IMAGE AREA SPECIFICATION DEVICE AND METHOD, AND X-RAY IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE AND METHOD

• US 20160171691A1
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Published: 06/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: NAKAMURA, Keigo, TAKAHASHI, Tomoyuki
• Granted Patent: US 10,083,503 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/505 for diagnosis of bone
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5211 involving processing of medical diagnostic data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10116 X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20008 Globally adaptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30008 Bone
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/92 based on global image properties
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

A partial region extraction unit extracts a partial region including a distal portion in the vicinity of a boundary between a subject region including the distal portion and a void region from a radiological image including the distal portion of the human body. A designation region determination unit determines at least one of the void region and the partial region as a designation region for designating the partial region.

Claims

1. An image region designation device that designates a region in a radiological image including a distal portion of a human body, comprising:

a partial region extraction unit for extracting a partial region including the distal portion in the vicinity of a boundary between a subject region including the distal portion and a void region from the radiological image; and

a designation region determination unit for determining at least one of the void region and the partial region as a designation region for designating the partial region.

2. The image region designation device according to claim 1,

wherein the designation region determination unit determines the void region and the partial region as the designation region.

3. The image region designation device according to claim 1,

wherein the designation region determination unit determines the void region as the designation region.

4. The image region designation device according to claim 1,

wherein the partial region extraction unit includes:

a first extraction unit for extracting at least one of the subject region and the void region from the radiological image; and

a second extraction unit for extracting the partial region on the basis of at least one of the subject region and the void region.

5. A radiological image processing device comprising:

the image region designation device according to claim 1;

an input unit for receiving the designation region;

a feature amount calculation unit for calculating a feature amount which is concentration of the radiological image on the basis of the partial region when the designation region is designated;

a target concentration calculation unit for calculating a target concentration which is converted from the feature amount; and

an image processing unit for performing image processing including a gradation process for the radiological image such that the feature amount is the target concentration.

6. The radiological image processing device according to claim 3, further comprising:

an anatomic region extraction unit for extracting a bone part region or a soft part region included in the radiological image as an anatomic region from the partial region,

wherein the feature amount calculation unit calculates the feature amount on the basis of the bone part region or the soft part region.

7. The radiological image processing device according to claim 3,

wherein the target concentration calculation unit calculates the target concentration on the basis of the radiological image.

8. An image region designation method that designates a region in a radiological image including a distal portion of a human body, the method comprising:

extracting a partial region including the distal portion in the vicinity of a boundary between a subject region including the distal portion and a void region from the radiological image; and

determining at least one of the void region and the partial region as a designation region for designating the partial region.

9. A radiological image processing method comprising:

receiving the designation region determined by the image region designation method according to claim 8;

calculating a feature amount which is concentration of the radiological image on the basis of the partial region when the designation region is designated;

calculating a target concentration which is converted from the feature amount; and

performing image processing including a gradation process for the radiological image such that the feature amount is the target concentration.

11. A non transitory recording medium having a program recorded therein that causes a computer to execute a radiological image processing method, the program comprising the procedures of

receiving the designation region determined by the image region designation method according to claim 8;

calculating a feature amount which is concentration of the radiological image on the basis of the partial region when the designation region is designated;

calculating a target concentration which is converted from the feature amount; and

performing image processing including a gradation process for the radiological image such that the feature amount is the target concentration.

10. A non transitory recording medium having a program recorded therein that causes a computer to execute an image region designation method that designates a region in a radiological image including a distal portion of a human body recorded therein, the program comprising the procedures of:

extracting a partial region including the distal portion in the vicinity of a boundary between a subject region including the distal portion and a void region from the radiological image; and

determining at least one of the void region and the partial region as a designation region for designating the partial region.