JP2004318910A - Ultrasonic image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ultrasonic image processing apparatus for constructing a three-dimensional image using surface-rendering and volume-rendering in combination, allowing transmittance to be set mutually independently, and information on minute irregularities on the surface and information on an inside organ to be obtained easily and concurrently. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus 1 includes an ultrasonic image input unit 2, an oblique image rendering unit 3, a surface-extracting unit 4, a three-dimensional image rendering unit 5, an image-compositing unit 6, and a monitor 7, where the input unit 2 inputs ultrasonic image data from an ultrasonic probe (not shown) that is inserted into a body cavity for transmitting receiving ultrasonic waves; the oblique image rendering unit 3 produces an oblique image; the extracting unit 4 extracts data of the surface of an intra-cavitary wall (boundary between tissue and lumen) in the oblique image; the three-dimensional image rendering unit 5 produces three-dimensional images, using the volume-rendering and the surface-rendering; the compositing unit 6 reads the three-dimensional images produced by the rendering unit 5 and composites the three-dimensional image of volume-rendering and surface-rendering; and a monitor 7 displays the three-dimensional image composited and produced by the compositing unit 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic image processing device that processes ultrasonic data to construct a three-dimensional image.

  2. Description of the Related Art An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that scans the inside of a body cavity with an ultrasonic probe to obtain a tomographic image around the ultrasonic wave has been widely used.

  A conventional ultrasonic probe can only obtain a linear image and a radial image independently of each other. In recent years, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-62-219076 or JP-A-62-194310, In order to be able to grasp the size of a tumor or the like that has been formed, a three-dimensional scanning method has been proposed.

In the case of scanning three-dimensionally in this way, the size of a tumor or the like can be obtained by the area, and its volume can be measured.
On the other hand, with the recent high performance of general personal computers (hereinafter, personal computers), complicated image processing can be performed even on personal computers.

  However, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-219076, in a three-dimensional image, the transmittance of surface extraction (surface rendering) and the volume extraction (volume rendering) cannot be set independently. There is a problem that information on internal organs or the like cannot be easily seen.

  Further, in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-194310, it is easy to distinguish organs in a cross-sectional image, but in a three-dimensional image, information on internal organs and the like can be easily seen at the same time as fine unevenness information on the surface. There is no problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and combines surface extraction and volume extraction in a three-dimensional image so that the transmittance can be set independently of each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ultrasonic image processing apparatus capable of easily viewing information such as the above.

  Another object of the present invention is to colorize a three-dimensional image, thereby facilitating the discrimination of fine irregularities on the surface and internal organs, etc., which were difficult to determine only by gray scale. An object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic image processing apparatus.

  Ultrasound image processing apparatus of the present invention, ultrasound data acquisition means for acquiring ultrasound data in the body cavity, perspective image generation means for generating a perspective image constructed by laminating a tissue cross-sectional image from the ultrasound data, A three-dimensional image construction means for extracting a cross section of the perspective image and an inner wall in the body cavity to construct a three-dimensional image, wherein the predetermined three-dimensional image relating to the observed part is A volume extraction unit configured by extraction; and a surface extraction unit configured by surface extraction of a predetermined three-dimensional image related to the observed region, and a three-dimensional image configured by the volume extraction unit and the surface extraction unit. And a desired three-dimensional image is obtained based on

  According to the present invention, surface extraction and volume extraction are combined in a three-dimensional image, the transmittance can be set independently, and information on internal organs and the like can be easily viewed at the same time as information on fine irregularities on the surface. There is an effect that can be.

  Further, in the ultrasonic image processing apparatus of the present invention, by coloring a three-dimensional image, it is possible to easily distinguish fine irregularities on the surface and internal organs and the like, which were difficult to determine only by gray scale. There is an effect that can be.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First embodiment:
1 to 19 relate to the first embodiment, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic image processing device, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the ultrasonic image processing device of FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a search dialog in the flowchart of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a read dialog in the flowchart of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a radial image in the flowchart of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a DPR image in the flowchart of FIG. 2, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an image rotation process in the flowchart of FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a modification of the image rotation process in the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view for explaining a mode selection dialog in the flowchart of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 11 is a view showing simultaneous display of a perspective image in which a cross-sectional image, a longitudinal axis cross-sectional image, and a tissue cross-sectional image are pasted on a cross section. FIG. FIG. 12 is a view showing the simultaneous display of a three-dimensional construction image in which the surface-extracted image is attached to the inner wall portion of the body cavity, FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of an animated image display process in the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the three-dimensional constructed image of FIG. 11, FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining extraction of a body cavity inner wall surface in the three-dimensional constructed image of FIG. 14, and FIG. FIG. 17 is a first flowchart showing a flow of an extraction process of the body cavity inner wall surface in the three-dimensional construction image, and FIG. FIG. 18 is a first explanatory diagram illustrating the image deformation of the three-dimensional constructed image of FIG. 14, and FIG. 19 is a second explanatory diagram illustrating the image transformation of the three-dimensional constructed image of FIG. FIG.

(Constitution)
As shown in FIG. 1, an ultrasonic image processing apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is configured to transmit ultrasonic image data from an ultrasonic probe (not shown) inserted into a body cavity and transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves. Ultrasound image input unit 2 for performing input processing, oblique image construction unit 3 for constructing oblique (Oblique) images, and surface extraction for extracting the surface of the inner wall of the body cavity (boundary between tissue and lumen) in the oblique image A three-dimensional image construction unit 5 for constructing a three-dimensional image by volume extraction (Volume Rendering) and surface extraction (Surface Rendering); and reading a three-dimensional image generated by the three-dimensional image construction unit 4 to extract a volume. And an image synthesizing unit 6 for synthesizing a three-dimensional image by surface extraction, and a monitor 7 for displaying a three-dimensional image or the like synthesized and generated by the image synthesizing unit 6.

  The three-dimensional image construction unit 5 includes a volume extraction image construction unit 5a that constructs a three-dimensional image by volume extraction and a surface extraction image construction unit 5b that constructs a three-dimensional image by surface extraction. The parameters such as the position and angle of the cut surface are stored in a parameter storage memory 8. Although not shown, the three-dimensional image construction unit 5 has a memory for storing the constructed three-dimensional image data, and the image synthesizing unit 6 stores the three-dimensional image data stored in the memory of the three-dimensional image construction unit 5. The data is read and a three-dimensional image is synthesized.

(Action)
The ultrasonic image processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.

  In the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 1, a perspective image is constructed by a perspective image construction unit 3 from a plurality of ultrasonic cross-sectional image data input by an ultrasonic image input unit 2, and further, a surface (a tissue part and a tissue part) is The lumen boundary) is extracted. Then, a volume extraction three-dimensional image is constructed by the volume extraction image construction part 5a of the three-dimensional image construction part 5, and a surface extraction three-dimensional image is constructed by the surface extraction image construction part 5b. The parameters such as the display angle coordinate, the position and angle coordinate of the cut plane are held and updated by the common parameter holding memory 8, and the surface extraction image construction unit 5a and the volume extraction image construction unit 5b always have the same parameters. Can be. Further, the surface extraction image or the volume extraction image is read out by the image synthesizing unit 6 and displayed on the monitor 7.

  The image synthesizing unit 6 also has the effect of switching by changing the ratio between surface extraction and volume extraction.

  Specifically, when the power of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus 1 is turned on, after a predetermined initial process, as shown in FIG. 2, in step S1, the image synthesizing unit 6 causes the search dialog (Retrieve) shown in FIG. (Dialog) 10 is displayed on the monitor 7. The search dialog 10 includes a file search tag 11 for performing a search based on a file name, a patient information search tag 12 for performing a search based on patient information such as a patient ID, a patient name, a birthday, an age at examination, and gender. It has a test information search tag 13 for performing a search based on test information such as freeze date and time, hospital name, display range, stroke, pitch, frequency, gain, contrast, and image quality level. Is possible.

  When a search is performed in the search dialog 10, the image synthesizing unit 6 displays a read dialog (Load Dialog) 14 as shown in FIG. 4 on the monitor 7 in step S2 (see FIG. 2). The read dialog 14 includes an image file display area 15, a patient information display area 16, and a preview image display area 17, and is used to select a desired data file from a plurality of three-dimensional image data files displayed in the image file display area 15. When selected, the patient information relating to the selected data file is displayed in the patient information display area 16 and a preview image of the selected data file is displayed in the preview image display area 17.

  Then, when loading of a desired data file is instructed in the reading dialogue 14, loading of the desired data file is started in step S3 (see FIG. 2), and the image synthesizing unit 6 transmits the radial image as shown in FIG. 21 is displayed on the monitor 7. During the loading, a progress bar 22 indicating the reading status is displayed on the radial image 21.

  When the loading of the data file is completed, in step S4 (see FIG. 2), the image synthesizing unit 6 displays a DPR (Dual Plane Reconstruction) image 23 in which the radial image 23a and the linear image 23b are simultaneously displayed as shown in FIG. indicate.

  Next, the image synthesizing unit 6 performs an image rotation process in step S5 (see FIG. 2). Specifically, in the rotation processing of the image in step S5, the position setting line 24 is linearly moved in the linear image 23b of the DPR image 23 as shown in FIG. The region of interest 25 is found on the radial image 23a by sequentially and continuously changing the radial image 23a at the designated position. Thereafter, the angle setting line 26 is rotated about the radial image 23a in the radial image 23a, and the angle setting line 26 is superimposed on the region of interest 25, so that the region of interest 25 is displayed on the linear image 23b. By these processes, the region of interest 25 is displayed on both the radial image 23a and the linear image 23b of the DPR image 23.

  Then, the radial image 23a and the angle setting line 26 are simultaneously rotated, the region of interest 25 is moved in the 6 o'clock direction, and the angle setting line 26 can be returned to the initial angle. (See FIG. 11) and a three-dimensional construction image (see FIG. 11).

  As a modification of the image rotation processing in step S5, as shown in FIG. 8, the position setting line 24 is linearly moved in the linear image 23b of the DPR image 23, and the position setting line 24 is moved along with the movement. By sequentially and continuously changing the radial image 23a at the position designated by the operator, after finding the region of interest 25 on the radial image 23a, the angle setting line 26 is fixed, and the radial image 23a is rotated. By overlapping the setting line 26, the region of interest 25 can be displayed on the linear image 23b.

  When the processing in step S5 is completed, in step S6, a radial image, a longitudinal axis cross-sectional image (Longitudinal image: a cross-sectional image including a vertically displayed linear image and a horizontally displayed image) and a tissue cross-sectional image (also referred to as Texture) are obtained. A simultaneous display mode of mode 1 consisting of a perspective image attached to a cross section, and a three-dimensional construction image in which a radial image, a longitudinal axis cross-sectional image, and a tissue cross-sectional image are attached to a cross section and an image whose surface is extracted on the inner wall portion of a body cavity are attached. Is selected using the mode selection dialog 30 shown in FIG.

  The surface extraction in the three-dimensional construction image can be replaced by volume extraction or a combination of surface extraction and volume extraction.

  When “Oblique” is selected in the mode selection dialog 30, the image synthesizing unit 6 pastes the radial image, the longitudinal axis cross-sectional image, and the tissue cross-sectional image as shown in FIG. The displayed perspective image is displayed on the monitor 7, and the process returns to step S6 to repeat the processing.

  When “extraction” (Rendering) is selected in the mode selection dialog 30, the image synthesizing unit 6 attaches the radial image, the longitudinal axis cross-sectional image, and the tissue cross-sectional image as shown in FIG. A three-dimensional construction image in which the surface-extracted image is attached to the inner wall portion of the body cavity is displayed on the monitor 7.

  The surface extraction in the three-dimensional construction image can be replaced by volume extraction or a combination of surface extraction and volume extraction.

  Then, in step S9, an animated image display process of the three-dimensional construction image is performed, and the process returns to step S6 to repeat the process.

  In the animated image display processing of the three-dimensionally constructed image in step S9, a plurality of continuously rotated three-dimensionally constructed images are read out in time series and sequentially displayed. The construction image is calculated as described below and stored in the memory of the three-dimensional image construction unit 5.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the oblique image in the oblique image construction 3 is displayed in step S21, the display cross section and the viewing angle of the oblique image are changed in step S22, and the request for displaying the three-dimensional constructed image is requested in step S23. If there is a request for displaying the three-dimensionally constructed image, a three-dimensionally constructed image is created in step S24, and parameters for the animated image are set based on the parameters of the display section and the viewing angle in step S22. Then, in step S25, based on the parameters for the animated image, an animated image composed of a plurality of three-dimensionally constructed images whose viewing angles are sequentially moved is created and stored in the memory of the three-dimensional image construction unit 5, and in step S26, the animated image is created. Are read out in chronological order and sequentially displayed.

  Next, a perspective image in which the tissue cross-sectional image shown in FIG. 10 is attached to the cross section and a three-dimensional construction image in which the tissue cross-sectional image shown in FIG. explain.

  As shown in FIG. 13, a perspective image 41 in which a tissue cross-sectional image is pasted on a cross section refers to each cross-section (a-plane, b-plane, c-plane, d-plane, and e-plane) of the perspective image constructed by the perspective image construction 3. , F plane) is an image in which a tissue cross-sectional image 42 indicating a layer structure of a tissue in a body cavity based on the data obtained by the volume extraction image construction unit 5a is attached, and is constructed by perspective image construction 3.

  As shown in FIG. 14, a three-dimensional construction image 43 in which a tissue cross-sectional image is pasted on a cross section and a surface extracted on the inner wall portion of a body cavity is pasted is a cross-sectional image of a perspective image constructed in perspective image construction 3. A tissue cross-sectional image 42 indicating the layer structure of the tissue in the body cavity based on the data obtained by the volume extraction image construction unit 5a is attached to (a surface, b surface, c surface, d surface, e surface, and f surface) and the body cavity This is an image in which an inner wall portion is extracted, and a surface-extracted image 44 is attached to the extracted inner wall portion of the body cavity.

  The extraction of the inner wall portion of the body cavity is performed as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 15, the perspective image is divided into a plurality of stacked surfaces I1, I2,..., In. Then, as shown in FIG. 16, in step S31, a small area is set on the surface In. Next, in step S32, the position (Vx, Vy) of the line-of-sight passing plane (View Plane) is set to Vx = 0, Vy = 0. Then, in step S33, the light ray is advanced from the positions Vx and Vy of the line of sight passage to the small area of the plane In to obtain a vector r0 (see FIG. 15). Here, the light ray is a light ray from the viewpoint when the viewpoint is moved to infinity, and is a parallel light ray on the line of sight passage.

  Next, in step S34, light rays are further advanced from the small area of the plane In, and the inner wall of the body cavity is detected by predetermined processing described later.

  In step S35, Vx = Vx + 1. In step S36, it is determined whether Vx is outside the line of sight passage. If Vx is within the line of sight e, the process returns to step S33. If Vx is outside the line of sight, processing is repeated in step S37. Vx = 0, Vy = Vy + 1, and it is determined in step S38 whether Vy is outside the line of sight. If Vy is inside the line of sight, the process returns to step S33 to repeat the process. If Vy is outside the line of sight, the process ends. I do. As a result, scanning of the oblique image with the light beam is performed at all positions on the line of sight passage.

  The predetermined processing in step S34 will be described. First, the vector r0 is, as described above, the value of the surface In which the light beam has reached from the position (Vx, Vy) when the light beam has traveled from the position (Vx, Vy) of the line of sight line to the small area of the surface In. Indicates a vector up to a small area.

  Next, the light beam is advanced from the position (Vx, Vy) of the line of sight passage to the small area of the surface In, and further, the light ray is caused to reach the surface In-1 of the next layer from the small area of the surface In. A vector from the position (Vx, Vy) to the small area of the plane In-1 where the light beam has reached is defined as a vector rc (see FIG. 15). In other words, the vector rc is a vector that starts from the starting point (position (Vx, Vy)) of the vector r0, sequentially increases in length, and changes from the position (Vx, Vy) to a vector from the position (Vx, Vy) to a small area of the plane I1 where the light beam arrives. is there.

  In the predetermined processing in step S34, using this vector r0 and vector rc, as shown in FIG. 17, rc = r0 in step S51, and a function Φ (rc) of rc at this time is calculated in step S52 to obtain Φ Determine whether (rc)> 0. This function Φ (rc) is a function from a neighboring point in the layered data set to a single number of values 0 or 1, and is a constraint for determining that the data at rc contributes to the construction of a three-dimensional image. Function. That is, in step S52, it is determined that the data at rc does not contribute to the construction of the three-dimensional image if Φ (rc) = 0, and contributes to the construction of the three-dimensional image if Φ (rc) = 1 (> 0). I do. For example, Φ (rc) is a function that takes 0 if the intensity of data up to the previous ten positions along the ray at rc is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold.

  If it is determined that Φ (rc) = 0 and the data at rc does not contribute to the construction of the three-dimensional image, rc is moved to the next layer surface Ik in step S53, and a plurality of rcs are set in step S54. It is determined whether or not rc is within the boundary of the data set consisting of the planes I1, I2,..., In. If rc is within the boundary of the data set, the process returns to step S52 to repeat the processing. Then, in step S55, the process ends using the function Π (rc) as the display value in the three-dimensional construction image.

  Here, the function Π (rc) gives data obtained by volume extraction.

  If it is determined in step S52 that Φ (rc) = 1 (> 0), it is determined that it contributes to the construction of a three-dimensional image. In step S56, the difference || r0−rc || Is smaller than the predetermined value ε. If the difference || r0−rc || is smaller than the predetermined value ε, the process proceeds to step S55. If the difference || r0−rc ||処理 (rc) is used as the display value in the three-dimensional construction image, and the process ends.

  Here, the function Γ (rc) gives data obtained by surface extraction. For example, the function Γ (rc) may be a six-neighbor gradient illumination shadow function at six neighbors at the end of rc.

  By performing such processing, data by surface extraction can be attached to the inner wall portion of the body cavity, and a three-dimensional construction image can be obtained by attaching data obtained by volume extraction, so that diagnosis and the like can be dramatically improved. Can be. In addition, since the inner wall of the body cavity is extracted by using Φ (rc) and determining the difference || r0−rc || between the length of the vector r0 and the length of the vector rc, the three-dimensional construction image can be obtained at high speed. Can be calculated.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the three-dimensionally constructed image 43 constructed as described above displays the surface of the inner wall of the body cavity as an image 44 whose surface is extracted. The tissue cross-sectional image 42 is displayed.

  As shown in FIG. 18, each section (a-plane, b-plane, c-plane, d-plane, e-plane, and f-plane) of the three-dimensional construction image 43 can advance and retreat in the direction of each arrow. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, using a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), the volume inside the image 44 and the tissue cross-sectional image 42 extracted from the surface of the three-dimensional construction image 43 in the initial state is obtained. The convex section held by the internal information obtained by the extraction can be converted into a reduced three-dimensional construction image 43a.

  In addition, it can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43b in which a convex cross-section held by internal information by volume extraction is extended into an interior composed of an image 44 and a tissue cross-section image 42 extracted from the surface of the three-dimensional construction image 43 in the initial state.

  Furthermore, the image 44 whose surface is extracted in the convex section from the three-dimensional construction image 43 in the initial state can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43c in which the internal information by volume extraction is retained inside the reduced tissue cross-sectional image 42 without change.

  Furthermore, only the image 44 whose surface is extracted from the three-dimensional construction image 43 in the initial state, which has internal information retained inside by volume extraction, can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43d extended in the depth direction.

(effect)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the internal information, which is a merit of volume extraction, the fine irregularity information on the surface, which is a merit of surface extraction, can be seen, and the resolution of the cross section is improved by the tissue cross-sectional image 42. The effect is obtained.

  Further, the cut plane can be freely changed like the three-dimensional construction image 43a and the three-dimensional construction image 43b, which are converted images, and the surface state is held by the image 44 extracted as the surface like the three-dimensional construction image 43c. The internal information can be viewed by extracting the volume while the internal state is maintained by the volume extraction as in the three-dimensional construction image 43d. is there.

Second embodiment:
20 to 22 relate to the second embodiment, FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of the ultrasonic image processing device, and FIG. 21 is a first description for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing device of FIG. FIG. 22 is a second explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus of FIG.

(Constitution)
Since the second embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 20, in the present embodiment, between the three-dimensional image construction unit 5 and the image synthesis unit 6, a volume extraction transparency setting unit 51a for setting the volume extraction transparency and a surface extraction transparency setting A transmittance setting unit 51 including a unit 51b is provided, and the transmittance setting unit 51 can set different transmittances in volume extraction and surface extraction. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(Action)
In the present embodiment, in the transmittance setting unit 51, the volume extraction transparency setting unit 51a sets the volume extraction transparency, and in the surface extraction transmittance setting unit 51b, the surface extraction transparency is set. , A surface extraction image or a volume extraction image is read out and displayed on the monitor 7.

  As shown in FIG. 21, the surface of the inner wall of the body cavity is displayed on the monitor 7 by surface extraction, the internal information is retained by volume extraction, and a tissue cross-sectional image is pasted on the cross section. In addition, by setting the transmittance of surface extraction and volume extraction, the presence of the region of interest 52 inside the volume extraction can be confirmed from the outside.

  FIG. 22 shows the above from the side. FIG. 22 shows the region of interest 52 in the volume-extracted image 54 viewed from the viewpoint 53. The presence can be confirmed from the outside by setting the transmittance. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(effect)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the surface of the inner wall of the body cavity can be observed up to fine irregularities on the surface by the surface-extracted image 44, and at the same time, the interior, that is, the volume is extracted The image 54 retains internal information by volume extraction, and the transmittance of the surface-extracted image 44 and the volume-extracted image 54 can be set independently, so that the region of interest 52 inside the three-dimensional image is At the same time, there is an effect that observation can be performed.

Third embodiment:
23 and 24 relate to the third embodiment, FIG. 23 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic image processing device, and FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing device of FIG. .

(Constitution)
Since the third embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 23, in the present embodiment, a surface extraction size (position) changing module 61a for changing the size of surface extraction and the display position is provided between the three-dimensional image construction unit 5 and the image synthesis unit 6. A provided size (position) changing module 61 is provided. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(Action)
In the present embodiment, by operating a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), as shown in FIG. 24, a surface-extracted image 44 is pasted from the initial three-dimensional construction image 43 in a partially reduced range. It can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43e.

  Further, the three-dimensional construction image 43e can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43f in which the surface-extracted image 44 is pasted in a partially reduced range.

  Further, by operating a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), for example, the surface-extracted image 44 in a partially reduced range of the three-dimensional construction image 43f can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43g which is moved to the back. For example, the surface-extracted image 44 of the partially reduced range of the three-dimensional construction image 43f can be converted into a three-dimensional construction image 43h moved toward the near side. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(effect)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, by changing the size and / or position of the surface-extracted image 44, it is possible to obtain even fine surface unevenness information by surface extraction. At the same time as observing, there is an effect that the inside can be observed at the same time by volume extraction.

Fourth embodiment:
25 to 27 relate to the fourth embodiment, FIG. 25 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the ultrasonic image processing device, and FIG. 26 is a first description for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing device of FIG. FIG. 27 is a second explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus of FIG.

(Constitution)
Since the fourth embodiment is almost the same as the first embodiment, only different points will be described, and the same components will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 25, in the present embodiment, a coloring module 71 including a surface extraction coloring module 71 a that performs coloring processing for surface extraction is provided between the three-dimensional image construction unit 5 and the image synthesis unit 6. I have. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(Action)
In the present embodiment, by operating a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), a coloring process is performed on the three-dimensional construction image 43 including the surface extracted image 44 using the color palette 75 as shown in FIG. Do.

  Also, referring to FIG. 27, using a pointing device such as a mouse (not shown), the three-dimensional construction image 43 including the surface-extracted image 44 using the color data of the endoscope image 76 is colored. Perform processing. Other operations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

(effect)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, by performing coloring processing on the three-dimensional construction image 43, it is easy to distinguish organs, tumors, and the like, which were difficult in gray scale. In addition, by using the data of the endoscope image (the image data of the endoscope used when performing the ultrasonic examination) as the color data, there is an effect that a more realistic image can be provided.

[Appendix]
(Appendix 1) Ultrasound data acquisition means for acquiring ultrasound data in a body cavity,
A perspective image generating means for generating a perspective image constructed by bonding tissue cross-sectional images (textures) from the ultrasonic data;
An ultrasonic image processing apparatus comprising: a three-dimensional image construction unit configured to construct a three-dimensional image by extracting a cross section of the perspective image and an inner wall in the body cavity.

(Additional Item 2) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to Additional Item 1, wherein the three-dimensional image constructing means constructs the three-dimensional image by arbitrarily changing a position and a viewing angle of the cross section.

(Additional Item 3) The three-dimensional image construction means includes:
Volume extraction means for constructing a three-dimensional image by volume extraction;
Surface extraction means for constructing a three-dimensional image by surface extraction;
The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a display unit that performs switching display and / or simultaneous display between the three-dimensional image obtained by the volume extraction and the three-dimensional image obtained by the surface extraction.

(Additional Item 4) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to Additional Item 3, wherein the volume extraction unit and the surface extraction unit can independently set the equivalence of the three-dimensional image.

(Additional Item 5) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to additional item 3, wherein the surface extraction unit can set a size position of a three-dimensional image by the surface extraction.

(Additional Item 6) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to additional item 3, wherein the surface extraction unit is capable of coloring the three-dimensional image with a color palette or a medical image.

(Additional Item 7) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to Additional Item 1, further comprising: a combining unit configured to combine and display the three-dimensional image obtained by the volume extraction and the three-dimensional image obtained by the surface extraction.

(Additional Item 8) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to additional item 7, wherein the volume extracting unit and the surface extracting unit can independently set the transmittance of the three-dimensional image.

(Additional Item 9) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to additional item 7, wherein the surface extraction unit is capable of setting a size position of a three-dimensional image by the surface extraction.

(Additional Item 10) The ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to additional item 7, wherein the surface extraction unit is capable of coloring the three-dimensional image with a color palette or a medical image.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of an ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the search dialog in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the read dialog in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the radial image in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the DPR image in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the rotation processing of the image in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory diagram for explaining a modification of the image rotation process in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the mode selection dialog in the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing simultaneous display of a perspective image in which a radial image, a longitudinal section image, and a tissue section image are attached to a section in the flowchart of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a view showing simultaneous display of a three-dimensional construction image in which a radial image, a longitudinal axis cross-sectional image, and a tissue cross-sectional image in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of an animated image display process in the flowchart of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the perspective image of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the three-dimensional construction image of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining extraction of the body cavity inner wall surface in the three-dimensional construction image of FIG. FIG. 14 is a first flowchart showing the flow of the extraction processing of the body cavity inner wall surface in the three-dimensional construction image of FIG. FIG. 14 is a second flowchart showing the flow of the extraction processing of the body cavity inner wall surface in the three-dimensional construction image of FIG. First explanatory diagram illustrating image deformation of the three-dimensional construction image in FIG. Second explanatory view for explaining image deformation of the three-dimensional construction image in FIG. Configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. First explanatory view for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus in FIG. FIG. 20 is a second explanatory view for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus in FIG. Configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus in FIG. Configuration diagram showing a configuration of an ultrasonic image processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. First explanatory view for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus in FIG. Second explanatory view for explaining the operation of the ultrasonic image processing apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ultrasonic image processing apparatus 2 ... Ultrasonic image input part 3 ... Perspective image construction part 4 ... Surface extraction part 5 ... Three-dimensional image construction part 5a ... Volume extraction image construction part 5b ... Surface extraction image construction part 6 ... Image synthesis Unit 7 Monitor 8 Parameter holding memory
Attorney Susumu Ito

Claims (1)

Ultrasound data acquisition means for acquiring ultrasound data in the body cavity,
Perspective image generating means for generating a perspective image constructed by laminating tissue cross-sectional images from the ultrasonic data,
Three-dimensional image construction means for extracting a cross section of the perspective image and an inner wall in the body cavity to construct a three-dimensional image;
An ultrasonic image processing apparatus comprising:
Volume extraction means for constructing a predetermined three-dimensional image of the observed part by volume extraction, and surface extraction means for constructing a predetermined three-dimensional image of the observed part by surface extraction,
An ultrasonic image processing apparatus, wherein a desired three-dimensional image is obtained based on a three-dimensional image constructed by the volume extracting means and the surface extracting means.

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