Medical image processing apparatus

• US 7,388,974 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2004
• Issued: 06/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Medical & Graphic Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Yanagita, Akiko
• Primary Examiner(s): AZARIAN, SEYED H
• Application Number:
  US10/947,461
• Publication Number:
  US 20050070783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,365 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/128, 382/129, 382/130, 382/131, 382/132, 382/133, 382/155, 382/168, 382/172, 382/181, 382/224, 382/232, 382/243, 382/260, 382/274, 382/276, 382/305, 600/425, 600/300, 715/738, 706/46, 398/109, 378/21, 378/28
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/00 Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis; Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis combined with radiation therapy equipment instruments measuring radiation intensity for application in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting, G01T1/161; apparatus for taking X-ray photographs G03B42/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4494 Means for identifying the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/461 Displaying means of special interest
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/566 involving communication between diagnostic systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/40 using histogram techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/94 based on local image properties, e.g. for local contrast enhancement
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems

Abstract

A medical image processing apparatus including: a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image; a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image; and an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus.

Claims

1. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image; and

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus, wherein the image output section comprises a plurality of output channels which correspond to a plurality of image output apparatuses;

an output channel selection section to select one channel from the plurality of output channels, to which the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information is outputted, based on the accessory information of the medical image;

a setting section to set a relation between information of the output channel and accessory information of the medical image; and

a setting content storage section to store a content which is set by the setting section,

wherein the output channel selection section reads out the setting content which is stored in the setting content storage section, and carries out a selection according to the accessory information of the medical image.

2. The processing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a setting content modification section to modify the contents which are stored in the setting content storage section.

3. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image;

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus;

an information distributing destination selection section to select an image output apparatus from the plurality of image output apparatuses as an information distributing destination of the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information, wherein the image output section outputs the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information to the selected image output apparatus;

a setting section to set a relation between information of an output apparatus of the information distributing destination and accessory information of the medical image; and

a setting content storage section to store a content which is set by the setting section,

wherein the information distributing destination selection section reads out the setting content which is stored in the setting content storage section, and carries out a selection according to the accessory information of the medical image.

4. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image;

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus;

an output format selection section to select an output format for the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the accessory information of the medical image;

an output formatting section to manipulate the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the selected output format;

a setting section to set a relation between information of an output format and accessory information of the medical image; and

a setting content storage section to store a content which is set by the setting section,

wherein the output format selection section reads out the setting content which is stored in the setting content storage section, and carries out a selection according to the accessory information of the medical image.

5. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image;

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus, wherein the image output section comprises a plurality of output channels which correspond to a plurality of image output apparatuses;

an output channel selection section to select one channel from the plurality of output channels, to which the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information is outputted, based on the accessory information of the medical image;

an image output apparatus information storage section to store information of the image output apparatus corresponding to each of the plurality of output channels; and

an output formatting section to determine an output format according to image output apparatus information which is stored in the image output apparatus information storage section and to manipulate the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the output format which has been determined.

6. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image;

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus;

an information distributing destination selection section to select an image output apparatus from the plurality of image output apparatuses as an information distributing destination of the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information, wherein the image output section outputs the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information to the selected image output apparatus;

an image output apparatus information storage section to store information of the plurality of image output apparatus; and

an output formatting section to determine an output format according to image output apparatus information which is stored in the image output apparatus information storage section and to manipulate the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the output format which has been determined.

7. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image;

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus;

an output format selection section to select an output format for the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the accessory information of the medical image;

an output formatting section to manipulate the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the selected output format;

a diagnosis aid information storage section to store diagnosis aid information generated by the diagnosis aid information generation section; and

an output instruction section to instruct an output of the diagnosis aid information,

wherein the output formatting section reads out the diagnosis aid information from the diagnosis aid information storage section according to an instruction from the output instruction section and manipulates the diagnosis aid information according to an output format, and the image output section outputs the manipulated diagnosis aid information to the image output apparatus.

8. A medical image processing apparatus, comprising:

a diagnosis aid information generation section to generate diagnosis aid information by analyzing a medical image;

a diagnosis aid information generation selection section to select whether to generate the diagnosis aid information, based on accessory information of the medical image;

an image output section to output the medical image and/or the generated diagnosis aid information to an image output apparatus;

an output format selection section to select an output format for the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the accessory information of the medical image;

an output formatting section to manipulate the medical image and/or the diagnosis aid information according to the selected output format;

a formatted output diagnosis aid information storage section to store diagnosis aid information manipulated by the output formatting section; and

an output instruction section to instruct an output of the diagnosis aid information,

wherein the image output section reads out the manipulated diagnosis aid information from the formatted output diagnosis aid information storage section according to an instruction from the output instruction section and outputs the manipulated diagnosis aid information to the image output apparatus.