic devices, and the difference in the intensity of autofluorescence light in the tissue or in the body And an excited light source for observing a difference in intensity of secondary fluorescence light between the disease site and the normal site when the fluorescent material is added.

Using this fluorescence endoscope, the practitioner can observe the diagnosis area inside the body as in a general endoscope, or if the suspected disease part is found, the fluorescence intensity difference of the suspicious tissue is observed after switching to the excitation light, ) Can be easily identified and diagnosed.

However, when inspecting with the fluorescence, the excitation light source must be connected to the endoscope apparatus, and when observing with the white light again, the excitation light source must be separated from the endoscope apparatus. This inspection process has a problem of increasing the diagnosis time of the patient.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope apparatus capable of capturing a fluorescent image in an endoscope apparatus provided with a color image sensor.

The above object is achieved by an endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image according to the present invention, comprising: an endoscope tube; A color image sensor installed at a distal end of the endoscope tube for capturing a color image; A light source for irradiating light at a distal end of the endoscope tube; A main control unit for controlling the light source unit to emit light of a wavelength band that excites the specific color phosphor material by the light source unit and generating a fluorescent image based on the light of the divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material received by the color image sensor And an endoscopic apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image.

Here, the main controller may extract the image data of the divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material from the image data photographed by the color image sensor to generate the fluorescent image.

In the color image sensor, the red sensor, the blue sensor, and the green sensor constitute one pixel; Further comprising: a sensor driver for applying drive power to the red sensor, the blue sensor and the green sensor constituting each pixel of the color image sensor; Wherein the main controller controls the sensor driver so that any one of the red sensor, the blue sensor, and the green sensor belonging to the divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material can image an image, wherein the red sensor, the blue sensor, The sensor driver can be controlled so that the driving power supplied to the rest of the sensors is cut off.

According to the present invention, according to the present invention, the light source unit separates and irradiates white light for each wavelength band, and the color image sensor generates fluorescence image using light of a specific wavelength band, . &Lt; / RTI >

1 is a view showing an end of an endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image according to the present invention,
2 is a control block diagram of an endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image according to the present invention,
3 is a diagram showing a pixel structure of a color image sensor of an endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the end of an endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of an endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image according to the present invention.

1 and 2, an endoscope apparatus according to the present invention includes an endoscope tube 100, a color image sensor 130, a light source unit 120, and a main control unit 110.

The endoscope tube 100 includes an optical fiber constituting the light source unit 120, a signal line for externally transmitting a signal from the color image sensor 130, and at least one channel for adding various functions do.

The color image sensor 130 is installed at the distal end of the endoscope tube 100, that is, at the end of the direction side inserted into the human body of the endoscope tube 100 to take a color image. 1, a lens 131 is provided at the front of the endoscope tube 100 and focuses the light reflected from the human body irradiated from the light source unit 120 to the color image sensor 130. [

The light source unit 120 includes a plurality of optical fibers and a light source (not shown) that irradiates light through the optical fibers as described above, and irradiates light at the distal end of the endoscope tube 100. Here, the lens 121 may be provided in front of the optical fiber at the end of the endoscope tube 100.

The light source unit 120 according to the present invention is provided to be able to separate and irradiate white light according to the wavelength band under the control of the main control unit 110. For example, the light source itself may be provided to irradiate white light by wavelength band, or a wavelength band filter may be selectively disposed on the front end of the light source that emits white light, so that light can be irradiated by wavelength band.

In the present invention, it is exemplified that light emitted from the light source unit 120 is selectively irradiated with a wavelength band of green light, a wavelength band of blue light, and a wavelength band of red light.

The main control unit 110 controls the light source unit 120 to emit light of a wavelength band that causes the light source unit 120 to excite a specific color fluorescent material. The main control unit 110 generates a fluorescence image based on the light of the divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material among the light received by the color image sensor 130.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the main controller 110 extracts image data of a divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material from the image data captured by the color image sensor 130, and generates a fluorescence image based on the extracted image data For example.

More specifically, in the case of a red fluorescent material, the red fluorescent material is excited at a wavelength range of green light rather than red light, and the red fluorescent material is emitted. When the fluorescent material is injected into the human body, And controls the light source unit 120 to generate a fluorescence image using the red data among the image data received by the color image sensor 130.

The main controller 110 controls the red sensor, the blue sensor, and the red sensor, which constitute each pixel of the color image sensor 130, in a state in which the wavelength range of the green light is irradiated to the light source unit 120, The green sensor can be selectively driven to receive only the light of the divergent wavelength band.

3, the color image sensor 130 includes a red sensor, a green sensor, and a blue sensor. The red sensor, the green sensor, and the blue sensor constitute one pixel, and are driven according to the driving power from the sensor drive shown in FIG. 2 The light of the corresponding wavelength band is detected.

Here, the main controller 110 controls the sensor driver 140 so that any one of the red, blue, and green fluorescence emitting wavelength ranges of the color fluorescent material, that is, the red wavelength range image in the above example, The driving power is supplied only to the red sensor, and the sensor driver 140 is controlled so that the remaining blue sensor and the driving power supplied to the green sensor are cut off.

Accordingly, only the red light is received from the image data received through the color image sensor 130, which corresponds to the light emitted from the color fluorescent material, and thus a fluorescence image can be generated.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to be exemplary and explanatory only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the inventive concept. And it is obvious that it is included in the technical idea of the present invention.

100: endoscope tube 110: main control unit
120: light source 130: image sensor
121, 131: Lens 140: Sensor driver

Claims

An endoscope apparatus for photographing a fluorescent image,
An endoscope tube;
A color image sensor installed at a distal end of the endoscope tube for capturing a color image;
A light source for irradiating light at a distal end of the endoscope tube;
A main control unit for controlling the light source unit to emit light of a wavelength band that excites the specific color phosphor material by the light source unit and generating a fluorescent image based on the light of the divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material received by the color image sensor Wherein the fluorescence image is captured by the endoscope.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the main controller extracts image data of a divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material from the image data photographed by the color image sensor and generates the fluorescence image.

The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the color image sensor includes a red sensor, a blue sensor, and a green sensor as one pixel;
Further comprising: a sensor driver for applying drive power to the red sensor, the blue sensor and the green sensor constituting each pixel of the color image sensor;
Wherein the main controller controls the sensor driver so that any one of the red sensor, the blue sensor, and the green sensor belonging to the divergent wavelength band of the color fluorescent material can image an image, And the sensor driver is controlled so that the driving power supplied to the rest of the sensors is cut off.