# US 9,517,007 B2 · Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and storage medium > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,517,007 B2 - Document ID: US9517007B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/451,921 - Filed: 2014-08-05 - Published: 2015-02-12 - Granted: 2016-12-13 - Earliest claimed: 2013-08-07 - Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Hiroki Uchida - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9517007B2 ## CPC - A61B 3/102: {for optical coherence tomography [OCT]} - G06T 7/11: Region-based segmentation - G06T 12/00: Tomographic reconstruction from projections - G06T 2207/10101: Optical tomography; Optical coherence tomography [OCT] - G06T 2207/30041: Eye; Retina; Ophthalmic - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL ## Abstract An ophthalmic apparatus determines, based on information indicating a tilt of an object in a tomographic image, a direction in which luminance information of the tomographic image is to be combined. Then, the ophthalmic apparatus combines the luminance information of the tomographic image along the determined direction, thereby generating a plane image of the object. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An image processing apparatus comprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire luminance information of a three-dimensional tomographic image of an object; a measurement unit configured to measure information indicating a tilt of the object in the three-dimensional tomographic image; a determination unit configured to determine a direction based on the measured information; and a generation unit configured to generate a plane image of the object by combining the acquired luminance information along the determined direction. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, based on the measured information indicating the tilt of the object, the determination unit determines a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the object as the direction in which the luminance information of the three-dimensional tomographic image is to be combined. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the determination unit determines a plurality of substantially perpendicular directions respectively corresponding to a plurality of predetermined sites of the object as the direction in which the luminance information of the three-dimensional tomographic image is to be combined. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a projection unit configured to project a specific area in the three-dimensional tomographic image onto the plane image along the determined direction. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising an area determination unit configured to determine the specific area based on the three-dimensional tomographic image. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the object is a subject's eye, and wherein the area determination unit determines, based on a retinal pigment epithelium of a fundus of the subject's eye formed on the three-dimensional tomographic image, an optic disc of the fundus as the specific area. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the area determination unit further determines optic disc cupping as the specific area based on the optic disc. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is a subject's eye, and wherein the measurement unit measures, based on a Bruch's membrane or retinal pigment epithelium of a fundus of the subject's eye formed on the three-dimensional tomographic image, information indicating a tilt of the fundus in the three-dimensional tomographic image. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the object is a subject's eye, and wherein the image processing apparatus further comprises a measurement unit configured to measure, based on a cornea or crystalline lens of an anterior eye portion of the subject's eye formed on the three-dimensional tomographic image, information indicating a tilt of the anterior eye portion in the three-dimensional tomographic image. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) An image processing system in which the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 and an ophthalmic imaging apparatus are communicably connected to each other, wherein the acquisition unit of the image processing apparatus acquires the three-dimensional tomographic image of the object captured by the ophthalmic imaging apparatus. ### Claim 11 An image processing method executed by an image processing apparatus, the image processing method comprising: acquiring luminance information of a three-dimensional tomographic image of an object; measuring information indicating a tilt of the object in the three-dimensional tomographic image; determining a direction based on the measured information; and generating a plane image of the object by combining the acquired luminance information along the determined direction. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The image processing method according to claim 11, wherein, a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the object is determined, based on the measured information indicating the tilt of the object, as the direction in which the luminance information of the three-dimensional tomographic image is to be combined. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein a plurality of substantially perpendicular directions respectively corresponding to a plurality of predetermined sites of the object is determined as the direction in which the luminance information of the three-dimensional tomographic image is to be combined. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The image processing method according to claim 11, further comprising projecting a specific area in the three-dimensional tomographic image onto the plane image along the determined direction. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The image processing method according to claim 14, further comprising determining the specific area based on the three-dimensional tomographic image. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The image processing method according to claim 15, wherein the object is a subject's eye, and wherein an optic disc of the fundus is determined, based on a retinal pigment epithelium of a fundus of the subject's eye formed on the three-dimensional tomographic image, as the specific area. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The image processing method according to claim 16, wherein optic disc cupping is determined as the specific area based on the optic disc. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The image processing method according to claim 11, wherein the object is a subject's eye, and wherein information indicating a tilt of the fundus in the three-dimensional tomographic image is determined based on a Bruch's membrane or retinal pigment epithelium of a fundus of the subject's eye formed on the three-dimensional tomographic image. ### Claim 19 (depends on 11) The image processing method according to claim 11, wherein the object is a subject's eye, and wherein information indicating a tilt of the anterior eye portion in the three-dimensional tomographic image is determined based on a cornea or crystalline lens of an anterior eye portion of the subject's eye formed on the three-dimensional tomographic image. ### Claim 20 (depends on 11) A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to claim 11. ### Claim 21 An image processing apparatus comprising: an acquisition unit configured to acquire luminance information of at least a portion of a three-dimensional tomographic image of an object; a measurement unit configured to measure information indicating a tilt of the object in the three-dimensional tomographic image; a determination unit configured to determine a direction based on the measured information; and a generation unit configured to generate a plane image of the object based on the determined direction and the acquired luminance information. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The image processing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the determination unit determines each pixel value in the plane image based on the determined direction and the acquired luminance information, and wherein the generation unit generates the plane image based on the determined each pixel value. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The image processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the determination unit determines the each pixel value by combining the acquired luminance information along the determined direction. ### Claim 24 (depends on 22) The image processing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the determination unit determines the each pixel value by assigning a pixel value per pixel from the acquired luminance information along the determined direction. ### Claim 25 An image processing method comprising: acquiring luminance information of at least a portion of a three-dimensional tomographic image of an object; measuring information indicating a tilt of the object in the three-dimensional tomographic image; determining a direction based on the measured information; and generating a plane image of the object based on the determined direction and the acquired luminance information. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The image processing method according to claim 25, wherein each pixel value in the plane image is determined based on the determined direction and the acquired luminance information, and wherein the plane image is generated based on the determined each pixel value. ### Claim 27 (depends on 26) The image processing method according to claim 26, wherein the each pixel value is determined by combining the acquired luminance information along the determined direction. ### Claim 28 (depends on 26) The image processing method according to claim 26, wherein the each pixel value is determined by assigning a pixel value per pixel from the acquired luminance information along the determined direction. ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to claim 25.