JPH0121511B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image display device that is most suitable for displaying images in, for example, a CT (computed tomography) system.

(Prior Art) In a CT system, image information to be displayed is provided as matrixed image data consisting of gradation information for each unit matrix. Generally, this image data is once stored in a memory and then read out and displayed as a visible image. Further, the image data provided by the CT system covers a very wide area (imaging field) covering the entire virtual tomographic plane of the subject, and also has an extremely wide range of gradations. Therefore, in CT systems,
When displaying an image, you can set a part of the given image data that you want to observe in particular detail, a so-called region of interest, and enlarge and display this part. Set the tonality range as desired,
This range is displayed in detailed gradations.

By the way, as mentioned above, the image information in the CT system covers an extremely wide range of areas and gradations, so the work of setting the region of interest and display gradation range described above is extremely complicated, and it is difficult to quickly and accurately set the region of interest and display gradation range. Setting it up is not easy. Especially when setting the area of interest,
Displaying a mark such as a line dot array overlapping the display image at a position corresponding to the outline of the set region of interest on the display image in accordance with the setting operation of the region of interest setting unit;
Generally, settings are made by encircling the desired area with this mark while looking at the display screen.
There is a problem in that the mark is difficult to see because it overlaps with the mark display image, and furthermore, it becomes difficult to identify the mark in the area where it overlaps with the image displayed at a gradation close to that of the mark.

Furthermore, since the setting of the display gradation range is often performed in conjunction with the setting of the region of interest, the above-mentioned problems in setting the region of interest also greatly affect the setting of the display gradation range.

As a result, a lot of time is wasted when setting the region of interest, etc., or diagnosis is performed without being able to extract sufficient information from the given image information, reducing diagnostic accuracy.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional image display device as described above, since the plurality of marks displayed in an overlapping manner on the displayed gradation image overlap with the gradation image, it is difficult to identify the two. There was a problem in that it was difficult to identify each other and each of the plurality of marks could not be identified.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image display device in which a plurality of marks displayed in an overlapping manner on a gradation image can be distinguished from the gradation image, and each of the plurality of marks can also be easily identified. There is a particular thing.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is characterized by taking the following measures in order to solve the above problems and achieve the object. That is, the image display device according to the present invention includes a memory that stores gradation image data, a memory controller that performs read/write control for this memory, and the gradation image data that is read from the memory by the operation of the memory controller. A display device that extracts image data as a gradation image signal and displays it as a visible image; and a display device that generates a plurality of region-of-interest mark signals that display an outline in an arbitrary shape at an arbitrary part of the displayed visible image; A region of interest mark signal generation control means for blinking the region of interest mark signals at different cycles, and a mixer for synthesizing the plurality of region of interest mark signals and the gradation image signal are provided. It is characterized by displaying both the tonal image and the contours of a plurality of regions of interest having different periods.

(Function) By displaying a plurality of marks, the present invention makes it possible to differentiate the plurality of marks from each other by making the blinking cycle of each mark display different. However, each mark position can be distinguished.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example in which the present invention is applied to image display of a CT system will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the figure, 1 is a memory for receiving and storing image data from a CT system imaging processing unit (not shown), 2 is a memory controller for controlling reading and writing to the memory 1, and 3 is a region of interest (not shown). A mark signal generator that generates a mark signal for displaying a plurality of linear region-of-interest marks in conjunction with the setting device; 4 a display device using, for example, a CRT (cathode ray tube) for displaying an image; 5 is a sync signal generator that generates a sync signal for display scanning of the display 4; 6 is a sync signal generator that divides the output of the sync signal generator 5 as appropriate and processes the waveform to generate a plurality of different predetermined frequencies that are sufficiently low; A blinking signal generator 7 that generates a blinking gate signal is used to control intermittently a plurality of mark signals from the mark signal generator 3 at different frequencies using a plurality of gate signals output from the blinking signal generator 6. A gate circuit 8 has a plurality of gate devices (not shown), and 8 is a mixer that synthesizes the image data read from the memory 1 and the mark signal that has passed through the gate circuit 7, and provides the synthesized signal to the display 4 as a display video signal. It is. Here, the display 4 and synchronization signal generator 5 constitute a display device, and the mark signal generator 3, blinking signal generator 6, and gate circuit 7 constitute mark signal generation control means.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be explained.

Image data in a CT system is obtained by projecting the subject from multiple directions using X-rays, etc.
Based on the obtained projection data, the distribution of X-ray transmission and absorption coefficients, etc. for the virtual tomographic plane of the victim is determined by image reconstruction processing, and consists of gradation information for each unit matrix. This is matrixed image data. This image data is applied to the memory 1, read out from the memory 1, and displayed as a gradation visible image on the screen of the display 4 via the mixer 8. When displaying marks of multiple regions of interest on the gradation image displayed on the display device 4, that is, when setting multiple regions of interest, multiple mark signals already set in the mark signal generator 3 are used as marks. The output from the signal generator 3 is mixed with the video signal of the image data read out from the memory 1 by the mixer 8 through a plurality of gate devices in the gate circuit 7, and a plurality of mark displays are synthesized into a gradation image. It is given to the display device 4 as a video signal. At this time, based on the synchronization signal obtained by the synchronization signal generator 5, a number of blinking gate signals corresponding to the set regions of interest are output from the blinking signal generator 6, and each gate signal has a different scheduled frequency. input into multiple gate devices,
The mark signal supplied from the mark signal generator 3 to the mixer 8 is intermittent at each frequency of the gate signal. Therefore, this intermittent mark signal and the video signal output from the memory 1 are mixed in the mixer 8, and the region of interest is finally displayed on the gradation image (tomographic image) displayed on the screen of the display 4. A number of blinking linear marks indicating .

Therefore, the mark display of the region of interest on the displayed image representing the tomographic plane of the subject can be easily distinguished from the gradation image of the tomographic plane, and the setting of the region of interest becomes easy. Furthermore, this makes it easier to set the display gradation range, which in turn improves diagnostic efficiency and diagnostic accuracy.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with various modifications without changing the gist thereof.

For example, in the above embodiment, the region of interest mark is described as a linear mark, but it may be in other mark formats such as a dot array.

Further, in the same embodiment, the mark display is controlled to blink by gate control, but it does not need to be made to blink completely, but it may be made to blink by changing the brightness and darkness so that it can be distinguished from other image parts. The period of this flickering (blinking) need only be a frequency below the detection limit that can be visually recognized, that is, a period above the detection limit. At this time, the period does not necessarily have to be constant. Further, according to the present invention, if the mark display gradually changes at a sufficiently slow cycle over a wide display gradation range, the position of the mark display can be clearly indicated regardless of the display gradation around the mark.

Furthermore, in the same embodiment, the sync signal output from the sync signal generator 5 is subjected to appropriate frequency division processing to obtain the blinking signal, but it is also possible to obtain the blinking signal by using sync signals from other parts. Alternatively, a blinking signal generator including a built-in oscillator may be separately provided. Furthermore, if the flickering signal is configured to be cycleable and can be set to a frequency that makes the mark display easy to see on the display screen, a clearer display can be made variable.

Of course, this method is effective not only for image display in a CT system, but also for any type of apparatus in which marks such as characters and symbols are displayed overlappingly on a gradation image.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, the present invention displays a plurality of marks and makes it possible to distinguish the plurality of marks from each other by making the blinking cycle of each mark different. This provides the effect that the positions of each mark can be distinguished even when the marks are displayed in a crooked manner.

Therefore, the effect of the present invention is to provide an image display device in which a plurality of marks displayed in an overlapping manner on a gradation image can be distinguished from a previous gradation image, and each of the plurality of marks can also be easily identified. This is something that can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Memory, 2...Memory controller, 3...Mark signal generator, 4...Display device, 5...Synchronization signal generator, 6...Blinking signal generator, 7...Gate circuit, 8... ...Mixer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory that stores gradation image data, a memory controller that performs read/write control for this memory, and the gradation image data read from the memory by the operation of this memory controller as a gradation image signal. A display device that extracts the image and displays it as a visible image, a display device that generates a plurality of region of interest mark signals that display a plurality of contours in an arbitrary shape on an arbitrary part of the projected visible image, and a display device that generates a plurality of region of interest mark signals that display a plurality of contours in an arbitrary shape on an arbitrary part of the displayed visible image, and By comprising a region of interest mark signal generation control means that blinks at different cycles, and a mixer that combines the plurality of region of interest mark signals and the gradation image signal, the display device can display the gradation image and the cycle. An image display device characterized in that the outlines of a plurality of different regions of interest are displayed together.