JP2003260059A - Imaging diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis and cardiac function analysis method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve an appropriate smoothing using a filter by always accurately determining the size of the filter provided for smoothing which is applied for cardiac contour data. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis has a center line method analysis unit 21 which analyzes cardiac functions based on the center line method using telediastolic and telesystolic cardiac contours generated from ventricular images of the heart of a subject. The analysis unit 21 has an ED cardiac contour righ-angle line generation part 22. The generation part 22 has a means which draws a right-angle line orthogonal to the telediastolic cardiac contour while extending to the telesystolic cardiac contour from each of equally divided points on the telediastolic cardiac contour and the means determines the length of the major axis of the cardiac contour and the smoothing with a filter size proportional to the length of the major axis obtained is applied for the data of the cardiac contour. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image diagnostic device for cardiac function analysis and a cardiac function analyzing method for analyzing a cardiac contour image, and more particularly to a method capable of quantitatively analyzing a local motion state of a ventricle wall. The present invention relates to an image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis and a cardiac function analysis method that employs one centerline method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to diagnose a heart function by examining a local motion state of a ventricle wall, a qualitative method of comparatively observing heart images taken in various functional states has been used. However, since many subjective factors intervene in this comparative observation method, various quantitative analysis methods have been proposed for the purpose of eliminating this subjective factor. As one of the quantitative analysis methods, there is a centerline method as shown in Patent Document 1. This centerline method has been evaluated as being capable of producing clinically effective results and is widely used.

Here, a specific analysis process based on the centerline method will be described in detail based on the following steps (1) to (6).

(1): From the image of the heart to the end diastole (hereinafter,
ED: End-distole) and end systole (hereinafter E)
S: End-systole) heart contour image is obtained, and both images are superimposed on the same plane (see FIG. 1: symbol ED indicates ED heart contour, and symbol ES indicates ES heart contour, respectively). The same applies to the following figures). This superimposing is performed by, for example, ED and ES from a continuously superimposed cardiac image.
ED image and E captured separately
After obtaining the ED and ES heart contours from the S image, the two contours are placed on the same plane with the long axis LA connecting the midpoint of the aortic valve portion and the apex of the apex of both images being matched. Done by.

(2): The contour of the ED heart contour excluding the aortic valve portion is equally divided into 100 equal parts EQ. ． ． The EQ is determined, and a straight line PE orthogonal to the ED heart contour (hereinafter, referred to as a “right angle line”) is drawn from each equal point EQ to the ES heart contour (see FIG. 2).

At this step, there are several methods for determining the direction perpendicular to the ED core contour. For example, a method of determining the direction perpendicular to the tangent line at each of the equal points of a circle passing through each of the equal points EQ and its two adjacent equal points, or from each equal point EQ to adjacent 20 equal points There is a method of deciding the direction obtained by averaging the above directions as the above direction.

The right-angled line PE is sequentially drawn from one end to the other end of the aortic valve portion having the ED heart contour, while making a round of the ED image in the clockwise direction, for example.

In this center line method, a right angle line P
E. ． ． Since each PE is regarded as a locus of contraction of each part of the heart, the right-angled PEs must always end in the ES heart contour, and the intersection of right-angled PEs is not allowed due to its physical meaning. . Furthermore, the ventricular wall cannot contract to the aortic valve. In order to comply with these conditions and prohibited items, the following processes (2a) to (2c) are performed.

(2a): Right-angled line PE at a certain equal point EQ
Reaches the aortic valve of the ES heart contour (see the dotted line in FIG. 3), the orthogonal line PE is not drawn and the process proceeds to the next equally divided point.

(2b): the n + 1th equal point EQ _{n + 1}
If the right-angled line PE _{n + 1} drawn by does not reach the ES core contour (see the dotted line in FIG. 4), and the n + 1th equal point EQ
_The right-angled line PE _{n + 1} drawn by _{n + 1} is the previous equidistant point E.
When intersecting the drawn right angle line PEn in Q _n (see FIG. 5), both the equally divided points _{EQ n + 1} of the previous aliquot point E
The line PE _{n + 1} * is drawn up to the intersection f of the right-angled line PE _n drawn by Qn and the ES core contour to substitute for the right-angled line PE _{n + 1} .

(2c): When the right-angled line PEn intersects the long axis LA of the ED core contour (see the dotted line in FIG. 6), this long axis L
Pull the lines PEn * toward the intersection g of A and ES-centered contour causes a substitution of a right line PE _n (see foregoing Patent Document 1 (KOKOKU 5-1015 discloses)).

(3): Perpendicular line PE drawn in step (2). ． ． The midpoint MD of each PE. ． ． Decide MD,
Those midpoint MD. ． ． Draw a center line CL connecting the MDs (see FIG. 7).

(4): Equidistant point EP. Which divides the center line CL excluding the aortic valve portion into 100 equal parts. ． ． EP is determined, and a straight line CT (hereinafter, referred to as "contraction line") orthogonal to the center line CL at the position of each equal point EP of the center line CL is drawn from the ED heart contour to the ES heart contour ( (See FIG. 8).

This step (4) is performed in the same manner as the step (2). That is, by the same method as in step (2), the right angle direction on the center line CL is determined, and the contraction line CT is drawn from one end of the center line CL to the other end while going around the center line CL. At this time, the same processing as (2a) to (2c) is also performed. However, from the equal point EP _{n + 1} on the center line CL to ED
When drawing the contraction line CT _{n +1} toward the contour of the heart, the contraction line CT _{n + 1} is the contraction line C drawn from the previous equally dividing point n.
No check is made to see if it intersects T _n . The reason is that the distance between the contraction lines usually expands from the center line CL toward the ED core contour.

(5): Contraction line CT. Drawn in step (4). ． ． Each CT has a number in the clockwise direction ("CHO
RD NO. ") Is added to the sequence (see FIG. 9), and the line length of each contraction line CT is measured. Furthermore, each measured line length is normalized by the length Lout of the portion where the contraction line of the ED core contour is drawn. At this time, a positive sign is given if the ED heart contour corresponds to a portion outside the ES heart contour, and a negative sign is given otherwise. The contraction rate is normalized in this way (see FIG. 10).

(6): A graph showing the local motion state of the ventricle wall, with the horizontal axis and the vertical axis representing the number given in step (5) (referred to as "CHORD NO.") And the measured contraction rate, respectively. Are created (see FIG. 11). Further, recently, in the graph A, an average value B for a normal heart contraction (normal case) and a standard deviation C for the average value of the normal case are shown.
1 and C2 are overlapped and displayed, and a part with good contraction or a part with poor contraction is determined based on these curves.
Further, in the example of FIG. 11, the cardiac function graph A to be analyzed is located below the mean value B and the standard deviations C1 and C2, that is, CHORD NO. In the portions 15 to 55, the movement is small, while the portions located above the average value B and the standard deviations C1 and C2, that is, CH
ORDNO. The parts of 65 to 85 have large movements, and these parts are diagnosed as abnormal parts.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing a value SD obtained by normalizing the difference between the cardiac function graph A and the normal case average B by the standard deviation. That is, if the above i-th value is SDi,

[Equation 1] Becomes Here, L _i is the contraction rate of the _i- th contraction line CT,
M _i is the contraction rate of the _i-th contraction line CT in the normal case average B, and NSD _i is the i-th contraction line C in the normal case average B.
The standard deviation of T is shown. The part with a large absolute value in the curve of FIG. 12 corresponds to the abnormal part in FIG.

Data useful for diagnosis can be obtained from these analysis results. Especially as information necessary for diagnosis,
It is whether or not there is a part where the contraction is smaller than the normal contraction of the heart (that is, the part where the graph in FIG. 12 is largely biased in the negative direction). This is because that part may be infarcted and may indicate coronary artery disease. In particular, as a criterion for determining the presence / absence of coronary artery disease, the presence / absence of a region whose value in FIG. 12 is −2 or less can be mentioned. Therefore, for example, the number of shrinkage lines whose value in FIG. 12 is -1 or less and its average value, the number of shrinkage lines of -2 or less and their average value, the number of shrinkage lines of -3 or less and their average value are diagnostic materials. May be provided as.

As described above, the analysis results obtained by the centerline method provide useful information for cardiac function diagnosis by comparatively observing the movement of each part of the heart and comparing it with the graph of a normal case. can do.

Next, an example of the configuration of an image diagnostic apparatus for independently implementing the above-described centerline method will be described.

FIG. 13 shows an overall system block diagram of such an image diagnostic apparatus. As shown in the figure, this image diagnostic apparatus has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 3, and a graphic memory 4. These are connected to a main CPU (central processing unit) 8 via a control bus 7 and controlled by the CPU 8.

The ED heart contour data and the ES heart contour data are supplied from the heart contour data storage unit 1. In addition, data regarding a normal heart contraction (normal example) from the normal case data storage unit 2, that is, each contraction line C in the normal case.
The average contraction rate L _{i of} T (i = 1 to 100) and the standard deviation NSD _i (i = 1 to 100) of each contraction line CT are supplied. The heart contour data and normal case data are sent to the centerline method analysis unit 3 under the control of the CPU 8 and analyzed based on the centerline method. The analysis result is drawn in the graphic memory 4, D / A converted by the D / A converter 5, and displayed on the monitor 6.

A system block diagram of the centerline method analysis unit 3 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the analysis unit 3 includes an ED / E in addition to the image memory 9.
S-core contour superimposing section 10, ED-core contour right-angle line creating section 1
1, a center line creation unit 12, a shrinkage line creation unit 13, a shrinkage rate analysis unit 14, and an analysis result graph creation unit 15. Each of these units 10 to 15 is configured by software processing by a CPU, for example, and the processes of steps (1) to (6) described above are sequentially processed using the image memory 9. That is, the ED / ES core contour superimposing unit 10
Then, the process of step (1) is performed, the process of step (2) is performed by the ED core contour perpendicular line creation unit 11, the process of step (3) is performed by the center line creation unit 12, and the contraction line creation unit 13 is performed.
Then, the process of step (4) is performed, the contraction rate analysis unit 14 performs the process of step (5), and the analysis result graph creation unit 1
In step 5, the process of step (6) is performed.

Here, the configuration and operation of each unit and each unit will be described in detail.

First, the heart contour data storage unit 1 uses E
The D and ES heart contour data can be input based on a command from the CPU 8. This heart contour data is obtained as ROI data from a heart image obtained as a digital image by automatic heart contour extraction processing or manual tracing.
The format of the ROI data is, for example, a series of point coordinates (X, Y) on the heart contour on the image as shown in FIG. 15, and position coordinates and long axis of both ends of the aortic valve of the heart as shown in FIG. The position coordinates of both ends are added. This ROI data has a different positional relationship on the screen depending on the image size of the original image. For example, 1024
² images, even ROI of the same size and shape on 512 ² image, the coordinate data of 1024 ² image twice the coordinate data 512 ² images. Therefore, the ED and ES heart contours are always obtained with the same image size.

The heart contour superimposing section 10 performs the processing based on step (1). Specifically, the ES heart contour data is affine-transformed so that the long axis LA connecting the midpoint of the aortic valve portion of the ED / ES bilateral heart contour image and the apex of the apex is matched.

Further, the ED core contour right-angled line creating section 11 performs the process of step (2) in the following manner, for example.

First, smoothing processing is performed on the ED / ES both-heart contour data, and the both-heart contour is written in the image memory 9 based on the data. As a smoothing method at this time, for example, simple smoothing for each of the X and Y coordinates of the point of interest in the ROI data and the points before and after the point of interest, a total of three points, is useful. Also, smoothing can be performed by a hardware configuration and a processing method as disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example.

Next, the ED heart contour is recognized as a direction data string while searching the flag of the ED heart contour, the length of the contour is obtained from the direction data string, and the length is equally divided to obtain the above-mentioned equal division. Point EQ. ． ． EQ is determined, and further equal points EQ. ． ． Find the vertical direction of the contour in EQ.
This will be illustrated with reference to FIGS.

For example, FIG. 1 shows eight directions centering on the point of interest.
If defined as the numerical data shown in FIG. 7, the direction data string is (1, 0, 0, 1,
0, 0, 1, 1, 2, 2). Further, the unit length of the contour when the contours are connected in each direction is defined as shown in FIG. 19 (the pixel ratio in the x and y directions is 1: α), and the length of the contour shown in FIG. 18 is L. Then,

The Equation 2] L = 1 × 4 + α × 2 + (1 + a 2) 1/2 × 4. If this contour is divided into two equal parts, the position corresponding to the length of L / 2 becomes the equal dividing point. Here, if α = 1,

[Equation 3] L / 2 = 3 + 2 × 2 ^1/2 , and the sixth contour point A counted from the start point is the equal point EQ.
Corresponding to.

As a method of obtaining the vertical direction, the equal point E
For example, the position of two points deviated by two contour points is obtained from Q = A, and the vertical vector of the vector connecting the two points is obtained. That is, the unit vector in the vertical direction at the equal point A is

## EQU4 ## (-3/5, 4/5). As a result, a search is performed on the image memory 9 until the ES heart contour flag is found in the direction of the vertical vector obtained by the above method from the equally divided points of the ED heart contour. At that time, the steps (2a) to (2
The process of c) is performed.

In this way, the contour length, the equally divided points, and the right-angled direction can be obtained from the direction data string indicating the heart contour, but in this case, the heart contour needs to have a smooth shape. That is, sharp protrusions such as shown in FIG.
This is called a "branch") must not exist. Therefore, as described above, smoothing is applied to the heart contour data in advance to eliminate the branch as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, the center line creating section 12 performs the process of step (3). That is, the midpoint of each right-angled line PE obtained by the ED-core contour right-angled line creation unit 11 is obtained. The center line CL is obtained as continuous ROI data of the coordinates (X, Y) of the midpoint (see FIG. 21). This RO
The center line CL is drawn on the image memory 9 using the I data.

The contraction line creating unit 13 performs the process of step (4), and creates it in the same manner as the process in the ED core contour right angle line creating unit 10.

The contraction rate analyzing unit 14 obtains the contraction rate based on step (5).

Based on step (6), the analysis result graph creation unit 15 creates the analysis result graph information from the shrinkage ratio determined by the shrinkage ratio analysis unit 14 and the normal case data supplied from the normal case data storage unit 2. , Draws the graph information in the graphic memory 4.

[0037]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-1015

[0038]

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-163680

[0039]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has various problems to be solved as described below.

[1]: The ED and ES cardiac contour images used in this analysis are usually two images selected from one cut of moving images, or two still images obtained in one examination. Created from images. The heart contour images of the ED image and ES image are
The images must be from the same examination on the same patient. Further, there is a possibility that it is created from an image that has undergone image processing such as image enlargement / rotation, but even in that case, the image must be the same image processed. However,
It is impossible to make the above determination from the heart contour image itself, and in many cases, the present state of the art apparatus allows analysis regardless of whether or not the above conditions are satisfied. Therefore, for example, when data is read from the cardiac contour data storage unit, even if the cardiac contour images of the ED and ES are of different patients due to an operation error or the like, this cannot be recognized and analyzed. Therefore, the reliability of the analysis results may be questioned.

[2]: In the current X-ray diagnostic apparatus, one of the two images selected from the one-cut moving image as the image for obtaining the cardiac contours of ED and ES is selected in advance as the still image. It is possible to save and store the heart contour using an image directly selected from the still image and the moving image. However, when the image is saved as a still image, the image size may be converted, and the image size to be used for creating the ED and ES heart contours may be different.
Therefore, the coordinate correspondence of the heart contour data in the data format as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 is deviated, so that the analysis cannot be performed and the heart contour data having the same image size has to be reselected.

[3]: Further, in the above-mentioned conventional centerline method, at the stage of step (2) executed by the ED heart contour right-angled line creating unit 11, processing for smoothing the heart contour is performed in advance. There are the following problems with this.

[3a]: When smoothing the heart contour data, if the filter size is not appropriate, the smoothing degree is too weak to remove the branch as shown in FIG. 20, or conversely the smoothing degree. May be too strong and destroy the original shape of the contour, but there has been no proposal in the past for determining the filter size. Inevitably, the filter size is appropriately determined in advance, but in that case, there is no guarantee that appropriate filtering will be performed due to individual differences among patients.

[3b]: In order to perform smoothing with the hardware configuration and method as shown in the invention described in Patent Document 2 described above, dedicated hardware is required, the system becomes complicated, and the cost becomes high. .

[4]: In the conventional centerline method, in the step (4) executed by the contraction line creating unit 13, the above [3} is performed with respect to the smoothing of the centerline.
There is a similar problem with.

[5]: When drawing the contraction line CT _{n + 1} from the equal point EP _{n + 1} on the center line CL toward the ED heart contour at the step (4) in the conventional centerline method, it is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 23, the ED core contour is locally dented inward.
ED locally when the D and ES contours are superimposed
When the heart contour is inside the ES heart contour, the contraction line CT _{n + 1} may intersect with the contraction line CTn drawn from the previous equal division point EP _n . When they intersect, it is naturally analyzed with a portion that violates the principle of the centerline method, and highly accurate analysis results cannot be expected.

[6]: In the cardiac function diagnosis using the analysis result of the centerline method, the contraction is smaller than the normal contraction of the heart in recent years, and there is a possibility of infarction due to coronary artery disease (that is, abnormal). ) There is a strong demand to know at a glance which part of the heart exists, how large it is, and how abnormal it is. It cannot be said that it clearly shows the position, the size, or the anomaly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In particular, when smoothing the heart contour data and the center line, the size of the filter to be used for smoothing can always be accurately determined. The purpose is to be able to apply appropriate smoothing using the filter of.

[0049]

In order to achieve the above object, an image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis according to the present invention has, as one aspect thereof, an end diastolic cardiac contour created from a ventricle image of a heart of a subject. And means for superimposing end systolic heart contours on the same screen, and means for drawing a right-angle line from each of the equidistant points on the end diastolic heart contour to the end diastolic heart contour and to the end systolic heart contour. A means for obtaining a center line passing through the respective midpoints of the right-angled lines, and a plurality of orthogonal points with the center line passing through the equally dividing points at the respective equally dividing points on the center line and between the two contours. An image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis based on the centerline method, which has a means for drawing a contraction line and a means for obtaining a local motion state of the heart based on the line length of each of the plurality of contraction lines. Long axis length Determined, and characterized mainly in that a means for performing the smoothing filter size in proportion to the length of the thus determined length axis data of the heart contour.

According to another aspect of the image diagnosis apparatus for cardiac function analysis of the present invention, in the image diagnosis apparatus for cardiac function analysis based on the same centerline method as described above, both end points of the centerline are connected. Obtaining the length of the line segment between the intersection of the line segment and the long axis of the heart contour and the intersection of the center line and the long axis of the heart contour, smoothing the filter size in proportion to the obtained length of the line segment. It is characterized in that means for applying to the data of the center line is provided.

On the other hand, the cardiac function analysis method according to the present invention is
According to one aspect thereof, the end diastolic heart contour and the end systole heart contour created from the ventricular image of the heart of the subject are overlapped, and the end diastole heart contour is extracted from each of the equal points on the end diastole heart contour. Draw a right-angled line orthogonal to and to the end-systolic heart contour, obtain a center line that passes through the respective midpoints of the right-angled lines, and at each of the equal points on the center line, pass through the equal point and A heart function analysis method based on the centerline method, in which a plurality of contraction lines orthogonal to the centerline are drawn between both heart contours, and the local motion status of the heart is obtained based on the line length of each of the plurality of contraction lines. When the right-angled line is drawn, the length of the long axis of the heart contour is obtained, and smoothing of a filter size proportional to the obtained length of the long axis is applied to the data of the heart contour. .

In the cardiac function analysis method based on the centerline method, when the contraction line is drawn, the intersection of the line segment connecting both end points of the centerline and the long axis of the heart contour, and the centerline and the heart It is also possible to find the length of the line segment between the intersections with the long axis of the contour, and perform smoothing of the filter size proportional to the obtained length of the line segment on the data of the center line.

[0053]

According to the present invention, when a right-angled line is drawn, the length of the long axis of the heart contour is obtained, and smoothing of a filter size proportional to the length of the long axis is applied to the data of the heart contour.

Furthermore, when a right-angled line is drawn, flag data corresponding to the end diastolic heart contour or flag data filling the end diastolic heart contour and the inside thereof is created, the boundary of the flag data is searched, and the flag concerned. A directional data sequence of the cardiac contour is created while removing the branch portion of the data, and the directional data sequence is used to determine the equidistant points of the end diastolic cardiac contour and the orthogonal direction at the equal points.

Further, when drawing the contraction line, the length of the line segment between the line segment connecting the two end points of the center line and the heart contour long axis and the line segment between the center line and the heart contour long axis are obtained. Smoothing with a filter size proportional to this length is applied to the data of the center line.

Further, when the contraction line is drawn, flag data corresponding to the center line is created, the flag data is searched, and the direction data string of the center line is created while removing the branch portion of the flag data. The direction data string is used to determine the equal points of the center line and the orthogonal directions at the equal points.

[0057]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Although the following embodiments are carried out with respect to an independent image diagnostic apparatus capable of performing cardiac function analysis by applying the centerline method, they can also be carried out by being integrally incorporated into various medical modalities. In addition,
The same components as those of the conventional image diagnostic apparatus (described in FIGS. 13 and 14) described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified.

(First Embodiment) A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a patient / examination / image processing information storage unit 16, an information check unit 17, a centerline method analysis unit 3, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to a main CPU (central processing unit) 8 via a control bus 7, and C
It is under the control of PU8. Graphic memory 4
The read side of is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5.

The heart contour data storage unit 1 stores ED heart contour data and ES heart contour data, and these data are input to the centerline method analysis unit 3 according to an instruction from the CPU 8. As in the case of the prior art, the heart contour data is, for example, a series of point coordinates (X, Y) on the heart contour (see FIG. 15), the position coordinates of both ends of the aortic valve of the heart, and the positions of both ends of the long axis. The coordinates (see FIG. 16) are added. The normal case data storage unit 2 stores data relating to normal heart contraction (normal case), and this data is input to the centerline method analysis unit 3 according to an instruction from the CPU 8.

Patient / examination / image processing information storage unit 1
Under the control of the CPU 8, the reference numeral 6 supplies the information check unit 17 with patient information, examination information and image processing information (referred to as accompanying information) of the ventricle image used for creating each heart contour. The items of patient information, examination information, and image processing information are shown in FIG. 25, for example. However, the information to be checked may be only one of these items, or other items may be added to these items.

In the information checking unit 17, the items of patient information, examination information and image processing information relating to the respective inputted heart contours are matched and checked. If all the matched items match, it is determined that both heart contours were obtained by the same patient, the same examination, and the same image processing, and the both heart contour data and the normal case data are set to the center line. Send to legal analysis unit 3.

In the centerline method analysis unit 3, the same centerline method analysis as described above is performed. After the analysis result is drawn in the graphic memory 4, D /
It is D / A converted by the A converter 5 and displayed on the monitor 6.

On the other hand, when the information check unit 17 determines that there is a matter that does not match some of the accompanying information, the fact is displayed on the monitor 6 and the operator's instruction is requested.

As described above, accompanying information such as patient information, examination information, and image processing information of the ventricular image used for creating the heart contour is taken in in a state of being added to the heart contour data, and the end diastolic heart contour is acquired before starting quantitative analysis. And confirm that the end systolic heart contours are from the same patient and the same study.
As a result, due to an erroneous operation, for example, E
Since it is possible to prevent the situation in which the D-heart contour and the ES-heart contour are taken in and analyzed, it is possible to perform highly reliable heart function analysis / diagnosis and reduce the operational burden on the operator.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the heart contour data storage unit 1, the normal case data storage unit 2, the image size storage unit 18,
It has an image size check unit 19, a heart contour data conversion unit 20, a centerline method analysis unit 3, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CPU 8 via the control bus 7 and are under the control of the CPU 8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5.

Among these, the heart contour data storage unit 1 has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above, but the data read from the unit 1 is sent to the heart contour data conversion unit 20. First format of heart contour data
Same as the embodiment.

The image size storage unit 18 stores in advance information on the image size of the ventricle image used for creating each heart contour, and in response to a command from the CPU 8, the image size information is transferred to the next stage image. It is designed to be sent to the size check unit 19.

The image size check unit 19 determines the image size of each input cardiac contour, and sends the discrimination result to the cardiac contour data conversion unit 20 in the next stage. In this heart contour data conversion unit 20, the heart contour ROI data is converted into data for a fixed image size according to the determined image size.

The converted heart contour data is sent to the centerline method analysis unit 3 and the centerline method analysis is performed. The analysis result is drawn in the graphic memory 4, D / A converted, and displayed on the monitor 6.

Therefore, the image size check unit 1
9, the original image size of the ED heart contour ROI is 512 ² , and the original image size of the ES heart contour ROI is 102, for example.
4 is determined to be ^2. As a result, in the heart contour data conversion unit 20, for example, both the heart contour ROI data are converted so that the original image sizes are both 1024 ² . That is, only the ED image center contour data is doubled in the internal X and Y coordinate data.

As described above, the heart contour data to which the image size of the ventricle image used for creating the heart contour is added as the accompanying information is taken in, and the image size is recognized from the accompanying information before the analysis, and both the heart contour data are obtained. The data is converted so that the contours of the same image size are obtained. As a result, even if the image sizes of the original images for obtaining the contours of both hearts are different, the image sizes are automatically matched and the analysis can be performed correctly.

(Third Embodiment) A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28. This embodiment is described in claims 1 and 7.
It corresponds to the invention described in.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the third embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 21, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CP via the control bus 7.
It is connected to U8 and is under the control of CPU8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5. Of these, the constituent elements other than the centerline method analysis unit 21 are the same as those in each of the embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 13).

The centerline method analysis unit 21 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the image memory 9, the ED / ES core contour superposition unit 10, the ED core contour right angle line creation unit 22, the center line creation unit 12, the contraction line creation unit 13, the contraction rate analysis unit 14, and the analysis result. The graph creation unit 15 is provided.
Of these, each part except the ED core contour right-angled line creation part 22 is the same as each of the embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 14).

The ED heart contour right-angled line creating section 22 in this embodiment differs from the above-described one in the smoothing method of the ED / ES both heart contour data. Specifically, assuming that the position coordinates of both ends of the long axis LA included in the heart contour data are A (a ₁ , a ₂ ) and B (b ₁ , b ₂ ) (FIG. 1).
6), the length L _AB of the long axis LA is

[Equation 5] Becomes Using this, the smoothing filter size β is

## EQU6 ## Determine β = γ × ( _LAB / δ). From this formula, when the major axis length L _AB = δ,
The filter size is set to γ. Where γ
= 5 and δ = 256, when L _AB = 512, β =
It becomes 10.

Then, at each point in the heart contour ROI data, simple smoothing is performed for each of the X and Y coordinates of β points centered at each point.

At the stage where a straight line is drawn from the equally divided points EQ (see FIG. 2) on the ED heart contour to the ES heart contour orthogonal to the ED heart contour, the processing for smoothing the heart contour is performed. At this time, as described above, by performing the smoothing in which the filter size proportional to the length of the long axis LA of the heart contour is applied, the optimum smoothing in consideration of the contour size can be performed. As a result, the smoothing is too weak to remove the contour branches,
It is possible to avoid a situation where a smooth ED heart contour cannot be obtained or the smoothing is too strong and the original shape collapses, and more accurate heart function analysis becomes possible.

(Fourth Embodiment) A fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on 6. This embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claims 2 to 4.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the fourth embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 23, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CP via the control bus 7.
It is connected to U8 and is under the control of CPU8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5. Of these, the constituent elements except for the centerline method analysis unit 23 are the same as those in the above-mentioned respective embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 13).

The centerline method analysis unit 23 is shown in FIG.
As shown in 0, the image memory 9, the ED / ES core contour superposition unit 10, the ED core contour right angle line creation unit 24, the center line creation unit 12, the contraction line creation unit 13, the contraction rate analysis unit 14, and the analysis result. The graph creation unit 15 is provided.
Of these, each part except the ED core contour right-angled line creation part 24 is the same as each of the embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 14).

The processing of the ED core contour right-angled line creating unit 24 will be described.

First, using the ED heart contour data, the flag data corresponding to the ED heart contour, or the ED heart contour and the flag data with which the inside thereof is filled, is stored in the image memory 9.
Draw on.

Next, the flag of the ED heart contour is searched in the following steps (a) to (f), and a direction data string is created.

(A): First, eight directions centering on the point of interest are defined as the numerical data shown in FIG.

(B): The position of one end of the aortic valve is the direction data creation start position, and the other end is the direction data creation end position.

(C): Search in seven directions except the direction in which the preceding attention point is present.

(D): The order of searching the 7 directions is clockwise. The first search direction at the point of interest is 1
The direction is deviated from the direction of the immediately preceding attention point by one direction in the clockwise direction. An example thereof is shown in FIGS. 31 and 32. Circled numbers 1 to 7 in FIGS. 31 and 32 indicate the order of the search direction.

(E): When the branch shown in FIG. 20 is encountered, the flag cannot be found even if the seven directions are searched during the process of step (d). In that case,
The flag corresponding to the point of interest at that time is set in the image memory 9
Delete from the list, return the point of interest to the previous one, and perform the search again. As a result, it can be recognized as a smooth contour without branches. After all, the contour shown in FIG. 20 is recognized as a smooth contour shown in FIG.

(F): The first search direction at the direction data creation start position is 2 of the following (f1) and (f2).
Determined by any of the types of methods.

(F1): This method of determining the search direction corresponds to the invention of claim 3.

It is determined by the following method using the position coordinates of both ends of the aortic valve. For example, the position coordinates of both ends of the aortic valve are A (a ₁ ,
a ₂ ), B (b ₁ , b ₂ ), and the search start position is A (see FIG. 34), the angle θ shown in FIG.

[Equation 7] Then,

[Equation 8] Becomes Here, the initial search direction is defined by the value of θ as follows, for example. The direction is indicated by the numerical data shown in FIG.

[0094]

[Equation 9] In this example, the direction is shifted by −π / 2 from the direction of the aortic valve cross section.

(F2): This search direction determining method corresponds to the invention of claim 4.

The initial search direction is obtained from the flag data distribution of eight points around the direction data creation start position.

That is, with respect to the directions 0 to 7, a direction in which no flag exists is searched, and when the directions are a plurality of adjacent directions, the direction immediately after changing from the direction in which the flag exists to the direction in which there is no flag when viewed clockwise. Is the initial search direction.
If there is only one direction in which no flag exists, that direction is the first search direction.

Examples are shown in FIGS. 35 and 36. If the eight directions centering on the point of interest are defined as the numerical data shown in FIG. 17, the first search direction is the “7” direction in FIG. 35 and the “0” direction in FIG. 36. It should be noted that this method is effective only when using the ED heart contour and flag data with the inside thereof filled.

As described above, a branched direction data string is created.

Using this directional data string, the length of the ED core contour, equal points, and right angle vectors at the equal points are obtained.
The method of obtaining this may be the same as in the conventional technique.

Next, the flag data corresponding to the ES heart contour is drawn in the image memory 9, and a search is carried out from the bisector of the ED heart contour in the direction of the vertical vector until the flag of the ES heart contour is found. At that time, the measures (2a) to (2c) shown in the related art are taken.

The above is the processing of the ED core contour right-angled line creation unit 24.

Thus, from the equidistant points on the ED heart contour,
At the stage of drawing a straight line orthogonal to the ED heart contour and reaching the ES heart contour,
A smooth heart contour shape can be recognized by creating the ED heart contour or ED heart contour and flag data in which the inside is filled in on the memory, and creating the direction data sequence of the heart contour while removing the branch portion of the contour. In other words, when smoothing the heart contour, the smoothing is too strong and E
The problem that the original shape of the D-heart contour is destroyed disappears, and the problem that smoothing is too weak to remove the branch portion is also solved. A smooth ED core contour can be obtained without the dedicated hardware for smoothing, and the entire system is simplified.

(Fifth Embodiment) A fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on 9. This embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claims 5 and 8.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the fifth embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 25, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CP via the control bus 7.
It is connected to U8 and is under the control of CPU8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5. Of these, the constituent elements other than the centerline method analysis unit 25 are the same as those in the above-described respective embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 13).

The centerline method analysis unit 25 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, the image memory 9, the ED / ES core contour superimposing unit 10, the ED core contour right angle line creating unit 11, the center line creating unit 12, the contraction line creating unit 26, the contraction rate analyzing unit 14, and the analysis result. The graph creation unit 15 is provided.
Of these, each part except the contraction line creating part 26 is the same as each of the embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 14).

The contraction line creating section 26 smoothes the center line CL as follows.

As shown in FIG. 39, the center line CL
, A, B, the intersection of the line segment AB and the heart contour long axis LA is C (c ₁ , c ₂ ), and the intersection of the center line CL and the heart contour long axis LA is D (d ₁ , d _2). ).

The length L _CD of the line segment _CD is

[Equation 10] Becomes Using this, filter size β '

## EQU11 ## Let β '= γ' × (L _CD / δ '). This equation of the line segment CD is the length L _CD [delta] 'filter size when the gamma' is set to be. If γ '= 5 and δ' = 256, β '= 10 when L _CD = 512.

Then, at each point in the centerline ROI data, simple smoothing is performed for each of the X'and Y coordinates of β'points centered at each point.

A contraction line CT is formed between the equidistant points EP on the center line CL so as to be orthogonal to the center line between both contours.
The process of smoothing the center line is performed at the stage of drawing. At this time, it is proportional to the length of the line segment connecting the intersection C between the line segment connecting the end points A and B of the center line CL and the core contour major axis LA and the intersection D between the center line CL and the heart contour major axis LA. Smoothing of the filter size is performed. This makes it possible to perform optimum smoothing in consideration of the size of the center line CL, and the smoothing is too strong to destroy the original shape of the center line CL, or the smoothing is too weak to remove a branch or the like. Will be resolved.

(Sixth Embodiment) The sixth embodiment is shown in FIGS.
It will be described based on 1. This embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claim 6.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the sixth embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in 0, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 27, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CP via the control bus 7.
It is connected to U8 and is under the control of CPU8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5. Of these, the constituent elements other than the centerline method analysis unit 27 are the same as those in the above-mentioned respective embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 13).

The centerline method analysis unit 27 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the image memory 9, the ED / ES core contour superposition unit 10, the ED core contour right angle line creation unit 11, the center line creation unit 12, the contraction line creation unit 28, the contraction rate analysis unit 14, and the analysis result. The graph creation unit 15 is provided.
Of these, each part except the contraction line creating part 28 is the same as each of the embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 14).

The contraction line creating unit 28 creates the contraction line CT using the processing contents of the ED core contour right angle line creating unit 24 in the fourth embodiment as it is.

That is, flag data corresponding to the center line CL is created in the memory at the stage of drawing the contraction line CT from the equal point on the center line CL so as to be orthogonal to the center line between both contours. The direction data string of the center line is created while removing the branch portion of the line CL. As a result, a smooth centerline shape can be recognized, and a smooth centerline can be obtained even if there is no dedicated hardware for performing smoothing.

(Seventh Embodiment) A seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on 5.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the seventh embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 29, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CP via the control bus 7.
It is connected to U8 and is under the control of CPU8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5. Of these, the constituent elements other than the centerline method analysis unit 29 are the same as those in the above-described embodiments and conventional examples (FIG. 13).

The centerline method analysis unit 29 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the image memory 9, the ED / ES core contour superposition unit 10, the ED core contour right angle line creation unit 11, the center line creation unit 12, the contraction line creation unit 30, the contraction rate analysis unit 14, and the analysis result. The graph creation unit 15 is provided.
Of these, each part except the contraction line creating part 30 is the same as each of the embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 14).

The contraction line creating section 30 operates in a state in which the following processing is added to the processing executed by the contraction line creating section 13 shown in FIG.

More specifically, first, the contraction line creating unit 30 draws the contraction line CT _{n + 1} drawn from the equal point EP _{n + 1} of the center line CL in the contour direction of the ED at the immediately previous equal point EP _n . It is determined whether or not the contraction line CTn is crossed. Now, in the state of contraction lines CT _{n + 1} and CT _n shown in FIGS. 44 and 45, and when it is determined that both lines intersect, the intersection point h of the contraction line CT _n drawn immediately before and the ED core contour and the center. Point EP that is about to draw a contraction line on the line CL
_A line segment is connected to _{n + 1} , and the line segment is extended until it intersects with the ES core contour, and the line segment CT _{n + 1} ^* is regarded as a contraction line.

By adding this processing, as in the case of FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 described above, when the ED heart contour is locally dented or the ED heart contour is locally ESed.
Even when the contraction lines are inside the heart contour, the contraction lines do not intersect with each other, and it is possible to draw a more accurate contraction line that matches the physical meaning of the contraction lines. Therefore,
The contraction rate is also calculated with high accuracy, and the reliability of cardiac function analysis is also improved. As a matter of course, the contraction line creation unit 30 also determines and treats intersections between the right-angled lines PE.

(Eighth Embodiment) Eighth Embodiment FIGS. 46 to 5
A description will be given based on 0.

The image diagnostic apparatus according to the eighth embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, it has a heart contour data storage unit 1, a normal case data storage unit 2, a centerline method analysis unit 31, and a graphic memory 4. These units and memory are connected to the main CP via the control bus 7.
It is connected to U8 and is under the control of CPU8. The read side of the graphic memory 4 is connected to the monitor 6 via the D / A converter 5. Of these, the constituent elements except the centerline method analysis unit 31 are the same as those in the above-described respective embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 13).

The centerline method analysis unit 31 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, the image memory 9, the ED / ES core contour superimposing unit 10, the ED core contour right angle line creating unit 11, the center line creating unit 12, the contraction line creating unit 13, the contraction rate analyzing unit 14, and the analysis result. The graph creation unit 32 is provided.
Of these, each part except the analysis result graph part 32 is the same as each of the above-mentioned embodiments and the conventional example (FIG. 14).

The analysis result graph creating section 32 operates in the state where the following processing is added to the processing executed by the analysis result graph creating section 15 shown in FIG.

The adding process is shown in the following steps (8a) to (8c).

(8a): 1 along the 100 contraction lines
An area where the 16th contraction line exists, an area where the 17th to 32nd contraction line exists, an area where the 33rd to 48th contraction line exists, an area where the 49th to 64th contraction line exists, 6
The area is divided into six areas such as an area where the 5th to 80th contraction lines exist and an area where the 81st to 100th contraction lines exist (see FIG. 48).

(8b): The value in FIG. 12 (value obtained by normalizing the difference between the calculated contraction rate and the average contraction rate of normal cases by the standard deviation of average of normal cases) is −2 or less for each divided area. The number of contraction lines and the average value of the above values for each divided area are calculated.

(8c): The above calculated values are drawn in the graphic memory 4 as a table for each divided area.

As a result, in accordance with the analysis result of FIG. 12, a table (see FIG. 49) of the number of contraction lines for which the value for each divided area is −2 or less is further displayed on the monitor 6, and A table (see FIG. 50) of the average value of the values for each divided area is displayed on the monitor 6.

The above division method (1 to 16, 17 to 3)
2, 33-48, 49-64, 65-80, 81-10
0) is when the ventricles are divided along the medical site.
Anterobasal regio, the name of each medical site
n, anterolateral region, apical region, diaphragm
It corresponds to the tic region, posterobasal region, and mitral valve. The number of divisions or the method of associating contraction lines when dividing is not limited to the above, and other methods may be used.

As described above, as shown in FIG.
Not only is it displayed by the curve of 2, but the contraction is smaller than the normal contraction of the heart, and there is a region where there is a possibility of infarction due to coronary artery disease in which region of the heart and how large it is. In addition, the degree of abnormality can be quantitatively and clearly displayed numerically. Therefore, the burden of the operator on the diagnosis can be reduced and the diagnosis can be facilitated.

Although it has been stated that the above-described embodiments are carried out in a state where they individually correspond to the claimed inventions, the inventions according to a plurality of claims are simultaneously carried out (for example, the first embodiment and the second embodiment). The above embodiments may be appropriately combined and carried out).

[0135]

As described above, according to the image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis and the cardiac function analysis method of the present invention, when smoothing the heart contour data and the center line, the filter size is set to the size of the heart. It can be matched and always determined accurately, and appropriate smoothing can be applied. In other words, the branches can be removed as appropriate while maintaining the original shape of the data. In addition, this smoothing can be performed without using dedicated hardware, and can be performed with a relatively simple system and processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 ES heart contour and ED in centerline method
The figure explaining superposition of a heart contour.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing how to determine equal points on an ED heart contour and how to draw a right-angled line.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a case where a right-angled line reaches an aortic valve portion having an ES heart contour.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining processing when a right-angled line does not reach the ES core contour.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating processing when right-angled lines intersect with each other.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the processing when a right-angled line intersects the long axis of the ED core contour.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how to determine each midpoint of a right-angled line and draw a center line.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing how to determine equal points on a center line and how to draw a contraction line.

FIG. 9 is a CHORD NO. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the measurement of the contraction line length and its normalization.

FIG. 11: CHORD NO. Is a graph showing the condition of the ventricular wall in abscissa with the horizontal axis as the horizontal axis and the contraction rate as the vertical axis.

FIG. 12 is a graph of a value obtained by normalizing a difference between a cardiac function curve and a normal case average curve by standard deviation.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a conventional image diagnostic apparatus that implements a centerline method.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a centerline analysis unit.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating point coordinates of a heart contour.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating position coordinates of both ends of the aortic valve and position coordinates of both ends of the long axis.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of eight directions around the point of interest in the search for the ED heart contour.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of an ED heart contour as a series of pixels.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a unit length of a contour when the contours are connected in eight directions centering on a target point.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing pixels (protrusions, etc.) in the contour of the heart with pixels.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a center line obtained as ROI data in which the midpoint coordinates of a right-angled line are continuous.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of the intersection of contraction lines, which is one of the problems of the conventional technique.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining another example of intersection of contraction lines, which is one of the problems of the conventional technique.

FIG. 24 is a system block diagram of the image diagnostic apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing incidental information classified by items.

FIG. 26 is a system block diagram of an image diagnostic apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a system block diagram of an image diagnostic apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a block diagram of a centerline method analysis unit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a system block diagram of the image diagnostic apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a block diagram of a centerline method analysis unit according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating a search direction.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating a search direction.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating erasing of a part of a contour and a branch formed by a pixel row.

FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a search start position.

FIG. 35 is a diagram showing how to determine the first search direction.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing how to determine the first search direction.

FIG. 37 is a system block diagram of the image diagnostic apparatus according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram of the centerline analysis unit according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating a line segment on the long axis for determining a filter size.

FIG. 40 is a system block diagram of an image diagnostic apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a block diagram of a centerline method analysis unit according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 42 is a system block diagram of the image diagnostic apparatus according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a block diagram of a centerline analysis unit according to the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of eliminating intersections between contraction lines.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing another example of eliminating the intersection of contraction lines.

FIG. 46 is a system block diagram of an image diagnostic apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is a block diagram of a centerline method analysis unit according to an eighth embodiment.

FIG. 48 is a diagram for explaining region segmentation of a heart contour by dividing contraction lines.

FIG. 49 is a table showing an example of analysis for each divided area.

FIG. 50 is a table showing another example of analysis for each divided area.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Heart contour data storage unit 2 Normal example data storage unit 3 Centerline method analysis unit 4 graphic memory 5 D / A converter 6 monitors 7 bus 8 CPU 9 image memory 10 ED / ES heart contour overlay section 11 ED core contour right angle line creation part 12 Center line creation department 13 Shrink line creation section 14 Shrinkage rate analysis section 15 Analysis result graph creation section 16 Patient / examination / image processing information storage unit 17 Information check unit 18 Image size storage unit 19 Image size check unit 20 Core contour data conversion unit 21 Centerline Method Analysis Unit 22 ED core contour right angle line creation part 23 Centerline Method Analysis Unit 24 ED core contour right angle line creation part 25 Centerline Method Analysis Unit 26 Shrink Line Creation Department 27 Centerline Method Analysis Unit 28 Contraction line creation section 29 Centerline Method Analysis Unit 30 Contraction line creation section 31 Centerline Method Analysis Unit 32 Analysis result graph creation section

Continued front page    F term (reference) 4C093 AA26 CA50 DA02 FD05 FF06                       FF16 FF21 FF22 FF35 FG14                 5B057 AA09 CA02 CA08 CA12 CA16                       CB02 CB08 CB12 CB16 CC03                       CE05 CE08 CH09 DA08 DB02                       DB05 DB09 DC17

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A means for superimposing an end-diastolic heart contour and an end-systolic heart contour created from a ventricle image of a subject's heart on the same screen, and the equidistant points on the end-diastolic heart contour. By means for drawing a right-angled line orthogonal to the end-diastolic heart contour and up to the end-systolic heart contour, means for obtaining a center line passing through the midpoints of the respective right-angled lines, and each of equal points on the center line. Means for drawing a plurality of contraction lines orthogonal to the centerline between the contours of both hearts passing through the equally dividing points, and means for determining a local motion state of the heart based on the line lengths of the plurality of contraction lines In a diagnostic apparatus for heart function analysis based on the centerline method having a, the length of the major axis of the cardiac contour is determined, and smoothing of a filter size proportional to the length of the determined major axis is performed on the cardiac contour. Apply to the data of Cardiac function analysis image diagnostic apparatus characterized in that a stage. 2. Flag data corresponding to the end diastolic heart contour or flag data that fills the end diastolic heart contour and the inside thereof is created, a boundary of the flag data is searched, and a branch portion of the flag data is created. While further creating a directional data sequence of the heart contour while removing the heart contour, and further using arithmetic means for calculating the equidistant point of the end diastolic heart contour and the orthogonal direction at the equidistant point. The image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis according to claim 1. 3. The calculating means calculates the directional data string,
3. The image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis according to claim 2, wherein the first search direction at the creation start position of the direction data string is determined to be a direction shifted by a predetermined angle from the direction of the aortic valve cross section. 4. The calculating means calculates the directional data string,
3. The cardiac function analyzing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first search direction at the creation start position of the direction data string is determined by examining the flag data distribution of 8 points around the creation start position. Image diagnostic equipment. 5. A means for superimposing an end diastolic cardiac contour and an end systolic cardiac contour created from a ventricle image of a subject's heart on the same screen, and the equidistant points on the end diastolic cardiac contour. By means for drawing a right-angled line orthogonal to the end-diastolic heart contour and up to the end-systolic heart contour, means for obtaining a center line passing through the midpoints of the respective right-angled lines, and each of equal points on the center line. Means for drawing a plurality of contraction lines orthogonal to the centerline between the contours of both hearts passing through the equally dividing points, and means for determining a local motion state of the heart based on the line lengths of the plurality of contraction lines In the image diagnostic apparatus for heart function analysis based on the centerline method having, between the intersection of the line segment connecting the two end points of the centerline and the heart contour long axis and the intersection of the centerline and the heart contour long axis Find the length of a line segment The sought cardiac function analysis image diagnostic apparatus segments the smoothing filter size proportional to the length and characterized in that a means for applying the data of the center line. 6. The flag data corresponding to the center line is created, the flag data is searched, and the direction data string of the center line is created while removing a branch portion of the flag data. 6. A means for determining an equal point of the center line and a right-angle direction at the equal point using the center line is further provided.
An image diagnostic apparatus for cardiac function analysis according to item 1. 7. The end-diastolic cardiac contour and the end-systolic cardiac contour created from the ventricular image of the heart of the subject are overlapped, and each of the equidistant points on the end-diastolic cardiac contour is orthogonal to the end-diastolic cardiac contour. And draw a right angle line to the end systolic heart contour,
Find the center line that passes through the midpoints of the right-angled lines,
A plurality of contraction lines orthogonal to the center line are drawn between the contours of the two hearts at the respective equal points on the center line, and based on the line length of each of the plurality of contraction lines. In the cardiac function analysis method based on the centerline method for determining the local motion status of the heart, when the right-angled line is drawn, the length of the long axis of the heart contour is obtained, and the length of the long axis is obtained. A cardiac function analysis method, wherein smoothing of a proportional filter size is applied to the data of the cardiac contour. 8. An end-diastolic heart contour and an end-systolic heart contour created from a ventricular image of a subject's heart are overlapped, and each of the equidistant points on the end-diastolic heart contour is orthogonal to the end-diastolic heart contour. And draw a right angle line to the end systolic heart contour,
Find the center line that passes through the midpoints of the right-angled lines,
A plurality of contraction lines orthogonal to the center line are drawn between the contours of the two hearts at the respective equal points on the center line, and based on the line length of each of the plurality of contraction lines. In the cardiac function analysis method based on the centerline method for obtaining the local motion status of the heart, when drawing the contraction line, the intersection of the line segment connecting both end points of the centerline and the heart contour long axis and the centerline The heart function is characterized in that the length of a line segment between the intersections of the long axis with the heart contour is calculated, and smoothing of a filter size proportional to the length of the calculated line segment is applied to the data of the center line. analysis method.