JP2012016488A - Medical image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a diagnostic reading time of medical images and to reduce a risk of overlooking abnormal images.SOLUTION: A storage part 2 stores a plurality of medical image data corresponding to a plurality of times in the same position or to a plurality of positions respectively. A display part 5 displays the plurality of medical images as moving images. An image selecting part 3 selects a plurality of noted images of clinical interest out of the plurality of medical images. A display control part 4 makes the reproducing speed of the plurality of noted images slower than that of other medical images out of the plurality of medical images during the display of the plurality of medical images as the moving images.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a medical image display apparatus.

  A radiologist or the like interprets a medical image using a medical image display device. The medical image display apparatus displays a list of a plurality of medical images or displays a moving image at a constant reproduction speed for interpretation. A radiologist or the like interprets a plurality of medical images displayed in a list or a moving image to find clinical abnormal images.

  However, with the recent development of medical image diagnostic apparatuses and the like, the number of frames of medical images to be interpreted has become enormous. Therefore, in the case of a list display, it is very difficult to find a clinically abnormal image from among many displayed medical images. In addition, in the case of moving image display at a slow reproduction speed, the interpretation time becomes long, and in the case of moving image display at a high reproduction speed, the risk of overlooking an abnormal image increases.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a medical image display device that realizes shortening of the interpretation time of a medical image and reduction of the risk of overlooking an abnormal image.

  The medical image display apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a storage unit that stores data of a plurality of medical images respectively corresponding to a plurality of times or a plurality of positions at the same position, and a display unit that displays the plurality of medical images as moving images. A selection unit that selects a plurality of images of clinical interest from the plurality of medical images; and a video display speed of the plurality of images of interest during video display of the plurality of medical images. And a control unit that delays the reproduction speed of other medical images of the image.

The figure which shows the structure of the medical image display apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. The figure which shows the typical flow of the variable CINE display performed under control of the system control part which concerns on Example 1 of this embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the setting process of ROI performed by the image selection part in step S2 of FIG. The figure for demonstrating the selection process of the attention image performed by the image selection part in step S4 of FIG. The figure for demonstrating the correction and addition process of the attention image performed by the image selection part in step S5 of FIG. The figure for demonstrating the selection process of the attention image performed by the image selection part in step S7 of FIG. The figure which shows the display screen of the variable CINE display displayed by the display control part in step S9 of FIG. The figure for demonstrating the ROI setting process performed by the image selection part which concerns on Example 2 of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a process of selecting an attention image by a user designation performed by an image selection unit according to the second embodiment. The figure for demonstrating the selection process of the attention image performed by the image selection part which concerns on the modification 1. FIG.

  The medical image display apparatus according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The medical image display device according to the present embodiment is a computer device for supporting interpretation of a medical image by a user such as a radiologist. The medical image display device is provided in the form of a workstation, a medical image diagnostic device, or the like. The function of the medical image display device may be incorporated in the medical image diagnostic device. The medical image diagnostic apparatus includes all existing modalities such as an X-ray diagnostic apparatus, an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a SPECT apparatus, and a PET apparatus.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a medical image display apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the medical image display apparatus 1 includes a storage unit 2, an image selection unit 3, a display control unit 4, a display unit 5, an operation unit 6, and a system control unit 7.

  The storage unit 2 stores data of a plurality of medical images generated by the medical image diagnostic apparatus and respectively corresponding to a plurality of times at the same scan position or a plurality of scan positions. More specifically, the plurality of medical images are generated, for example, by repeatedly imaging the same scan position over a plurality of times. Alternatively, the plurality of medical images are generated by imaging a plurality of scan positions over a wide range, for example. Each of the plurality of medical images is stored in association with a frame number that is an identification number of the medical image. The plurality of medical images is, for example, a series of medical images belonging to one study or one series. Here, a plurality of medical image data grouped in a study unit or a series unit is collectively called a data set. The storage unit 2 can also store a plurality of data sets related to a plurality of studies and a plurality of series. The storage unit 2 stores an image display program. This image display program is for causing the system control unit 7 to execute control for performing variable CINE display according to the present embodiment.

  The image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of medical images of clinical interest from a plurality of medical images. Here, a medical image of clinical interest is referred to as an attention image. In addition, a medical image that is not an attention image among a plurality of medical images is referred to as a non-attention image. The image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of images of interest automatically based on pixel value changes between medical images or according to an instruction from the user via the operation unit 6.

  The display control unit 4 displays a plurality of medical images on the display unit 5 in a moving image format. At this time, the display control unit 4 delays the reproduction speed of the plurality of attention images than the reproduction speed of the plurality of non- attention images. In the case of moving image display, medical images are displayed on the display unit 5 one by one. The playback speed corresponds to the display time of each medical image. In other words, this corresponds to the number of medical images displayed per unit time. Specifically, the shorter the display time of each medical image, that is, the higher the number of medical images displayed per unit time, the faster the playback speed. Conversely, the longer the display time of each medical image, that is, the smaller the number of medical images displayed per unit time, the slower the playback speed. In this way, displaying a plurality of medical images as moving images while switching the reproduction speed is referred to as variable CINE display.

  The display unit 5 displays a plurality of medical images in a moving image format according to control by the display control unit 4. As the display unit 5, for example, a CRT display, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, a plasma display, or the like can be used as appropriate.

  The operation unit 6 receives various commands and information input from the user. As the operation unit 6, a keyboard, a mouse, a switch, or the like can be used as appropriate.

  The system control unit 7 functions as the center of the medical image display device 1. Specifically, the system control unit 7 reads out the image display program stored in the storage unit 2 and develops it on the memory, and controls each unit in the medical image diagnostic apparatus 1 according to the developed image display program. Thereby, the variable CINE display according to the present embodiment is executed.

  Next, an operation example of the medical image display apparatus 1 will be described by dividing it into the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The first embodiment is an operation example when one type of data set is used for interpretation. The second embodiment is an operation example when two types of data sets are used for interpretation. Note that this embodiment can also be applied to interpretation of three or more data sets.

[Example 1]
Hereinafter, an operation example of the medical image display apparatus 1 according to Example 1 of the present embodiment will be specifically described. In order to specifically describe the following, it is assumed that the medical image data according to the first embodiment is collected by the SPECT apparatus. As is well known, the pixel value of the pixel of the SPECT image corresponds to the count value.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a typical flow of variable CINE display performed under the control of the system control unit 7 according to the first embodiment. The system control unit 7 starts the variable CINE display process in response to an instruction to start variable CINE display by the user. As shown in FIG. 2, first, the system control unit 7 determines whether the method of selecting an image of interest is automatic selection or user selection (step S1). The method of selecting the attention image may be set in advance as any method, or may be selected by the user via the operation unit 6. First, a flow related to automatic selection will be described.

  If it is determined in step S1 that the selection is automatic (step S1: automatic selection), the system control unit 7 causes the image selection unit 3 to perform ROI (region of interest) setting processing (step S2). In step S2, the image selection unit 3 sets the pixel area designated by the user via the operation unit 6 as the ROI. The setting of the ROI is performed, for example, according to the following flow. First, the display control unit 4 reads a medical image data set to be interpreted from the storage unit 2 and displays a plurality of medical images included in the read data set on the display unit 5 at a playback speed faster than 1 × speed. To do. Then, the user designates a pixel area of interest via the operation unit 6. For example, when there is an organ to be noticed, a pixel region including the organ is designated. When the pixel area is designated, the image selection unit 3 sets the designated pixel area to ROI as shown in FIG. For example, the user designates a pixel region on one medical image among a plurality of medical images to be interpreted. When a pixel region is designated on one medical image, the image selection unit 3 sets an ROI corresponding to the designated pixel region in each of a plurality of medical images to be interpreted. More specifically, the ROI has the same coordinates as the pixel area specified by the user. That is, the ROI is set in the same anatomical part on a plurality of medical images.

  Note that the ROI setting method is not limited to the above-described method. For example, when there is an organ to be focused on in advance, the ROI may be automatically set in the pixel region related to the organ.

  When step S2 is performed, the system control unit 7 causes the image selection unit 3 to generate a pixel value change curve (count curve) (step S3). In step S3, the image selection unit 3 generates a count curve based on the ROI count value set for each of the plurality of medical images. Specifically, the image selection unit 3 sums the count values of all the pixels in the ROI, and generates a count curve by plotting the total count value on a graph.

  When step S3 is performed, the system control unit 7 causes the image selection unit 3 to perform a target image selection process (step S4). In step S4, the image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of images of interest from a plurality of medical images based on a change in count value on the count curve.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the target image selection process performed by the image selection unit 3. As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical axis of the count curve is defined by the count value, and the horizontal axis is defined by the frame number.

  When the count curve is generated, the image selection unit 3 specifies a frame range in which the count value is rapidly changing on the count curve. The frame range is a range from a certain frame number to another frame number. The identified frame range corresponds to the frame range of the image of interest. Hereinafter, the frame range of the target image is referred to as the target image range. A plurality of medical images included in the target image range are displayed as moving images at a low reproduction speed. The attention image range is specified by the following flow, for example. First, the image selection unit 3 differentiates the count value by the frame number or the like in order to calculate the change amount of the count value. Then, the image selection unit 3 compares the calculated change amount with a predetermined threshold value. For example, when there is clinical interest in a medical image belonging to a frame range in which the amount of change is relatively large, a frame range in which the amount of change is greater than a threshold value is set as the attention image range. Conversely, when there is clinical interest in a medical image belonging to a frame range in which the amount of change is relatively small, a frame range in which the amount of change is smaller than a threshold value is set as the attention image range. The start end of the target image range is indicated by the cursor CR1, and the end end is indicated by the cursor CR2. The threshold value can be arbitrarily set by the user via the operation unit 6. When the attention image range is set, the image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of medical images belonging to the attention image range from among the plurality of medical images as the attention image.

  When step S4 is performed, the system control unit 7 causes the display control unit 4 to perform count curve display processing (step S5). In step S5, the display control unit 4 causes the display unit 5 to display a count curve. As shown in FIG. 4, a cursor CR1 indicating the start end of the image range of interest IR and CR2 indicating the end point are superimposed on the count curve. Thus, the target image range IR is indicated on the count curve, so that the user can check whether the target image range IR is set correctly. At this time, the cursors CR1 and CR2 are displayed to be operable by the operation unit 6. Therefore, when the user determines that the target image range IR is not set correctly, the target image range IR can be adjusted by sliding the cursor CR1 or CR2 to the left or right via the operation unit 6. When the attention image range IR is adjusted, the image selection unit 3 selects a medical image included in the adjusted attention image range IR as the attention image.

  Note that the target image range IR is not limited to one, and may be plural as shown in FIG. For example, in step S4, the image selection unit 3 may automatically set a plurality of target image ranges IR in accordance with the magnitude relationship between the pixel value change (count value change) and the threshold value. Further, the attention image range IR may be added to an arbitrary frame range by the user via the operation unit 6 in step S5.

  Next, the flow of user selection will be described. When it is determined that a medical image is selected by user selection (step S1: user selection), the system control unit 7 causes the display control unit 4 to perform list display processing (step S6). In step S <b> 6, the display control unit 4 reads out a medical image data set to be interpreted from the storage unit 2 from the storage unit 2 and displays a list on a plurality of medical image display units 5 included in the read data set.

  When step S6 is performed, the system control unit 7 causes the image selection unit 3 to perform image selection processing (step S7). In step S <b> 7, the image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of attention images from a plurality of medical images in accordance with an instruction from the user. Hereinafter, an image selection process by user designation will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing the target image selection processing performed by the image selection unit 3 in step S7. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of medical images are displayed in a list. The plurality of medical images are arranged according to the frame number (Fr.). The user observes a plurality of medical images displayed in a list, and specifies a plurality of attention images, that is, attention image ranges, from the plurality of medical images. For example, the user specifies a target image range related to a region to be focused such as a kidney or liver. Then, the user designates the medical image F1 at the start and the medical image F2 at the end of the target image range via the operation unit 6. The image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of medical images from the designated start medical image F1 to the end medical image F2 as attention images.

  When step S5 or S7 is performed, the system control unit 7 causes the display control unit 4 to perform a reproduction speed setting process (step S8). In step S8, the display control unit 4 sets the reproduction speed of the attention image to be lower than the reproduction speed of the non-notice image. For example, the playback speed of the non-focused image is set to the normal playback speed, that is, 1 × speed. The playback speed of the attention image is set to a playback speed lower than the playback speed of the non-target image, for example, 0.5 times speed. Note that the playback speed of the non-focused image is not limited to 1 × speed, and may be set to a playback speed faster than 1 × speed such as 2 × speed. In addition, if the playback speed of the attention image is slower than the playback speed of the non-target image, the playback speed may be faster than the 1 × speed.

  Typically, the playback speed is set for the target image range and the non-target image range. When there are a plurality of target image ranges, different playback speeds may be set for each target image range. Further, one attention image range may be further divided into small areas, and a different reproduction speed may be set for each small area.

  When step S8 is performed, the system control unit 7 causes the display control unit 4 to perform a moving image display process (step S9). In step S9, the display control unit 4 causes the display unit 5 to display a plurality of medical images at the set reproduction speed. That is, variable CINE display is performed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display screen of the variable CINE display displayed by the display control unit in step S9. As shown in FIG. 7, a display area R1 for medical images is arranged on most of the display screen. A CINE bar BR is displayed below the display area R1. The CINE bar BR is a slide bar indicating the position of the medical image being displayed in all the medical images to be displayed.

  In the variable CINE display, the non-target image is displayed at a normal or high playback speed, and the target image is displayed at a low playback speed. For example, it is assumed that there are medical images with frame numbers 0 to 450 and frame numbers 100 to 150 are images of interest. In addition, it is assumed that the reproduction speed of the non-focused image is set to 1 × speed and the playback speed of the focused image is set to 0.5 × speed. First, the display control unit 4 displays a medical image of frame numbers 0 to 99 as a moving image at 1 × speed. When the medical image of frame number 99 is displayed, the display control unit 4 switches the playback speed from 1 × speed to 0.5 × speed. Then, the display control unit 4 displays a moving image of the medical image with frame numbers 100 to 150 at 0.5 times speed that is the reproduction speed after switching. When the medical image of frame number 150 is displayed, the display control unit 4 switches the reproduction speed from 0.5 × speed to 1 × speed. Then, the display control unit 4 displays a medical image with frame numbers 151 to 450 as a moving image at a single speed which is the reproduction speed after switching.

  When step S9 is performed, the system control unit 7 ends the variable CINE display.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the medical image display apparatus 1 can change the reproduction speed of the plurality of attention images and the reproduction speed of the plurality of non- attention images when displaying a plurality of medical images as moving images. . Specifically, the target image is displayed as a moving image at a lower speed than the non-target image. The low-speed moving image display of the target image allows the user to slowly and carefully observe the target image that has to be focused due to high accumulation or loss, and can reduce the risk of overlooking the abnormal image. As described above, the medical image display apparatus 1 can support the discovery of an abnormal image by the user by the low-speed moving image display of the target image. The non-attention image is displayed as a moving image at a higher speed than the attention image. Therefore, the user can roughly observe the non-attention image. As described above, the medical image display device 1 can display a moving image of a medical image to be focused on at a low speed and can display a moving image of a medical image that is not focused on at a high speed. Although it has become possible to scan the whole body due to recent advances in modalities, the number of medical images generated by the whole body scan is enormous. According to the present embodiment, even with such a large number of medical image interpretations, it is possible to reduce the interpretation time while reducing the risk of overlooking an abnormal image.

[Example 2]
Next, an operation example of the medical image display apparatus according to Example 2 of the present embodiment will be specifically described. The first embodiment and the second embodiment are different from each other only in the processing by the image selection unit 3, and only this processing will be described. In the following description, components having substantially the same functions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is provided only when necessary.

  The second embodiment is applied to the case where two types of medical images relating to two types of data sets are comparatively interpreted. The two types of data sets are, for example, a data set related to morphological images and a data set related to functional images. The morphological image is preferably a medical image generated by an X-ray computed tomography apparatus or a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, for example. As the functional image, for example, a medical image generated by PET or SPECT is suitable.

  It is assumed that the number of medical images included in one data set substantially matches the number of medical images included in the other data set. The number of sheets may be matched at the time of scanning or may be matched by image processing such as interpolation processing. Two medical images having the same frame number are stored in the storage unit 2 in association with each other.

  The image selection unit 3 according to the second embodiment realizes an improvement in operability related to selection of an image of interest by performing selection of the image of interest using two types of data sets.

  For example, the form of the body tissue is often unclear on functional images such as PET images and SPECT images. Therefore, when the functional image data set is an interpretation target, it may be difficult to set the ROI on the interpretation target image.

  The step S2 in FIG. 2 in the second embodiment for eliminating this difficulty will be described. It is assumed that the functional image data set is an interpretation target. In step S <b> 2 of FIG. 2, the display control unit 4 reads out the morphological image data set and the functional image data set from the storage unit 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the display control unit 4 displays a moving image by arranging a plurality of morphological images and a plurality of functional images. The user observes the morphological image, confirms the ROI range, and designates the ROI on the morphological image via the operation unit 6. When the ROI is designated, the image selection unit 3 sets the ROI for all the morphological images included in the morphological image data set as in the first embodiment. The image selection unit 3 is a pixel region on the functional image, and automatically sets the ROI at the same coordinate position as the ROI on the morphological image. In other words, the image selection unit 3 can set the ROI by synchronizing the form image and the function image. Since the ROI on the medical image to be interpreted (in this case, the functional image) is automatically selected, the medical image to be interpreted does not have to be displayed in step S6.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, in the ROI setting scene, in addition to the medical image to be interpreted, a medical image in which an ROI can be easily specified is displayed. Therefore, the user can designate an ROI on a medical image that is easy to designate an ROI, not a medical image to be interpreted. Since these two types of medical images are associated with each other, the image selection unit 3 can reflect the ROI specified in one medical image in the other medical image. Therefore, the operability related to the ROI setting is improved.

  Note that the display of the two types of medical image data sets can also be applied when the target image range is selected by user designation. Hereinafter, steps S6 and S7 in FIG. 2 according to the second embodiment will be described. It is assumed that the functional image is an interpretation target following the above example. In step S <b> 6 of FIG. 2, the display control unit 4 reads the morphological image data set and the functional image data set from the storage unit 2. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the display control unit 4 displays a list of a plurality of morphological images and a plurality of functional images side by side. The user specifies a target image range by observing the list of morphological images. Then, the user designates the medical image F1 at the start end and the medical image F2 at the end of the target image range via the operation unit 6 in the list of morphological images. The image selection unit 3 includes a plurality of function images F1 ′ having the same frame number as the designated start medical image F1 to a function image F2 ′ having the same frame number as the designated end medical image F2. A functional image is selected as an attention image. In other words, the image selection unit 3 can set the attention image by synchronizing the morphological image and the functional image. Note that since the attention image is automatically selected, a list of medical images to be interpreted (in this case, functional images) does not have to be displayed in step S6.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, in the selection scene of the target image in the list display, in addition to the medical image to be interpreted, a medical image of a type that allows easy observation of the tissue form is displayed. Therefore, the user can designate a target image range on a medical image in which the tissue form is easy to observe, not on a medical image to be interpreted. Since these two types of medical image data sets are associated with each other, the image selection unit 3 can reflect the attention image range specified in one medical image data set in the other medical image data set. Therefore, the operability related to the user designation of the target image range is improved.

  Thus, the medical image display apparatus according to the present embodiment realizes shortening of the interpretation time of the medical image and reduction of the risk of overlooking the abnormal image.

  Note that the method of selecting a target image is not limited to the above method. Hereinafter, other selection methods will be described.

(Modification 1)
In the first modification, the plurality of medical images to be interpreted are related to a plurality of scan positions. In the first modification, the image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of axial cross-sectional images included in the target image range designated on the coronal cross-sectional image via the operation unit 6 by the user as the target image. Hereinafter, a specific example of Modification 1 will be described. Note that the type of medical image data set to be interpreted is not limited, but it is assumed to be a functional image data set in order to specifically describe the following.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the display control unit 4 displays a fusion image (composite image) for the user to specify a target image range. A fusion image is an image in which a morphological image relating to a coronal section and a functional image relating to a coronal section are superimposed. Typically, the display range of the morphological image regarding the coronal section is wider than the display range of the functional image regarding the coronal section. In other words, the functional image is overlaid only on a part (interpretation target range), not the entire display range of the morphological image regarding the coronal section. A display range in which the morphological image and the functional image are overlapped is referred to as a fusion display range.

  The user designates the target image range on the fusion display range via the operation unit 6. Specifically, the target image range is a range between a cursor CR3 indicating the start end and a cursor CR4 indicating the end end. The user designates the target image range by sliding the cursor CR3 or CR4 up and down via the operation unit 6. The image selection unit 3 sets the display range from the cursors CR3 to CR4 to the attention image range. When the attention image range is set, the image selection unit 3 selects the functional image of the axial cross section included in the attention image range as the attention image.

  According to the first modification, since the attention image range can be designated on the medical image, the user can more intuitively designate the attention image range. Accordingly, the user-designated operability of the target image range is improved.

(Modification 2)
In the second modification, a plurality of medical images to be interpreted are stored in the storage unit 2 in association with a plurality of electrocardiogram phases of the subject. In other words, an electrocardiogram waveform is associated with a plurality of medical images. The medical image data set according to the second modification corresponds to a medical image data set collected by an electrocardiogram synchronous scan by an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a SPECT apparatus, a PET apparatus, or the like.

  In the second modification, the display control unit 4 reads the electrocardiogram waveform data associated with the medical image data set from the storage unit 2 and displays it on the display unit 5 in order to specify the target image range by the user. The user designates an electrocardiogram phase range of clinical interest on the electrocardiogram waveform via the operation unit 6. The specified range functions as a target image range. That is, the image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of medical images respectively associated with a plurality of electrocardiogram phases included in the designated range as the focused medical image.

  According to the second modification, since the attention image range can be specified on the electrocardiogram waveform, the user can specify the attention image range more intuitively. Accordingly, the user-designated operability of the target image range is improved.

(Modification 3)
In Modification 3, a plurality of medical images to be interpreted are stored in the storage unit 2 in association with a plurality of respiratory phases of the subject. In other words, a respiratory waveform is associated with a plurality of medical images. The medical image data set according to the third modification corresponds to a medical image data set collected by an electrocardiogram synchronous scan by an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a SPECT apparatus, a PET apparatus, or the like.

  In the third modification, the display control unit 4 reads the respiratory waveform data associated with the medical image data set from the storage unit 2 and displays it on the display unit 5 for the user to specify the target image range. The user designates a respiratory phase range of clinical interest on the respiratory waveform via the operation unit 6. The specified range functions as a target image range. That is, the image selection unit 3 selects a plurality of medical images respectively associated with a plurality of breathing phases included in the designated range as a focused medical image.

  According to the third modification, since the attention image range can be specified on the respiratory waveform, the user can more intuitively specify the attention image range. Accordingly, the user-designated operability of the target image range is improved.

(Modification 4)
In the modified example 4, a plurality of medical images to be interpreted are stored in the storage unit 2 in association with a plurality of rotation angles of the gantry. The medical image data set according to the modification 4 corresponds to a medical image data set collected by dynamic scanning by an X-ray computed tomography apparatus, a SPECT apparatus, a PET apparatus, or the like. The dynamic scan is to repeatedly scan the same scan position. That is, the plurality of medical images to be interpreted according to Modification 4 are images relating to a plurality of times at the same scan position.

  In the modified example 4, the display control unit 4 reads the rotation angle data of the gantry from the storage unit 2 and displays a graph or the like indicating the rotation angle on the display unit 5 in order to specify the target image range by the user. The user designates the range of the rotation angle of clinical interest on the graph via the operation unit 6. The specified range functions as a target image range. A specific example of the rotation angle range will be described with an example where the interpretation target region is the heart. The heart is located on the left side of the human body. Therefore, a rotation angle range that is relatively close to the heart is preferably specified as the attention image range. The image selection unit 3 selects, as attention medical images, a plurality of medical images respectively associated with a plurality of respiratory phases included in the designated range.

  According to the modified example 4, since the attention image range can be designated by the graph indicating the rotation angle of the gantry, the user can more intuitively designate the attention image range. Accordingly, the user-designated operability of the target image range is improved.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Medical image display apparatus, 2 ... Memory | storage part, 3 ... Image selection part, 4 ... Display control part, 5 ... Display part, 6 ... Operation part, 7 ... System control part

Claims (5)

A storage unit for storing data of a plurality of medical images respectively corresponding to a plurality of times or a plurality of positions at the same position;
A display unit for displaying the plurality of medical images as moving images;
A selection unit for selecting a plurality of images of clinical interest from the plurality of medical images;
A control unit that delays the reproduction speed of the plurality of attention images from the reproduction speed of the other medical images of the plurality of medical images during the moving image display of the plurality of medical images;
A medical image display apparatus comprising:   The selection unit selects the plurality of attention images from the plurality of medical images based on a pixel value change related to a region of interest set in the same anatomical portion in the plurality of medical images. The medical image display device according to 1. The display unit displays a curve indicating a change in pixel values related to the plurality of medical images,
The selection unit selects, as the plurality of attention images, a plurality of medical images within a specified range set on the curve according to an instruction from a user.
The medical image display apparatus according to claim 1. The storage unit stores the plurality of medical images in association with a plurality of electrocardiogram phases related to the subject, a plurality of respiratory phases related to the subject, or a plurality of rotation angles of the gantry,
The selection unit selects, as the plurality of attention images, a plurality of medical images within a range specified for the plurality of electrocardiogram phases, the plurality of respiratory phases, or the plurality of rotation angles according to an instruction from a user. ,
The medical image display apparatus according to claim 1.   The medical image display device according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects the plurality of attention images from the plurality of medical images in accordance with an instruction from a user.

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