Abstract
An electronic endoscope was modified to assess the imaging of two-dimensional distribution
of gastrointestinal mucosal hemoglobin with the aid of a computer and image analyzing
system. The band-pass filters ranging from 530-470 nm (G'), and 770-830 nm (IR) replaced
ordinary filters in a conventional electronic endoscope (Olmpus V-10 or EVIS-200).
As the hemoglobin is the most abundant biological pigment in the gastrointestinal
mucosa absorbing the green light with little absorption in the infrared region, we
used the algorithm of 32{log2 (Vir/Vg)} as a reflection of hemoglobin content in the surface mucosa. The algorithm
had a good correlation with the spectrophotometrically measured hemoglobin concentration.
The mucosal distribution of hemoglobin was displayed in patients with gastric ulcer.
In conclusion, the computer and image analyzing system were successfully applied in
an attempt to determine gastric mucosal hemoglobin content and its distribution. The
possible applications of computers in endoscopic image analysis are discussed.
