JP2007181659A - Image processing device, magnetic resonance imaging device and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for easily obtaining projection images which use the same projection processing parameter from each of a plurality of three-dimensional image data. <P>SOLUTION: This image processing device comprises a means for storing a plurality of three-dimensional image data, a means for obtaining projection images from the three-dimensional image data, a means for accepting the projection parameter setting to produce projection images, and a means for displaying the projection images. The projection image obtaining means produces projection images from each of the plurality of the three-dimensional data by sharing the set projection parameter among the plurality of three-dimensional image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus suitable for a medical image diagnostic apparatus such as an MRI apparatus or a CT apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus with improved processing of a three-dimensional image.

  Imaging of the vascular system using an MRI apparatus is called MR angiography (MRA), and there are contrast MRA using a contrast agent and non-contrast MRA not using a contrast agent, and imaging methods suitable for each are being developed. In MRA, usually 3D measurement data is projected and displayed in 2D to observe 3D blood vessels. At this time, a rotation axis is set at an appropriate position in the three-dimensional data, a projection angle is changed around the rotation axis, a plurality of projection images are created, and these are sequentially displayed, so that the three-dimensional movement of the blood vessel is performed. Make it easier to grasp.

  On the other hand, in the MRI apparatus, a technique for imaging the whole body by moving the bed on which the subject is placed with respect to the imaging space without limiting the imaging region of the subject to the imaging space has been developed. There are two methods for whole body imaging: moving the bed stepwise and continuously moving the former. The former is called multi-station imaging, and it is possible to obtain whole body images by stitching together the images obtained at each station. it can.

  Among the MRAs described above, contrast-enhanced MRA can be imaged regardless of the direction of travel of the blood vessel, so a wide range of imaging using coronal and sagittal cuts is possible. MRA becomes possible. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for performing contrast MRA by multi-station imaging (for example, Patent Document 1).

Conventionally, in general, when a projection image is created from each of a plurality of 3D image data, the projection image is set by setting projection processing parameters such as a projection method and a projection direction for each 3D image data. I was getting. Therefore, the parameter setting process of the projection process becomes complicated, and the entire operability is lowered.
In particular, when performing projection processing to rotate and display 3D image data obtained by MRA etc., the projection direction and angle interval (increment) are set by the user for each captured image in consideration of the tissue to be rendered. Like to do. Therefore, when performing projection processing on images obtained at each station of multi-station imaging, it is necessary to set parameters for such projection processing for each image of each station, and the operation is complicated.

  In addition, when the parameter settings for each image are not the same, when the images of the stations are combined, a discontinuous image is obtained, and it is difficult to observe the running of the blood vessel.

  In the conventional projection method, the rotation axis when changing the projection angle is defined in parallel with the coordinate axis of the apparatus. Therefore, when the subject is imaged in a state tilted with respect to the moving direction of the bed, it is rotated in the rotation display. There is a problem that the axis and the body axis are shifted from each other, making it difficult to observe the vascular system. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for matching the rotation axis and the body axis. However, when multiple images obtained by multi-station imaging are combined by combining the rotation axes and body axes by applying the above technique, such operations must be performed individually. In addition to the complexity of the operation described above, the rotation axes of the images may not coincide with each other after synthesis, and in this case, the images become discontinuous.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus that can easily acquire a projection image to which the same projection processing parameter is applied from each of a plurality of three-dimensional image data. In particular, an image processing apparatus capable of performing projection processing with high operability by eliminating the complexity of individually setting projection processing parameters for a plurality of images to be synthesized by multi-station imaging or the like The purpose is to provide. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of performing a rotation display useful for diagnosis without discontinuity in an image after projection / combination processing.
JP 2000-79107 A JP 2005-46394 JP

The image processing apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object includes a unit that stores a plurality of three-dimensional image data, a unit that acquires a projection image from the three-dimensional image data, and a projection parameter for creating the projection image. Means for accepting setting; and means for displaying the projection image, wherein the projection image acquisition means shares the set projection parameter among the plurality of three-dimensional image data, and A projection image is created from each of the image data.
As an example, image processing means for creating a plurality of projection images having different projection angles around three-dimensional image data around a predetermined rotation axis, input means for receiving a command necessary for the image processing, and displaying the projection image Display means, and the image processing means includes means for setting a batch processing mode for performing projection processing using the same parameters for a plurality of three-dimensional image data and parameters necessary for the projection processing. In the processing mode, the plurality of three-dimensional image data is projected using the set parameters, and the plurality of projection images are combined and displayed on the display device.

  The projection processing parameters include, for example, an increment of the projection angle, an angle of the projection processing axis with respect to the coordinate axis of the image data, and an offset value.

  The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (MRI apparatus) of the present invention includes an imaging means for imaging a subject by nuclear magnetic resonance, a moving means for moving the subject relative to the imaging means, and the imaging means and the moving means. Control means for dividing and imaging a wide range of the subject into a plurality of areas, and creating three-dimensional image data from the measurement data respectively obtained by imaging the plurality of areas and the three-dimensional image And image processing means for processing data, and the image processing apparatus of the present invention is provided as the image processing means.

The plurality of 3D image data processed by the image processing means of the MRI apparatus is, for example, image data arranged in the body axis direction of the subject acquired by multi-station imaging. Also, for example, a blood vessel image of a subject acquired by blood vessel imaging.
The image processing method of the present invention includes a step of setting parameters necessary for projection processing in an image processing method for creating a plurality of projection images having three-dimensional image data centered on a predetermined rotation axis and different projection angles; The three-dimensional image data includes a step of performing projection processing using the same set parameters, and a step of synthesizing a plurality of projection images.

According to the present invention, it is easy to acquire a projection image to which the same projection parameter is applied from each of a plurality of three-dimensional image data, and the troublesomeness of individually setting parameters is eliminated, and the operability is good. An image processing apparatus is provided.
In addition, according to the present invention, even when the body axis of the subject and the rotation axis of the projection processing are shifted, a plurality of images can be processed at once, so that there is no axis shift between the images, and continuity is maintained. A rotation display can be realized.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall outline of an MRI apparatus to which the present invention is applied. This MRI apparatus constitutes a tissue of a subject 101, a static magnetic field magnet 102 that generates a static magnetic field in a space (imaging space) in which the subject 101 is placed, a gradient magnetic field coil 103 that generates a gradient magnetic field in this space, and An RF coil 104 that generates a high-frequency magnetic field that excites atomic nuclei, an RF coil 105 that detects a magnetic resonance signal generated from the subject 101, and the subject 101 are placed on the subject 101 relative to the imaging space. And a bed 112 for moving.

The gradient magnetic field coil 103 is composed of three gradient magnetic field coils that generate gradient magnetic fields in the X, Y, and Z directions orthogonal to each other, and these three gradient magnetic field coils are respectively inclined according to a signal from the gradient magnetic field power supply 109. Generate a magnetic field. The RF coil 104 generates a high-frequency magnetic field in accordance with the signal from the RF transmitter 110. The signal of the RF coil 105 is detected by the signal detection unit 106, processed by the signal processing unit 107, and converted into an image signal by calculation. The image is displayed on the display unit 108. The bed 112 is driven by the bed driving unit 113 to move the subject 101 in the body axis direction or the lateral direction with respect to the imaging space.
Operations of the gradient magnetic field power supply 109, the RF transmission unit 110, the signal processing unit 107, and the bed driving unit 113 are controlled by the control unit 111. The control unit 111 is provided with an input device 115 such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a joystick so that an operator can input commands necessary for imaging and image processing.

  FIG. 2 shows details of a part related to image processing in the MRI apparatus. In this embodiment, the image processing unit 200 is provided as a part of the signal processing unit 107, and stores a three-dimensional image, a storage unit 201 that stores three-dimensional image data acquired by imaging of the MRI apparatus, image data being processed, and the like. A projection processing unit 202 that performs projection processing on data, an image composition unit 203 that combines a plurality of images, and a display processing unit that performs processing necessary to display an image that has undergone projection processing or composition processing on the display unit 108 And 204. Parameters and data necessary for the processes of the projection processing unit 202, the image composition unit 203, and the display processing unit 204 are set in advance by default and can be set by the operator via the input device 115.

Next, the operation of the MRI apparatus having the above configuration will be described by taking MRA imaging as an example.
FIG. 3 shows an operation procedure according to the first embodiment. First, imaging for acquiring three-dimensional image data is performed on a subject (step 301). In the present embodiment, the control unit 111 performs multi-station imaging by moving the bed 112 stepwise in the body axis direction of the subject in order to perform blood vessel imaging of a wide region over almost the entire body of the subject. In other words, an area having the length T of the subject (first area) is placed in the imaging space, imaging is performed, and then the bed is moved by a predetermined amount (an amount corresponding to the length T of the area) and then stopped. Thus, the second region adjacent to the first region is imaged. A predetermined amount of bed movement and imaging after stopping are repeated, and imaging is performed by dividing a continuous wide range of the subject into a plurality of areas. At this time, the imaging regions of the subject may partially overlap between adjacent stations.

  The blood vessel imaging technique is not particularly limited. When the travel direction of the blood vessel to be observed is almost constant, a PC (phase) is used to image the blood vessel using the TOF (time of flight) method or phase change due to blood flow without using a contrast agent. The contrast method can be employed. When a contrast agent is used, for example, contrast 3D imaging using a T1 shortening contrast agent is performed. Contrast-enhanced MRA can depict blood vessels without depending on the direction of blood flow, and thus has a high degree of freedom in imaging cross section.

  The signal processing unit 107 performs operations such as Fourier transform using signals obtained at each station by the above-described multi-station imaging, creates three-dimensional image data of each station, and stores it in the storage unit 201 of the image processing unit 200. Store.

  If a plurality of 3D image data is obtained, the projection processing unit 202 reads the plurality of 3D image data from the storage unit 201, and creates a 2D projection image by, for example, the MIP (maximum value projection) method ( Step 305). In the MIP (maximum value projection) method, as shown in FIG. 4, 3D data 401 and a 2D projection plane 402 are arranged in a virtual 3D space with an arrangement relationship according to the viewpoint specified by the observer. When calculating the projection value to each pixel on the projection plane of the 3D image data, the measurement data value with the largest value among all the measurement data on the projection line (ray) is the projection value to that pixel. To do. The arrangement of the three-dimensional image data and the projection plane is preset as a default. For example, the coordinates of 3D image data corresponding to the device coordinate system with the magnetic field center as the origin, the static magnetic field direction as Z, the bed movement direction (body axis direction of the subject) as X, and the direction orthogonal to Z and X as Y When the system x, y, z is considered, a plane parallel to the plane passing through the x axis of the three-dimensional image data is set as a projection plane, for example, an xy plane is set as an initial value (0 degree).

  The projection processing unit 202 repeats such MIP processing while changing the projection angle by a predetermined increment (increment degree) θ with the x axis as the rotation axis, and finally divided one round (360 degrees by the increment degree). Number) projection images.

  Prior to starting the MIP process, the image processing unit 200 receives an instruction of the projection angle increment and the processing mode by the user via the input device 115 (steps 303 and 304). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when the MIP process is selected, the display unit 108 displays an increment degree input screen and a process mode selection screen as a UI. The processing mode includes a normal processing mode in which parameters are set for each 3D image data, and a batch processing in which MIP processing is performed using the same parameters for all of the plurality of 3D image data selected in step 302 as targets of MIP processing. In the case of multi-station imaging, the batch designation mode is displayed as, for example, “Whole-Body MIP” and can be selected. When the operator sets the increment degree θ of the MIP process and selects “Whole-Body MIP”, the batch designation mode flag is set (step 304).

  In this state, the MIP process is started (step 305). The projection processing unit 202 sequentially performs projection processing with the same parameters for all the three-dimensional image data selected in step 302. That is, projection planes (initial values) are set in the same arrangement for all three-dimensional image data, and projection images at respective projection angles are sequentially created with the same increment degree. When the MIP processing for all the three-dimensional image data is completed (step 306), the batch designation mode flag is reset. The image composition unit 203 connects the projection images of the respective projection angles of the respective three-dimensional images by connecting the same projection angles, and obtains the composite projection images of all stations for each projection angle (step 308). When the imaging area of the multi-station imaging is the whole body from the head to the foot of the subject, the composite projection image is an image obtained by projecting a blood vessel image of the whole body from a plurality of projection directions around the body axis. The display control unit 204 causes the display unit 108 to rotate and display the whole body MIP image around the rotation axis. For example, if the degree of increment is 5 degrees, 72 projected images with projection angles of 0 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees ... 355 degrees, 360 degrees (0 degrees) are sequentially switched and displayed at a predetermined switching speed. It is displayed as if the blood vessel image is rotated around the body axis. Thereby, the blood vessel can be observed from various directions, and the observation of the blood vessel traveling having a three-dimensional structure is facilitated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when performing MIP processing on a plurality of images, a whole body MIP image of a subject can be obtained without selecting MIP parameters individually by selecting a batch designation mode. .

  In the above embodiment, a case where a plurality of blood vessel images are projected has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to blood vessels, and the same projection processing can be performed for other tissues. For example, the present invention can also be applied to an image depicting a tumor such as a diffusion weighted image (DWI). Furthermore, when the DWI image and the MRA image are displayed in a superimposed manner, it can be applied to the projection processing of both images. In other words, when the images obtained by DWI imaging and the images obtained by MRA are projected and superimposed, the images can be projected with the same parameters by selecting the batch processing mode as the projection processing. As a result, the operability of the processing can be improved, and rotation display without positional deviation between a plurality of images becomes possible. As for the projection processing, not only MIP processing that projects the maximum luminance value among pixels on the projection line, but also minimum value projection method (MinIP method) that projects the minimum luminance value, and opacity for each pixel of 3D image data And other projection processes such as a volume rendering method for constructing a projection image based on the amount of light passing therethrough can be similarly applied. These are appropriately selected according to the tissue to be drawn.

  In the above embodiment, the case where a plurality of 3D images are read and the parameters and the batch processing mode are set prior to the projection processing has been described. However, the plurality of 3D images are sequentially read and projected. Also good. In this case, the batch processing mode is not set prior to the projection processing, but can be performed after one projection processing is completed. Such an embodiment is shown in FIG.

  Also in the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, imaging for acquiring three-dimensional image data by multi-station imaging is performed on the subject as in FIG. 3 (step 601). The imaging may be blood vessel imaging or imaging of other tissues.

  In the present embodiment, when imaging of at least one station is completed, the obtained 3D image data is read (step 602), a projection angle (increment degree) for MIP processing is set, and MIP processing is started. (Steps 603 and 604). After the MIP processing of one 3D image data is completed, the processing mode is set, and the “Whole-Body MIP” mode is set (steps 605 and 606). Thus, the batch designation mode flag is set, and the subsequent MIP processing is performed using the projection angle set in step 603 as a parameter. That is, the 3D image data of the next station is read and MIP processing is performed at the projection angle set in step 603 (steps 607 to 609). Such sequential processing is executed until the processing of the 3D image data of all stations is completed (step 610) .After all the processing is completed, the projected images of each station are joined and combined for each projection angle and rotated. Display (steps 611 to 613).

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the effect that projection processing parameter setting of a plurality of images can be done by a single operation by selecting the batch processing mode, image processing can proceed in parallel with imaging. The effect that the selection of the batch processing mode can be set even during the processing is obtained. For example, some of the images of a plurality of stations can be set with individual parameters, and the remaining some can be processed at once. Also in the present embodiment, the same changes as those in the embodiment of FIG. 3 can be applied to the imaging target and processing method.

  Next, as a third embodiment of the present invention, image processing including setting of a rotation axis for projection processing will be described. In the first and second embodiments, the rotation axis of the projection process is set to one axis (x axis) of the image data as a default, and the body axis direction of the subject is the X axis of the apparatus coordinates (the moving direction of the bed) However, when the body axis Ax of the subject is inclined with respect to the X axis as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the projected image is set with the x axis as the rotation axis. When the rotation display is performed, the left and right blood vessel images having a symmetrical positional relationship move to positions shifted by 180 degrees, resulting in an unclear display. Therefore, it is necessary to make the rotation axis coincide with the body axis of the subject as shown in FIG. The third embodiment includes processing for this purpose.

  An operation procedure of the third embodiment is shown in FIG. Also in this embodiment, after performing imaging for acquiring 3D image data by multi-station imaging of a subject, reading a 3D image of each station to be subjected to MIP processing is the same as in the embodiment of FIG. The same is true (steps 801 and 802).

  However, in this embodiment, before setting the increment degree of the projection process, the projection angle is set in order to make the body axis coincide with the rotation axis of the projection process. Therefore, when the three-dimensional image data is read, the image composition unit 203 synthesizes this raw data, and displays the composite image on the display unit 108 (step 811). In the combining process, for example, an image on the xy plane including the x-axis is extracted from the three-dimensional image data, and is combined and combined. Alternatively, when the 3D image data is composed of a plurality of slice images, the images of slices that are continuous in the moving direction of the bed are connected and combined. The display control unit 204 displays a GUI or the like for rotating the x axis and the body axis on the composite image. FIG. 9 shows an example of a composite image displayed for setting the rotation axis. The operator matches the body axis and the rotation axis via the GUI displayed on the display screen. For example, move the displayed x-axis by dragging the mouse. By this operation, the position on the image data corresponding to the position of the x-axis after movement is set as a rotation axis when projecting each image data (step 812).

  Thereafter, as in the embodiment of FIG. 3, after setting the increment level of the projection process and setting the batch processing mode, the MIP process is performed on all the read three-dimensional images at the same increment level, and the composite process (Steps 803 to 809).

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to collectively process all image data obtained by the multi-station with respect to the rotation axis of the projection processing, and the trouble of individually setting the rotation axis can be eliminated. Further, it is possible to prevent the rotation axis from being shifted for each image, which can occur when the rotation axes are individually set.

An example of a GUI suitable for the embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. When the composite image of each station is created in step 711, a two-dimensional image 901 is displayed as shown in FIG. In the example shown in the drawing, the visual field position is changed for each station, and is displayed so that the positional relationship can be understood. The operator can visually determine what setting should be performed on this data in addition to the setting of the rotation axis described above with reference to such a display. The set results are displayed in the sub windows 902 to 904. The sub windows 902 to 904 are images obtained by viewing the composite image from three different directions, and display the rotation axis set on these images, the projection direction of MIP processing, and the like. The position of these rotation axes can be grasped three-dimensionally, and it can be visually judged whether the setting is appropriate.
Such a display is not limited to the third embodiment, but can be applied to the first and second embodiments.

  Next, as a fourth embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment in which a projection image is obtained by applying the same projection parameter from each of a plurality of three-dimensional image data will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the present embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a projected image. This operation procedure is stored as a program, for example, in the storage unit 201, and is performed by the projection processing unit 202 loading and executing the program.

 In step 1101, a plurality of three-dimensional image data is acquired. For example, in an MR imaging unit, a subject is placed in a static magnetic field space, a plurality of three-dimensional images are taken, and a plurality of three-dimensional images of the same region or different regions are acquired. At this time, a plurality of 3D image data may be acquired in time series under the same imaging conditions, or a plurality of 3D image data may be acquired with different imaging conditions. Commands such as setting of imaging parameters and start of imaging are performed through a GUI displayed on the display unit 108. Each of the acquired three-dimensional image data is subjected to processing suitable for display by the display processing unit 204 and then displayed on the display unit 108 and stored in the storage unit 201.

In step 1102, a reference plane image is created and displayed. Specifically, one of a plurality of three-dimensional image data stored in the storage unit 201 is selected, and a projected image on a reference plane (COR direction, SAG direction, and AX direction) in three orthogonal axes is displayed. It is created and displayed on the display unit 108. The reference plane image is created using a MIP method, multi-section reconstruction (MPR; for example, Patent Document 2), or a volume rendering method. A display example of the reference plane image is shown in FIG. The left area of the display screen is divided into four, and a projected image 1201 in the COR direction is displayed in the upper left area, a projected image 1202 in the SAG direction is displayed in the upper right area, and a projected image 1203 in the AX direction is displayed in the lower left area. The display position of each reference plane image may not be this.
JP 2005-6726 A

  In step 1103, desired 3D image data is selected from a plurality of 3D image data. In the case of time-series 3D image data, 3D image data having a desired time phase is selected. An example of the GUI for selection is shown in FIG. In the right area of the display screen, a GUI for receiving various settings and inputs necessary for the projection process is displayed. The operator inputs a number (for example, 1, 2, 3,...) Corresponding to desired 3D image data from a plurality of 3D image data into the text box 1205 and selects it. Note that this step 1103 is necessary when a creation range (scope) described later is current data, but may be skipped because it is not necessary when it is all data.

  In step 1104, projection parameters for performing projection processing are set. Projection parameters include a projection method, a projection direction and opacity, image quality, filter type, a range in which a projection image is created from a plurality of three-dimensional image data, and these are set. The image quality can be selected from High, Medium, and Low, and the filter can be selected from a filter applied to 3D image data and a filter applied to a projection image. The scope can be selected from current data and all data. When current data is selected, a projection image is created by applying the set projection parameters only to the three-dimensional image data corresponding to the number input in the text box 1205. Therefore, in step 1103 described above, a number (for example, 1, 2, 3,...) Corresponding to the desired 3D image data is previously input from the plurality of 3D image data into the text box 1205. On the other hand, when all data is selected, the set projection parameters are shared between all the three-dimensional image data, and a projection image is created respectively. An example of a GUI for setting projection parameters is shown in FIG. In the right area of the display screen, a pull-down menu for setting a projection method (method), a projection direction (direction), and a creation range (scope) is displayed. The operator selects a desired item from the menu list. FIG. 12 shows an example in which MIP projection is selected as the projection method, the AX direction is selected as the projection direction, and current data is selected as the creation range. Further, as a projection parameter, a clipping region or window width (WW) / window level (WL) of image display may be set. FIG. 12 shows an example of setting a clipping region. The operator displays the ROI cursor 1211 representing the clipping region on any one or more reference plane images, and adjusts the position and size of the ROI cursor 1211 using a pointing device such as a mouse. Also, WW / WL is adjusted by a mouse or a keyboard.

  In step 1105, the projection parameter set in step 1104 is shared among a plurality of 3D image data, and a projection image is created from each 3D image data based on the projection parameter. Specifically, creation of a plurality of projection images described below is activated by pressing the Apply button 1209 or the Start button 1210. Regarding the creation of multiple projection images, if the creation range (scope) of the projection parameters set in step 1104 is all data, the projection parameters set between all the three-dimensional image data are shared, Three-dimensional image data is read from the storage unit 201 to create a projection image, and this process is repeated for all the three-dimensional image data to sequentially create projection images. If the creation range (scope) is current data, the 3D image data selected by the text box 1205 is read from the storage unit 201, and the projection image is created by applying the set projection parameters. If the projection method (method) is MIP, each projection image is created as an MIP image. If the projection direction (direction) is the AX direction, each projection image is created as an AX direction projection image. If a clipping region is set, each projection image is created within the clipping region. Further, if WW / WL is set, each projected image is displayed with the WW / WL.

  In step 1106, each projected image is displayed. Further, the projection image data is stored in the storage unit 201. Specifically, when the Apply button 1209 is pressed, each time a projection image is created, the projection image is displayed connected to the lower side of the projection image displayed immediately before 1204 in the figure. The projected image to be displayed can be changed by moving the scroll bar up and down with a mouse or the like. When the Start button 1210 is pressed, a plurality of created projection images are sequentially stored in the storage unit 201.

  In step 1107, if it is necessary to repeat while changing the projection parameter, the process returns and repeats in step 1104.

  The above is the continuous creation flow of the projection image in the present embodiment. The plurality of 3D image data used in the description of the creation procedure described above is a time series by imaging the same region or different regions of the subject. The acquired 3D image data may be used, or a plurality of 3D image data having different imaging conditions such as TE and TR may be used. A plurality of three-dimensional images from different imaging devices may be used. If it is time-series 3D image data, a projection image for each time phase is created from the 3D image data for each time phase based on the projection parameters set in step 1104. Or if it is several 3D image data from which imaging conditions differ, the projection image for every imaging condition will be produced from the three-dimensional image data for every imaging condition. Alternatively, in the case of a plurality of 3D image data for different imaging devices, a projection image for each imaging device is created from the 3D image data for each imaging device.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the projection image is created by sharing the set projection parameter among a plurality of three-dimensional image data only by setting the projection parameter once. It becomes easy to obtain a projection image of the same projection condition from each of a plurality of three-dimensional image data, and the projection parameter setting operation is facilitated to reduce the burden on the operator.

  Although the case where the present invention is applied to the image processing unit of the MRI apparatus has been described above, the present invention is applicable to any image processing apparatus having a 3D image projection processing function, such as a CT apparatus as well as an MRI apparatus. It is possible. Therefore, the present invention is not applied to a part of the imaging apparatus (image processing unit) as in the above embodiment, but may be an independent image processing apparatus. In that case, it is only necessary to read the image data picked up by the image pickup device by communication or a portable medium and execute only the image processing.

The figure which shows the whole outline | summary of the MRI apparatus with which this invention is applied. The block diagram which shows the image process part of this invention. The figure which shows one Embodiment of operation | movement of the image processing part of this invention. The figure explaining a projection process. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI in the embodiment of FIG. The figure which shows other embodiment of operation | movement of the image process part of this invention. The figure which shows the relationship between the rotating shaft of a projection process, and a body axis. The figure which shows another embodiment of operation | movement of the image process part of this invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI in the embodiment of FIG. The figure which shows another example of GUI. The figure which shows the procedure of the image processing by the 4th Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of image display according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  101 subject, 102 static magnetic field magnet, 103 gradient coil, 104, 105 RF coil, 108 display unit, 111 control unit, 112 bed, 115 input device, 200 image processing unit, 201 storage unit, 202 projection processing unit, 203 Composition processing unit, 204 Display control unit

Claims (9)

Image processing means for creating a plurality of projection images having different projection angles around three-dimensional image data around a predetermined rotation axis, input means for receiving a command necessary for the image processing, and display means for displaying the projection image In an image processing apparatus comprising:
The image processing means includes means for setting a batch processing mode for performing projection processing using the same parameters for the parameters necessary for the projection processing and a plurality of three-dimensional image data. In the batch processing mode, An image processing apparatus that performs projection processing of the plurality of three-dimensional image data using set parameters, synthesizes the plurality of projection images, and displays them on the display device.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter includes a projection angle increment.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the parameter includes an angle and an offset value of a rotation axis of projection processing with respect to a coordinate axis of image data. Imaging means for imaging a subject by nuclear magnetic resonance, moving means for moving the subject relative to the imaging means, and controlling the imaging means and the moving means so that a wide area of the subject is divided into a plurality of areas Magnetic resonance imaging comprising: control means for performing imaging separately; and image processing means for generating three-dimensional image data from the measurement data respectively obtained by imaging the plurality of regions and processing the three-dimensional image data In the device
A magnetic resonance imaging apparatus comprising the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 as the image processing means.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of three-dimensional image data are image data arranged in a body axis direction of a subject acquired by multi-station imaging.   The magnetic resonance imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of three-dimensional image data are blood vessel images of a subject acquired by blood vessel imaging. In an image processing method for creating a plurality of projection images having different projection angles around a predetermined rotation axis from three-dimensional image data,
Setting the parameters required for the projection process;
Performing a projection process on each of a plurality of three-dimensional image data using the set same parameter;
And a step of synthesizing a plurality of projection images. Means for storing a plurality of three-dimensional image data;
Means for obtaining a projected image from the three-dimensional image data;
Means for accepting the setting of projection parameters for creating the projection image;
Means for displaying the projected image;
In an image processing apparatus comprising:
The projection image acquisition means is configured to share the set projection parameters between the plurality of three-dimensional image data and create a projection image from each of the plurality of three-dimensional image data. apparatus. (a) acquiring and storing a plurality of three-dimensional image data;
(b) setting projection parameters;
(c) creating a projection image from one of the stored three-dimensional image data using the set projection parameter;
(d) changing the stored three-dimensional image data and repeating the step (c);
An image processing method.

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