JP2012165358A - Stereoscopic image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a stereoscopic image display device displaying a stereoscopic image using 2 sheets of images of a right-eye image and a left-eye image in which a stereoscopic effect is hardly caused to change due to a position of an observer viewing a monitor.SOLUTION: Data of an image pair shot at convergence angles of θ=4° and 2° with respect to a same subject is stored in a data storage part 8b in advance. In displaying an image, a distance from a display surface of a monitor 9 to an observer is measured by distance measurement means 40 of the monitor 9. When the measured distance is less than 70 cm, an image pair selection part 8 transmits the data of the image pair shot at the convergence angle of θ=4° from a data storage part 8b to the monitor 9, and when the distance is 70 cm or more, transmitting the data of the image pair shot at the convergence angle of θ=2° from the data storage part 8b to the monitor 9. The monitor 9 displays a stereoscopic image of a breast M based on the data of the image pair received from the data storage part 8b.

Description

  The present invention relates to a stereoscopic image display device that displays a stereoscopic image using two images, a right-eye image and a left-eye image.

  Conventionally, it is known that stereoscopic viewing using parallax is possible by combining and displaying two images, a right-eye image and a left-eye image. Such a stereoscopically viewable image (hereinafter referred to as a stereoscopic image or a stereo image) is generated based on a plurality of images having parallax obtained by photographing the same subject from different positions.

  Such generation of stereoscopic images is used not only in the fields of digital cameras and televisions but also in the field of radiographic imaging. That is, the subject is irradiated with radiation from different directions, the radiation transmitted through the subject is detected by the radiation image detector, and a plurality of radiation images having parallax are obtained, and based on these radiation images A stereoscopic image is generated. And by generating a stereoscopic image in this way, a radiographic image with a sense of depth can be observed, and a radiographic image more suitable for diagnosis can be observed. (For example, see Patent Document 1)

JP 2010-110571 A

  By the way, when observing a stereoscopic image, as the distance from the monitor that displays the stereoscopic image to the observer increases, the stereoscopic effect of the stereoscopic image (how much the subject in the image appears to protrude from the display surface, Or how much it looks retracted) occurs.

  Here, this phenomenon will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the degree of stereoscopic effect of a subject with parallax in the right-eye image and the left-eye image, and FIG. 6 is a graph showing that the stereoscopic effect changes depending on the distance from the display surface to the observer. is there.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the distance to the observer from the display surface is D, the pop-up amount [Delta] D _F from the display surface of the object I parallax amount ΔP is expressed by the equation (1). In the case where the parallax direction is reversed subject I look as if they recessed from the display surface, retraction amount [Delta] D _B at this time is expressed by the equation (2).
ΔD _F = ΔP · D / P + ΔP (1)
ΔD _F = ΔP · D / P−ΔP (2)

As can be seen from the equation (1), since the projection amount ΔD _F of the subject I from the display surface is proportional to the distance D from the display surface to the observer, the stereoscopic view is increased as the distance from the display surface to the observer is increased. The stereoscopic effect of the image will increase. In the case where the parallax direction is reversed, i.e. Similarly for retraction amount [Delta] D _B, as the distance to the viewer from the display surface becomes long, so that the stereoscopic effect of the stereoscopic image is increased.

  Such a phenomenon is not a big problem when viewing general stereoscopic images such as photographs and movies, but when observing stereoscopic images in the medical field such as radiological image diagnosis, This is an undesirable phenomenon when an accurate diagnosis is required because the stereoscopic effect of the patient's imaging region differs depending on the position where the observer looks at the monitor.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a stereoscopic image display apparatus that displays a stereoscopic image using two images, a right-eye image and a left-eye image. The object is to make the stereoscopic effect difficult to change.

  The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to the present invention includes a display unit that displays a stereoscopic image composed of a pair of images for a right eye and a left eye that have a parallax to each other in a stereoscopic manner and allows the viewer to observe the stereoscopic image. Distance specifying means for specifying the distance to the person, image data storage means for storing data of a plurality of image pairs taken at different convergence angles for the same subject, and a plurality of image pairs stored in the image data storage means Image data selecting means for selecting an image pair having a smaller convergence angle as an image pair to be displayed on the display means as the distance increases.

  Here, the distance specifying means may include a measuring means for measuring the distance, and the distance measured by the measuring means may be specified as the distance, or an input means for receiving input of information corresponding to the distance. It is good also as what specifies and is based on the information input into the input means.

  Here, the “information corresponding to the distance” may be the distance value itself. For example, when observing alone, near distance observation is assumed, so the distance from the display means to the observer is close. In a single observation mode where a distance range is set, in a conference, etc., when a plurality of people surround the display means for observation, a long distance range is assumed, so a long distance range is set as the distance from the display means to the observer. Information corresponding to distance, such as a multiple observation mode, may also be used.

  According to the stereoscopic image display apparatus of the present invention, data of a plurality of image pairs photographed at different convergence angles for the same subject is prepared, and the longer the distance from the display means to the observer, the more the display means As the image pair to be displayed, an image pair with a small convergence angle, that is, an image pair with a small stereoscopic effect of the stereoscopic image is selected, so that the stereoscopic effect of the stereoscopic image hardly changes depending on the position where the observer looks at the monitor. be able to.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a breast stereoscopic image photographing display system using an embodiment of a stereoscopic image display device of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram of the arm part of the breast stereoscopic image photographing display system as seen from the right direction in FIG. The block diagram which shows schematic structure inside the computer of the said stereoscopic image imaging display system for breasts Configuration diagram of a monitor of the breast stereoscopic image photographing display system The figure for demonstrating the degree of the three-dimensional effect of a subject with parallax mutually in the image for right eyes, and the image for left eyes Graph showing that the stereoscopic effect changes depending on the distance from the display surface to the observer

  Hereinafter, a stereoscopic image capturing and displaying system for breasts using an embodiment of a stereoscopic image display device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the whole breast stereoscopic image photographing / displaying system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a breast stereoscopic image photographing / displaying system, FIG. 2 is a diagram of the arm part of the breast stereoscopic image photographing / displaying system as viewed from the right in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration inside the computer of the stereoscopic image capturing / display system, and FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a monitor of the breast stereoscopic image capturing / display system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a breast stereoscopic imaging and displaying system 1 according to this embodiment includes a breast imaging device 10, a computer 8 connected to the breast imaging device 10, and a monitor 9 connected to the computer 8. And an input unit 7.

  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, tube voltage, time, etc.) in the radiation source 17.

  Further, in the central portion of the arm portion 13, a compression plate 18 that is disposed above the imaging table 14 and presses and compresses the breast M, a support portion 20 that supports the compression plate 18, and a support portion 20 that extends 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 8 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, and an SSD, and the control unit 8a, the data storage unit 8b, and the image pair as shown in FIG. A selector 8c is configured.

  The controller 8a outputs predetermined control signals to the various controllers 31 to 34 to control the entire system. A specific control method will be described in detail later.

  The data storage unit 8b stores data of a plurality of image pairs captured at different convergence angles for the same subject.

  The image pair selection unit 8c has a function of selecting an image pair to be displayed on the monitor 9 from the data of a plurality of image pairs stored in the data storage unit 8b.

  The input unit 7 is configured by a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, for example, and is used for receiving input of shooting conditions, operation instructions, and the like.

  The monitor 9 uses the two radiographic image signals (image pair data) output from the computer 8 to display the radiographic image for each imaging direction as a two-dimensional image, thereby enabling stereoscopic viewing of the stereoscopic image. It is configured to display.

  As a configuration for displaying a stereoscopic image, for example, radiographic images based on two radiographic image signals are displayed using two screens, and one radiographic image is obtained by using a half mirror or a polarizing glass. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a stereoscopic image is displayed by being incident on the observer's right eye and the other radiation image being incident on the observer's left eye.

  Alternatively, for example, two radiographic images may be displayed by being shifted by a predetermined amount of parallax and superimposed, and a stereoscopic image may be generated by observing this with a polarizing glass, or a parallax barrier method and a lenticular It is good also as a structure which produces | generates a stereoscopic vision image by displaying on a 3D liquid crystal in which two radiographic images can be stereoscopically viewed like a system.

  In addition, a device that displays a stereoscopic image and a device that displays a two-dimensional image may be configured separately, or may be configured as the same device if they can be displayed on the same screen.

  The monitor 9 includes distance measuring means 40 that measures the distance from the display surface of the monitor 9 to the observer. As this distance measuring means 40, any device such as an ultrasonic distance sensor, a laser distance sensor, or a system for calculating a distance by parallax between images for a specific subject in an image taken by a stereo camera is used. However, particularly in a system using a stereo camera, an observer's face (preferably eyes) is detected from the image by a known face recognition technique, and the observer's face (preferably eyes) is preferably detected from the display surface of the monitor 9. If the distance up to is calculated, the distance can be measured accurately in accordance with the processing of the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the breast stereoscopic image capturing and displaying system according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, the operation at the time of shooting will be described.

  First, the breast M is set on the imaging table 14, and the breast M is compressed with a predetermined pressure by the compression plate 18.

  Next, after various imaging conditions including a combination of an angle formed by two different imaging directions (hereinafter referred to as a convergence angle θ) and an imaging angle θ ′ constituting the convergence angle θ are input in the input unit 7, An instruction to start shooting is input.

  Then, when there is an instruction to start photographing at the input unit 7, a stereoscopic image of the breast M is photographed. Specifically, first, the control unit 8 a outputs information about the convergence angle θ and the imaging angle θ ′ constituting the convergence angle θ to the arm controller 31. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that θ = 4 ° is input as information on the convergence angle θ at this time, and a combination of θ ′ = ± 2 ° is input as a combination of the imaging angles θ ′ constituting the convergence angle θ. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the photographer can set an arbitrary convergence angle θ at the input unit 7.

  The arm controller 31 receives the information of the imaging angle θ ′ output from the control unit 8a, and the arm controller 31 first uses the arm to capture a radiographic image for the right eye based on the information of the imaging angle θ ′. The controller 13 outputs a control signal with an imaging angle θ ′ that is inclined + 2 ° with respect to a direction perpendicular to the detection surface 15a.

  In response to the control signal output from the arm controller 31, the arm unit 13 rotates to a position of + 2 °. Subsequently, the control unit 8a outputs a control signal to the radiation source controller 32 and the detector controller 33 so as to perform radiation irradiation and readout of the radiation image signal. In accordance with this control signal, radiation is emitted from the radiation source 17, and a radiation image obtained by photographing the breast M from the direction where the imaging angle θ ′ is + 2 ° is detected by the radiation detector 15, and the radiation image signal is detected by the detector controller 33. Is read and stored in the data storage unit 8b of the computer 8.

  Subsequently, in order to capture a radiographic image for the left eye, a control signal that outputs an imaging angle θ ′ in which the arm unit 13 is inclined by −2 ° with respect to a direction perpendicular to the detection surface 15a is output.

  In response to the control signal output from the arm controller 31, the arm unit 13 rotates to a position of -2 °. Subsequently, the control unit 8a outputs a control signal to the radiation source controller 32 and the detector controller 33 so as to perform radiation irradiation and readout of the radiation image signal. In accordance with this control signal, radiation is emitted from the radiation source 17, and a radiation image obtained by photographing the breast M from the direction where the imaging angle θ ′ is −2 ° is detected by the radiation detector 15, and the radiation image is detected by the detector controller 33. The signal is read out and stored in the data storage unit 8b of the computer 8.

  As described above, after photographing at the convergence angle designated by the user is completed, additional photographing is performed at a convergence angle that is half the convergence angle designated by the user. In the present embodiment, θ = 4 ° is input as information on the convergence angle θ, and a combination of θ ′ = ± 2 ° is input as a combination of the imaging angles θ ′ constituting the convergence angle θ. Further, a combination of θ ′ = ± 1 ° as a combination of the convergence angle θ = 2 ° and the imaging angle θ ′ constituting the convergence angle θ, and additional imaging is performed in the same procedure as described above.

  As a result, the data storage unit 8b stores data of an image pair (right-eye radiation image and left-eye radiation image) captured at the convergence angle θ = 4 ° for the same subject and an image pair captured at the convergence angle θ = 2 °. Will be stored.

  Next, an operation for displaying a stereoscopic image will be described.

  As described above, when a stereoscopic image is observed, the stereoscopic effect of the stereoscopic image increases as the distance from the monitor 9 that displays the stereoscopic image to the observer increases. Such a phenomenon is such that when a stereoscopic image is observed in a medical field such as radiological image diagnosis, the stereoscopic effect of the imaging region of the patient appears different depending on the position where the observer views the monitor 9. Therefore, this phenomenon is not preferable when an accurate diagnosis is required.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in order to solve such a problem, first, the distance measuring means 40 of the monitor 9 measures the distance from the display surface of the monitor 9 to the observer.

  When the distance measured above is less than 70 cm, the image pair selection unit 8c transmits the data of the image pair photographed at the convergence angle θ = 4 ° from the data storage unit 8b to the monitor 9, and measured as described above. If the measured distance is 70 cm or more, data of the image pair captured at the convergence angle θ = 2 ° is transmitted from the data storage unit 8b to the monitor 9. Here, the threshold value is not limited to the above, and an appropriate value may be selected in consideration of the size of the monitor 9 and the installation environment.

  The monitor 9 displays a stereoscopic image of the breast M based on the image pair data received from the data storage unit 8b.

  As described above, as the distance from the monitor 9 to the observer becomes longer, an image pair having a smaller convergence angle, that is, an image pair having a smaller stereoscopic effect is selected as the image pair displayed on the monitor 9. The stereoscopic effect of the stereoscopic image can be made difficult to change depending on the position where the observer views the monitor 9.

  In the description of the above embodiment, additional shooting is performed at a convergence angle that is half of the convergence angle designated by the user at the time of additional shooting. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any mode may be used.

  Further, the distance from the monitor 9 to the observer may be specified only once during the stereoscopic image display, or the distance is specified periodically (for example, once per second) during the stereoscopic image display. When the distance changes, the image may be switched in accordance with the change.

  In the description of the above embodiment, image pairs captured with two types of convergence angles are acquired for the same subject. However, the number of image pairs to be acquired is not particularly limited, and as an aspect Also good. If the number of image pairs to be acquired is two, the present invention can be realized with a smaller number of unnecessary photographing, and conversely, the greater the number of image pairs to be acquired, the smoother the distance from the monitor 9 to the observer. However, since the number of times of extra imaging increases and the exposure dose of the patient also increases, an appropriate number can be selected depending on the situation.

  In the description of the above embodiment, the distance measurement unit 40 is provided to specify the distance from the display surface of the monitor 9 to the observer. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the input unit 7 supports the distance from the user. The input of the information may be accepted, and the distance may be specified based on the input.

  Here, the “information corresponding to the distance” may be the distance value itself. For example, when observing alone, near-distance observation is assumed, and therefore, from the display surface of the monitor 9 to the observer. In a single observation mode in which a short distance range is set as a distance, when observing a monitor 9 with a plurality of persons in a conference or the like, since a long distance observation is assumed, the distance from the display surface of the monitor 9 to the observer is assumed. Information corresponding to distance, such as a multiple observation mode in which a long distance range is set, may be used.

  In addition, as an embodiment of the stereoscopic image display device of the present invention, an example applied to a breast stereoscopic image photographing display system has been shown. However, the present invention is limited to a breast stereoscopic image photographing display system. Instead, the present invention can be applied to any device as long as it can display a stereoscopic image.

  In addition to the above, it goes without saying that various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Stereoscopic image imaging display system for breasts 7 Input part 8 Computer 8a Control part 8b Data storage part 8c Image pair selection part 9 Monitor 10 Mammography apparatus 11 Base 12 Rotating shaft 13 Arm part 14 Imaging stand 15 Radiation image detector 16 Radiation irradiation unit 17 Radiation source 18 Compression plate 31 Arm controller 32 Radiation source controller 33 Detector controller 34 Compression plate controller 40 Distance measuring means

Claims (3)

Display means for displaying a stereoscopic image composed of a pair of images including a right-eye image and a left-eye image having parallax with each other so as to be stereoscopically viewed by an observer;
Distance specifying means for specifying the distance from the display means to the observer;
Image data storage means for storing data of a plurality of image pairs photographed at different convergence angles for the same subject;
Image pair selection means for selecting an image pair having a smaller convergence angle as an image pair to be displayed on the display means as the distance becomes longer, from a plurality of image pair data stored in the image data storage means; A stereoscopic image display device comprising:   The stereoscopic image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance specifying unit includes a measuring unit that measures the distance, and specifies the distance measured by the measuring unit as the distance.   2. The three-dimensional object according to claim 1, wherein the distance specifying unit includes an input unit that receives an input of information corresponding to the distance, and specifies the distance based on the information input to the input unit. Visual image display device.

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