Image processing apparatus, magnetic resonance imaging apparatus and image processing method

• US 10,459,057 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2015
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nitta, Shuhei, Shiodera, Taichiro, Takeguchi, Tomoyuki, Yui, Masao, Sugiura, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Koval, Melissa J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fetzner, Tiffany A
• Application Number:
  US14/820,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20150338489A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 324300-322, 600407-435, 382128-131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0042 for the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14507 specially adapted for measuring characteristics of body fluids other than blood devices for taking samples of body liquids A61B10/0045
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/704 Tables
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7292 Prospective gating, i.e. predicting the occurrence of a physiological event for use as a synchronisation signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/543 Control of the operation of the MR system, e.g. setting of acquisition parameters prior to or during MR data acquisition, dynamic shimming, use of one or more scout images for scan plane prescription G01R33/546 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5608 Data processing and visualization specially adapted for MR, e.g. for feature analysis and pattern recognition on the basis of measured MR data, segmentation of measured MR data, edge contour detection on the basis of measured MR data, for enhancing measured MR data in terms of signal-to-noise ratio by means of noise filtering or apodization, for enhancing measured MR data in terms of resolution by means for deblurring, windowing, zero filling, or generation of gray-scaled images, colour-coded images or images displaying vectors instead of pixels image data processing or generation, in general G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/56333 Involving spatial modulation of the magnetization within an imaged region, e.g. spatial modulation of magnetization [SPAMM] tagging perfusion imaging based on arterial spin tagging G01R33/56366
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5635 Angiography, e.g. contrast-enhanced angiography [CE-MRA] or time-of-flight angiography [TOF-MRA]

Abstract

An image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to detect a region of body fluid flowing in a subject from time-series images acquired by scanning an imaging area including a tagged region to which a tagging pulse is applied and imaging the imaging area; generate a plurality of display images in which the detected body fluid region is displayed in a display mode determined based on a positional relation between the body fluid region and a boundary line, the boundary line determined based on the tagged region; and output time-series display images including the plurality of display images to be displayed on a display.

Claims

1. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) processing apparatus comprising:

MRI processing circuitry configured to

detect a region of body fluid flowing in a subject and said region having been tagged from a time-series of MR images acquired by MRI scanning an imaging area including a tagged region to which a tagging pulse is applied and MR imaging the imaging area;

generate a plurality of display MR images in which the detected region of the tagged body fluid is maintained upon a display and remains displayed in different display modes according to a positional relation between the region of the tagged body fluid and a boundary line set in the tagged region; and

output a time-series of display MR images including the generated plurality of display MR images being displayed on the display.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to compare regions each detected as a region of the body fluid between the time-series MR images and apply a predetermined display mode to a difference of the MR images between the compared regions.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to determine a region that has been detected as a region of the tagged body fluid in a past MR image and is not detected as a region of the tagged body fluid in a target MR image, and apply a predetermined display mode to the determined region.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to generate, as the plurality of display MR images, MR images in which information of the tagged region is overlaid on each MR image.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to change density of the tagged region overlaid on each MR image based on time phases in a time-series.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tagged body fluid is cerebrospinal fluid.

2. Magnetic resonance image (MRI) processing apparatus comprising:

MRI processing circuitry configured to

detect a region of body fluid flowing in a subject and said region having been tagged from a time-series of MR images acquired by MRI scanning an imaging area including a tagged region to which a tagging pulse is applied and MR imaging the imaging area;

generate a plurality of display MR images in which the detected region of the tagged body fluid is maintained upon a display and remains displayed in different display modes according to whether the region of the tagged body fluid is inside or outside of the tagged region; and

output a time-series of display MR images including the generated plurality of display MR images being displayed on the display.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to acquire positional information of the tagged region from MR imaging conditions.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to generate, as the plurality of display MR images, MR images in which the region of the tagged body fluid is overlaid on each MR image with color-coding based on whether the region of the tagged body fluid is inside or outside of the tagged region.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to generate, as the plurality of display MR images, MR images in which the region of the tagged body fluid is overlaid on each MR image with color-coding based on whether the region of the tagged body fluid is inside or outside of the tagged region and depending on a signal value in the region of the tagged body fluid.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the MRI processing circuitry is configured to apply the color-coding according to a color correspondence table that defines a corresponding relation between an MR signal value and a color and that has different ranges depending on time phases in a time-series.

12. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) apparatus comprising:

an MRI system configured to collect a time-series of magnetic resonance (MR) images acquired by applying a tagged pulse to a tagged region in an imaging area and imaging the imaging area;

a display; and

MRI processing circuitry configured to

detect a region of body fluid flowing in a subject and said region having been tagged from the time-series of MR images;

generate a plurality of display MR images in which the detected region of the tagged body fluid is maintained upon a display and remains displayed in different display modes according to a positional relation between the region of the tagged body fluid and a boundary line, set in the tagged region; and

output a time-series of display MR images including the generated plurality of display MR images being displayed on the display.

13. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) processing method comprising:

detecting a region of body fluid flowing in a subject and said region having been tagged from a time-series of MR images acquired by MRI scanning an imaging area including a tagged region to which a tagging pulse is applied and MR imaging the imaging area;

generate a plurality of display MR images in which the detected region of the tagged body fluid is maintained upon a display and remains displayed in different display modes according to a positional relation between the region of the tagged body fluid and a boundary line, set in the tagged region; and

outputting a time-series of display MR images including the generated plurality of display MR images being displayed on the display.

14. A magnetic resonance image (MRI) processing apparatus comprising:

an MRI processor; and

a memory that stores processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the MRI processor, cause the MRI processor to;

detect a region of body fluid flowing in a subject and said region having been tagged from a time-series of images acquired by MRI scanning an imaging area including a tagged region to which a tagging pulse is applied and MR imaging the imaging area;

generate a plurality of display MR images in which the detected region of the tagged body fluid is maintained upon a display and remains displayed in different display modes according to a positional relation between the region of the tagged body fluid and a boundary line, set in the tagged region; and

output a time-series of display MR images including the generated plurality of display MR images being displayed on the display.