Abstract:
An endoscopic system including a system controller for controlling at least an endoscope and an AV controller for controlling one or more audio-visual devices, the AV controller being capable of communicating with the system controller, wherein the system controller controls the one or more audio-visual devices. For this purpose, the system controller exchanges data for use in activating the one or more audio-visual devices with the AV controller. In this data communication, the system controller can transmit a setting list to the AV controller, for example, or a link may be established between the system controller and the AV controller.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-182133, filed Jun. 21, 2004, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to an endoscopic system having an endoscope.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     In recent years, a wide variety of medical devices have been developed along with an advance of medical technologies and their features tend to be expanded. A diverse range of medical devices are available such as an electric cautery, and a laser surgical knife. These medical devices are used singly in some cases or in combination as a medical system composed of a plurality of medical devices in other cases.  
         [0006]     This type of medical system includes an endoscopic system having an endoscope and medical devices other than the endoscope as suggested in Laid-Open Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 2003-76786 and 2003-70748, for example.  
         [0007]     In the foregoing conventional endoscopic system, the medical devices have the same communication interface or communication protocol. Thereupon, the endoscopic system integrally controls the various medical devices by using a system controller via a communication section.  
         [0008]     The foregoing conventional endoscopic system is placed and used in an operating room. On the other hand, audio-visual (AV) devices are placed in the operating room. These AV devices include, for example, a room light, a room camera, display devices such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a plasma display panel (PDP), a compact disc (CD)®, a digital versatile disc (DVD), a video tape recorder (VTR), and a server for storing reference images such as ultrasound images.  
         [0009]     There are numerous types of AV devices and their communication interfaces or communication protocols are different from those for use in controlling medical devices. Therefore, it has been difficult for the conventional endoscopic system to control these AV devices. Thereupon, a dedicated AV controller has been used to control the AV devices.  
         [0010]     When the foregoing AV controller is used, the conventional endoscopic system controls desired medical devices by operating an operating panel of the system controller, while controlling desired AV devices by operating a touch panel for the AV controller.  
         [0011]     Accordingly, a surgeon who uses the conventional endoscopic system needs to walk around between the two panels to operate desired medical devices and AV devices, which leads to complicated operations.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The present invention relates to an endoscopic system comprising a system controller for controlling at least an endoscope and an AV controller for controlling one or more audio-visual devices. The system controller communicates with the AV controller. In the endoscopic system, the system controller has a function of transmitting or receiving data for use in activating the audio-visual devices to or from the AV controller by communicating therewith.  
         [0013]     Therefore, it is possible to control the audio-visual devices via the system controller and the AV controller from the side of the endoscope. Thus, the operator can operate both of the medical devices including the endoscope and the audio-visual devices only by using an operating panel for the medical devices including the endoscope, which frees the operator from the inconvenience of using a plurality of operating panels.  
         [0014]     For example, the endoscopic system can be configured in such a way that the system controller transmits data for use in activating the one or more audio-visual devices to the AV controller and the AV controller checks the data received from the system controller.  
         [0015]     This enhances reliability since the data from the system controller is checked on the side of the AV controller. Moreover, the control on the side of the system controller can be readily brought into agreement with the control on the side of the AV controller.  
         [0016]     For example, the system controller can request the AV controller to transmit data and make settings of the one or more audio-visual devices on the basis of the data acquired from the AV controller.  
         [0017]     This allows the system controller to make the settings of the one or more audio-visual devices directly, thereby enabling more accurate settings.  
         [0018]     Moreover, the system controller and the AV controller can be connected to different recording mediums to make them record data on the operation of the one or more audio-visual devices. In this instance, the system controller transmits the data retrieved from the recording medium on the side of the system controller to the AV controller and the AV controller sets the corresponding data in the recording medium on the side of the AV controller.  
         [0019]     This allows each controller to hold data on the operation of the audio-visual devices in the recording medium independently, thereby increasing independence of each controller and facilitating a system construction.  
         [0020]     Furthermore, the system controller may set up a link with the AV controller and make settings from an input device of the system controller. This enables more accurate setting operations. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0021]     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the apparatus and methods of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:  
         [0022]      FIG. 1  is a configuration diagram of an endoscopic system according to a first embodiment;  
         [0023]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a connecting relation between the endoscopic system and an AV device system;  
         [0024]      FIG. 3  is an explanatory diagram showing an automatic setting of AV devices through communications between a system controller and an AV controller;  
         [0025]      FIG. 4  is a conceptual diagram showing system list data with a surgeon&#39;s name used as a keyword;  
         [0026]      FIG. 5  is a conceptual diagram showing system list data with the name of a surgical site used as a keyword;  
         [0027]      FIG. 6  is a conceptual diagram showing system list data with the name of a department of a hospital used as a keyword;  
         [0028]      FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing a connecting relation between an endoscopic system according to a second embodiment and an AV device system; and  
         [0029]      FIG. 8  is a conceptual diagram showing AV list data. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]     Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
         [0031]     First, the configuration of an endoscopic system  3  placed in an operating room  2  will be described hereinafter by reference to  FIG. 1 .  
         [0032]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a patient&#39;s bed  10  on which a patient  48  is laying and the endoscopic system  3  are placed in the operating room  2 . The endoscopic system  3  has a first cart  11  and a second cart  12 .  
         [0033]     The first cart  11  is loaded with medical devices as controlled devices such as, for example, an electric cautery  13 , an insufflator  14 , an endoscopic camera  15 , a light source  16 , a video tape recorder (VTR)  17 , and other devices and a gas cylinder  18  filled with carbon dioxide. The endoscopic camera  15  is connected to a first endoscope  31  via a camera cable  31   a . The light source  16  is connected to the first endoscope  31  via a light guide cable  31   b.    
         [0034]     Moreover, the first cart  11  is loaded with a display device  19 , a first integrated display panel (hereinafter, simply referred to as display panel)  20 , an operating panel  21 , and the like. The display device  19  is, for example, a TV monitor for displaying endoscopic images or the like.  
         [0035]     The display panel  20  is a display member capable of selectively displaying various data during surgery. The operating panel  21  comprises a display section such as, for example, a liquid crystal display, and a touch sensor integrally arranged on the display section, for example. The operating device  21  is an integrated operating device, which is operated by a nurse or the like in a nonsterilized area.  
         [0036]     Furthermore, the first cart  11  is loaded with a system controller  22 , which is a controller. The system controller  22  is connected to the electric cautery  13 , the insufflator  14 , the endoscopic camera  15 , the light source  16 , and the VTR stated above via communication lines (not shown). The system controller  22  can be connected to a headset-type microphone  33 . Thereby, the system controller  22  can recognize voice input from the microphone  33  and can control devices according to a surgeon&#39;s voice.  
         [0037]     On the other hand, the second cart  12  is loaded with an endoscopic camera  23 , a light source  24 , an image processing device  25 , a display device  26 , and a second display panel  27 , which are controlled devices.  
         [0038]     The endoscopic camera  23  is connected to a second endoscope  32  via a camera cable  32   a . The light source  24  is connected to the second endoscope  32  via a light guide cable  32   b.    
         [0039]     The display device  26  displays endoscopic images picked up by the endoscopic camera  23 . The second display panel  27  can selectively display various data during surgery.  
         [0040]     The endoscopic camera  23 , the light source  24 , and the image processing device  25  are connected to a repeater unit  28  mounted on the second cart  12  via communication lines (not shown). The repeater unit  28  is connected to the system controller  22  mounted on the first cart  11  via a trunk cable  29 .  
         [0041]     The system controller  22  can integrally control the camera  23 , the light source  24 , and the image processing device  25  mounted on the second cart  12  and the electric cautery  13 , the insufflator  14 , the camera  15 , the light source  16 , and the VTR  17  mounted on the first cart  11 . If the system controller  22  is communicating with these devices, the system controller  22  can display the setting conditions of the connected devices and the setting screens of control switches on the liquid crystal display of the operating panel  21 . Moreover, the system controller  22  can enter an operation such as a change of a setting value through an operation on the touch sensor in a given area in response to a touch on the setting screen of a desired control switch.  
         [0042]     A remote controller  30  is a second integrated operating device operated by a surgeon or the like in the sterilized area. It can control other devices, for which the communication is established, via the system controller  22 .  
         [0043]     The system controller  22  is connected to a patient monitor system  4  via a cable  9 . As described later, the system controller  22  can analyze biological information acquired from the patient monitor system  4  and can display the analysis result on a required display device.  
         [0044]     Moreover, the system controller  22  is equipped with an infrared communication port (not shown), which is a communication member. The infrared communication port is provided in a position where it is readily irradiated with infrared rays such as, for example, in the vicinity of the display device  19  and is connected to the system controller  22  via a cable.  
         [0045]     The endoscopic system  3  is placed in the operating room  2  as stated above. In the operating room  2 , however, a room light, a room camera, display devices (LCD and PDP), a CD®, a DVD, a VTR, a server for storing reference images such as ultrasound images, and other AV devices are arranged as described later.  
         [0046]     These AV devices are connected to the AV controller  120  (See  FIG. 2 ) so as to be controlled.  
         [0047]     The system controller  22  is connected to the AV controller  120 , whereby it can communicate with the AV controller.  
         [0048]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , in the endoscopic system  3 , an endoscope  100  and medical devices other than the endoscope are connected to the system controller  22 . The endoscope  100  corresponds to the first endoscope  31  and the second endoscope  32 . Other medical devices  101  correspond to the electric cautery  13 , the insufflator  14 , the endoscopic camera  15 , and the light source  16  described by referring to  FIG. 1 , for example.  
         [0049]     Moreover, as stated above, the system controller  22  is connected to the display panel  20  and the operating panel  21  and integrally controls the endoscope  100  and other medical devices  101 . The endoscope  100  and other medical devices  101  are controlled by a surgeon&#39;s operations through the remote controller  30  or the microphone  33  as stated above.  
         [0050]     The endoscope  100  is provided with remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  in the operating section. By operating the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d , switch signals are entered into the system controller  22 , whereby other medical devices  101  (for example, the endoscopic camera  15 ) can be operated by remote control. With a setting operation of allocating control commands to the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d , desired operations can be specified and controlled for desired medical devices.  
         [0051]     Moreover, the system controller  22  has an automatic setting function of automatically making desired settings for desired medical devices among the other medical devices  101  by entering information, such as a keyword. The keyword can be a surgeon&#39;s name or a surgical procedure.  
         [0052]     More specifically, desired setting data is previously stored in a memory, which is not shown, for keywords (a surgeon&#39;s name, a surgical procedure, or the like). Then, a surgeon or the like enters a keyword such as a surgeon&#39;s name or a surgical procedure. Thereupon, the system controller  22  reads the setting data from the memory by using the automatic setting function, selects desired medical devices specified by the setting data, and sets desired control commands and setting values specified by the setting data for the selected medical devices. Thus, the automatic setting function is for use in automatically setting desired control commands and desired setting values for desired medical devices among the medical devices  101 .  
         [0053]     An AV device system  110  is also placed in the operating room  2 . The AV device system  110  includes display devices  111  such as an LCD, PDP, and the like, a room light  112 , a room camera  113 , a ceiling camera  114 , a reference image storage server  115 , peripheral devices  116  such as a DVD, CD(R), and a printer, and a teleconference system  117 .  
         [0054]     These AV devices  111  to  117  are connected to the AV controller  120  so as to be controlled. The AV controller  120  is connected to a touch panel  121 . With the operation of the touch panel  121 , the AV controller  120  specifies and controls a desired device among the AV devices  111  to  117 .  
         [0055]     The AV controller  120  is connected to the system controller  22  via a communication cable  122 , whereby the AV controller  120  can communicate with the system controller  22 .  
         [0056]     In this embodiment, automatic settings for desired devices are performed through the communication between the AV controller  120  and the system controller  22 . This automatic setting operation will be described with reference to  FIGS. 3-6 .  
         [0057]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the AV controller  120  has an AV memory  131  for storing AV list data including connected AV devices, control commands, and setting values. On the other hand, the system controller  22  has a system memory  132  for storing system list data including control commands for AV devices and setting values with a keyword, such as a surgeon&#39;s name or a surgical procedure.  
         [0058]     The system controller  22  reads the system list data from the system memory  132  corresponding to an entered keyword and transmits the corresponding system list data to the AV controller  120 .  
         [0059]     In this regard, for example, the system list data is as shown in  FIG. 4, 5 , or  6 . The list data shown in  FIG. 4  is arranged using a surgeon&#39;s name as a keyword. The list data shown in  FIG. 5  is arranged using the name of a surgical site as a keyword. The list data shown in  FIG. 6  is arranged using a department of a hospital as a keyword.  
         [0060]     The AV controller  120  compares the system list data received from the system controller  22  with the AV list data read from the AV memory  131 . The AV controller  120  having compared the list data makes settings for AV devices according to the system list data. More specifically, the AV controller  120  selects devices out of the connected AV devices and sets desired control commands and setting values to the selected devices. Thereby, the endoscopic system  3  can make automatic settings of the desired AV devices.  
         [0061]     After the automatic setting of the AV devices, the desired control commands for desired AV devices among the AV devices  111  to  117  can be allocated to the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  100 , in the same manner as for the allocation of the control commands for the aforementioned other medical devices  101 .  
         [0062]     The AV controller  120  allocates control commands of the desired AV devices such as, for example, those of turning on or off or dimming the room light  112  to the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  100  through operations on the touch panel  121 .  
         [0063]     Thereby, if an operator operates the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d , the endoscopic system  3  transmits switch signals to the AV controller  120  via the system controller  22 , whereby the allocated control commands are executed. In this regard, the control commands may be allocated to function keys (not shown) of the remote controller  30 .  
         [0064]     The endoscopic system  3  is configured as described with reference to  FIG. 1  and the AV devices  111  to  117  are connected to the system controller  22  as described with reference to  FIG. 2  for use in an endoscopic surgery.  
         [0065]     First, a nurse or the like makes the automatic setting of medical devices before surgery. Furthermore, the nurse or the like makes the automatic setting of desired devices among the AV devices  111  to  117  as stated above.  
         [0066]     For example, the nurse or the like enters a keyword by controlling the operating panel  21  and selects and determines the list data of Dr. **. Thereupon, the system controller  22  reads the list data with Dr. ** used as a keyword from the system memory  132  and transmits it to the AV controller  120 .  
         [0067]     The AV controller  120  reads the list data from the AV memory  131  by using Dr. ** as a keyword and compares the readout list data with the list data from the system controller  22 .  
         [0068]     The AV controller  120  having compared the list data selects devices to be set out of the connected AV devices  111  to  117  and sets desired control commands and setting values to the selected devices. Thus, in the endoscopic system  3 , automatic setting of the desired AV devices is performed.  
         [0069]     Moreover, after the automatic setting of the AV devices, the surgeon or nurse allocates desired control commands of the desired AV devices to the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ).  
         [0070]     The surgeon or nurse selects and determines control commands of desired AV devices to the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ) by controlling the touch panel  121 . Thereupon, the AV controller  120  allocates the selected control commands or the like to the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ).  
         [0071]     Thereby, the endoscopic system  3  transmits switch signals to the AV controller  120  via the system controller  22  through the operation of the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ), whereby the allocated control commands become executable.  
         [0072]     As stated hereinabove, the preparation for a surgical procedure is completed and then an endoscopic surgery is started.  
         [0073]     The surgeon operates desired medical devices while viewing the display devices  19  and  26  or the display panel  20  to perform procedures for the affected area of a patient.  
         [0074]     A subject image picked up by the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ) is signal-processed in a signal processing section of the endoscopic camera  15 ,  23  and is output to the display device  19 ,  26  via the system controller  22 . The endoscopic image is then displayed on the display device  19 ,  26 .  
         [0075]     Furthermore, the display panel  20  displays operating states and setting states of other medical devices  101  such as the electric cautery  13 , the insufflator  14 , the endoscopic camera  15 , and the light source  16 . The surgeon operates the operating panel  21 , the remote controller  30 , or the microphone  33  to issue operating instructions of setting values or the like for the other medical devices  101  for activation.  
         [0076]     Moreover, the surgeon operates the operating panel  21 , the remote controller  30 , or the microphone  33  to issue an operating instruction for a desired device among the AV devices  111  to  117 .  
         [0077]     For example, the surgeon says into the microphone  33 , “Start the reference image.” Thereupon, the system controller  22  transmits a voice signal from the microphone  33  to the AV controller  120 . The AV controller  120  controls and drives the reference image storage server  115  to display an ultrasound image on the display device  111 .  
         [0078]     Furthermore, for example, the surgeon dims the room light  112  if he or she wants to concentrate attention only on the endoscopic image. It is assumed here that a dimmer level  2  of the room light  112  is allocated to the remote switch  103   a  among the remote switches  103   a  to  103   d  of the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ), for example.  
         [0079]     In this instance, the surgeon controls the remote switch  103   b  of the endoscope  31 ,  32  ( 100 ). Thereupon, a switch signal of the remote switch  103   b  is transmitted to the AV controller  120  via the system controller  22 . The AV controller  120  receives the switch signal of the remote switch  103   b  and dims the room light  112  from a previous dimmer level to the dimmer level  2 .  
         [0080]     Thus, the endoscopic system  3  of the first embodiment can control the AV devices  111  to  117  from the AV controller  120  via the system controller  22 .  
         [0081]     As a result, the endoscopic system  3  of the first embodiment can operate the AV devices with a simple configuration.  
         [0082]      FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8  relate to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 7 , there is shown a block diagram showing a connecting relation between an endoscopic system according to the second embodiment and an AV device system. Referring to  FIG. 8 , there is shown a conceptual diagram showing AV list data.  
         [0083]     In the second embodiment, the system controller  22  requires list data and a link is provided by viewing and setting returned AV list data on the operating panel  21 . Other parts are the same as those of the first embodiment. Therefore, their description is omitted here and the same reference numerals are used for the same parts in the following description.  
         [0084]     More specifically, as shown in  FIG. 7 , in the endoscopic system  3  of the second embodiment, a system controller  22  requests an AV controller  120  to transmit AV list data according to a keyword that has been entered.  
         [0085]     The AV controller  120  transmits AV list data read from the aforementioned AV memory  131  according to the keyword to the system controller  22  on the basis of the list request from the system controller  22 .  
         [0086]     The system controller  22  receives the AV list data from the AV controller  120 , whereby the AV list data can be viewed using the operating panel  21 . The AV list data is data as shown in  FIG. 8 , for example.  
         [0087]     Viewing the AV list data using the operating panel  21 , the surgeon or nurse can select a desired AV device by entering a keyword into the system controller  22  and set a desired control command and a setting value to the selected device.  
         [0088]     Thereby, the endoscopic system  3  can provide a link between the system controller  22  and the AV controller  120  and can make an automatic setting of the desired AV device.  
         [0089]     Accordingly, the endoscopic system  3  of the second embodiment can achieve the same effect as in the first embodiment and further can provide the link between the system controller  22  and the AV controller  120 , thereby enabling a more accurate setting.  
         [0090]     Other embodiments or the like composed of the above embodiments partially combined are also within the scope and spirit of the present invention.  
         [0091]     While there has been shown and described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the invention, it will, of course, be understood that various modifications and changes in form or detail could readily be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited to the exact forms described and illustrated, but constructed to cover all modifications that may fall within the scope of the appended claims.