WO2006098377A1 - Medical communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

A medical communication system includes a medical device having an imaging element and a processor having an image processing unit for performing image processing for an image signal imaged by the imaging element. The medical device or the processor includes an electric circuit having a drive circuit for driving the imaging element and a signal processing circuit for performing a predetermined signal processing to the image signal from the imaging element. The medical device can be radio-connected to the processor.

Description

 Medical communication system

 Technical field

 TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a medical communication system, and in particular, medical communication that performs communication between a medical device having an image sensor and a processor including an image processing unit that performs image processing on a captured image signal. About the system.

 Background art

 FIG. 10 is an external view of a conventional endoscope system 100 as a medical communication system, and FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of the conventional endoscope system. The conventional endoscope system 100 includes a solid-state imaging device (hereinafter referred to as a CCD: Charge-Coupled Device) 51, a scope 50 as an image input device that is inserted into a patient body cavity for observation, and a patient in contact with the scope. What is a processor 70 as an image processing apparatus that includes a patient circuit 71 that is an electric circuit insulated from the earth and an image processing circuit 72 that performs predetermined image processing on an image signal captured by the CCD 51? Connected by cable 60. The processor 70 and peripheral devices such as the image display device 80 or the image output device are connected by a cable 61.

 [0003] As described above, in the conventional endoscope system 100, the scope 50 and the processor 70 are connected by the cable 60, and the sterilized area and the dirty area are mixed. In addition, the cable 60 and the scope 50 can be exchanged arbitrarily, and the patient circuit 71 needs to be exchanged accordingly.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the configuration of the patient circuit 71 shown in FIG. 11. The amplification circuit 71-1 for amplifying the image signal acquired by the CCD 51 and the CCD drive circuit 71-for driving the CCD 51 are shown. 2 and the correlated double sampling circuit (CDS) 71-3 for extracting the pixel information by removing noise from the image signal amplified by the amplifier circuit 71-1, and the image signal from the CDS71-3 AZD converter 71-4, which converts analog power into a digital signal, and isolation circuit 71-5, which provides insulation between patient circuit 71 and grounded exterior metal, secondary circuit 72 ', which is the signal input / output part It has. [0005] In general, a patient circuit can be considered to be an electric circuit that can touch a patient during a procedure together with a scope that incorporates a CCD that is a part of the electric circuit. Therefore, from the viewpoint of electrical safety of medical devices, the patient circuit has a certain breakdown voltage between the primary circuit such as AC commercial power and the secondary circuit that is the grounded exterior metal and signal input / output part. Insulated to maintain performance.

 [0006] FIG. 13 shows the layout of the patient circuit 71. The primary circuit 200 and the patient circuit 202 are d.

1. The device housing 500 and the patient circuit 71 are insulated by a distance d2, and the secondary circuit 201 and the patient circuit 71 are separated by a distance d2.

 [0007] FIG. 14 shows a structure of an insulating transformer as an example of the insulating arrangement. In the bobbin 257, the primary circuit winding 250, the patient circuit winding 252, the secondary circuit winding 254, and the primary circuit winding 256 are also arranged in this order. In addition, the primary circuit wire 250 and the patient circuit wire 252 are made of the insulating material 251, and the patient circuit wire 252 and the secondary circuit wire 254 are made of the insulating material 253, and the secondary circuit wire 254 and the primary circuit are made. It is insulated from the shoreline 255 by an insulating material 255.

 The following documents are examples of the electronic endoscope system described above.

 [0009] 1. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-190087

 2. JP-A-6-296589

 Disclosure of the invention

 [0010] As described above, in the conventional electronic endoscope system, the endoscope scope 50 and the processor 70, and the processor 70 and peripheral devices such as the image display device 80 are connected by cables 60 and 61, respectively. Therefore, the sterilization area and the unclean area could not be clearly separated, and the entire apparatus was regarded as a sterilization area. In addition, for the user, there is a problem that the operability is impaired by the cable between the endoscope scope 50 and the processor 70. Furthermore, in order to secure the insulation distance of the patient circuit, it is necessary to increase the distance between the components, and there is a problem that the insulation transformer becomes large.

 [0011] The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and the object of the present invention is to clearly separate the sterilized area and the filthy area and reduce the insulation distance to reduce the overall equipment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medical communication system capable of achieving a mold and a low cost.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a medical communication system. Therefore, a medical device having an image sensor and a processor including an image processing unit that performs image processing on an image signal captured by the image sensor, and either the medical device or the processor And an electric circuit having a drive circuit for driving the image sensor and a signal processing circuit for performing predetermined signal processing on an image signal from the image sensor, and the medical device and the processor It has a wireless device that enables wireless connection.

 [0013] Further, a second aspect of the present invention relates to the first aspect, and the electric circuit is disposed inside the medical device.

[0014] In addition, a third aspect of the present invention relates to the first or second aspect, and further includes an image compression circuit that compresses an image signal from the imaging device, and the processor includes a compressed image signal An image decompression circuit for decompressing the image.

[0015] Further, a fourth aspect of the present invention relates to any one of the first to third aspects, and the radio apparatus is built in the processor.

[0016] In addition, a fifth aspect of the present invention relates to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and further includes a peripheral device that performs predetermined processing on the image signal processed by the plug processor. The processor is built in the peripheral device.

 Brief Description of Drawings

 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope system 20 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a first specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a second specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a third specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a fourth specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a layout of a patient circuit according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of an insulating transformer according to the present embodiment.

 FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope system 20 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope system 20 according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 10 is an external view of a conventional electronic endoscope system.

 FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a conventional electronic endoscope system.

 FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a configuration of the patient circuit 70-1 shown in FIG.

 FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a patient circuit layout.

 FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a structure of an insulating transformer.

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

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

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope system 20 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the scope 1 inserted into the body cavity of the patient 6 and the processor 2 are physically separated. A radio device 3 is built in the scope 1, and a radio device 4 corresponding to the radio device 3 is connected to the processor 2 by a cable. The processor 2 is connected to peripheral devices such as the image display device 7. Use of a printer or VTR as a peripheral device is not considered.

[0020] Scope 1 and processor 2 can exchange information by radio transmission using radio wave 5. For example, the scope 1 can receive a synchronization signal from the processor 2 by bidirectional communication and wirelessly transmit an image signal to the processor 2 side based on the received synchronization signal.

 The wireless device 3 here is not only connectable to the processor 2 wirelessly, but can also be attached and detached by a cable as in the conventional case, and can also be used as a conventional endoscope system. Is possible.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a first specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention. The scope 1 includes a CCD 8 and a wireless device 3, which constitute a sterilization area 21. The processor 2 also includes a wireless device 4, a patient circuit 9, and an image processing circuit 10. These constitute the filthy region 22. The image processing circuit 10 is connected to the image display device 7. The two wireless devices 3 and 4 are composed of wireless devices of the same type so that they can communicate with each other. Since communication between the scope 1 and the processor 2 is performed by the wireless devices 3 and 4, the two sterilized areas 21 and the unclean area 22 that were previously mixed can be clearly separated.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a second specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention. The scope 1 here is characterized by further comprising an image compression circuit 11-1 in addition to the CCD 8 and the wireless device 3. Therefore, the sterilization area 21 is composed of the CCD 8, the wireless device 3, and the image compression circuit 11-1. In addition to the wireless device 4, the patient circuit 9, and the image processing circuit 10, the processor 2 includes an image decompression circuit 11-2 corresponding to the image compression device 11-1. Therefore, the unclean area 22 includes the wireless device 4, the patient circuit 9, the image processing circuit 10, and the image decompression circuit 11-2. Even in such a configuration, the sterilized area 21 and the unclean area 22 are clearly separated. Note that the image compression apparatus 11 uses a compression method such as JPEG, MPEG2, JPEG2000, or H264.

 2 and 3, the patient circuit 9 is disposed inside the processor 2, and the processor 2 communicates with the scope 1 by the wireless device 4, so that the patient circuit 9 is connected to the ground. There is an advantage that it is not necessary to provide insulation between and.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a third specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is characterized in that the patient circuit 9 is disposed inside the scope 1 and not between the processor 2 and between the CCD 8 and the wireless device 3 as in the first embodiment.

 FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of an endoscope system according to a fourth specific example of the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an image compression circuit 11-1 is provided in addition to the configuration of the scope 1 in FIG. In addition, the processor 2 includes an image decompression circuit 11-2 corresponding to the image compression circuit 11-1, in addition to the configuration of the processor 2 in FIG.

[0027] According to the configuration shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, since the CCD 8 and the patient circuit 9 correspond one-to-one, a plurality of types of patient circuits are provided in accordance with a scope to be newly attached as in the past. This eliminates the need to prepare the circuit, which makes it possible to reduce the size and cost of the circuit.

 FIG. 6 shows a layout of a patient circuit when the scope 1 and the processor 2 are connected wirelessly. The primary circuit 200 and the secondary circuit 201 are arranged in the device housing 500. Circuit 9 is isolated by wireless connection.

 FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of the isolation transformer when the scope 1 and the processor 2 are wirelessly connected. As shown in FIG. 7, on the bobbin 258, the primary circuit winding 250, the secondary circuit winding 254, and the primary circuit winding 256 are also arranged in this order. Further, the primary circuit cable 250 and the secondary circuit cable 254 are insulated by an insulating material 259, and the secondary circuit cable 254 and the primary circuit cable 256 are insulated by an insulating material 260. It can be seen that the insulation transformer structure shown in Fig. 7 does not require an insulation structure around the patient circuit compared to the conventional insulation transformer structure shown in Fig. 14.

 [0030] Since the scope 1 and the processor 2 are wirelessly connected in this way, the insulation between the patient circuit 9 and other circuits is facilitated, so that the withstand voltage can be easily ensured. In addition, since there is no concept of creepage distances or clearances inside the device, component layout can be performed at a higher density, and the entire device can be reduced in size and cost. Furthermore, it can be used with conventional electronic scopes and is versatile.

 FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the endoscope system 20 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is characterized in that the wireless device 4 on the processor 2 side is built in by taking advantage of the downsizing of the device by the configuration of the first embodiment.

 [0032] The configuration of the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the scope 1 inserted into the body cavity of the patient 6 and the processor 2 are separated. The scope 1 includes a wireless device 3, and the processor 2 includes a wireless device 4 corresponding to the wireless device 3. Scope 1 and processor 2 can exchange information by radio transmission using radio waves 5. For example, the scope 1 can receive a synchronization signal from the processor 2 by two-way communication and wirelessly transmit an image signal to the processor 2 side based on the received synchronization signal.

[0033] The wireless device 3 here is not only connectable to the processor 2 wirelessly, but can also be attached and detached by a cable as in the conventional case, and can be used as a conventional endoscope system. It is also possible to use.

 [0034] According to the configuration of the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

 FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an endoscope system 20 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment has a processor function but is characterized in that the processor itself is unnecessary by providing the image display device 33.

 [0036] The configuration of the third embodiment is basically the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the scope 1 inserted into the body cavity of the patient 6 and the image display device 33 having a processor function are separated. The scope 1 incorporates a wireless device 3, and the image display device 33 having a processor function incorporates a wireless device 4 corresponding to the wireless device 3.

. The scope 1 and the image display device 33 can exchange information by radio transmission using the radio wave 5. For example, the scope 1 can receive a synchronization signal from the image display device 33 through two-way communication and wirelessly transmit the image signal to the image display device 33 side based on the received synchronization signal.

 [0037] The wireless device 3 here is not only connectable to the processor 2 wirelessly, but can also be attached and detached by a cable as in the past, and can also be used as a conventional endoscope system. Is possible.

[0038] According to the configuration of the third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained. Furthermore, by preparing a plurality of image display devices having a processor function, the user can view images at an unspecified number of places.

 Industrial application fields

 [0039] According to the present invention, it is possible to clearly separate the sterilized area and the unclean area. In addition, since it is easy to insulate the patient circuit from other circuits, it is possible to design component layouts and insulation transformers with a small insulation distance, which enables downsizing and cost reduction of the entire device. . Furthermore, the operability is improved because the complexity of the connection cable in use is eliminated.

Claims

The scope of the claims  [1] A medical communication system,  A medical device having an image sensor; and a processor including an image processing unit that performs image processing on an image signal captured by the image sensor, wherein either the medical device or the processor includes the image sensor An electric circuit having a drive circuit for driving the image signal and a signal processing circuit for performing predetermined signal processing on the image signal from the image sensor,  The medical device and the processor include a wireless device that enables wireless connection.  [2] The medical communication system according to claim 1, wherein the electric circuit is disposed inside the medical device.  [3] The medical device further includes an image compression circuit that compresses an image signal from the imaging device, and the processor includes an image expansion circuit that expands the compressed image signal. Medical communication system. 4. The medical communication system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless device provided in the processor is built in the processor. [5] The peripheral device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a peripheral device that performs predetermined processing using the image signal processed by the processor, wherein the processor is built in the peripheral device. The medical communication system according to one.