JP5210615B2 - Medical image diagnosis support apparatus and medical image diagnosis support program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical image diagnosis support apparatus that displays a medical image acquired by a medical image capturing apparatus such as an X-ray image capturing apparatus, an X-ray CT apparatus, an MRI apparatus, or an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and performs diagnosis support. Specifically, the present invention relates to a medical image diagnosis support apparatus that supports diagnosis of dentist image information.

Generally, the medical image diagnosis support apparatus acquires medical image information from the medical image photographing apparatus, performs image processing on the medical image information, and displays a diagnostic image.
As for dentist image information, the dentist image information of the patient is searched from the image database based on the patient code, the dentist image screen is displayed on a screen different from the chart input screen, and the dentist image screen is referred to. On the other hand, there has been proposed a medical chart creation device that performs an input operation on a medical chart input screen (for example, see [Patent Document 1]).
JP 2005-196660 A

  However, in the conventional chart creating apparatus, the chart input screen and the dentist image screen are displayed separately, and the eye movement may occur in the input operation on the chart input screen, which may cause an input mistake or an operation mistake. There are unresolved issues.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above unsolved problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a medical image diagnosis support apparatus that can improve operability and accuracy in chart input.

According to a first aspect of the invention for achieving the above object, in a medical image diagnosis support apparatus for supporting diagnosis of dentist image information, dentist image information acquisition means for acquiring the dentist image information, and the acquired Tooth position recognition means for recognizing positions of a plurality of teeth based on the density distribution of dentist image information, tooth position information creation means for creating tooth position information indicating the positions of the recognized teeth, and the acquired Tooth position information display means for displaying the created tooth position information superimposed on a dentist image, and the tooth position information creation means includes a tooth frame indicating a range for each tooth as the tooth position information. Is a medical image diagnosis support apparatus characterized by creating

The medical image diagnosis support apparatus of the first invention acquires dentist image information, recognizes positions of a plurality of teeth based on the density distribution of the acquired dentist image information, and indicates the positions of the recognized teeth Tooth position information is created, and tooth position information is displayed superimposed on dentist image information.

  The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to the first invention creates a tooth frame indicating a position for each tooth as tooth position information based on dentist image information, and displays the tooth frame and the dentist image information superimposed on each other. Therefore, it is possible to input information about the tooth (treatment content, etc.) via the tooth frame, and the operability and accuracy in the chart input can be improved.

  As for the tooth position recognition process, the density distribution may be measured by line scanning the dentist image information, or the pattern matching process may be performed using a plurality of tooth position information patterns held in advance. By performing the pattern matching process after binarizing the dentist image information and the tooth position information pattern, the amount of information processing and the processing load can be reduced. When recognizing the tooth position, the tooth end and the midline of the tooth are first recognized. In order to improve the image analysis accuracy, it is desirable to perform the tooth recognition process after performing density gradation correction on the dentist image information.

Further, a tooth frame created as tooth position information and a tooth number may be displayed in association with each other. Dentist image information and tooth position information may be developed and displayed in a predetermined direction. Thereby, visibility and operability can be improved.
Moreover, it is good also as correction | amendment by tooth | gear position information, such as the position of the recognized tooth end and the median line, and the created tooth frame, by an operator's operation instruction | indication. Thereby, accurate tooth position information suitable for the actual dentist image information can be acquired.

The second invention includes a dentist image information acquisition step for acquiring dentist image information, a tooth position recognition step for recognizing positions of a plurality of teeth based on a density distribution of the acquired dentist image information, A tooth position information creating step for creating tooth position information indicating the position of the recognized tooth, and a tooth position information displaying step for displaying the created tooth position information superimposed on the acquired dentist image. A medical image diagnosis support program to be executed by a computer , wherein the tooth position information creation step creates a tooth frame indicating a range for each tooth as the tooth position information. It is.

  The medical image diagnosis support program may be transmitted / received via a network, or may be recorded and distributed on a recording medium.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the medical image diagnosis assistance apparatus which can improve the operativity and accuracy in medical chart input can be provided.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description and the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the constituent elements having the same functional configuration, and the redundant description will be omitted.
In the following embodiments, description will be made assuming that an X-ray CT image or an X-ray CT image is used as medical image information, but the present invention is not limited to this. Medical image information captured by an MRI apparatus or an ultrasonic imaging apparatus may be used as the medical image information.

(1. Configuration of medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1)
First, the configuration of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1.
The medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 includes a CPU 10, a magnetic disk 13, a main memory 14, a mouse 16 and a keyboard 17 connected to a controller 15, a display memory 18, a display 19, an input memory 8, and a pen-type input device 9. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 is connected to a medical image photographing apparatus 11 via a LAN 12.

  The medical image capturing apparatus 11 is an apparatus that captures a medical image such as a tomographic image of a subject. The medical imaging apparatus 11 is, for example, an X-ray CT apparatus, an MRI apparatus, or an ultrasonic imaging apparatus. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 displays a medical image of a subject.

  The CPU 10 is a device that controls the operation of each connected component. The CPU 10 loads a program stored in the magnetic disk 13 and data necessary for program execution into the main memory 14 and executes the program. The magnetic disk 13 is a device that acquires and stores medical images such as tomographic images captured by the medical image capturing device 11 via a network such as the LAN 12. The magnetic disk 13 stores a program executed by the CPU 10 and data necessary for program execution. The main memory 14 stores programs executed by the CPU 10 and the progress of arithmetic processing. The mouse 16, the keyboard 17, and the pen-type input device 9 are operation devices for an operator to give an operation instruction to the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1. The input memory 8 holds position information designated by the pen-type input device 9. The display memory 18 stores display data to be displayed on a display 19 such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT.

<First Embodiment>
(2. Operation of medical image diagnosis support device)
Next, the operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1.
The medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 performs full auto analysis (step 1001). If the analysis result of the full auto analysis is not good (NO in step 1002), the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 executes a semi-automatic analysis (step 1003). If the analysis result of the semi-automatic analysis is not good (NO in step 1004), the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 executes correction processing (manual analysis) (step 1005).

(2-1. Full-auto analysis and semi-auto analysis)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 in the full auto analysis (step 1001) and the semiautomatic analysis (step 1003) in the first embodiment. Semi-automatic analysis is a technique in which an operator performs analysis by partially compensating for settings such as a midline when full analysis cannot be performed sufficiently.

(2-1-1. Reading Image File: Step 2001)
The operator operates the mouse 16 and the keyboard 17 to select dentist image information to be diagnosed from dentist image information photographed by the medical image photographing device 11. The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 reads out the dentist image information selected by the operator from the magnetic disk 13 and stores it in the main memory 14 (step 2001). The dentist image information is handled by an image file in JPEG format or BITMAP format.

(2-1-2. Determination of Image Analysis Area: Step 2002)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of determining an image analysis region.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 removes the margin 22 from the dentist image information 21 held in the main memory 14 and determines the image analysis region 23 (step 2002). Thereby, analysis accuracy and processing speed can be improved.

FIG. 5 is a histogram in which density distributions in the dentist image information 21 in the image analysis region 23 are arranged in order of frequency. The horizontal axis of the histogram 30 indicates the frequency rank, and the vertical axis indicates the frequency.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating smoothing (smoothing). The horizontal axis of the histogram 32 and the histogram 34 indicates the density Z, and the vertical axis indicates the frequency.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing density gradation correction. The horizontal axis of the graph 36 of the density conversion curve 37 indicates the density Z before correction, and the vertical axis indicates the density Z ′ after correction.

  The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 calculates the density m of the frequency data 31 of intermediate rank for the histogram 30. The CPU 10 defines a minimum density a and a maximum density b that exceed N times the density m (for example, N = 1.5). The CPU 10 smoothes (smoothings) the dentist image information 21 in the image analysis area 23 and creates a histogram 34 from the histogram 32. In the histogram 32 before smoothing, a gap is generated in the distribution of the frequency data 33, so that an error may occur during image analysis. In the smoothed histogram 34, the frequency data 35 is added to the gap of the distribution of the frequency data 33, so that the possibility of an error during image analysis is reduced. The CPU 10 performs density gradation correction using the defined density a and density b. Specifically, the CPU 10 calculates the corrected density Z ′ from the uncorrected density Z by [Equation 1]. Thereby, the image analysis accuracy can be improved. The density Z1 and the density Z2 are, for example, “0” and “255”.

(2-1-3. Determination of tooth outer frame: Step 2003)
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating calculation of the tooth end 55.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 performs line scanning in the Y direction on the dentist image information 40 that is the dentist image information 21 in the image analysis area 23. The CPU 10 performs line scanning on the scanning lines 51 and 53 to measure the density distribution 52 and the density distribution 54. The horizontal axis of the density distribution 52 and the density distribution 54 indicates the scanning direction Y, and the vertical axis indicates the standard deviation of the density. The CPU 10 measures the density distribution in the same manner for the other scanning lines. The CPU 10 calculates a position where the standard deviation of the density changes abruptly as in the density distribution 54, and determines the position of the tooth end 55 (tooth number 7) in the dentist image information 41 here.
In the full auto analysis (step 1001), the calculation of the tooth end 55 is automatically executed. In the semiautomatic analysis (step 1003), the position of the tooth end 55 is determined based on the operation instruction of the operator. .

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating calculation of the median line 57.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 sets a median line 57 at a position that internally divides the tooth ends 55 at both ends into 1: 1 in the dentist image information 42 in which the positions of the tooth ends 55 are determined. The CPU 10 sets a point 56 at a position that internally divides the tooth end 55 and the median line 57 into 1: 1. The CPU 10 determines the curvature of the curve 58 based on five points of the two tooth ends 55, the midline 57, and the two points 56. For calculating the curvature, for example, a quadratic polynomial indicating an ellipse is used.
In the full auto analysis (step 1001), the calculation of the median line 57 is automatically executed. In the semiautomatic analysis (step 1003), the position of the median line 57 is determined based on an operation instruction from the operator. . Here, the calculation of the median line 57 is exemplified, but the median line 57 is not limited as long as it is an index for specifying the dentition.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing determination of the tooth outer frame 60.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 determines the external tooth frame 60 in the dentist image information 43 by moving the curve 59 in the Y direction, and holds it in the main memory 14 (step 2003).

(2-1-4. Tooth space line determination: Step 2004)
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the determination of the tooth gap line 62.
In the dentist image information 44, the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 calculates a dividing line from the midline toward both tooth ends at a ratio sampled by setting the distance from the midline to the tooth end as 1. In the dentist image information 44, the CPU 10 divides the scanning region at a position that internally divides the distance between the tooth ends, for example, approximately 1: 2: 1. Thereby, the exposure non-uniformity resulting from the tooth row being curved can be improved. The CPU 10 measures the density distribution on the curve 61 by moving and scanning the curve 61 in the Y direction in the dentist image information 44. In the dentist image information 45, the CPU 10 moves the position of the dividing line to a position that matches the density distribution measured in the regions on both sides in the X direction of the dividing line, and determines the tooth gap line 62 (step 2004). Thereby, the position of the gap line 62 can be determined as an appropriate position even when the teeth are arranged unevenly. The CPU 10 determines a tooth frame 63 indicating a position for each tooth based on the gap line 62.

  When the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 scans the region from the tooth end to the gingiva in the oral cavity to measure the density distribution and detects a position where the density difference between the tooth and the gap is significant, The wisdom tooth frame 64 is determined at this position. When the tooth is not detected in the scanned area, the CPU 10 determines the tooth frame 65 at the position.

(2-1-5. Tooth state display: Step 2005)
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating size conversion of dentist image information.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 converts the image analysis size dentist image information 46 into display size dentist image information 47 and expands the dentist image information 47 so that the tooth frames are arranged in a straight line. Thus, dentist image information 48 is created. In the dentist image information 47, the quadrangular tooth frame 66 is arranged in a curved shape, but in the dentist image information 48, it is converted into a rectangular tooth frame 67 and arranged in a straight line.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a tooth correction screen 70 on which the tooth state is displayed.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 transfers the dentist image information 48 of FIG. 12 from the main memory 14 to the display memory 18 and displays the dentist image information 48 on the display 19 (step 2005). In the image 71 of the tooth correction screen 70, a jaw 72, a tooth 73, a tooth frame 74, and a tooth number 75 are displayed. In the image 71, the tooth 73 and the rectangular tooth frame 74 are displayed in a straight line.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a tooth correction screen 200 on which the tooth state is displayed.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 transfers the dentist image information 47 of FIG. 12 from the main memory 14 to the display memory 18 and displays the dentist image information 47 on the display 19 (step 2005). In the image 201 of the tooth correction screen 200, the tooth 202 and the square tooth frame 203 are displayed in a curved shape.

(2-2. Correction processing (manual analysis): Step 1005)
FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 in the correction process (step 1005).
The operator determines the mode by designating the button 76, the button 77, and the button 78 on the tooth correction screen 70 of FIG. 13 (step 3001), and the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 determines the tooth according to the determined mode. Grid display (step 3002) of the frame 74, contour correction (step 3003) and enlarged display (step 3004) of the tooth 73 are executed. When executing the tooth frame correction (step 3005), the operator determines the edit mode 79 by designating the edit mode 79 on the tooth correction screen 70 (step 3006), and the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 Then, enlargement / reduction (step 3007) or movement (step 3008) or change (step 3009) of the tooth frame 74 is executed under the determined editing mode.

(2-2-1. Grid display: Step 3002)
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a grid display.
When the operator designates the button 81 on the tooth correction screen 80, the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 displays the tooth correction screen 82. On the tooth correction screen 82, a grid 84 is displayed inside the tooth frame 83. Thereby, the position of the tooth in the tooth frame 83 can be grasped in detail.

(2-2-2. Tooth contour correction: Step 3003)
FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating tooth contour correction.
When the operator designates the button 91 on the tooth correction screen 90, the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 displays the image 93. The operator draws the outline of the tooth by dragging the mouse 16 with respect to the tooth frame 94 of the image 93. The CPU 10 displays the outline of the tooth 97 on the image 96. Thereby, the outline of the tooth can be drawn on the tooth frame 93. The outline of the tooth 97 may be displayed in a specific color (for example, yellow) so that it can be identified that the tooth outline has been corrected.

(2-2-3. Enlarged display: Step 3004)
FIG. 18 shows an enlarged display.
When the operator designates the button 101 on the tooth correction screen 100, the CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 displays an enlarged image 104 in which the image 102 is enlarged. The operator may perform tooth outline correction by dragging the mouse on the enlarged image 104 by designating the button 105 together with the button 101. Thereby, position designation on the image and operability can be improved.

(2-2-4. Tooth frame correction: Step 3005)
19 and 20 are diagrams showing the enlargement / reduction (step 3007) in the tooth frame correction. FIG. 19 shows a case where the edit mode 79 is “adjacent valid”, and FIG. 20 shows a case where the edit mode 79 is “free”.
In FIG. 19, when the operator places the mouse cursor on the tooth frame side 111 in the image 110 and performs a drag and drop operation of the mouse 16 in the direction of the arrow 114, the tooth frame side 111 of the image 110 is displayed as the tooth frame of the image 112. It becomes side 113. Since the edit mode 79 is “adjacent effective”, the tooth frame of the tooth number “7” is reduced in the X direction, but the tooth frame of the tooth number “8” is moved while being adjacent to the tooth frame side 113. In the case of enlarging, the mouse 16 may be dragged and dropped in the direction opposite to the arrow 114.
In FIG. 20, when the operator places a mouse cursor on the tooth frame side 121 in the image 120 and performs a drag and drop operation of the mouse 16 in the direction of the arrow 125, the tooth frame side 121 of the image 120 is displayed on the tooth frame of the image 122. It becomes the side 123 and the tooth frame side 124. Since the edit mode 79 is “free”, the tooth frame of the tooth number “7” is reduced in the X direction, but the tooth frame of the tooth number “8” does not move, and the tooth frame of the tooth number “7” and the tooth It is displayed independently without being adjacent to the tooth frame of the number “8”. In the case of enlarging, the mouse 16 may be dragged and dropped in the direction opposite to the arrow 125.

21 and 22 are diagrams showing movement (step 3008) in tooth frame correction. FIG. 21 shows a case where the edit mode 79 is “adjacent valid”, and FIG. 22 shows a case where the edit mode 79 is “free”.
In FIG. 21, when the operator places a mouse cursor in the tooth frame 131 in the image 130 and performs a drag and drop operation of the mouse 16 in the direction of the arrow 132, the tooth frame 131 in the image 130 is replaced with the tooth frame 135 in the image 134. Become. Since the edit mode 79 is “adjacent effective”, the tooth frame 133 adjacent to the tooth frame 131 in the image 130 becomes the tooth frame 136 adjacent to the tooth frame 135 also in the image 134. Note that the size of each adjacent tooth frame (the size in the direction of the arrow 132) is automatically adjusted when moving from the position of the tooth frame 131 to the position of the tooth frame 135.
In FIG. 22, when the operator places a mouse cursor in the tooth frame 141 in the image 140 and performs a drag and drop operation of the mouse 16 in the direction of the arrow 142, the tooth frame 141 in the image 140 is replaced with the tooth frame 144 in the image 143. Become. Since the edit mode 79 is “free”, the tooth frame 141 and the tooth frame 146 are adjacent to each other in the image 140, but in the image 143, the tooth frame 144 and the tooth frame 145 are not adjacent to each other and are displayed independently.

23 and 24 are diagrams showing a change (step 3009) in the tooth frame correction. FIG. 32 shows a case where the editing mode 79 is “adjacent effective”, and FIG. 24 shows a case where the editing mode 79 is “free”.
In FIG. 23, when the operator places a mouse cursor on the change mark 151 on the tooth frame in the image 150 and performs a drag and drop operation to the position of the change mark 153 in the image 152, the tooth frame 156 and the tooth frame 157 in the image 150. Are changed to become a tooth frame 155 and a tooth frame 154 of the image 152. Since the edit mode 79 is “adjacent effective”, the adjacent tooth frame 156 and the tooth frame 157 in the image 152 become the adjacent tooth frame 155 and the tooth frame 154 also in the image 152.
In FIG. 24, when the operator places a mouse cursor on the change mark 161 on the tooth frame in the image 160 and performs a drag and drop operation to the position of the change mark 163 in the image 162, the tooth frame 167 of the image 160 is changed. The tooth frame 164 of the image 162. Since the edit mode 79 is “free”, the tooth frame 166 and the tooth frame 167 are adjacent to each other in the image 160, but in the image 162, the tooth frame 165 and the tooth frame 164 are not adjacent to each other and are displayed independently.

(2-3. Effects of First Embodiment)
Through the above process, the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 reads out the dentist image information selected by the operator from the magnetic disk 13 and holds it in the main memory 14, and determines an image analysis region in the dentist image information. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 performs line scanning on the dentist image information in the image analysis region to determine a tooth end and a median line by measuring a density distribution, and based on the tooth end and the median line, an external tooth frame And a tooth gap line is determined to create a tooth frame indicating a position for each tooth. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 superimposes and displays the created tooth frame and dentist image information. In the full auto analysis, the calculation of the tooth end and the median line is automatically executed. In the semiautomatic analysis, the calculation of the tooth end and the median line is determined based on an operation instruction of the operator.

  As described above, the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 creates a tooth frame indicating a position for each tooth based on the dentist image information and displays the tooth frame and the dentist image information in a superimposed manner. The information regarding the tooth can be input via the, and the operability and accuracy in the chart input can be improved. When the tooth frame created by the full auto analysis and the semi auto analysis is not appropriate, the tooth frame can be corrected such as enlargement / reduction, movement, and change by dragging and dropping the mouse.

Second Embodiment
(3. Operation of medical image diagnosis support apparatus)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the first embodiment, the tooth frame is created by performing line scanning on the dentist image information to obtain the density distribution. However, in the second embodiment, a plurality of tooth frame patterns are prepared in advance. The tooth frame is determined by performing pattern matching processing based on the density distribution of the dentist image information.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment.
The processing in step 4001, step 4002, and step 4005 in FIG. 25 is the same as the processing in step 2001, step 2002, and step 2005 in FIG.

(3-1. Determination of tooth frame pattern: Step 4003)
FIG. 26 is a diagram showing density correction in the dentist image information 170.
Since the dentist image information has a characteristic that the exposure spreads from the center to the end, correction is required to improve the image analysis accuracy.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 corrects the density of the other area 172 based on the density of the central area 171 of the dentist image information 170. Specifically, the density of the dentist image information 170 is corrected by [Equation 2].

However,
f (x, y) is the density when the exposure at the point (x, y) is uniform,
g (x, y) is the actual density at point (x, y) in region 172,
g (x _c , y _c ) is the concentration at the point (x _c , y _c ) in the central region 171,
The constant a is a constant that makes g (x _c , y _c ) uniform,
It is.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a histogram 180 showing the density distribution of the dentist image information 170.
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the binarized dentist image information 183.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 defines the higher density 182 of the density 181 and the density 182 that are bimodal in the histogram 180 as bones, and defines the other parts as other than bones. The CPU 10 binarizes the dentist image information 170 based on the defined density to create binarized dentist image information 183. Thereby, the information processing amount at the time of performing pattern matching processing can be reduced.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating pattern matching processing.
The tooth frame patterns 184-1 to 184-n are tooth frame patterns prepared in advance for comparison with the dentist image information 190. The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 performs pattern matching processing after binarizing the tooth frame patterns 184-1 to 184-n and the dentist image information 190 together. The CPU 10 sequentially compares each comparison area 185 on the dentist image information 190 with the tooth frame pattern 184-1 to the tooth frame pattern 184-n, and determines a tooth frame pattern having a high degree of correlation. Specifically, the degree of correlation is calculated by [Equation 4] obtained by normalizing the cross-correlation function of [Equation 3].

However,
f (x, y) is the value of the pattern to be compared,
g (x, y) is the actual value,
a and b are the X coordinate and Y coordinate of the image analysis region,
It is.

However,
u and v are X and Y coordinates for scanning the image analysis area,
Value is the degree of correlation,
It is.

(3-2. Tooth Frame Pattern Adjustment: Step 4004)
FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating tooth frame pattern adjustment.
The CPU 10 of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 compares the tooth frame pattern determined in step 4003 with the binarized dentist image information 186 again. If the tooth frame side 187 of the tooth frame pattern is not at a position other than the bone (position of density “0”) in the binarized dentist image information 186, it is corrected to a position other than the bone (position of density “0”). Thus, the tooth frame side 188 is obtained. When there is no tooth due to extraction or the like, correction is not performed unless an adjacent tooth is searched and there is no position other than the bone (position of density “0”).

(3-3. Effects of Second Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 creates a tooth frame indicating a position for each tooth based on the dentist image information, and superimposes the tooth frame on the dentist image information. Therefore, it is possible to input information about the tooth through the tooth frame, and it is possible to improve the operability and accuracy in the chart input. In the second embodiment, instead of line scanning, a tooth frame pattern prepared in advance and dentist image information are binarized and then a pattern matching process is performed to determine a tooth frame. The tooth frame can be obtained quickly by reducing the load.

  The preferred embodiments of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea disclosed in the present application, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Understood.

Hardware configuration diagram of medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 Flow chart showing the overall operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 Flowchart showing the operation of the medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 in full-auto analysis and semi-auto analysis (first embodiment) Illustration of determining the image analysis area A histogram in which density distributions in the dentist image information 21 in the image analysis area 23 are arranged in order of frequency. Diagram showing smoothing Diagram showing density gradation correction The figure which shows calculation of the tooth end 55 The figure which shows calculation of the median line 57 The figure which shows the determination of the tooth outer frame 60 The figure which shows determination of the tooth space line 62 Diagram showing size conversion of dentist image information The figure which shows the tooth correction screen 70 on which the tooth state was displayed. The figure which shows the tooth correction screen 200 on which the tooth state was displayed. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the medical image diagnosis assistance apparatus 1 in a correction process. Diagram showing grid display Diagram showing tooth contour correction Figure showing enlarged display Diagram showing enlargement / reduction in tooth frame correction (adjacent effective) Diagram showing enlargement / reduction in tooth frame correction (free) Diagram showing movement in tooth frame correction (adjacent effective) Diagram showing movement in tooth frame correction (free) Diagram showing changes in tooth frame correction (adjacent effective) Diagram showing changes in tooth frame correction (free) Flowchart showing operation of medical image diagnosis support apparatus 1 (second embodiment) The figure which shows the density correction in the dentist image information 170 The figure which shows the histogram 180 which shows the density distribution of the dentist image information 170 The figure which shows the binarized dentist image information 183 Diagram showing pattern matching process Diagram showing tooth frame pattern adjustment

Explanation of symbols

1 ... Medical image diagnosis support apparatus 10 ... CPU
11 ... Medical imaging device 12 ... LAN
13 ......... Magnetic disk 14 ......... Main memory 15 ......... Controller 16 ......... Mouse 17 ......... Keyboard 18 ......... Display memory 19 ......... Display 21, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 ......... Dentist image information 23 ......... Image analysis area 30, 32, 34 ......... Histogram 52, 54 ......... Density distribution 55 ......... Tooth edge 57 ......... Middle line 60 ......... Outer tooth frame 62 ......... Gap space 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 ......... Tooth frame 70, 80, 82, 90, 100, 200 ......... Tooth correction screen 71,102,110 , 112, 120, 122, 130, 134, 140, 143, 150, 152, 160, 162, 201 ......... Image 73, 202 ......... Tooth 74, 203 ......... Tooth frame 75 ......... Tooth No. 84 ...... Grid 104... Enlarged image 151, 161, 164, 153... Change mark 170, 190... Dentist image information 171... Central region 172 ....... Region other than central region 171 180. 183, 186 ......... Binary dentist image information 184-1 to 184-n ......... Tooth frame pattern 187, 188 ......... Tooth frame side

Claims (11)

In a medical image diagnosis support apparatus that supports diagnosis of dentist image information,
Dentist image information acquisition means for acquiring the dentist image information;
Tooth position recognition means for recognizing positions of a plurality of teeth based on the density distribution of the acquired dentist image information;
Tooth position information creating means for creating tooth position information indicating the position of the recognized tooth;
Tooth position information display means for displaying the created tooth position information superimposed on the acquired dentist image;
Equipped with,
The medical image diagnosis support apparatus, wherein the tooth position information creating means creates a tooth frame indicating a range for each tooth as the tooth position information .   The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tooth position recognition unit measures the density distribution by line scanning the acquired dentist image information.   The tooth position recognition means recognizes the position of the tooth by performing a pattern matching process based on a density distribution of the acquired dentist image information using a plurality of tooth position information patterns held in advance. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medical image diagnosis support apparatus is a medical image diagnosis support apparatus.   The medical image diagnosis according to claim 3, wherein the tooth position recognition unit performs the pattern matching process after performing binarization processing on the dentist image information and the tooth position information pattern. Support device.   The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tooth position recognizing unit performs density gradation correction on the acquired dentist image information.   The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the tooth position recognition means recognizes a tooth end and a median line of the tooth. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the tooth position information display unit displays a tooth frame and a tooth number created as the tooth position information in association with each other. The tooth position information display means according to claim 1, wherein the displaying expand the acquired image and tooth position information created in the above for the dentist in a predetermined direction to claim 7 Medical image diagnosis support device. The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , further comprising a first correction unit that corrects a tooth position recognized by the tooth position recognition unit . The medical image diagnosis support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9 , further comprising: a second correction unit that corrects the tooth position information created by the tooth position information creation unit. Dentist image information acquisition step for acquiring dentist image information;
A tooth position recognition step for recognizing positions of a plurality of teeth based on the density distribution of the acquired dentist image information;
A tooth position information creating step for creating tooth position information indicating the position of the recognized tooth;
A tooth position information display step for displaying the created tooth position information superimposed on the acquired dentist image;
A medical image diagnosis assisting program for causing a computer to execute the,
The medical image diagnosis support program characterized in that the tooth position information creating step creates a tooth frame indicating a range for each tooth as the tooth position information.

Images