Image Processing Method, Image Processing Program, and Image Processing Device

• US 20090148019A1
• Filed: 02/21/2006
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nihon Medi-Physics Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nihon Medi-Physics Company Limited
• Inventors: Hamada, Kazuo, Nishikawa, Kazuhiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,126,243 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/037 Emission tomography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10072 Tomographic images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30016 Brain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30061 Lung
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/4053 based on super-resolution, i.e. the output image resolution being higher than the sensor resolution
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/35 using statistical methods

Abstract

An image processing method is provided as one for creating a fused image automatically and with high overlapping accuracy.

An image processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes (a) a voxel normalization step of equalizing voxel sizes and numbers of voxels in respective effective fields of view of a first 3D image based on a plurality of first tomographic images obtained from an arbitrary part of a subject and a second 3D image based on a plurality of second tomographic images obtained from the same part, thereby creating a first normalized 3D image corresponding to the first 3D image and a second normalized 3D image corresponding to the second 3D image; and (b) a fused image creation step of creating a fused image, using the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image.

Claims

1. An image processing method comprising:

a voxel normalization step of equalizing voxel sizes and numbers of voxels in respective effective fields of view of a first 3D image based on a plurality of first tomographic images obtained from an arbitrary part of a subject and a second 3D image based on a plurality of second tomographic images obtained from said part, thereby creating a first normalized 3D image corresponding to the first 3D image and a second normalized 3D image corresponding to the second 3D image; and

a fused image creation step of creating a fused image, using the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image.

2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the voxel normalization step comprises creating the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image by a linear interpolation method.

3. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising a voxel shape transformation step of transforming each voxel in a first 3D original image consisting of the plurality of first tomographic images and in a second 3D original image consisting of the plurality of second tomographic images, into a voxel of a cubic shape, thereby creating the first 3D image and the second 3D image.

4. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the voxel shape transformation step comprises creating the first 3D image or the second 3D image by a linear interpolation method.

5. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the fused image creation step comprises creating the fused image by the mutual information maximization method.

6. An image processing program for letting a computer execute the following steps:

a voxel normalization step of equalizing voxel sizes and numbers of voxels in respective effective fields of view of a first 3D image based on a plurality of first tomographic images obtained from an arbitrary part of a subject and a second 3D image based on a plurality of second tomographic images obtained from said part, thereby creating a first normalized 3D image corresponding to the first 3D image and a second normalized 3D image corresponding to the second 3D image; and

a fused image creation step of creating a fused image, using the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image.

7. The image processing program according to claim 6, wherein in the voxel normalization step the computer is made to create the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image by a linear interpolation method.

8. The image processing program according to claim 6, the image processing program letting the computer further execute the following step:

a voxel shape transformation step of transforming each voxel in a first 3D original image consisting of the plurality of first tomographic images or in a second 3D original image consisting of the plurality of second tomographic images, into a voxel of a cubic shape, thereby creating the first 3D image and the second 3D image.

9. The image processing program according to claim 8, wherein in the voxel shape transformation step the computer is made to create the first 3D image or the second 3D image by a linear interpolation method.

10. The image processing program according to claim 6, wherein in the fused image creation step the computer is made to create the fused image by the mutual information maximization method.

11. An image processing apparatus comprising:

voxel normalizing means for equalizing voxel sizes and numbers of voxels in respective effective fields of view of a first 3D image based on a plurality of first tomographic images obtained from an arbitrary part of a subject and a second 3D image based on a plurality of second tomographic images obtained from said part, thereby creating a first normalized 3D image corresponding to the first 3D image and a second normalized 3D image corresponding to the second 3D image; and

fused image creating means for creating a fused image, using the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the voxel normalizing means creates the first normalized 3D image and the second normalized 3D image by a linear interpolation method.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising voxel shape transforming means for transforming each voxel in a first 3D original image consisting of the plurality of first tomographic images or in a second 3D original image consisting of the plurality of second tomographic images, into a voxel of a cubic shape, thereby creating the first 3D image and the second 3D image.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the voxel shape transforming means creates the first 3D image or the second 3D image by a linear interpolation method.

15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the fused image creating means creates the fused image by the mutual information maximization method.