WO2012132467A1

WO2012132467A1 - Radiological breast image capturing method, radiological breast image capturing device, and program

Info

Publication number: WO2012132467A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/002233
Authority: WO
Inventors: 靖子八尋; 孝夫桑原; 大田　恭義; 玲長谷川
Original assignee: 富士フイルム株式会社
Priority date: 2011-03-31
Filing date: 2012-03-30
Publication date: 2012-10-04

Abstract

[Problem] To make the states in which images of right and left breasts are captured equal to each other regarding obliquely captured images when four images with disparities in the horizontal direction are captured by applying radiation from directly and obliquely above. [Solution] When information relating to a convergence angle (θ) (4° in this case) is inputted, information relating to image capture angles (θ') is set such that the image capture angles (θ') from directly above right and left breasts are both 0°, the image capture angle (θ') from obliquely above the right breast is -4°, the image capture angle (θ') from obliquely above the left breast is 4°, and thus image capturing from obliquely above is performed bilaterally symmetrically from the inside.

Description

Radiation breast image capturing method, radiation breast image capturing apparatus, and program

The present invention relates to a radiation breast image capturing method, a radiation breast image capturing apparatus, and a program for capturing four images with parallax in the left-right direction by irradiating radiation from above and obliquely to each of the left and right breasts. It is about.

Conventionally, it is known that stereoscopic viewing can be performed using parallax by displaying a combination of two images, a right-eye image and a left-eye image. Such a stereoscopically viewable image (hereinafter referred to as a stereoscopic image or a stereo image) is generated based on a plurality of images having parallax obtained by photographing the same subject from different positions.

And the generation of such stereoscopic images is used not only in the fields of digital cameras and televisions, but also in the field of radiographic imaging. That is, the subject is irradiated with radiation from different directions, the radiation transmitted through the subject is detected by the radiation image detector, and a plurality of radiation images having parallax are obtained, and based on these radiation images A stereoscopic image is generated. And by generating a stereoscopic image in this way, a radiographic image with a sense of depth can be observed, and a radiographic image more suitable for diagnosis can be observed. (For example, see Patent Document 1)

JP 2010-110571 A

By the way, when generating a stereoscopic image for the radiographic images of the left and right breasts, two images with parallax are taken for each of the left and right breasts to obtain a total of four images. At this time, one of the two images with parallax in each breast is preferably an image taken from above the breast, as shown in FIG. 7, for example. This is because when two-dimensional diagnosis is performed using only one of the right-eye image and the left-eye image constituting the stereoscopic image, the image taken from above the breast is most suitable for diagnosis. Because.

However, as shown in FIG. 7, if an upper photographed image (0 ° image in the figure) and an oblique photographed image (4 ° image in the figure) are photographed in the same manner for each breast, an obliquely photographed image (see FIG. 7). For the middle 4 ° image, the right breast is taken from the outside, and the left breast is taken from the inside. Since the external appearance of the human body is a left-right symmetric shape, when shooting is performed as described above, there is a possibility that the shooting range and the shape of the breast portion when shot are different on the left and right.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention is an obliquely photographed image obtained by irradiating the left and right breasts with radiation from above and obliquely to photograph four images with parallax in the lateral direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a radiation breast image capturing method, a radiation breast image capturing apparatus, and a program capable of making the imaging states of the left and right breasts the same.

The radiation breast image capturing method of the present invention is a radiation breast image capturing method for capturing four images with parallax in the left-right direction by irradiating the left and right breasts with radiation from above and obliquely. The right and left breasts should be taken obliquely by a combination of imaging from the inside of the right breast and imaging from the inside of the left breast, or a combination of imaging from the outside of the right breast and imaging from the outside of the left breast. It is characterized by.

Further, the radiation mammography method according to the present invention may be provided as a program for causing a computer to execute the method.

The radiation breast image capturing apparatus of the present invention is a radiation breast image capturing apparatus that irradiates radiation from above and obliquely to each of the left and right breasts and captures four images with parallax in the left-right direction. The radiation source for irradiating radiation, the radiation detector for detecting the irradiated radiation, the moving means for moving the radiation source and / or the radiation detector, and the oblique imaging of each of the left and right breasts Control means for controlling the moving means, such as a combination of imaging from the inside of the breast and imaging from the inside of the left breast or a combination of imaging from the outside of the right breast and imaging from the outside of the left breast It is a feature.

According to the radiation breast image capturing method, the radiation breast image capturing apparatus, and the program of the present invention, each of the left and right breasts is irradiated with radiation from above and obliquely, and four images with parallax in the left-right direction are obtained. When taking an image, the oblique imaging of each of the left and right breasts is a combination of imaging from the inside of the right breast and imaging from the inside of the left breast, or imaging from the outside of the right breast and imaging from the outside of the left breast. Since the combination is performed symmetrically, it is possible to make the imaging state of the left and right breasts the same for the obliquely captured image.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a breast stereoscopic image imaging display system using a radiation breast imaging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram of the arm part of the breast stereoscopic image photographing display system as seen from the right direction in FIG. The block diagram which shows schematic structure inside the computer of the said stereoscopic image imaging display system for breasts The figure which shows the state of imaging | photography of the right and left breasts in the said stereoscopic vision image photographing display system for breasts The figure which shows the example of the image for right eyes and the image for left eyes at the time of imaging | photography shown in FIG. The figure which shows the other example of the imaging | photography state of the right and left breasts in the said stereoscopic image imaging display system for breasts The figure which shows the imaging | photography state of the right and left breasts in the conventional stereoscopic vision image display system for breasts

Hereinafter, a stereoscopic image capturing and displaying system for breasts using a radiation breast image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the whole breast stereoscopic image photographing / displaying system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a breast stereoscopic image capturing / displaying system using a radiation breast image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an arm portion of the breast stereoscopic image capturing / displaying system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration inside the computer of the stereoscopic image capturing and displaying system for breasts.

As shown in FIG. 1, a breast stereoscopic imaging and displaying system 1 according to this embodiment includes a breast imaging device 10, a computer 8 connected to the breast imaging device 10, and a monitor 9 connected to the computer 8. And an input unit 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mammography apparatus 10 includes a base 11, a rotary shaft 12 that can move in the vertical direction (Z direction) with respect to the base 11, and can rotate. The arm part 13 connected with the base 11 is provided. FIG. 2 shows the arm 13 viewed from the right direction in FIG.

The arm section 13 has an alphabet C shape, and a radiation table 16 is attached to one end of the arm section 13 so as to face the imaging table 14 at the other end. The rotation and vertical movement of the arm unit 13 are controlled by an arm controller 31 incorporated in the base 11.

Inside the imaging table 14 are provided a radiation image detector 15 such as a flat panel detector and a detector controller 33 that controls reading of a charge signal from the radiation image detector 15. Further, inside the imaging table 14, a charge amplifier that converts the charge signal read from the radiation image detector 15 into a voltage signal, a correlated double sampling circuit that samples the voltage signal output from the charge amplifier, A circuit board provided with an AD conversion unit for converting a voltage signal into a digital signal is also installed.

In addition, the photographing table 14 is configured to be rotatable with respect to the arm unit 13, and even when the arm unit 13 rotates with respect to the base 11, the direction of the photographing table 14 is fixed to the base 11. can do.

The radiation image detector 15 can repeatedly perform recording and reading of a radiation image, and may use a so-called direct type radiation image detector that directly receives radiation and generates charges. Alternatively, a so-called indirect radiation image detector that converts radiation once into visible light and converts the visible light into a charge signal may be used. As a radiation image signal readout method, a radiation image signal is read out by turning on / off a TFT (thin film transistor) switch, or by irradiating reading light. It is desirable to use a so-called optical readout system from which a radiation image signal is read out, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other systems may be used.

A radiation source 17 and a radiation source controller 32 are accommodated in the radiation irradiation unit 16. The radiation source controller 32 controls the timing of irradiating radiation from the radiation source 17 and the radiation generation conditions (tube current, tube voltage, time, etc.) in the radiation source 17.

Further, in the central portion of the arm portion 13, a compression plate 18 that is disposed above the imaging table 14 and presses and compresses the breast M, a support portion 20 that supports the compression plate 18, and a support portion 20 that extends in the vertical direction. A moving mechanism 19 for moving in the (Z direction) is provided. The position of the compression plate 18 and the compression pressure are controlled by the compression plate controller 34.

The computer 8 includes a central processing unit (CPU), a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk, and an SSD. The control unit 8a, the data storage unit 8b, and the image processing unit shown in FIG. Part 8c is configured.

The control unit 8a has a function as display control means for displaying on the monitor 9 a stereoscopic image composed of two images of a right-eye image and a left-eye image, and performs predetermined control over various controllers 31 to 34. It outputs signals and controls the entire system. A specific control method will be described in detail later. The data storage unit 8b stores radiation image data and the like for each imaging angle acquired by the radiation image detector 15. The image processing unit 8c, based on the four images of the upper image and the oblique image captured with parallax in the left-right direction for each of the left and right breasts, In addition to having a function as an image synthesizing means for generating two images of the displayed right-eye image and left-eye image, it is for performing various image processing.

That is, the mechanism as the moving means for moving the radiation irradiating unit 16 and / or the imaging table 14 is configured by the arm unit 13 connected to the base 11 via the rotary shaft 12 and controls to control the moving means. The means includes a control unit 8a and an arm controller 31.

The input unit 7 is composed of a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse, for example, and is used for receiving inputs such as shooting conditions and operation instructions.

The monitor 9 can stereoscopically view a stereoscopic image by displaying the two radiographic images as two-dimensional images using the two radiographic image (right-eye image and left-eye image) signals output from the computer 8. It is comprised so that it may display on.

As a configuration for displaying a stereoscopic image, for example, radiographic images based on two radiographic image signals are displayed using two screens, and one radiographic image is obtained by using a half mirror or a polarizing glass. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a stereoscopic image is displayed by being incident on the observer's right eye and the other radiation image being incident on the observer's left eye.

Alternatively, for example, two radiographic images may be displayed by being shifted by a predetermined amount of parallax and superimposed, and a stereoscopic image may be generated by observing this with a polarizing glass, or a parallax barrier method and a lenticular It is good also as a structure which produces | generates a stereoscopic vision image by displaying on a 3D liquid crystal in which two radiographic images can be stereoscopically viewed like a system.

Also, the device for displaying a stereoscopic image and the device for displaying a two-dimensional image may be configured separately, or may be configured as the same device if they can be displayed on the same screen.

Next, the operation of the breast image radiographing display system of this embodiment will be described.

First, the right breast M is installed on the imaging table 14, and the breast M is compressed with a predetermined pressure by the compression plate 18. Next, after various imaging conditions including an angle formed by two different imaging directions (hereinafter referred to as a convergence angle θ) are input in the input unit 7, an instruction to start imaging is input. When there is an instruction to start photographing at the input unit 7, a stereo image of the breast M is photographed.

Specifically, first, when information on the convergence angle θ (in this embodiment, θ = 4 °) is input, as shown in FIG. 4, the imaging angle θ ′ from above the left and right breasts is In both cases, the imaging angle θ ′ from the diagonal of the right breast is −4 °, the imaging angle θ ′ from the diagonal of the left breast is 4 °, and imaging from the diagonal is performed symmetrically from the inside. As described above, information on the shooting angle θ ′ is set.

It should be noted that the convergence angle θ is preferably set to 4 ° or more and 15 ° or less because it is difficult to perform appropriate stereoscopic viewing if the convergence angle θ is too small or too large.

The information of the imaging angle θ ′ from above the left and right breasts and the imaging angle θ ′ from the oblique direction set as described above is output from the control unit 8a to the arm controller 31 when performing each imaging.

First, in order to perform imaging from above the right breast, information for setting the imaging angle θ ′ to 0 ° is transmitted from the control unit 8a to the arm controller 31. The arm controller 31 rotates the arm unit 13 to the 0 ° position based on the information on the photographing angle θ ′.

Subsequently, the control unit 8a outputs a control signal to the radiation source controller 32 and the detector controller 33 so as to irradiate the radiation and read out the radiation image signal. In accordance with this control signal, radiation is emitted from the radiation source 17, and a radiation image obtained by photographing the right breast M from the direction where the imaging angle θ ′ is 0 ° is detected by the radiation detector 15, and the radiation image is detected by the detector controller 33. The signal is read out and stored in the data storage unit 8b of the computer 8.

Subsequently, in order to perform imaging from the oblique side of the right breast, information for setting the imaging angle θ ′ to −4 ° is transmitted from the control unit 8a to the arm controller 31. The arm controller 31 rotates the arm unit 13 to a position of −4 ° based on the information on the photographing angle θ ′.

Subsequently, the control unit 8a outputs a control signal to the radiation source controller 32 and the detector controller 33 so as to irradiate the radiation and read out the radiation image signal. In accordance with this control signal, radiation is emitted from the radiation source 17 and a radiation image obtained by photographing the breast M from the direction where the imaging angle θ ′ is −4 ° is detected by the radiation detector 15, and the radiation image is detected by the detector controller 33. The signal is read out and stored in the data storage unit 8b of the computer 8.

Subsequently, the left breast is installed on the imaging table 14, and the left breast is also taken from above (imaging angle θ ′ = 0 °) and obliquely (imaging angle θ ′ = 4 °). As a result, an upper photographed image (both 0 ° photographed image) and an oblique photographed image (4 ° photographed image or −4) were photographed with parallax in the left-right direction with respect to each of the left and right breasts. Four images of (photographed image) are acquired.

Next, the operation when displaying a stereoscopic image will be described.

First, the signals of four images, that is, an upper photographed image (both 0 ° photographed image) and an oblique photographed image (4 ° photographed image or -4 ° photographed image) of each of the left and right breasts are stored in the data storage unit of the computer 8 The data is read from 8b and transmitted to the image processing unit 8c.

In the image processing unit (image composition means) 8c, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper captured image (0 ° captured image) of the right breast and the upper captured image (0 ° captured image) of the left breast are rotated 180 °. The right eye image is generated by combining the images so that the chest walls face each other, and the right breast oblique image (-4 ° image) and the left breast oblique image (4 ° image) ) And the image rotated 180 ° are combined so that the chest walls face each other to generate a left-eye image.

The two image signals of the right eye image and the left eye image generated as described above are output to the monitor 9, and a stereoscopic image in which the left and right breasts are displayed on the same screen is displayed on the monitor 9.

In this way, when shooting four images with parallax in the left-right direction by irradiating radiation from above and obliquely, for oblique photographing of each of the left and right breasts, from the inside of the right breast The combination of imaging and imaging from the inside of the left breast is performed symmetrically from the inside, so that the imaging state of the left and right breasts can be made the same for an obliquely captured image. As a result, the left and right breasts can be easily compared and interpreted, so that the diagnostic accuracy can be improved.

Further, by adopting the display mode as described above, it is possible to display the left and right breasts in the stereoscopic image in the front-rear direction (protruding / retracting direction in the stereoscopic image).

As shown in FIG. 6, the same effect as described above can be obtained as a combination of imaging from the outside of the right breast and imaging from the outside of the left breast, but imaging from the inside of the right breast and from the inside of the left breast Since it is possible to adopt a mode in which a wider range including the side part of the patient is taken, it is preferable to adopt such a mode when it is desired to take a wide range. .

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course.

Claims

Radiation breast image capturing method for capturing four images with parallax in the left-right direction by irradiating radiation from above and obliquely for each of the left and right breasts,
The oblique imaging of each of the left and right breasts is performed by a combination of imaging from the inside of the right breast and imaging from the inside of the left breast, or a combination of imaging from the outside of the right breast and imaging from the outside of the left breast Radiation breast imaging method.
A program for causing a computer to execute the radiation breast imaging method according to claim 1.
A radiation breast image capturing apparatus that irradiates radiation from above and obliquely for each of the left and right breasts to capture four images with parallax in the left-right direction,
A radiation source that emits radiation;
A radiation detector for detecting the irradiated radiation;
Moving means for moving the radiation source and / or the radiation detector;
As for the oblique imaging of each of the left and right breasts, as done by a combination of imaging from the inside of the right breast and imaging from the inside of the left breast, or a combination of imaging from the outside of the right breast and imaging from the outside of the left breast, A radiological breast imaging apparatus comprising control means for controlling the moving means.