JP2017161527A - Processing and display of nuclear medicine image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a new technique that makes it easy to compare bone scintigraphy images.SOLUTION: A plurality of images are picked up at different dates and times respectively, for the same person, and a plurality of images subjected to processing for enabling comparison to one another are subjected to: generation of a signal for displaying the plurality of images arranged in photographing date order; setting an attention region for each of the plurality of images; calculating first information relating to a pixel value for each attention region; and generation of a signal for displaying each of the calculated first information while being superimposed on a relating one of the plurality of images. However, the plurality of images are bone scintigraphy images for progress observation of bone tumor treatment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to processing and display of nuclear medicine images including bone scintigraphy.

background

  When using anticancer drugs for the treatment of malignant tumors, it is very important to observe the progress after use regularly. This is because if the tumor grows again with time, it will be necessary to take measures such as applying an anticancer agent again or selecting another treatment method. One technique that can be used to examine tumors in the body is bone scintigraphy.

  Bone scintigraphy is a kind of nuclear medicine imaging technology, in which a radiopharmaceutical is administered into the body, and gamma rays emitted due to the decay of the nuclide are captured by a detector and imaged. By using a substance that gathers at a site where bone metabolism or reaction is active as a radiopharmaceutical, it is possible to examine the presence or absence of bone tumor, bone inflammation, and fracture. Bone scintigraphy is a very useful technique for follow-up after the use of anticancer drugs because it is more sensitive than x-ray photography for the discovery of bone tumors.

  The following prior art documents describe a technique that makes it possible to easily observe the progress by creating a differential image of two bone scintigraphy images taken at different times. However, a technique that enables more intuitive follow-up observation is required.

International Publication No. 2007 / 062135A2 Pamphlet

Junji Shiraishi, et al., Development of a computer-aided diagnostic scheme for detection of interval changes in successive whole-body bone scans, Med Phys. 2007 Jan; 34 (1) p25-36.

  In view of the above-described circumstances, the present inventor has made the present invention to facilitate follow-up observation using a bone scintigraphic image.

  An example of an embodiment of the present invention is a plurality of images taken at different dates and times for the same person, and a plurality of images that have been processed for comparison with each other, Generating signals for display in order of shooting date and time; setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images; calculating first information regarding pixel values for each of the regions of interest; Generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images. However, the plurality of images are bone scintigraphic images for follow-up of bone tumor treatment.

  In some embodiments, calculating second information for each of the regions of interest; generating a signal for displaying at least two of the calculated second information together with shooting time information; May further be included.

  Examples of embodiments of the present invention include a method executed by the system by reading a program instruction into a processor of the system and executing the above-described processing. An example of an embodiment of the present invention includes a computer program including instructions that are executed by a processor of a system to cause the system to execute the above processing.

  Further examples of implementations of the invention include systems configured to perform the above processing.

  When the present invention is applied to comparison of bone scintigraphic images, it is possible to easily observe changes in the images depending on the photographing time.

  The present invention is an invention designed to facilitate follow-up observation using bone scintigraphic images. However, the present invention is not limited to comparison of a plurality of bone scintigraphic images with different imaging timings, but also various nuclear medicines. It can be used for image comparison.

  Examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in each of the claims included in the appended claims. However, it should be noted that the applicant may claim a patent in the future for any new technical features that can be grasped from the present specification and drawings, even though they are not currently claimed. I want.

  Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram depicting a main configuration of a system 100 for executing various processes disclosed in the present specification. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the process disclosed by this specification. It is the figure which showed the mode of the display of the image data used as the process target in the Example disclosed by this specification. It is the figure which showed the mode of ROI setting in one Example. This is an example in which analysis information in one embodiment is displayed superimposed on image data. It is an example which displayed other analysis information in one example. This is an example in which the two pieces of analysis information are displayed superimposed on the image data.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

  FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting a main configuration of a system 100 for executing various processes disclosed in the present specification. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a system 100 is similar to a general computer in hardware, and includes a CPU 102, a main storage device 104, an auxiliary storage device 106, a display interface 108, an external device interface 110, and a communication device. 112 or the like. The system 100 may be provided as a device in which almost all components are mounted in a single housing, or may be configured from a plurality of physically different housings. Like a general computer, a high-speed RAM (Random Access Memory) can be used as the main storage device 104, and an inexpensive, large-capacity hard disk, flash memory, SSD, or the like is used as the auxiliary storage device 106. be able to. The system 100 can be connected to a display 114 for displaying information, which is connected via a display interface 108. In addition, a user interface 116 for inputting information can be connected to the system 100, which is connected via an external device interface 110. The user interface 116 can be, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel. The communication device 112 can be used to connect to another computer or the Internet via a network. The most basic function of the system 100 is provided by the operating system 120 stored in the auxiliary storage device 106 being read and executed by the CPU 102. In addition, various programs stored in the auxiliary storage device 106 are read and executed by the CPU 102 to provide functions other than the functions provided by the operating system 120.

  In addition to the operating system 120, the auxiliary storage device 106 stores an image processing / display program 122. This program is a central element of the image processing / display function provided by this embodiment. Various processes disclosed in this specification can be implemented by reading various instructions included in the program 122 into the CPU 102 and executing them unless otherwise specified. In each process, the CPU 102 reads out data from the storage device according to an instruction such as the program 122 and performs an operation, and stores the obtained result data mainly in the main storage device 104. The stored data is used for another process or stored again in the auxiliary storage device 106 in accordance with an instruction such as the program 122. Unless otherwise specified, it should be understood that data and calculation results are similarly exchanged between the CPU 102 and the storage devices 104 and 106 in all the processes described below.

  The program 122 may be implemented as a single executable file, or may be implemented as a program set composed of a plurality of executable files. Further, the program 122 may be configured to call another execution file or to be called and executed from another execution file.

  At least a part of the operating system 120 or the program 122 is not read directly from the auxiliary storage device 106 into the CPU 102 but is once copied or moved to the main storage device 104 and then read into the CPU 102 and executed. Often implemented. Depending on the embodiment, a part of the processing by these programs may be implemented by a dedicated hardware circuit or programmable logic.

  Depending on the embodiment, the auxiliary storage device 106 may further store image data 124 to be processed by the image processing / display program 122. The image data 124 will be described in detail later. The auxiliary storage device 106 can also be used as a medium for storing data obtained by processing the image data 124 or a medium for storing data being processed. Depending on the embodiment, the auxiliary storage device 106 may further store a program (image normalization program 126) for creating the image data 124. This program will also be described later.

  In addition to the elements depicted in FIG. 1, the system 100 can have the same configuration as that of an apparatus included in a normal computer, such as a power supply or a cooling device. However, since the hardware configuration of the system 100 is the same as that of a general computer and is already well known, further explanation is omitted.

  In some embodiments, the image processing / display program 122, the image data 124, and the like are not stored in the auxiliary storage device 106 that exists locally in the system 100, but are stored in a remote storage device connected via a network. May be. Further, the program 122, the image data 124, and the like are not stored in a single storage device (for example, a hard disk or an SSD) in terms of hardware, but are stored in a plurality of storage devices using a known technique such as striping. May be stored in a distributed manner. Even in such an embodiment, in many cases, at least instructions to be executed in the program 122 are (temporarily) stored in the main storage device 104 and then read into the CPU 102. In some embodiments, the processing means for executing the program 122 may be composed of a plurality of processors instead of the single CPU 102. In some embodiments, the plurality of processors may be distributed and implemented in physically separated computer devices. That is, depending on the embodiment, a system composed of a plurality of physically different computer devices is physically or from a single or a plurality of storage devices provided in the system or connected to the system via a network. Various processes described in this specification may be executed by executing a program stored in the configured storage unit. Accordingly, in general, the present invention is configured to (1) be executed by a processing unit to cause an apparatus or system including the processing unit to perform various processes described in this specification. A program comprising instructions, (2) an operation method of an apparatus or system realized by the processing means executing the program, and (3) an apparatus comprising processing means configured to execute the program and the program Or it may be embodied as a system. The program embodying the present invention can be sold by being stored in a medium such as a CD-ROM, or can be sold in a form such as downloading through a network.

  Next, a flow of processing executed by the system 100 when the image processing / display program 122 is executed by the CPU 102 will be described with reference to FIG. Step S200 indicates the start of processing. Step S202 is a stage for acquiring image data to be processed. Specifically, this stage may be to read (at least a part of) the image data 124 from the auxiliary storage device 106 and store it in the main storage device 104. When the image data 124 is not stored in a storage device provided locally in the system 100, this stage is performed by an external interface connected to the system 100 through an external interface such as USB or a network such as Ethernet (registered trademark). The image data 124 (at least a part thereof) may be read from the storage unit and stored in the main storage device 104. If the image data 124 is recorded on an optical disk medium such as a CD or a DVD, the step S202 reads the image data 124 (at least a part of the image data 124) from the disk medium inserted in the reading device, and the main storage device 104. It may be stored in. Details of the image data 124 will be described later.

  The image processing / display program 122 may be programmed to display the image data 124 on a display device. Step S204 indicates that there may be such a display stage. At this stage, the image processing / display program 122 generates a signal for displaying the image data 124 on the display 114 in cooperation with the CPU 102. The operating system 120 and the display interface 108 may also be configured to participate directly or indirectly in generating the signal. The display state of the image data 124 will be illustrated in detail later.

  Step S206 is a step of setting a region of interest (ROI) in the image data 124. The ROI may be manually set by the operator using the user interface 116 while viewing the image displayed on the display 114. At this time, the image processing / display program 122 is preferably configured to provide a user interface necessary for setting the ROI on the display 114. The image processing / display program 122 may be programmed to automatically set the ROI. The state of setting the ROI is also illustrated in detail later.

  Step S208 is a stage in which calculation is performed to obtain predetermined information from the image data 124. In this specification, the information calculated here is referred to as first information. Depending on the embodiment, the first information may be information indicating pixels having relatively high luminance in the image data 124. This calculation is also performed by the CPU 102 operating in accordance with instructions included in the image processing / display program 122. Step S <b> 210 indicates a stage of displaying the obtained first information, and the image processing / display program 122 generates a signal for displaying the first information on the display 114 in cooperation with the CPU 102. The state of these processes is also illustrated in more detail later.

In some embodiments, the image processing / display program 122 may be programmed to perform calculations to obtain more information from the image data 124. Step S212 shows such a calculation stage. In this specification, the information calculated in step S212 is referred to as second information. Depending on the embodiment, the second information may be an integrated value of pixel values of pixels having relatively high luminance in the image data 124. This calculation is also performed by the CPU 102 operating in accordance with instructions included in the image processing / display program 122. Step S214 indicates a stage of displaying the obtained second information, and the image processing / display program 122 generates a signal for displaying the second information on the display 114 in cooperation with the CPU 102. The state of these processes is also illustrated in more detail later. Step S216 indicates the end of the process.
Next, image data 124 to be processed by the image processing / display program 122 in the present embodiment will be described.

  The images 302 to 308 illustrated in FIG. 3 display the image data 124. The images 302 to 308 are bone scintigraphic images taken for the same person, but taken at different times. Reference numeral 302 is the most recently captured image, 304 is the next newest image, and 308 is the image captured at the oldest time. In FIG. 3, only the image 302 is surrounded by a square to indicate that this is the latest image. In bone scintigraphy imaging, it is inevitable that the posture of the person and the distance between the person and the measuring instrument will change every time it is taken, and depending on the amount of radioactive tracer injected into the body, It is inevitable that even if signals from the same tissue that are not present differ slightly from one shooting to another. Therefore, these images are processed so that the images can be compared with each other. This process is described in detail in the aforementioned Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1. The outline of the flow is as follows.

  [1] Match the gradation (number of colors) of each image. For example, as described in the above-mentioned document, it can be rescaled to 10 bits.

  [2] The boundary between a pixel value that seems to reflect a signal from a normal part and a pixel value that seems to reflect a signal from a part that is not normal is a predetermined value. As shown, each pixel value is multiplied by a scale factor. This predetermined value can be set to 358 in the case of an image taken from the anterior and 410 in the case of an image taken from the posterior, as described in the above-mentioned document. As a result of multiplying by the scale factor, the pixel value exceeding the 10-bit scale is rounded to the maximum value (1023 or 1024) of the 10-bit scale. Note that the images 302 to 308 are all images taken from the anterior.

  [3] The position, inclination, and size of the images 304, 306, and 308 are matched with the latest image 302, respectively. This matching process may be performed visually or may be performed automatically.

  [4] For each region having no disease, each pixel value of each image is further adjusted so that each image has the same pixel value on average. For example, as described in the above-mentioned document, this processing is performed by setting the pixel value or average pixel value in the position or region (x, y) of the latest image to C (x, y), the same position in the past image or When a pixel value or an average pixel value in a region is P (x, y), a set of these values is fitted by the formula C (x, y) = a · P (x, y) + b to obtain coefficients a, b And each pixel value p can be converted as p ′ = p / ab.

  Through the processes [1] to [4], the images 302 to 308 have the same position, inclination, size, and gray scale, and can be compared with each other. As described above, the details of these processes are described in detail in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1, so please refer to them. The contents of these two documents form part of the contents of this specification.

  The processes [1] to [4] may be performed by the image normalization program 126 shown in FIG. The system 100 may be configured to include such a program 126 in some embodiments.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the images 302 to 308 are displayed in order from the left to the right in the order of shooting time. By arranging and displaying in this way, the relationship of the photographing time between these images is easily understood. Further, by enclosing the image 302 with a square, it is easy to determine which is the latest image. The image processing / display program 122 can be programmed to cause the CPU 102 to generate a signal for performing display as shown in FIG. 3 on the display 114 (step S204).

  Next, a more specific example of the attention area (ROI) setting process performed in step S206 will be introduced. The image processing / display program 122 is preferably programmed to provide at least one of the ROI setting methods introduced below.

[1] Manual ROI Setting The user specifies the ROI range using the mouse 116 or the like while viewing the images 302 to 308 displayed on the display 114. For example, when the user drags the mouse on the image 302, the image processing / display program 122 detects the drag start position and amount, and operates the CPU 102 so as to set a range corresponding to the position and amount as the ROI. Can be programmed to do. At this time, the image processing / display program 122 is preferably programmed to automatically set the ROI in the region corresponding to the ROI set on the image 302 for the images 304, 306, and 308. The range set as the ROI may be, for example, a rectangle with the drag start position as one vertex. The range may be a circle centered on the drag start position, for example. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the image processing / display program 122 is preferably programmed to cause the CPU 102 to generate a signal for displaying the set ROI so as to overlap the images 302 to 308.

[2] Automatic ROI setting based on data stored in advance in the system The image processing / display program 122 is a program for determining an ROI based on data stored in advance in the system 100 (for example, the auxiliary storage device 106). May be. This data includes, for example, the upper body, chest, head, arms, and knees. Also in this case, the image processing / display program 122 is preferably programmed to generate a signal for displaying the set ROI so as to be superimposed on the images 302 to 308, as depicted in FIG. .

[3] Automatic ROI Setting Based on Pixel Value The image processing / display program 122 may be programmed to automatically set the ROI based on at least one pixel value of the images 302 to 308. For example, a rectangular or circular area centered on the maximum pixel value in the most recently created image 302 may be programmed to be set as ROI. At this time, it is preferable that the program is programmed to automatically set the ROI in the region corresponding to the ROI set on the image 302. It may be programmed to set the ROI based on the oldest image 308 instead of the image 302. In addition, because the radioactive tracer accumulates as urine in the bladder regardless of the lesion, the pixel value tends to be high, so it is preferable that the bladder periphery is programmed to be excluded from the search for the maximum pixel value. . Also in this case, the image processing / display program 122 is preferably programmed to generate a signal for displaying the set ROI so as to be superimposed on the images 302 to 308, as depicted in FIG. .

  Next, a more specific example of the processing performed in steps S208 and S210 will be introduced. For the processing corresponding to step S208, the image processing / display program 122 adds, to the CPU 102, pixels having relatively high luminance (that is, a large pixel value) in the ROI set in step S206 for each of the images 302 to 308. It may be programmed to be extracted. Further, the extracted pixels are preferably displayed on the display 114 so as to overlap the images 302 to 308 as illustrated in FIG. 5. The image processing / display program 122 is preferably programmed to cause the CPU 102 to generate a signal for performing such display.

  In FIG. 5, pixels with relatively high luminance are represented in light gray and dark gray. The pixel shown in light gray is a pixel value that seems to reflect a signal from a normal part and a pixel value that seems to reflect a signal from a part that seems not normal. A pixel having a pixel value 25% or more higher than a boundary value that can be a boundary is shown. A pixel shown in dark gray indicates a pixel having a pixel value 75% or more higher than the boundary value. In this example, the boundary value is 358 as described above. The image processing / display program 122 can be programmed to perform the same calculation for each of the images 302 to 308 and generate a signal for display.

  In this example, the pixel value is divided only at two points of 25% and 75% from the boundary value, but this is only an example, and depending on the embodiment, calculation and display may be divided into more categories. You may go. Actually, the reason why only two sections are provided in this example is that there are few colors and gradations that can be expressed in the patent gazette, and there are three sections (for example, 25%, 50%, and 75%) at the time of mounting. It seems that it is easier to grasp the position and shape of the region with a high pixel value.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5, the images 302 to 308 are displayed in order from the left to the right in the order of shooting time. By arranging and displaying in this way, the relationship of the photographing time between these images is easily understood. In addition, since the high brightness area is superimposed on these images and displayed, the temporal change of the high brightness area can be easily observed. The image processing / display program 122 can be programmed to cause the CPU 102 to generate a signal for displaying on the display 114 as shown in FIG.

  Next, a more specific example of the processing performed in steps S212 and S214 will be introduced. It should be noted that these steps are not required for all embodiments of the present invention, and some embodiments may not include these steps. In step S212, the image processing / display program 122 is programmed to perform further analysis on each of the images 302-308.

  For example, the image processing / display program 122 reads the integrated value of the pixel values of the pixels shown in dark gray in FIG. 5 in the above ROI, that is, a pixel value that is 75% or more higher than the boundary value between the normal value and the abnormal value. May be programmed to calculate the sum of the pixel values of all the pixels having. Of course, more precisely, it is programmed to perform calculations by operating the CPU 102. Further, the image processing / display program 122 may be programmed to generate a signal for displaying the calculated integral value so that the relationship with the photographing time can be understood (step S214).

  FIG. 6 is a display example of the information calculated in step S212. The relative values of the other images 304, 306, and 308 when the integral value in the latest image (image 302) is 0 are shown. As described below the horizontal axis, the leftmost image is the latest image 302, and the more the image is taken to the right, the more the image was taken in the past. That is, the images 304, 306, and 308, respectively. By displaying in this way, it is possible to easily observe the temporal change of the high luminance region. The image processing / display program 122 can be programmed to cause the CPU 102 to generate a signal for displaying on the display 114 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is another display example of the information calculated in step S212. The analysis information calculated in step S212 is further displayed superimposed on the images 302 to 308 on which the high luminance area information is superimposed and arranged in time order. Therefore, the temporal relationship between the information calculated in step S212 and the high brightness area information calculated in the images 302 to 308 and step 208 is clarified, and the temporal change in the state of radioactive tracer accumulation can be more easily and easily performed. It can be observed in detail.

The information calculated in step S212 is not limited to the integral value of the pixel value of the high luminance region in the ROI, and the image processing / display program 122 is a program that calculates various information according to the embodiment. Can be. Such information includes the following, for example.
The area of pixels having pixel values above the threshold in the ROI;
The maximum pixel value in the ROI;
A value obtained by multiplying the area of a pixel having a pixel value greater than or equal to the threshold value in the ROI by the maximum pixel value in the ROI;
-Dispersion and standard deviation of pixel values in ROI;
-Average pixel value in ROI;
A ratio of the area of a pixel having a pixel value greater than or equal to the first threshold and the area of a pixel having a pixel value greater than or equal to the second threshold and less than the first threshold;

  According to the above-described configuration, it is possible to easily compare a plurality of bone scintigraphic images having different imaging timings, and to more easily grasp a temporal change in the degree of accumulation of radioactive tracers. Therefore, it is very useful, for example, when the follow-up after using an anticancer agent is performed using bone scintigraphy.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described using preferred examples, these examples have not been introduced to limit the scope of the present invention, but meet the requirements of patent law and contribute to an understanding of the present invention. It was introduced for this purpose. The present invention can be embodied in various forms, and there are numerous variations in the embodiments of the present invention other than those exemplified here. In addition, the present invention can be applied not only to the comparison of bone scintigraphy images, but can also be used to compare other images depending on variations of the present invention. The individual features included in the various described embodiments can only be used with the embodiments in which the features are directly described, and are not limited to the other embodiments and descriptions described herein. It can also be used in combination in various implementations that are not. All of these variations are within the scope of the present invention, and the applicant claims to have the right to obtain a patent regardless of whether the current claims are claimed. Please note that.
The form described in the claims at the beginning of the application of the original application is listed in this paragraph just in case.
[1] A method executed by the system by reading a program instruction into a processor of the system, which is a plurality of images taken at different times for the same person, and can be compared with each other For multiple images that have been processed,
Generating a signal for displaying the plurality of images so that the relationship between the shooting times of each other can be understood;
Setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images;
Calculating first information for each of the regions of interest, wherein the first information relates to pixel values;
Generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images;
Having a method.
[2] calculating second information for each of the attention areas;
Generating a signal for displaying at least two of the calculated second information together with shooting time information;
Where the second information is:
・ Integration of pixel values;
The area of pixels having pixel values greater than or equal to a predetermined value;
・ Maximum pixel value;
-Pixel value variance or standard deviation;
・ Average pixel value;
The method according to [1], relating to at least one of the above.
[3] The signal for displaying the second information is a signal for generating a display so that a temporal relationship between the second information, the plurality of images, and the first information can be understood. The method according to [2], wherein
[4] The method according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the image data is data captured by bone scintigraphy.
[5] The step of setting the attention area includes
Determining the position and / or range of the region of interest based on external input;
Determining on the basis of data stored in advance in the system;
The method according to any one of [1] to [4], including: determining based on at least one pixel value of the plurality of pixels.
[6] A computer program including instructions that are executed by a processor of the system to cause the system to execute the method according to any one of [1] to [6].
[7] A system comprising a processor and a memory storing the computer program according to [6].
[8] A computer program including program instructions that are executed by a processor of a computer system to cause the computer system to perform processing, the processing being:
For a plurality of images taken at different times for the same person and pre-processed so that they can be compared with each other,
Generating a signal for displaying the plurality of images so that the relationship between the shooting times of each other can be understood;
Setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images;
Calculating first information for each of the regions of interest, wherein the first information relates to pixel values;
Generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images, respectively;
Including computer programs.
[9] For a plurality of images taken at different times for the same person and processed to be comparable to each other,
Means for generating a signal for displaying the plurality of images so that the relationship between the photographing times of each other can be understood;
Means for setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images;
Means for calculating first information for each of the regions of interest, wherein the first information relates to pixel values;
Means for generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images, respectively;
Having a system.

100 system 102 CPU
104 Main Storage Device 106 Auxiliary Storage Device 108 Display Interface 110 External Device Interface 112 Communication Device 114 Display 116 User Interface 120 Operating System 122 Image Processing / Display Program 124 Image Data 126 Image Normalization Program 302-308 Image

Claims (9)

A method executed by the system processor by reading a program instruction into a system processor, which is a plurality of images taken at different dates and times for the same person, and processing for making them mutually comparable is performed. For multiple images
Generating a signal for displaying the plurality of images side by side in order of photographing date and time;
Setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images;
Calculating first information for each of the regions of interest, wherein the first information relates to pixel values;
Generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images;
Have
The plurality of images are bone scintigraphic images for follow-up of bone tumor treatment;
The step of setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images includes the step of setting a region of interest for one image of the plurality of images and each of the remaining images of the plurality of images. On the other hand, including automatically setting the attention area in an area corresponding to the area where the attention area is set in the one image.
Method.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of setting the region of interest includes displaying information representing the region of interest in an overlapping manner on each of the plurality of images. Calculating second information for each of the regions of interest;
Each of the calculated second information is further superimposed on the related image at a position temporally corresponding to the related image among the plurality of images displayed with the first information superimposed. Generating a signal to perform;
Where the second information is:
・ Integration of pixel values;
The area of pixels having pixel values greater than or equal to a predetermined value;
・ Maximum pixel value;
-Pixel value variance or standard deviation;
・ Average pixel value;
The method according to claim 1, relating to at least one of the following:   A computer program comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a system, causes the system to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 3.   A system comprising a processor and a memory storing the computer program according to claim 4. A computer program comprising program instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computer system, causes the computer system to perform a process, said process comprising:
A plurality of images taken at different dates and times for the same person, and a plurality of images that have been pre-processed to enable comparison with each other,
Generating a signal for displaying the plurality of images side by side in order of photographing date and time;
Setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images;
Calculating first information for each of the regions of interest, wherein the first information relates to pixel values;
Generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images, respectively;
Including
The plurality of images are bone scintigraphic images for follow-up of bone tumor treatment;
-Setting the attention area for each of the plurality of images includes setting the attention area for one image of the plurality of images and setting each of the remaining images of the plurality of images. On the other hand, automatically setting the attention area in an area corresponding to the area where the attention area is set in the one image,
Computer program. The process is
Calculating second information for each of the regions of interest;
Each of the calculated second information is further superimposed on the related image at a position temporally corresponding to the related image among the plurality of images displayed with the first information superimposed. Generating a signal to do;
Where the second information is:
・ Integration of pixel values;
The area of pixels having pixel values greater than or equal to a predetermined value;
・ Maximum pixel value;
-Pixel value variance or standard deviation;
・ Average pixel value;
The computer program according to claim 6, relating to at least one of the following. For a plurality of images taken at different dates and times for the same person and processed to be comparable to each other,
Means for generating a signal for displaying the plurality of images side by side in order of photographing date and time;
Means for setting a region of interest for each of the plurality of images;
Means for calculating first information for each of the regions of interest, wherein the first information relates to pixel values;
Means for generating a signal for displaying the calculated first information superimposed on a related one of the plurality of images, respectively;
Have
The plurality of images are bone scintigraphic images for follow-up of bone tumor treatment;
The means for setting the attention area for each of the plurality of images includes means for setting the attention area for one image of the plurality of images and each of the remaining images of the plurality of images. On the other hand, it has means for automatically setting the attention area in an area corresponding to the area where the attention area is set in the one image.
system. Means for calculating second information for each of the regions of interest;
Each of the calculated second information is further superimposed on the related image at a position temporally corresponding to the related image among the plurality of images displayed with the first information superimposed. Means for generating a signal to do;
Where the second information is:
・ Integration of pixel values;
The area of pixels having pixel values greater than or equal to a predetermined value;
・ Maximum pixel value;
-Pixel value variance or standard deviation;
・ Average pixel value;
The system according to claim 8, relating to at least one of the following: