JP5388492B2 - Image display device and medical image diagnostic device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display apparatus and a medical image diagnostic apparatus.

  Conventionally, examinations using medical images acquired by medical diagnostic imaging apparatuses such as ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses, MRI apparatuses, X-ray CT apparatuses, nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatuses have become indispensable techniques in today's medical field. .

  When performing examination by acquiring multiple medical images continuously in time series using a medical image diagnostic apparatus, the position of the tissue displayed on each acquired medical image due to movement or pulsation of the body surface of the subject So-called motion artifacts may occur that cause blurring. In the following description, a plurality of medical images acquired continuously in time series will be described as “continuous images”.

  If a continuous image with blurring is displayed on a monitor as it is, a moving image in which a site to be diagnosed is continuously blurred becomes difficult, and it is difficult for a doctor to diagnose a test result.

  For this reason, a technique for generating a continuous image without blurring when a continuous image is blurred is known. Specifically, a region of interest for which blurring is to be eliminated, such as a region to be diagnosed, is set in advance, and a “motion vector” of the region of interest is calculated for each successive image. Then, a corrected image is generated by performing correction in the direction opposite to the calculated “motion vector” on each of the continuous images. This is a technique for generating a continuous image in which the region of interest is not blurred by superimposing (superimposing) all the generated correction images.

  Here, an outline of a motion vector generation method will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the prior art. In addition, FIG. 12 demonstrates the case where a motion vector is produced | generated in the several continuous image acquired by the ultrasound diagnosing device.

  12A shows an image G (i−1) obtained by imaging the “i−1” th frame, and FIG. 12B shows an image G (i) obtained by imaging the “i” th frame. i) respectively. In FIG. 12A, a region including the tissue T represented by an ellipse is represented as a region of interest. As shown in FIG. 12, in the image G (i), the position of the tissue T is slightly shifted to the upper left as compared with the image G (i-1).

  Here, the motion vector “Vi” shown in FIG. 12C calculates the degree of superposition (spatial coincidence) with the image G (i−1) while moving the image G (i) gradually, It is generated by determining the moving distance and moving direction when the spatial coincidence becomes the highest. Regarding the calculation of the spatial coincidence, a method of calculating from the absolute value of the luminance difference between spatially corresponding pixels of two images is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12C, the corrected image H (i) whose position is corrected so that the positions of the regions of interest including the tissue T coincide with each other is converted into an image G ( i).

  In diagnosis using a medical image, for example, image measurement is performed to measure the size of a tumor included in the medical image or to measure the position of the tumor in order to treat the tumor. For this reason, when storing the corrected image, the calibration information necessary for image measurement such as the length per unit pixel and the corrected coordinate data is simultaneously stored.

  However, since the blur caused by the movement and pulsation of the body surface of the subject is not uniform, even if the blur of the region of interest is eliminated by generating a corrected image, the blur due to distortion in other regions is eliminated. The possibility of remaining cannot be denied. For example, as shown in FIG. 12D, even if the blur of the region of interest in the continuous image is eliminated by the corrected image, a distortion occurs between the “i−1” th image and the “i” th image. There may be a region where the blur is not eliminated.

  As described above, in consideration of distortion due to non-uniform blur and the like, the accuracy of image measurement using the correction information and the calibration information given to the correction image is not guaranteed, and using the measurement result for diagnosis is Not necessarily recommended.

  For this reason, for correction images for which measurement accuracy cannot be guaranteed at present, when a request for image measurement is received, a warning symbol (for example, in order to notify that the measurement result is not permitted or the accuracy of the measurement result cannot be guaranteed) For example, a warning message is displayed together with a medical image to be measured (see FIG. 12D).

JP 2006-247122 A

  As described above, in the corrected image, the measurement accuracy varies for each point to be measured. Therefore, it is determined that the accuracy of the correction information and the calibration information given to the corrected image is not reliable. For this reason, the user of the medical image diagnostic apparatus cannot use the measurement result of the corrected image for diagnosis.

  However, there is a possibility that measurement accuracy is ensured for a region without distortion centered on the region of interest in the corrected image, and many users of medical image diagnostic apparatuses want to use the measurement result of the corrected image for diagnosis. I hope.

  In addition, it is not desirable to use a corrected image with a warning mark in an external presentation such as a conference presentation, even from the psychological impression of the audience. It is required to be able to measure.

  As described above, the above-described conventional technique has a problem in that a medical image that can effectively use the measurement result for diagnosis cannot be displayed.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and provides an image display apparatus and a medical image diagnostic apparatus that can display a medical image that can effectively use a measurement result for diagnosis. The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention is an image display device that displays a medical image to be measured on a predetermined display unit, and a plurality of medical images acquired in time series In each case, based on the movement information acquisition means for acquiring movement information along the time series of pixels constituting the medical image, and the movement information of each of the plurality of medical images acquired by the movement information acquisition means, In the correction image generation unit that generates a plurality of correction images obtained by correcting the plurality of medical images so that the positions of the predetermined regions of interest match, and the correction image generated by the correction image generation unit, the correction image is A measurement-permitted region determination unit that determines a measurement-permitted region that is a region that permits measurement used based on the movement information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit; When an instruction to measure a predetermined correction image is received through a predetermined input unit, the measurement permission area in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement permission area determination unit is set together with the predetermined correction image. Display control means for controlling to display on the display unit.

Further, the present invention is a medical image diagnostic apparatus that displays an acquired medical image on a predetermined display unit as a measurement target, and configures the medical image in each of a plurality of medical images acquired in time series. Based on the movement information of each of the plurality of medical images acquired by the movement information acquisition means and movement information acquisition means for acquiring movement information along the time series of pixels, the position of a predetermined region of interest matches. As described above, in the corrected image generation unit that generates a plurality of correction images obtained by correcting the plurality of medical images, and in the correction image generated by the correction image generation unit, measurement using the correction image is permitted. A measurement permission region determining unit that determines a measurement permission region based on the movement information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit, and a predetermined value via a predetermined input unit. When an instruction to measure a correction image is received, the measurement permission region in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement permission region determination unit is displayed on the predetermined display unit together with the predetermined correction image. And display control means for controlling.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to display the medical image which can utilize a measurement result for a diagnosis effectively.

  Exemplary embodiments of an image display apparatus and a medical image diagnostic apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, a case where a medical image acquired by the medical image diagnostic apparatus is displayed on the image display apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

  First, the configuration of the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image display apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment is connected to a medical image database 20 that manages medical image data acquired by the medical image diagnostic device 10, and includes an input unit 30a, a display unit 30b, A medical image storage unit 30c, a motion vector calculation unit 30d, a corrected image generation unit 30e, a measurement permission region determination unit 30f, a display control unit 30g, and an image measurement unit 30h are provided.

  Examples of the medical image diagnostic apparatus 10 include an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, an MRI apparatus, an X-ray CT apparatus, and a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus. The medical image database 20 is a system that manages data of various medical images. A database of a certain PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System), a database of an electronic medical chart system that manages an electronic medical chart to which a medical image is attached, and the like can be mentioned.

  Here, the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment is designated by an operator such as a doctor who performs diagnosis from the medical image acquired by the medical image diagnostic device 10 and stored in the medical image database 20 via the input unit 30a. A plurality of medical images acquired along the time series are read, and corrected images generated from the read plurality of medical images are displayed on the display unit 30b as image measurement targets. However, the measurement results can be effectively used for diagnosis. The main feature is that a medical image (corrected image) can be displayed.

  This main feature will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 together with FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a medical image storage unit, FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a corrected image generation unit, and FIG. 4 is a diagram explaining a measurement permission region determining unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the display control unit, and FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the image measurement unit.

  In the following, a case will be described in which the image display device 30 generates and displays a corrected image from a plurality of ultrasonic images along the time series acquired by the ultrasonic diagnostic device that is the medical image diagnostic device 10. The present invention is a case where a corrected image is generated and displayed from a plurality of medical images in time series acquired by another medical image diagnostic apparatus 10 such as an MRI apparatus, an X-ray CT apparatus, or a nuclear medicine diagnostic apparatus. Applicable.

  The input unit 30a inputs various types of information and includes a mouse, a keyboard, and the like. In particular, as closely related to the present invention, various setting requests from an operator such as a doctor, for example, acquired by the medical image diagnostic apparatus 10 A request for displaying a plurality of medical images along the time series generated, a request for setting a region of interest used when the corrected image generation unit 30e described later generates a corrected image, and a correction image generation unit 30e described later An image measurement request using the corrected image is received and input.

  The display unit 30b outputs various types of information, and includes a monitor, a speaker, and the like. In particular, as closely related to the present invention, the display unit 30b receives a setting of a region of interest used for processing of the corrected image generation unit 30e described later. An image, an image showing a processing result by a corrected image generation unit 30e and a measurement permission region determination unit 30f, which will be described later, and the like are displayed on a monitor based on control by a display control unit 30g described later.

  The medical image storage unit 30c stores a plurality of medical images along the time series read from the medical image database 20 based on an image display request input by the operator via the input unit 30a. The medical image storage unit 30c corresponds to the “image storage unit” recited in the claims.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2A, the medical image storage unit 30 c includes a plurality of medical image data “G (1),... In time series read from the medical image database 20. , G (i−1), G (i),.

  The medical image storage unit 30c also stores processing results from a corrected image generation unit 30e and a measurement permission region determination unit 30f described later. Details of the processing results stored in the medical image storage unit 30c will be described in detail later. To do.

  The motion vector calculation unit 30d calculates a motion vector as movement information along the time series of pixels constituting the medical image in each of a plurality of medical images along the time series stored in the medical image storage unit 30c. The motion vector calculation unit 30d corresponds to “movement information acquisition unit” described in the claims.

  That is, the motion vector calculation unit 30d reads the image data “G (1),..., G (i−1), G (i),. The motion vector of the pixel which comprises is calculated. For example, the motion vector calculation unit 30d calculates the spatial coincidence with the image G (i-1) while gradually moving the image G (i), and the movement distance when the spatial coincidence becomes the highest and By determining the moving direction, a motion vector of each pixel of the image G (i) is generated.

  Based on the motion vectors of the plurality of medical images calculated by the motion vector calculation unit 30d, the corrected image generation unit 30e generates a plurality of correction images obtained by correcting the plurality of medical images so that the positions of the regions of interest match. Generate. The corrected image generating unit 30e corresponds to “corrected image generating means” recited in the claims.

  Here, the region of interest is, for example, a region to be diagnosed when an operator who has input an image display request performs a diagnosis using a medical image. When an image display request is input via the input unit 30a, the display control unit 30g described later displays, for example, the image G (1) illustrated in FIG. 3 on the monitor of the display unit 30b, and displays the image G (1). The referred operator sets a region including a tissue T (for example, liver) to be diagnosed as a region of interest via the mouse of the input unit 30a.

  Then, the corrected image generation unit 30e performs a reverse correction on the motion vector of the region of interest among the motion vectors of each of the plurality of medical images calculated by the motion vector calculation unit 30d, so that the position of the region of interest A plurality of corrected images are generated by correcting a plurality of medical images so as to match. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the corrected image generation unit 30e includes a motion vector “Vi” of the region of interest among the motion vectors calculated in the image G (i) for the image G (i−1). A correction image H (i) is generated by performing reverse correction on the image G (i).

  In this way, the corrected image generating unit 30e, as shown in FIG. 3, corrects the corrected image from the image data “G (1),..., G (i−1), G (i),. Data “H (1),..., H (i−1), H (i),.

  Here, the corrected image generation unit 30e selects ““ length per unit pixel ”in each of the generated corrected image data“ H (1),..., H (i−1), H (i),. ”And“ Coordinate data after correction ”” are used for calibration information “K (1),..., K (i−1), K (i) used for image measurement processing by the image measurement unit 30h described later. , ... ".

  Then, the corrected image generating unit 30e includes the corrected image data “H (1),..., H (i−1), H (i),. .., K (i−1), K (i),... ”Are stored in the medical image storage unit 30c.

  That is, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, the medical image storage unit 30 c uses the corrected image generation unit 30 e to generate image data “G (1),..., G (i−1), G (i)”. ,..., Corrected image data “H (1),..., H (i−1), H (i),...” And calibration information “K (1),. .., K (i−1), K (i),.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the measurement-permitted region determination unit 30 f determines a measurement-permitted region that is a region that permits measurement using the corrected image in the corrected image generated by the corrected image generation unit 30 e, as a motion vector calculation unit 30 d. It determines based on the motion vector calculated by (1). The measurement permission area determination unit 30f corresponds to “measurement permission area determination means” described in the claims.

  Specifically, the measurement permission region determination unit 30f compares the motion vector of the region of interest in the corrected image with a motion vector other than the region of interest, and determines the motion vector of the region of interest and a motion vector within a predetermined threshold. The area having the measurement permission area is determined.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the measurement permission region determination unit 30f determines that “the region where the motion vector is within the threshold with the motion vector“ Vi ”of the region of interest” in the correction image “H (i)”. Determine as.

  Here, the measurement permission area determination unit 30f determines a measurement permission area in each of the generated corrected image data “H (1),..., H (i−1), H (i),. The coordinate data “P (1),..., P (i−1), P (i),...” In the corresponding corrected image of each determined measurement-permitted region is acquired as measurement-permitted region information.

  And the measurement permission area | region determination part 30f stores measurement permission area | region information "P (1), ..., P (i-1), P (i), ..." in the medical image memory | storage part 30c.

  That is, the medical image storage unit 30c, as shown in FIG. 2C, the measurement permission region information “P (1),..., P (i-1) acquired by the measurement permission region determination unit 30f. , P (i),..., Corrected image data “H (1),..., H (i−1), H (i),. ..., K (i−1), K (i),.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the display control unit 30g controls display processing on the monitor of the display unit 30b. The display control unit 30g corresponds to “display control means” described in the claims.

  First, as described above, the display control unit 30g performs control so as to display a medical image for receiving a region of interest used for processing by the corrected image generation unit 30e from the operator via the input unit 30a.

  Further, the display control unit 30g, as shown in FIG. 5A, displays the corrected image data “H (1),..., H (i−1), H generated by the corrected image generation unit 30e. (I), ... "is read from the medical image storage unit 30c, and the corrected image data" H (1), ..., H (i-1), H (i), ... "is displayed as a moving image. To control.

  When the display control unit 30g receives an image measurement request for image measurement of a predetermined correction image from the operator via the input unit 30a, the measurement permission region in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement permission region determination unit 30f. Are displayed on the monitor of the display unit 30b together with the predetermined correction image.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the display control unit 30 g displays “correction image: H (i)” as an image measurement target image by an operator who refers to the moving image display. Control is performed to display “corrected image: H (i)” on the monitor after dark-displaying the non-measurable region other than the measurement-permitted region determined in “Image: H (i)”.

  At this time, the display control unit 30g reads “measurement permission region information: P (i)” together with “correction image: H (i)” from the medical image storage unit 30c, and in “correction image: H (i)”. An area corresponding to coordinates other than “P (i)” is dark-displayed as a non-measurable area, and “corrected image: H (i)” is controlled to be displayed on the monitor.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the image measurement unit 30h stores the measurement of the measurement range designated by the operator through the input unit 30a with reference to the correction image displayed as the image measurement target, in the medical image storage unit 30c. The calibration information associated with the corrected image is read and executed. The image measuring unit 30h corresponds to “image measuring unit” recited in the claims.

  Here, before executing the image measurement, the image measurement unit 30h reads the measurement permission area information of the corrected image designated as the image measurement target from the medical image storage unit 30c, and the operator performs the input via the input unit 30a. It is determined whether or not the designated measurement range is a measurement permission area.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, the image measuring unit 30h refers to the measurement permission area information, thereby specifying two points designated by the operator for distance measurement (see the crosses in the figure). Are determined to be in the measurement permission region, and image measurement using the calibration information is executed.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, the image measurement unit 30h refers to the measurement permission region information, so that one of the two points designated by the operator for distance measurement is a non-measurable region. (See the cross in the figure). Here, the image measurement unit 30h also performs image measurement using the calibration information even when it is determined that the point designated by the operator is within the non-measurable region.

  However, if it is determined by the image measurement unit 30h that the point designated by the operator is within the non-measurable region, the display control unit 30g is performing measurement by the image measurement unit 30h as shown in FIG. In the control, the warning symbol is always displayed. Alternatively, the display control unit 30g performs control so that a warning message is displayed for a predetermined time from the start of measurement.

  Further, when the image measurement by the image measurement unit 30h is finished, the display control unit 30g controls to end the dark display of the non-measurable area, and the warning symbol is displayed by measuring the non-measurable area. Control to turn off the display of the warning symbol.

  In this embodiment, the case where the process accompanying the input of the image display request and the process accompanying the input of the image measurement request are performed continuously has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the image display is not limited to this. When the corrected image data, the calibration information, and the measurement permission area information are stored in the medical image storage unit 30c by the process according to the input of the request and the corrected image is displayed, the operation by the operator is once ended, and again When the operator inputs an image display request, the corrected image is displayed as a moving image. After that, when the image measurement request is input, image measurement is performed from the medical image storage unit 30c. It may be a case where the corrected image designated as the target, the calibration information, and the measurement permission area information are read and the image measurement process is executed.

  Next, processing of the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. First, the corrected image display process of the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the corrected image display processing of the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment receives an image display request from the operator via the input unit 30 a (Yes in step S <b> 701), the image display device 30 from the medical image database 20 based on the image display request. A plurality of medical images along the time series are read and stored in the medical image storage unit 30c, and the motion vector calculation unit 30d calculates a motion vector of each corresponding medical image read from the medical image storage unit 30c (step S702). ). That is, the motion vector calculation unit 30d calculates a motion vector of each pixel constituting the medical image in each of a plurality of medical images along the time series stored in the medical image storage unit 30c.

  The corrected image generation unit 30e then corrects the plurality of medical images so that the positions of the regions of interest match based on the motion vectors of the plurality of medical images calculated by the motion vector calculation unit 30d. An image is generated (step S703, see FIG. 3). The region of interest is set by an operator who designates the medical image displayed on the monitor of the display unit 30b through the input unit 30a based on the control of the display control unit 30g. Further, the correction image generation unit 30e acquires calibration information of the generated correction image, and stores the generated correction image data in the medical image storage unit 30c together with the acquired calibration information (see FIG. 2B).

  Thereafter, the measurement permission region determination unit 30f compares the motion vector of the region of interest with a motion vector other than the region of interest, determines the measurement permission region in the corrected image, and sets the measurement permission region information as the medical image storage unit 30c. (See step S704, FIG. 4 and FIG. 2C).

  Subsequently, the display control unit 30g performs control so that the corrected image generated by the corrected image generation unit 30e is displayed as a moving image (step S705, see FIG. 5A), and ends the corrected image display process.

  Next, the image measurement process of the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining image measurement processing of the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  The image measurement process shown in FIG. 8 may be performed continuously with the image display process described with reference to FIG. 7 as described above, or the image display process described with reference to FIG. Is once completed, and after the image display request is input by the operator again, it is performed after the corrected images of a plurality of medical images along the designated time series are displayed as moving images. Also good.

  As illustrated in FIG. 8, when the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment receives an image measurement request for image measurement of a corrected image designated by the operator via the input unit 30a (Yes in step S801), the display control unit 30g controls to display the measurement permission area determined by the measurement permission area determination unit 30f for the specified correction image on the monitor of the display unit 30b together with the specified correction image (step S802).

  Specifically, the display control unit 30g reads the corresponding measurement permission region information together with the specified correction image from the medical image storage unit 30c, and the region corresponding to the coordinates other than the measurement permission region information in the specified correction image. Is dark-displayed as a non-measurable area, and the specified correction image is controlled to be displayed on the monitor.

  When the measurement range in the corrected image designated via the input unit 30a is designated by the operator (Yes in step S803), the image measurement unit 30h determines whether or not the designated measurement range includes a non-measurable region. Is determined (step S804).

  Here, when the designated measurement range is in the measurement permission region (Yes in step S805), the image measurement unit 30h reads the calibration information of the designated correction image from the medical image storage unit 30c, and executes image measurement. (Step S807), the process ends.

  On the other hand, if the designated measurement range includes a non-measurable region (No at Step S805), the display control unit 30g controls to display a warning symbol on the monitor of the display unit 30b (Step S806).

  Then, the image measurement unit 30h reads the calibration information of the specified corrected image from the medical image storage unit 30c under the situation where the warning symbol is displayed on the monitor, performs image measurement (step S807), and processing Exit.

  Note that the determination process of the measurement permission region in step S704 in FIG. 7 may be executed after affirmation in step S801 in FIG. In addition, the measurement-permitted area determination process executed after affirmation in step S801 may be all the corrected images displayed as moving images, or only the corrected image specified as the image measurement target. There may be some cases.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the medical image storage unit 30c includes a plurality of medical images along the time series specified in the image display request input by the operator from the medical image database 20 via the input unit 30a. Is read and memorized. The motion vector calculation unit 30d calculates a motion vector as movement information along the time series of pixels constituting the medical image in each of the plurality of medical images along the time series stored in the medical image storage unit 30c, and corrects the corrected image. The generation unit 30e generates a plurality of corrected images obtained by correcting the plurality of medical images so that the positions of the regions of interest match based on the motion vectors of the plurality of medical images calculated by the motion vector calculation unit 30d. .

  And the measurement permission area | region determination part 30f calculated the measurement permission area | region which is an area | region which permits the measurement using the said correction image in the correction image produced | generated by the correction image generation part 30e by the motion vector calculation part 30d. Based on the motion vector, the display control unit 30g displays the generated corrected images as a moving image. When an image measurement request for image measurement of a predetermined correction image is received from the operator via the input unit 30a, a measurement-impossible region other than the measurement-permitted region in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement-permitted region determination unit 30f is dark-displayed. Then, the control is performed so that the predetermined correction image is displayed on the monitor of the display unit 30b. Therefore, in the correction image that is conventionally regarded as not guaranteeing the measurement accuracy, the operator selects an area where the measurement accuracy is guaranteed. It is possible to easily recognize and perform image measurement, and as described above, a medical image (corrected image) that can effectively use the measurement result for diagnosis can be displayed.

  Furthermore, when it is necessary to accurately measure the distance from the body surface to the treatment site, such as treatment of a liver tumor by puncture, the operator can perform measurement with high accuracy by avoiding the measurement impossible region. A treatment plan using the corrected image can be performed.

  In the first embodiment, the image measurement unit 30h reads the measurement permission area information of the corrected image designated as the image measurement target from the medical image storage unit 30c before the image measurement is performed, and the operator inputs the input unit. It is determined whether or not the measurement range specified via 30a is a measurement-permitted region, and only when the image measurement unit 30h determines that the point specified by the operator is within the non-measurable region, the display control unit 30g controls to always display a warning symbol during measurement by the image measuring unit 30h, so unlike the image measurement using the corrected image in which the warning symbol is always displayed in the past, the measurement in the measurement permission region is performed. Since the warning symbol is not displayed for measurement, the measurement result using the corrected image can be easily used in an external presentation such as a conference presentation.

  Further, in the first embodiment, the information of the measurement permission area determined by the measurement permission area determination unit 30f is stored together with the correction image, so that the operator can perform image measurement with reference to the correction image when desired.

  In the second embodiment, a modified example of the motion vector calculation unit 30d will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the image display apparatus according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a motion vector calculation unit according to the second embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the image display device 30 according to the second embodiment is different from the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1 in that a device information acquisition unit 30 i is further provided. Hereinafter, this will be mainly described.

  The device information acquisition unit 30 i acquires the processing capability of the image display device 30. For example, the processing capability “operating frequency × IPC (Instructions Per Clock)” of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) mounted on the image display device 30 as a computer is acquired.

  Then, the motion vector calculation unit 30d according to the second embodiment calculates the processing range of the pixels for which the motion vector calculation processing is performed and the motion vector calculation according to the processing capability of the image display device 30 acquired by the device information acquisition unit 30i. The processing density of the pixel to be processed is changed.

  For example, if the acquired processing capability of the image display device 30 is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the motion vector calculation unit 30d moves the motion vector at all points of the pixels constituting the corrected image as shown in FIG. Is calculated, there is a possibility that a delay may occur in the motion vector calculation process and the measurement permission area determination process.

  If it is determined that there is a possibility of occurrence of delay, the motion vector calculation unit 30d, for example, applies pixels to a region within a certain range from the region set as the region of interest as illustrated in FIG. Only the motion vector is calculated.

  Alternatively, when it is determined that there is a possibility of delay occurrence, the motion vector calculation unit 30d skips one point from all points of the pixels constituting the corrected image, as shown in FIG. Is calculated.

  Note that in the processing of the image display device 30 in the second embodiment, the motion vector calculation unit 30d calculates the motion vector according to the processing capability of the image display device 30 acquired by the device information acquisition unit 30i in step S702 in FIG. The processing is the same as that of the image display device 30 in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 except that the motion vector is calculated after changing the range or density of the target pixel. Omitted.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the load at the time of calculating the motion vector according to the processing capability of the image processing apparatus 30, and to smoothly execute the calculation of the motion vector and the determination of the measurement permission region. It becomes possible to do.

  In the third embodiment, a modified example of the measurement permission region determining unit 30f will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a measurement permission area determination unit according to the third embodiment.

  The image display device 30 according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as the image display device 30 according to the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1 and the image display device 30 according to the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. The measurement permission area determination process in the permission area determination unit 30f is different from the first and second embodiments. Hereinafter, this will be mainly described.

  The measurement permission region determination unit 30f according to the third embodiment cannot measure the entire correction image in which the correction degree for matching the position of the region of interest exceeds the predetermined movement amount in the correction image generation processing by the correction image generation unit 30e. Determine as an area.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, as in the first and second embodiments, the corrected image generation unit 30e calculates the motion calculated in the image G (i) for the image G (i-1). Of the vectors, a correction image H (i) in which the position of the region of interest coincides is generated by correcting the image G (i) in the direction opposite to the motion vector “Vi” of the region of interest.

  Here, the measurement permission region determination unit 30f according to the third embodiment is configured so that the motion vector “Vi” used for the generation process of the corrected image H (i) of the correction image generation unit 30e is equal to or greater than a predetermined movement amount. As shown in FIG. 11B, the entire corrected image H (i) is determined as a non-measurable region. Therefore, when the corrected image H (i) is designated as an image measurement target, the display control unit 30g performs control so that the entire corrected image H (i) is darkly displayed.

  Note that the processing of the image display device 30 in the third embodiment also includes the motion vector of the region of interest used by the measurement permission region determination unit 30f in the correction image generation processing by the correction image generation unit 30e in step S704 in FIG. Since the processing is the same as the processing of the image display device 30 in the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 except that the measurement permission region is determined with reference to the description, the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, if the deviation of the region of interest itself is large, it is determined that the measurement accuracy of the corrected image cannot be guaranteed, and the entire corrected image is determined as the non-measurable region. Use of the results for diagnosis can be avoided.

  In the first to third embodiments, the case where the image display device 30 generates a correction image from the medical image acquired by the medical image diagnostic device 10 and performs image measurement has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the medical image diagnostic apparatus 10 that has acquired the medical image may generate a corrected image and perform image measurement. That is, the function of the image display device 30 in the first to third embodiments described above may be incorporated in the medical image diagnostic device 10.

  Further, each component of each illustrated apparatus is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured. Further, all or any part of each processing function performed in each device may be realized by a CPU and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

  As described above, the image display device and the medical image diagnostic device according to the present invention are useful when displaying a medical image to be measured on a predetermined display unit, and in particular, a medical device that can effectively use a measurement result for diagnosis. Suitable for displaying images.

1 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of an image display device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating a medical image memory | storage part. It is a figure for demonstrating a correction | amendment image generation part. It is a figure for demonstrating the measurement permission area | region determination part in Example 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating a display control part. It is a figure for demonstrating an image measurement part. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a corrected image display process of the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for explaining image measurement processing of the image display apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of an image display device according to a second embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the motion vector calculation part in Example 2. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the measurement permission area | region determination part in Example 3. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Medical image diagnostic apparatus 20 Medical image database 30 Image display apparatus 30a Input part 30b Display part 30c Medical image memory | storage part 30d Motion vector calculation part 30e Correction | amendment image generation part 30f Measurement permission area | region determination part 30g Display control part 30h Image measurement part

Claims (7)

An image display device that displays a medical image to be measured on a predetermined display unit,
In each of a plurality of medical images acquired along a time series, movement information acquisition means for acquiring movement information along the time series of pixels constituting the medical image;
Correction for generating a plurality of corrected images obtained by correcting the plurality of medical images so that the positions of predetermined regions of interest match based on the movement information of each of the plurality of medical images acquired by the movement information acquisition unit. Image generating means;
In the correction image generated by the correction image generation unit, a measurement permission region that is a region in which measurement using the correction image is permitted is determined based on the movement information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit. Allowed area determination means;
When an instruction to measure a predetermined correction image is received via a predetermined input unit, the measurement permission area in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement permission area determination unit is set together with the predetermined correction image. Display control means for controlling to display on the display unit;
Equipped with a,
The measurement permission region determining unit compares the movement information of the predetermined region of interest in the corrected image with movement information other than the predetermined region of interest, and the movement information of the predetermined region of interest is within a predetermined threshold. An image display device characterized in that an area having movement information is determined as the measurement permission area . The display control means darkens a non-measurable area other than the measurement permission area in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement permission area determination means, and then displays the predetermined correction image on the predetermined display. The image display apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display is controlled so as to be displayed on the unit. Image measuring means for measuring the correction image of the measurement target after determining whether or not the measurement range specified via the predetermined input unit in the correction image of the measurement target includes the non-measurable region The image display device according to claim 2 , further comprising: Image storage means for storing each of the plurality of correction images generated by the correction image generation means and the measurement permission areas of the plurality of correction images determined by the measurement permission area determination means in association with each other. ,
When the display control unit receives an instruction to measure a predetermined correction image from the plurality of correction images stored in the image storage unit via the predetermined input unit, the display control unit receives the predetermined correction from the image storage unit. Reading the measurement permission area associated with the image, darkening the measurement impossible area in the predetermined correction image, and controlling the predetermined correction image to be displayed on the predetermined display unit The image display device according to claim 3 . The movement information acquisition means changes the processing density of pixels for which the movement information acquisition process is performed and / or the processing range of the pixels for which the movement information acquisition process is performed according to the processing capability of the apparatus provided with the movement information acquisition unit. The image display apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein: The measurement permission region determining unit is configured to process the entire correction image in which the correction degree for matching the position of the predetermined region of interest exceeds a predetermined movement amount in the correction image generation processing by the correction image generation unit. The image display device according to claim 5 , wherein the image display device is determined as a non-measurable region. A medical image diagnostic apparatus for displaying an acquired medical image as a measurement target on a predetermined display unit,
In each of a plurality of medical images acquired along a time series, movement information acquisition means for acquiring movement information along the time series of pixels constituting the medical image;
Correction for generating a plurality of corrected images obtained by correcting the plurality of medical images so that the positions of predetermined regions of interest match based on the movement information of each of the plurality of medical images acquired by the movement information acquisition unit. Image generating means;
In the correction image generated by the correction image generation unit, a measurement permission region that is a region in which measurement using the correction image is permitted is determined based on the movement information acquired by the movement information acquisition unit. Allowed area determination means;
When an instruction to measure a predetermined correction image is received via a predetermined input unit, the measurement permission area in the predetermined correction image determined by the measurement permission area determination unit is set together with the predetermined correction image. Display control means for controlling to display on the display unit;
Equipped with a,
The measurement permission region determining unit compares the movement information of the predetermined region of interest in the corrected image with movement information other than the predetermined region of interest, and the movement information of the predetermined region of interest is within a predetermined threshold. A medical image diagnostic apparatus characterized in that an area having movement information is determined as the measurement permission area .

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