Interactivity Between Image Processing Systems and Videoendoscopy

At the beginning of the 1980s the first generation of electronic videoendoscopes provided a vision of the digestive tract better than that obtainable by fiberscopes. Subsequent videoendoscopes of higher resolution have further improved the quality of images, with numerous clinical advantages. An increased use of such equipment can be expected in the future due to technological progress and reduction in production costs, however its clinical usefulness derives from other factors. The advantages offered by videoendoscopy, such as high resolution of images, viewing by multiple observers and the recording of endoscopic examinations for diagnostic and didactic purposes, are now added to those offered by digital image processing. Most important of all, computer technology makes possible image processing and analysis by storing and reediting digitalized endoscopic images. For clinical and scientific purposes this means improved lesion evaluation and differentiation between normal and pathological morphology [1].