Patent · US Active

Endoscope system

US7922652B2 · kind B2 · utility

4Cited by
1References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 17, 2005
Grant dateApr 12, 2011
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 29, 2028

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B1/126
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An endoscope that is free from a dead area and capable of preventing the physician from overlooking any nidus is an endoscope for taking the inside of digestive organs, and the endoscope is provided with an omnidirectional camera (32), a light (34), a forceps (36) and a rinse water injection port (38) at the tip (24). The omnidirectional camera (32) is a device for taking the inside of digestive organs, and is able to take 360-degree images of its surroundings. A probe-type endoscope (20) is provided with a receiver (26) composed of orthogonal coils, and the receiver (26) is used for estimating the position and attitude of the probe-type endoscope (20). An image taken by the omnidirectional camera (32) is presented on a display unit (28) of an image processing device (22) connected to the probe-type endoscope (20). In the image processing device, a video mosaicking process is performed on a plurality of images obtained by the omnidirectional camera (32) to generate a panoramic image of the inside of a digestive organ.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.