Image processing device, computer storage medium, and method for detecting and displaying nucleated target cells

• US 9,858,662 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2015
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ozaki, Ryota, Kato, Noriji, Oda, Hideto, Kumazawa, Yukio
• Primary Examiner(s): Conner, Sean
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, PINALBEN V
• Application Number:
  US14/826,825
• Publication Number:
  US 20150356731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 15/1433 using image recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/367 providing an output produced by processing a plurality of individual source images, e.g. image tiling, montage, composite images, depth sectioning, image comparison
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/08 Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10056 Microscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20076 Probabilistic image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30024 Cell structures in vitro; Tissue sections in vitro
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/41 Medical
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/507 Summing image-intensity values; Histogram projection analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/695 Preprocessing, e.g. image segmentation

Abstract

A device comprises: a nucleus-candidate-region extracting section that extracts, from a captured image obtained by image-capturing a sample piece including a target cell having a nucleus, a nucleus candidate region corresponding to the nucleus; a basic-probability-information acquiring section that acquires, for each of a plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the nucleus candidate region extracted by the nucleus-candidate-region extracting section, basic probability information indicating probability that an image in the determination subject region is an image of the target cell, on the basis of a feature amount of the image of the determination subject region; and a probability-information calculating section that calculates probability information indicating probability that an image in a display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, on the basis of the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination subject regions.

Claims

1. An image processing device comprising

a nucleus-candidate-region extracting unit that extracts, from a captured image obtained by image-capturing a sample piece including a target cell having a nucleus, a nucleus candidate region corresponding to the nucleus;

a basic-probability-information acquiring section that acquires, for each of a plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the nucleus candidate region extracted by the nucleus-candidate-region extracting unit, basic probability information indicating probability that an image in the determination subject region is an image of the target cell, on the basis of a feature amount of the image of the determination subject region; and

a probability-information calculating section that calculates probability information indicating probability that an image in a display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, on the basis of the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination subject regions,

wherein the probability-information calculating section

calculates, as the probability information indicating the probability that the image in the display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, an increasing function value that uses the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination regions as a variable, or an increasing function value that uses the basic probability information acquired for any of the plurality of determination regions and the number of the plurality of determination subject regions as variables.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the basic-probability-information acquiring section

acquires, for each nucleus candidate region extracted by the nucleus-candidate-region extracting unit, the basic probability information for each of the plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the nucleus candidate region,

wherein the probability-information calculating section

calculates, for each nucleus candidate region extracted by the nucleus-candidate-region extracting unit, the probability information indicating the probability that the image in the display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, and

wherein the image processing device further includes

a display section that displays an image of each display subject region in a descending order of the probability indicated by the probability information.

3. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the basic-probability-information acquiring section

acquires a value obtained by inputting a feature amount of the image of the determination subject region to an identifier generated by a learning algorithm, as the basic probability information indicating the probability that the image in the determination subject region is the image of the target cell.

4. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a setting unit that sets a display target region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region, on the basis of a plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the nucleus candidate region.

5. The image processing device according to claim 4,

wherein the setting unit

sets a determination subject region from which basic probability information having maximum probability among the plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the nucleus candidate region, as a display target region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region.

6. The image processing device according to claim 1,

wherein the probability-information calculating section

calculates a sum of the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination subject regions, as the probability information indicating the probability that the image in the display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell.

7. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process, the process comprising:

extracting, from a captured image obtained by image-capturing a sample piece including a target cell having a nucleus, a nucleus candidate region corresponding to the nucleus;

acquiring, for each of a plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the extracted nucleus candidate region, basic probability information indicating probability that an image in the determination subject region is an image of the target cell, on the basis of a feature amount of the image of the determination subject region; and

calculating probability information indicating probability that an image in a display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, on the basis of the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination subject regions,

wherein

the calculating calculates, as the probability information indicating the probability that the image in the display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, an increasing function value that uses the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination regions as a variable, or an increasing function value that uses the basic probability information acquired for any of the plurality of determination regions and the number of the plurality of determination subject regions as variables.

8. An image processing method comprising:

extracting, from a captured image obtained by image-capturing a sample piece including a target cell having a nucleus, a nucleus candidate region corresponding to the nucleus;

acquiring, for each of a plurality of determination subject regions determined on the basis of the extracted nucleus candidate region, basic probability information indicating probability that an image in the determination subject region is an image of the target cell, on the basis of a feature amount of the image of the determination subject region; and

calculating probability information indicating probability that an image in a display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, on the basis of the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination subject regions,

wherein

the calculating calculates, as the probability information indicating the probability that the image in the display subject region corresponding to the nucleus candidate region is the image of the target cell, an increasing function value that uses the basic probability information acquired for each of the plurality of determination regions as a variable, or an increasing function value that uses the basic probability information acquired for any of the plurality of determination regions and the number of the plurality of determination subject regions as variables.