OPHTHALMIC DIAGNOSIS SUPPORT APPARATUS AND OPHTHALMIC DIAGNOSIS SUPPORT METHOD

• US 20180070815A1
• Filed: 11/27/2017
• Published: 03/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Miyasa, Kazuhiro, Imamura, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,441,163 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0041 characterised by display arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/1005 for measuring distances inside the eye, e.g. thickness of the cornea A61B3/11 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/102 for optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/12 for looking at the eye fundus, e.g. ophthalmoscopes A61B3/13 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0037 Performing a preliminary scan, e.g. a prescan for identifying a region of interest
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10101 Optical tomography; Optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30041 Eye; Retina; Ophthalmic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/255 Detecting or recognising potential candidate objects based on visual cues, e.g. shapes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor

Abstract

Provided is an ophthalmic diagnosis support apparatus which enables an operator to easily acquire a tomographic image suitable for detailed observation of a candidate lesion without spending time and effort to search for the candidate lesion. The ophthalmic diagnosis support apparatus includes an acquiring unit for acquiring a wide-range image of a fundus, a candidate lesion detection unit for detecting the candidate lesion on the fundus by analyzing the wide-range image, a calculating unit for determining a degree of abnormality of the candidate lesion based on a result of the detection of the candidate lesion, and an acquiring position setting unit for setting an acquiring position of the tomographic image of the fundus based on the degree of abnormality of the candidate lesion.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. An apparatus comprising:

an acquiring unit configured to acquire a volume image of a retina;

a detection unit configured to detect a plurality of candidate lesions on the retina by analyzing the volume image;

a determining unit configured to determine a distribution of the plurality of candidate lesions based on a result of the detection of the plurality of candidate lesions; and

a setting unit configured to set a single line for imaging and/or displaying a tomographic image of the retina based on the distribution of the plurality of candidate lesions, the single line passing through the plurality of candidate lesions.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the setting unit sets, as a display position of the tomographic image of the retina, the single line.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the single line is a line that has a maximum number of the candidate lesions.

20. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the setting unit sets a plurality of lines of tomographic images of the retina,

wherein one of the plurality of lines is the single line, and

wherein a tomographic image of another of the plurality of lines does not intersect with the tomographic image of the single line.

21. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising an analysis unit that detects candidate lesions in the retina by analyzing the volume image.

22. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the single line is a line that passes through a macula lutea.

23. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the single line is a line that passes through a macula lutea.

24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the macula lutea is detected by using an anatomical feature that a center of the macula lutea is a dent area on a fundus.

26. A program for causing a computer to function as the apparatus according to claim 17.

27. A computer-readable medium having the program according to claim 26 stored thereon.

25. A method comprising:

acquiring a volume image;

detecting a plurality of candidate lesions on the retina by analyzing the volume image;

determining a distribution of the plurality of candidate lesions based on a result of the detecting of the plurality of candidate lesions; and

setting a single line for imaging and/or displaying a tomographic image of the retina based on the distribution of the plurality of candidate lesions, the single line passing through the plurality of candidate lesions.