INSECTION SIMULATION DEVICE, INSECTION SIMULATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM

Abstract

To provide an incision simulation device, an incision simulation method and a program which can reduce a load on calculation about an interior of an incision region in comparison to a case of executing calculation about the interior of the incision region followingly as the incision region gradually expands.SOLUTION: An incision simulation device comprises a processor. The processor acquires an incision line to a three-dimensional organ image indicating an organ being an incision simulation object, and specifies an incision region from the three-dimensional organ image on the basis of an incision process position between the incision line and the maximum incision region, first distance data with the incision line as reference, and second distance data with the maximum incision region designated to the three-dimensional organ image as reference.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 15

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed herein relates to an incision simulation device, an incision simulation method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a method for volume rendering digital medical images, comprising the steps of: providing a digital medical image volume, the image including a plurality of intensities on a three-dimensional grid of points; providing a projection plane, the projection plane including a two-dimensional lattice of points, onto which a rendering ray is projected from a viewpoint through the image volume, and stepping through sampling points along the ray through the image volume; creating an incision region within the image volume; determining whether the sampling point is within the incision region or not; if the sampling point is within the incision region, using a first transfer function on sample values ​​interpolated from a first volume, and if the sampling point is outside the incision region, using a second transfer function on sample values ​​interpolated from a second volume, and accumulating outputs of the transfer functions.

[0003] Patent document 2 discloses a surgical support device comprising an image generation means for generating an image showing an organ for which a resection area has been identified in a manner in which the vascular area in the organ is visible from a three-dimensional image of the organ, a depth input receiving means for receiving an input specifying a cutting depth, and a cutting plane setting means for setting the cutting plane to the portion of the boundary surface between the resection area in the organ and a non-resection area, which is an area other than the resection area, within a range of a specified cutting depth along the boundary surface from the outer edge inward, and wherein the image generation means generates an image from the three-dimensional image showing the organ in a manner in which only the partial vascular area present within the area near the cutting plane of the vascular area in the organ is visible.

[0004] Patent Document 3 discloses a method for providing surgical support through medical images of a subject displayed on a display, characterized in that an image simulating a double-page spread state of the cut surface made by a surgical instrument is created from three-dimensional image data of the subject and displayed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-222629 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2014-018619 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2008-167793 A Summary of the Invention

[0006] In one embodiment of the technology of the present disclosure, as the incision area is gradually enlarged, Blank areas caused by incisions The present invention provides an incision simulation device, an incision simulation method, and a program that can reduce the load on calculations related to the incision area compared to a case where calculations related to the incision area are executed sequentially. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A first aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an incision simulation device that includes a processor, which obtains an incision line for a three-dimensional organ image showing an organ that is the subject of an incision simulation, and identifies an incision area from the three-dimensional organ image based on an incision process position between the incision line and a maximum incision area, first distance data based on the incision line, and second distance data based on a maximum incision area specified for the three-dimensional organ image.

[0008] A second aspect of the technology disclosed herein is an incision simulation method that includes obtaining an incision line for a three-dimensional organ image showing an organ that is the subject of the incision simulation, and identifying the incision area from the three-dimensional organ image based on the incision process position between the incision line and a maximum incision area, first distance data based on the incision line, and second distance data based on a maximum incision area specified for the three-dimensional organ image.

[0009] A third aspect of the technology disclosed herein is a program for causing a computer to execute processing including obtaining an incision line for a three-dimensional organ image showing an organ that is the subject of an incision simulation, and identifying an incision area from the three-dimensional organ image based on the incision process position between the incision line and a maximum incision area, first distance data based on the incision line, and second distance data based on a maximum incision area specified for the three-dimensional organ image. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of a medical service support device. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of an electrical system of the medical service support device. FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of main functions of an image processing device included in the medical service support device. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of processing content of an extraction unit. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing contents of a rendering unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how rendering is performed on a three-dimensional organ image. [Figure 7] 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a manner in which an incision area set on a three-dimensional organ image changes. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how an incision line is set. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how the incision depth is set. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how the incision width is set. [Figure 11] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of processing contents of an incision parameter acquisition unit, an incision maximum amount calculation unit, and a maximum incision region identification unit. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of how a dissection process position is set. [Figure 13] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a process for generating first distance data. FIG. [Figure 14] 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a process for generating second distance data. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a process for identifying an incision area from a three-dimensional organ image. [Figure 16] 11 is a screen diagram showing an example of a manner in which a rendering image including an incision region rendering image is displayed on a display. [Figure 17] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an incision simulation process. [Figure 18] 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a schematic configuration of a medical service support system. [Figure 19] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a manner in which an image generation and output processing program stored in a storage medium is installed in an image processing apparatus; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An example of an embodiment of an incision simulation device, an incision simulation method, and a program according to the technology of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0012] 1, a medical service support device 10 includes an image processing device 12, a reception device 14, and a display 16, and is used by a user 18. Here, examples of the user 18 include doctors and engineers.

[0013] The reception device 14 is connected to the image processing device 12. The reception device 14 has a keyboard 20, a mouse 22, etc., and receives instructions from a user 18. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the keyboard 20 and the mouse 22 are shown as the reception device 14, but this is merely an example, and a touch panel and / or a tablet, etc. may be used instead of the keyboard 20 and / or the mouse 22, or together with the keyboard 20 and / or the mouse 22. At least one of the keyboard 20, the mouse 22, a touch panel or tablet that receives a proximity input, a voice input device that receives a voice input, a photographing device that receives a gesture input, and a sensor may be used as the reception device 14. The connection between the reception device 14 and the image processing device 12 may be wired or wireless.

[0014] A display 16 is connected to the image processing device 12. Examples of the display 16 include an EL (Electro-Luminescence) display and a liquid crystal display. The display 16 displays various information (e.g., images and characters) under the control of the image processing device 12.

[0015] As an example, as shown in FIG. 2, a medical service support device 10 includes an image processing device 12, a reception device 14, and a display 16, as well as a communication I / F (Interface) 30, an external I / F 32, and a bus .

[0016] The image processing device 12 is an example of an “incision simulation device” and a “computer” according to the techniques of the present disclosure, and includes a processor 24, a storage 26, and a RAM (Random access memory) 28. The processor 24, the storage 26, the RAM 28, the communication I / F 30, and the external I / F 32 are connected to a bus 34.

[0017] A memory is connected to the processor 24. The memory includes a storage 26 and a RAM 28. The processor 24 has, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processing unit (GPU). The GPU operates under the control of the CPU and is responsible for executing image-related processing. The image-related processing includes, for example, an incision simulation process (see FIGS. 3 and 17) described below.

[0018] The storage 26 is a non-volatile storage device that stores various programs, various parameters, etc. Examples of the storage 26 include a hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid state drive (SSD). Note that the HDD and the SSD are merely examples, and at least one of the HDD, the SSD, the flash memory, the magnetoresistive memory, and the ferroelectric memory may be used as the storage 26.

[0019] The RAM 28 is a memory that temporarily stores information, and is used as a work memory by the processor 24. The RAM 28 may be, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random access memory (SRAM).

[0020] The communication I / F 30 is connected to a network (not shown). The network may be, for example, at least one of a LAN (Local Area Network) and a WAN (Wide Area Network). An external device (not shown) and the like are connected to the network, and the communication I / F 30 controls the transmission and reception of information between the external communication device and the network. The external communication device may include, for example, at least one of an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) device, a personal computer, and a smart device. For example, the communication I / F 30 transmits information in response to a request from the processor 24 to the external communication device via the network. In addition, the communication I / F 30 receives information transmitted from the external communication device and outputs the received information to the processor 24 via the bus 34.

[0021] The external I / F 32 controls the transmission and reception of various information between the medical service support device 10 and an external device (not shown) that exists outside the medical service support device 10. The external device may be, for example, at least one of a smart device, a personal computer, a server, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, a memory card, a printer, and the like. An example of the external I / F 32 is a USB interface. The external device is directly or indirectly connected to the USB interface.

[0022] Incidentally, before surgery to remove malignant tumors such as lung cancer and / or liver cancer from organs, the safety of the surgery is increased by determining and planning the resection area before the surgery using a plurality of two-dimensional slice images obtained by imaging the patient as a subject using modalities such as a CT (Computed Tomography) device and / or an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) device.

[0023] However, in reality, surgery is performed by gradually incising the resection area from the planned incision line, but when simulating the situation of partially incising and opening, many surgical simulations are performed using a surface model that uses a standard patient model. In a surgical simulation using a surface model, when multiple 2D slice images of an actual patient are used, it is necessary to extract organ images showing organs from the multiple 2D slice images to create a 3D image. There are problems with extracting organ images and creating a 3D organ image, such as the problem that it is very time-consuming, and the problem that if multiple 2D slice images are used as is, the volume data needs to be deformed, which increases calculation costs.

[0024] The former issue can be minimised by automating the extraction of organ images using the aforementioned surgical planning software, but the latter issue requires technology to reduce calculation costs as much as possible.

[0025] A technique for reducing computational costs is known that performs volume rendering (hereafter referred to as "rendering") without transforming 3D organ images, which are volume data, and takes the transformation into consideration (see "Real-time Volume Graphics", Nakao, MEDIACAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY Vol.25, No.3, May 2007). However, when simulating incision, it is not enough to simply transform the image; it is also necessary to represent empty space at the incision. A method for representing empty space has also been proposed (see "Visualization of Organ Resection Process for Supporting Liver Resection", Oda, Master's Thesis, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, NAIST-IS-MT1051024, 2012). However, this method requires computational costs because empty space must be calculated each time the image is gradually incised.

[0026] In this embodiment, in order to reduce the calculation cost when simulating the incision process and perform the incision simulation more smoothly, the processor 24 performs the incision simulation process as shown in FIG. 3 as an example. The storage 26 stores an incision simulation process program 36. The processor 24 reads the incision simulation process program 36 from the storage 26 and executes the read incision simulation process program 36 on the RAM 28 to perform the incision simulation process. The incision simulation process is realized by the processor 24 operating as an extraction unit 24A, a rendering unit 24B, a control unit 24C, an incision parameter acquisition unit 24D, a maximum incision amount calculation unit 24E, a maximum incision area specification unit 24F, and an incision area specification unit 24G. The incision simulation process program 36 is an example of a "program" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0027] As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, the storage 26 stores a three-dimensional image 38. The three-dimensional image 38 is an image obtained by stacking a plurality of two-dimensional slice images 40 obtained by imaging a patient using a modality and dividing the images into voxels V. An example of the modality is a CT device. The CT device is merely one example, and other examples of the modality are an MRI device, an ultrasound diagnostic device, and the like. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a two-dimensional slice image of a coronal plane is shown as the two-dimensional slice image 40, but this is not limited thereto, and the image may be a two-dimensional slice image of a transverse plane or a two-dimensional slice image of a sagittal plane. The positions of all the voxels V that define the three-dimensional image are specified by three-dimensional coordinates. Each voxel V is assigned with opacity, color information of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), brightness, and the like (hereinafter, these are also referred to as "voxel data").

[0028] The extraction unit 24A acquires the three-dimensional image 38 from the storage 26, and extracts the three-dimensional organ image 42 from the acquired three-dimensional image 38. The three-dimensional organ image 42 is a three-dimensional image showing an organ. For example, the three-dimensional image 38 includes a plurality of three-dimensional organ images 42, and each three-dimensional organ image 42 is assigned a unique identifier. The three-dimensional organ image 42 is extracted from the three-dimensional image 38 according to an instruction accepted by the reception device 14. For example, the extraction unit 24A extracts the three-dimensional organ image 42 corresponding to the identifier accepted by the reception device 14 from the three-dimensional image 38. In the example shown in FIG. 4, an image showing a liver is shown as an example of the three-dimensional organ image 42.

[0029] Note that, although an image showing the liver is shown here as an example of the 3D organ image 42, this is merely an example and images showing other organs such as the heart and / or lungs may also be used. Moreover, the method of extracting the 3D organ image 42 using a unique identifier is merely an example, and it is sufficient that the extraction unit 24A extracts the 3D organ image 42 specified in some way by the user 18 via the reception device 14.

[0030] The rendering unit 24B performs ray casting to render the three-dimensional organ image 42 onto a projection plane 44 corresponding to the screen of the display 16. A rendering image 46 is projected onto the projection plane 44.

[0031] The projection surface 44 is a virtual plane defined by a resolution equivalent to the resolution of the screen of the display 16, for example. By performing ray casting by the rendering unit 24B, virtual rays 50 are projected onto the projection surface 44 from each viewpoint 48 corresponding to each pixel (i.e., pixel) of the projection surface 44 through the 3D organ image 42. The position of each viewpoint 48 with respect to the 3D organ image 42 is changed, for example, according to an instruction received by the reception device 14, and thus a rendering image 46 obtained when the 3D organ image 42 is observed from various directions is projected onto the projection surface 44. The rendering image 46 projected onto the projection surface 44 is displayed on the display 16, for example, or stored in a predetermined storage device (for example, the storage 26, etc.).

[0032] As an example, as shown in Fig. 6, while a light ray 50 passes through a three-dimensional organ image 42, it projects data (hereinafter also referred to as "accumulated data") obtained by accumulating voxel data obtained at sampling points (e.g., points defined at one voxel intervals) up to a specified voxel, i.e., a voxel V at a specified position, onto a projection plane 44. As a result, the accumulated data is assigned as a pixel value to each pixel on the projection plane 44. The rendering unit 24B generates a rendering image 46 according to the accumulated data assigned to each pixel.

[0033] Now, if the rendering unit 24B generates a rendering image 46 showing the state inside the incision area set for the three-dimensional organ image 42, it is necessary to calculate the blank area inside the incision area (for example, to calculate the position and size of the blank area). However, as shown in Fig. 7 as an example, when the incision area 52 set for the three-dimensional organ image 42 is changed, it is necessary to calculate the blank area 54 caused by the incision area 52 every time the incision area 52 is changed, and the load on the calculation is larger than when the blank area 54 is calculated only once. Therefore, in this embodiment, the processor 24 performs the processes shown in Figs. 8 to 16 as an example.

[0034] 8, the control unit 24C performs GUI (Graphical User Interface) control in response to an instruction received by the reception device 14, thereby causing the display 16 to display a screen 56. The control unit 24C also performs various settings in response to the instruction received by the reception device 14.

[0035] The screen 56 displays the rendered image 46 generated by the rendering unit 24B. The screen 56 includes a guidance message display area 56A. A guidance message 56A1 is displayed in the guidance message display area 56A. The guidance message 56A1 is a message that guides the user 18 to set an incision line 60 on the three-dimensional organ image 42 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) via the rendered image 46. In the example shown in FIG. 8, a message saying "Please set an incision line" is displayed as an example of the guidance message 56A1.

[0036] A pointer 58 is displayed on the screen 56. The user 18 forms an incision line 60 on the rendered image 46 by operating the pointer 58 via the reception device 14 (here, as an example, the mouse 22). In the example shown in FIG. 8, a straight line is shown as an example of the incision line 60 formed on the rendered image 46 by operating the pointer 58. The incision line 60 formed on the rendered image 46 is determined in accordance with an instruction received by the reception device 14.

[0037] When the setting of the incision line 60 is completed, as shown in Fig. 9 as an example, the control unit 24C switches the screen displayed on the display 16 from the screen 56 to a screen 62. The rendered image 46 on which the incision line 60 is drawn is displayed on the screen 62. The screen 62 also includes a depth setting box 62A. The depth setting box 62A has a guide message 62A1, an input box 62A2, and an enter key 62A3.

[0038] The guidance message 62A1 is a message for guiding the user 18 to set an incision depth 64 (hereinafter also simply referred to as "depth 64") for the three-dimensional organ image 42 (see Figs. 4 to 7). In the example shown in Fig. 9, the message "Please set the incision depth" is displayed.

[0039] The input box 62A2 is a box into which the depth 64 is input. For example, the depth 64 is input as a numerical value in millimeters into the input box 62A2. The user 18 inputs the depth 64 into the input box 62A2 via the reception device 14 (here, as an example, the keyboard 20).

[0040] The confirmation key 62A3 is a soft key that is turned on when the depth 64 inputted in the input box 62A2 is confirmed. When the depth 64 is inputted in the input box 62A2, the user 18 turns on the confirmation key 62A3 via the reception device 14 (here, as an example, the mouse 22). This confirms the depth 64 inputted in the input box 62A2.

[0041] When the setting of the depth 64 is completed, the control unit 24C switches the screen displayed on the display 16 from screen 62 to screen 66, as shown in FIG. 10 as an example. The screen 66 includes a guidance message display area 66A. A guidance message 66A1 is displayed in the guidance message display area 66A. The guidance message 66A1 is a message that guides the user 18 to set an incision width 68 for the three-dimensional organ image 42 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) via the rendering image 46. In the example shown in FIG. 10, a message saying "Please set the incision width" is displayed as an example of the guidance message 66A1.

[0042] The incision width 68 is a width based on the incision line 60. In the example shown in FIG. 10, as an example of the incision width 68, a width cut from the incision line 60 based on the center 60A of the incision line 60 is shown by a dashed line. A pointer 58 is displayed on the screen 66. The user 18 sets the incision width 68 for the rendering image 46 by operating the pointer 58 via the reception device 14 (here, as an example, the mouse 22). For example, the user 18 sets the incision width 68 by positioning the pointer 58 at the center 60A using the mouse 22 and then performing drag and drop. Specifically, the user drags the center 60A with the mouse 22, moves the pointer 58 in a direction away from the incision line 60 (in the example shown in FIG. 10, in a direction perpendicular to the incision line 60 on the screen 66) and drops it. The dropped position is set as one end of the incision width 68, and the position where one end of the incision width 68 is mirrored via the incision line 60, i.e., the position that is linearly symmetrical to one end of the incision width 68 with respect to the incision line 60, is set as the other end of the incision width 68.

[0043] Here, an example has been described in which one end of the incision width 68 is set to thereby set the other end of the incision width 68, but the method of setting the incision width 68 is not limited to this. For example, the movement trajectory obtained by moving the pointer 58 so as to cross the incision line 60 may be set as the incision width 68, or the incision width 68 may be set according to an instruction received by the keyboard 20. In addition, the incision width 68 is not limited to an instruction received by the reception device 14, and may be determined according to various conditions (for example, the type of organ), and may be any width that satisfies the conditions given to the incision target.

[0044] 11 as an example, the incision parameter acquisition unit 24D acquires the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68 accepted by the acceptance device 14. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, when there is no need to distinguish between the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68, they will also be referred to as "incision parameters" without being assigned reference symbols.

[0045] The maximum incision amount calculation unit 24E calculates the maximum incision amount 70 based on the incision line 60, depth 64, and incision width 68 received by the incision parameter acquisition unit 24D. The maximum incision amount 70 is the size of the area (e.g., the area of ​​the incision area) where the incision line 60, depth 64, and incision width 68, and therefore the 3D organ image 42 (see Figures 4 to 7), is incised. The maximum incision amount 70 is defined based on the incision line 60, depth 64, and incision width 68.

[0046] The maximum incision amount 70 is calculated by the maximum incision amount calculation unit 24E from a maximum incision amount calculation formula (not shown). The maximum incision amount calculation formula is a calculation formula in which the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68 are independent variables, and the maximum incision amount 70 is a dependent variable. Note that instead of the maximum incision amount calculation formula, the maximum incision amount 70 may be derived from a maximum incision amount table (not shown) in which the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68 are input values, and the maximum incision amount 70 is an output value.

[0047] The maximum incision area specifying unit 24F specifies the maximum incision area 72 from the three-dimensional organ image 42 (see Figs. 4 to 7) using the maximum incision amount 70 calculated by the maximum incision amount calculating unit 24E. The maximum incision area 72 refers to the area where the incision area 52 (Fig. 7) is maximized. Specifying the maximum incision area 72 means, for example, determining three-dimensional coordinates that specify the position of the area where the incision area 52 is maximized in the three-dimensional organ image 42. The three-dimensional coordinates that specify the position of the area where the incision area 52 is maximized in the three-dimensional organ image 42 are determined by calculation according to an arithmetic expression that uses, for example, the incision line 60, the depth 64, the incision width 68, and the maximum incision amount 70 as independent variables and the three-dimensional coordinates that specify the position of the outer edge of the area where the incision area 52 is maximized in the three-dimensional organ image 42 as dependent variables.

[0048] When the maximum incision region specification unit 24F finishes specifying the maximum incision region, the control unit 24C switches the screen displayed on the display 16 from the screen 66 (see FIG. 10) to a screen 74, as shown in FIG. 12 as an example. The screen 74 includes a guidance message display area 74A. A guidance message 74A1 is displayed in the guidance message display area 74A. The guidance message 74A1 is a message that guides the user 18 to set an incision process position 76A for the three-dimensional organ image 42 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) via the rendering image 46. The incision process position 76A refers to a position between the incision line 60 and the maximum incision region 72, that is, a position passed through in the incision process from the incision line 60 to the maximum incision region 72. In the example shown in FIG. 12, a message "Please set the incision process position" is displayed as an example of the guidance message 74A1.

[0049] On the screen 74, an incision width line 76 (a dashed line in the example shown in FIG. 12) that crosses the incision line 60 at the center 60A as a line that defines the incision width 68 on the rendering image 46 is displayed. The incision process position 76A is set according to an instruction received by the reception device 14. For example, when the user 18 uses the mouse 22 to place the pointer 58 at a point on the incision width line 76 and clicks, the position where the pointer 58 is placed is set as the incision process position 76A. Here, an example in which the incision process position 76A is set according to the operation of the mouse 22 has been described, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the incision process position 76A may be set by operating the keyboard 20, a touch panel, and / or a tablet terminal. In addition, the incision process position 76A may be determined according to various conditions (for example, the type of organ) without being limited to an instruction received by the reception device 14.

[0050] When the setting of the incision process position 76A is completed, as shown in Fig. 13 as an example, the incision region specifying unit 24G generates, as one-dimensional data, first single-axis distance data 78 which is distance data based on the incision line 60. The three-dimensional organ image 42 has a three-dimensional organ surface image 42A showing the surface of the organ.

[0051] Here, the distance data based on the incision line 60 as the three-dimensional data is referred to as first distance data X. The first distance data X is data indicating the distance from the organ image incision line 42B set on the three-dimensional organ surface image 42A via the rendering image 46. The organ image incision line 42B is a line set on the three-dimensional organ surface image 42A via the rendering image 46 as a line equivalent to the incision line 60.

[0052] In other words, the organ image incision line 42B corresponds to the minimum incision area determined based on the incision line 60 and the incision depth 64. The first distance data X is three-dimensional data indicating the distance from the organ image incision line 42B for each voxel V constituting the three-dimensional organ image 42A. Here, in the example shown in Fig. 13, the first distance data X in a cross section perpendicular to the plane determined by the incision line 60 and the incision depth 64 is expressed so that the closer the distance from the organ image incision line 42B, the darker the data is, and this is displayed as a first distance image 80.

[0053] The first distance image 80 corresponds to the first distance data X on the surface corresponding to the 3D organ surface image 42A. That is, the first distance image 80 is an image showing the distribution state of the first distance data X based on a line 80A corresponding to the organ image incision line 42B on the 3D organ surface image 42. Moreover, the positions in the direction intersecting the organ image incision line 42B on the first distance image 80 (hereinafter referred to as "first intersecting direction positions") and the line segments showing the distances from the organ image incision line 42B for each first intersecting direction position are shown as the first single-axis distance data 78. The positions corresponding to the organ incision line 42B are shown as "0" of the reference distance.

[0054] The first distance data X, as indicated by the first single-axis distance data 78, increases as the distance from the organ image incision line 42B increases in the direction of incision from the organ image incision line 42B (hereinafter also referred to as the "incision direction").

[0055] As an example, as shown in Figure 14, the incision area identification unit 24G generates, as one-dimensional data, second single-axis distance data 82, which is distance data based on the maximum incision area 72 specified for the three-dimensional organ image 42, i.e., the maximum incision area 72 identified by the maximum incision area identification unit 24F.

[0056] Here, the three-dimensional data, distance data based on the maximum incision region 72, is referred to as second distance data Y. The second distance data Y is data indicating the distance from the maximum incision region 72. The second distance data Y is also three-dimensional data indicating the distance from the maximum incision region 72 for each voxel V constituting the three-dimensional organ image 42A. Here, in the example shown in Fig. 14, an image in which the second distance data Y in a cross section perpendicular to the plane defined by the incision line 60 and the incision depth 64 is expressed so that the closer the distance from the incision region 72, the darker the data is, and this image is shown as a second distance image 84.

[0057] The second distance image 84 corresponds to the second distance data Y on the surface corresponding to the 3D organ surface image 42A. The second distance image 84 also shows the distance from an outer edge line 84A corresponding to the maximum incision area 72 on the 3D organ surface image 42B. In other words, the second distance image 84 is an image showing the distribution state of the second distance data Y with respect to the outer edge line 72A.

[0058] The outer edge line 72A corresponds to the outer edge line 46A1 of the incision plane 46A, which is determined according to the incision line 60 (see FIG. 8), depth 64 (see FIG. 9), and incision width 68 (see FIG. 10) set for the rendering image 46. Moreover, the positions in the direction intersecting the outer edge line 72A on the second distance image 84 (hereinafter referred to as "second intersecting direction positions") and the line segments indicating the distances from the outer edge line 72A for each second intersecting direction position are shown as second single-axis distance data 82. In the second single-axis distance data 82, the position corresponding to the maximum incision area 72 (i.e., the outer edge line 72A) is shown as a reference distance "0".

[0059] The second distance data Y, i.e., data indicating the distance from the maximum incision area 72, is data in which the inside of the maximum incision area 72 in the 3D organ image 42 is expressed by a negative value and the outside of the maximum incision area 72 in the 3D organ image 42 is expressed by a positive value. For example, the distance indicated by the second single-axis distance data 82 decreases in value as it moves inward from the outer edge line 72A in the incision direction of the 3D organ image 42, and increases in value as it moves inward from the outer edge line 72A.

[0060] 14, the reference distance is "0" at a position on the outer edge line 72A corresponding to one end of the incision width line 76 and at a position corresponding to the other end of the incision width line 76. In this case, the distance indicated by the second distance data Y increases in the negative direction as it moves away from the position on the outer edge line 72A corresponding to one end of the incision width line 76 toward the inside of the maximum incision region 72 in the incision direction of the 3D organ image 42, and increases in the positive direction as it moves away from the position on the outer edge line 72A corresponding to one end of the incision width line 76 toward the outside of the maximum incision region 72 in the incision direction of the 3D organ image 42. In addition, the distance indicated by the second distance data Y increases on the negative side as it moves away from the position corresponding to the other end of the incision width line 76 of the outer edge line 72A toward the inside of the maximum incision area 72 in the incision direction of the three-dimensional organ image 42, and increases on the positive side as it moves away from the position corresponding to the other end of the incision width line 76 of the outer edge line 72A toward the outside of the maximum incision area 72 in the incision direction of the three-dimensional organ image 42.

[0061] The incision region identifying part 24G identifies an incision region 88 (see FIG. 15) from the three-dimensional organ image 42 based on the incision process position 76A (see FIG. 12), the first distance data X, and the second distance data Y.

[0062] As an example, as shown in FIG. 15, the incision region specifying unit 24G calculates the third distance data Z as three-dimensional data based on "D(0)" indicating the first distance data X, "D(1)" indicating the second distance data Y, and "α" which is a numerical value indicating the incision process position 76A. α is a value within a range in which the position of the organ image incision line 42B is the lower limit value "0" and the position of the maximum incision region (i.e., the outer edge line 72A) (see FIG. 14) is the upper limit value "1". The third single-axis distance data 86 is data obtained by interpolating the first single-axis distance data 78 and the second single-axis distance data 82. For example, the third single-axis distance data 86 is calculated from the following formula (1). In formula (1), D(α) indicates the third single-axis distance data 86.

[0063] D(α)=(1-α)D(0)+αD(1)...(1)

[0064] The third distance data Z is data indicating the distance for each position in the incision direction. The position where the distance indicated by the third distance data Z is "0" is a position corresponding to the incision process position 76A of the incision width line 76.

[0065] The third distance data Z corresponds to three-dimensional data indicating the distance from the incision region 88 when incised at the incision process position 76A for each voxel V constituting the three-dimensional organ surface image 42A. In the example shown in Fig. 15, the third distance data Z in a cross section perpendicular to the plane defined by the incision line 60 and the incision depth 64 is expressed as a third distance image 90, which is darker the closer the distance from the incision region 88. In other words, the third distance image 90 corresponds to the third distance data Z on the surface corresponding to the three-dimensional organ surface image 42A.

[0066] Moreover, the third distance image 84 shows the distance from the outer edge line 88A of the incision region 88 on the three-dimensional organ surface image 42A. The third distance image 90 is an image showing the distribution state of the third distance data Z based on the outer edge line 90A corresponding to the incision region 88 on the three-dimensional organ surface image 42A. Moreover, the positions in the direction intersecting the outer edge line 88A on the third distance image 90 (hereinafter referred to as "third intersecting direction positions") and the line segments showing the distance from the outer edge line 88A for each third intersecting direction position are shown as the third single-axis distance data 86. In the third single-axis distance data 86, the position corresponding to the incision region 88 (i.e., the outer edge line 88A) is shown as a reference distance "0".

[0067] Moreover, the third distance data Z is data in which the distance from the incision process position 76A on the incision width line 76 to a position on the incision line 60 side is expressed as a negative value, and the distance from the incision process position 76A on the incision width line 76 to a position on the opposite side of the incision line 60 is expressed as a positive value. The distance indicated by the third distance data Z decreases in value as it moves away from the incision process position 76A to the incision line 60 side in the incision direction of the 3D organ image 42, and increases in value as it moves away from the incision process position 76A to the opposite side of the incision line 60.

[0068] The incision region identifying unit 24G identifies the incision region 88 based on the third distance data Z. Identifying the incision region 88 refers to identifying the three-dimensional coordinates of multiple voxels V (see FIGS. 6, 7, and 11) that make up the incision region 88. A line 90A in the third distance image 90 corresponds to an outer edge line 88A of the incision region 88. The position of the voxel V on the inside of the outer edge line 88A is identified from the third distance data Z on the inside of the region surrounded by the line 90A in the third distance image 90.

[0069] When the incision region 88 is specified by the incision region specifying unit 24G, the rendering unit 24B performs rendering on the incision region 88, as shown in FIG. 16 as an example. That is, the rendering unit 24B skips rendering within the maximum incision region 72, and performs rendering within the incision region 88 in accordance with the timing at which the incision region 88 is specified by the incision region specifying unit 24G. As a result, incision region rendering image 46B1, which is a rendering image corresponding to the incision region 88, is generated within the incision region 46B corresponding to the position of the incision region 88 in the rendering image 46. Skipping rendering within the maximum incision region 72 means that rendering within the maximum incision region 72 is not performed.

[0070] The control unit 24C generates screen data 91 for displaying the rendering image 46 including the incision area rendering image 46B1 on the display 16, and outputs the generated screen data 91 to the display 16. Here, the screen data 91 is an example of “data” according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0071] 16, the screen data 91 is data showing a screen 92. The screen data 91 is input to the display 16 from the control unit 24C, and the screen 92 shown by the screen data 91 is displayed. The rendering image 46 including the incision area rendering image 46B1 is displayed on the screen 92.

[0072] Next, the operation of the medical service support device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0073] Fig. 17 shows an example of the flow of the incision simulation process performed by the processor 24. Note that the flow of the incision simulation process shown in Fig. 17 is an example of the "incision simulation method" according to the technique of the present disclosure.

[0074] 17, first, in step ST10, the extraction unit 24A acquires the three-dimensional image 38 from the storage 26 (see FIG. 4). After the process of step ST10 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST12.

[0075] In step ST12, the extraction unit 24A extracts a three-dimensional organ image 42 from the three-dimensional image 38 acquired in step ST10 (see FIG. 4). After the process of step ST12 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST14.

[0076] In step ST14, the rendering unit 24B performs rendering on the 3D organ image 42 extracted in step ST12 to generate a rendering image 46 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). After the process of step ST14 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST16.

[0077] In step ST16, the control unit 24C causes the rendering image 46 generated in step ST14 to be displayed on the display 16 (see FIGS. 8 to 10). After the process of step ST16 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST18.

[0078] In step ST18, the incision parameter acquisition unit 24D acquires the incision parameters (i.e., the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68) accepted by the acceptance device 14 (see FIG. 11). After the process of step T18 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST20.

[0079] In step ST20, the maximum incision amount calculation unit 24E calculates the maximum incision amount 70 based on the incision parameters acquired in step ST18 (see FIG. 11). After the process of step ST20 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST22.

[0080] In step ST22, the maximum incision area identifying unit 24F identifies the maximum incision area 72 from the 3D organ image 42 extracted in step ST12 using the maximum incision amount 79 calculated in step ST20 (see FIG. 11). After the process of step ST22 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST24.

[0081] In step ST24, the control unit 24C sets the incision process position 76A in accordance with the instruction received by the reception device 14 (see FIG. 12). After the process of step ST24 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST26.

[0082] In step ST26, the incision area specifying unit 24G generates first distance data X based on the incision line 60 included in the incision parameters acquired in step ST18 (see FIG. 13), and generates second distance data Y based on the maximum incision area 72 specified in step ST22 (see FIG. 14). After the process of step ST26 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST28.

[0083] In step ST28, the incision region identifying unit 24G identifies the incision region 88 from the 3D organ image 42 extracted in step ST12 based on the incision process position 76A set in step ST24, the first distance data X generated in step ST26, and the second distance data Y generated in step ST26 (FIGS. 14 and 15). After the process of step ST28 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST30.

[0084] In step ST30, the rendering unit 24B generates an incision region rendering image 46B1 by performing rendering on the incision region 88 specified in step ST28. After the process of step ST30 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST32.

[0085] In step ST32, the control unit 24C causes the rendering image 46 including the incision area rendering image 46B1 generated in step ST30 to be displayed on the display 16. After the process of step ST32 is executed, the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST34.

[0086] In step ST34, the incision region identification unit 24G determines whether the incision process position 76A has been changed. If the incision process position 76A has been changed in step ST34, the determination is affirmative, and the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST26. If the incision process position 76A has not been changed in step ST34, the determination is negative, and the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST36.

[0087] In step ST36, the incision region identification unit 24G determines whether or not a condition for terminating the incision simulation process (hereinafter referred to as the "termination condition") has been satisfied. One example of the termination condition is that an instruction to terminate the incision simulation process has been accepted by the acceptance device 14. In step ST36, if the termination condition has not been satisfied, the determination is negative, and the incision simulation process proceeds to step ST34. In step ST38, if the termination condition has been satisfied, the determination is positive, and the incision simulation process ends.

[0088] As described above, in the medical service support device 10, the incision area 88 is specified from the 3D organ image 42 based on the incision process position 76A, the first distance data X, and the second distance data Y. Therefore, according to this configuration, the load on the calculations related to the incision area 88 (see FIGS. 14 to 16) can be reduced compared to the case where calculations related to the incision area 52 (see FIG. 7) of the 3D organ image 42 (for example, calculations related to the blank area 54 shown in FIG. 11) are performed in a tracked manner as the incision area 52 is gradually expanded.

[0089] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, the extraction unit 24A acquires the three-dimensional image 38 from the storage 26, and extracts the three-dimensional organ image 42 from the three-dimensional image 38. Then, from the three-dimensional organ image 42 extracted by the extraction unit 24A, the incision area 88 is specified based on the incision process position 76A, the first distance data X, and the second distance data Y. Therefore, according to this configuration, the load on the calculations within the incision area 88 (see Figures 14 to 16) of the three-dimensional organ image 42 extracted from the three-dimensional image 38 can be reduced compared to the case where the calculations within the incision area 52 are executed in accordance with the gradual expansion of the incision area 52 (see Figure 7) of the three-dimensional organ image 42 extracted from the three-dimensional image 38.

[0090] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, the incision line 60 accepted by the accepting device 14 is acquired by the incision parameter acquiring unit 24D. Then, the first distance data X based on the incision line 60 is generated. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is easier to obtain the first distance data X based on the incision line 60 intended by the user 18, compared to when the incision line 60 is fixed.

[0091] In addition, in the medical service support device 10, the maximum incision area 72 is specified from the 3D organ image 42 using the maximum incision amount 70 set for the 3D organ image 42. Therefore, according to this configuration, the maximum incision area 72 can be specified with high accuracy compared to the case where the maximum incision area 72 is specified using only a value unrelated to the maximum incision amount 70.

[0092] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, the maximum incision amount 70 is defined based on the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68. Therefore, according to this configuration, the maximum incision amount 70 can be defined with high accuracy compared to a case where the maximum incision amount 70 is defined without using any of the incision line 60, the depth 64, and the incision width 68.

[0093] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, the incision width 68 accepted by the acceptance device 14 is acquired by the incision parameter acquisition unit 24D. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is easier for the user 18 to set the intended incision width 68 compared to when the incision width 68 is fixed.

[0094] Moreover, in the medical service support device 10, data indicating the distance from the organ image incision line 42B set on the 3D organ surface image 42A is used as the first distance data X. Therefore, according to this configuration, the incision area 88 can be specified with high accuracy compared to a case where the first distance data X is data completely unrelated to the data indicating the distance from the organ image incision line 42B set on the 3D organ surface image 42A.

[0095] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, data indicating the distance from the outer edge line 72A of the maximum incision area 72 is used as the second distance data Y. Therefore, according to this configuration, the incision area 88 can be specified with high accuracy compared to a case where the second distance data Y is data completely unrelated to the data indicating the distance from the outer edge line 72A of the maximum incision area 72.

[0096] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, data indicating the distance from the outer edge line 72A is used in which the inside of the maximum cut-out area 72 is expressed by a negative value and the outside of the maximum cut-out area 72 is expressed by a positive value. The inside of the maximum cut-out area 72 may be expressed by a positive value and the outside of the maximum cut-out area 72 may be expressed by a negative value. Therefore, according to this configuration, the inside and outside of the maximum cut-out area 72 can be easily identified compared to a case in which the data indicating the distance from the outer edge line 72A is always expressed by a positive value or a negative value regardless of the inside and outside of the maximum cut-out area 72.

[0097] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, the incision area 88 is specified based on data obtained by interpolating the first distance data X and the second distance data Y. Therefore, according to this configuration, it is possible to reduce the computation load required to specify the final incision area 88 (see FIGS. 14 to 16) compared to the case where the incision area 52 (see FIG. 7) is gradually expanded.

[0098] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, rendering is performed within the incision area 88 in accordance with the timing at which the incision area 88 is identified. Therefore, according to this configuration, the computation load for rendering can be reduced compared to the case where rendering is always performed within the incision area 52 in accordance with the gradual expansion of the incision area 52 (see FIG. 7).

[0099] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, the rendering image 46 including the incision area rendering image 46B1 is displayed on the display 16. Therefore, according to this configuration, the user 18 can visually grasp the state inside the incision area 88.

[0100] Furthermore, in the medical service support device 10, rendering within the maximum carved-out region 72 (see FIG. 14) is skipped. Therefore, according to this configuration, the calculation load can be reduced compared to the case where rendering calculation is performed within the maximum carved-out region 72.

[0101] In the above embodiment, an example is described in which the first distance image 80, the second distance image 84, and the third distance image 90 are generated by the incision region identifying unit 24G, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the technology of the present disclosure can be realized even if the first distance image 80, the second distance image 84, and the third distance image 90 are not generated. That is, it is sufficient that the third distance data Z is generated based on the first distance data X and the second distance data Y, and the incision region 88 is identified using the third distance data Z.

[0102] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was given in which the incision simulation processing is performed by the processor 24 of the image processing device 12 included in the medical work support device 10, but the technology disclosed herein is not limited to this, and the device that performs the incision simulation processing may be provided outside the medical work support device 10.

[0103] In this case, as shown in FIG. 18, a medical service support system 100 may be used. The medical service support system 100 includes an information processing device 101 and an external communication device 102. The information processing device 101 is a device in which the incision simulation processing program 36 is removed from the storage 26 of the image processing device 12 included in the medical service support device 10 described in the above embodiment. The external communication device 102 is, for example, a server. The server is realized by, for example, a mainframe. Although a mainframe is illustrated here, this is merely an example, and the server may be realized by cloud computing, or may be realized by network computing such as fog computing, edge computing, or grid computing. Here, a server is cited as an example of the external communication device 102, but this is merely an example, and at least one personal computer or the like may be used as the external communication device 102 instead of the server.

[0104] The external communication device 102 includes a processor 104, a storage 106, a RAM 108, and a communication I / F 110, and the processor 104, the storage 106, the RAM 108, and the communication I / F 110 are connected to each other via a bus 112. The communication I / F 110 is connected to the information processing device 101 via a network 114. The network 114 is, for example, the Internet. Note that the network 114 is not limited to the Internet, and may be a WAN and / or a LAN such as an intranet.

[0105] The storage 106 stores an incision simulation processing program 36. The processor 104 executes the incision simulation processing program 36 on the RAM 108. The processor 104 performs the above-mentioned incision simulation processing in accordance with the incision simulation processing program 36 executed on the RAM 108.

[0106] The information processing device 101 transmits a request signal to the external communication device 102 to request execution of an incision simulation process. The communication I / F 110 of the external communication device 102 receives the request signal via the network 114. The processor 104 performs an incision simulation process according to the incision simulation process program 36, and transmits the processing result to the information processing device 101 via the communication I / F 110. The information processing device 101 receives the processing result (e.g., the processing result by the incision area identification unit 24G and / or the screen data 91) transmitted from the external communication device 102 via the communication I / F 30 (see FIG. 2), and outputs the received processing result to various devices such as the display 16.

[0107] In the example shown in FIG. 18, the external communication device 102 is an example of a "dissection simulation device" according to the technology of the present disclosure, and the processor 104 is an example of a "processor" according to the technology of the present disclosure.

[0108] The incision simulation process may be distributed and performed by a plurality of devices including the information processing device 101 and the external communication device 102.

[0109] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example was given in which the processor 24 is realized by a CPU and a GPU, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the processor 24 may be a processor realized by at least one CPU, at least one GPU, at least one GPGPU (General-purpose computing on graphics processing units), and / or at least one TPU (Tensor processing unit).

[0110] In the above embodiment, an example in which the incision simulation processing program 36 is stored in the storage 26 has been described, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the incision simulation processing program 36 may be stored in a storage medium 116 such as an SSD or a USB memory. The storage medium 116 is a portable non-transitory storage medium. The incision simulation processing program 36 stored in the storage medium 116 is installed in the image processing device 12 of the medical service support device 10. The processor 24 executes the incision simulation processing in accordance with the incision simulation processing program 36.

[0111] In addition, the incision simulation processing program 36 may be stored in a storage device such as another computer or server device connected to the medical work support device 10 via a network (not shown), and the incision simulation processing program 36 may be downloaded and installed in the image processing device 12 upon request from the medical work support device 10.

[0112] It is not necessary to store the entire incision simulation processing program 36 in the storage 26 or in a storage device of another computer or server device connected to the medical service support device 10, and only a part of the incision simulation processing program 36 may be stored. Note that the storage medium 116, the storage device of another computer or server device connected to the medical service support device 10, and other external storage (e.g., a database, etc.) are positioned as memories that are directly or indirectly connected to the processor 24 and used.

[0113] In the above embodiment, the image processing device 12 is exemplified as a computer, but the technology of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and instead of a computer, a device including an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and / or a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) may be applied. Also, instead of a computer, a combination of a hardware configuration and a software configuration may be used.

[0114] As the hardware resource for executing the incision simulation process described in the above embodiment, the following various processors can be used. An example of the processor is a CPU, which is a general-purpose processor that functions as a hardware resource for executing the incision simulation process by executing software, i.e., a program. Another example of the processor is a dedicated electric circuit, which is a processor having a circuit configuration designed specifically for executing a specific process, such as an FPGA, PLD, or ASIC. Each processor has a built-in or connected memory, and each processor executes the incision simulation process by using the memory.

[0115] The hardware resource for executing the incision simulation process may be one of these various processors, or may be a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a combination of multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). Also, the hardware resource for executing the incision simulation process may be a single processor.

[0116] As an example of a configuration using one processor, first, one processor is configured by combining one or more CPUs and software, and this processor functions as a hardware resource that executes the incision simulation process. Second, there is a configuration in which a processor is used that realizes the functions of the entire system including multiple hardware resources that execute the incision simulation process in a single IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, as typified by SoC (System-on-a-chip). In this way, the incision simulation process is realized using one or more of the above various processors as hardware resources.

[0117] Furthermore, as the hardware structure of these various processors, more specifically, an electric circuit combining circuit elements such as semiconductor elements can be used. Also, the above incision simulation process is merely an example. Therefore, it goes without saying that unnecessary steps may be deleted, new steps may be added, or the processing order may be changed within the scope of the gist.

[0118] The above description and illustrations are detailed descriptions of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure, and are merely an example of the technology of the present disclosure. For example, the above description of the configuration, function, action, and effect is an example of the configuration, function, action, and effect of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure. Therefore, it goes without saying that unnecessary parts may be deleted, new elements may be added, or replacements may be made to the above description and illustrations, within the scope of the gist of the technology of the present disclosure. In addition, in order to avoid confusion and to facilitate understanding of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure, the above description and illustrations omit explanations of technical common sense that do not require explanation in order to enable the implementation of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0119] In this specification, "A and / or B" is synonymous with "at least one of A and B." In other words, "A and / or B" means that it may be only A, only B, or a combination of A and B. In addition, in this specification, the same idea as "A and / or B" is also applied when three or more things are expressed by connecting them with "and / or."

[0120] All publications, patent applications, and standards mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent application, or standard was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 10 Medical business support equipment 12 Image processing device 14 Reception equipment 16 Display 18 users 20 Keyboard 22 Mouse 24,104 processors 24A Extraction part 24B Rendering Section 24C Control Unit 24D incision parameter acquisition unit 24E Maximum opening amount calculation section 24F Maximum opening area identification section 24G Incision area identification part 26,106 Storage 28,108 RAM 30,110 Communication I / F 32 External I / F 34,112 Bus 36 Incision simulation processing program 38 3D Images 40 2D slice images 42 3D Organ Images 44 Projection plane 46 Rendered Images 46B,52,88 Incision area 46B1 Rendered image of incision area 48 Viewpoints 50 rays 54 Blank area 56,62,66,74 screen 56A, 66A, 74A Information message display area 56A1, 62A1, 66A1, 74A1 Information message 58 Pointer 60 Incision Line 60A center 62A Depth setting box 62A2 Input box 62A3 Confirm key 68 Incision width 70 Maximum opening amount 72 Maximum opening area 72A, 88A Outer edge line 76 Incision width line 76A Incision process position 78 First single axis distance data 80 First distance image 80A, 84A lines 82 Second single axis distance data 84 Second distance image 86 Third Single Axis Distance Data 90 3rd distance image 91 Screen Data 100 Medical Business Support System 101 Information processing device 102 External communication device 114 Network 116 Storage medium V Voxel X First distance data Y Second distance data Z 3rd distance data

Claims

1. A processor is provided. The processor, obtaining an incision line for a three-dimensional organ image showing an organ to be subjected to an incision simulation, the three-dimensional organ image having a three-dimensional organ surface image showing a surface of the organ; The incision area is identified from the three-dimensional organ image based on a position of an incision process between the incision line and a maximum incision area, which is an area where the incision area set for the three-dimensional organ image is maximized, first distance data based on the incision line, which is data indicating a distance from the incision line set for the three-dimensional organ surface image, and second distance data based on a maximum incision area specified for the three-dimensional organ image, which is data indicating a distance from an outer edge line of the maximum incision area. Incision simulation device.

2. The processor, acquiring a three-dimensional image including the three-dimensional organ image; Extracting the three-dimensional organ image from the three-dimensional image. The incision simulation device according to claim 1 .

3. The processor acquires the incision line accepted by the accepting device. The incision simulation device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The processor, Identifying the maximum cutout area from the three-dimensional organ image using the maximum cutout amount set for the three-dimensional organ image The incision simulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The maximum incision amount is defined based on the incision line, the incision width based on the incision line, and the incision depth set for the three-dimensional organ image. The incision simulation device according to claim 4.

6. The processor acquires the incision width accepted by the acceptance device. The incision simulation device according to claim 5 .

7. The data indicating the distance from the outer edge line expresses the inside of the maximum incision area of ​​the three-dimensional organ image with one of positive and negative values, and expresses the outside of the maximum incision area of ​​the three-dimensional organ image with the other of positive and negative values. The incision simulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The incision area is identified based on data obtained by interpolating the first distance data and the second distance data. The incision simulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The processor performs volume rendering within the incision region in accordance with the timing at which the incision region is identified. The incision simulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The processor outputs data for displaying on a display an incision region rendering image obtained by performing volume rendering within the incision region. The incision simulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The processor skips volume rendering calculations within the maximum carved out region. The incision simulation device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. Obtaining an incision line for a three-dimensional organ image showing an organ to be subjected to an incision simulation, the three-dimensional organ image having a three-dimensional organ surface image showing a surface of the organ; and Identifying an incision area from the three-dimensional organ image based on an incision process position between the incision line and a maximum incision area which is an area where the incision area set for the three-dimensional organ image is maximized, first distance data based on the incision line, which is data indicating a distance from the incision line set for the three-dimensional organ surface image, and second distance data based on a maximum incision area specified for the three-dimensional organ image, which is data indicating a distance from an outer edge line of the maximum incision area. An incision simulation method comprising:

13. On the computer, Obtaining an incision line for a three-dimensional organ image showing an organ to be subjected to an incision simulation, the three-dimensional organ image having a three-dimensional organ surface image showing a surface of the organ; and Identifying an incision area from the three-dimensional organ image based on an incision process position between the incision line and a maximum incision area which is an area where the incision area set for the three-dimensional organ image is maximized, first distance data based on the incision line, which is data indicating a distance from the incision line set for the three-dimensional organ surface image, and second distance data based on a maximum incision area specified for the three-dimensional organ image, which is data indicating a distance from an outer edge line of the maximum incision area. A program for executing a process including the above.

Images