Abstract: A lumen passability checking device checks whether a capsule medical device configured to be introduced into a gastrointestinal tract of a subject is allowed to pass through the gastrointestinal tract. The device includes: a main body dissolvable by a substance in the gastrointestinal tract; a first layer coating the main body, having an outer diameter substantially equivalent to an outer diameter in a minor axis of the capsule medical device, and being dissolvable by the substance in the gastrointestinal tract; and a second layer coating the first layer and being dissolvable by the substance in the gastrointestinal tract. The first and second layers contain different discriminating materials. The first layer has at least two regions extending along a circumference of a cross section of the first layer, the cross section intersecting with a long axis of the device, a part of each region being thinner than other parts.

Abstract: An image display device includes: a display unit; an image extraction unit that extracts a main image group from an image group; an image association unit that associates sub images included in a sub image group not extracted from the image group with main images included in the main image group; and a display control unit that generates a display screen in which the main image group is arranged in a first area along a first direction and the sub images are aligned with each of the main images in a second area along a second direction, and causes the display unit to display the display screen. The display control unit changes the display screen in a mode in which the main image group is moved along the first direction and in a mode in which the main image group and the sub image group are moved along the second direction.

Abstract: An image display device includes: a display unit; an image extraction unit that extracts a main image group from an image group; an image association unit that associates sub images included in a sub image group not extracted from the image group with main images included in the main image group; and a display control unit that generates a display screen in which the main image group is arranged in a first area along a first direction and the sub images are aligned with each of the main images in a second area along a second direction, and causes the display unit to display the display screen. The display control unit changes the display screen in a mode in which the main image group is moved along the first direction and in a mode in which the main image group and the sub image group are moved along the second direction.

Abstract: An image display apparatus includes: a storage unit storing in-vivo image data and information associated with the in-vivo image data and related to a position of a capsule endoscope in a subject; an image processing unit performing image processing on the in-vivo image data stored in the storage unit; a display unit displaying an in-vivo image based on the in-vivo image data image-processed in the image processing unit; a position estimating unit estimating an intra-subject position in which an in-vivo image is captured, based on the position-related information; a control unit performing image processing in the image processing unit and position estimation processing in the position estimating unit in parallel; and a reporting unit reporting information indicating that a radiogram interpretation is possible, when image processing in the image processing unit for all the in-vivo image data is completed while processing in the position estimating unit is not completed.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a storage unit that stores data of the in-vivo images and information which is associated with the data of the in-vivo images and related to a position of a capsule endoscope in an inside of a subject; a positional information obtaining unit that obtains positional information of the capsule endoscope in capturing the in-vivo images based on the information related to the position; and a sequence changing unit that changes a sorting sequence of the in-vivo images based on the positional information obtained by the positional information obtaining unit.

Abstract: An image display device includes: a memory unit that stores internal body image data acquired via a receiver from a capsule endoscope taking internal body image of a subject and information that is associated with the internal body image data and related to a position of the capsule endoscope within the subject; a position information acquisition unit that performs a position estimation process based on the information related to the position to acquire position information of the capsule endoscope at imaging each of the internal body images; a preferential image determination unit that determines whether each of the internal body images meets a predetermined condition; and a preferential process control unit that controls the position information acquisition unit to perform the position estimation process preferentially on the internal body image determined to meet the predetermined condition by the preferential image determination unit.

Abstract: A normal light CCD 11 is driven via a normal light CCD control section 25 by a timing signal from a timing circuit section 29 of a video processor 20. At the same time, a fluorescence CCD 12 is driven via a fluorescence CCD control section 26. Then, an image pickup signal according to an RGB frame sequential method from the normal light CCD 11 is processed by a normal light image video circuit section 27 and a normal color image is created while an image pickup signal from the fluorescence CCD 12 is processed by a fluorescence image video circuit section 28, and an image pickup signal of a subject excited by blue illumination light and transmitted through a fluorescence transmitting filter 13 is extracted to create a fluorescence image of the subject.

Abstract: An image display apparatus includes an image processing unit; a position estimating unit; a display unit; a processing time estimating unit; and a processing setting unit for instructing the image processing unit and/or the position estimating unit to execute processing, wherein the display unit displays selection content selected in a selection region as well as a processing time confirmation region having a prediction processing time display field for displaying a prediction processing time predicted by the processing time estimating unit; and when an input receiving unit receives an input of an instruction for determining the selection content displayed on the display unit and the prediction processing time, the processing setting unit instructs the image processing unit and/or the position estimating unit to execute the determined processing.

Abstract: An image display device includes: a memory unit that stores internal body image data acquired via a receiver from a capsule endoscope taking internal body image of a subject and information that is associated with the internal body image data and related to a position of the capsule endoscope within the subject; a position information acquisition unit that performs a position estimation process based on the information related to the position to acquire position information of the capsule endoscope at imaging each of the internal body images; a preferential image determination unit that determines whether each of the internal body images meets a predetermined condition; and a preferential process control unit that controls the position information acquisition unit to perform the position estimation process preferentially on the internal body image determined to meet the predetermined condition by the preferential image determination unit.

Abstract: An information processing apparatus includes a storage unit that stores data of the in-vivo images and information which is associated with the data of the in-vivo images and related to a position of a capsule endoscope in an inside of a subject; a positional information obtaining unit that obtains positional information of the capsule endoscope in capturing the in-vivo images based on the information related to the position; and a sequence changing unit that changes a sorting sequence of the in-vivo images based on the positional information obtained by the positional information obtaining unit.

Abstract: An image display apparatus includes: a storage unit storing in-vivo image data and information associated with the in-vivo image data and related to a position of a capsule endoscope in a subject; an image processing unit performing image processing on the in-vivo image data stored in the storage unit; a display unit displaying an in-vivo image based on the in-vivo image data image-processed in the image processing unit; a position estimating unit estimating an intra-subject position in which an in-vivo image is captured, based on the position-related information; a control unit performing image processing in the image processing unit and position estimation processing in the position estimating unit in parallel; and a reporting unit reporting information indicating that a radiogram interpretation is possible, when image processing in the image processing unit for all the in-vivo image data is completed while processing in the position estimating unit is not completed.

Abstract: A normal light CCD 11 is driven via a normal light CCD control section 25 by a timing signal from a timing circuit section 29 of a video processor 20. At the same time, a fluorescence CCD 12 is driven via a fluorescence CCD control section 26. Then, an image pickup signal according to an RGB frame sequential method from the normal light CCD 11 is processed by a normal light image video circuit section 27 and a normal color image is created while an image pickup signal from the fluorescence CCD 12 is processed by a fluorescence image video circuit section 28, and an image pickup signal of a subject excited by blue illumination light and transmitted through a fluorescence transmitting filter 13 is extracted to create a fluorescence image of the subject.

Abstract: A color shift reducing apparatus includes: a color shift area detecting unit for detecting a color shift area on the basis of input image data and image data delayed through a memory; a color shift degree calculating unit for calculating data indicating the degree of color shift on the basis of a color shift detection signal, the input image data, and the image data delayed by one field through the memory; an image data estimating unit for estimating image data on the basis of the color shift detection signal, the input image data, and the image data supplied from the memory; and a color shift reducing unit for forming a color shift reduced image on the basis of the image data supplied from the memory, estimated image data, and the color shift degree data.

Abstract: A video processor includes an ordinary image/narrowband image video circuit for generating an ordinary observation light image or narrowband light observation image, a fluorescent image video circuit for generating a fluorescent image, an image synthetic circuit for synthesizing the images generated by the ordinary image/narrowband image video circuit and the fluorescent image video circuit via a freeze memory unit to output this to a monitor, a selector for selectively outputting the images generated by the ordinary image/narrowband image video circuit and the fluorescent image video circuit to a digital filing device via the freeze memory unit, and a CPU for controlling the freeze memory unit, image synthetic circuit, and selector depending on the freeze selection switch, freeze switch, and release switch of an electronic endoscope.

Abstract: A color shift reducing apparatus includes: a color shift area detecting unit for detecting a color shift area on the basis of input image data and image data delayed through a memory; a color shift degree calculating unit for calculating data indicating the degree of color shift on the basis of a color shift detection signal, the input image data, and the image data delayed by one field through the memory; an image data estimating unit for estimating image data on the basis of the color shift detection signal, the input image data, and the image data supplied from the memory; and a color shift reducing unit for forming a color shift reduced image on the basis of the image data supplied from the memory, estimated image data, and the color shift degree data.

Abstract: In an endoscope apparatus, an image processing unit for an endoscope, and a method of emphasizing an endoscope image, conversion processing is performed in which an amount of pigment, such as a hemoglobin pigment, is calculated from the endoscope image which is detected by the use of the endoscope, by a pigment calculating circuit. The amount of pigment is substituted for an amount of pigment in which an amount of shift from a value such as average of the amount of pigment is enlarged, and the amount of pigment is returned to the endoscope image having an amount of pigment in which the amount of shift from an average is enlarged, whereby tone of most parts having the amount of pigment of the average is not changed to an original endoscope image, but the endoscope image in which tone of a portion having the amount of pigment which is shifted from the average is emphasized is generated.

Abstract: In an endoscope apparatus, an image processing unit for an endoscope, and a method of emphasizing an endoscope image, conversion processing is performed in which an amount of pigment, such as a hemoglobin pigment, is calculated from the endoscope image which is detected by the use of the endoscope, by a pigment calculating circuit. The amount of pigment is substituted for an amount of pigment in which an amount of shift from a value such as average of the amount of pigment is enlarged, and the amount of pigment is returned to the endoscope image having an amount of pigment in which the amount of shift from an average is enlarged, whereby tone of most parts having the amount of pigment of the average is not changed to an original endoscope image, but the endoscope image in which tone of a portion having the amount of pigment which is shifted from the average is emphasized is generated.

Abstract: An endoscope image sensing and processing apparatus uses the level of brightness of G and B signals at position (i, j) generated by subjecting an image of a subject picked up by a CCD to a signal process to detect the hemoglobin quantity IHb (i, j), discriminates whether or not the hemoglobin quantity IHb (i, j) in the image portion, which is the subject, is included in a predetermined range of a set subject quantity or outside the same to generate pseudo color data for displaying an image portion within the predetermined range and an image portion outside the predetermined range in different display colors so as to display the image portions on a monitor.

Abstract: An electronic endoscope is provided with a photoelectrically converting solid state imaging device and a light guide transmitting an illuminating light. A video signal processing circuit processes signals for the solid state imaging device. The electronic endoscope, the light guide and the video signal processing circuit are selectively connected and have a first light source and second light source for supplying different illuminating lights, respectively. Where the two light sources receive synchronizing signals from the video signal processing circuit and synchronized each other, the two light sources can supply the illuminating lights to a light guide. When the connection of the light guide is changed, the disorder of a picture image can be reduced.