X-RAY IMAGE ANALYZING SYSTEM AND PROGRAM

• US 20100111395A1
• Filed: 04/08/2008
• Published: 05/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Tamakoshi, Yasuaki
• Application Number:
  US12/595,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20100111395A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/132
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4021 involving movement of the focal spot
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4494 Means for identifying the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/469 for selecting a region of interest [ROI]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/484 involving phase contrast X-ray imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/505 for diagnosis of bone
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10116 X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30008 Bone
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

An X-ray image analyzing system, including:

an X-ray source for radiating an X-ray; an X-ray detector for detecting an X-ray image radiated onto an x-ray image detection surface, wherein phase contrast X-ray simple imaging is capable of being performed determining a trabecular bone index computing region, computing a trabecular bone index indicating a state of a trabecula from image data in the trabecular bone index computing region, determining a bone-flesh boundary index computing region by a second region determination method different from the first region determination method, and computing a bone-flesh boundary index indicating smoothness of a bone-flesh boundary from image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region.

Claims

1. An X-ray image analyzing system, comprising:

an X-ray imaging apparatus to enable phase contrast X-ray simple imaging, including;

an X-ray source for radiating an X-ray; and

an X-ray detector, having an X-ray image detection surface, for detecting an X-ray image radiated onto the X-ray image detection surface, wherein

the phase contrast X-ray simple imaging is performed under conditions that the X-ray source radiates an X-ray having an X-ray average energy of 32 Key or less and a diameter of an focused X-ray beam of 150 μ

m or less, a distance from a subject to the X-ray image detection surface is 0.2 m or more, a ratio M of a distance from the X-ray source to the X-ray image detection surface to a distance from the X-ray source to the subject is 1.5 or more, and a detection interval between pixels on the X-ray image detection surface is 100×

M (μ

m) or less, and

an image processing apparatus for, from the x-ray image obtained by the phase contrast X-ray simple imaging based on a first region determination method, determining a trabecular bone index computing region, computing a trabecular bone index indicating a state of a trabecula from image data in the trabecular bone index computing region, determining a bone-flesh boundary index computing region by a second region determination method different from the first region determination method, and computing a bone-flesh boundary index indicating smoothness of a bone-flesh boundary from image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region.

2. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus acquires an X-ray intensity profile to positions from the image data in the trabecular bone index computing region, and analyzes the X-ray intensity profile to compute the trabecular bone index.

3. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus acquires the X-ray intensity profile to the positions in each direction of two or more intersecting directions from the image data in the trabecular bone index computing region, and analyzes the X-ray intensity profile to compute the trabecular bone index.

4. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 3, wherein the image processing apparatus performs the analysis in each of the two or more intersecting directions and compares each analysis result to compute the trabecular bone index.

5. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus obtains a trabecular image number pertaining to the number of trabecular images within a predetermined range at a time of analyzing the X-ray intensity profile.

6. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus obtains a trabecular image interval pertaining to an interval of the trabecular images within the predetermined range at the time of analyzing the X-ray intensity profile.

7. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 2, wherein the image processing apparatus uses frequency analysis at the time of analyzing the X-ray intensity profile.

8. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 1, wherein

the bone-flesh boundary index computing region includes a bone portion in a neighborhood of a bone-flesh boundary in the subject, and

the image processing apparatus analyzes the X-ray intensity profile at a position of the bone portion in the neighborhood of the bone-flesh boundary to compute the bone-flesh boundary index.

9. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 1, wherein

the bone-flesh boundary index computing region includes the bone-flesh boundary in the subject to an extent of able to analyze a shape, and

the image processing apparatus acquires bone-flesh boundary shape data indicating the shape of the bone-flesh boundary from the image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region, and analyzes the bone-flesh boundary shape data to compute the bone-flesh boundary index.

10. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 9, wherein the image processing apparatus uses the frequency analysis at a time of analyzing the bone-flesh boundary shape data.

11. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 1, wherein

the bone-flesh boundary index computing region includes the bone portion in the neighborhood of the bone-flesh boundary in the subject, and

the image processing apparatus computes the bone-flesh boundary index based on information corresponding to maximum X-ray intensity of the image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region.

12. The x-ray image analyzing system according to claim 1, wherein the X-ray imaging apparatus is arranged between the X-ray source and the X-ray detector, the X-ray imaging apparatus including a subject stand supporting the subject so that the ratio M of the distance from the X-ray source to the X-ray image detection surface to the distance from the X-ray source to the subject is 1.5 or more.

13. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 12, wherein the subject stand supports a hand.

14. The X-ray image analyzing system according to claim 1, wherein the X-ray image is that of the subject of the hand or a foot.

15. A program stored in a storage medium to be performed by a computer for performing operation processing from operation source image data output from an X-ray detector of an X-ray imaging apparatus including an X-ray source and the X-ray detector, comprising the steps of:

determining a trabecular bone index computing region from an X-ray image obtained by phase contrast X-ray simple imaging based on a first region determination method;

computing a trabecular bone index indicating a state of a trabecula from image data in the trabecular bone index computing region;

determining a bone-flesh boundary index computing region by a second region determination method different from the first region determination method; and

computing a bone-flesh boundary index indicating smoothness of a bone-flesh boundary from image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region, wherein

the X-ray imaging apparatus to enable the phase contrast X-ray simple imaging, including;

an X-ray source for radiating an X-ray; and

the X-ray detector, having an X-ray image detection surface, for detecting an X-ray image radiated onto the X-ray image detection surface, wherein

the phase contrast X-ray simple imaging is performed under conditions that the X-ray source radiates an X-ray having an x-ray average energy of 32 KeV or less and a diameter of an focused X-ray beam of 150 μ

m or less, a distance from a subject to the X-ray image detection surface is 0.2 m or more, a ratio M of a distance from the X-ray source to the X-ray image detection surface to a distance of the X-ray source to the subject is 1.5 or more, and a detection interval between pixels on the X-ray image detection surface is 100×

M (μ

m) or less.

16. The program according to claim 15, wherein the program makes the computer acquire an X-ray intensity profile to positions from the image data in the trabecular bone index computing region, and analyze the X-ray intensity profile to compute the trabecular bone index.

17. The program according to claim 16, wherein the program makes the computer acquire the X-ray intensity profile to the positions of two or more intersecting directions from the image data in the trabecular bone index computing region, and analyze the X-ray intensity profile to compute the trabecular bone index.

18. The program according to claim 17, wherein the program makes the computer perform analysis in the two or more intersecting directions, and compare each analysis result to each other to compute the trabecular bone index.

19. The program according to claim 16, wherein the program makes the computer obtain a trabecular image number at a time of analyzing the X-ray intensity profile.

20. The program according to claim 16, wherein the program makes the computer obtain the trabecular image interval at the time of analyzing the X-ray intensity profile.

21. The program according to claim 16, wherein the program makes the computer use frequency analysis at the time of analyzing the X-ray intensity profile.

22. The program according to claim 15, wherein

the bone-flesh boundary index computing region includes a bone portion in a neighborhood of the bone-flesh boundary in the subject, and

the program makes the computer analyze the X-ray intensity profile to the positions of the bone portion in the neighborhood of the bone-flesh boundary to compute the bone-flesh boundary index.

23. The program according to claim 15, wherein

the bone-flesh boundary index computing region includes the bone-flesh boundary in the subject to a degree of being capable of analyzing a shape, and

the program makes the computer acquire bone-flesh boundary shape data indicating the shape of the bone-flesh boundary from the image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region, and analyze the bone-flesh boundary shape data to compute the bone-flesh boundary index.

24. The program according to claim 23, wherein the program makes the computer use the frequency analysis at a time of analyzing the bone-flesh boundary shape data.

25. The program according to claim 15, wherein

the bone-flesh boundary index computing region includes the bone portion in the neighborhood of the bone-flesh boundary in the subject, and

the program makes the computer compute the bone-flesh boundary index based on information corresponding to a maximum X-ray intensity of the image data in the bone-flesh boundary index computing region.