JP6977114B2 - Image processing equipment, systems, image processing methods, and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a system , an image processing method, and a program.

A device using optical coherence tomography (hereinafter referred to as OCT) (hereinafter referred to as OCT device) has been put into practical use as a method for acquiring a tomographic image of a measurement target such as a living body in a non-destructive and non-invasive manner. ing. OCT devices are widely used, especially in ophthalmic diagnosis.

In the OCT apparatus, the return light of the measurement light reflected from the subject to be measured and the reference light reflected from the reference mirror are made to interfere with each other, and the interference light intensity is analyzed to obtain a tomographic image of the measurement target. Such OCT includes a time domain OCT that obtains the depth information of the subject by changing the position of the reference mirror, and a Fourier domain that obtains the depth information of the measurement target contained in the detected light by replacing it with frequency information. There is OCT (FD-OCT). Further, FD-OCT (Fourier Domain Optical Coherence Tomography) includes a spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) and a wavelength sweep type OCT (SS-OCT). In SD-OCT (Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography), interference light is separated and depth information is replaced with frequency information for acquisition. On the other hand, in SS-OCT (Swept Source Optical Coherence Tomography), light whose wavelength is swept from a light source is output to acquire information.

In recent years, angiography methods using these OCTs without using a contrast medium have been proposed. This angiography method is called OCT angiography (hereinafter referred to as OCTA), and in OCTA, motion contrast data can be imaged to obtain an OCTA image. Here, the motion contrast data is data obtained by repeatedly photographing the same cross section of the subject and detecting the temporal change of the subject during the imaging, for example, the phase difference, the vector difference, or the intensity of the complex OCT signal. Obtained by calculating changes over time. Since it takes a long time to perform the calculation from the completion of the OCT imaging to the observation of the OCTA image, it is a time burden for the subject and the examiner.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for reducing the time required to display an OCTA image. 10 (a) to 10 (c) show OCTA images displayed by the technique described in Patent Document 1. In the technique described in Patent Document 1, while the subject is photographed a plurality of times, the previously photographed scanning position data is arithmetically processed, as in the OCTA images 1000 to 1002 shown in FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (c). , OCTA images are sequentially displayed for each line.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-10656

When shooting for OCTA image generation, the subject needs to keep staring for a few seconds, but the shooting fails because he cannot keep staring well, such as blinking during shooting or the fixation shifts. There are many cases. However, conventionally, since the success or failure of shooting is determined after the OCTA image is displayed, if the shooting fails, the display of the OCTA image is waited for and the judgment of re-shooting is performed. Therefore, if the shooting fails, the subject will be restrained for a long time, and the examiner will be slow to judge the success or failure of the shooting, and the time required for one shooting will be long, resulting in a large number of subjects. It becomes difficult to shoot. Therefore, it is desired to display an image that can be used for success / failure judgment as soon as possible after shooting.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image processing device, a system , an image processing method, and a program capable of displaying an image based on tomographic data for determining the success or failure of imaging at an early stage after imaging of a subject.

The image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is obtained by performing a plurality of times light coherence tomography at different times for the previous SL subject using the measurement light is controlled to査run the same position of the object processing the image generated by using at least one tomographic data of a plurality of tomographic data, an image processing apparatus, a plurality of motion contrast image of the object using tomographic data before Kifuku number A motion contrast image generation unit that generates an averaged image of the plurality of motion contrast images, and one of the plurality of motion contrast images is displayed on the display unit prior to the display of the averaged image. display, obtain Preparations and a display control unit.

Other image processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention can be performed a plurality of times light coherence tomography at different times for the previous SL subject using the measurement light is controlled to査run the same position of the object processing the image generated by using a plurality of at least one slice data of the tomographic data, an image processing method, a plurality of motion contrast image of the object using tomographic data of the multiple A step of generating an averaged image of the plurality of motion contrast images, and a step of displaying one of the plurality of motion contrast images on the display unit prior to displaying the averaged image. include.

According to the present invention, it is possible to display an image based on tomographic data for determining the success or failure of imaging at an early stage after imaging of the subject.

The schematic configuration of the OCT apparatus is shown. The schematic configuration of the imaging optical system is shown. The schematic configuration of the control unit is shown. An example of the anterior eye portion image and the SLO image displayed on the display unit during observation is shown. It is a flowchart of the photographing process of the OCTA image which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart of the motion contrast image generation processing which concerns on Example 1. FIG. An example of the generated average OCTA image is shown. It is a flowchart of the shooting process of the OCTA image which concerns on Example 2. FIG. An example of the front image and the average OCTA image according to the second embodiment is shown. An example of an OCTA image displayed in a conventional OCT device is shown.

Hereinafter, exemplary examples for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions of the components, etc. described in the following examples are arbitrary and can be changed according to the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied or various conditions. Also, in the drawings, the same reference numerals are used between the drawings to indicate elements that are the same or functionally similar.

(Example 1)
Hereinafter, the OCT apparatus 100 will be described as the optical interference tomographic imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the OCT apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In the following, an eye to be inspected will be described as an example as a subject to be measured.

The OCT device 100 is provided with an image pickup optical system 200 (imaging device), a control device 300 (image processing device), and a display unit 400. The image pickup optical system 200 acquires information on the eye to be inspected by taking an image of the eye to be inspected. The control device 300 is communicably connected to the image pickup optical system 200 and the display unit 400, and controls them. The control device 300 stores, for example, the tomographic information of the eye to be inspected acquired by the imaging optical system 200, generates an OCTA image of the eye to be inspected from the saved tomographic information, and displays the generated OCTA image on the display unit 400. be able to. The display unit 400 is connected to the control device 300 and can display various images sent from the control device 300, information on the subject, and the like.

The control device 300 can be configured by using an arbitrary general-purpose computer, but may be configured by using a computer dedicated to the OCT device 100. Further, the display unit 400 can be configured by using any display. Here, in this embodiment, the image pickup optical system 200, the control device 300, and the display unit 400 are separately configured, but these may be integrally configured.

The configuration of the imaging optical system 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the imaging optical system 200. In the image pickup optical system 200, the objective lens 1 is provided facing the eye E to be inspected, and the first dichroic mirror 2 and the second dichroic mirror 3 are arranged on the optical axis thereof. With these dichroic mirrors, the optical path from the eye to be inspected E is divided into the optical path L1 of the OCT optical system, the optical path L2 for the fundus observation system and the fixation lamp of the eye to be inspected E, and the optical path L3 for observing the anterior segment of the eye for each wavelength band. Branch to.

In this embodiment, the second dichroic mirror 3 is provided in the transmission direction of the first dichroic mirror 2, and the optical path L3 for observing the anterior eye portion is provided in the reflection direction. Further, an optical path L2 is provided in the transmission direction of the second dichroic mirror 3, and an optical path L1 is provided in the reflection direction. However, the arrangement of these optical paths is not limited to the arrangement, and for example, the optical paths may be arranged so as to be opposite to each other in the transmission direction and the reflection direction of the first dichroic mirror 2 and the second dichroic mirror 3. .. Further, in this embodiment, the SLO optical system is used as the fundus observation system, but the fundus observation system is not limited to this, and may be configured by using, for example, a fundus camera or the like.

The fundus observation system and the optical path L2 for the fixation lamp are provided with an SLO scanning means 4, lenses 5, 6, mirror 7, a third dichroic mirror 8, a photodiode 9, an SLO light source 10, and a fixation lamp 11. There is. The SLO scanning means 4 scans the light emitted from the SLO light source 10 and the fixation lamp 11 on the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected. The SLO scanning means 4 includes an X scanner that scans the light from the SLO light source 10 and the fixation lamp 11 in the X direction, and a Y scanner that scans the light in the Y direction. In this embodiment, the X scanner is configured by a polygon mirror for high-speed scanning, and the Y scanner is configured by a galvano mirror. However, the configurations of the X scanner and the Y scanner are not limited to this, and can be configured by using an arbitrary deflection mirror or the like according to a desired configuration.

The lens 5 is driven in the direction of the optical axis indicated by the arrow in the figure by a motor (not shown) controlled by the control device 300. The lens 5 constitutes a focus lens for focusing the SLO optical system and the fixation lamp 11.

The mirror 7 is composed of a prism on which a perforated mirror or a hollow mirror is vapor-deposited, and separates the illumination light by the SLO light source 10 and the light from the fixation lamp 11 from the return light from the fundus Er. In this embodiment, the SLO light source 10 and the like are provided in the transmission direction of the mirror 7, and the photodiode 9 is provided in the reflection direction, but these arrangements may be reversed.

The third dichroic mirror 8 branches the optical path L2 into an optical path to the SLO light source 10 and an optical path to the fixation lamp 11 for each wavelength band. In this embodiment, the fixation lamp 11 is provided in the transmission direction of the third dichroic mirror 8, and the SLO light source 10 is provided in the reflection direction. However, these may be arranged so as to be opposite to each other in the transmission direction and the reflection direction of the third dichroic mirror 8.

The photodiode 9 detects the return light from the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected. The photodiode 9 sends an output signal based on the detected light to the control device 300. The control device 300 can generate a front image of the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected based on the signal received from the photodiode 9.

The SLO light source 10 generates light having a wavelength near 780 nm, which is applied to the eye E to be inspected. The fixation lamp 11 generates visible light used to encourage the eye E to be fixed in any direction and position.

The illumination light emitted from the SLO light source 10 is reflected by the third dichroic mirror 8, passes through the mirror 7, passes through the lenses 6 and 5, and is scanned by the SLO scanning means 4 on the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected. .. The return light from the fundus Er returns in the same path as the illumination light, is reflected by the mirror 7, and is guided to the photodiode 9.

The light emitted from the fixation lamp 11 passes through the third dichroic mirror 8 and the mirror 7, passes through the lenses 6 and 5, and is scanned by the SLO scanning means 4 on the eye E to be inspected. At this time, the control device 300 projects light of an arbitrary shape at an arbitrary position on the eye E to be inspected by blinking the fixation lamp 11 in accordance with the movement of the SLO scanning means 4, and the fixation of the subject. Can encourage vision.

The optical path L3 for observing the anterior segment of the eye is provided with a lens 12, a split prism 13, a lens 14, and a CCD 15 for observing the anterior segment of the eye. The split prism 13 is arranged at a position conjugate with the pupil of the eye to be inspected E, and the distance between the eye to be inspected E and the imaging optical system 200 in the Z direction (anterior-posterior direction) is detected as a split image of the anterior eye portion. Can be done.

The CCD 15 has a sensitivity near the wavelength of a light source for observing the anterior eye portion (not shown), specifically, around 970 nm. The CCD 15 sends an output signal based on the detected light to the control device 300. The control device 300 can generate an anterior eye portion image of the eye E to be inspected based on the signal received from the CCD 15.

Next, the OCT optical system for acquiring the tomographic information of the fundus Er of the eye to be inspected E will be described. An XY scanner 16 and lenses 17 and 18 are provided in the optical path L1 of the OCT optical system.

The XY scanner 16 constitutes an OCT scanning means for scanning the light from the OCT light source 20 on the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected. Although the XY scanner 16 is shown as one mirror in FIG. 1, the XY scanner 16 according to the present embodiment is configured by a galvano mirror that scans in the XY biaxial direction. The configuration of the XY scanner 16 is not limited to this, and can be configured by using an arbitrary deflection mirror according to a desired configuration.

The lens 17 is driven in the direction of the optical axis indicated by the arrow in the figure by a motor (not shown) controlled by the control device 300. The lens 17 constitutes a focus lens for focusing the light emitted from the OCT light source 20 emitted from the optical fiber 21 on the eye E to be inspected. Due to the focusing by the lens 17, the return light from the eye E to be inspected is simultaneously imaged and incident on the tip of the optical fiber 21 in a spot shape.

Further, in the OCT optical system, an optical coupler 19, an OCT light source 20, an optical fiber 21 to 24 connected to the optical coupler 19, a lens 25, a dispersion compensation glass 26, a reference mirror 27, and a spectroscope 28 are arranged. ..

The light emitted from the OCT light source 20 is incident on the optical coupler 19 via the optical fiber 22. The optical coupler 19 divides the light from the OCT light source 20 into the measurement light and the reference light. The measurement light is incident on the optical path L1 via the optical fiber 21 and is incident on the eye E to be inspected through the optical path L1 of the OCT optical system to the objective lens 1. The measured light incident on the eye E to be inspected is reflected and scattered by the fundus Er and the like, and reaches the optical coupler 19 as return light through the same optical path. Here, each component from the optical fiber 21 through which the measurement light passes to the objective lens 1 constitutes a measurement optical system.

On the other hand, the reference light is incident on the reference optical system via the optical fiber 23. The reference optical system is provided with a lens 25, a dispersion compensation glass 26, and a reference mirror 27. The dispersion compensating glass 26 can compensate for the dispersion of the reference light in accordance with the dispersion of the measurement light reflected / scattered by the eye E to be inspected and returned. The reference mirror 27 is adjustably held in the direction of the optical axis indicated by the arrow in the figure by a motor and drive mechanism (not shown) controlled by the control device 300.

The reference light enters the reference mirror 27 via the lens 25 and the dispersion compensating glass 26. The reference light reflected from the reference mirror 27 reaches the optical coupler 19 through the same optical path.

The measurement light and the reference light that have reached the optical coupler 19 in this way are combined to become interference light. Here, the measurement light and the reference light cause interference when the optical path length of the measurement light and the optical path length of the reference light are substantially the same. Therefore, the reference mirror 27 is driven and controlled by the control device 300 so as to match the optical path length of the reference light with the optical path length of the measurement light that changes depending on the eye E to be inspected. The interference light generated in the optical coupler 19 is guided to the spectroscope 28 via the optical fiber 24. Here, the optical coupler 19 constitutes a dividing means for dividing the light from the OCT light source 20 into a measurement light and a reference light, and an interference means for combining the measurement light and the reference light to generate interference light.

The spectroscope 28 is provided with lenses 29, 31, a diffraction grating 30, and a line sensor 32. The interference light emitted from the optical fiber 24 becomes parallel light through the lens 29, is separated by the diffraction grating 30, and is imaged on the line sensor 32 by the lens 31. The line sensor 32 detects the interference light and sends an interference signal based on the interference light to the control device 300. The control device 300 generates a tomographic image or an OCTA image of the eye E to be inspected based on the interference signal received from the line sensor 32.

Next, the configuration of the control device 300 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the control device 300. The control device 300 is provided with an acquisition unit 301, an image generation unit 302, a storage unit 303, an OCTA image generation unit 304, a front image generation unit 305, and a control unit 306.

The acquisition unit 301 acquires an output signal from the photodiode 9, the CCD 15, and the line sensor 32 of the imaging optical system 200. Further, the acquisition unit 301 acquires the scanning position and time when the measurement light is scanned by the XY scanner 16 of the image pickup optical system 200 from the image pickup optical system 200 or the control unit 306. Further, the acquisition unit 301 can also acquire a signal after Fourier transform generated based on the interference signal, a signal obtained by subjecting the signal processing to the signal, or the like from the image generation unit 302. Hereinafter, in the present specification, the signal after the Fourier transform corresponding to each pixel position in the tomographic image and the signal obtained by performing some signal processing on the signal are referred to as tomographic data. The tomographic data also includes, for example, data obtained after the Fourier transform is converted into luminance and density information.

The image generation unit 302 is based on the signal output from the photodiode 9 when the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected is scanned in the X direction and the Y direction by using the SLO scanning means 4 acquired by the acquisition unit 301. Generate a front image (SLO image). Similarly, the image generation unit 302 generates an anterior eye portion image of the eye E to be inspected based on the signal from the CCD 15 acquired by the acquisition unit 301.

Further, the image generation unit 302 Fourier transforms the interference signal acquired by the acquisition unit 301 from the line sensor 32, and converts the obtained data into brightness or density information in the depth direction (Z direction) of the eye to be inspected. Generate an image of. As a result, the image generation unit 302 acquires a tomographic image in the depth direction (Z direction) at a certain point of the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected. Such a scanning method is called an A scan, and the obtained tomographic image is called an A scan image.

A plurality of A-scan images can be acquired by repeatedly performing such A-scan while scanning the measurement light in a predetermined transverse direction of the fundus Er with the XY scanner 16. For example, the control device 300 can obtain a tomographic image on the XZ plane by scanning the measurement light in the X direction, and obtain a tomographic image on the YZ plane by scanning the measurement light in the Y direction. The method of scanning the fundus Er of the eye E to be inspected in a predetermined transverse direction is called a B scan, and the obtained tomographic image is called a B scan image. Further, a method of scanning the XZ plane or the YZ plane of the B scan in a direction orthogonal to the XZ plane or the YZ plane is called a C scan, and the obtained three-dimensional tomographic image of the XYZ is called a C scan image.

The storage unit 303 stores various information acquired by the acquisition unit 301, an SLO image generated by the image generation unit 302, an anterior segment image, and two-dimensional or three-dimensional tomographic data (including a tomographic image). Further, the storage unit 303 stores the motion contrast data generated by the OCTA image generation unit 304, the two-dimensional or three-dimensional motion contrast image, and the front image (pseudo SLO image) generated by the front image generation unit 305. do. Further, the storage unit 303 stores programs and the like constituting each component of the control device 300.

The OCTA image generation unit 304 calculates motion contrast data based on the tomographic data acquired from the image generation unit 302 or the storage unit 303, and generates an OCTA image which is a kind of motion contrast image.

The front image generation unit 305 generates a front image of the fundus Er of the eye to be inspected E based on the three-dimensional tomographic data acquired from the image generation unit 302 or the storage unit 303.

The control unit 306 controls various components of the image pickup optical system 200. The control unit 306 also functions as a display control unit for displaying the SLO image, tomographic data, OCTA image, front image, subject information, and the like stored in the storage unit 303 on the display unit 400.

Each component of the control device 300 can be configured by a CPU of the control device 300, a module executed by the MPU, or the like. Further, each component of the control device 300 may be configured by a circuit or the like that realizes a specific function such as an ASIC.

Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, the observation of the eye E to be examined and the acquisition of the OCTA image in preparation for imaging in the OCT apparatus 100 including the imaging optical system 200, the control device 300, and the display unit 400 will be described.

First, with reference to FIG. 4, the observation of the eye E to be inspected as a preparation for imaging will be described. FIG. 4 shows an example of an anterior eye portion image 401 and an SLO image 403 displayed on the display unit 400 when observing the eye E to be inspected.

After the eye to be inspected E is positioned in front of the objective lens 1, the examiner adjusts the eye to be inspected E and the imaging optical system 200 in the XYZ direction (alignment) while looking at the anterior eye portion image 401 as an input means (not shown). It is done using. Here, the image pickup optical system 200 is held so as to be driveable in the XYZ direction by an electric stage (not shown) controlled by the control device 300, and the examiner uses an input means (not shown) connected to the control device 300. The drive of the image pickup optical system 200 can be operated. The alignment in the XY direction is performed so that the center of the pupil represented in the anterior segment image 401 is located at the center of the screen on which the anterior segment image 401 is displayed.

Further, the front eye portion image 401 shows a line 402. The line 402 is used for alignment between the imaging optical system 200 and the eye E to be inspected. More specifically, when the position of the imaging optical system 200 is not appropriate with respect to the eye E to be inspected in the Z direction (depth direction), the anterior eye portion image 401 is separated along the line 402 by the split prism 13. .. The examiner controls the driving of the image pickup optical system 200 in the Z direction so that the anterior eye portion image 401 is not separated by the line 402, thereby aligning the eye to be inspected E and the image pickup optical system 200 in the Z direction. Can be done.

The alignment of the image pickup optical system 200 with respect to the eye to be inspected E may be performed by the control unit 306 analyzing the anterior eye portion image and driving and controlling the electric stage of the image pickup optical system 200 according to the analysis result.

When the alignment of the eye to be inspected E and the imaging optical system 200 in the XYZ directions is completed, the display unit 400 displays the SLO image 403 generated based on the scanning of the illumination light in the XY directions by the SLO scanning means 4. The anterior eye image 401 and the SLO image 403 are updated from time to time so that the examiner can observe the eye E to be inspected without delay.

The scan area 404 in the SLO image 403 indicates an area to be scanned when the tomographic data is acquired, and is superimposed on the SLO image 403. Hereinafter, the B scan direction, which is the main scanning direction of the OCT apparatus 100, is defined as the X direction, the C scanning direction, which is the sub scanning direction, is defined as the Y direction, and each scanning position (scanning line) in the scan area 404 is described as Y1 to Ymax. In this embodiment, Ymax = Y300. However, the number of scanning lines is not limited to this, and may be any number depending on the desired configuration.

The examiner operates the scan area 404 with an input means (not shown) such as a mouse or a touch panel to set a desired scan position. Here, the input means for changing the scanning position by the XY scanner 16 constitutes the scanning position changing means. By these operations, the observation of the eye E to be inspected as a preparation for imaging is completed.

Next, taking an OCTA image will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the shooting process of the OCTA image. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the motion contrast image generation process in step S511.

When the control unit 306 detects that the image pickup start button (not shown) has been operated by the examiner, the photographing process of the OCTA image is started.

When the OCTA imaging process is started, in step S501, the imaging optical system 200 repeatedly scans the scanning position Yn for m times set by the examiner with the measurement light. In OCTA, B scans of substantially the same cross section, that is, substantially the same position are repeatedly performed, and changes over time of the subject during the imaging are detected. In this embodiment, m = 6 and B scan at substantially the same position is repeated 6 times. The number of m for repeating the B scan is not limited to 6, and can be set to any number according to a desired configuration.

In step S502, the image generation unit 302 generates m tomographic images at the scanning position Yn based on the data of m B scans at the scanning position Yn acquired from the imaging optical system 200 by the acquisition unit 301. Specifically, the image generation unit 302 performs subtraction of the background signal and Fourier conversion for noise reduction on the data of each B scan, and generates tomographic data corresponding to each pixel position in the tomographic image. , Generate a tomographic image using tomographic data. The tomographic image generation process may be performed by any known processing method.

In step S503, the storage unit 303 stores the data of m tomographic images generated by the image generation unit 302. In step S504, the control unit 306 determines whether the C scan, which is a sub-scan, has been performed from the scan position Y1 to the scan position Ymax. If the control unit 306 determines in step S504 that the sub-scanning has not been completed, in step S505, the control unit 306 controls the XY scanner 16 of the imaging optical system 200 to the next scanning position, and performs processing. Return to step S501. As a result, the imaging optical system 200 continuously performs the main scan of the measurement light at the first position of the eye E to be inspected m times, and then continuously performs the main scan of the second position different from the first position m times. Will be done. On the other hand, if the control unit 306 determines in step S504 that the sub-scanning up to the scanning position Ymax has been completed, the process proceeds to step S506. In this embodiment, by completing the sub-scanning, the eye E to be inspected is imaged m times at different times, and the data of 300 (Ymax) lines × 6 times is saved. When the sub-scanning is completed and the process shifts to step S506, the photographing process of the eye to be inspected E is completed, and the photographing process of the OCTA image is continued based on the data acquired in the photographing process of the eye to be inspected E. ..

Next, in step S506, the front image generation unit 305 obtains the brightness average value from the three-dimensional tomographic data based on the tomographic data acquired by the first scan of each scanning position, and generates the front image of the fundus Er. More specifically, the front image generation unit 305 rearranges the three-dimensional tomographic data acquired from the acquisition unit 301 according to the scan position and time at which each tomographic data was obtained, and performs the first scan at each scan position. Identify the fault data (first fault data) acquired by. The front image generation unit 305 obtains the brightness average value from the data of each A scan for the first tomographic data of each scan position. Further, the brightness average value obtained for each A scan is used as the pixel value at each pixel position of the front image corresponding to the position of the A scan. As a result, the front image generation unit 305 can generate a front image based on the tomographic data acquired by the OCT optical system.

In this embodiment, the frontal image is generated using the average luminance value, but the tomographic data used to generate the frontal image is not limited to this. The front image may be generated by using, for example, the data of the top 10% of the brightness of the data of each A scan, or may be generated by using the median value of the data of each A scan.

In step S507, the control unit 306 causes the display unit 400 to display the generated front image. In step S508, the control unit 306 accepts an input to a stop button (not shown). The examiner confirms the front image displayed on the display unit 400, determines the success or failure of the shooting, and presses the shooting stop button if re-shooting is necessary.

In step S509, the control unit 306 determines whether or not to continue the image processing according to the output of the shooting stop button. When the control unit 306 detects that the stop button has been pressed in step S508, the control unit 306 determines in step S509 that the image processing is not continued, and ends the shooting.

On the other hand, if the shooting stop button is not pressed in step S508 and the control unit 306 determines in step S509 to continue the image processing, the processing proceeds to step S510. In step S510, the OCTA image generation unit 304 sets the index i of the three-dimensional tomographic data used for the OCTA image generation process to 1. Hereinafter, in the present specification, the i-th three-dimensional tomographic data is a set of two-dimensional tomographic data obtained by the i-th B scan for each scanning position according to the scanning position. It refers to three-dimensional fault data. The set of three-dimensional tomographic data refers to a group of tomographic data in which two-dimensional tomographic data obtained by one B scan for each scanning position are arranged in the sub-scanning direction.

By repeating steps S511 to S513, the OCTA image generation unit 304 repeats steps S511 to S513, so that the 1st and 2nd sets, the 2nd set and the 3rd set, and the 3rd set and the 4th set, 4 of the 6 sets of three-dimensional tomographic data are repeated. The 5th set, the 5th set, the 5th set, and the 6th set are compared and calculated to generate 5 motion contrast images.

First, in step S511, the OCTA image generation unit 304 generates an OCTA image which is a motion contrast image showing the front of the fundus Er from the three-dimensional tomographic data of the i-th set and the three-dimensional tomographic data of the i + 1-set. do.

Here, the OCTA image generation process by the OCTA image generation unit 304 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. When the process shifts to step S511, the OCTA image generation unit 304 sets the index j of the scanning position Yj to 1 in step S601 shown in FIG.

In step S602, the OCTA image generation unit 304 generates motion contrast data from the tomographic data acquired by the i-th B scan and the tomographic data acquired by the i + 1-th B scan at the scan position Yj. The OCTA image generation unit 304 calculates the change between the tomographic data and generates the motion contrast data by calculating the difference between the tomographic data corresponding to each other of the two sets of tomographic data to be compared.

In this embodiment, the OCTA image generation unit 304 calculates the difference by using the total value of the tomographic data at the position of each A scan when calculating the difference of each tomographic data. However, the tomographic data at each A scan position used to generate the motion contrast data is not limited to the total value, and may be an average value, a median value, or the like. Here, the motion contrast data at each scanning position Yj corresponds to the pixel value of one line in the OCTA image which is the front image of the fundus Er.

In step S603, the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines whether or not the index j has reached Ymax. If the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines in step S603 that the index j has not reached Ymax, the process proceeds to step S604. In step S604, the OCTA image generation unit 304 increments the index j by 1 and returns the process to step S602.

When the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines in step S603 that the index j has reached Ymax, the process proceeds to step S605. In step S605, the OCTA image generation unit 304 uses the motion contrast data corresponding to each scanning position as the pixel value of each line to generate an OCTA image which is a motion contrast image.

In step S606, the storage unit 303 stores the generated OCTA image data. After that, the process proceeds to step S607 and then to step S512 shown in FIG.

In step S512, the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines whether or not the index i has reached m-1. If the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines in step S512 that the index i has not reached m-1, the process proceeds to step S513. In step S513, the OCTA image generation unit 304 increments the index i by 1 and returns the process to step S511.

When the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines in step S512 that the index i has reached m-1, the process proceeds to step S514. In step S514, the OCTA image generation unit 304 performs addition and averaging of the generated m-1 motion contrast images to generate an averaged OCTA image (average OCTA image). FIG. 7 shows an example of an average OCTA image. By averaging a plurality of OCTA images, noise can be reduced and a clear OCTA image 700 can be generated as shown in FIG. 7. Regarding the averaging of OCTA images, any averaging that can achieve noise reduction is sufficient, and in addition to the additive averaging (arithmetic mean), averaging based on median calculation, mode calculation, etc. is performed. May be good.

Finally, in step S515, the control unit 306 displays the generated average OCTA image as the final image on the display unit 400, notifies the examiner of the completion of imaging, and ends the imaging process. In this embodiment, the notification of the completion of shooting is given by the display of the display unit 400, but it may be given by the notification sound from the speaker provided separately, the lighting of the LED provided separately, or the like. In the display area where the front image of the display unit 400 is displayed, the control unit 306 can switch the displayed image from the front image to the average OCTA image and display it on the display unit 400. Further, the control unit 306 may display the front image and the average OCTA image in separate display areas of the display unit 400, respectively.

As described above, the OCT apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an imaging optical system 200 that captures the optical coherence tomography E at different times at different times. More specifically, the imaging optical system 200 continuously performs the main scan of the first position of the subject a plurality of times in succession, and then continuously performs the main scan of the second position different from the first position a plurality of times. Using the measurement light controlled in this way, the eye E to be inspected is imaged multiple times at different times by optical interference tomography. Further, the OCT device 100 is communicably connected to the image pickup optical system 200, and is a control device 300 that processes an image generated from three-dimensional tomographic data obtained by using the results of a plurality of optical interference tomographic images. To prepare for. The control device 300 includes an acquisition unit 301 that acquires a plurality of sets of three-dimensional tomographic data obtained by continuously scanning each scanning position of the eye E to be inspected a plurality of times with the measurement light. Further, the control device 300 includes a front image generation unit 305 that generates a front image using at least one set of three-dimensional tomographic data out of a plurality of sets of three-dimensional tomographic data. Further, the control device 300 controls the OCTA image generation unit 304, which generates a motion contrast image using a plurality of sets of three-dimensional tomographic data, and the display unit 400, which displays the front image before displaying the motion contrast image. A unit 306 is provided.

The front image generation unit 305 generates a front image using one set of three-dimensional tomographic data out of a plurality of sets of three-dimensional tomographic data. In the display area where the front image is displayed, the control unit 306 can switch the displayed image from the front image to the motion contrast image and display it on the display unit 400. The OCTA image generation unit 304 calculates the difference between each three-dimensional tomographic data that is continuous in time, and generates a motion contrast image using the difference. Further, the OCTA image generation unit 304 generates an averaged image of a plurality of motion contrast images generated using a plurality of sets of three-dimensional tomographic data including three or more sets of three-dimensional tomographic data, and the control unit 306 generates an averaged image. The averaged image is displayed on the display unit 400.

Due to such a configuration, the OCT apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment displays the front image based on the tomographic data before displaying the motion contrast image. The generation of the front image requires less calculation and the processing time can be significantly shortened as compared with the generation of the motion contrast image obtained by calculating the motion contrast data. Therefore, the OCT apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can display a frontal image based on tomographic data for determining the success or failure of imaging at an early stage after imaging. As a result, the waiting time for re-imaging can be shortened, and the burden on the subject and the examiner can be reduced.

Further, the image pickup optical system 200 according to the present embodiment includes an SLO optical system (front image acquisition unit) that acquires information on the front image of the eye E to be inspected. In this case, the acquisition unit 301 acquires the front image information from the image pickup optical system 200, and the control unit 306 acquires the SLO image (second front image) generated from the front image information when scanning the measurement light. It may be displayed on the display unit 400. According to such a configuration, the examiner can acquire the tomographic data by displaying the SLO image based on the information acquired by the SLO optical system that is common to the OCT optical system and some optical systems such as the objective lens. It is possible to roughly know the situation such as the position of the eye to be inspected E. Therefore, by accepting the input of stopping the image processing according to the SLO image, it is possible to judge the success or failure of the shooting even during the shooting, and it is possible to further shorten the waiting time when performing the re-shooting. The burden on the person and the inspector can be further reduced.

In this embodiment, the image processing stop is determined only after the front image is displayed, but the image processing stop input can be used as an interrupt process for the input to the control unit 306, and the process can be stopped immediately. It may be configured as.

Further, in this embodiment, the front image is generated after the tomographic data is acquired by m times of B scans used for generating the OCTA image, but the timing of generating the front image is not limited to this. For example, the front image generation unit 305 may generate a front image immediately after collecting all the tomographic data used for generating the front image. Specifically, in this embodiment, the front image generation unit 305 generates a front image based on the tomographic data obtained by the first B scan at each scan position, so that the first time at the last scan position (Ymax). A front image may be generated immediately after the B scan. Further, the front image generation unit 305 may generate image data of the pixel position corresponding to each scan position for each first B scan at each scan position in parallel with the scan to generate a front image. .. In these cases, since the front image can be generated and displayed earlier, the success or failure of the shooting can be judged earlier, the waiting time for re-shooting can be further shortened, and the subject and the inspection can be performed. The burden on the person can be further reduced.

The front image generation unit 305 is not limited to the configuration in which the front image is generated from the tomographic data obtained by the first B scan, and the front image is generated from the tomographic data obtained by any number of B scans such as the second and third times. You may. Further, the front image generation unit 305 may generate a front image using different sets of three-dimensional tomographic data. For example, the front image generation unit 305 may generate the upper half of the front image using the tomographic data obtained by the first B scan and the lower half using the tomographic data obtained by the second B scan. As described above, the generation of the front image can significantly shorten the processing time as compared with the generation of the motion contrast image obtained by calculating the motion contrast data. Therefore, even when a front image is generated using a different set or all of a plurality of sets of 3D tomographic data, a motion contrast image is generated using all the sets of 3D tomographic data. However, the amount of calculation is small and the processing time can be significantly shortened. Therefore, even in such a case, it is possible to display the front image based on the tomographic data for determining the success or failure of the imaging at an early stage after the imaging.

Further, in this embodiment, the motion contrast image (OCTA image) generation process is started based on the image processing continuation determination after the front image is displayed, but the timing at which the motion contrast image generation process is started is limited to this. I can't. For example, the motion contrast image may be generated in parallel with the generation of the front image. Also in this case, since the front image generation process is completed earlier than the motion contrast image generation process, the front image can be displayed before the motion contrast image is displayed. Therefore, the examiner can judge the success or failure of the shooting at an early stage after the shooting. In this case, when the shooting stop button is pressed by the examiner based on the front image, the motion contrast image generation process is stopped, and the control device 300 can be configured to end the shooting of the motion contrast image. ..

(Example 2)
In Example 1, the OCTA image is displayed after the average OCTA image based on m OCTA images is generated. On the other hand, in the OCT apparatus according to the second embodiment, the time until the display of the OCTA image is shortened by generating and displaying the average image of the already generated OCTA images for each generation of the OCTA images.

Hereinafter, the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 9 (c). Since the configuration of the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the OCT apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for each component, and the description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with a focus on the differences from the OCT apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment as well, m = 6.

First, the shooting process of the OCTA image according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the OCTA image shooting process according to the present embodiment.

Since the processing from step S801 to step S807 is the same as the processing from step S501 to step S507 of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. When the display unit 400 displays the front image in step S807, the process proceeds to step S808. In step S808, the OCTA image generation unit 304 sets the index i of the three-dimensional tomographic data used for the OCTA image generation process to 1, as in step S510 of the first embodiment.

Next, in steps S809 and S810, similarly to steps S508 and S509 of the first embodiment, the control unit 306 accepts an input to a stop button (not shown) and determines whether to continue image processing. When the control unit 306 determines in step S810 that the image processing is not continued, the control unit 306 ends the shooting process.

On the other hand, if the control unit 306 determines in step S810 that the image processing is to be continued, the processing proceeds to step S811. In step S811, the OCTA image generation unit 304 generates an OCTA image, which is a motion contrast image, from the 3D tomographic data of the i-th set and the 3D tomographic data of the i + 1-set, as in step S511 of the first embodiment. Generate.

Next, in step S812, the OCTA image generation unit 304 performs addition and averaging processing of the already generated OCTA image to generate an average OCTA image based on the already generated OCTA image. For example, when i = 3, the OCTA image generation unit 304 performs the addition average processing of the three OCTA images already generated to generate an average OCTA image based on the three OCTA images. In step S812, when i = 1, the generated first OCTA image becomes the average OCTA image as it is.

After that, in step S813, the control unit 306 updates the OCTA image displayed on the display unit 400 with the average OCTA image generated in step S812, and causes the display unit 400 to display the newly generated average OCTA image. That is, the control unit 306 can switch the displayed average OCTA image to the sequentially generated average OCTA image and display it on the display unit 400 in the display area where the average OCTA image on the display unit 400 is displayed.

In step S814, the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines whether or not the index i has reached m-1. If the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines in step S814 that the index i has not reached m-1, the process proceeds to step S815. In step S815, the OCTA image generation unit 304 increments the index i by 1, and returns the process to step S809.

When the OCTA image generation unit 304 determines in step S814 that the index i has reached m-1, the examiner is notified of the completion of shooting, and the shooting process is terminated. By the above processing, the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment updates the average OCTA image displayed on the display unit 400 every time the motion contrast image is generated, and makes the examiner judge the success or failure of the shooting based on the OCTA image earlier. Can be made.

An image displayed on the display unit 400 in the OCTA image photographing process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 (a) to 9 (c). FIG. 9A shows an example of the front image 900 generated by the front image generation unit 305. FIG. 9B shows an example of the average OCTA image 901 generated when i = 2 and displayed on the display unit 400. FIG. 9C shows an average OCTA image 902, which is the final image, generated when i = 5, and displayed on the display unit 400. The average OCTA image 901 is a slightly unclear image because the number of average OCTA images is smaller than the number of average OCTA images for the final image, the average OCTA image 902.

The examiner can determine the success or failure of the shooting based on the shooting position at an early stage by displaying the front image 900 in the display unit 400 in step S807. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, the display unit 400 updates the OCTA image to be displayed at any time like the average OCTA images 901 and 902 for each OCTA image generation in step S813, so that the examiner can perform the early stage. It is possible to judge the success or failure of shooting based on the OCTA image.

As described above, in the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment, each time the OCTA image generation unit 304 generates a motion contrast image, an averaged image of the already generated motion contrast image is sequentially generated. Then, the control unit 306 switches and displays the averaged image displayed in the display area where the averaged image is displayed, every time the OCTA image generation unit 304 generates the averaged image. Displayed on the unit 400. Therefore, in the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment, the display unit 400 can sequentially display an image in which noise is reduced. As a result, the examiner can quickly determine the success or failure of the imaging due to, for example, changes in the environment as well as the imaging position. Further, the OCTA image of the entire scan area can be displayed earlier than the conventional display as shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C. Therefore, in the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to identify the portion where the abnormality occurs regardless of the position in the scan area, and it is possible to determine the success or failure of the photographing for the entire scan area at an early stage.

In this embodiment, the image processing stop is determined every time the display of the average OCTA image is updated, but the processing is stopped immediately by inputting the image processing stop input to the control unit 306 as interrupt processing. It may be configured so that

Further, in this embodiment, the front image is displayed before the motion contrast image is displayed so that the success or failure of the first shooting can be determined, but the image to be displayed early for the success or failure of the shooting is limited to the front image. No. For example, even if the first OCTA image is displayed on the display unit 400 before the average OCTA image is displayed without generating and displaying the front image, the entire scan area of the entire scan area can be displayed earlier than the conventional display. OCTA images can be displayed. Therefore, the control unit 306 may be configured to display the motion contrast image before displaying the average image of the motion contrast image without displaying the front image on the display unit 400. Even in this case, it is possible to display a motion contrast image based on the tomographic data for determining the success or failure of the imaging at an early stage after the imaging. As a result, the waiting time for re-imaging can be shortened, and the burden on the subject and the examiner can be reduced.

(Example 3)
In the OCTA image generation process according to Examples 1 and 2, motion contrast data was generated based on all tomographic data at the positions of each A scan. On the other hand, in the OCT apparatus according to the third embodiment, in the OCTA image generation process, motion contrast data is generated based on the tomographic data excluding the tomographic data of the layer region thinly related to the ACTA image generation, and the OCTA is generated at a higher speed. Image generation processing is performed.

Since the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as the OCT apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used for each component and the description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with a focus on the differences from the OCT apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

The control unit 306 of the control device 300 according to the present embodiment functions as a fault data analysis unit in addition to the function in the first embodiment. The control unit 306 performs layer recognition of the tomographic image generated by the image generation unit 302, identifies the tomographic data excluding the tomographic data of the vitreous body portion and the strong membrane portion which are not closely related to the OCTA image generation, and stores the storage unit 303. Remember in.

More specifically, the control unit 306 applies a median filter and a Sobel filter to the tomographic image to generate an image (hereinafter, also referred to as a median image and a Sobel image, respectively). Next, the control unit 306 generates a profile for each data corresponding to the A scan from the generated median image and the Sobel image. The generated profile is a luminance value profile in the median image and a gradient profile in the Sobel image. Then, the control unit 306 detects the peak in the profile generated from the Sobel image. The control unit 306 extracts the boundary of each region of the retinal layer by referring to the profile of the median image corresponding to before and after the detected peak and between the peaks. Then, the control unit 306 recognizes each layer from the boundary of each region, the template of the structure of the fundus, and the like.

From each layer recognized in this way, the control unit 306 identifies tomographic data excluding the tomographic data of the vitreous body portion and the scleral portion, which are not closely related to OCTA image generation, and stores them in the storage unit 303. The layer recognition method is not limited to the above-mentioned method, and may be any known method.

By generating an OCTA image from the tomographic data specified by the control unit 306, the OCTA image generation unit 304 can generate an OCTA image with a smaller amount of calculation and perform an OCTA image generation process at a higher speed. As a result, in the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment, the time until the average OCTA image is displayed can be shortened.

As described above, in the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment, the control unit 306 functions as an analysis unit that analyzes three-dimensional tomographic data. The OCTA image generation unit 304 identifies the tomographic data used for calculating the difference of the three-dimensional tomographic data by using the layer information recognized by analyzing the three-dimensional tomographic data by the control device 300, and the OCTA image. To generate. As a result, in the OCT apparatus according to the present embodiment, the OCTA image can be generated with a smaller amount of calculation, the OCTA image generation process can be performed at a higher speed, and the time until the final image is displayed can be shortened.

In this embodiment, the control unit 306 identifies the tomographic data excluding the tomographic data of the vitreous body and sclera, which are not closely related to the OCTA image generation, and the specified tomographic data is used for the OCTA image generation. However, the specification of the tomographic data used to generate the OCTA image is not limited to this. The control unit 306 may recognize the observation position by layer recognition and exclude data other than the vicinity of the observation site set in advance by the examiner from the tomographic data used for OCTA image generation. For example, the control unit 306 may specify the tomographic data around the optic disc and the tomographic data around the macula of the fundus as tomographic data used for generating the OCTA image, and may omit the tomographic data in other regions.

In this embodiment, the control unit 306 performs layer recognition based on the tomographic image generated by the image generation unit 302, but the information used for layer recognition is not limited to this. The control unit 306 may perform layer recognition based on the three-dimensional tomographic data acquired by the acquisition unit 301. Therefore, the control unit 306 may perform layer recognition using the data after the Fourier transform of the interference signal or the signal obtained by performing some signal processing on the data. The tomographic image generated by the image generation unit 302 is also included in the three-dimensional tomographic data because it is based on the data after the Fourier transform of the interference signal.

Further, in Examples 1 to 3, the acquisition unit 301 acquired the interference signal acquired by the image pickup optical system 200 and the tomographic signal generated by the image generation unit 302. However, the configuration in which the acquisition unit 301 acquires these signals is not limited to this. For example, the acquisition unit 301 may acquire these signals from a server or an image pickup device connected to the control device 300 via a LAN, WAN, the Internet, or the like.

In the above embodiment, the Michelson interference system is used as the interference system, but a Mach-Zehnder interference system may be used. For example, a Mach-Zehnder interference system may be used when the light amount difference is large, and a Michelson interference system may be used when the light amount difference is relatively small, depending on the light amount difference between the measured light and the reference light. Further, although a fiber optical system using an optical coupler is used as the dividing means, a spatial optical system using a collimator and a beam splitter may be used. Further, the configuration of the image pickup optical system 200 is not limited to the above configuration, and a part of the configuration included in the image pickup optical system 200 may be a configuration separate from the image pickup optical system 200.

Further, in the above embodiment, the spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) device using the SLD as the light source has been described as the OCT device, but the configuration of the OCT device according to the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to any other type of OCT device such as a wavelength sweep type OCT (SS-OCT) device or a polarized OCT device using a wavelength sweep light source capable of sweeping the wavelength of emitted light. Can be done. Further, when a polarized OCT device is used, the OCTA image generation unit 304 may calculate the motion contrast data from the phase difference and the vector difference of the complex OCT signal, and in the present specification, the complex OCT signal and the like are also faults. Included in the data.

In the above embodiment, the OCTA image generation unit 304 that generates the OCTA image has been described as the motion contrast image generation unit that generates the motion contrast image. However, the image generated by the motion contrast image generation unit is not limited to the OCTA image, and may be, for example, a three-dimensional motion contrast image or an averaged image thereof. In this case, the display unit 400 can display a three-dimensional motion contrast image or an averaged image of the three-dimensional motion contrast image instead of the OCTA image.

Further, in the above embodiment, the fundus Er of the eye to be inspected E has been described as an example as the subject, but the subject is not limited to this. For example, the subject may be the anterior eye portion of the eye E to be examined, or the skin or organs of the subject. In this case, the present invention can be applied to medical devices such as endoscopes in addition to ophthalmic devices. Further, the layer recognition according to the third embodiment can be performed according to the structure of the subject.

(Other examples)
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the examples, the present invention is not limited to the above examples. The present invention also includes inventions modified to the extent not contrary to the gist of the present invention, and inventions equivalent to the present invention. In addition, the above-mentioned Examples and Modifications can be appropriately combined as long as they do not contradict the gist of the present invention.

100: OCT device (optical interference tomography imager), 200: image pickup optical system (image pickup device), 300: control device (image processing device), 304: OCTA image generation unit (motion contrast image generation unit), 305: front image Generation unit, 306: Control unit (display control unit), 400: Display unit

Claims (18)

At least one slice data of a plurality of tomographic data obtained by performing multiple light coherence tomography at different times for the subject using the measurement light which is controlled to scan the same position of the object An image processing device that processes images generated using
A motion contrast image generation unit that generates a plurality of motion contrast images of the subject using the plurality of tomographic data and generates an averaged image of the plurality of motion contrast images.
A display control unit that displays one of the plurality of motion contrast images on the display unit prior to displaying the averaged image.
An image processing device. Each time the motion contrast image generation unit generates the motion contrast image, the motion contrast image generation unit sequentially generates the averaged image of the already generated motion contrast image.
In the display area where the averaged image is displayed, the display control unit switches the displayed averaged image to the generated averaged image each time the averaged image is generated, and displays the display unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is displayed in the image processing apparatus. Using at least one tomographic data among a plurality of tomographic data obtained by performing optical interference tomographic imaging of the subject multiple times at different times using measurement light controlled to scan the same position of the subject. An image processing device that processes the image generated by
A frontal image generation unit that generates a frontal image of the subject as a first frontal image using the at least one tomographic data.
A motion contrast image generation unit that generates a motion contrast image of the subject as a second front image different from the first front image using the plurality of tomographic data.
In order to determine the success or failure of the acquisition of the tomographic data used for generating the second front image, one of the first front image and the second front image is displayed on the display unit, and the display unit is used. The display unit can be controlled so as to change the display of one image to the display of the other image, and the display unit has a button for reacquiring the tomographic data used for generating the second front image. Display control unit to be displayed on
An image processing device. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein each of the plurality of tomographic data is three-dimensional tomographic data. The motion contrast image generation unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the motion contrast image generation unit generates a plurality of motion contrast images of the subject using the plurality of tomographic data including three or more tomographic data. Image processing device. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the motion contrast image generation unit generates the motion contrast image by using a difference between a plurality of tomographic data that are continuous in time. In order to recognize the layer information, an analysis unit that analyzes at least one of the plurality of tomographic data is further provided.
The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the motion contrast image generation unit uses the recognized layer information to specify tomographic data used for generating the motion contrast image. The image according to claim 7, wherein the motion contrast image generation unit identifies tomographic data to be used for generating the motion contrast image by using the observation site set by the examiner and the recognized layer information. Processing device. The subject is an eye to be inspected and
According to any one of claims 1 to 8, the motion contrast image generation unit specifies tomographic data around the optic disc or tomographic data around the optic disc as tomographic data used to generate the motion contrast image. The image processing device described. The plurality of tomographic data are controlled so as to continuously perform the main scan at the first position of the subject a plurality of times in succession and then continuously perform the main scan at a second position different from the first position. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is obtained by using the measured light. The image processing device is communicably connected to an image pickup device that captures an optical interference tomographic image of the subject.
The imaging device includes a front image acquisition unit that acquires information on the front image of the subject.
The image processing device acquires information on the front image from the image pickup device, and obtains information on the front image.
The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the display control unit displays a front image generated from the information of the front image when the measurement light is scanned. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the motion contrast image generation unit stops the generation of the motion contrast image in response to an instruction from the examiner. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the display control unit displays the motion contrast image on the display unit in order to determine success or failure of acquisition of tomographic data used for generating the motion contrast image. .. The image processing device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the display control unit displays a button for reacquiring tomographic data used for generating the motion contrast image on the display unit. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14.
An optical interference tomographic image pickup device having a detection means for detecting interference light obtained by combining the return light from the subject irradiated with the measurement light and the reference light.
The system. Using at least one tomographic data among a plurality of tomographic data obtained by performing optical interference tomographic imaging of the subject multiple times at different times using measurement light controlled to scan the same position of the subject. It is an image processing method that processes the image generated by
A step of generating a plurality of motion contrast images of the subject using the plurality of tomographic data and generating an averaged image of the plurality of motion contrast images.
Prior to displaying the averaged image, a step of displaying one of the plurality of motion contrast images on the display unit, and
Image processing methods, including. Using at least one tomographic data among a plurality of tomographic data obtained by performing optical interference tomographic imaging of the subject multiple times at different times using measurement light controlled to scan the same position of the subject. It is an image processing method that processes the image generated by
A step of generating a frontal image of the subject as a first frontal image using the at least one tomographic data,
A step of generating a motion contrast image of the subject as a second front image different from the first front image by using the plurality of tomographic data.
Wherein for the second of the success or failure of acquiring a tomographic data used to generate the front image determination, is displayed on the display unit one of the images of the first front image and the second front image, the The display control unit, which can control the display unit so as to change the display of one image to the display of the other image, presses a button for reacquiring the tomographic data used to generate the second front image. The process of displaying on the display unit and
Including, image processing methods. A program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform each step of the image processing method according to claim 16 or 17.

Images