Medical image displaying apparatus and a medical image diagnostic apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9655498-B2
Application number	US-201213993994-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 31, 2012
Priority date	Jun 1, 2011
Publication date	May 23, 2017
Grant date	May 23, 2017

Abstract

A medical image displaying apparatus is provided that improves the workability of making a definitive diagnosis in capsule endoscopy. A medical image displaying apparatus of an embodiment is capable of displaying a virtual endoscopic image in a tube based on a viewpoint set inside the tube of the tubular body by using a three-dimensional image of the tubular body, and comprises a capsule endoscopic image storage and a display controller, and the capsule endoscopic image storage stores capsule endoscopic images acquired by a capsule endoscope passing inside the tube. The display controller displays the capsule endoscopic images based on the location of the viewpoint.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A medical image displaying apparatus that, by using a previously captured three-dimensional image of the tubular body, is capable of displaying a virtual endoscopic image in a tube based on a viewpoint set inside the tube of the tubular body, comprising:
a capsule endoscopic image storage that stores capsule endoscopic images acquired by a capsule endoscope passing inside the tube;
a display controller that displays the capsule endoscopic images based on the location of the viewpoint;
a first central line extracting part that extracts a first central line of the tubular body based on the a previously captured three-dimensional image; and
a correspondence calculating part that obtains a correspondence between the first central line and the capsule endoscopic images, wherein
the display controller is configured to display the capsule endoscopic images based on the correspondence.

2. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the display controller displays the capsule endoscopic images based on the viewpoint specified upon the virtual endoscopic images.

3. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the display controller displays the location of the capsule endoscope by overlapping with the virtual endoscopic images.

4. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second central line extracting part that extracts a second central line of the tubular body based on the location of the capsule endoscope in advance, wherein
the correspondence calculating part obtains a correspondence between the first central line and the second central line.

5. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein,
the correspondence calculating part obtains the correspondence based on the degree of similarity of the three-dimensional tangent vectors indicating the directions of the central lines in the first central line and the second central line.

6. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein,
the capsule endoscopic image storage stores the capsule endoscopic image by associating with the location of the second central line, which is the location of the capsule endoscope, and the direction of the second central line, which is the direction of the capsule endoscope, comprising
a capsule endoscopic image selecting part that obtains the location on the second central line corresponding to the location on the first central line with reference to the correspondence, extracts an image group imaged in the periphery of the location on the obtained second central line from among the capsule endoscopic images stored in the capsule endoscopic image storage, obtains the direction of the second central line relatively closest to the direction of the first central line from the extracted image group, obtains the location on the second central line corresponding to the direction on the obtained second central line, and selects the capsule endoscopic image related to the location and the direction on the obtained second central line from among the capsule endoscopic images stored in the capsule endoscopic image storage.

7. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 ,
the correspondence calculating part obtains a correspondence between the first central line and the transit time taken when the capsule endoscope passes inside the tube.

8. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the display controller arranges and displays the virtual endoscopic image and the capsule endoscopic image in parallel.

9. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the display controller displays the virtual endoscopic image and the capsule endoscopic image in an alternate fashion.

10. The medical image displaying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein,
the virtual endoscopic image includes an opened image that is obtained by opening the inside of the tube along the central line of the tubular body.

11. A medical image displaying apparatus that, by using a three-dimensional image of the tubular body, is capable of displaying a virtual endoscopic image in a tube based on a viewpoint set inside the tube of the tubular body, comprising:
a capsule endoscopic image storage that stores multiple capsule endoscopic images acquired by a capsule endoscope passing inside the tube;
a means of, upon selection of the capsule endoscopic images, obtaining the location of the viewpoint corresponding to the transit time or the transit location of the capsule endoscope when the selected capsule endoscopic image has been acquired;
a display controller that displays a virtual endoscopic image based on the obtained location of the viewpoint;
a first central line extracting part that extracts a first central line of the tubular body based on the a previously captured three-dimensional image; and
a correspondence calculating part that obtains a correspondence between the first central line and the capsule endoscopic images, wherein
the display controller is configured to display the capsule endoscopic images based on the correspondence.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Tomohiro
• Konuma Nobuyuki
• Toshiba Medical Sys Corp
• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Kawasaki Tomohiro
• Konuma Nobuyuki

Classifications

• A61B1/0004

  for electronic operation · CPC title

• A61B1/000095

  for image enhancement · CPC title

• G06T7/38

  Registration of image sequences · CPC title

• G06T2207/30032

  Colon polyp · CPC title

• A61B1/00009

  of image signals during a use of endoscope · CPC title