Imaging apparatus for diagnosis, method of controlling the same, program, and computer readable storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016015337-A1
Application number	US-201514865532-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 25, 2015
Priority date	Apr 5, 2013
Publication date	Jan 21, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An imaging apparatus and method for diagnosis acquiring information of an inside of a blood vessel and reconstructing a vascular image are disclosed, wherein when acquiring data through a rotation position and a movement of an imaging core, X-ray images at a fixed viewpoint position are synchronized so as to be continuously input along a time axis. Then, timing when vascular activity such as a cardiac beat can occur is determined based on the X-ray images. A plurality of vascular cross-sectional images on a plane orthogonal to a vascular axis acquired through the rotation and the movement of the imaging core are acquired. Then, a vascular image along the vascular axis is generated from the vascular cross-sectional image or the vascular cross-sectional images in series, and when performing a display, a site having vascular activity is displayed in a discriminable manner.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An imaging apparatus for diagnosis acquiring information of an inside of a blood vessel and reconstructing a vascular image by using a probe that accommodates an imaging core which emits light or ultrasounds toward a lumen surface of a blood vessel of an examinee and detects reflection thereof, so as to rotate the imaging core and to move the imaging core along the probe at a predetermined velocity, the apparatus comprising:
X-ray image acquisition means for continuously acquiring X-ray images of the examinee along a time axis while acquiring the information of the inside of the blood vessel by performing the rotation and the movement of the imaging core; specification means for specifying the vascular-activity occurrence X-ray image based on a degree of correlationship of an adjacent X-ray image with respect to the time axis of the X-ray image which is acquired by the X-ray image acquisition means; determination means for determining a corresponding position of the moving imaging core for imaging timing of the X-ray image which is specified by the specification means; generation means for generating the axially-directed cross-sectional image along the vascular axis based on the information acquired through the rotation and the movement of the imaging core; and display means for displaying a composite result of the axially-directed cross-sectional image which is generated by the generation means and an image which shows the position determined by the determination means.

2 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 1 , comprising:
first instruction means for making an instruction regarding a position in a vascular axis direction in the axially-directed cross-sectional image which is displayed by the display means, wherein the display means also displays a vascular cross-sectional image on a plane orthogonal to the vascular axis at the position instructed by the first instruction means, and the X-ray image acquired at timing when the imaging core is positioned at the position instructed by the instruction means.

3 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 2 ,
wherein the display means includes means for determining the timing when the imaging core is positioned at the position in the vascular axis direction instructed by the first instruction means is vascular-activity occurrence timing, and switching a display form of a radially-directed cross-sectional image in accordance with a determination result thereof.

4 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 3 ,
wherein the display means switches any one of a frame color, an index color, and a background color for displaying the radially-directed cross-sectional image, based on the timing when the imaging core is positioned at the position in the vascular axis direction instructed by the first instruction means is the vascular-activity occurrence timing.

5 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 1 ,
wherein when Fx (i) represents an ith target X-ray image in imaged sequence and Fx (i, x, y) represent pixel values of coordinates (x, y) in the target X-ray image, the specification means computes the following expression so as to obtain dissimilarity between the target X-ray image and an X-ray image immediately before thereof: D (i)=ΣΣ{Fx (i, x, y)−Fx (i− 1 , x, y)} 2 , here, ΣΣ represents a sum total of computation results for all the coordinates; and when dissimilarity D (i) and a threshold value Th set in advance are compared to each other resulting in a relationship of D (i)>Th, it is determined that the vascular activity occurs in the target X-ray image Fx (i).

6 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 1 , comprising:
second instruction means for making an instruction so as to perform a display excluding a vascular-activity occurrence site, wherein when an instruction is made by the second instruction means, the display means deletes the image at the position determined by the determination means from the axially-directed cross-sectional images which are generated by the generation means, and displays truncated images after deletion.

7 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 1 , comprising:
an image mark image displayed at the vascular-activity occurrence site in the axial direction of the axially-directed cross-sectional image by the display means, and wherein the image mark is generated by the generation means.

8 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 7 ,
wherein the mark image mark shows a degree of magnitude of activity to be displayed at the vascular-activity occurrence site in the axial direction of the axially-directed cross-sectional image.

9 . The imaging apparatus for diagnosis according to claim 1 , comprising:
a vascular-activity occurrence region in the axial direction of the axially-directed cross-sectional image which is generated by the generation means, and wherein the vascular-activity occurrence region is displayed in color or a density different from the color or a density of a region having no vascular-activity occurrence.

10 . A method of controlling an imaging apparatus for diagnosis acquiring information of an inside of a blood vessel and reconstructing a vascular image by using a probe that accommodates an imaging core which emits light or ultrasounds toward a lumen surface of a blood vessel of an examinee and detects reflection thereof, so as to rotate the imaging core and to move the imaging core along the probe at a predetermined velocity, the method comprising:
continuously acquiring X-ray images of the examinee along a time axis while acquiring the information of the inside of the blood vessel by performing the rotation and the movement of the imaging core; specifying the vascular-activity occurrence X-ray image based on a degree of correlationship of an adjacent X-ray image with respect to the time axis of the X-ray image which is acquired by the X-ray image acquisition step; determining a corresponding position of the moving imaging core for imaging timing of the X-ray image which is specified by the specification step; generating the axially-directed cross-sectional image along the vascular axis based on the information acquired through the rotation and the movement of the imaging core; and displaying a composite result of the axially-directed cross-sectional image which is generated by the generation step and an image which shows the position determined by the determination step.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , comprising:
displaying first instruction means for making an instruction regarding a position in a vascular axis direction in the axially-directed cross-sectional image which by the display means, and displaying a vascular cross-sectional image on a plane orthogonal to the vascular axis at the position instructed by the first instruction means, and the X-ray image acquired at timing when the imaging core is positioned at the position instructed by the instruction means.

12 . The method according to claim 11 ,
determining the timing when the imaging core is positioned at the position in the vascular axis direction instructed by the first instruction means is vascular-activity occurrence timing, and switching a display form of a radially-directed cross-sectional image in accordance with a determination result thereof.

13 . The method according to claim 12 , comprising:
switching any one of a frame color, an index color, and a background color for displaying the radially-directed cross-sectional image, based the timing when the imaging core is positioned at the position in the va

Assignees

• Terumo Corp

Inventors

• Inoue Kouichi
• Furuichi Junya
• Etou Hijiri

Classifications

• G16H50/30

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