JP2001070298A - Image display device and imge display method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently search a desirable image in a short time while reducing the housing capacity of multiple pieces of image data. SOLUTION: Multiple pieces of image data 20 having continuity are sorted into a first image data (skip data) 23 selected per every preset number and a second image data (non-skip data) 24 except for the skip data. The skip data 23 is housed in a magnetic disk 73 without compressing it, and the non-skip date 24 is compressed and housed in the magnetic disk 73. Housing capacity is thereby reduced. A desirable image can be broadly searched by displaying image on the basis of the skip data 23, and thereafter, the non-skip data 24 is thawed, and the image is selectively displayed on the basis of the thawed data so as to search a desirable data in detail.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image display apparatus and method, and more particularly, to an X-ray CT apparatus, a cone beam CT apparatus,
The present invention relates to an image display device and a method for storing an image having a large number of images obtained by an MRI apparatus or the like and having a small change in a feature amount of image data, and searching for and displaying a desired image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an X-ray CT apparatus, a cone beam CT
A tomographic image of a subject can be obtained by an apparatus, an MRI apparatus, or the like. For example, a subject is irradiated with a cone-shaped X-ray beam, and the transmitted X-ray is projected as projection data from multiple directions by a two-dimensional sensor. In a cone beam CT apparatus that collects and reconstructs a tomographic image or the like (referred to as “cone beam reconstruction”),
In one scan, for example, 512 image matrices 51
A 2 × 512 tomographic (also called an axial image) image having a data length of 2 bytes can be obtained.

That is, the data amount of a tomographic image in one scan is 512 × 512 × 2 × 512 (sheets) = 256 megabytes (A).
When reconstructing a sagittal image and a coronal image, the data amount is (A) × 3.

In a conventional image display apparatus, all data amounts ((A) .times.3) are stored on a magnetic disk, and when displaying an image, each image is read out from the magnetic disk and displayed. .

[0005]

However, in the conventional image display apparatus, 768 pixels are required by cone beam reconstruction.
Since a huge amount of image data of megabytes can be obtained, a large-capacity medium is required when storing the image data on a medium such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a mini disk, and a CD-ROM. On the other hand, the storage capacity can be reduced by compressing the image data, but in this case, since it is necessary to expand the compressed image data, it takes time to display the image. There's a problem.

Further, when displaying these images on a CRT monitor and diagnosing them, it is a great task for the operator to search for an image of a desired part from a huge amount of images with little change in the characteristic amount of data. There was also.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an image display apparatus capable of reducing the storage capacity of a large number of image data and efficiently searching for a desired image in a short time. And a method.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image display apparatus, comprising: a plurality of pieces of tomographic data which are set in a predetermined direction on a subject; First image data every other number of images
A data storage for storing the first image data without compression processing and storing the second image data after compression processing while distinguishing the second image data from the second image data excluding the first image data. Means from the data storage means to the first
A first display control means for reading out the image data of the second image data and controlling the display by the image display means, and reading the second image data from the storage medium based on the displayed first image data; And a second display control means for restoring the image data and controlling the display by the image display means.

Further, the image display method according to claim 2 of the present invention is characterized in that, among a large number of pieces of tomographic data continuous in a predetermined direction set on the subject, first image data of every predetermined number of images are provided; Distinguishing the first image data from the second image data excluding the first image data;
Storing the image data without compression processing and storing the second image data after compression processing;
(A) searching for a first desired image by sequentially reading out the image data of (a), and displaying the second image data from the storage medium based on the displayed first image data. Restoring the second image data; and searching for a second desired image by selectively displaying the first image data and the second image data on the image display means. When,
It is characterized by including.

That is, according to the present invention, a plurality of pieces of tomographic data that are continuous in a predetermined direction are selected at every predetermined number of images, such as every fifth image, every tenth image, and the like. The first image data is distinguished from the second image data except for the first image data, the first image data is stored without compression, and the second image data is compressed and stored. Thereby, the storage capacity of the image data can be reduced.

Further, by displaying (skip-displaying) the image based on the first image data for every predetermined number of images, a desired image can be searched for in a short time. That is, since the first image data is image data for every predetermined number of images, it is possible to perform a high-speed search for a large number of image data, roughly. Since the first image data is not subjected to the compression processing, the time until the image is displayed is short, and the displayed image can be updated quickly.

When the position of a desired image is roughly grasped on the basis of the first image data, second image data, which is tomographic data before and after the grasped position, is read from a storage medium, and the second image data is read. Of the image data. By displaying an image based on the restored second image data, a desired image can be searched for in detail.

When skip display is performed based on the first image data, an image between the currently skipped image and the next image to be skipped is displayed based on the second image data. You may make it display continuously.

[0014]

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

The data storage means according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, the image data stored by the data storage means is the medical image data of the cone beam image described in the background art, and the number of image data in one file is 512. The storage medium is the magnetic disk 73.

First, out of the 512 pieces of image data, every predetermined number of pieces of image data (data to be skipped)
To determine. FIG. 1 shows a screen of the CRT monitor 75 when determining data to be skipped. As shown in the figure, the display unit 10 of the CRT monitor 75 displays the contents of image data, and the display unit 11 displays the total number of data.

Using this screen, the number of data to be skipped in the on-screen interactive mode is set such as every other data, every two data, every third data,... This setting is performed by using the arrow button 14a with the mouse 76 (see FIG. 7),
This is performed by clicking on the number 14b and increasing / decreasing the number in the skip number display section 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, "2" is displayed on the skip number display section 14, and data to be skipped is two.
It is set as data for every other sheet. In addition, since data to be skipped is set every two sheets, the number of skip data (first image data) is calculated as 170, and the number of data not skipped (second image data) is calculated as 342,
The number of each data is displayed on the display units 12 and 13. If the setting is not good, click the cancel button 16 and set again.

When the OK button 15 is clicked, only the data that is not skipped is compressed, and the skipped data and the data that is not skipped are stored on the magnetic disk 73. A general compression method such as run-length compression, Huffman code compression, differential compression, and JPEG compression can be applied to the data that is not skipped.

The data stored in the magnetic disk 73 will be described with reference to FIG. The 512 pieces of image data 20 obtained by reconstructing the projection data collected by the cone beam CT apparatus are temporarily stored on the magnetic disk 73.
According to the above-described method, the skip data is set as data for every other two sheets.
1c is skip data. This skip data 21
Data not designated as a to 21c are data 22a to 22c that are not skipped. For example, the data 22b that is not skipped is the skip data 21a and 21b.
Between. The data 22a to 22 which are not skipped
c is subjected to compression processing. As storage methods, skip data (uncompressed) 23 and non-skipped data (compressed) 2
4 may be stored in two files, or may be stored in the same file as shown in FIG. In any case, the storage capacity of the image data is reduced.

Next, the display control means according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The display unit 30 in the screen of the CRT monitor 75 shown in FIG. 3 displays an image management table managed for each patient. Here, an image to be displayed is selected. The total number of data of the selected image is displayed on the display unit 31.

Subsequently, the display mode at the time of display is selected. One of the skip display mode button 32 and the normal display mode button 33 to be displayed by the display control means according to the present invention is selected. When the skip display mode button 32 is selected and the OK button 34 is clicked, the CRT monitor 7
The screen of No. 5 is as shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, an image is displayed on the display unit 40. Further, the total number of data, the number of skipped data, and the number of data not skipped related to this image are displayed on the display units 41, 42, and 43, respectively.

When the skip data display button 44 is clicked, an image is displayed on the display unit 40 based on the skip data. When the non-skipped data display button 47 is clicked, an image is displayed on the display unit 40 based on the data that is not skipped. You. Further, the positions of the image currently displayed on the display unit 40 are displayed on the display units 45 and 48. Reference numerals 46 and 49 denote scroll bars for inputting image positions.
6 (see FIG. 7), the position of the image to be displayed can be adjusted, and the arrow buttons 46b, 46c, 49b, and 4b of the scroll bars 46 and 49 can be adjusted.
The position of the image to be displayed can also be adjusted by clicking on 9c.

When a desired image is searched for on a screen having such a display function, by clicking the skip data display button 44, the skip data 23 stored in the magnetic disk 73 is loaded into the display memory, and An image is displayed on the display unit 40 of the CRT monitor 75 based on the skip data.

Reference numerals 46 and 49 denote scroll bars 46.
By dragging the knob 46a with the mouse or clicking the arrow buttons 46b and 46c with the mouse, the display position of the image is changed, and the approximate position of the desired image is grasped.

Subsequently, based on the data that is not skipped, the images before and after the searched rough image position are displayed. That is, when the non-skipped data display button 47 is clicked, the non-skipped data before and after the skipped data position displayed on the display unit 45 among the non-skipped data 24 stored on the magnetic disk 73 is displayed on the high-speed computer 72. (See FIG. 7), where the decompression process is performed. The decompressed data that is not skipped is loaded into the display memory 74, and an image corresponding to the data that is not skipped is displayed on the display unit 40 of the CRT monitor 75.

In this embodiment, skip data is selected every two sheets. If, for example, "150" is displayed on the display section 45 of the CRT monitor 75 in FIG. 4, data that is not skipped is "150". ”And two before and two after. In this way, by displaying the images corresponding to the skipped data and the data that is not skipped separately, it is possible to quickly search for a desired part. still,
When the data display button 47 that is not skipped is clicked, an image is displayed on the display unit 4 based on the data that is not skipped.
When the knob 49a and the arrow buttons 49b and 49c are operated so that "0" is displayed on the display unit 48, the skip data of the position currently displayed on the display unit 45 is displayed. Is displayed on the display unit 40.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for storing data according to the present invention. First, image data to be stored in the magnetic disk 73 is selected (step S50). The interval at which skip data is set for the selected image data is input (step S51). O
Until the K button is clicked (step S52), the skip number is not determined, and the process of step S51 is repeated.

When the OK button is clicked in step S52 and the number of skips is determined, the number of skipped data and the number of data not skipped are determined (step S53).
For data that is not skipped, the data is subjected to compression processing (step S54). Then, the skip data and the data not skipped are stored in the magnetic disk 73 (step S55).

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for displaying image data stored by the method of FIG.

When the skip data display button 44 (see FIG. 4) is clicked in the skip display mode and a skip display is instructed (step S60), an image is displayed based on the skip data (step S61). Then, the skip data is updated until the desired image is displayed (step S62), and the position of the image to be displayed is adjusted. The position of the image to be displayed is adjusted by operating the knob 46a of the scroll bar 46 and the arrow buttons 46b and 46c (see FIG. 4).

When a desired image is roughly searched based on the skip data, in order to know further details, an image corresponding to data before and after the skip data is displayed.
The non-skipped data display button 47 (see FIG. 4) is clicked, and an instruction to display an image based on the non-skipped data is issued (step S63). In accordance with this instruction, data that is not skipped before and after the skip data position is decompressed (step S64). Then, an image is displayed based on the decompressed data that is not skipped (step S65). The adjustment of the position of the image based on the data that is not skipped is performed by operating the knob 49a of the scroll bar 49 and the arrow buttons 49b and 49c (see FIG. 4).

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image display device according to the present invention. This image display device records and displays medical image data collected for a target part of a subject by, for example, a cone beam CT device. The central processing unit (CP) controls the operation of each component.
U) 70, a main memory 71 storing a control program of the apparatus, a high-speed computer 72 for performing various calculations, and a magnetic disk 7 storing a plurality of image data and programs.
3 and a display memory 7 for temporarily storing image data for display
4, a CRT monitor 75 as a display device for displaying an image based on the image data from the display memory 74,
A mouse 76 as a position input device, a mouse controller 77 that detects the state of the mouse 76 and outputs signals such as the position of the mouse pointer on the CRT monitor 75 and the state of the mouse 76 to the CPU 70, and various operation commands. It comprises a keyboard 78 for inputting and a common bus 79 for connecting the above-mentioned components.

In this embodiment, the cone beam C
A case has been described in which a plurality of medical image data having continuity obtained by a T device or the like are stored and a desired medical image is searched for from a large number of medical images. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to the case where each frame image having continuity photographed by the above method is stored, and a desired frame image is searched from the stored many frame images.
In this embodiment, the skip number can be set arbitrarily. However, the skip number may be set to a fixed value.

Furthermore, when skip display is instructed, a non-skip image between the image currently skip-displayed and the next image to be skip-displayed may be displayed continuously based on data that is not skipped. .

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first image data (skip data) in which a large number of continuous image data are selected every predetermined number of images.
And the second image data (data not skipped) excluding the first image data. The skip data is stored in the storage medium without compression, and the data not skipped is compressed and stored in the storage medium. Since the data is stored, the storage capacity can be reduced. In addition, by skipping an image based on the skip data, a desired image can be searched for in a short time. Since the skip data is image data for every predetermined number of sheets, it is possible to perform a high-speed search for a large number of image data although roughly. Also, since the skip data is not compressed, the time required to display the image is short, and the displayed image can be updated quickly.

When the position of the desired image is roughly grasped on the basis of the skip data, the data which is not skipped before and after the grasped position is read out from the storage medium and decompressed. By displaying an image based on the image, a desired image can be searched for in detail. That is, a desired image can be efficiently searched in a short time by displaying an image by properly using skip data and data that is not skipped.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a screen of a CRT monitor used for explaining selection of a storage format of image data.

FIG. 2 is a diagram used to explain a method of storing image data in a magnetic disk;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a screen of a CRT monitor used for explaining selection of an image display mode;

FIG. 4 is a CR for displaying an image in a skip display mode.
The figure which shows the screen of T monitor

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for storing image data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for displaying an image based on stored image data.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image display device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

14: skip number display area, 21a, 21b, 21c: skip data in image data, 22a, 22b, 22c
... Data not skipped in image data, 23... Skipped data, 24... Data not skipped, 32... Skip display mode button, 40.
Skip data display button, 46, 49 ... scroll bar for inputting image position, 46a, 49a ... knob, 46b,
46c, 49b, 49c: arrow buttons, 47: data display buttons that are not skipped, 70: CPU, 71: main memory, 72: high-speed computer, 73: magnetic disk, 74:
Display memory, 75: CRT monitor, 76: mouse, 77
... controller, 78 ... keyboard, 79 ... common bus

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/92 A61B 5/05 380 5C054 7/18 H04N 5/92 H 5C082 // G06T 1/00 G06F 15 / 62 390B (72) Inventor Hiroshi Takagi 1-1-1 Uchikanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo F-term in Hitachi Medical Corporation 4C093 CA30 CA32 FA35 FH01 FH04 FH09 4C096 AB19 AB27 AB42 DE01 DE04 DE08 DE09 5B057 AA09 BA03 CE08 CH12 DA16 5C052 AA01 AB04 AC08 CC11 DD04 DD05 EE02 EE03 5C053 FA23 GB21 HA29 KA03 KA05 KA24 LA06 5C054 AA01 AA06 CA02 CA07 CA08 EA05 EA07 EG09 FD05 GA01 CA01 GB01 GD07 GD09 A04A02A37 DA87 MM09

Claims (2)

[Claims] A first image data of a predetermined number of images out of a plurality of pieces of tomographic data continuous in a predetermined direction set on a subject; and a second image data excluding the first image data. Data storage means for storing the first image data without compression processing, and compressing and storing the second image data; and A first display control means for reading out the image data of the second image data and controlling the display by the image display means; reading the second image data from the storage medium based on the displayed first image data; And a second display control means for restoring the image data and controlling the display by the image display means. 2. A plurality of pieces of tomographic data continuous in a predetermined direction set on a subject, a first image data having a predetermined number of images and a second image data excluding the first image data. Storing the first image data that has been distinguished without compression processing, and compressing and storing the second image data; and storing the stored first image data. Searching for a first desired image by sequentially reading data and displaying it on an image display means; reading second image data from the storage medium based on the displayed first image data; Restoring second image data; searching for a second desired image by selectively displaying the first image data and the second image data on the image display means; Including Image display method, characterized in that.