Image processing apparatus, image processing system and image processing method

An image processing apparatus, comprising:

• an image acquirer which obtains an original image captured by imaging a pathological specimen;
• an information acquirer which obtains finding information relating to pathological finding included in the original image for at least one type of the pathological finding;
• an image generator which generates an output image for screen display by using at least a part of the original image as a source image, the output image including a processed image obtained by superimposing visual information corresponding to the pathological finding specified by the finding information on the source image as an image element;
• and
• a receiver which receives an operation input from a user, wherein:
• the image generator sets a relative density between the source image and the visual information in the processed image according to the operation input and has a plurality of processing modes including a first mode and a second mode for generating the output image, the processing modes being selectable by the operation input;
• the first mode is the processing mode for generating the output image in which the source image and the processed image having the same field of view each other are arranged as the image elements on one screen;
• and
• the second mode is the processing mode for generating the output image in which a wide range image representing at least a partial region of the original image at a relatively low magnification and an enlarged image representing a partial region in the wide range image at a higher magnification than the wide range image are arranged as the image elements on one screen, the magnification of the enlarged image is changeable by the operation input, at least one of the wide range image and the enlarged image is the processed image and a region marker indicating a region corresponding to the enlarged image is superimposed on the wide range image.