Abstract: In an ultrasound endoscope system and a method of operating an ultrasound endoscope system of the invention, an ultrasound image recognition unit learns at least one of a relationship between an ultrasound image for learning and a name of an organ displayed in the ultrasound image for learning or a relationship between the ultrasound image for learning and a position of a distal end portion of an ultrasound endoscope at the time of imaging of the ultrasound image for learning, on a plurality of ultrasound images for learning in advance. The ultrasound image recognition unit recognizes at least one of the name of the organ displayed in the ultrasound image for diagnosis or the position of the distal end portion of the ultrasound endoscope from the ultrasound image for diagnosis based on a learning result, and a display controller displays at least one of the name of the organ or the position of the distal end portion of the ultrasound endoscope, on a monitor.

Abstract: An ultrasonic endoscope system includes an ultrasonic endoscope and an ultrasonic endoscope apparatus, in which the ultrasound observation apparatus includes a B-mode image generator that generates, on the basis of an ultrasound signal acquired by the ultrasonic endoscope, a B-mode image obtained by converting an amplitude of the ultrasound signal into a brightness; a region-of-interest setting unit that sets a region of interest ROI in the B-mode image; a blood flow image generator that generates a blood flow image of the region of interest ROI on the basis of the ultrasound signal; and an image display part that is capable of displaying the B-mode image or a composite image of the B-mode image and the blood flow image, and the region-of-interest setting unit recognizes a procedure performed using the ultrasonic endoscope and sets the region of interest ROI in accordance with the recognized procedure.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus including: an image pickup device; a detection device that detects whether or not an image region at which a part of an object region is edged along a direction parallel to the scan lines in a state that is different to a case where a plurality of the scan lines are simultaneously exposed exists in a frame image due to differences of exposure timings for each of the scan lines of the image pickup device based on an image feature amount in the frame image that is obtained from the image data for each of the scan lines that is outputted from the image pickup device; and an exposure control device that changes an exposure time of each of the scan lines by the image pickup device simultaneously for all of the scan lines if the detection device detects the image region.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus, comprising: an image pickup device; a detection device that detects whether or not an image region at which a part of an object region is edged along a direction parallel to the scan lines in a state that is different to a case where a plurality of the scan lines are simultaneously exposed exists in a frame image due to differences of exposure timings for each of the scan lines based on an image feature amount in the frame image that is obtained from the image data for each of the scan lines that is outputted from the image pickup device; and an exposure control device that lengthens an exposure time of each of the scan lines by the image pickup device in comparison to a case where the detection device does not detect the image region, if the detection device detects the image region.

Abstract: A stripe noise correction method of a captured image includes: storing a value calculated by rounding off a portion below the decimal point of a stripe noise value into a memory as correction data of an integer part that corrects a stripe noise for each color; and storing the magnitude of a quantization error calculated by rounding off for each color and for each pixel column or each pixel row into the memory as correction data of a fractional part; and correcting captured image signals of the image captured by a image sensor with the correction data of the integer part and the fractional part read from the memory.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus including: an image pickup device; a detection device that detects whether or not an image region at which a part of an object region is edged along a direction parallel to the scan lines in a state that is different to a case where a plurality of the scan lines are simultaneously exposed exists in a frame image due to differences of exposure timings for each of the scan lines of the image pickup device based on an image feature amount in the frame image that is obtained from the image data for each of the scan lines that is outputted from the image pickup device; and an exposure control device that changes an exposure time of each of the scan lines by the image pickup device simultaneously for all of the scan lines if the detection device detects the image region.

Abstract: An endoscope apparatus, comprising: an image pickup device; a detection device that detects whether or not an image region at which a part of an object region is edged along a direction parallel to the scan lines in a state that is different to a case where a plurality of the scan lines are simultaneously exposed exists in a frame image due to differences of exposure timings for each of the scan lines based on an image feature amount in the frame image that is obtained from the image data for each of the scan lines that is outputted from the image pickup device; and an exposure control device that lengthens an exposure time of each of the scan lines by the image pickup device in comparison to a case where the detection device does not detect the image region, if the detection device detects the image region.

Abstract: An image correction method comprises the steps of: median-processing the original image in a direction normal to a direction in which the streak unevenness extends to produce a median-processed image, subtracting the median-processed image from the original image to produce a subtraction image, threshold-processing a part of the subtraction image having a density exceeding a given threshold to reduce the density and produce a threshold-processed image, frequency-processing the threshold-processed image using a one-dimensional low-pass filter in the direction in which the streak unevenness extends to produce a processing image, and subtracting the processing image from the original image to remove the streak unevenness from the original image.

Abstract: A videoscope includes: an imaging device having at least one monitoring subject pixel each of which produces, frame by frame, a normal detection value or an abnormal detection value, normal pixels and at least one defective pixel; a memory which is stored with a position address of each of the at least one monitoring subject pixel; and an image processing unit which performs image processing on image signals produced by the imaging device so as to judge, in each frame, based on information stored in the memory, whether each of the at least one monitoring subject pixel has produced a normal detection value or an abnormal detection value and to correct the detection value of each of the at least one monitoring subject pixel using detection values of nearby normal pixels only in frames in which an abnormal detection value is produced.

Abstract: A stripe noise correction method of a captured image includes: storing a value calculated by rounding off a portion below the decimal point of a stripe noise value into a memory as correction data of an integer part that corrects a stripe noise for each color; and storing the magnitude of a quantization error calculated by rounding off for each color and for each pixel column or each pixel row into the memory as correction data of a fractional part; and correcting captured image signals of the image captured by a image sensor with the correction data of the integer part and the fractional part read from the memory.

Abstract: A mask selector for selecting and setting a mask according to an input instruction and a level selector for selecting a halation reduction level are provided, and a luminance ratio of a first region containing a central area of an acquired image and a second region closer to the periphery thereof is obtained, the mean luminance and the peak luminance of the acquired image are mixed using weighting factors in accordance with the luminance ratio, and a photometric value representing a whole brightness of the acquired image is obtained to adjust the brightness of the acquired image based on the photometric value, the photometric value being obtained according to a peak luminance calculating condition and a weight setting condition preset according to a combination of a selected mask and halation reduction level.

Abstract: An image correction method comprises the steps of: median-processing the original image in a direction normal to a direction in which the streak unevenness extends to produce a median-processed image, subtracting the median-processed image from the original image to produce a subtraction image, threshold-processing a part of the subtraction image having a density exceeding a given threshold to reduce the density and produce a threshold-processed image, frequency-processing the threshold-processed image using a one-dimensional low-pass filter in the direction in which the streak unevenness extends to produce a processing image, and subtracting the processing image from the original image to remove the streak unevenness from the original image.