Image processing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10448912-B2
Application number	US-201715480842-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 6, 2017
Priority date	Apr 6, 2016
Publication date	Oct 22, 2019
Grant date	Oct 22, 2019

Abstract

An image processing apparatus comprises processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to acquire a first image in which each pixel is expressed with a first gradation. And the processing circuitry is configured to specify a partial region in the first image. And the processing circuitry is configured to convert, based on correspondence information that associates each level of the first gradation with a display pattern of a plurality of pixels in a display, the level in the first gradation of each pixel included in the partial region in the first image into the corresponding display pattern, the display displaying the display pattern with a second gradation having fewer levels than the first gradation. And the processing circuitry is configured to generate a second image that expresses a plurality of pixels included in the partial region of the first image as the converted display patterns.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image processing apparatus, comprising:
processing circuitry configured to
acquire a first image in which each pixel is expressed with a first gradation;
specify a partial region in the first image;
convert, based on correspondence information that associates each level of the first gradation with a display pattern of a plurality of pixels on a display, the level of the first gradation of each pixel included in the partial region in the first image into the corresponding display pattern, the display displaying the display pattern with a second gradation having fewer levels than the first gradation; and
generate a second image that expresses a plurality of first pixels included in the partial region of the first image as the converted display patterns.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
receive an operation to an image that has been acquired by replacing each level of the first gradation of each pixel in the first image with a corresponding level in the second gradation, and displayed on the display; and
specify the partial region based on the received operation.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
set a region of interest in the first image; and
determine, according to information on a device included in the region of interest, whether to specify the region of interest as the partial region.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the device is a stent, and
the processing circuitry is further configured to determine, based on an image of the stent in the region of interest, whether to specify the region of interest as the partial region.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to acquire a mesh density of the stent based on the image of the stent in the region of interest, and determine, based on the acquired mesh density, whether to specify the region of interest as the partial region.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising input circuitry configured to receive an input operation from an operator, wherein
the device is a stent,
the input circuitry is configured to receive the input operation of information on the stent, and
the processing circuitry is configured to determine, based on the received information on the stent, whether to specify the region of interest as the partial region.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to set the region of interest based on a feature point included in the first image.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:
set a region of interest in the first image; and
determine, according to whether the region of interest includes a device, whether to specify the region of interest as the partial region.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein
the device is a line-shaped device, and
the processing circuitry is further configured to specify the region of interest as the partial region when the region of interest does not include the line-shaped device.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to specify the partial region based on annotation information attached to the first image.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the annotation information is information indicating a tumor or information detected by a computer aided diagnosis.

12. An image processing apparatus, comprising:
processing circuitry configured to
acquire a first image in which each pixel is expressed with a first gradation;
segment, based on correspondence information that associates each level of the first gradation with a display pattern of a plurality of pixels on a display, pixels included in an identical replacement region in the first image having gradation levels that are to be replaced with a same level in a second gradation into a plurality of pixel groups each including a number of pixels in the display pattern, and convert a plurality of pixels included in each of the pixel groups into the display pattern corresponding to the level in the first gradation represented by the pixel group, the display displaying the display pattern with the second gradation having fewer levels than the first gradation; and
generate a second image that expresses an identical replacement region in the first image as the converted display patterns.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to set an average value of levels in the first gradation of the pixels included in the pixel group as the level in the first gradation represented by the pixel group.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to switch, according to a switching operation of a display mode of an image, between a third image acquired by replacing each level of the first gradation of each pixel in the first image with a corresponding level in the second gradation and the second image, and display an image selected by the switching on the display.

15. An image processing apparatus, comprising:
processing circuitry configured to
acquire a plurality of first images generated in a time series;
detect a position of a feature point in each of the first images;
generate, based on the first images, a plurality of corrected images in which the positions of the feature points are substantially a same among the first images and each pixel is expressed with a first gradation;
specify partial regions in the corrected images;
convert, based on correspondence information that associates each level of the first gradation with a display pattern of a plurality of pixels on a display, the level of the first gradation of each pixel included in the partial regions in the corrected images into the corresponding display pattern, the display displaying the display pattern with a second gradation having fewer levels than the first gradation; and
generate a second image that expresses a plurality of first pixels included in the partial regions of the corrected images as the converted display patterns.

16. The image processing apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to align positions of a plurality of images included in the first images with one another based on the positions of the feature points in the images, and add the plurality of images together to generate the corrected images.

17. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first gradation and the second gradation is a gradation in brightness of hues expressed in an image.

18. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display is a display screen of a portable terminal.

Assignees

• Toshiba Medical Sys Corp
• Canon Medical Systems Corp

Inventors

• ESASHI Satoru
• Okada Jun
• Muroi Toshio
• Ogura Nobuo
• Gunji Masanori
• Ohga Nobuhiro
• Kobayashi Yoshimasa
• Kuratomi Naoko

Classifications

• A61B6/469 Primary

  for selecting a region of interest [ROI] · CPC title

• A61B6/461

  Displaying means of special interest · CPC title

• G06T11/10 Primary

  Texturing; Colouring; Generation of textures or colours (retouching, inpainting or scratch removal G06T5/77) · CPC title

• H04N1/407

  Control or modification of tonal gradation or of extreme levels, e.g. background level · CPC title

• H04N1/405

  Halftoning, i.e. converting the picture signal of a continuous-tone original into a corresponding signal showing only two levels · CPC title