# US 2014/0152661 A1 · Medical imaging apparatus and method of constructing medical images

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- Number: US 2014/0152661 A1
- Document ID: US20140152661A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/235,114
- Filed: 2012-07-25
- Published: 2014-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 2011-08-19
- Assignees: Hitachi Medical Corporation
- Inventors: Tomofumi Nishiura
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140152661A1

## CPC

- G06T 15/08: Volume rendering
- A61B 8/0866: {involving foetal diagnosis; pre-natal or peri-natal diagnosis of the baby}
- A61B 8/145: {characterised by scanning multiple planes}
- A61B 8/483: {involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data}
- A61B 90/36: {Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for}
- G06T 19/00: Manipulating three-dimensional [3D] models or images for computer graphics
- G06T 2210/41: Medical
- G06T 2219/008: Cut plane or projection plane definition
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

Apparatus and method of medical diagnostic imaging. The apparatus includes: an image unit for constructing volume image data by capturing images from a multiplicity of tomographic images of a sampling specimen and for constructing internal three dimensional images of the diagnosing object of the sampling specimen as seen from a viewing point; a display for displaying the three-dimensional images; an input unit for entering parameters for setting up a precutting plane at an inter-voxel image data boundary between voxel image data of the volume image data closer to the viewing point than the diagnosing object and voxel image data associated with the diagnosing object; and a control unit for controlling the structure of the three-dimensional images constructed by the image unit based on the precutting plane set up via the input unit, wherein the control unit extracts a boundary based on one of the parameters inputted to the input unit.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A medical imaging apparatus, comprising:
an image constructing unit for acquiring volume image data composed plural number of cross-section region image data of a diagnosing object obtained on the plural number of cross sections perpendicular to a line passing through the cross-section region images, and for constructing a three-dimensional images of a diagnosing target inside of the diagnosing object as seen from a set viewing point using the volume image data:
a display unit for displaying the cross-section region images of the diagnosing object or the three dimensional image of the diagnosing target;
an input unit for inputting parameters, including parameters for setting up a precutting plane at an inter-voxel image data boundary between the voxel image data closer to the set viewing point than the voxel image data associated with the diagnosing target of the diagnosing object and the voxel image data associated with the diagnosing target of the diagnosing object, using the cross-section region images of the diagnosing object displayed on the display unit, and
a control unit for controlling the configuration of the three dimensional image constructed by the image constructing unit on the basis of the precutting plane set via the input unit,
wherein the control unit extracts the inter-voxel image data boundary between the voxel image data based on a threshold value included in the parameters, resets the precutting plane using the extracted boundary, and controls the image constructing unit to re-construct the three dimensional image of the diagnosing target based on the basis of the reset precutting plane.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the control unit has a region discrimination unit for discriminating the three-dimensional region of the three-dimensional image consisting of voxels associated with the diagnosing target, based on the voxel image data within a predetermined voxel image data.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the region discrimination unit discriminates the voxel image data as neighboring voxels surrounding the three-dimensional region associated with the diagnosing target, on the basis of each of the voxel image data has a voxel value within a predetermined range.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 2,
wherein the control unit has a region division unit for dividing the volume image data into plural number of three-dimensional regions based on the voxel values of the plural number of voxels, and
the region discrimination unit discriminates, based on the voxel values of the respective volume image data divided by the region division unit, at least one of the three-dimensional region associated with the diagnosing target and a three-dimensional region adjacent the diagnosing target.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the region division unit divides the voxel image data into said plural number of three-dimensional regions by grouping voxel image data such that voxels of each group have voxel values within a tolerance range pertinent to the group.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the region discrimination unit discriminates at least one of the three-dimensional regions associated with the diagnosing target and the three-dimensional regions adjacent the diagnosing target, based on at least one of physical quantities including voxel image data, difference or gradient of voxel image data between two neighboring voxels, and a combination thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the control unit sets up the precutting plane between:
the shallowest boundary, as seen from the viewing point, of the three-dimensional region discriminated by the region discriminating unit, and
the deepest boundary, as seen from the viewing point, of the neighboring three-dimensional region.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the image constructing unit: constructs at least one of,
a cross sectional image taken on an arbitrary cross section of plural number of three-dimensional regions and indicating the plural number of three-dimensional regions, and
an overall three-dimensional image of the multiple three-dimensional regions, based on the volume image data divided by the region division unit, and
has a precutting plane setting screen construction unit adapted to construct a precutting plane setting screen superposed with a precut line or plane set up via the input unit,
the cross sectional image,
a boundary line or plane, shown in the overall three-dimensional image, of the divided three-dimensional regions, and
display on the display unit the precutting plane setting screen.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 8,
wherein the image constructing unit constructs, and displays on the precutting plane setting screen in different display modes, a three-dimensional region to be deleted and a three dimensional region to be left undeleted.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 8,
wherein, upon designating a three-dimensional region in contact with or adjacent to the precutting plane or line displayed on the precutting plane setting screen via the input unit, the precutting plane setting screen constructing unit moves the precutting plane in contact with the three-dimensional region towards, or away from, the viewing point.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 10,
wherein the precutting plane setting screen constructing unit selects a three-dimensional region in contact with the precutting plane on one side of the precutting plane closer to the viewing point as a candidate region to be left undeleted, and selects a three-dimensional region in contact with the precutting plane on the other side of the precutting plane with respect to the viewing point as the candidate region to be deleted, and displays these candidate regions in distinguishable display modes using different marks, colors, or representations.

### Claim 12 (depends on 4)

The medical imaging apparatus according to claim 4,
wherein the image constructing unit further constructs a three-dimensional image of the three-dimensional region that is left undeleted after the voxels on the side of the precutting plane closer to the viewing point are deleted from the precut volume image data, and displays the three-dimensional image of the undeleted region on the display unit.

### Claim 13

A method of constructing medical images, comprising:
a first step of constructing volume image data by acquiring images from plural number of cross-section region images of a diagnosing object in the direction perpendicular to the planes of the cross-section region images;
a second step of constructing three-dimensional images inside of the diagnosing target inside of the diagnosing object as seen from a set viewing point on the basis of the volume image data;
a third step of displaying the cross-section region images or the three-dimensional image of the diagnosing target inside of the diagnosing object;
a fourth step of entering parameters including precutting plane setting parameters for setting up, utilizing the cross-section region images of the diagnosing object displayed, a precutting plane at an inter-voxel image data boundary between the voxel image data of the volume voxel image data located on one side of the diagnosing target closer to the viewing point and the voxel image data belonging to the diagnosing target; and
a fifth step of controlling execution of the second step based on the precutting plane set up, the method;
wherein the fifth step further extracts the inter-voxel image data boundary on the basis of the inter-voxel-image data threshold value inputted in the fourth step, resets a precutting plane based on the inter-voxel image data boundary, and executes the second step based on the reset precutting plane.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of constructing medical images according to claim 13, the fifth step further having:
a sixth step of dividing the volume image data into plural number of three-dimensional regions based on each of said plural number of voxel image data;
a seventh step of discriminating at least one of the three-dimensional region associated with the diagnosing target and the three-dimensional regions adjacent the diagnosing target based on the voxel image data of the respective three-dimensional regions of the divided volume image data, and
an eighth step of setting up a precutting plane at a boundary either between the three-dimensional region associated with the discriminated diagnosing object and the three-dimensional regions adjacent the diagnosing target or in the three-dimensional regions adjacent the diagnosing target.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of constructing medical images according to claim 14,
wherein the sixth step divides plural number of voxels into groups of neighboring voxels such that voxels of each group have voxel image values within a tolerance range pertinent to the group.