Medical image processing apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9563968-B2
Application number	US-201514723908-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 28, 2015
Priority date	May 29, 2014
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a medical image processing apparatus includes an extraction unit, a calculation unit, and a selection unit. The extraction unit extracts an image region having an image element value larger than a predetermined value from a first image of at least one time phase and second images of a plurality of time phases. The calculation unit calculates a feature quantity that fluctuates in accordance with motion of the image region for the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases. The selection unit selects the first image and the second image having similar image features of the image region based on the feature quantity from among the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A medical image processing apparatus comprising:
processing circuitry configured to:
extract an image region having an image element value larger than a predetermined image element value from a first image of a plurality of time phases collected in first non-contrast CT imaging and second images of a plurality of time phases collected in second contrast CT imaging;
calculate a feature quantity that fluctuates in accordance with motion of the image region for the first image of the plurality of time phases and the second images of the time phases, calculate a plurality of feature quantity scores corresponding to respective types of the feature quantity for the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases, and calculate general scores based on the feature quantity scores for all combinations of the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases;
select the first image and the second image related to the combination with the highest general score from among all the combinations of the first image and the second images; and
generate a subtraction image based on the selected first image and the selected second image.

2. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases are associated with a heart phase or a breathing phase.

3. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
generate a first mask image in which other image regions than the image region is set as a mask region based on the first image of a predetermined time phase of the first image of at least the one time phase,
generate a second mask image in which the other image regions than the image region is set as the mask region based on the second image of a predetermined time phase of the second images of the time phases,
extract the image region from each of the first images of at least the one time phase by performing mask processing on the first image of at least the one time phase using the first mask image, and
extract the extracted image region from each of the second images of the time phases by performing the mask processing on the second images of the time phases using the second mask image.

4. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to expand the image region by a predetermined number of image elements and sets the other image regions than the expanded image region as the mask region.

5. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate, as the feature quantity, a plurality of types of the feature quantity based on an image element value and a number of image elements of the image region.

6. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate at least one of a movement amount, an average image element value, a total image element value, and a volume of the image region in a target time phase with respect to a time phase prior to or subsequent to the target time phase as the types of the feature quantity.

7. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate a plurality of feature quantity scores corresponding to the respective types of the feature quantity for the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases, calculate general scores based on the feature quantity scores for all combinations of the first image of at least the one time phase and the second images of the time phases, and select the first image and the second image related to the combination with the highest general score from among all the combinations.

8. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate a product of the types of the feature quantity as the feature quantity score and the product of the feature quantity scores as the general score.

9. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to normalize the types of feature quantity scores to a common scale and calculates the general score based on the normalized feature quantity scores.

10. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to assign weights to the types of feature quantity scores and calculates the general score based on the weighted feature quantity scores.

11. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to extract the image region concerning at least one of a calcification portion and a stent as the image region.

Assignees

• Toshiba Medical Sys Corp
• Univ Iwate Medical

Inventors

• Sunami Kimiko
• Arakita Kazumasa
• Ozaki Masahiro
• Yoshioka Kunihiro
• Tanaka Ryoichi
• Muranaka Kenta

Classifications

• G06T2207/30048

  Heart; Cardiac · CPC title

• A61B6/032

  Transmission computed tomography [CT] · CPC title

• G06T2207/20224

  Image subtraction · CPC title

• A61B6/481

  involving the use of contrast agents · CPC title

• G06T7/254 Primary

  involving subtraction of images · CPC title