JP6626485B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device , an information processing method, and a program.

  2. Description of the Related Art An ophthalmic tomographic imaging apparatus such as an optical coherence tomography (OCT) is capable of three-dimensionally observing a state inside a retinal layer. This eye tomographic imaging apparatus has been attracting attention in recent years because it is useful for more accurately diagnosing diseases.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a tomographic image of a retina taken by OCT. In FIG. 3A, T _{1 to} T _n are two-dimensional tomographic images (B-scan images) of the macula. D represents the optic disc, and M represents the macula. Reference numeral 1 denotes an inner limiting membrane, 2 denotes a boundary between a nerve fiber layer and a layer below the nerve fiber layer (hereinafter referred to as nerve fiber layer boundary 2), and 2 ′ denotes a nerve fiber layer. Reference numeral 3 denotes a boundary between the inner mesh layer and the lower layer (hereinafter, referred to as an inner mesh layer boundary 3), and reference numeral 4 denotes a boundary between the outer mesh layer and the lower layer (hereinafter, referred to as an outer mesh layer boundary 4). Represent. Reference numeral 5 denotes the junction between the inner and outer segments of the photoreceptor cell, 6 denotes the boundary of the retinal pigment epithelium, and 6 ′ denotes the edge of the retinal pigment epithelium. For example, when such a tomographic image is input, if the thickness of the nerve fiber layer 2 ′ (TT1 in FIG. 3A) can be measured, the progress of diseases such as glaucoma and the degree of recovery after treatment can be quantitatively determined. It is possible to make a diagnosis. In order to judge the progress of the disease of the eye and the recovery of the therapeutic effect, a technique for facilitating the comparison work in a display mode in which the correlation between the fundus image and the tomographic image obtained by the OCT can be grasped has been disclosed. (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-073099 A

  However, Patent Literature 1 described above displays a tomographic image of OCT and a layer boundary corresponding to a position specified on a fundus image, but only displays a tomographic image of a location specified by a doctor and the boundary. . Therefore, in the tomographic image of the designated location, it may be difficult to determine whether the location where the layer thickness is abnormal is due to the characteristics of an individual or due to a disease.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to the present invention is an information processing apparatus for processing a plurality of tomographic images acquired at different positions on a fundus of an eye to be inspected by an OCT optical system,
A first tomographic image is selected from the plurality of tomographic images based on an instruction from an operator, and a second tomographic image which is plane- symmetric with the first tomographic image with respect to a reference tomographic plane in the fundus oculi. Selecting means for automatically selecting a second tomographic image from the plurality of tomographic images;
A line indicating the position of the first tomographic image on the fundus and a line indicating the position of the second tomographic image on the fundus are displayed on a display unit in different colors superimposed on the fundus image of the eye to be examined. And a graph for comparing a distribution of a first value obtained by analyzing the first tomographic image with a distribution of a second value obtained by analyzing the second tomographic image. And a display control means for displaying on the display means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether information obtained from a tomographic image is due to individual differences or disease.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing system according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tomographic image and a projected image according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a tomographic image position according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying a tomographic image according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a second embodiment. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The figure which shows an example of the difference information display of the part which is structurally object concerning 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying a tomographic image in which a difference is detected according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

(1st Embodiment)
The configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The image processing apparatus 10 sets a reference tomographic plane indicating a reference tomographic plane among a group of tomographic images formed by tomographic imaging of the subject's eye, and determines a predetermined position based on the reference tomographic plane. For example, a parallel tomographic image is created. Then, a tomographic image at a location designated by the operator is selected, and a tomographic image at a location structurally symmetric with the designated location in the same eye is selected. Then, the image processing device displays the tomographic images side by side to display an image for supporting the process of determining whether the information obtained from the tomographic images is due to individual differences or disease. Execute the process.

  In the present embodiment, a case where a tomographic image of three-dimensional data is obtained will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this as long as data capable of forming data at positions symmetrical with respect to a straight line connecting the optic papilla and the macula can be obtained. The data acquisition method is not limited as long as the data at the plane-symmetric position can be reconstructed from the acquired data by interpolation or the like.

  The image processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is connected to a tomographic imaging apparatus 20 via an interface such as USB or IEEE1394, and is connected to a data server 50 via a local area network (LAN) 40. The connection with these devices may be configured to be connected via an external network such as the Internet.

  The tomographic image capturing device 20 is a device that captures a tomographic image of the eye, and includes, for example, a time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) or a Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). The data server 50 is an information processing device (server) that stores a tomographic image of the subject's eye, image feature amounts of the subject's eye, and the like. The data server 50 stores a tomographic image of the subject's eye output by the tomographic imaging apparatus 20 and an analysis result output by the image processing apparatus 10. In addition, in response to a request from the image processing apparatus 10, past data on the subject's eye is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 10.

  The image processing apparatus 10 includes a control unit 200, a subject eye information acquisition unit 210, an image acquisition unit 220, an instruction acquisition unit 230, a display unit 270, and a result output unit 280. The control unit 200 includes a first tomographic image selecting unit 201, a second tomographic image selecting unit 202, an image creating unit 203, an image processing unit 204, and an image storing unit 205. The image processing unit 204 includes a positioning unit 241, a projection image creation unit 242, a feature extraction unit 243, and a reference tomographic plane setting unit 244, and sets a reference tomographic plane in a tomographic image group (volume data). Then, the control unit 200 creates a plurality of tomographic images based on the reference tomographic plane.

  The subject's eye information acquisition unit 210 acquires information for identifying the subject's eye and identifying the subject from outside. The image acquiring unit 220 acquires a tomographic image transmitted from the tomographic image capturing device 20. The instruction acquisition unit 230 acquires an instruction of a process input by the operator. The display unit 270 displays the tomographic image processed by the control unit 200 on a monitor. The result output unit 280 associates the examination date and time, information for identifying and identifying the subject's eye, the tomographic image of the subject's eye, and the analysis result obtained by the image processing unit 220, as information to be stored. The data is transmitted to the data server 50.

  Next, the processing procedure of the image processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing of the flowchart is executed by executing a program stored in a memory (not shown) provided inside the image processing apparatus 10. In the processing procedure of the present embodiment, a tomographic image of a subject's eye is acquired, and a projection image is created from the tomographic image in order to display a wide fundus region. A reference tomographic plane is set for the tomographic image. Then, based on the tomographic image at the position designated by the operator on the projection image and the reference tomographic plane, a tomographic image which is plane-symmetric is selected, and the tomographic image is displayed.

  In step S201, the subject's eye information acquisition unit 210 identifies a subject's eye and acquires a subject identification number from outside as information for identification. Then, based on the subject identification number, information on the subject's eye (such as the patient's name, age, and gender) held by the data server 50 is acquired.

  In step S202, the image acquisition unit 220 acquires a tomographic image transmitted from the tomographic imaging apparatus 20. The tomographic images acquired here constitute a group of tomographic images. Then, the acquired information is transmitted to the image storage unit 205. In the following description, it is assumed that the tomographic image acquired by the image acquiring unit 220 is that of the subject's eye identified by the subject's eye information acquiring unit 210.

  In step S203, the image processing unit 204 sets a reference tomographic plane indicating a tomographic plane serving as a reference in the tomographic image. The processing of this step will be described later in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In step S204, the image creating unit 203 generates a tomographic image from the group of tomographic images (volume data). Here, a reference tomographic plane and a plurality of tomographic images parallel to the reference tomographic plane are created. Hereinafter, the creation of the reference tomographic plane and the tomographic image will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4A, F denotes a fundus, a rectangular area R denotes a region where a tomographic image is photographed in the fundus F, and a dashed line B denotes a position of a reference tomographic plane.

  When a tomographic image is created from a group of tomographic images, image interpolation is performed on pixels located at coordinates that have not been acquired during imaging. As a method of image interpolation, for example, a tomographic image can be created using a bicubic method. In FIG. 4A, the reference tomographic plane is set in the rectangular area R. However, the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, a rectangular region R ′ parallel to the reference tomographic plane is set, and a tomographic image is created from the tomographic image group in the rectangular region R ′. May be.

  In step S205, the instruction obtaining unit 230 obtains a position specified by the operator in the projection image or the group of tomographic images. However, when the instruction from the operator has not been obtained, the reference tomographic plane set in step S203 is set as the designated position. As the method of specifying the point of interest by the operator, a point may be directly specified with a mouse or the like, or the point of interest may be specified by operating a slider or a mouse wheel, or inputting a numerical value from the reference tomographic plane. Is also good.

  In step S206, based on the reference tomographic plane and the position acquired by the instruction acquiring unit 230, the first tomographic image selecting unit 201 and the second tomographic image selecting unit 202 convert the tomographic image displayed on the display unit 270 into Select each. Hereinafter, selection of a tomographic image will be described with reference to FIG.

Arrow S in FIG. 4 (c) shows the operator-specified location _(x i, _{y j).} A broken line B1 indicates a tomographic image position selected by the first tomographic image selecting unit 201, and a broken line B2 indicates a tomographic image position selected by the second tomographic image selecting unit 202.

  The first tomographic image selection unit 201 selects a tomographic image corresponding to the designated position acquired in step S205 from the plurality of tomographic images created in step S204. The second tomographic image selecting unit 202 generates the two-dimensional tomographic image selected by the first tomographic image selecting unit 201 and a plurality of tomographic images at positions that are plane-symmetric with respect to the reference tomographic plane in step S204. Select from tomographic images.

  In step S207, the tomographic image selected in step S206 is displayed on the display unit 270. FIG. 5 shows an example of the screen display. In FIG. 5, a three-dimensional tomographic image group 501, a projected image 502, a tomographic image 1 (503) at a location designated by the operator, and a tomographic image 2 (504) that is plane-symmetric based on the reference tomographic plane. Is displayed on the display unit 270. The tomographic image 1 (503) and the tomographic image 2 (504) are displayed side by side. Then, the positions of the tomographic image 1 (503) and the tomographic image 2 (504) created from the tomographic image group are displayed on the projected image 502, respectively. When the position of the tomographic image is displayed on the projection image, the position of the reference tomographic plane is also displayed on the projection image, and the position information can be displayed in different colors and line types. For example, the color of the line representing the position of the tomographic image 1 (503) is red, and the color of the line representing the position of the tomographic image 2 (504) is blue. Note that the color setting, line type, presence / absence of position display on the projected image, and the like can be changed using a user interface (not shown).

  When the position of the tomographic image 1 (503) is changed, the second tomographic image selecting unit 201 displays the tomographic image 2 (504) at the position corresponding to the changed tomographic image 1 (503). As a display method, when the position of the tomographic image 1 (503) is continuously changed by a slider, a mouse, or the like, the position of the tomographic image 2 (504) is continuously changed in synchronization and displayed. Alternatively, while the position of the tomographic image 1 (503) is continuously changed, the position of the tomographic image 1 (503) is not changed while the position of the tomographic image 1 (503) is stationary. A tomographic image at a position that is plane-symmetric with (503) may be selected and displayed.

  In step S208, the instruction obtaining unit 230 externally obtains an instruction whether to end the tomographic image analysis processing by the image processing apparatus 10. This instruction is input by the operator using a user interface (not shown). If the point of interest is specified for the tomographic image group or the two-dimensional projection image without terminating the process, the process returns to step S204. When an instruction to end the processing is obtained, the image processing apparatus 10 ends the processing.

  Next, the reference tomographic plane setting processing in step S203 will be described with reference to FIG.

In step S210, the positioning unit 241 align between the tomographic images _T 1 through T _n. An evaluation function indicating the similarity between two tomographic images is defined in advance, and the image is deformed so that the value of the evaluation function becomes the best. As the evaluation function, a method of evaluating with a pixel value can be used. For example, evaluation is performed using mutual information. For the deformation of the image, the translation, rotation, and magnification can be changed using an affine transformation.

  In step S220, the projection image creation unit 242 creates a projection image obtained by integrating each tomographic image in the depth direction. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tomographic image and a projected image of the retinal layer. FIG. 3A is a tomographic image of the retinal layer, and FIG. 3B is a projection image P created by integrating luminance values of the tomographic image in the depth direction (z direction). In the projected image P, a curve V indicates a blood vessel, D indicates an optic disc, and M indicates a macula.

  In step S230, the feature extracting unit 243 extracts the centers of the optic disc D and the macula M from the tomographic image.

  First, an example of a method of extracting the center of the optic disc D will be described. In order to detect the region of the optic papilla D, the edge 6 ′ of the retinal pigment epithelium layer is detected in the group of tomographic images in FIG. The retinal pigment epithelium layer boundary 6 is a high-luminance area, and can be detected using a feature amount of a filter that emphasizes a layer structure or a filter that emphasizes an edge. Then, the edge 6 ′ of the retinal pigment epithelium near the optic disc recession is detected from the detected boundary 6 of the retinal pigment epithelium. Then, the detected retinal pigment epithelium layer edge 6 ′ is connected in a three-dimensional area to obtain an optic disc area. Outlier removal and morphology processing are performed on the optic disc region to obtain an optic disc D. The center of the optic disc D is the center of gravity of the region.

  Next, an example of a method of extracting the fovea of the center of the macula M will be described. In order to detect the fovea, the inner limiting membrane 1 is detected in the group of tomographic images in FIG. Similar to the retinal pigment epithelium layer boundary 6, the inner limiting membrane 1 is also detected using the layer and edge features. Since the fovea has a concave shape in the retina, the fovea is extracted using the detected shape characteristics of the inner limiting membrane 1. In the macula M, the points where the curvature is large are concentrated. Therefore, the curvature is calculated at each point of the detected inner limiting membrane 1, and the whole area where the points where the curvature is large is extracted. In the three-dimensional tomographic image within the extracted region, the deepest part is defined as the fovea.

  In step S240, the reference tomographic plane setting unit 244 sets a plane including a straight line connecting the centers of the optic papilla D and the macula M extracted by the feature extracting unit 243 as a reference tomographic plane.

  In a three-dimensional space, a plane can be obtained from the equation ax + by + cz + d = 0 of any three points in the space and the plane. Therefore, a reference tomographic plane is set from any two different points located on a straight line connecting the center of the optic papilla D and the center of the macula M, and one point located at a point perpendicular to the z direction with respect to the two points. I can do it.

  In the reference tomographic plane setting processing, the processing of automatically setting the reference tomographic plane has been described. However, the processing is not necessarily performed automatically, and the reference tomographic plane may be set at a position designated by the operator. For example, the configuration may be such that the operator specifies the center positions of the optic disc and the macula, or the operator can correct the reference tomographic plane set by the computer.

  In the present embodiment, the process of setting the reference tomographic plane in advance on the retina of the subject's eye, creating a tomographic image parallel to the reference tomographic plane, and then specifying the tomographic image has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the following processing may be performed. A plurality of tomographic images at arbitrary positions and directions are created in advance from a group of tomographic images (volume data) of the retina photographed in advance. The tomographic image corresponding to the position designated by the operator is selected from the created tomographic images. Then, with respect to the reference tomographic plane, a tomographic image at a position symmetrical to the designated tomographic image is created from a group of previously captured retinal tomographic images, and the designated tomographic image and the created tomographic image are generated. May be displayed side by side.

  According to the configuration described above, while selecting the tomographic image of the location specified by the operator, in the same eye, selecting the tomographic image of the location that is structurally symmetric with the specified location, and arranging them indicate. As a result, when an operator makes a diagnosis with reference to a tomographic image, it is possible to easily determine whether information obtained from the tomographic image is due to individual differences or due to a disease. There is.

(2nd Embodiment)
In the second embodiment, a configuration in which a measurement unit 245 is added to the configuration of the first embodiment and the operation of the feature extraction unit 243 is partially changed will be described. The feature extracting unit 2431 extracts the boundary of each layer from the retinal layer, the measuring unit 245 measures the difference in layer thickness between the tomographic image 1 and the structurally symmetric tomographic image 2, and displays the difference on the display unit 270. This is different from the first embodiment in that difference information indicating the measurement result of is displayed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 11 according to the present embodiment. The image processing unit 206 in the figure includes a positioning unit 241, a projection image creation unit 242, a feature extraction unit 2431, a reference tomographic plane setting unit 244, and a measurement unit 245. Here, the positioning unit 241, the projection image creation unit 242, and the reference tomographic plane setting unit 244 operate in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  Hereinafter, the processing procedure of the image processing apparatus 11 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The processing of the flowchart is executed by executing a program stored in a memory (not shown) provided inside the image processing apparatus 11. Note that steps other than steps S730, S707, and S708 are the same as in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  In step S707 of FIG. 7A, the measurement unit 245 measures the thickness of each layer from the layer boundary detected in step S730. Then, a difference in layer thickness between the tomographic image 1 and the tomographic image 2 is measured. Alternatively, the difference between the thickness of each layer and the standard database registered in the data server 50 may be measured.

  In step S708, the display unit 270 displays difference information of the layer thickness (layer structure distribution) calculated in step S707 together with the tomographic image selected in step S706. FIG. 8 is an example in which the difference in the layer thickness of the nerve fiber layer 2 ′ between the tomographic images 1 and 2 is measured, and shows a display example of the difference in the layer thickness.

  In the reference tomographic plane setting process, in step S730 of FIG. 7B, the feature extracting unit 2431 extracts the centers of the optic disc D and the macula M, and also extracts each layer from the retinal layer. Here, similarly to the detection of the inner limiting membrane 1 and the retinal pigment epithelium layer boundary 6 in step S230 of the first embodiment, here, the nerve fiber layer boundary 2, the inner reticular layer boundary 3, the outer reticular layer boundary 4, The photoreceptor inner and outer segment junction 5 is detected.

  It is not necessary to detect all the boundaries of each layer shown in the figure, and the operator may select the type of the layer to be detected by a user interface (not shown), or may detect the type according to the type of the diseased eye or the degree of the disease. The type of layer to be formed may be selected.

  FIG. 8A is an example in which thickness difference information is superimposed and displayed on the nerve fiber layer 2 ′ of the tomographic image 2. Diff1 indicates a portion where the nerve fiber layer 2 ′ of the tomographic image 2 is thicker than the tomographic image 1, and Diff2 indicates a portion where the nerve fiber layer 2 ′ of the tomographic image 2 is thinner than the tomographic image 1. Represents. Depending on whether the layer displayed on the tomographic image 2 is thicker or thinner than the layer displayed on the tomographic image 1, the color, pattern type, and density may be changed and displayed. FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating an example in which a tomographic image 1 (801), a tomographic image 2 (802), and a thickness difference graph (803) are displayed side by side. The difference graph of the thickness indicates whether the layer thickness displayed in the tomographic image 2 is thick or thin, based on the tomographic image 1. FIG. 8C shows an example in which difference information between a lower region R1 ′ and an upper region R2 ′ divided by the reference tomographic plane B is superimposed on a projected image. FIG. 8C shows an example in which the rectangular area R ′ is divided into several small areas and the difference information of the thickness in the small areas is displayed. The maximum value, average value, median value, minimum value, and the like of the differences in the rectangular area may be displayed numerically, or may be displayed in color. For example, a change in thickness can be determined by a color such as a green color where there is no change in thickness and a blue color where the thickness is thin. In the case of displaying by color, the color may be displayed for each pixel in addition to the display by dividing into small areas.

  FIG. 9 is an example of an image display of a tomographic image in which a difference between the tomographic image 1 and the tomographic image 2 is detected. FIG. 9A is an example in which the locations where large differences are detected are displayed in a list, and the display areas of the tomographic image 1 and the tomographic image 2 are separately displayed in a list. FIG. 9B is an example in which a portion where a large difference is detected is displayed for comparison, and is an example in which tomographic images 1 and 2 are displayed side by side. The screen shown in FIG. 9 and the screen shown in FIG. 5 can be switched and displayed, or can be simultaneously displayed in separate windows.

  According to the configuration described above, along with the tomographic image of the location designated by the operator, the tomographic image of the location structurally symmetric with the designated location in the same eye is displayed side by side, and the displayed tomographic image is displayed. The difference information of the layer thickness between images is displayed. Since the difference in layer thickness at a structurally symmetrical portion is displayed by a numerical value, a color, or a graph, there is an effect that an operator can easily make a determination when making a diagnosis with reference to a tomographic image.

(Third embodiment)
In the present embodiment, the control unit 208 includes a first image creating unit 211 and a second image creating unit 212, and controls the first tomographic image selecting unit 201 and the second tomographic image selecting unit 202. It differs from the configuration of the control unit 207 of the second embodiment in that it does not include it. In the present embodiment, a tomographic image at an arbitrary position and direction designated by the operator is created in real time from a group of tomographic images (volume data) of the retina of the subject's eye photographed in advance. Then, a tomographic image that is plane-symmetric to the tomographic image is created with respect to the reference tomographic plane, and these tomographic images are displayed side by side. In this case, since it is not necessary to generate an image in advance, the amount of memory for storing the image can be reduced, and the processing time required to display the first tomographic image can be reduced.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image processing apparatus 12 according to the present embodiment. The configuration other than the first image creation unit 211 and the second image creation unit 212 in the figure is the same as that of the second embodiment, and thus the description is omitted.

  The first image creating unit 211 creates a tomographic image at a position and direction designated by the operator in real time from a group of tomographic images (volume data) of the retina photographed in advance. The second image creating unit 212 creates a tomographic image that is in plane symmetry with the tomographic image created by the first image creating unit 211 with respect to the reference tomographic plane. Then, the display unit 270 displays the tomographic images created by the first image creating unit 211 and the second image creating unit 212 side by side.

  According to the configuration of the present embodiment, a tomographic image of a location designated by the operator is obtained, and a tomographic image of a location that is structurally symmetric with respect to the designated location is acquired in the same eye. Display side by side. Thus, when the operator makes a diagnosis with reference to the tomographic image, it is possible to easily determine whether the information obtained from the tomographic image is due to individual differences or due to a disease. .

(Other embodiments)
The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU or MPU or the like) of the system or the apparatus reads out the program code and This is the process to be performed. In this case, the program and a storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

  10: image processing device, 200: control unit, 204: image processing unit

Claims (11)

An information processing apparatus for processing a plurality of tomographic images acquired at different positions on a fundus of an eye to be inspected by an OCT optical system,
A first tomographic image is selected from the plurality of tomographic images based on an instruction from an operator, and a second tomographic image which is plane- symmetric with the first tomographic image with respect to a reference tomographic plane in the fundus oculi. Selecting means for automatically selecting a second tomographic image from the plurality of tomographic images;
A line indicating the position of the first tomographic image on the fundus and a line indicating the position of the second tomographic image on the fundus are displayed on a display unit in different colors superimposed on the fundus image of the eye to be examined. And a graph for comparing a distribution of a first value obtained by analyzing the first tomographic image with a distribution of a second value obtained by analyzing the second tomographic image. Display control means for displaying on the display means,
An information processing apparatus comprising:   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit causes the display unit to display a difference graph according to a difference between the first value and the second value.   The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a measuring unit configured to measure a difference in a layer thickness between the plurality of positions on the fundus corresponding to the first tomographic image and the second tomographic image as a measurement result. Item 3. The information processing device according to item 1 or 2.   4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the measuring unit measures a difference in a layer thickness corresponding to a type of the layer selected based on an instruction from an operator as the measurement result. 5.   The difference between the layer thicknesses at the plurality of positions is a difference between the average value of the layer thickness of the first tomographic image and the average value of the layer thickness of the second tomographic image. 5. The information processing device according to 4.   The said selection means selects the some position symmetrical with respect to the reference | standard of the said fundus as the said 1st tomographic image and the said 2nd tomographic image, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1.   7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the reference includes a fovea.   The selection unit sets the reference at least one of automatic and manual, and changes the position of the second tomographic image by changing the position of the first tomographic image based on an instruction from an operator. The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the information is automatically changed.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fundus image is an image obtained by integrating the plurality of tomographic images in a depth direction. An information processing method for processing a plurality of tomographic images acquired at different positions on a fundus of an eye to be examined by an OCT optical system,
A first tomographic image is selected from the plurality of tomographic images based on an instruction from an operator, and a second tomographic image which is plane- symmetric with the first tomographic image with respect to a reference tomographic plane in the fundus oculi. A selecting step of automatically selecting a second tomographic image from the plurality of tomographic images;
A line indicating the position of the first tomographic image on the fundus and a line indicating the position of the second tomographic image on the fundus are displayed on a display unit in different colors superimposed on the fundus image of the eye to be examined. And a graph for comparing a distribution of a first value obtained by analyzing the first tomographic image with a distribution of a second value obtained by analyzing the second tomographic image. A display control step of displaying on the display means,
An information processing method comprising:   A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the information processing method according to claim 10.