JP3406785B2 - Cardiac function analysis support device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention relates to, for example ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus investigate the local motion state of the heart wall from the moving image of the resulting heart fault, the related cardiac function analysis supported 援装 location.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the improvement of eating habits, adult diseases such as obesity and high blood pressure are increasing in Japan,
Heart disease resulting from these is the second highest mortality rate after cancer, which is a serious problem. The electrocardiogram is used as a primary diagnosis for the diagnosis of heart disease. Real-time, easy, and
Diagnosis using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is currently widely performed because it is inexpensive (compared to other diagnostic apparatuses such as X-ray CT, MRI, and PET).

When diagnosing a heart disease using an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a large number of diagnoses are made by using moving images obtained in real time by the apparatus. At this time, the doctor measures the pump function of the heart as one of the diagnostic information, and diagnoses whether there is an abnormality. In the case of heart disease such as myocardial infarction or angina, the local motion of the heart wall changes. Therefore, the heart function can be diagnosed by evaluating the local motion state of the heart wall.

By the way, conventionally, a qualitative observation evaluation by visual observation has been generally carried out to evaluate the local motion state of the heart wall based on the heart image. On the other hand, the centerline method has been proposed as a quantitative evaluation method of the motion state of the heart wall.

In the centerline method, the end-diastolic heart wall contour and the end-systolic heart wall contour are superposed, and the center lines of the two contours are drawn (see FIG. 3). Next, the drawn center line is equally divided, and each heart wall contour is divided by calculating a point where a straight line perpendicular to the center line and two contours intersect at the division point, and the two contours are associated with each other. And evaluate the motor status. (See Figure 4). Such a method is the centerline method.

When performing the evaluation, it is determined whether or not the straight line perpendicular to the center line is within the range of deviation in a normal case by using a graph as shown in FIG.

[0007]

In the centerline method as an evaluation method of the local motion state of the heart wall based on the heart image, it is assumed that the wall moves in a direction perpendicular to the centerline. Therefore, as schematically shown in FIG.
Since there is a large amount of momentum in the tangential direction of the centerline near the valve and the apex of the heart, there is a problem that the contradiction with the assumption of the centerline method occurs, and the correspondence is greatly different from the actual wall correspondence. .

Further, at the time of evaluation, since the division points divided by the centerline method are sequentially plotted on the horizontal axis of the graph,
It is difficult to understand the correspondence between the division point number and the position on the image,
Intuitive understanding is difficult.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to accurately associate the contours of the heart wall and display the information calculated from the contour information in a form that is easy to evaluate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cardiac function analysis support device that enables easy evaluation of the local motion state of the heart wall.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides (1) extracting a heart wall contour from each heart image obtained in time series.
And the feature points that have the predetermined structural features of the heart
At least one division point is defined in the
The wall contour is divided at the division points. When the division point is different
Corresponds to the corresponding division points in other heart contours at the point
wear. Heart wall based on the distance between the associated split points
Call for exercise.

By doing so, the feature points are detected even when the heart wall moves parallel to the tangential direction of the contour, so that the feature points can be accurately associated between the images that change in time series. Moreover, the correspondence between the plurality of images of the heart wall portion divided based on the feature points becomes accurate.
That is, the heart wall region can be divided according to the actual heart wall motion, and the heart function can be analyzed.

(2) In the present invention, the characteristic point in the above item (1) is the valve annulus and the apex of the heart or the papillary muscle. By doing so, improper association near the valve or near the apex, which is a problem particularly in the centerline method, is unlikely to occur. Further, by using the papillary muscles, the correspondence in the short-axis image can be accurately performed.

(3) Further, in the present invention, the divided heart wall contours are classified according to respective positions of the heart wall, and adjacent contours of the classified heart wall contours are different in color or different from each other. It is displayed with brightness. By doing so, different color display can be performed for each heart wall region, which is called an anterior wall apex portion, lower wall base portion, and the state of wall motion for each heart wall region can be easily grasped.

(4) Further, in the present invention, in the heart images at different time points in time series, an image at a desired time point serving as a reference is automatically or manually set, and the heart wall contour is divided. For each division point of the contour of the image at the time point, the movement amount from the corresponding division point in the contour of the reference time point image is calculated, and the calculated movement amount is displayed as a numerical value, a graph, a color display of the heart wall. At least one of them is displayed. By doing so, it is possible to easily distinguish the region of large cardiac wall momentum from the region of small cardiac momentum, which improves the efficiency of cardiac function analysis.

(5) Further, according to the present invention, the velocity information obtained from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is classified according to the positions of the divided heart wall contours, and the velocity statistics are obtained for each of the classified heart wall positions. The calculated velocity statistic is displayed by at least one of a numerical display, a graph display, and a color display of the heart wall. By doing so, it is possible to easily confirm the velocity information for each region of the heart wall classified as useful for diagnosis, and the efficiency of cardiac function analysis is increased.

(6) Further, in the present invention, the dynamic range of the moving amount of the heart wall dividing point is detected, and the display color when the velocity information obtained from the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is displayed on the image is the dynamic range. It is characterized by being allocated in. By doing so, even when the wall motion is small as a whole, it is possible to clearly display the difference in the amount of motion due to the portion of the heart wall.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Specific examples of the present invention will be described below.
A description will be given with reference to the drawings.

(First Specific Example) FIG. 1 is a flowchart of the first specific example. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the first specific example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus according to the first specific example includes a heart wall contour input unit 1 for inputting heart wall contour information and characteristic points on the contour from the heart wall contour to the apex and annulus. A feature point detecting unit 2 for detecting or inputting, a contour dividing unit 3 for dividing a heart wall contour based on the feature point position, a division point associating unit 4 for associating the division points over a plurality of temporal images,
At least one of the numerical display, the graph display, and the color display of the heart wall is obtained by classifying the divided heart wall contours into regions useful for diagnosis.
It is composed of a display unit 5 for displaying the information and a memory 6 for storing contour information and division point information.

In the present apparatus having such a configuration, heart wall contour information is input from the heart wall contour input unit 1. The heart wall contour information is obtained by, for example, obtaining a cardiac tomographic image of the subject in a time series by an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, extracting the heart contour based on this, and using the extracted contour image as heart wall contour information. To do. This heart wall contour information is stored in the memory 6. This heart wall contour information is given to the feature point detection unit 2.

When the heart wall contour information is input, the feature point detection unit 2 detects the feature points on the contour such as the apex or the annulus of the heart wall contour based on the heart wall contour information. This is automatically calculated from the shape of the heart wall contour using information such as the curvature of the contour (automatic detection processing). Further, it is also possible to manually input the feature points using a mouse or the like (manual input operation).

The contour dividing unit 3 divides the contour of the heart wall on the basis of the feature point positions given by the feature point detecting unit 2. The division point information obtained by this division processing is stored in the memory 6. When the contour of the heart wall is divided,
The division point associating unit 4 associates the division points over a plurality of temporal images, and the display unit 5 classifies the heart wall contours divided by the division point associating unit 4 into regions useful for diagnosis, At least one of the display, the graph display, and the color display of the heart wall is displayed.

The details of the specific processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the heart wall contour information is input from the heart wall contour input unit 1. The contour of the heart wall may be manually input on the image using a mouse or the like, or may be contour information obtained as a result of image processing (FIGS. 7 and 1).
Step A1).

Next, the characteristic point detecting section 2 detects the characteristic points of the contour of the heart wall. This feature point can be manually input using a mouse or the like, or can be automatically calculated from the shape of the heart wall contour using information such as the curvature of the contour (FIG. 8 and step A2 in FIG. 1). ).

Next, the input heart wall contour is divided based on the detected feature points (processing by the contour dividing unit 3).

The method of dividing the contour of the heart wall is performed as follows.

In this example, a method of dividing the contour of the heart wall will be described in the case where one point of the apex and two points of the annulus are used as the characteristic points.

First, as shown in FIG. 9, the area from the right valve annulus to the apex is divided into n pieces, and then the area from the apex to the left annulus is m.
Divide into pieces. Then, each divided point 22 is given a unique number and stored (step A in FIG. 1).
3). Here, the number of divisions m and n may be appropriately set according to the density of analyzing the motion of the heart wall.

The above processing is performed for contour data of all time phases (step A4 in FIG. 1). This completes the division of the contour of the heart wall.

After the contour of the heart wall is divided, the division points in each time phase are associated with each other. That is, the division points having the same number are associated with each other (step A5 in FIG. 1). This is performed by the division point associating unit 4.

As described above, in the first specific example, the apex and the valve annulus of the heart, which have distinctive features in shape, are used as the feature points, so that the positions of the apex and the valve annulus are accurately determined. Can be associated with. Furthermore, since the heart wall contour is divided based on the apex and the annulus,
As shown in FIG. 10, it becomes possible to appropriately associate the walls between the two time phases as compared with the centerline method.

When the association of the division points is completed, the association of the division points is displayed (step A6 in FIG. 1). This display, for example, displays the heart wall 25 as shown in FIG. 11, and inside the heart wall 25, the dividing points from the right valve annulus to the apex and the points dividing from the apex to the left annulus. Are further classified into three, and A, B, and
The contour line (heart wall contour 20) is color-coded in the colors C, D, E, and F, and displayed on the heart cross-sectional image in an overlapping manner.

The above three categories are, for example, base, middle,
It is recommended that the classification be useful for diagnosis, such as three of the apex. In this way, the heart wall is classified, and the contour lines are displayed in different colors for each classification section, so that the heart wall region is appropriately divided, and the position of the heart wall region on the image can be easily and clearly defined. You will be able to grasp.

As another display example, the contour E1 at a certain time phase (at a certain time), which is a reference among the motions of the heart that performs cyclic motions of expansion and contraction, is set in advance, and as shown in FIG. Division points on the contour E1 of a certain time phase which is a reference,
It is possible to connect the division points in the contour E2 of the current phase (the contour of the current comparison target and the contour at another point to be compared) by connecting them with a straight line L and display them. By displaying in this way, it is possible to easily grasp which heart wall portion has moved to what extent with respect to the heart wall contour in the reference time phase.

Further, it is also possible to display the contour division result of images of a plurality of continuous time phases as a moving image. By adopting this moving image display format, it is possible to provide a display form in which the motion state of the heart wall can be more easily grasped. Note that FIGS. 11 and 12 show an example in which the contours are displayed in different colors with five colors of colors A to F, which are different colors. However, this is an example,
It is not necessary for all the contours to be displayed in different colors, as long as they can be recognized separately. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform coloring in particular, or the line type may be different, or at least the adjacent contours may be displayed in different colors so that the contours can be distinguished. .

Since the heart is shaped like an ellipsoid, the cross-sectional image of the heart has a cross section along the major axis and a cross section along the minor axis. Although all of the above explanations have been about a cross section along the long axis as a heart cross-sectional image, similar processing can be performed on a short-axis image as shown in FIG. By using the papillary muscle, which is one of the tissues, it becomes possible to perform accurate correspondence. Then, this makes it possible to analyze a motion that is not perpendicular to the contour of the heart wall, such as a twisting motion of the heart.

As described above, in the first specific example, the heart wall contour of the heart is divided into predetermined sections to define division points, and the section of the heart wall contour of the beating heart for each time phase is known for each division point. It was displayed in this way. Moreover, the apex and the annulus of the heart, which have distinctive shapes, are used as the reference points for the division of the contour of the heart wall.

Next, the heart wall contour of the heart is divided into predetermined sections to define division points, and the movement distance from the corresponding division point in the reference time phase is determined for the heart wall contour for each time phase of the beating heart. Second example in which information about the moving distance for each division point section is calculated and calculated for each division point of the
Will be described as a specific example of. In this case as well, the apex and the annulus of the heart, which have distinctive features in shape, are used as the reference points for the division of the contour of the heart wall.

(Second Specific Example) Next, a second specific example will be described.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the second specific example. FIG. 15 is a block diagram of the second specific example. As shown in FIG. 15, the device of the second specific example detects a feature point on the contour, such as a cardiac apex or annulus, from the cardiac wall contour input unit 1 for inputting the cardiac wall contour information, and the cardiac wall contour. A feature point detecting unit 2 for inputting, a contour dividing unit 3 for dividing the contour of the heart wall based on the feature point position, a division point associating unit 4 for associating the division points over a plurality of temporal images, and the divided heart wall. A display unit 5 that classifies contours into regions useful for diagnosis and displays them in at least one of numerical display, graph display, and color display of heart wall, and a memory 6 that stores contour information and division point information.
And a moving distance calculating unit 7 that calculates the moving distance of each division point.

That is, the configuration of the second specific example is characterized in that a moving distance calculating unit 7 for calculating the moving distance of each division point is provided in addition to the first specific example. In addition, the display unit 5 is newly provided with a function of displaying the movement distance of the divided position of the divided heart wall contour.

The apparatus of the second specific example uses the inputted cardiac wall contours of respective time phases, that is, the cardiac wall contours of images at different time points in time series, to identify characteristic points such as an apex and annulus. The procedure is divided into a plurality of standards, and the images are associated with each other at a plurality of time phases, that is, at different points in time series.
Is the same as the specific example (steps B1 to B5 in FIG. 14).

After the heart wall contour division, in the second specific example, the movement distance from the corresponding division point in the preset reference time phase is
Calculation is performed for each division point of each time phase (step B6 in FIG. 14). This calculation is performed by the moving distance calculation unit 7. The movement distance from the corresponding division point in the reference time phase is obtained as follows.

Now, paying attention to the i-th time phase among the time phases of the beating heart, the coordinates on the image of the n-th division point of the heart wall contour line of the heart cross section at the i-th time phase. Will be written as (X, Y) = (X _{i, n} , Y _{i, n} ) ... (1). And the reference time phase is the o-th time phase,
When the time phase for calculating the moving distance is the j-th time phase, the moving distance d _{j, n} of the n-th division point is

[Equation 1]

It can be calculated by

After the movement distance is obtained according to this calculation formula, the display unit 5 next displays the heart wall contours on the image of the heart section in different colors in accordance with the calculated movement distance. (Step B7 in FIG. 14). Assuming that the hue at the position of the n-th division point of the j-th time phase is defined as C _{j, n} as in Expression (3), for example, the heart wall portion having a small movement distance is blue, and It is possible to change the color of the heart wall portion having a large movement distance, for example, to display it in red, and display it. Then, it becomes possible to intuitively grasp the motion state of the heart wall, which is very useful for understanding the motion state of the heart wall.

[0048]

[Equation 2]

However, k is a constant, and Mod (,) represents a remainder.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the moving distance is displayed in a graph for each divided contour (each contour division section) (b in FIG. 16), or the heart wall contour is classified for each part. It is also possible to calculate a statistical value of the moving distance for each of the classified heart wall contours and display the numerical value (a in FIG. 16).

By displaying numerical information in this manner, quantitative information can be obtained. For example, when the average value is calculated for each part of the contour of the heart wall as a statistic, the average value E _{j, i} of the i-th heart wall portion of the j-th time phase image is expressed by the equation (4).

[0052]

[Equation 3]

Here, N is the number of division points belonging to the i-th heart wall portion.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17, the change of the moving distance may be shown in a time series, and a graph showing the change over time may be displayed. Further, the velocity of the heart wall portion can be calculated by differentiating the moving distance with respect to time. In the ultrasonic diagnostic equipment, the velocity in the direction perpendicular to the ultrasonic beam cannot be obtained as a Doppler signal, but the above method makes it possible to obtain velocity information of the heart wall without depending on the beam direction. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 18, the contour 2 of the time phase A
From the 1 and the contour 22 of the time phase B, the positional difference between the two is calculated for each division point, and this is represented by the area on the image. If the moving area for each heart wall portion is calculated for each division point section and displayed by reflecting it on the area, it becomes possible to grasp the quality of the contraction motion of the heart for each heart wall portion, which is extremely useful as diagnostic information. Become useful.

As described above, in the second specific example, the heart wall contour of the heart is divided into predetermined sections to define division points, and the heart wall contour for each time phase of the beating heart is calculated from the corresponding division points in the reference time phase. Was calculated for each division point of each time phase, and information on the movement distance for each division point section was reflected on the image and displayed.

Next, using the Doppler information, the heart wall contour is divided into regions, velocity information based on the Doppler information is obtained for each region, and the obtained velocity information is reflected for each region of the heart wall contour. An example in which an image is displayed will be described as a third specific example.

(Third Concrete Example) Next, a third concrete example will be described.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the third concrete example,
FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram. As shown in FIG. 20, the device of the third specific example detects the feature points on the contour, such as the apex and the annulus, from the heart wall contour input unit 1 that inputs the heart wall contour information, and the heart wall contour. A feature point detecting unit 2 for inputting, a contour dividing unit 3 for dividing the contour of the heart wall based on the feature point position, a division point associating unit 4 for associating the division points over a plurality of temporal images, and the divided heart wall. A display unit 5 that classifies contours into regions useful for diagnosis and displays them in at least one of numerical display, graph display, and color display of heart wall; a memory 6 that stores contour information and division point information; It is composed of a speed information input unit 8 for inputting speed information obtained from the Doppler signal in the diagnostic device.

That is, the configuration of the third specific example is characterized in that, in addition to the first specific example, a speed information input section 8 for inputting speed information obtained from the Doppler signal in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is provided. is there. Further, the display unit 5 is additionally provided with a function of classifying the velocity information of the tissue obtained from the Doppler signal for each heart wall portion by using the divided positions of the divided heart wall contours and displaying it at the division position. To do.

The third specific example will be described below along the flow of processing.

The apparatus of the third concrete example divides the inputted heart wall contour of each time phase on the basis of the feature point positions such as the apex and the annulus. This process is the same as that of the first concrete example. The same (steps C1 to C3 in FIG. 19). In the third specific example, additionally, speed information obtained from the Doppler signal is input (step C4 in FIG. 19). That is, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus having a Doppler measurement function is used to obtain a Doppler signal of the heart, the velocity information input unit 8 obtains velocity information from this, and inputs the velocity information.

Next, using the divided positions of the divided heart wall contours, the velocity information of the tissue obtained from the Doppler signal is classified for each heart wall portion and displayed at the divided positions (step C5 in FIG. 19). This is done by the display unit 5.

The details of the display contents are as follows. As an example, a case will be described in which the left valve annulus is classified into three regions, the apex, and the apex to the right annulus.

First, a plurality of dividing points are arranged on the contour of the heart wall, and the plurality of dividing points are classified into regions in the required section unit of the contour of the heart wall. For example, the left annulus of the heart wall contour is classified into the apex, the apex to the right annulus is divided into three regions in the order of the division numbers: the base, the middle, and the apex.

Next, the speed information at the position of each division point is added up for each of the areas classified above, and the average value is calculated. The speed at the position of the n-th division point is Doppler _n
When written as, the average value E _{i for} each heart wall portion is as shown in Expression (5).

[0067]

[Equation 4]

Therefore, this average value E _i is calculated.

Then, the calculated average value in each area is displayed in the form of a graph, a numerical value, and a color display of the heart wall portion as in the second specific example (see FIG. 21).

In this way, at the reference point of the section of the contour of the heart wall,
The apex and the annulus of the heart having clear features are used as feature points, and based on this feature point, the contour of the heart wall is divided into regions, and velocity information based on Doppler information is obtained for each region. Image display is performed in which the obtained velocity information is reflected for each region of the contour of the heart wall. As a result, the velocity information of the heart wall portion will be displayed for each appropriately divided heart wall portion, and the information can be displayed in a form useful for analysis of heart function, which is useful for diagnosis of heart function. .

By the way, in the case of the method of displaying in correspondence with the velocity, if the velocity difference of the heart wall portion is small, the difference may not be well understood, and the analysis may be difficult. Then, next, the contour of the heart wall is divided into regions, velocity information based on the Doppler information is obtained for each region, the dynamic range of the obtained velocity information is obtained, and the color is changed within the range of the dynamic range. By doing so, when displaying an image that is reflected for each region of the contour of the heart wall, the display is performed by color distribution corresponding to the dynamic range of the velocity.
An example will be described as a fourth specific example in which the difference in speed between regions is made clear even if the difference in speed is small.

(Fourth Concrete Example) A fourth concrete example will be described. FIG. 22 is a flowchart of the fourth specific example, FIG.
3 is a block diagram.

As shown in FIG. 23, in the apparatus of the fourth specific example, a heart wall contour input unit 1 for inputting heart wall contour information and characteristic points on the contour such as the apex or annulus of the heart wall contour. A feature point detecting unit 2 for detecting or inputting, a contour dividing unit 3 for dividing a heart wall contour based on the feature point position, a division point associating unit 4 for associating the division points over a plurality of temporal images,
At least one of the numerical display, the graph display, and the color display of the heart wall is obtained by classifying the divided heart wall contours into regions useful for diagnosis
A display unit 5 for displaying the same, a memory 6 for storing contour information and division point information, a speed information input unit 8 for inputting speed information obtained from a Doppler signal in the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus,
It is composed of a dynamic range detecting section 9 for detecting a dynamic range and a display color assigning section 100 for assigning a display color.

That is, the configuration of the fourth specific example is characterized in that the dynamic range detecting section 9 and the display color assigning section 100 are provided in addition to the third specific example.

The details of the fourth specific example will be described below along the flow of processing.

The apparatus of the fourth specific example divides the inputted contour of the heart wall of each time phase on the basis of the feature points such as the apex and the annulus and associates the images of a plurality of time phases with each other. The procedure is the same as in the first specific example (FIG. 22, steps D1 to D5).

After the heart wall contour division, the moving distance from the corresponding division point in the preset reference time phase is calculated for each division point in each time phase. The procedure is also the first.
22 is the same as the specific example (step D6 in FIG. 22).

Next, speed information obtained from the Doppler signal is input (step D7 in FIG. 22). For example, using an ultrasonic diagnostic device with a Doppler measurement function,
This is performed by obtaining the Doppler signal of the heart, the velocity information input unit 8 obtaining the velocity information from this, and inputting the velocity information.

Next, the dynamic range detecting section 9 detects the dynamic range of the moving distance of each division point (see FIG. 2).
2 step D8). For example, the differential value D' _{j, n} of the moving distance of each division point of a plurality of time phases or one time phase is calculated, and the maximum value V _{max is} further calculated from the calculated differential values D' _{j, n.} And the minimum value V _min is calculated for detection.

V _max = max (D ' _{j, n} ) (6) V _min = min (D' _{j, n} ) (7) When such processing by the dynamic range detector 9 is completed, next, A display color is assigned between V _min and V _max (step D9 in FIG. 22). This is the display color allocation unit 1
00 does. To assign the display color, for example, the hue C _{j, n} of the display color at the position of the n-th division point of the j-th time phase image is obtained by a relational expression such as Expression (8) that is defined by the dynamic range. To be

[0081]

[Equation 5]

However, “(°)” of C _{j, n} (°) is C
_This means that _{j and n} are angle displays.

The processing of this equation (8) is performed by the display color assigning unit 1
00, the display colors can be assigned.

Finally, the display section 5 displays the speed information on the image using the assigned display color (FIG. 22).
Step D10).

By doing so, even if the velocity distribution is small, it is possible to display in many colors, which is useful for making a detailed diagnosis of the difference between the heart wall portions. In the case of the method of displaying corresponding to the velocity, if the difference in velocity of the heart wall portion is small, the difference in motion state may not be well understood, and it may be difficult to analyze. However, the fourth concrete example is Is divided into regions, the velocity information based on the Doppler information is obtained for each region, the dynamic range of the obtained velocity information is obtained, and the color is changed within the range of the dynamic range. When displaying images reflected in each area, it is possible to display by color distribution corresponding to the dynamic range of speed, and even if the speed difference is small, it is possible to display so that the difference in speed for each area becomes clear. It is possible to provide an analysis support device and an analysis support method that enable the user to clearly grasp the state when analyzing a motor function.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific examples, and various modifications can be used. In the present invention, the methods shown in FIGS. 1, 14, 19 and 22 described in the first to fourth concrete examples are magnetic disks (floppy disks, hard disks) as programs that can be executed by a computer. Etc.), optical disc (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.),
It can also be distributed by being stored in a recording medium such as a semiconductor memory.

[0087]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the analysis of a plurality of time phase images of the motion state of the heart wall, the heart wall portions can be appropriately associated with each other among the time phases. By using the obtained division of the contour of the heart wall to classify the heart wall region by a method suitable for diagnosis, it becomes possible to display information useful for analysis. It is possible to provide a cardiac function analysis support device that can expect an effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the present invention, which is a flowchart for explaining a flow of processing of a first concrete example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a centerline method.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a centerline method.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a graph used for wall motion evaluation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a centerline method.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of an input contour in the first specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of feature point detection in the first specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of contour division in the first specific example of the present invention.

[Fig. 10] Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the present invention, and is an explanatory diagram of correlating heart wall contours among a plurality of time phases in the first specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of a display method in the first example of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of a display method in the first specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the present invention, which is a diagram for explaining an application example of the first specific example of the present invention to a short-axis image of the heart.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the present invention, which is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing of the second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of a display method in the second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the present invention, which is an explanatory diagram of a speed change display method in the second example of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is an explanatory diagram of a moving area in the second specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing of the third example of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a third specific example of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and an explanatory diagram of a display method in the third example of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining the present invention, which is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing in the fourth example of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining the present invention and is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a fourth specific example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Heart wall contour input section 2 ... Feature point detector 3 ... Contour division section 4 division point associating unit 5 ... Display 6 ... Memory 7 ... Moving distance calculation unit 8 ... Speed information input section 9 ... Dynamic range calculator 10 ... End diastolic contour 11 ... Center line 12 ... End-systolic contour 13 ... Dividing line 14 ... Valve part 15 ... Apex 20 ... Heart wall contour 21 ... Characteristic points 22 ... Dividing point 23 ... Outline of time phase A 24 ... Outline of time phase B 25 ... Heart wall 26 ... Amount of heart wall movement 27 ... Moving area 28 ... Velocity of heart wall movement 29 ... Papillary muscle 30 ... Left ventricle 31 ... Right chamber 100 ... Display color allocation section

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Mayumi Yuasa 1-1-30 Oyodochu, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka In-house Toshiba Kansai Branch (56) Reference JP-A-2-36837 (JP, A) JP-A 4-270983 (JP, A) JP-A-5-261095 (JP, A) JP-A-6-114059 (JP, A) JP-A-8-19540 (JP, A) JP-A-8-117236 (JP, A) JP-A-9-253085 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A61B 8 / 00-8 / 15

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heart wall ring from each heart image obtained in time series.
Based on the feature points that have a certain structural feature of the heart
At least one division point is defined, and the heart wall contour of each heart image is defined.
Means for dividing at the dividing points and the dividing points at other heart contours at different time points.
To calculate the wall motion based on the distance between the associated division points.
Cardiac function analysis support apparatus characterized by comprising a Mel means. 2. The cardiac function analysis support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic point is at least one of a valve annulus portion of a heart, an apex portion, or a papillary muscle. 3. The means for obtaining the heart wall motion classifies the divided heart wall contours for each position of the heart wall, and at least the adjacent contours of the classified heart wall contours are The cardiac function analysis support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for displaying in different colors or different intensities. 4. A means for obtaining a heart wall contour by extracting a heart wall contour from each heart image obtained in a time series, and each of the obtained heart muscle points on the basis of points having predetermined structural features of the heart. A means for dividing a heart wall contour in a heart image, and an image at a reference time point is set from among the plurality of heart images that are different in time series, and each divided region of the heart wall contour of the different images in time series or For each division point, means for obtaining the movement amount from the corresponding division area of the heart image or each division point at the reference time point, and the calculated movement amount are displayed numerically, graphically, and on the color of the heart wall. A means for displaying at least one of the displays, and a cardiac function analysis support device.