Image processing device, control method of image processing device, and program

Abstract

To easily select an image in accordance with an operator's intention.SOLUTION: An image processing device includes selection means, determination means, display control means, and image processing means. The selection means selects one or a plurality of inspections that medical images belong to. The determination means determines an inspection of an image processing candidate on the basis of the one or the plurality of inspections selected. The display control means causes medical images that belong to the determined inspection of the image processing candidate to be displayed in a display part. The image processing means executes image processing using a plurality of the medical images selected by a user of the displayed medical images. When one of the inspections is selected, the determination means determines the selected one inspection and one or a plurality of inspections obtained by searching based on the selected one inspection as inspections of the image processing candidate, and determines the selected plurality of inspections as inspections of the image processing candidate when the plurality of the inspections are selected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, a control method for an image processing apparatus, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In medical image processing, image processing may be performed using two images of the same subject as input. For example, image processing is known that emphasizes changes in lesions over time by calculating the difference between two images of the same subject taken at different times. Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a method of deformation-aligning two images (a set of images). By performing deformation-alignment, a difference image can be generated that emphasizes changes in characteristics between the two images.

[0003] When performing image processing using two images as input, the problem is which two images to select. This is because, in many cases, imaging (examination) of a subject is performed multiple times over a certain period (several months to several years), and multiple images are taken in one examination. Therefore, an operator needs to select two images from a large number of images. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for searching for past images of the same patient using the patient ID of the currently selected image as a key. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-173213 A [Non-patent literature]

[0005] [Non-Patent Document 1] Mirza et al., Computing Large Deformation Metric Mappings via Geodesic Flows of Diffeomorphisms, International Journal of Computer Vision, 61(2), 139-157, 2005. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, with conventional techniques, it has not been possible to easily select images in accordance with the operator's intentions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The image processing device according to the present invention has the following configuration: That is, the image processing device has a selection means for selecting one or more examinations to which a medical image belongs, a determination means for determining an examination as a candidate for image processing based on the selected one or more examinations, a display control means for displaying medical images belonging to the determined examination as a candidate for image processing on a display unit, and an image processing means for executing image processing using a plurality of medical images selected by a user from among the displayed medical images, wherein the determination means determines, when one examination is selected, the selected examination and one or more examinations obtained by a search based on the selected examination as the examinations as the candidate for image processing, and when a plurality of examinations are selected, determines the selected plurality of examinations as the examinations as the candidate for image processing. Effect of the Invention

[0008] This has the effect of allowing the operator to easily select an image that reflects his or her intention. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of an image processing device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2]1 is a diagram showing a device configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image selection user interface in the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image selection user interface in the second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure in the third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, however, the scope of the invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

[0011] <First embodiment> The image processing device according to this embodiment changes the image selection screen depending on the number of examinations selected by the operator (user). When the operator selects one examination, the image processing device searches the data server to obtain examinations that are candidates for image processing (hereinafter, examinations that are candidates for processing) and reflects them on the image selection screen. On the other hand, when the operator selects two or more examinations, no search is performed, and the information of the selected examination group is reflected directly on the image selection screen as examinations that are candidates for processing. After that, the operator uses the image selection screen to select two images to be subjected to image processing from among the images belonging to the examinations that are candidates for processing. Then, the image processing device performs a predetermined image processing using the two images narrowed down as input.

[0012] Here, the relationship between "examination" and "image" in this embodiment will be described in detail. As described above, usually, multiple images are taken in one examination. Here, each image at this time is called an "image" (corresponding to a medical image), and a group of images taken in one examination is collectively called an "examination". The "examination" and "image" are the same concepts as "study" and "series" in the DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) standard. As described in the previous paragraph, an "examination" (group) selected by an operator is input to the image processing device. Then, two "images" to be subjected to image processing are narrowed down from the "examination" (group) by the operator's selection using an image selection screen provided by the image processing device.

[0013] In this embodiment, a case where a three-dimensional X-ray CT image is used as an example will be described, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to three-dimensional X-ray CT images. For example, two-dimensional images such as plain X-ray images and ultrasound (US) images may be used, or one of two images used in image processing may be a two-dimensional image and the other a three-dimensional image. The three-dimensional image is also not limited to an X-ray CT image, and any image such as an MRI image, a three-dimensional US image, a photoacoustic tomography image, a PET / SPECT image, or an OCT image may be used.

[0014] The configuration and processing of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0015] Fig. 1 shows an example of the hardware configuration of an image processing device 100 according to this embodiment. Note that the hardware configuration of the image processing device 100 shown in Fig. 1 is merely an example, and is not limited to this.

[0016] The image processing device 100 includes a control unit 101, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 102, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103, a storage unit 104, a communication interface (communication IF) 105, and a display control unit 106. These pieces of hardware are connected to a system bus. In addition, an operation unit 110 and a display unit 120 are connected to the image processing device 100. It is sufficient to include at least one of each piece of hardware. In addition, the image processing device 100 is connected to a data server 200 via the communication IF 105.

[0017] The control unit 101 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and performs overall control of each piece of hardware connected to a system bus. The ROM 102 is made up of a non-volatile memory and stores various programs. The RAM 103 is made up of a volatile memory and is hardware that temporarily stores various information as data as a main memory, work area, etc. of the control unit 101. The storage unit 104 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The communication IF 105 is, for example, a local area network (LAN) card, etc., and realizes communication between an external device (for example, a data server, etc.) and the image processing device 100 via a network. The display control unit 106 is a control unit that displays various information on the display unit 120. The display control unit 106 corresponds to, for example, a graphic controller (GPU, etc.). It is also possible to have a configuration in which the display control unit 106 is not provided and the control unit 101 has the function of the display control unit 106.

[0018] The operation unit 110 is configured with a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and is a device for inputting instructions from an operator to the image processing device 100. The display unit 120 is a display device (for example, a liquid crystal display, etc.) for displaying various information instructed by the display control unit 106.

[0019] Various programs and the like used by the image processing device 100 of the present invention to execute various processes described below are recorded in the storage unit 104, and are loaded into the RAM 103 as necessary and executed by the control unit 101. Furthermore, definition files and various information tables used by the programs related to the present invention are stored in the storage unit 104.

[0020] 1, the data server 200 is a device separate from the image processing device 100, but a part of the area in the storage unit 104 may be allocated to the data server. Also, while the image processing device 100 is a single device, any hardware resource such as the control unit 101 and the storage unit 104 may be used via the Internet using cloud computing.

[0021] Fig. 2 shows an example of the system configuration of the image processing system according to this embodiment and the functional configuration of the image processing device 100. Note that the various configurations shown in Fig. 2 are merely examples and are not limited to these. As shown in the figure, the image processing device 100 in this embodiment is connected to a data server 200, an operation unit 110, and a display unit 120.

[0022] The data server 200 is assumed to hold all examination information and all image information belonging to each examination that may be subject to image processing by the image processing device 100. Each image included in each examination is assumed to be a three-dimensional image configured as a collection of two-dimensional tomographic images. The position and orientation of each two-dimensional tomographic image is assumed to be transformed into a reference coordinate system (a coordinate system in space based on the subject) and then held in the data server 200. The examination information and image information held by the data server 200 are input to the image processing device 100 via a data acquisition unit 210.

[0023] The operation unit 110 accepts operational inputs by an operator, such as pressing a mouse, keyboard, or touch panel, and inputs various information to the image processing device 100 via a selected examination acceptance unit 216 and a processing target image selection unit 218 .

[0024] The display unit 120 displays an image selection screen and processed image generated by the image processing device 100. The image selection screen is a graphical user interface (GUI) for listing information on all images included in an examination group and selecting two images to be used for image processing. The processed image is a three-dimensional image, and when it is displayed on the display unit 120, the two-dimensional cross-sectional image selected by the operator is displayed. In addition, the display unit 120 also displays a GUI for receiving various instructions from the operator, such as starting image processing.

[0025] The image processing device 100 is composed of the following elements. The data acquisition unit 210 acquires examination information and image information from the data server 200. The selected examination receiving unit 216 accepts and acquires information on the examination selected by the operator. The candidate designation unit 212 determines a processing candidate examination based on the information on the examination selected by the operator and acquires this. The processing target image selection unit 218 acquires two images to be subjected to image processing from the processing candidate examinations based on the selection by the operator. The image processing unit 214 executes a predetermined image processing on the two images selected by the operator. The display control unit 106 acquires information from the candidate designation unit 212 and the image processing unit 214, and causes the display unit 120 to display an image selection screen and a processing result image.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the overall processing procedure performed by the image processing device 100.

[0027] (S3000) (Obtaining test selection information) In step S3000, the selected examination receiving unit 216 receives and acquires the selection information of the examination (group) by the operator. In other words, the selected examination receiving unit 216 corresponds to an example of a selection means for selecting one or more examinations to which the medical image belongs. Here, the number of examinations (groups) selected by the operator is assumed to be any number equal to or greater than 1. Information on the selected examination (group) (e.g., examination ID) is temporarily stored in the RAM 103 in the image processing device 100.

[0028] The selection of the examination can be performed by the operator using a GUI from a list of examinations displayed on a selection screen (not shown), or the operator may directly input an examination ID.

[0029] (S3010) (Determination of candidate examinations for processing) In step S3010, the candidate designator 212 determines examinations to be candidate examinations for processing, using the selection information of the examinations acquired in step S3000. That is, the candidate designator 212 corresponds to an example of a determining means for determining examinations to be candidate examinations for image processing, based on one or more selected examinations. Then, the candidate designator 212 outputs information (e.g., examination ID) representing the determined examinations to be candidate examinations for processing to the display controller 106.

[0030] Here, a method for determining examinations as candidate for processing will be specifically described. The method for determining examinations as candidate for processing is changed depending on whether the number of examinations (groups) selected by the operator in step S3000 is one or two or more. Specifically, when two or more examinations are selected, the candidate designator 212 determines the group of examinations selected by the operator as examinations as candidate for processing. On the other hand, when one examination is selected, the candidate designator 212 determines examinations as candidate for processing by searching the data server 200 based on the selected examination. That is, the candidate designator 212 corresponds to an example of a determining means characterized by determining, when one examination is selected, the selected examination and one or more examinations obtained by searching based on the selected examination as examinations as candidate for image processing. Also, the candidate designator 212 corresponds to an example of a determining means characterized by determining, when multiple examinations are selected, the selected multiple examinations as examinations as candidate for image processing.

[0031] Here, the process of searching the data server 200 and determining the examinations as candidates for processing is performed according to the following procedure. First, the candidate designator 212 acquires attribute information (accompanying information) of the examination selected by the operator. Here, the attribute information of the examination is information such as the patient ID, modality type, and target site. Then, by searching the data server 200 using these attribute information as a key, the candidate designator 212 determines the examination (group) whose attribute information matches the selected examination as the examinations as candidates for processing. Here, the attribute information serving as the search key is any one of the patient ID, modality type, and target site, or a combination of multiple attribute information such as "patient ID and modality type". In this way, the candidate designator 212 can acquire a group of examinations whose attribute information is the same as that of the examination selected by the operator.

[0032] The search method is not limited to the above-described method, and any search method suitable for the image processing executed by the image processing unit 214 can be used. For example, when the image processing is a registration process between different modalities, the search condition can be "a modality type different from the examination selected by the operator." That is, for example, when the modality of the examination selected by the operator is CT, the candidate designator 212 searches for examinations whose modality type is MRI.

[0033] (S3020) (Display of candidate examinations for processing) In step S3020, the display control unit 106 controls the display of information on the examination of the candidate processing determined in step S3010 on the display unit 120. That is, the display control unit 106 corresponds to an example of a display control means that causes the display unit to display medical images belonging to the examination of the determined candidate image processing.

[0034] An example of a display format of a group of images will be shown using Fig. 4. Fig. 4 shows an example of an image selection screen. Thumbnails of the image group included in the examinations that are candidates for processing obtained in step S3010 are arranged in a thumbnail display area 401 on the left side of Fig. 4. Here, two examinations, "Study:1001" and "Study:1231", are calculated as examinations that are candidates for processing, and each examination has two images, 402 and 403, and 404 and 405, respectively. In addition, if the thumbnails of the image group cannot all fit on one screen, the thumbnails outside the screen can be moved into the screen by operating a scroll bar 406.

[0035] In the example of the display form of the image group shown in Fig. 4, in addition to the thumbnails of each image described above, there is also a function to select any image and observe it in more detail. In this case, the operator operates the mouse to drag and drop any one of the thumbnails 402, 403, 404, and 405 into one of the detailed image display areas 407 and 408. When the instruction is input, the display control unit 106 reads in a three-dimensional image corresponding to the selected thumbnail and displays it in the detailed display area. The image displayed in the detailed display area can be observed in detail using various image observation auxiliary functions such as slice forwarding, changing the window width and window level, and changing the magnification ratio.

[0036] In the present embodiment, the list display of the image group is provided by thumbnail display, and detailed observation of any image is performed by drag-and-drop operation of the mouse. However, other display forms and operation forms can be used. For example, instead of thumbnail display, character strings representing attribute information of the image, such as the imaging date and time and the number of slices, may be displayed, or thumbnail display and character string display may be combined. Also, instead of drag-and-drop operation of the mouse, a form in which the same operation is realized by a keyboard or a touch panel may be used.

[0037] (S3030) (Obtaining the selection result of the image to be processed) In step S3030, the processing target image selection unit 218 acquires the selection result of the processing target image input by the operator. Here, the selection result of the processing target image is the selection result of which two images (processing target images) are to be input to the image processing. The selection result is input by the operator on the image selection screen generated in step S3020.

[0038] An example of a method for acquiring the selection result of the image to be processed will be described with reference to Fig. 4. As described in step S3020, thumbnails of all examinations and all images that are candidates for processing are displayed on the left side (401) of the display screen. Then, as described in step S3020, by dragging and dropping any thumbnail into either of the detailed image display areas 407 and 408, it is possible to observe the image in detail.

[0039] On the above display screen, the operator searches for two images suitable for image processing by repeating a trial-and-error process of dragging and dropping thumbnails and observing the images in detail. Then, when the two images to be used for image processing are decided, the operator presses the "Start Processing" button (409). When the button is pressed, the processing target image selection unit 218 acquires the two images loaded into the detailed image display areas 407 and 408 as the selection results of the processing target images. Then, the process proceeds to step S3040.

[0040] If the roles of the two images are different in the subsequent image processing (for example, one image is fixed and the other image is deformed and aligned), the operator takes this into consideration when selecting the images. At this time, the processing target image selection unit 218 sets the image specified in the detailed image display area 407 as the first input image (hereinafter also referred to as the reference image), and sets the image specified in the detailed image display area 408 as the second input image (hereinafter also referred to as the comparison image).

[0041] (S3040) (Performing image processing) In step S3040, the image processing unit 214 executes a predetermined image processing using the two images selected in step S3030 as input. That is, the image processing unit 214 corresponds to an example of an image processing means that executes image processing using a plurality of medical images selected by the user from among the displayed medical images.

[0042] In this embodiment, as the image processing, "image difference processing" is performed, in which two images are deformed and aligned using the technology disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1, and then the difference between the images is calculated to generate a difference image. In this case, the result of the image processing is one three-dimensional image (difference image). In general, the reference image is fixed, the comparison image is deformed, and the two are aligned, and then a difference image in the same space as the reference image is generated. Note that, as long as the image processing is a method in which two images are input, any processing according to the purpose of the image processing device can be used. For example, any image processing can be used, such as pasting (stitching) overlapping areas, or super-resolution image processing that restores a high-resolution image from two similar images. In addition, the processing may be performed between images of different modalities. For example, the processing may be a processing (fusion processing) in which a functional image such as a PET image and a morphological image such as a CT image are aligned, and functional information is superimposed on the morphological image. In addition, the processing may be a processing in which a CT image and an MRI image are aligned, and an image in which a bone region that is well depicted in the CT image and a muscle region that is well depicted in the MRI image can be simultaneously observed.

[0043] (S3050) (Output of processing results) In step S3050, the image processing unit 214 temporarily writes out the image processing result (processing result image) calculated in step S3040 to the RAM 103 for image display, and also registers it in the data server 200. Also in this step, the display control unit 106 controls the display unit 120 to display the image processing result. In this case, the display control unit 106 combines the detailed image display areas 407 and 408 in Fig. 4 into one display area, and displays the image processing result in the display area. Note that it is not necessary to perform both the storage and display of the image processing result, and a configuration that only displays the image, or a configuration that only stores the image, may be used.

[0044] In this manner, the processing of the image processing device 100 is carried out.

[0045] According to this embodiment, it is possible to select a suitable image that reflects the operator's intention when selecting the target image for image processing. In other words, when the operator has selected only one examination in advance, it means that the operator has a rough idea of ​​"which patient should be the target of image processing" but has not yet narrowed it down. For example, this corresponds to a case where the examination to be diagnosed is the latest examination, but the past examination to be compared with it has not been decided. Therefore, it is a preferred operation of the image processing device 100 to search the database and present candidates. On the other hand, when the operator selects two or more examinations, this means that the examinations to be subjected to image processing have been narrowed down to a certain extent. For example, this corresponds to a case where the examination to be diagnosed is the latest examination, and the past examination to be compared with it is decided to be the previous examination. Therefore, it is a preferred operation of the image processing device 100 to present image candidates within the range of the input examination group, rather than adding any more new candidates. In this way, the advantage of this embodiment is that the user interface for image selection can be seamlessly switched according to the operator's intention.

[0046] <Modification 1 of the First Embodiment> In the first embodiment, what the operator specifies in step S3000 is not an image but an examination. However, what the operator specifies in step S3000 may be an image itself rather than an examination. In this case, the specified image is regarded as one examination, and the series of processes in the first embodiment described above can be performed.

[0047] <Second embodiment> The image processing device according to this embodiment provides an image selection screen that better matches the operator's intention, in addition to the functions of the image processing device 100 in the first embodiment.

[0048] The configuration of the image processing device according to this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0049] The overall processing procedure performed by the image processing device 100 according to this embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment (FIG. 3), except for the process contents of steps S3000, S3010, S3020, and S3030.

[0050] (S3000) (Obtaining test selection information) In step S3000, the selected examination receiving unit 216 performs the same process as in the first embodiment, receiving and acquiring the selection information of the examination(s) by the operator. Furthermore, if the number of selected examination(s) is two or more, the following process is performed. That is, the selected examination receiving unit 216 sets the first, i.e., the examination selected first, as the "reference examination" (examination to be diagnosed), and the second and subsequent selected examinations as the "comparison examination(s)". The image(s) belonging to the reference examination are set as the image(s) that are candidates for the first input image (reference image) in the subsequent image processing. Moreover, the image(s) belonging to the comparison examination(s) are set as the image(s) that are candidates for the second input image (comparison image) in the subsequent image processing.

[0051] In this embodiment, the case where the reference test and the comparison test (group) are identified based on the order in which the tests are selected is described as an example, but the operator may explicitly specify "this test is the reference test" and "this test is the comparison test." In this case, the reference test and the comparison test can be specified regardless of the order of selection, providing a more flexible operation mode.

[0052] (S3010) (Determination of candidate examinations for processing) In step S3010, the candidate designator 212 performs the same process as step S3010 in the first embodiment to determine candidate examinations for treatment. Furthermore, if the number of examinations (group) selected in step S3000 is one, the following process is performed. That is, if the number of examinations (group) selected in step S3000 is one, the candidate designator 212 designates the selected examination as the "reference examination". Then, the examination (group) acquired from the data server 200 by the processing of this step is designated as the "comparison examination (group)".

[0053] In this way, by performing the processing of steps S3000 and S3010, the reference test and the comparison test(s) are selected in a distinguished manner, regardless of whether the number of tests selected by the operator is one or two or more.

[0054] (S3020) (Display of candidate examinations for processing) In step S3020, the display control unit 106 performs control to display on the display unit 120 the group of images calculated in step S3010.

[0055] An example of the display format of an image group is shown using Fig. 5. In the first embodiment (Fig. 4), since there was no distinction between reference inspection and comparison inspection in the examinations for which processing was possible, information on all examinations for which processing was possible was displayed together in one thumbnail display area (401) on the left side of the screen. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the display screen has two thumbnail display areas, a left thumbnail display area (501) and a right thumbnail display area (510). The left thumbnail display area (second display area) displays thumbnails of images belonging to the comparison examination (group), and the right thumbnail display area (first display area) displays thumbnails of images belonging to the reference examination. In this way, the operator can clearly distinguish between the image (group) belonging to the reference examination and the image (group) belonging to the comparison examination (group). It is not essential to position the two thumbnail display areas on the left and right of the display screen. The screen may be configured in the order of the thumbnail display area 501 of the comparison examination (group), the detailed image display area 407 of the comparison examination (group), the thumbnail display area 510 of the reference examination, and the detailed image display area 408 of the reference examination, from left to right. Also, the thumbnail display areas may be configured so that thumbnails are arranged horizontally, with the thumbnail display area 501 corresponding to the upper or lower part of the detailed image display area 407, and the thumbnail display area 510 corresponding to the upper or lower part of the detailed image display area 408. Arranging corresponding thumbnail display areas and detailed image display areas close to each other has the advantage that the operator can intuitively understand the operation.

[0056] As in the first embodiment, the case where only thumbnails of each image are displayed has been described as an example, but if possible, the images may also be displayed in the detailed image display areas 407 and 408. Here, "if possible" refers to a case where there is only one examination belonging to the reference examination or the comparison examination, and furthermore, the examination has only one image. For example, if only one image is registered in the reference examination, the first input image (reference image) is uniquely determined without the need for selection. In such a case, not only is a thumbnail displayed, but the image is also loaded into the detailed image display area (407 or 408) in this step, thereby reducing the operator's workload.

[0057] (S3030) (Obtaining the selection result of the image to be processed) In step S3030, the processing target image selection unit 218 acquires the selection result of the processing target image input by the operator. As in the first embodiment, the selection result is input by the operator on the image selection screen generated in step S3020. The differences from the first embodiment will be described below.

[0058] An example of a method for acquiring a selection result of an image to be processed will be described with reference to FIG. 5. As described in step S3020, it is assumed that a thumbnail (510) of an image (group) belonging to a reference examination is displayed on the right side of the screen, and a thumbnail (501) of an image (group) belonging to a comparative examination is displayed on the left side of the screen. At this time, an image is displayed in the detailed image display area (407 or 408) by dragging and dropping a thumbnail image, as in the first embodiment. However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the thumbnail (510) of the image (group) belonging to the reference examination can be dropped only into the detailed image display area (408) (third display area) on the right. And it is assumed that the thumbnail (501) of the image (group) belonging to the comparative examination can be dropped only into the detailed image display area (407) (fourth display area) on the left. Then, in the subsequent image processing, the image in the detailed image display area (408) on the right side becomes the first input image (reference image), and the image in the detailed image display area (407) on the left side becomes the second input image (comparison image). In this way, by restricting the drop destination of thumbnail images, it is possible to prevent mistakes in image designation. Note that the process of restricting the drop destination is not always necessary.

[0059] In this manner, the processing of the image processing device 100 is carried out.

[0060] According to this embodiment, the operator can select images by clearly distinguishing between a reference examination and a comparison examination (group). This is particularly useful when the image processing is "temporal image subtraction processing" that obtains the difference in the change over time of the same subject. A typical example of using temporal image subtraction processing is when "when an image of a certain subject is captured, the difference between the subject image (current image) and an image of the same subject at some point in the past (past image) is obtained." In this case, the examination to which the current image belongs is the reference examination. In other words, the reference examination is already determined, and the task is to find a comparison examination from among the examinations to which the past images belong. In this embodiment, the image processing device 100 provides an image selection function suitable for such a case.

[0061] <Modification 1 of the second embodiment> In the second embodiment, there are two methods for designating the reference examination and the comparative examination(s): 1. by the order of designation by the operator (the first reference examination and the second and subsequent examinations are the comparative examination(s)), or 2. by the operator explicitly designating. On the other hand, the reference examination and the comparative examination(s) may be designated taking into consideration the "imaging date and time," which is one of the attribute information of the examination.

[0062] For example, in step S3000, when the number of examinations specified is two or more, the selected examination receiving unit 216 can set the examination with the most recent imaging date and time (closest to the current date and time) as the reference examination, and the other examinations as the comparative examination (group). In this way, a more suitable image selection function can be provided when the image processing is time-lapse image subtraction processing for obtaining the difference in the change over time of the same subject. As described above, a typical use example of time-lapse image subtraction processing is "taking the difference between the current image (i.e., the image with the most recent imaging date and time) and an image at any time in the past." Therefore, when multiple examinations are selected in step S3000, the examination with the most recent imaging date and time can be set as the reference examination, thereby saving the operator the trouble of explicitly specifying the reference examination.

[0063] On the other hand, when only one examination is specified, the candidate designator 212 can designate that examination as the reference examination regardless of the imaging date and time. In other words, even if an examination with a newer (future) imaging date and time than the specified examination is picked up as a search result, the examination will not be switched to the reference examination. Generally, when an operator designates only one examination, it is intended that the examination be used as the reference examination, and thus a selection is made that is more in line with the operator's intention. Of course, even when only one examination is specified, the latest examination obtained as a result of the search may be used as the reference examination.

[0064] <Modification 2 of the second embodiment> In the second embodiment and the first modified example of the second embodiment, a case has been described in which when an operator specifies a plurality of examinations, the reference examination and the comparison examination are displayed in a differentiated manner in some way. On the other hand, when multiple examinations are specified, no distinction is made as in the first embodiment, and the reference examination and comparison examination may be displayed separately only when the operator specifies one examination.

[0065] For example, if two or more examinations are specified in step S3000, the examinations to be treated are displayed in S3020 in the display format of the first embodiment (FIG. 4), without distinguishing between reference examinations and comparison examinations. On the other hand, if one examination is specified in S3000, the examinations to be treated are displayed in S3020 in the display format of the second embodiment (FIG. 5).

[0066] In this way, it is possible to provide a suitable user interface for both cases where only the reference examination has been determined and a search for a comparison examination is desired, and where a search is desired to narrow down to two images from a number of processing candidate examinations without distinguishing between reference examinations and comparison examinations.

[0067] <Third embodiment> In the first and second embodiments, the case where the information acquired in step S3000 is examination information has been described as an example. On the other hand, in the image processing device according to the present embodiment, the information acquired is not examination information but an “image”.

[0068] The configuration of the image processing device according to this embodiment is similar to that of the first and second embodiments (FIGS. 1 and 2), and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0069] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the overall processing procedure performed in this embodiment by the image processing device 100. Note that steps S6020 to S6050 are similar to steps S3020 to S3050 in FIG.

[0070] (S6000) (Get image selection information) In step S6000, the data acquisition unit 210 acquires information on the selection of image(s) by the operator via the selected examination receiving unit 216. Here, the number of images(s) selected by the operator is assumed to be an arbitrary number equal to or greater than 1. Information on the selected image(s) is temporarily stored in the RAM 103 in the image processing device 100. Note that in this step, together with the information on the selected image(s), the ID of the examination to which each image belongs is also acquired and stored in the RAM 103.

[0071] (S6010) (Determination of candidate images for processing) In step S6010, the candidate designator 212 uses the image selection information acquired in step S6000 to calculate a group of image candidates that may be the subject of image processing. The method of calculating the group of image candidates varies depending on the number of images specified in step S6000: 1 (when there is one image), 2 (when there are two or more images and all of the images belong to the same examination), and 3 (when there are two or more images and the images span two or more examinations). The method of calculating the group of image candidates will be described in detail below.

[0072] First, when the number of specified images is one, the candidate designator 212 searches the data server 200 for examinations whose attribute information, such as patient ID, modality type, and target site, matches the specified image. At this time, the examination to which the specified image belongs is excluded from the search target. Then, the candidate designator 212 picks up all images belonging to the searched examination (group) and sets them as a group of candidate images. In other words, when one medical image is selected, the candidate designator 212 corresponds to an example of a designation means that designates the selected medical image and one or more medical images obtained by a search based on the selected medical image as examinations to be candidates for image processing.

[0073] Next, if the number of specified images is two or more and all of these images belong to the same examination, the candidate designator 212 searches the data server 200 for examinations whose attribute information, such as the patient ID, modality type, and target area, matches those of the two specified images. At this time, the examination to which the specified image belongs is excluded from the search target.Then, the candidate designation unit 212 picks up all images belonging to the searched examination (group) and sets them as a group of candidate images.In other words, when multiple medical images belonging to the same examination are selected, the candidate designation unit 212 corresponds to an example of a designation means that designates the selected multiple medical images and one or multiple medical images obtained by a search based on the selected multiple medical images as examinations for image processing candidates.

[0074] Finally, when the number of specified images is two or more and the images span two or more examinations, the candidate designator 212 does not search on the data server 200, and sets the specified image group as the candidate image group as it is. Note that the case where the images span two or more examinations is, for example, when the selected image A belongs to examination A, and the selected image B belongs to examination B. In other words, the candidate designator 212 corresponds to an example of a designator that, when multiple medical images belonging to different examinations are selected, designates the selected multiple medical images as examinations for image processing candidates.

[0075] As described in the explanation of this step so far, the candidate designator 212 switches whether or not to search the data server 200 depending on whether the image(s) specified by the operator all belong to the same examination or span two or more examinations.

[0076] In this manner, the processing of the image processing device 100 is carried out.

[0077] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a suitable image selection function that reflects not only the operator's intention regarding the examination, such as "use this examination," but also the operator's intention regarding the image, such as "use this image within this examination."

[0078] <Other embodiments> Although the embodiment has been described in detail above, the present invention can be embodied as a system, an apparatus, a method, a program, a storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system consisting of a plurality of devices by distributing the functions of an image processing device, or may be applied to an apparatus consisting of a single device. In addition, the program code itself installed in a computer in order to realize the functions and processing of the present invention by the computer also realizes the present invention. The scope of the present invention also includes a computer program itself for realizing the functions and processing shown in the above-mentioned examples. In addition, the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program, and the functions of the embodiments may be realized in cooperation with an OS running on the computer based on the instructions of the program. In this case, the OS performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments are realized by the processing. Furthermore, the program read from the recording medium may be written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and part or all of the functions of the above-mentioned embodiments may be realized. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. It is also possible to combine at least two of the above-mentioned multiple modified examples. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 100 Image processing device 101 Control section 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Storage section 105 Communication Interface 106 Display control unit 110 Operation section 120 Display section 200 Data Server 210 Data Acquisition Section 212 Candidate Decision Department 214 Image Processing Unit 216 Optional Test Reception Department 218 Processing target image selection unit

Claims

1. A selection receiving means for receiving a selection of a medical image; A determination means for determining medical images to be processed based on the number of selected medical images and examination attribute information, When the number of the selected medical images is 1, the selected medical image and a search medical image obtained by searching a data server based on the selected medical image are determined as medical images to be processed; When the number of the selected medical images is two or more and the two or more selected medical images have the same examination attribute information, a group of medical images extracted from a data server based on the examination attribute information is determined as medical images to be candidates for image processing; a determining means for determining, when the number of the selected medical images is two or more and the two or more selected medical images have different examination attribute information, the selected medical images as medical images to be processed; an image processing unit for executing a predetermined image processing using the determined medical image; 13. An image processing device comprising:

2. The image processing device described in Claim 1, wherein the selection receiving unit classifies the medical images that are candidates for image processing into a reference image and a comparison image including one or more medical images to be compared with the reference image.

3. The image processing device according to claim 2, wherein the selection receiving unit designates the medical image as the reference image and the comparison image based on the imaging date and time as attribute information of the medical image of the image processing candidate.

4. The image processing device according to claim 2, wherein the selection receiving unit designates the most recent medical image in terms of imaging date and time as the reference image among the medical images that are candidates for image processing.

5. The image processing device described in Claim 2, wherein the image processing means performs at least one of differential processing, pasting processing, alignment processing, and fusion processing as the specified image processing between the reference image and the comparison image.

6. An image processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determination means determines the selected medical images as medical images for image processing candidates without performing a search on the data server when the number of selected medical images is two or more and the two or more selected medical images have different examination attribute information.

7. An image processing device described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the examination corresponds to a DICOM study.

8. An image processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the selection receiving means accepts a selection of the multiple medical images corresponding to the same subject, and the determination means determines the medical image as the image processing candidate corresponding to the same subject.

9. An image processing device described in any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising an interface for communicating with the data server.

10. a selection receiving step of receiving a selection of a medical image; A determination step of determining medical images to be processed based on the number of selected medical images and examination attribute information, When the number of the selected medical images is 1, the selected medical image and a search medical image obtained by searching a data server based on the selected medical image are determined as medical images to be processed; When the number of the selected medical images is two or more and the two or more selected medical images have the same examination attribute information, a group of medical images extracted from the data server based on the examination attribute information is determined as medical images to be candidates for image processing; a determining step of determining the selected medical images as medical images to be processed when the number of the selected medical images is two or more and the selected two or more medical images have different examination attribute information; an image processing step of executing a predetermined image processing using the medical images of the determined image processing candidates; A method for controlling an image processing device having the above-mentioned components.

11. The control method for an image processing device described in Claim 10, wherein the selection reception process classifies the medical images that are candidates for image processing into a reference image and a comparison image including one or more medical images to be compared with the reference image.

12. The control method of an image processing device described in Claim 11, wherein the selection reception process specifies the reference image and the comparison image based on the imaging date and time as attribute information of the medical image of the image processing candidate.

13. The control method for an image processing device according to claim 11, wherein the selection receiving step designates the most recent medical image, in terms of imaging date and time, as the reference image among the medical images that are candidates for image processing.

14. A control method for an image processing device described in any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the image processing process executes at least one of differential processing, pasting processing, alignment processing, and fusion processing as the specified image processing between the reference image and the comparison image.

15. A control method for an image processing device described in any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the determination step, when the number of selected medical images is two or more and the two or more selected medical images have different examination attribute information, determines the selected medical images as medical images for image processing candidates without performing a search on the data server.

16. A method for controlling an image processing device according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the examination corresponds to a DICOM study.

17. A control method for an image processing device described in any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein the selection receiving means accepts a selection of the multiple medical images corresponding to the same subject, and the determination means determines the medical image as the image processing candidate corresponding to the same subject.

18. The control method for an image processing device according to claim 10, wherein the determination step causes the data server to execute a search via a specified interface.

19. A program for executing, on a computer, each step of the method for controlling an image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 18.

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