JPS58159731A - Medical image recording and playback apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording and reproducing FTT on a medical diagnostic screen.

[Technical background and problems of the invention]

For example, a CT device (computed tomography device), known as a radiation tomography device, converts a tomographic image of a subject and displays it on a television (TV) monitor. It is necessary to record information on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk and to reproduce the information.

Incidentally, image data is expressed using a lattice space (hereinafter referred to as IJ) divided into a finite number of traps. Generally, the resolution of an image depends on the size of the matrix, so in order to record the digital image data obtained by the CT device, a recording medium with a large storage capacity is required! become. By the way, the matrix size! +20
The total number of pixels in the case of x 520 is 102,40
The number becomes 0.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, the conventional cri! ii Ro record.

The playback method will be explained. The figure is a schematic depiction of a CTl1i image expressed on a matrix of shoulders x holes.The central region (I) indicates the subject.0Here,
Since a CT device obtains a cross-sectional view of the human body, the surrounding area of the subject (10 is generally an air area) is used.KCT machines usually use a method of scanning in a circular manner around the subject. Therefore, the four corners (area (III)) of the rectangular square are parts that are not reconstructed.

Conventionally, when recording this type of artist data, a method was adopted in which the entire matrix was recorded and played back.
Therefore, a large recording capacity as mentioned above was required. By reducing this recording capacity, the inside of the shooting area (i.e.
If you record only the areas (I) and [■] in Figure 1, and later reproduce and display the area (I) and [■]), the area L] will be recorded at a predetermined density value (generally the value corresponding to the lowest brightness). ) There is a method to perform this by replacing Klll.

According to this method, it is sufficient to record about 70% of the data of the original artist, so the recording capacity can be reduced to some extent.

However, even with the above method, the area (n
), but as mentioned above, most of this area is occupied by air, meaning that you are recording virtually meaningless data, which means that the storage capacity is wasted. [Objective of the Invention] The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and
Only image data that is effective for diagnosis by reasonable means
Select ゛ and move to another area [for example, the area in Figure 1 [■].

It is an object of the present invention to provide a medical iiiIgR recording and reproducing device that can reduce and effectively utilize the recording capacity by excluding unnecessary iiiIgR data from the recording target.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention actively utilizes the following properties of the 01 image, for example.

(a) CT equipment is used to image tomographic images of the human body,
Generally, most of the area around the object is air.0 (b) f! inside the object. The part of the air where isK exists (such as the air vesicles inside the lung field, stomach pouch, and other organs) is clinically important, but the part of the air outside the subject has almost no meaning clinically.

(C) Taking an Ox@cr device as an example, where the air part has a density value tl- below a certain value in the cry174 image, the 01 image is the difference in X@absorption rate 1*converted to light information. However, here, the X-ray absorption rate of the air is set to almost zero, and the image is displayed at the lowest brightness. However, under the current level of OCT technology, not all air parts become zero, and there are parts with n or more air parts.However, even in this error case, air below a certain critical value There is no problem in considering it as such.

(d) All tissues that make up the outline of the subject should be
) has a concentration value greater than the following critical value.

(g) When displaying an ij image in a CT device, the first
In order to make it easier to see, the part indicated by the nine area mark in the figure is displayed at the lowest brightness. That is, the lowest density value is given on the image data. By the way, since the circular region (n) in FIG. 1 can be regarded as trap air as described above, there is no clinical problem even if this region is also displayed at the lowest brightness. Finally, this area can also be replaced with the lowest density value.

Based on the above premise, the present invention aims to exclude the part corresponding to the air surrounding the subject from the data obtained and record only the effective area inside the subject (recording of data). It is characterized by a reduced capacity.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

The present invention basically consists of a recording section that compresses and records the original image data, a reproducing section for the compressed artist data, and K. 1 shows an example of a compression circuit. In the same figure, 1 is an input memory into which the original image data of a matrix image of, for example, [expletive 2C is a counter that stores the data corresponding to the pixel address of the matrix (also referred to as iii element counter/ri), 2C is a counter that functions as a pointer to specify the storage address kt'' of the output memory, which will be described later, and 31!Fi number Information R1t, such as data St' on the start position of the effective painter area in the first row, is stored in a register; 9 is information R2, such as data Et' on the end position of the effective painter area in the first row.
4 is a constant memory consisting of a matrix of CIKX2) in which start position data Si and end position data Ei in each row corresponding to a circular area to be described later are stored in advance; 6 is a register for storing air concentration as described above; A constant memory holds a critical value (threshold value) C2 equal to the value C2, an output memory 5 stores compressed image data, and a control circuit 7 controls each block and performs calculations.

Next, an example of the contents of the data Si and Ei stored in the constant memory 4 will be explained with reference to FIG. Figure 6 shows each of the areas mentioned above, namely, object area [I], two circular areas [■]
, rectangular area (n)] and the position of each pixel in the matrix image.
) Data pairs (51-El)-(Si,
By storing &), ..., (Si, Ei) in advance, the data corresponding to the rectangular area Qnl) K is removed from the beginning to simplify the arithmetic processing described later as much as possible. It is something to do.

The range of such a circular area (II) is determined in advance depending on the model used, so setting is easy.

2. Next, the operation of the trench data compression circuit 3 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

(1) First, the values t and k of the counters 2a and 2c are set to the initial value "1". That is, the first line of the original image data becomes the processing target, and further image data can be recorded from the beginning of the output memory 5.

(2) Next, starting position data S1 of the circular area (n) in the first row is stored in the constant memory 4. Read end position data E1,
Set each value n in registers 3g and 3b. (3) Next, store n in the register 6α in counter 2b.
Set the start position data Sat.

(4) In this way, the data of the pixel position Sl in the first row in the input memory 1 is designated, and the density value of the designated pixel is compared with the threshold value C2 held in the constant memory 6. Then, depending on the result, it is determined whether to move to the next pixel or perform reverse scanning from the end pixel position, as will be described later. The line counter 2α is incremented, and the next line is scanned and similar processing is performed. (5) The processing contents for each line will be specifically explained.

In this explanation, the same processing will be performed for each row, so for example, the processing status of the t-th row in the matrix diagram of FIG. 3 will be explained as a representative example. The value Ei is stored in 37, and the process starts in the n-th state. First, pixel counter 2
The starting position 1ilSi is captured in n, and the degree value of the data at this pixel position is the threshold value C2 in the constant memory 6.
When n is compared with C2, the pixel counter 2b is incremented and the n*th pixel is scanned. Then, the contents of the pixel counter 2h when the density value cutoff of a certain pixel becomes >C2 in relation to the threshold value C2 is taken into the start position register as the read start position data St', and once nl is scanned. finish. At this stage, the value Ei in the end position register 6A is then input into the pixel counter 2A, and scanning is performed from the opposite direction this time.

That is, by decrementing the pixel counter 27t from the setting end position rtEi, scanning is performed from the opposite direction. In this case as well, a of the data of the specified pixel is
! In relation to the threshold value in the constant counter 6, the degree value is D
j>C2, the value in the pixel counter 2b at the critical moment is stored as the read end position data Et' in the end position register 3b.
When there is no data corresponding to the effective 1mv11 portion of the specified line, that is, when scanning between lines 1 to 4 in Figure 3, the setting start position Scanning is performed by sequentially incrementing the pixels from S, and when the setting end position 11E is reached, scanning of that row is completed, and thereafter, scanning is not performed from the opposite direction and the scanning of the next row is started. There is.

(6) As described in the previous section, the position data Si' and Ei' are held in each register 3g and 3A, and thereafter the following processing is performed. In the control circuit Z, each register 6α, 3
Take the data in A and calculate the number of pixels included between them z
Compute t'()i'=Ei'-5i'+1).

Then -! in the output memory 5! The sK readout start position data 5t I and the pixel number data l*' t- are recorded as compressed data, and the data llz within that number of pixels is also recorded as compressed data in another area of the output memory 5. At this time, as the calculation results, the readout start position information 5ir is stored as the register value R1, and the number of pixels Jtj is stored as the value R2 of the register 3b. The transfer start position is specified by pointer 2C.
The Rukoto.

Thereafter, operations are performed for each row in the same manner, and in the output memory 5, as shown in FIG.
...5mP and pixel number data Jt', /! ' e A
! I'"""J-' is recorded in association with each row, and data indicating the density value of each pixel is recorded in the other area. will be associated and recorded.As mentioned above, this information is understood as effective 1ml data (data of the subject part).In addition, in the above embodiment, In order to speed up the processing, data indicating the boundary of the circular area (n) is preset in the constant memory 4.
However, it is not necessary to do so, and a rectangular area [dish]
It is possible to obtain the same effect even if the entire area from the beginning to the end is scanned. In this case, the constant memory 4 contains 5i=1 for all rows. Just give Ei mill.

Next, referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a description will be given of a means for reproducing the iii-transparent data that has been slightly compressed by the m-quadrant compression circuit. The reproducing means has almost the same structure as the recording means, only the operating procedure is reversed, so the explanation thereof will be given only briefly.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a W7A image reproducing circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention, and 1' is an input memory 2A/ that takes in the contents recorded in the LJ image recording stage.

24' and 2c' are empty, 3g' and 37' are registers, and 5' is playback iiigI! 6' is a constant memory, and 7' is a control circuit.0Here, counter 2α' is the ninth row number indicating whether the processing is on the example row, and 2h' is the 2c' holds the pixel position when reproducing the i-th image data, and 2c' holds the transfer start position address in the input memory of the IliigR data corresponding to the relevant property in the compressed image data. Also, register 5. 1 is used to hold the start position address of the valid image storage area of the relevant type, and register 5h' is used to hold the end position address. The constant memory 6' has a value equal to the density value (generally the minimum density value) when displaying the area outside the effective field of view in the 01 image (which is displayed at the minimum brightness when changing to an iron source) in advance. I remember it.

Next, the operation of the picture 1 wall reproduction circuit will be explained with reference to FIG.

(1) First, the counters 2a t and 2CF are each initialized to "1".

(2) Input memo I) 1' stores the aforementioned compressed image data, and its interior is divided into a compression control information section and an image data section. First, the first compression control information (i is the value indicated by counter 2.I) is read out and set in registers 5m' and 5h', respectively. That is, register 3. F yen data R
1 indicates the starting pixel position Si' of the effective bipolar area in the i-th row, and data R2 in the register 3b/ indicates the number of pixels J,/ included from that pixel position to the final pixel position.

(3) Next, counter 2b' is set to the initial value "1".
(4) When the value of counter 2h' is R1≦no≦R2, the value of counter 2h' is the value of input memory 1'.
The pixel data (value held by C') is read out and output to the i-th row of the output memory 5'. Also,
When R1<no or R2<no, the value held in the constant memory 6' becomes the i-th pixel data of the output memory 5'.

After that Kara: / evening 2C / K r I J is added.

(5) Next, "1" is added to the counter 2h'.

As a result, the process of item (4) before nonyl time is repeated.

(6) When the value of the counter 2h' exceeds tsf, the processing of the i-th row is completed, and the 0th next row in which "1" is added to the value of the counter 2α' becomes the processing target.

(7) The series of processes up to the previous section are repeatedly executed until the value of counter 2a P exceeds the limit. and counter 2
When the value of g1' exceeds the threshold, the regeneration process is completed.

In the above explanation, the artist recording circuit, the image reproducing circuit, and the t-separate circuits are shown, but as is clear from the configuration of both circuits, it is possible to share most of each component. It is possible to realize an image recording and reproducing apparatus using only blocks (for example, those shown in FIG. 2). In this case, the control circuit needs to have the two functions of recording processing and playback processing, and it is also necessary to use a system in which the constant memory 4 is used only when recording the image 5 and not during playback. .

By the way, in the above embodiment, when recording compressed image data, the area of the output memory 5 is divided into two, and the compression control information is stored in one area and *0tmflf-1t in the other area.
le#”j6! 5 K LiIn, ME, C.

The present invention is not limited to the recording method as shown in FIG. 7, but may be a method in which the compression control information Sv and the effective image data set are consecutively recorded as shown in FIG. 7, for example.

As described in detail above, the present invention uses rational means to select only the picture moat data that is effective for diagnosis, and excludes unnecessary data from the recording target, thereby reducing and effectively utilizing the recording capacity. A medical painter recording and reproducing device #Il can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a pattern diagram showing an example of the original ij taka stored in Xs matrix images, the second figure is a block diagram of an embodiment showing the recording structure of the iii moat kama in the present invention, and Fig. 6 is ijs pattern diagram for explaining the operation, FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart for explaining the operation, FIG. A flowchart for explaining the operation, and FIG. 7 is a pattern diagram of a recording apparatus used in another embodiment of the present invention. 1, 1'-...Input memory% 2"=2'
#2""2"...Counter, 5m, 64,5α1,5
41...Register, 4...Constant memory, 5.5
'... Output memory, 6.6'... Constant memory, 7.7'... Control circuit.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Scan the entire original image data consisting of a valid image area containing meaningful data for medical diagnosis and an ineffective image area containing meaningless data, and validate data exceeding a predetermined critical value. A medical IJ image recorder characterized by comprising: an image recording section that records as IJ image data; and an image reproducing section that reproduces effective Ryotsu data in the recording section by scanning in the same manner as in the recording. Device. (2) The original 1iiiS data is stored in a matrix to be used as a CT painter, and the above ii! The i-moat recording unit scans each row of the original image matrix from one direction, and continues scanning until the density value of a predetermined pixel exceeds a certain threshold value. When the pixel position becomes valid image data readout start position information, scanning for the relevant property is performed from the reverse direction, and the pixel position when the density value of the pixel becomes equal to or higher than the critical value in the reverse direction scanning stage is used as the valid image data readout start position information. Claim 1: The image data reading end position information is compressed and recorded in a recording unit, and the compressed information is recorded in association with effective m image data of each row. Medical h@recording and reproducing device described in Section 1.