JP2023074879A - Secular change confirmation system, imaging apparatus, control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a secular change confirmation system, an imaging apparatus, a control method and a program which can capture a flawless affected portion image without a specific burden on a user.SOLUTION: A medical examination support system 100 (secular change confirmation system) allows a user U to confirm a secular change of an affected portion W of a skin disease of a patient P by using a camera 1, a PC 3 and a server 2. The server 2 acquires from the camera 1 an imaging parameter including an affected portion image and imaging time and date information and imaging object specification information for specifying the affected portion W every time the affected portion W is imaged by the camera 1 and the affected portion image is generated, and issues a warning that notifies the user U to the camera 1 when it is determined that the photographed images generated in the present imaging and the previous imaging by the camera 1 have the same imaging object specification information and a difference in a feature amount S obtained by the server 2 is equal to or greater than a threshold. The camera 1 notifies the user U of the warning when the warning is issued.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a change-over-time confirmation system, an imaging device, a control method, and a program, and more particularly to a change-over-time confirmation system, an imaging device, a control method, and a program that support diagnosis of skin diseases.

Traditionally, in the medical field, doctors, nurses, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as "users") have been photographed to check changes over time in skin disease-affected areas such as trauma, ulcers, and bedsores caused by being bedridden. As a result, the affected area may be photographed with a camera several times at intervals.

For example, the user can easily observe the progress of improvement or deterioration of the affected area by arranging and displaying the group of captured images including the affected area over multiple times (hereinafter referred to as "group of affected area images") in chronological order. can do.

For this reason, such affected area image groups are suitably used for diagnosing skin diseases that change over several days to several years.

In addition, if the group of affected area images is not stored as it is, but is stored after being subjected to appropriate processing, it will be an image that can further support diagnosis of skin diseases.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8(a), there is known a system in which a user first inputs an image of an affected area into a trained model, and the trained model determines and outputs the type of skin disease (for example, See Patent Document 1). As a result, the user can refer to the type of skin disease output by the trained model and carry out medical care.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the user analyzes the patient's ulcer images (affected area images) taken at the time of the patient's visit to the hospital (t-1, t), and changes over time from each image. An analysis device that obtains a growth parameter 8 that indicates the size of an ulcer is known (see Patent Document 2, for example). The analyzer then calculates a progression index 9, which is the difference between the values of the progression parameter 8 at visits t−1 and t, and compares it with that of past patients. Based on the result of this comparison, the analysis device presents the past treatment history, drug type and dosage for the patient who was determined to have a skin disease similar to the patient's skin disease. This allows the user to refer to past treatment histories, drug types, and doses of patients who have been identified as having similar skin diseases by the analyzer, and to carry out medical care for the patient.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-28808 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-528587

However, the system of Patent Literature 1 can infer the type of skin disease by inputting an affected area image into a trained model, but cannot check the identity of the affected area image at the time of imaging. Specifically, in Patent Document 1, whether the affected area image is an image suitable for inferring the type of skin disease with a trained model, an image suitable for a user to refer to during medical treatment, or a correct patient It is not possible to check whether the image is associated with information.

In addition, the analysis apparatus of Patent Document 2, from the change over time of the progression parameter obtained by analyzing the image of the affected area, for the patient, the treatment history of the patient determined to have a skin disease similar to the patient's skin disease, drugs can recommend the type and capacity of However, as in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to check the identity of the affected area image at the time of imaging. Specifically, in Patent Document 2, whether an affected area image is an image suitable for analysis by an analysis device, an image suitable for a user to refer to during medical treatment, or correct patient information is linked. It is not possible to check whether it is an image or not.

Therefore, in both Patent Literatures 1 and 2, there is a possibility that the user will take an image of an affected area that is incomplete. For this reason, after imaging, for example, at a stage such as a conference where users gather to discuss medical treatment policies, there is a possibility that a defect in the image of the affected area may be noticed and re-imaging may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a temporal change confirmation system, an imaging apparatus, a control method, and a program, which can acquire a group of photographed images suitable for confirming the temporal change of an object to be photographed without placing a special burden on the user. to do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a system for confirming changes over time according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an imaging device that photographs an object to be photographed a plurality of times at intervals according to a user's instruction to generate a group of photographed images; A temporal change confirmation system comprising: a UI for the user to confirm the temporal change of the photographed object; In the image processing device, each time the image capturing device generates a captured image of the group of captured images, the captured image, a shooting parameter including information on the shooting date and time of the captured image, and the image capturing object are specified. An acquisition unit that acquires the imaging target identification information from the imaging device and the captured images generated during the current and previous imaging by the imaging device have the same acquired imaging target identification information, but the acquired imaging target identification information is obtained by the image processing device. issuing a warning to the imaging device to notify the user when it is determined using the imaging parameters and the imaging target identification information that the difference in the feature amount obtained by the image processing is equal to or greater than a threshold; issuing means, wherein the imaging apparatus further comprises notifying means for notifying the user of the warning when the warning is issued by the issuing means.

In order to solve the above problems, an imaging apparatus according to claim 11 of the present invention is an imaging apparatus that captures an object to be shot a plurality of times at intervals according to a user's instruction to generate a captured image group, The imaging device has a UI for the user to check the temporal change of the subject to be photographed, and an image processing device for performing image processing on each of the photographed image groups so as to be displayed on the UI. In the change confirmation system, each time one photographed image of the photographed image group is generated by the photographing device, the photographed image, photographing parameters including photographing date and time information of the photographed image, and photographing object for specifying the photographing object. transmission means for acquiring specific information and transmitting it to the image processing apparatus; and image processing for warning to be notified to the user after transmission of the captured image, the imaging parameters, and the imaging target identification information by the transmission means. and display means for displaying a warning to be notified to the user when acquired from the device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a group of photographed images suitable for confirming changes over time of an object to be photographed without placing a special burden on the user.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a medical treatment support system as a system for confirming changes over time; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of each of the camera and the server in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a diseased part image viewer application, which is an application for viewing diseased part images, executed on the PC in FIG. 1 ; 4 is a flow chart of affected area image acquisition processing executed in a camera and a server; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of processing for calculating a feature amount from an affected area image in step S410 of FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a threshold used for determining whether or not to issue a warning in step S412 of FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a warning dialog displayed on the camera display in step S414 of FIG. 4; FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the conventional medical treatment support system.

A medical support system 100 as a temporal change confirmation system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the medical assistance system 100 includes a camera 1, a server 2, a PC 3, and an identification tag L. As shown in FIG.

A camera 1 (imaging device) is a camera used by one or more users such as doctors, nurses, caregivers (hereinafter simply referred to as "users U") at medical sites. The user U images the affected area W (hereinafter simply referred to as "affected area image") a plurality of times in order to check the change over time of the affected area of the skin disease of the patient P, such as an injury, an ulcer, and bedridden pressure ulcer. Photographed and recorded by the camera 1 over a period of time. The user U can easily observe the progress of improvement or deterioration of the affected part by arranging and viewing the group of images of the affected part photographed and recorded in this way. For this reason, the affected area image group is suitable for use in examining an affected area that changes over several days to several years.

The temporal change confirmation system of this embodiment will be described as being used in the medical field. Not limited to on-site. For example, it may be used on site to check changes in the position of the subject over time when switching and displaying images of a subject moving on a stage shot by a plurality of different cameras.

The server 2 (image processing device) includes a storage 24, a communication unit (not shown) that wirelessly connects with the camera 1 and the PC 3 to transmit and receive information including images, and a GPU 22 (FIG. 2) that performs appropriate image processing on images. ). Note that the server 2 is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment as long as it can communicate with the camera 1 and the PC 3 . For example, the server 2 may have a wired connection with the camera 1 and PC3.

A PC 3 (UI) is a PC having a display and an operation unit used by the user U, and a group of images of the affected area captured and recorded by the camera 1 via the server 2 according to the operation of the operation unit by the user U. and display the group of affected area images on the display.

The identification tag L is a wristband with a bar code for identifying the patient P, and is worn on the left wrist of the patient P having the affected part W in this embodiment.

A workflow of medical treatment using the medical treatment support system 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the user U photographs the diseased part W and the identification tag L of the patient P with the camera 1, respectively. As a result, the camera 1 generates an affected area image with the affected area W as the subject and an identification tag image with the identification tag L as the subject.

After that, the camera 1 transmits the affected area image and the identification tag image to the server 2 .

The server 2 performs appropriate image processing on the diseased part image and the identification tag image from the camera 1 using the GPU 22 and records them in the built-in storage 24 .

The user U can browse the group of affected part images by operating the operation unit of the PC 3 and displaying the group of affected part images recorded in the storage 24 of the server 2 on the display of the PC 3 . Thereby, the user U can diagnose the patient P and the affected part W by referring to the affected part image group, and determine the content of the treatment.

Although the camera 1, the server 2, and the PC 3 are shown separately in FIG. 1, they may be integrated and abolished at will, and the processes may be transferred to each other.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of each of the camera 1 and server 2. As shown in FIG.

First, the hardware configuration of the camera 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

Camera 1 includes controller 11 , image sensor 12 , button group 13 , touch panel 14 , display 15 , storage 16 , zoom lens 17 , shutter 18 , and network interface 19 .

A controller 11 supervises information processing within the camera 1 and controls other units.

The image sensor 12 forms an image of light from a subject captured through the zoom lens, converts the light into an electrical signal, and generates an affected area image and an identification tag image.

The button group 13 and the touch panel 14 accept user U's operation.

A display (display means) 15 displays the photographed image to the user U. FIG. Further, when the server 2 issues a warning, which will be described later, the display 15 displays a warning dialog 71 (FIG. 7) alone or together with the captured image. The display 15 may also display photographing parameters including photographing date and time information, zoom, autofocus, exposure, ISO sensitivity, ambient light, and other information.

The captured image is temporarily or permanently stored in the storage 16.例文帳に追加

The zoom lens 17 adjusts the angle of view and focus at the time of photographing according to the control of the user U.

Shutter 18 controls the light entering image sensor 12 .

The network interface 19 transmits and receives an image generated by the image sensor 12 and its parameters to and from an external device (the server 2 in this embodiment).

Next, the hardware configuration of the server 2 will be explained using FIG.

The server 2 includes CPU 21 , GPU 22 , memory 23 , storage 24 and network interface 25 .

The CPU 21 supervises information processing within the server 2 and controls other units.

The GPU 22 executes image processing such as image quality improvement and processing such as image recognition.

The memory 23 stores temporary information being processed by the GPU 22 .

Storage 24 stores images temporarily or permanently.

The network interface 25 transmits and receives captured images and their parameters to and from external devices (camera 1 and PC 3 in this embodiment).

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a diseased part image viewer application 31, which is an application for viewing diseased part images, which is executed on the PC 3. As shown in FIG.

A method for the user U to browse the group of affected area images captured by the camera 1 on the PC 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

The PC 3 can receive information including captured images from the server 2 .

When the diseased part image viewer application 31 shown in FIG.

The affected area image viewer application 31 has an address bar 32 for designating a patient and an affected area. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the user U designates a patient P and an affected area W using the address bar 32, the affected area image viewer application 31 selects the specified patient P and affected area from among the affected area images acquired from the server 2. Captured images associated with W are extracted.

The affected part image viewer application 31 has an image display area 33a and an image display area 33b.

The image display area 33a displays a relatively old affected area image among the extracted photographed images, and the image display area 33b displays a relatively new affected area image among the extracted photographed images.

The relatively old affected area image displayed in the image display area 33a includes the old affected area Wa image, and the relatively new affected area image displayed in the image display area 33b includes the new affected area Wb image.

By using the diseased part image viewer application 31 on the PC 3, the user U can compare and view the old diseased part Wa and the new diseased part Wb to check the progress of the disease and the effect of the treatment, so that it is possible to make a reliable diagnosis. is.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of affected area image acquisition processing executed by the camera 1 and the server 2 .

This processing is executed on the camera 1 side by the controller 11 reading out a program stored in the ROM (not shown) of the camera 1 . On the server 2 side, the CPU 21 reads out a program stored in the ROM of the server 2 to execute the program.

First, in step S401, when the camera 1 is powered on, the network interface 19 of the controller 11 requests the server 2 to connect.

Similarly, when the server 2 is powered on in step S402, the CPU 21 causes the network interface 25 to request the server 2 to connect.

In step S<b>403 , when the server 2 responds to the connection request in step S<b>401 , the controller 11 establishes connection between the camera 1 and the server 2 . Similarly, in step S404, when camera 1 responds to the connection request in step S402, CPU 21 establishes connection between camera 1 and server 2. FIG. As a result, the camera 1 and the server 2 can mutually transmit and receive information including captured images.

In step S<b>405 , when the user U inputs the patient information (imaging target identification information) of the patient P, the controller 11 temporarily stores the input patient information in the storage 16 . Further, when the identification tag L of the patient P is photographed by the camera 1 by the user U, the controller 11 extracts the patient information of the patient P from the barcode of the identification tag L from the captured image of the identification tag L. Extract and temporarily store in the storage 16 . The patient information acquired here includes the name of the patient P having the affected area W imaged in step S406, the ID number of the patient P, the part name of the affected area W, and the like.

In step S406, when the affected area W of the patient P is imaged by the camera 1 by the user U, the controller 11 temporarily stores the affected area image including the affected area W obtained by the imaging and the imaging parameters at the time of imaging in the storage 16. Save as desired.

In step S407, the controller 11 (transmitting means) transmits to the server 2 the patient information temporarily stored in the storage 16 in step S405, the affected area image temporarily stored in the storage 16 in step S406, and its imaging parameters. to send. Patient information and imaging parameters may be embedded in the affected area image in Exif format, for example.

In step S408, the CPU 21 (acquisition means) receives the patient information and the affected area image transmitted from the camera 1 side in step S407, and stores them in the internal storage 24 of the server 2. FIG.

In step S<b>409 , the CPU 21 extracts the affected area W included in the affected area image and stores it in the internal storage 24 of the server 2 . The details of the extraction of the affected area W will be described later.

In step S410, the CPU 21 calculates the feature amount S from the shape and color of the affected area W extracted in step S409, and accumulates it in the internal storage 24 of the server 2. FIG. Details of calculation of the feature amount S will be described later.

In step S<b>411 , the CPU 21 refers to the previous feature amount S accumulated in the storage 24 . The previous feature amount S is a feature amount calculated by performing the processing of steps S409 and S410 on the affected part image obtained as a result of imaging the affected part W of the same patient P before this time. In addition, in the process of FIG. 4, the feature amount S is calculated each time the affected part W of the same patient P is imaged.

In step S412, the CPU 21 determines whether or not the difference between the feature amount S at the time of the previous photography and the time of the current photography is equal to or greater than a threshold. If the difference in feature amount S is less than the threshold (NO in step S412), this process is terminated. On the other hand, if the difference in feature amount S is equal to or greater than the threshold (YES in step S412), the process proceeds to step S413. Details of the threshold will be described later.

In step S<b>413 , the CPU 21 (issuing means) issues a warning and transmits a warning display instruction to the camera 1 .

In step S414, after the controller 11 transmits the patient information, the affected area image, and its imaging parameters in step S407, and receives the warning display instruction in step S413, the controller 11 displays the warning dialog 71 (FIG. 7) on the display 15 (notification means). ). Thereby, the controller 11 notifies the user U of the warning. This warning dialog 71 will be described later. Note that the configuration is not limited to this embodiment as long as the camera 1 can notify the user U of the warning in response to the warning issued by the CPU 21 . For example, this warning may be notified by turning on a lamp (not shown) on the camera 1 or by emitting a warning sound from a speaker (not shown) on the camera 1 .

Next, the processing (step S410 in FIG. 4) for calculating the feature quantity S from the affected area image by the CPU 21 of the server 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

In step S<b>51 , the CPU 21 reads from the storage 24 the affected area image received from the camera 1 and stored in the storage 24 . The read-out diseased part image is accompanied by imaging parameters including zoom and autofocus information as metadata. When the camera 1 has an image plane phase difference sensor or a multi-camera array, the affected area image is composed of a plurality of images with parallax, and the distance map calculated from them is also included in the metadata. .

In step S52, the CPU 21 uses the GPU 22 (estimating means) to estimate the area of the affected area W included in the affected area image read out in step S51. The GPU 22 uses a priori image processing or segmentation using a pre-learned neural network to discriminate between the affected area W and the skin from the affected area image. The CPU 21 also calculates the number of pixels (the number of pixels) forming the affected area W in the extracted affected area image.

In step S53, the CPU 21 (calculating means) calculates how much the area (1 pixel area) of each pixel constituting the diseased part W in the diseased part image corresponds to the actual area (how many square millimeters). Specifically, the area of one pixel is converted into units of milli square using zoom and autofocus information that accompanies the above-described diseased part image as metadata. If a distance map is included in the metadata of the diseased part image, the distance map may be used to calculate the 1-pixel area of an arbitrary portion in the diseased part image in units of millimeters.

In step S54, the CPU 21 (calculating means) calculates the actual area of the affected part W using the number of pixels of the affected part W calculated in step S52 and the 1-pixel area of the affected part W calculated in step S53.

The actual area of the affected part W calculated by the processing described above with reference to FIG.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the threshold used for determining whether or not the CPU 21 of the server 2 issues a warning (step S412 in FIG. 4) will be described.

FIG. 6A is a graph of delta_t (s) on the horizontal axis and delta_S (mm ² ) on the vertical axis.

delta_t(s) is the time difference between the previous shooting and the current shooting. The diseased part image is associated with information on the date and time of file creation or information on the date and time of photography as metadata. Therefore, using these pieces of information, it is possible to calculate the imaging time difference between arbitrary affected area images.

delta_S (mm ² ) is the difference between the feature amount S at the time of the previous imaging and that of the current imaging. The method of calculating the feature amount S from the affected area images is as described above with reference to FIG. 5, and the difference in the feature amount S can be calculated between arbitrary affected area images.

A line representing the threshold is drawn in the graph.
The threshold is expressed by the following formula.
T = alpha * delta_t
T is the threshold.
alpha is the slope of the straight line representing the threshold.
The slope alpha will be described later.

The time difference delta_t and the feature quantity difference delta_S can be calculated from two affected area images taken at different times of the affected area W of the patient P.

When the plot indicating the calculated time difference delta_t and feature amount difference delta_S (variation in the area of the affected area W) is the point A located below the line representing the threshold as shown in FIG. , the amount of change in the area of the affected area W is less than the threshold. In this case, the CPU 21 does not issue a warning.

On the other hand, when the plot indicating the calculated time difference delta_t and feature amount difference delta_S (variation in the area of the affected area W) is the point B located above the line representing the threshold as shown in FIG. , the amount of change in the area of the affected area W is greater than or equal to the threshold. In this case, the CPU 21 issues a warning.

This makes it possible to implement the process of step S412 in FIG. 4, in which the CPU 21 of the server 2 issues a warning when the change in the feature amount (the amount of change in the area of the affected area W) is greater than or equal to the threshold.

FIG. 6B is a table used for determining the slope alpha of the straight line representing the threshold.

In the table of FIG. 6(b), the row indicates the type of skin disease. In this embodiment, the types of skin diseases include bedsores, ulcers, injuries, burns, and the like.

In addition, in the table of FIG. 6(b), the columns indicate the progress of skin disease. In this embodiment, the progression of skin disease includes acute phase, chronic phase, convalescent phase, and the like.

Each column of the table in FIG. 6B stores the value of the slope alpha. For example, if there is a tendency that the area change per unit time is large in the acute period of trauma, alpha_2a is set to a relatively large value. Conversely, if there is a tendency that the change in area per unit time is small during the chronic phase of pressure ulcers, alpha_0c is set to a relatively small value.

In this embodiment, the inclination alpha is switched based on the table in FIG. As a result, it is possible to operate the likelihood of issuing a warning in step S413 of FIG.

The progress of the skin disease in the affected area is determined according to the elapsed time from the previous imaging to the current imaging.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the warning dialog 71 displayed on the display 15 of the camera 1 in step S414 of FIG.

A warning dialog 71 that the camera 1 warns the user U will be described with reference to FIG.

When the camera 1 receives the warning display instruction transmitted from the server 2 in step S413 of FIG. 4, the warning dialogue 71 is displayed on the display 15 of the camera 1 in step S414 of FIG.

The warning dialog 71 includes the message "The setting/environmental light may be different from the time of the previous photographing."

For example, the affected area image at the time of the current imaging may differ from the affected area image assumed from the setting of the patient P and the affected area W.

Alternatively, the user U may change parameters such as exposure and ISO sensitivity between the previous shooting and the current shooting.

Furthermore, the light environment may be significantly different, such as when the affected area W was imaged under LED illumination at night in the previous imaging, while the affected area W was imaged in the setting sun through the window in the current imaging.

Both effects often appear as too steep changes in the feature amount S of the affected area image (the difference in the feature amount S is equal to or greater than the threshold).

Therefore, the CPU 21 of the server 2 issues a warning and transmits a warning display instruction to the camera 1 when the difference in the feature amount S is equal to or greater than the threshold. When the camera 1 receives this warning display instruction from the server 2 , the controller 11 notifies the user U of the warning through a warning dialog 71 on the display 15 . As a result, the user U can be urged to check the settings and environment, and to retake the image.

As described above, according to the medical treatment support system 100 according to the present embodiment, the user U can confirm a group of affected area images (captured image group) suitable for medical treatment, that is, a change over time of an imaging target without any special burden on the user U. It is possible to acquire a captured image group suitable for

Further, although the medical support system 100 has been described in this embodiment, the present invention is applicable to other systems. For example, the subject is not limited to a human affected part, but may be a specific part of a building or equipment that deteriorates over time. The same subject may be photographed periodically, and if the difference in feature quantity obtained by image processing is greater than or equal to a threshold compared to the previous photographing, a warning may be issued.

(Other embodiments)
In this embodiment, a program for realizing one or more functions may be supplied to a computer of a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and the system control unit of the system or apparatus may read and execute the program. It is feasible. The system controller may have one or more processors or circuits and may include separate system controllers or a network of separate processors or circuits for reading and executing executable instructions.

A processor or circuit may include a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessing unit (MPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Also, the processor or circuitry may include a digital signal processor (DSP), data flow processor (DFP), or neural processing unit (NPU).

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist.

100 medical support system 1 camera 2 server 3 PC
L identification card U user P patient W affected part 11 controller 12 image sensor 13 button group 14 touch panel 15 display 16 storage 17 zoom lens 18 shutter 19 network interface 21 CPU
22 GPUs
23 memory 24 storage 25 network interface

Claims (15)

An image capturing apparatus that captures an image of an object to be imaged a plurality of times according to a user's instruction to generate a group of imaged images, a UI for the user to confirm changes in the imaged object over time, and the UI: and an image processing device for performing image processing on each of the photographed image groups for display, wherein:
In the image processing device,
each time one photographed image of the photographed image group is generated by the imaging device, the photographed image, photographing parameters including photographing date and time information of the photographed image, and photographing object specifying information for specifying the photographing object are transmitted to the photographing device. an acquisition means for acquiring from
The photographed images generated at the time of the current photographing and the previous photographing by the photographing device have the same photographing target identification information acquired, but the difference in the feature amount obtained by the image processing by the image processing device is equal to or greater than a threshold. issuing means for issuing a warning to the imaging device to notify the user if it is determined by using the imaging parameters and the imaging target identification information that there is,
In the imaging device,
A system for confirming changes over time, further comprising notifying means for notifying said warning to said user when said warning is issued by said issuing means. The notification means is display means,
2. The temporal change confirmation according to claim 1, wherein said display means displays a warning dialog for notifying said warning to said user when said warning is issued to said imaging device by said issuing means. system. The imaging parameters include zoom and autofocus information of the imaging device,
The image processing device is
estimating means for estimating the area of the photographing object from the photographed image;
a calculating means for calculating, as the feature amount, the actual area of the estimated imaging target region using the imaging parameters;
3. The temporal change confirmation system according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: 4. The temporal change confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the threshold value is changed according to the elapsed time from the previous imaging to the current imaging. The chronological change confirmation system is a system that supports the user in diagnosing a patient's skin disease,
the imaging target is an affected part of the patient of the user;
The captured image group is an affected area image group including the affected area,
5. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the imaging target identification information is information on the patient and the affected area. 6. The system for confirming changes over time according to claim 5, wherein the threshold is changed according to the type of the skin disease. 7. The system for checking changes over time according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the threshold value is changed depending on whether the skin disease progresses in an acute phase, a chronic phase, or a convalescent phase. 8. The system for confirming changes over time according to claim 7, wherein the state of progression of said skin disease is determined according to the elapsed time from said previous imaging to said current imaging. 9. The temporal change confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the difference in the feature amount appears due to the difference in the imaging parameter between the current and previous imaging. 10. The temporal change confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the difference in the feature quantity appears due to a difference in light environment between the current and previous imaging. An image capturing apparatus that captures an object to be captured a plurality of times according to a user's instruction to generate a group of captured images,
The imaging device has a UI for the user to check the temporal change of the subject to be photographed, and an image processing device for performing image processing on each of the photographed image groups so as to be displayed on the UI. in the change confirmation system,
each time one captured image of the group of captured images is generated by the imaging device, the captured image, a capturing parameter including information on the date and time of capturing thereof, and capturing target identification information for specifying the capturing target are acquired; a transmitting means for transmitting to the image processing device;
display for displaying a warning to be notified to the user when a warning to be notified to the user is obtained from the image processing apparatus after the transmission means transmits the captured image, the imaging parameters, and the imaging target identification information; An imaging device comprising means. An image capturing apparatus that captures an image of an object to be imaged a plurality of times according to a user's instruction to generate a group of imaged images, a UI for the user to confirm changes in the imaged object over time, and the UI: A control method for a time-dependent change confirmation system having an image processing device that performs image processing on each of the captured image groups for display,
In the image processing device,
each time one photographed image of the photographed image group is generated by the imaging device, the photographed image, photographing parameters including photographing date and time information of the photographed image, and photographing object specifying information for specifying the photographing object are transmitted to the photographing device. an acquisition step that acquires from
The photographed images generated at the time of the current photographing and the previous photographing by the photographing device have the same acquired photographing object identification information, but the difference in feature amount obtained by the image processing by the image processing device is equal to or greater than a threshold. an issuing step of issuing a warning to the imaging device to notify the user if it is determined using the imaging parameters and the imaging target identification information that there is, and
In the imaging device,
A control method characterized by executing a notification step of notifying the user of the warning when the warning is issued by the issuing step. A control method for an imaging device for generating a group of captured images by capturing an image of an object to be captured a plurality of times according to a user's instruction, comprising:
The imaging device has a UI for the user to check the temporal change of the subject to be photographed, and an image processing device for performing image processing on each of the photographed image groups so as to be displayed on the UI. in the change confirmation system,
each time one captured image of the group of captured images is generated by the imaging device, the captured image, a capturing parameter including information on the date and time of capturing thereof, and capturing target identification information for specifying the capturing target are acquired; a transmission step of transmitting to the image processing device;
display for displaying a warning to be notified to the user when a warning to be notified to the user is obtained from the image processing apparatus after the photographed image, the photographing parameters, and the imaging target identification information are transmitted in the transmitting step; A control method characterized by comprising: A computer-executable program that causes a computer to function as each means of the system for confirming changes over time according to any one of claims 1 to 10. A computer-executable program that causes a computer to function as each means of the imaging device according to claim 11 .

Images