Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, image processing apparatus, and image processing method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9734621-B2
Application number	US-201514607131-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2015
Priority date	Sep 12, 2012
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes a rendering controller, a detector, and a voxel data generator. The rendering controller divides three-dimensional data constituted by voxel data into a plurality of slice regions, rearranges the slice regions based on a sight line direction in which the voxel data is observed, and performs volume rendering on the voxel data in which the slice regions have been rearranged so as to generate image data. The detector detects image quality information indicating image quality of image data that is generated by the rendering controller. The voxel data generator rearranges the voxel data constituting the three-dimensional data based on the image quality information detected by the detector based on the sight line direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus comprising:
a rendering unit that divides three-dimensional data constituted by voxel data into a plurality of slice regions, rearranges the slice regions based on a sight line direction in which the voxel data is observed, and performs volume rendering on the voxel data in which the slice regions have been rearranged so as to generate image data;
a detector that detects image quality information indicating image quality of image data that is generated by the rendering unit; and
a voxel data generator that rearranges the voxel data constituting the three-dimensional data in accordance with the image quality information detected by the detector based on the sight line direction
wherein the detector determines whether the image quality is lowered based on acquired brightness information.

2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the voxel data generator switches a first mode in which the voxel data used for detection by the detector is output to the rendering unit and a second mode in which the voxel data rearranged by the voxel data generator is output to the rendering unit.

3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detector performs Fourier transform on a waveform formed by the brightness information acquired linearly and determines that the image quality of the image data is lowered when a predetermined frequency component is contained.

4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detector performs Fourier transform on a waveform formed by the brightness information acquired linearly and determines that the image quality of the image data is lowered when no frequency component higher than a predetermined frequency is contained.

5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detector determines that the image quality of the image data is lowered when distribution of brightness values of the brightness information acquired linearly is in a predetermined range.

6. An image processing apparatus comprising:
a rendering unit that divides three-dimensional data constituted by voxel data into a plurality of slice regions, rearranges the slice regions based on a sight line direction in which the voxel data is observed, and performs volume rendering on the voxel data in which the slice regions have been rearranged so as to generate image data;
a detector that detects image quality information indicating image quality of image data that is generated by the rendering unit; and
a voxel data generator that rearranges the voxel data constituting the three-dimensional data in accordance with the image quality information detected by the detector based on the sight line direction
wherein the detector determines whether the image quality is lowered based on acquired brightness information.

7. An image processing method that is executed by an image processing apparatus, the image processing method comprising: dividing three-dimensional data constituted by voxel data into a plurality of slice regions, rearranging the slice regions based on a sight line direction in which the voxel data is observed, and performing volume rendering on the voxel data in which the slice regions have been rearranged so as to generate image data; detecting image quality information indicating image quality of image data that is generated in the volume rendering; and rearranging the voxel data constituting the three-dimensional data in accordance with the detected image quality information based on the sight line direction
wherein the detector determines whether the image quality is lowered based on acquired brightness information.

Assignees

• Toshiba Medical Sys Corp

Inventors

• Kuga Itsuki

Classifications

• A61B8/523

  for generating planar views from image data in a user selectable plane not corresponding to the acquisition plane · CPC title

• G06T2210/41

  Medical · CPC title

• A61B8/483

  involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data · CPC title

• A61B8/145

  characterised by scanning multiple planes · CPC title

• G06T7/0012

  Biomedical image inspection · CPC title