JP2012100246A - Stereoscopic image display device and stereoscopic image display method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a viewer to accurately grasp a measurement value in a stereoscopic image.SOLUTION: A straight line for measurement in a stereoscopic image is displayed on a display unit. When positions of two points on the displayed straight line for measurement are inputted, the viewer selects a display position in a depth direction of a measurement value image indicating a measurement value of a distance between the two input points, from among display positions on the front side of a screen of the display unit, on the screen, and on the rear side of the screen. A depth of the selected display position is given to the measurement value image, and the measurement value image is combined with the stereoscopic image, and a resultant image is displayed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device that detects a radiographic image for each imaging direction by irradiating a subject with radiation from two different imaging directions, and displays a stereoscopic image using the two detected radiographic images. The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display method.

  Conventionally, it is known that stereoscopic viewing can be performed using parallax by displaying a plurality of images in combination. Such a stereoscopically viewable image (hereinafter referred to as a stereoscopic image or a stereo image) is generated based on a plurality of images with parallax obtained by photographing the same subject from different directions. Such stereoscopic image generation is used not only in the fields of digital cameras and televisions but also in the field of radiographic imaging. That is, the patient is irradiated with radiation from different directions, the radiation transmitted through the subject is detected by a radiation image detector, and a plurality of radiation images having parallax are obtained, and these radiations are acquired. A stereoscopic image is generated based on the image. By generating a stereoscopic image in this way, the observer can observe a radiological image with a sense of depth, which is more suitable for diagnosis. A radiographic image can be observed.

  Further, in the stereoscopic image generated based on the radiographic image as described above, when performing diagnosis or observation, it may be necessary to measure the size or distance of the region of interest of the subject. For example, a method of measuring a distance of a region of interest in a stereoscopic image by displaying a measurement bar such as a scale on a display screen on which a stereoscopic image is displayed is employed.

JP 2004-104331 A JP-A-2005-65162 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-16889 JP 2005-49668 A JP 2010-521738 A

  However, in a stereoscopic image display device, particularly in a fluoroscopic image such as a radiographic image, a measurement value representing a measurement result of a subject part is displayed in a subject image overlapping in the depth direction. When this happens, the measurement value may be difficult to see.

  Patent Document 1 discloses that arbitrary characters, symbols, and the like are written in a stereoscopic image, and a depth is added to an image corresponding to the written information to be combined with the stereoscopic image. Nothing is disclosed about the measurement values. In addition, Patent Documents 2 to 4 disclose that the position in the depth direction is changed depending on display contents, but nothing is disclosed about a radiographic image or a measurement value.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a stereoscopic image display apparatus and a stereoscopic image display method capable of accurately grasping a measurement value in a stereoscopic image. .

The stereoscopic image display device of the present invention includes a display unit that displays a stereoscopic image that can be stereoscopically viewed using a radiographic image for each imaging direction acquired by irradiating a subject with radiation from different imaging directions;
A measurement bar display control unit for displaying a measurement line in the stereoscopic image on the display unit;
An input means for inputting a position of a point on the measurement straight line displayed by the measurement bar display control unit;
When the position of two points is input by the input means, the display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image representing the measurement value of the distance between the two input points is displayed on the screen front side of the display unit. , A display position selection unit for selecting any one of the back side of the screen,
A measurement value display control unit that adds the depth of the display position selected by the display position selection unit to the measurement value image and synthesizes and displays the stereoscopic image on the stereoscopic image. .

  In the present invention, the “straight line for measurement” means one having a known length, and may be one having a scale such as an object difference.

  In the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention, the display position selection unit may select the display position according to the importance of information on the subject to be measured.

  In the stereoscopic image display apparatus of the present invention, the display position selection unit may select the near side of the screen as the display position when the importance of the information on the subject to be measured is high. .

The stereoscopic image display method of the present invention includes a display unit that displays a stereoscopic image that can be stereoscopically viewed using a radiation image for each of the imaging directions acquired by irradiating the subject with radiation from different imaging directions. In the stereoscopic image display method in the stereoscopic image display device,
Displaying a straight line for measurement in the stereoscopic image on the display unit;
When the positions of two points on the displayed measurement straight line are input, the display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image representing the measurement value of the distance between the two input points is displayed on the display unit. Select one of the near side of the screen, on the screen, or the back side of the screen,
The depth of the selected display position is added to the measurement value image and is combined with the stereoscopic image and displayed.

  In the stereoscopic image display method of the present invention, the display position may be selected according to the importance of information on the subject to be measured.

  Further, in the stereoscopic image display method of the present invention, the object on which the measurement subject is highly important may select the front side of the screen as the display position.

  According to the stereoscopic image display device and the stereoscopic image display method of the present invention, the measurement line in the stereoscopic image is displayed on the display unit, and the positions of two points on the displayed measurement line are input. The display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image representing the measurement value of the distance between the two input points is selected from one of the front side of the screen, the upper side of the screen, and the rear side of the screen, Since the depth of the selected display position is added to the measurement value image and combined with the stereoscopic image, the measurement value indicating the measurement result of the subject part is displayed in the subject image overlapping in the depth direction. Even if the measurement value becomes difficult to see, the observer can select the display position of the measurement value from the front side of the display, the screen, or the back side of the screen, making it easier to see the measurement value. Accurately grasp measurement values in stereoscopic images Can.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a breast image photographing display system using an embodiment of a stereoscopic image display device of the present invention. The figure which looked at the arm part of the mammography display system shown in FIG. 1 from the right direction of FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration inside a computer of the breast image capturing and displaying system shown in FIG. A perspective view showing an example of a wheel mouse The flowchart for demonstrating an effect | action of the breast image radiographing display system shown in FIG. The figure which shows typically an example of the display of the stereo image of the breast containing an abnormal shadow candidate, a measurement bar, and a solid cursor The figure which shows typically an example of the display of the stereo image of the breast containing an abnormal shadow candidate, a measurement bar, and a measured value image The figure which shows typically an example of the display of the stereo image of the breast containing an abnormal shadow candidate, a measurement bar, and a measured value image The figure which shows typically an example of the display of the stereo image of the breast containing an abnormal shadow candidate, a measurement bar, and a measured value image The figure explaining the method of changing the display position of a measured value image The figure explaining the method of giving depth to a measurement value image

  Hereinafter, a mammography display system using an embodiment of a stereoscopic image display apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the entire breast image photographing display system of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a breast image capturing and displaying system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a breast image capturing apparatus 10, a computer 2 connected to the breast image capturing apparatus 10, a monitor 3 connected to the computer 2, and an input unit. 4 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mammography apparatus 10 includes a base 11, a rotary shaft 12 that can move in the vertical direction (Z direction) with respect to the base 11, and can rotate. The arm part 13 connected with the base 11 is provided. FIG. 2 shows the arm 13 viewed from the right direction in FIG.

  The arm portion 13 has an alphabet C shape, and a radiation table 16 is attached to one end of the arm portion 13 so as to face the imaging table 14 at the other end. The rotation and vertical movement of the arm unit 13 are controlled by an arm controller 31 incorporated in the base 11.

  A radiographic image detector 15 such as a flat panel detector and a detector controller 33 that controls reading of a charge signal from the radiographic image detector 15 are provided inside the imaging table 14.

  Further, inside the imaging table 14, a charge amplifier that converts the charge signal read from the radiation image detector 15 into a voltage signal, a correlated double sampling circuit that samples the voltage signal output from the charge amplifier, A circuit board provided with an AD conversion unit for converting a voltage signal into a digital signal is also installed.

  In addition, the photographing table 14 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the arm unit 13, and even when the arm unit 13 rotates with respect to the base 11, the direction of the photographing table 14 is fixed to the base 11. can do.

  The radiation image detector 15 can repeatedly perform recording and reading of a radiation image, and may use a so-called direct type radiation image detector that directly receives radiation and generates charges. Alternatively, a so-called indirect radiation image detector that converts radiation once into visible light and converts the visible light into a charge signal may be used. As a radiation image signal reading method, a radiation image signal is read by turning on / off a TFT (thin film transistor) switch, or by irradiating reading light. It is desirable to use a so-called optical readout system from which a radiation image signal is read out, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other systems may be used.

  A radiation source 17 and a radiation source controller 32 are housed in the radiation irradiation unit 16. The radiation source controller 32 controls the timing of irradiating radiation from the radiation source 17 and the radiation generation conditions (tube current, time, tube current time product, etc.) in the radiation source 17.

  Further, in the central portion of the arm portion 13, a compression plate 18 disposed above the imaging table 14 to press and compress the breast, a support portion 20 that supports the compression plate 18, and a support portion 20 in the vertical direction ( A moving mechanism 19 for moving in the Z direction) is provided. The position of the compression plate 18 and the compression pressure are controlled by the compression plate controller 34.

  The computer 2 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, and an SSD. The control unit 8a, the radiation image storage unit 8b, and the display as shown in FIG. A control unit 8c and a display position selection unit d are configured.

  3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration inside the computer of the mammography and display system shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a wheel mouse, and FIG. 5 is a mammography and display system shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a breast stereo image including an abnormal shadow candidate, a display of a measurement bar and a three-dimensional cursor, and FIG. 7 is a breast stereo image including an abnormal shadow candidate. FIG. 8 schematically shows an example of display of a measurement bar and a measurement value image, FIG. 8 schematically shows an example of display of a stereo image of a breast including an abnormal shadow candidate, a measurement bar, and a measurement value image, and FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of display of a stereo image of a breast including an abnormal shadow candidate, a measurement bar, and a measurement value image, FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a method for changing the display position of the measurement value image, and FIG. Value image It is a diagram illustrating a method for imparting depth.

  The controller 8a outputs predetermined control signals to the various controllers 31 to 35 to control the entire system. A specific control method will be described in detail later.

  The radiation image storage unit 8b stores in advance two radiation image signals detected by the radiation image detector 15 by photographing from two different photographing directions.

  The display control unit 8c includes a radiation image display control unit 51, a measurement bar display control unit 52, and a measurement value display control unit 53, and is displayed on the monitor 3 in accordance with an input from the input unit 4 described later by the observer. The cursor can also be moved in the in-plane direction of the stereo image. Here, the in-plane direction means an in-plane direction orthogonal to the depth direction. When the depth direction is the Z direction, it means the direction in the XY plane orthogonal to the Z direction. The display control unit 8c also has a function of generating a measurement value image representing a measurement value, which will be described later, and displaying it on the monitor 3.

  The radiographic image display control unit 51 performs a predetermined process on the two radiographic image signals read from the radiographic image storage unit 8b, and then displays a normal radiographic stereo image of the breast M on the monitor 3. It is.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the measurement bar display control unit 52 displays a measurement straight line, that is, a measurement bar, as shown in FIG. 6. The measurement bar displays a scale of the scale value of the actual size of the subject in the radiation image. Has been granted. In the present embodiment, the measurement bar is displayed two-dimensionally on the monitor 3, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a three-dimensional image can be obtained by using a known technique such as a three-dimensional scale. May be displayed.

  The measurement value display control unit 53 displays the display position on the measurement value image representing the measurement value of the distance between the two points when the position of two points on the measurement bar is input by the input unit described later. Is added to the stereo image for display. Details will be described later.

  The display position selection unit 8d selects the display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image from any one of the near side of the screen of the monitor 3, the top of the screen, and the back side of the screen. Selection by the display position selection unit 8d is performed by an input instruction from an input unit described later.

  The input unit 40 receives input of imaging conditions and observation conditions by the observer, input of operation instructions, and the like. For example, the input unit 40 includes an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. A wheel mouse 41 as shown in FIG. The wheel mouse 41 includes a rotation wheel 42. When the cursor displayed on the monitor 3 is a three-dimensional cursor, the position of the three-dimensional cursor in the depth direction is changed by rotating the rotation wheel 42 by an observer. The

  The monitor 3 is configured to be able to display a stereo image using two radiation image signals output from the computer 2 at the time of capturing a stereo image. As a configuration for displaying a stereo image, for example, a radiographic image based on two radiographic image signals is displayed using two screens, and one of the radiographic images is observed by using a half mirror or a polarizing glass. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a stereo image is displayed by being incident on the right eye of the observer and the other radiation image is incident on the left eye of the observer. Or, for example, two radiographic images may be displayed in a superimposed manner while being shifted by a predetermined amount of parallax, and this may be configured to generate a stereo image by observing with a polarizing glass, or a parallax barrier method and a lenticular method As described above, a stereo image may be generated by displaying two radiation images on a stereoscopically viewable 3D liquid crystal.

  Next, the operation of the mammography / display system of the present embodiment will be described. This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the patient's breast M is placed on the imaging table 14, and the breast M is compressed with a predetermined pressure by the compression plate 18 (S10).

  Next, in the input unit 4, after various shooting conditions are input by the photographer, an instruction to start shooting is input (S11).

  Then, when there is an instruction to start imaging at the input unit 4, the first radiographic image of the two radiographic images constituting the stereo image of the breast M is captured (S12).

  Specifically, first, the control unit 8 a reads a convergence angle θ for capturing a preset stereo image, and outputs information on the read convergence angle θ to the arm controller 31. In this embodiment, θ = ± 2 ° is stored in advance as information on the convergence angle θ at this time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an arbitrary convergence angle is set by the photographer in the input unit 4. It can be set.

  Then, the arm controller 31 receives the information on the convergence angle θ output from the control unit 8a. The arm controller 31 captures the image of the arm unit 13 based on the information on the convergence angle θ as shown in FIG. A control signal is output so as to rotate + θ ° with respect to a direction perpendicular to the table 14. That is, in the present embodiment, a control signal is output so that the arm unit 13 is rotated + 2 ° with respect to a direction perpendicular to the imaging table 14.

  Then, in a state where the arm unit 13 is rotated by + 2 ° in accordance with the control signal output from the arm controller 31, the control unit 8a applies radiation to the radiation source controller 32 and the detector controller 33 and the radiation. A control signal is output so as to read out the image signal. In response to this control signal, radiation is emitted from the radiation source 17, a radiation image obtained by photographing the breast from the + 2 ° direction is detected by the radiation image detector 15, and a radiation image signal is read by the detector controller 33. After predetermined signal processing is performed on the radiographic image signal, the radiographic image signal is stored in the radiographic image storage unit 8 b of the computer 2.

  Next, a radiographic image of the second of the two radiographic images constituting the stereo image of the breast M is taken (S13). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the arm controller 31 outputs a control signal so as to rotate the arm unit 13 by −θ ° with respect to a direction perpendicular to the imaging table 14. That is, in the present embodiment, a control signal is output so that the arm unit 13 is rotated by −2 ° with respect to a direction perpendicular to the imaging table 14.

  Then, in a state where the arm unit 13 is rotated by −2 ° according to the control signal output from the arm controller 31, the control unit 8 a applies radiation to the radiation source controller 32 and the detector controller 33 and performs radiation. A control signal is output so as to read out the image signal. In response to this control signal, radiation is emitted from the radiation source 17, a radiation image obtained by imaging the breast from the −2 ° direction is detected by the radiation image detector 15, and a radiation image signal is read by the detector controller 33, After predetermined signal processing is performed, it is stored in the radiation image storage unit 8b of the computer 2.

  Next, the two radiographic image signals stored in the radiographic image storage unit 8b as described above are input to the radiographic image display control unit 51 and subjected to predetermined processing in the radiographic image display control unit 51. Is output to the monitor 3, and a stereo image of the breast and the cursor C are displayed on the monitor 3 as shown in FIG. 6 (S14). The display position of the cursor C here is determined in accordance with an input from the input unit 4 by the observer.

  Next, the measurement bar display control unit 52 displays the measurement bar B, which is a measurement straight line, on the screen of the monitor 3 as shown in FIG. 6 (S15).

  Then, the display position selection unit 8d determines whether or not the positions of two points on the measurement bar B are input from the input unit 4 (S16). For the input of the positions of the two points, the observer operates the wheel mouse 41 to place the cursor C at points P1 and P2 on the measurement bar B as shown in FIG. To be done. Then, the distance between the input two points P1 and P2 is calculated by a measurement value calculation unit (not shown), and the calculation result is used as a measurement value, and the display control unit 52 generates a measurement value image representing the measurement value. . In FIG. 6, A1 represents an area with a possibility of calcification or a tumor, that is, an abnormal shadow candidate.

  When it is determined that the positions of the two points have been input (S16; YES), the display position selection unit 8d selects the display position of the measurement value image (S17). The selection by the display position selection unit 8d selects one of the display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image from among the near side of the screen of the monitor 3, the top of the screen, and the back side of the screen. A selection screen for selecting the near side of the screen, the top of the screen, or the back side of the screen is displayed on the screen, and the observer can select the screen by operating the wheel mouse 41. In addition, about this selection method, any method may be used and can be changed suitably.

  Next, the measurement value display control unit 53 adds the depth of the display position selected by the display position selection unit 8d to the measurement value image (S18). As shown in FIG. 10, the depth of the measurement value image is based on the measurement value image displayed on the screen of the monitor 3, that is, the distance between the left-eye image and the right-eye image in which the measurement value is generated, that is, the amount of parallax. When the parallax amount is given as shown in (a) of FIG. 10, when the observer observes the monitor 3, the measured value is displayed on the near side of the screen as shown in FIG. When the observer observes the monitor 3 when no parallax amount is given as shown in (b) of FIG. 10, the measured value is displayed on the screen as shown in FIG. You can see it displayed. When the parallax amount is given as shown in (c) of FIG. 10, when the observer observes the monitor 3, the measurement value is displayed on the back side of the screen as shown in FIG. .

Measurement image, as shown in FIG. 11, is synthesized on the right-eye radiographic image and the left eye radiographic image of the breast, in the right-eye radiographic image measurement image G position and / or in the left-eye radiation image of _R An arbitrary depth amount can be given by moving the position of the measurement value image _{GL in} the horizontal direction. Note that the depth amount can be set in advance by the observer inputting from the input unit 4, or can be reset after confirming the depth amount of the subject to be measured.

  Then, the measurement value display control unit 53 adds the depth to the measurement value image as described above (S18), and synthesizes the measurement value image with the depth added to the breast stereo image as shown in FIG. After performing the predetermined processing, the image is output to the monitor 3, and the breast stereo image and the measurement value image are displayed on the monitor 3 (S19).

  If it is determined in step S16 that the positions of the two points on the measurement bar B are not input (S16; NO), the process of step S16 is repeated until the positions of the two points are input. .

  As described above, according to the stereoscopic image display device and the stereoscopic image display method of the present embodiment, when the measurement bar B is displayed on the display unit and the positions of two points on the displayed measurement bar B are input. The display position in the depth direction of the measured value image G representing the measured value of the distance between the two input points is selected and selected from the near side of the screen of the monitor 3, on the screen, or on the far side of the screen. Since the depth of the displayed position is added to the measurement value image G and combined with the stereo image of the breast, the measurement value G representing the measurement result of the subject part is displayed in the subject image overlapping in the depth direction. Even if the measured value G becomes difficult to see, the observer can select the display position of the measured value G from the front side of the monitor 3, on the screen, or the back side of the screen. Measurement values in stereoscopic images It is possible to accurately grasp the.

  In the present embodiment, the display position selection unit 8d selects the display position in response to an input instruction from the input unit 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, and information on the subject to be measured is stored. You may make it select a display position according to importance. Specifically, the measurement value image G is obtained because measurement of an area having a possibility of calcification or a mass in an organ, that is, an abnormal shadow candidate, is more important than measurement of the shape of an organ such as the heart, lung, and breast. Display on the front side of the screen.

  In the embodiment described above, an embodiment of the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention is applied to a breast image capturing and displaying system. However, the subject of the present invention is not limited to the breast, for example, the chest and head. The present invention can also be applied to a radiographic imaging display system for imaging.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mammography imaging display system 2 Computer 3 Monitor 3a Display surface 4 Input part 8a Control part 8b Radiation image memory | storage part 8c Display control part 8d Display position selection part 10 Breast imaging apparatus 13 Arm part 14 Imaging stand 15 Radiation image detector 16 Radiation irradiation unit 17 Radiation source 18 Compression plate 51 Radiation image display control unit 52 Measurement bar display control unit 53 Measurement value display control unit B Measurement bar C Cursor G Measurement value

Claims (6)

A display unit that displays a stereoscopic image that can be stereoscopically viewed using a radiographic image for each of the imaging directions acquired by irradiating the subject with radiation from different imaging directions;
A measurement bar display control unit for displaying a measurement line in the stereoscopic image on the display unit;
An input means for inputting a position of a point on the measurement straight line displayed by the measurement bar display control unit;
When the position of two points is input by the input means, the display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image representing the measurement value of the distance between the two input points is displayed on the screen front side of the display unit. , A display position selection unit for selecting any one of the back side of the screen,
A stereoscopic image comprising: a measurement value display control unit configured to add the depth of the display position selected by the display position selection unit to the measurement value image and to display the synthesized image on the stereoscopic image. Display device.   The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display position selection unit is configured to select the display position in accordance with the importance of information on a subject to be measured.   2. The stereoscopic image display according to claim 1, wherein the display position selection unit selects the front side of the screen as the display position when the importance of the information of the subject to be measured is high. apparatus. Stereoscopic viewing in a stereoscopic image display apparatus including a display unit that displays a stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image using radiographic images in each of the photographing directions acquired by irradiating the subject with radiation from different photographing directions. In the image display method,
Displaying a straight line for measurement in the stereoscopic image on the display unit;
When the positions of two points on the displayed measurement straight line are input, the display position in the depth direction of the measurement value image representing the measurement value of the distance between the two input points is displayed on the display unit. Select one of the near side of the screen, on the screen, or the back side of the screen,
A stereoscopic image display method, comprising: adding the depth of the selected display position to the measurement value image, and combining and displaying the stereoscopic image.   The stereoscopic image display method according to claim 4, wherein the display position is selected in accordance with the importance of the information of the subject to be measured.   The stereoscopic image display method according to claim 4, wherein the information on a subject to be measured has high importance, and the front side of the screen is selected as the display position.