JPH08263646A - Picture display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To diagnose a picture again with a condition identical to previous diagnosis by providing a function for preserving gradation used when diagnosing on a picture display device. CONSTITUTION: The picture display device is provided with a picture storage means 12, a gradation conversion means 11 converting the original picture data which is read out of the picture storage means 12 into display picture data by using a gradation table 13, a picture display means 10 displaying display picture data and a gradation table change means 15 receiving input for indicating the change of the gradation table 13 and changing the content of the gradation table used for the display of the picture at the time-point of input on the content of change indication input. A gradation table preservation means 14 preserving original picture data and the content of the gradation table 13 used for the display of original picture data by making them correspond is provided. The gradation conversion means 11 converts original picture data where the corresponding gradation table 13 is preserved into display picture data by using the corresponding gradation table 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gradation changing method and an image storing and reading method in an image display device.

In recent years, a radiation image diagnostic apparatus using a stimulated fluorescent material has been used as a medical image apparatus. Since it is easy to capture the brightness information emitted from the stimulated phosphor as image information in the computer, it is being used as an image diagnostic apparatus.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional configuration of a radiation image display apparatus is shown in FIG.
3 shows. In the figure, 1 indicates an image displayed on a CRT, 2
Is a graphic board for generating a signal for displaying on a CRT, 3 is a memory, and a secondary storage means (HDD
And the like) reads the radiation image of the diagnosis target stored in (4), and 4 is a secondary storage unit that stores the radiation image of the diagnosis target.

Further, 5 is a VRAM (video RAM),
6 is a RAMDAC (RAM digital-t) for converting image information to be displayed on a CRT into a raster format and storing it.
o-analog (D / A) converter) reads the image information to be displayed on the CRT from the VRAM, converts it into an analog signal and outputs it to the CRT. VRAM5 and RAMDAC
The graphic board 2 is composed of 6 and.

The merit of the digitized image obtained by the above configuration is that the digitized image data can be taken into a computer as numerical data and displayed on a display. On a graphic board capable of multi-gradation display, it is possible to change the display brightness corresponding to each pixel value (a value obtained by A / D converting the intensity of the X-ray transmitted through the human body) in real time.

Therefore, when a certain chest image is displayed, in order to see a dark lung field, the display pixel value is changed to a brighter display color, and to see a bright mediastinum. By changing the display color with respect to the pixel value to a dark color, it is possible to observe from one image data according to the region (a partial region on the screen such as lung field, mediastinum, and heart).

[0007]

In the conventional radiation image display device described above, the gradation can be changed as described above, but there is a problem that it is not known at which gradation the diagnosis was made.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a radiographic image display device which has a function of storing gradations used at the time of diagnosis, so that a radiographic image can be diagnosed again under the same conditions as the previous diagnosis. To do.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a gradation table in order to add the function of the gradation table to the function of the conventional graphic board, and the gradation table is provided. The correspondence relationship between the original image and the pixel value of the image displayed at the time of diagnosis is stored in the gradation table, and when the image is read again, the correspondence relationship is read from the gradation table and the original image is read using this. It is characterized by the configuration of the image display device.

In order to realize such a configuration, the present invention adopts a configuration as shown in FIG. 1 which illustrates the principle of the present invention in FIG. An original image to be diagnosed is stored in an image storage means (HDD or the like) 12 together with gradation information at the time of diagnosis. When the original image is reinterpreted, the original image stored in the image storage means 12 is read into an image memory (not shown) built in the image display apparatus main body. At the same time, the gradation information is written in the gradation table 13 described later, and the gradation at the time of diagnosis is stored. The gradation conversion unit 11 reads the original image from the image memory (or directly from the image storage unit 12 when the image memory is not used), refers to the contents of the gradation table 13, and reads the first image of the original image. The original image is displayed on the image display means 10 in the same gradation as that of the observation. When it is desired to change the gradation, a change command is input from the input means 16 to the gradation table changing means 15. Upon receiving the change command, the gradation table changing means 15 changes the contents of the gradation table and
The contents of the changed gradation table are stored in the gradation table storage means 1
Save to 4. If the same gradation table is used for the next re-interpretation, the contents of the gradation table storage means 14 can be transferred to the gradation table and re-interpretation can be performed in the same process as described above.

When the configuration shown in FIG. 2 for explaining the principle of the present invention of FIG. 2 is adopted, the gradation table at the time of the first image interpretation is not stored in the image storage means 12 together with the original image,
Which of a plurality of predetermined gradation tables was used,
The identification information attached to the gradation table is saved together with the original image. Therefore, at the time of reinterpretation, of the plurality of gradation tables 131 to 13n prepared in advance in the image display device,
Reinterpretation can be performed in the same process as described above by referring to the gradation table having the same identification information as the identification information. When it is desired to use another gradation table, a selection command is input from the input means 16 to the gradation table selection means 17. Gradation table selection means 17 which has received the selection command
Selects the selected gradation table and stores the identification information of the selected gradation table in the gradation table identification information storage unit 18. If the same gradation table is used for the next reinterpretation, the gradation table to be referred to is selected by the identification information of the gradation table identification information storage means 18, and reinterpretation is performed in the same process as described above. You can

Further, when the configuration shown in FIG. 3 for explaining the principle of the present invention of FIG. 3 is adopted, the original image stored in the image storage means 12 is stored in the gradation table 13 together with the original image. The reason why the image can be re-interpreted with reference to is similar to the case where the configuration shown in FIG. 1 for explaining the principle of the present invention is adopted, but in the case of FIG. The image displayed on the image display means 10 is stored as it is in the display image data storage means 19 with reference to the changed gradation table or the gradation table before the change, and the content itself of the display image data storage means 19 will be saved when the image is read again next time. Can be displayed on the image display means 10 for image interpretation.

In the above, the case where the image storage means 12 is composed of one storage means has been described, but it is also possible to form it by two storage means. In that case, the first
If a recording medium that can be easily carried, such as an optical disk device, is selected as the storage means, the original image can be moved from the collection place to another place and read again by another device.

[0014]

According to the above-described structure of the present invention, the person who makes a diagnosis performs the gradation storage operation using the input means 16 at the time when the diagnosis is performed by changing the gradation. The changed gradation value is stored in a patient information database created in a storage unit such as an HDD together with information such as a file name, a diagnosis date and time, and a diagnosis site. Next time, when the same image is called by the device, the gradation information is read together with the patient information from the file name of the image, and the image with the same gradation as at the time of diagnosis can be immediately displayed on the image display means 10. . It is also possible to read images with different gradations, and it is also possible to save the gradation table used at that time, the identification information of the gradation table, or the display image itself with the changed gradation.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. The first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The image display device of FIG.
Secondary storage device for storing patient information and image data (first storage means, hereinafter representatively referred to as HDD) 2
1. Graphic board for generating image signal 2
(It is a collective name for a set of the image memory 23, the D / A converter 24, and the gradation table 13.) Although not shown, a CPU for controlling the whole and a CPU for writing image data on a graphic board A memory (second storage means, hereinafter simply referred to as memory) 22 incorporated in
including. In addition, the image display means (CRT) already described
Etc., hereinafter referred to as a display. ) 10, gradation table storage means 14, gradation table changing means 15 and input means 1
6 is provided.

When the diagnostician starts operating the device, the HDD
A radiographic image to be diagnosed is read from 21 into the memory 22. The graphic board 2 reads the content of the memory 22 and converts it into a raster format. The radiation image converted into the raster format is stored in the image memory 23. The radiation image stored in the image memory 23 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 24, and the graphic board 2
Displays the converted analog signal on the display 10.

In the display area 30 on the display 10,
As shown in FIG. 7, in addition to the radiation image display window 31, a gradation curve display window 32 and virtual buttons such as a save instruction button 33 are displayed.

When the diagnostician diagnoses the radiation image displayed on the display 10, the diagnostician refers to the displayed information and refers to the input means 1 such as a virtual button or a keyboard.
6 gives various instructions to the device.

In the image display area of the display 10, for example, a chest image as shown in FIG. 12 (1) is obtained. In this chest image, as shown in the chest X-ray histogram in FIG. 2B, the center of the pixel value distribution differs depending on the region. That is, the transparent X-ray dose is the highest in the transparent portion a, and the heart / mediastinum c
Has the least transmitted X-ray dose, and the lung field b is in the middle.
However, since the range of pixel values in each part is concentrated, it is preferable to apply appropriate emphasis in order to judge a lesion. For example, when observing the lung field, the contrast of the lung field part of the original image is converted into pixel values by the curve (gradation curve) in the figure as shown in (3). To observe. The display image subjected to the conversion becomes an image with good contrast in the lung field. The relationship between the pixel value of the original image (horizontal axis) and the pixel value of the display image (vertical axis) is stored as a gradation table. On the other hand, in the case of observing the heart of the same chest image, when the above conversion is performed, the contrast of the heart portion is completely lost (for example, it becomes pure white) and it becomes unobservable. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 4 (4), conversion suitable for the heart and mediastinum is performed.

That is, the diagnostician selects the part to be observed,
A gradation curve suitable for diagnosis is selected in consideration of the contrast of the screen of the selected portion and the diagnosis is performed. In order to save the gradation curve used when the diagnosis is made, the diagnostician issues a save command from the input means 16 in order to instruct the save simultaneously with the diagnosis. By this operation, the value of the gradation table 13 directly connected to the D / A converter 24 is stored in association with the patient information in the HDD 21.

The next time the corresponding data is read, the stored data is read into the gradation table and is displayed in the gradation that has been diagnosed. It is possible to determine what gradation the previous doctor made a diagnosis.

The same storage device is used as the gradation table storage means 1.
4 and the image storage means 12 can be shared,
This is useful for simplifying the device configuration. In addition, as shown in the data storage format example 1 of FIG. 10, the past diagnosis result including the patient ID is stored in the patient data storage area, and the newly acquired image data is stored in the image data storage area. At the time of diagnosis, it is possible to make a diagnosis while referring to the patient information in the patient data storage area, and to save the gradation table used at the time of diagnosis in the image data storage area. Interpretation is possible with the same gradation table as. In this way, by adding the gradation table to the image data file and writing it, it is possible to directly read the gradation table for which diagnosis has been performed without searching the gradation information. Further, since the patient data that does not include the image is stored in the patient data storage area, it is possible to refer to each other by the image ID common to the image data in the image data storage area. This format is suitable for using a separate storage device when the number of image data is large.

It is also possible to display the contents of the gradation table in the gradation curve display window 32 of the display area on each display shown in FIGS. This configuration is a convenient configuration for selecting the gradation table.

Further, a partial area gradation storage means for storing the identification information of the diagnosed part and the gradation table used for the image interpretation as a pair is provided, and based on the gradation table of the partial area gradation storage means. A configuration for reinterpretation is also possible. The partial area gradation storage means may be provided in the image data storage area in FIG. At the time of image interpretation, as shown in FIG. 8, a site selection window 34 is displayed in the display area on the display, which facilitates site selection.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described in FIG. 5 as a second embodiment of the present invention. In the image display device shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of gradation tables 131 to 13n are provided and each has unique identification information. Along with this, a gradation table selection means 17 for selecting which gradation table to use and a gradation table identification information storage means 18 for storing the identification information of the selected gradation table are provided. is there. Others are the same as the case of FIG.

At the time of re-interpretation, the diagnostician refers to a gradation table having the same identification information as the above-mentioned identification information among a plurality of gradation tables 131 to 13n prepared in advance in the image display device, Reinterpretation can be performed in the same process as in the first embodiment. When it is desired to use another gradation table, a selection command is input from the input means 16 to the gradation table selection means 17. Upon receiving the selection command, the gradation table selection means 17 selects the selected gradation table and stores the identification information of the selected gradation table in the gradation table identification information storage means 18. If the same gradation table is used for the next reinterpretation, the gradation table to be referred to is selected by the identification information of the gradation table identification information storage means 18, and reinterpretation is performed in the same process as described above. You can

Further, the gradation table identification information storage means may be separately provided, or may be constituted by providing an area gradation information storage area in the image data storage area of FIG. FIG.
The application of the data storage format example 1 of 0 and the method of using the display area on each display shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 are the same as in the first embodiment, but as shown in FIG. It is also possible to adopt a configuration which facilitates selection of the gradation table by providing.

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6 as a third embodiment of the present invention. In the image display device of FIG. 6, the image displayed on the image display means 10 is stored in the display image data storage means 19 as it is by referring to the gradation table changed by the gradation table changing means 15 or the gradation table before the change. Then, at the next reinterpretation, the contents themselves of the display image data storage means 19 can be displayed on the image display means 10 for interpretation.

In each of the above embodiments, the image data is constructed by using a fixed secondary storage device such as a magnetic disk, but the image information and the gradation information are stored in a removable medium such as a magneto-optical disk. With such a configuration, it is possible to display the gradation-processed data in the same manner even in image display devices installed in different places.

As a data storage format, as shown in FIG. 11, it is of course possible to combine the patient data storage area and the image data storage area of FIG. 10, and the number of image data is relatively small. Suitable for cases,
A faster search is possible.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the gradation processing at the time of diagnosis can be immediately displayed at the time of re-interpretation, and thus it greatly contributes to the improvement of the performance of such a radiation image display device.

Further, by adopting an optical disk or the like, it is possible to eliminate the restriction on the place of diagnosis.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a display example 1 on the image display means.

FIG. 8: Display example 2 on display means

FIG. 9: Display example 3 on display means

FIG. 10: Data storage format example 1

FIG. 11: Data storage format example 2

FIG. 12 Relationship between each part and histogram

FIG. 13 Conventional configuration

[Explanation of symbols]

1 CRT 2 graphic board 3 memory 4 HDD 5 VRAM (video RAM) 6 RAMDAC (D / A converter) 10 image display means 11 gradation conversion means 12 image storage means 13 gradation table 14 gradation table storage means 15 gradation Table changing means 16 Input means 21 First storage means (hard disk drive, magneto-optical disk drive) 22 Second storage means (memory) 30 Display area 31 Radiation image display window 32 Gradation curve display window 33 Save instruction button 34 Part Selection window 35 Gradation table selection window

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image storage unit, a gradation conversion unit for converting original image data read from the image storage unit into display image data by using a gradation table, and an image display for displaying the display image data. Means for receiving an input instructing to change the gradation table,
An image display device having a gradation table changing means for changing the contents of the gradation table used for image display at the time of the input based on the contents of the change instruction input, the original image data, and And a gradation table storage unit that stores the contents of the gradation table used for displaying the original image data in association with each other, and the gradation conversion unit is the original image data in which the corresponding gradation table is stored. Regarding the above, the image display device is characterized in that it is converted into display image data using the corresponding gradation table. 2. An image storage unit, a plurality of gradation tables, a gradation table selection unit that receives an input for selecting the plurality of gradation tables, and original image data read from the image storage unit, In an image display device having a gradation conversion unit for converting display image data using the generated gradation table, and an image display unit for displaying the display image data, the original image data and the original image data The gradation table identification information storage means for storing the identification information of the gradation table used for display in association with each other is provided, and the gradation conversion means is provided for the original image data in which the corresponding identification information is stored. An image display device, wherein image data is converted using a gradation table selected by the corresponding identification information. 3. Image storage means, gradation conversion means for converting the original image data read from the image storage means into display image data using a gradation table, and image display for displaying the display image data. Means for receiving an input instructing to change the gradation table,
An image display device having a gradation table changing means for changing the contents of the gradation table used for image display at the time of input based on the contents of the change instruction input, wherein the original image data and the Display image data storage means for storing the display image data converted by the gradation conversion means in association with each other is provided, and the gradation conversion means stores the display image data corresponding to the original image data to be displayed. If so, the image display device is characterized in that the corresponding display image data is sent to the image display means.