ENDOSCOPIC IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR SURGERY USING MEANS WHICH GENERATE GEOMETRIC DISTANCE INFORMATION IN THE DETECTION REGION OF AN OPTICAL DIGITAL CAMERA

摘要

The invention relates to an endoscopic image processing system for surgery, including an endoscope camera, a surgical instrument that can be introduced into the receiving region of the camera, the shaft region of which instrument generates geometric distance information via the image dimensions thereof in the form of optical information, which, together with at least one image of the continuous image information captured by the camera, is detected, separated from the image information and further processed, in order to obtain measurement information from the image content captured by the digital camera by comparing with stored imaging information of the instrument, wherein the measurement information represents the imaging scale in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the camera and relates to a reference point of the instrument, having a protruding shape and position for contacting body tissue, wherein identification means are provided for the lateral radial limitations of the cylindrical shaft region by means of the contour line thereof in the image, identification means are provided for the contour line distally bordering the cylindrical shaft region and for the transformation of this contour line into a straight line forming a shaft diameter, which straight line perpendicularly connects to the contour lines bordering the shaft region, and computing means are provided for comparing said planar line contour with the corresponding line contour of imaging information stored for the relevant instrument, via appropriate spatial-virtual orientation of the instrument, taking into consideration the imaging geometry of the endoscope objective, and for determining the local imaging scale in an image plane running perpendicular to the optical axis of the camera as measurement information for the reference point of the instrument based on the imaging geometry.