JP2001137231A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor enabling an operator to perform more detailed diagnosis by enabling designation of an enlarged area to be carried out three-dimensionally for three-dimensional reconstruction data, and enlarging all of axial, coronal and sagital images through enlarging re-computation. SOLUTION: The axial image 2, the coronal image 4 and the sagital image 6 are outputted for display on a display device 10 as shown in Figure 3. A tomogram which the operator wants to diagnose is selected for each of the triaxial tomograms 2, 4 and 6. For one of the three tomograms 2, 4 and 6 displayed (axial image 2 in Figure), an enlarged area is dragged and inputted by use of a mouse so that it contains a lesion part which the operator wants to enlarge. For the other two of the tomograms (coronal image 4 and sagital image 6), an area is designated automatically and enlarging re-computation process is effected on the basis of the enlarged area designated. The axial image, the coronal image and the sagital image enlarged are displayed on the display device 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a cross-sectional image (axial image) obtained in a three-dimensional original image in a direction perpendicular to the body axis of a subject, and an image taken in a direction parallel to the body axis of the subject. Cross-sectional image (coronal image) obtained in the direction of the side of the specimen,
A three-dimensional region is designated using a cross-sectional image (sagittal image) obtained from the front to the back of the subject in a direction parallel to the body axis of the subject, and the enlargement recalculation process is performed based on the designated region. And the resulting enlarged reconstructed image
The present invention relates to an image processing device for displaying an axis.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image processing apparatus, an enlarged recalculation process has been performed in order to diagnose a small affected part in more detail. In this enlargement / recalculation processing, an image to be diagnosed is selected from existing reconstructed images, a region to be enlarged is designated in the image, enlargement / recalculation is performed based on the designation, and the resulting image is displayed. it can. As described above, the diagnosis of a small affected part becomes possible.

[0003]

For example, a cone beam C
At T, image reconstruction is performed based on the projection image acquired by the two-dimensional sensor, and three-dimensional reconstruction data is obtained. In order to perform enlargement recalculation on an apparatus for selecting a cross-sectional image in an arbitrary cross-section direction with respect to this three-dimensional reconstruction data, the region for performing enlargement recalculation must be specified in three dimensions. There was no such image processing device.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to specify an enlarged area in three-dimensional reconstruction data in three dimensions. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus in which everything is enlarged and displayed so that an operator can make a more detailed diagnosis.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a display means for displaying three kinds of cross-sectional images orthogonal to each other in a three-dimensional original image, and three cross-sections displayed on the display means. Cross-sectional image selecting means for selecting an image; enlarged area setting means for setting an enlarged area to be three-dimensionally enlarged using one or more cross-sectional images of the three cross-sectional images displayed on the display means; Enlarging recalculation processing means for enlarging and recalculating the three-dimensional enlarged area set by the area setting means, wherein the display means displays three types of cross-sectional images which have been enlarged and recalculated by the enlarging recalculation processing means. Is displayed.

According to the present invention, the display means displays three kinds of cross-sectional images orthogonal to each other in the three-dimensional original image, and the cross-sectional image selecting means selects three cross-sectional images to be displayed on the display means. The enlarged area setting means sets an enlarged area to be three-dimensionally enlarged by using one or a plurality of sectional images of the three sectional images displayed on the display means. The enlargement / recalculation processing means performs enlargement / recalculation processing on the three-dimensional enlarged area set by the enlargement area setting means, and the display means displays three types of cross-sectional images subjected to the enlargement / recalculation processing by the enlargement / recalculation processing means. In this way, by specifying the enlargement region in three dimensions, enlargement and recalculation are performed to enlarge and display all three types of cross-sectional images, so that the operator can perform more detailed diagnosis.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the principle of the image processing apparatus of the present invention will be described. In the cone beam CT, three-dimensional data is obtained by reconstruction, and the three-dimensional data is a cube of 512 pixels on a side as shown in FIG. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, a coronal image obtained by cutting out three-dimensional data in the yz plane direction, an axial image obtained by cutting out the xy plane direction, and a sagittal image obtained by cutting out the xz plane direction are each 512. It is a sheet. These axial images, coronal images, and sagittal images are read into the memory. The read axial image 2, coronal image 4, and sagittal image 6 are output and displayed on the display device 10 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, spin buttons 12a, 12b, 1
By pressing 2c, the edit boxes 14a, 1
The image numbers in 4b and 14c are changed, and the slice images to be diagnosed are selected for the three-axis slice images 2, 4, and 6, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 8, one of three displayed cross-sectional images 2, 4, and 6 (axial image 2 in FIG. 8) includes an affected part to be enlarged with a mouse. Drag to and enter the enlarged area. The enlarged area is displayed as a tracker.

As shown in FIG. 9, an area is automatically designated for the other two cross-sectional images (coronal image 4 and sagittal image 6 in FIG. 9). Enlargement recalculation processing is performed based on the coordinates of the vertices of the designated enlargement area and the information on the lengths of the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis. The image data subjected to the enlargement and recalculation processing is a cube having one side of 512 pixels as shown in FIG. 1 and is output to the display device 10. As shown in FIG. 26 is displayed on the display device 10.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the diagnostic imaging apparatus of the present invention.

First, a cross-sectional image of the diagnostic imaging apparatus is read into a memory (step 1). For example, in the cone beam CT, the three-dimensional data of FIG.
Axial image 2, coronal image 4, and sagittal image 6 are obtained by cutting out in the -y plane, the yz plane, and the xz plane directions.

The axial image 2, coronal image 4, and sagittal image 6 read in step 1 are output and displayed on the display device 10 as shown in FIG. 3 (step 2).

When the axial image 2, the coronal image 4, and the sagittal image 6 are displayed, a spin button 12
By clicking, the image number in the edit box 14 is changed, and a cross-sectional image to be diagnosed is selected for each of the three axes (step 3). The selection of the cross-sectional image may be performed by a dialog or a control such as the scroll bar 30 shown in FIG. 5, the slider 32 shown in FIG. 6, and the edit box 34 shown in FIG.

After selecting the position of the slice image to be diagnosed in step 3, an enlarged area is input (step 4). On the display screen of FIG. 8, an enlarged area is input for any one of the three cross-sectional images (axial image 2 in FIG. 8). By dragging from the upper left part of the affected part to the lower right with the mouse so as to include the affected part to be enlarged, a square enlarged area is input, and the tracker displays the enlarged area.

When the input is completed for one cross-sectional image, the axial direction of the input region is also changed for the other two cross-sectional images (coronal image 4 and sagittal image 6 in FIG. 9) as shown in FIG. Is automatically specified based on the information on the length, center coordinates, and slice position of the selected cross-sectional image (step 5). In the designation of the other two cross-sectional images, the x-axis length and the y-axis length of the region input in the axial image are used, the z-axis length is set to be the same as the x and y-axis lengths, and the enlarged region of the cube is set. . When the x-axis length is determined, the x-axis position is determined so that the selected slice position bisects the x-axis length (x,
See FIG. 1 for directions of the y and z axes). In this way, a three-dimensional area can be designated by inputting an area from one slice image.

In specifying an enlarged area, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, a radio button 36 for selecting an inch mode of the field of view without inputting from a cross-sectional image is used.
When an inch mode is selected with the radio button 36, a magnified area corresponding to the selected inch mode may be displayed on the display screen.

An enlargement recalculation process is performed based on the coordinates of the vertices of the enlargement area designated in steps 4 and 5 and the information on the lengths of the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis (step 6).

The image data subjected to the enlargement and recalculation processing in step 6 is output to the display device 10, and as shown in FIG.
The enlarged axial image 22, coronal image 24, and sagittal image 26 are displayed on the display device 10 (step 7). By clicking the spin button 12 with the mouse, the image number in the edit box 14 is changed, and the cross-sectional image to be displayed is selected for each of the three axes.

Although the enlarged area has been described as a cube in the present embodiment, a rectangular parallelepiped enlarged area having different x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis lengths using two of the three sectional images is described. May be set.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image processing apparatus of the present invention. The image processing apparatus according to the present invention uses a CT
Interface (I / I) for inputting and outputting image data of an image diagnostic apparatus such as a CRT 40, a cone beam CT42, and an MRI44.
F) 46 and a memory 48 for temporarily storing image data.
CPU 50 for performing arithmetic processing, display device 10 for displaying display data of the processing result, hard disk 52 for recording tables and display data required for arithmetic processing, mouse 54 for operating soft switches on the screen, keyboard 56 and other external input devices.

[0023]

According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, by specifying an enlarged area in three dimensions, all three types of tomographic images are enlarged and displayed, and the operator can make a more detailed diagnosis.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing three-dimensional image data.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a display cross section direction (axial, coronal, sagittal).

FIG. 3 is an example of a display screen output to a display device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a cross-sectional image position selecting unit.

FIG. 5 is a view showing an example of a section image position input unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a section image position input unit.

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a section image position input unit;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an enlarged area input unit for one slice image.

FIG. 9 is a diagram in which an enlarged area is designated for two other cross-sectional images.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing selection means when an enlarged area is set to an inch mode.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a cross-sectional image after the enlargement recalculation processing.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a flow of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 22 ... axial image, 4, 24 ... coronal image,
6, 26: sagittal image, 10: display device, 48: memory, 50: CPU, 54: mouse, 56: keyboard

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A display means for displaying three kinds of cross-sectional images orthogonal to each other in a three-dimensional original image, a cross-sectional image selecting means for selecting three cross-sectional images to be displayed on the display means,
Enlarged area setting means for setting an enlarged area to be three-dimensionally enlarged using one or a plurality of sectional images of the three sectional images displayed on the display means; and a three-dimensional image set by the enlarged area setting means. Image processing means for enlarging and recalculating an enlarged area, wherein the display means displays three types of cross-sectional images subjected to the enlarging and recalculating processing by the enlarging and recalculating processing means. apparatus.