Object information acquiring apparatus

• US 9,339,254 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2014
• Issued: 05/17/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Wanda, Koichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): WINAKUR, ERIC FRANK
• Application Number:
  US14/150,897
• Publication Number:
  US 20140196544A1
• Time in Patent Office: 859 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0095 by applying light and detecting acoustic waves, i.e. photoacoustic measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14542 for measuring blood gases A61B5/14551 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4312 Breast evaluation or disorder diagnosis A61B5/0091 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0825 for diagnosis of the breast, e.g. mammography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/403 using compression means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4416 related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities, e.g. combination of ultrasound and X-ray acquisitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5261 combining images from different diagnostic modalities, e.g. ultrasound and X-ray

Abstract

An object information acquiring apparatus disclosed by this specification includes a detector configured to detect a photoacoustic wave generated from an object on which light is irradiated from a light source, a generator configured to generate, using the photoacoustic wave, an image indicating characteristic information in a photographing region in the object, an acquirer configured to acquire information concerning quantitativity of a measurement value of the photoacoustic wave in the photographing region, and an extractor configured to extract a region having quantitativity in the image on the basis of the information concerning quantitativity.

Claims

1. An object information acquiring apparatus comprising:

a holding unit configured to hold an object;

a detector configured to output a signal by detecting a photoacoustic wave generated from the object held by the holding unit and irradiated with light from a light source, said detector having a reception region, and said reception region being disposed in contact with said holding unit;

a generator configured to generate, using the signal, image data indicating characteristic information about at least a portion in the object;

a region acquirer configured to acquire information on a region in the image where said holding unit contacts the object; and

a display information acquirer configured to cause a display unit to display display information corresponding to the image data and display information corresponding to the information on the region.

2. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

first light having a first wavelength and second light having a second wavelength are irradiated from the light source, and

said generator is configured to generate oxygen saturation as the characteristic information by using measurement values of photoacoustic waves respectively corresponding to the first light and the second light.

3. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said generator is configured to generate oxygen saturation distribution as the image data.

4. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a recording unit configured to record the information on the region in association with the image data.

5. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said recording unit is configured to record the image data as DICOM image data and the information on the region as a private tag in association with the DICOM image data.

6. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit configured to input a photographing region,

wherein said generator is configured to generate the image data in the photographing region.

7. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display information acquirer is configured to cause the display unit to display the display information corresponding to the information on the region such that the region in the image data where said holding unit contacts the object and a region in the image data where said holding unit does not contact the object are distinguishable.

8. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display information corresponding to the information on the region is a boundary line that enables identification of the region in the image data where said holding unit contacts the object.

9. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said display information acquirer is configured to cause the display unit to display the region in the image data where said holding unit contacts with object and a region in the image data where said holding unit does not contact the object in different colors.

10. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said holding unit includes two plates which sandwich the object, and

said region acquirer is configured to acquire three-dimensional regions between a region where one of said plates and the object are in contact and a region where the other of said plates and the object are in contact as the information on the region.

11. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

said holding unit includes two plates which sandwich the object, and

said region acquirer is configured to acquire a overlapped region as the information on the region, the overlapped region being a region where a first three-dimensional region and a second three dimensional region overlap each other, the first three-dimensional region being a region between a region where one of said plates and the object are in contact and the other of said plates, and the second three-dimensional region being a region between a region on said one of said plates where the light is irradiated and said other of said plates.

12. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said region acquirer is configured to acquire the region in the image data where said holding unit contacts the object using the signal.

13. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a camera configured to photograph the object,

wherein said region acquirer is configured to acquire the information on the region using an image photographed by said camera.

14. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an ultrasound probe configured to transmit an ultrasound wave to the object and receive an echo wave of the ultrasound wave to output an ultrasound signal,

wherein said region acquirer is configured to acquire the information on the region using the ultrasound signal.

15. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said ultrasound probe is configured to receive the echo wave from a portion on the object where said detector detects the photoacoustic wave.

16. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detector is movable and is configured to move and detect the photoacoustic wave from a plurality of portions of the object.

17. The object information acquiring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reception region of said detector is disposed in contact with said holding unit via an acoustic matching agent.

18. A method of displaying information on an object, comprising the steps of:

outputting a signal by detecting, with a detector, a photoacoustic wave generated from an object, the object being held with a holding unit, the object being irradiated with light from a light source, a reception region of the detector being disposed in contact with the holding unit;

generating, using the signal, image data indicating characteristic information in the object;

acquiring information on a region in the image where the holding unit contacts the object; and

displaying display information corresponding to the image data and display information corresponding to the information on the region.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process comprising the steps of:

outputting a signal by detecting, with a detector, a photoacoustic wave generated from an object, the object being held with a holding unit, the object being irradiated with light from a light source, a reception region of the detector being disposed in contact with the holding unit;

generating, using the signal, image data indicating characteristic information in the object;

acquiring information on a region in the image where the holding unit contacts the object; and

displaying display information corresponding to the image data and display information corresponding to the information on the region.