JP6804967B2 - Image processing device, aspiration judgment method, and fluoroscopy device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing technique for automatically detecting that aspiration is likely to occur using an X-ray fluoroscopic image when performing a swallowing contrast examination with an X-ray fluoroscopic imaging apparatus.

Due to aging, swallowing may not be performed correctly, and aspiration may occur when eating. Elderly people may develop pneumonia because aspiration leaves food residue in the bronchi and causes bacteria to grow. In the aging society of the future, the number of swallowing contrast examinations tends to increase in order to determine the degree of dysphagia and the rehabilitation state. It is important to detect that aspiration is likely to occur, as this test observes the actual swallowing of food and may cause aspiration.

Conventionally, a swallowing contrast examination is performed to visually determine aspiration using an X-ray fluoroscopic image, or an accelerometer, a microphone, or the like is attached to the throat to confirm that aspiration has occurred. For example, an accelerometer is attached to the patient's neck, an electronic signal indicating swallowing activity is received, features are extracted from the signal, and it is determined whether the patient is swallowing or aspirating (Patent Document). 1). In addition, a microphone for collecting swallowing sounds is attached to the neck, and whether or not the swallowing activity is abnormal is determined based on the waveform (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-502386 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-111748

However, in the case of Patent Documents 1 and 2, since it is necessary to attach the instrument to the patient, it causes trouble for the patient, and in the case of a child, it may be difficult to perform a swallowing contrast examination. Furthermore, it is designed to notify that the aspiration has occurred after the aspiration has occurred. In addition, during swallowing contrast examination, the examiner visually determines aspiration using an X-ray fluoroscopic image, and the moving speed of the test food is high, so there is a risk of overlooking that aspiration is likely to occur. there were.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing device, an aspiration determination method, and an X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus capable of solving the above problems and automatically detecting and notifying that aspiration is likely to occur. There is.

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, it is an image processing device that processes an X-ray fluoroscopic image, and has a region designation unit that specifies a bifurcation region in which the trachea and the esophagus branch in the X-ray fluoroscopic image, and a branch. It is provided with a moving region extraction unit that extracts the moving region of the test food using an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the region, and a branch point detecting unit that detects the branch point of the test food based on the moving region, and is connected to the branch point. Provided is an image processing device for determining that aspiration due to a test food is likely to occur using a moving area.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a method for determining aspiration by an image processing device that processes an X-ray fluoroscopic image, and specifies a bifurcation region in which the trachea and the esophagus branch in the X-ray fluoroscopic image. ,
The moving area of the test food is extracted from the branch area, the branch point of the test food is detected based on the moving area, and the moving area connected to the branch point is used to determine that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur. Provide a method.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus for photographing and processing an X-ray fluoroscopic image, the X-ray irradiation unit for irradiating the subject with X-rays, and the subject An X-ray detector that detects X-rays that have passed through a person and outputs an X-ray signal, an image processing unit that processes the X-ray signal and generates an X-ray image, and an X-ray image display unit that displays an X-ray image. , A swallowing determination device for determining that a subject is likely to be swallowed using an X-ray image, and the aspiration determination device branches the subject's trachea and esophagus in the X-ray image. A branch point of the test food based on the region designation part that specifies the branch area to be used, the moving area extraction unit that extracts the moving area of the test food using the X-ray image of the designated branching area, and the extracted moving area. A branch point detection unit that detects X-rays and a distance determination unit that determines the distance between the branch point and the end point on the tracheal side of the moving region are provided, and the distance is used to determine that aspiration due to a test meal is likely to occur. Provided is an X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus for detection.

When performing a swallowing contrast examination, by automatically detecting that aspiration is likely to occur using a fluoroscopic image, aspiration can be prevented and a safer examination can be performed.

It is a figure which shows the X-ray fluoroscopy image around the trachea and the esophagus when aspiration occurs. It is a block diagram which shows the whole of the X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus which concerns on each Example. It is a block diagram which shows one configuration example of the aspiration determination device which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the aspiration determination part which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the whole flow chart of the aspiration determination apparatus which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the aspiration determination part of Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the method of calculating the moving area of the inspection food from the X-ray fluoroscopic image which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the branch point detection part which detects the branch point of the inspection food which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the process of the distance determination part which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the aspiration determination part of Example 3. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the aspiration determination part of Example 3. It is explanatory drawing of the process which absorbs the movement of the subject of Example 3. It is a figure which shows the flowchart of the alignment part of Example 4. It is explanatory drawing of the correction processing of the movement amount of a pixel between frames. It is a figure which shows the whole flowchart of Example 5.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an X-ray fluoroscopic image for explaining the aspiration determination according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration example of the X-ray fluoroscopic imaging apparatus according to the present invention.

First, the principle of aspiration determination of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1 (a), a bifurcation region 3 in which the trachea 1 and the esophagus 2 branch is designated based on the examiner's designation in the X-ray fluoroscopic image, and as shown in FIG. 1 (b). By calculating the degree of division between the trachea 1 and the esophagus 2 of the test food 4 which is a food mixed with a contrast medium in the bifurcation region 3 by image processing, it is detected that aspiration is likely to occur, and aspiration is likely to occur. Let me know.

The X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus shown in FIG. 2 sets a top plate 110 on which the subject 101 is placed, an X-ray source 102 that irradiates the subject 101 with X-rays, and an X-ray irradiation region for the subject 101. The throttle device 111, the high voltage generator 105 that supplies power to the X-ray source 102, and the X-ray detector 103 that is arranged at a position facing the X-ray source 102 and detects X-rays that have passed through the subject 101. The X-ray processing unit 104 that performs image processing on the X-ray signal output from the X-ray detector 103, and the X-ray image (including the X-ray fluoroscopic image) output from the image processing unit 104 are displayed. Aspiration occurs from the line image display unit 106, the control unit 107 that controls each of the above components, the operation unit 108 that issues a command to the control unit 107, and the X-ray fluoroscopic image output from the image processing unit 104. It is equipped with an aspiration determination device 109 that detects what is likely to occur.

Among these, the X-ray image display unit 106, the control unit 107, the operation unit 108, and the aspiration determination device 109 are a central processing unit (CPU), an input unit, a display unit, and a storage unit of one personal computer (PC). It may be configured by using a part or the like.

The X-ray source 102 has an X-ray tube that receives power from the high voltage generator 105 to generate X-rays. Further, the X-ray source 102 may have an X-ray filter or the like that selectively transmits X-rays of a specific energy. The squeezing device 111 has a plurality of X-ray shielding lead plates for shielding X-rays generated from the X-ray source 102, and by moving each of the plurality of X-ray shielding lead plates, X-rays to the subject 101 are emitted. Determine the irradiation area. The X-ray detector 103 is configured, for example, by arranging a plurality of detection elements for detecting X-rays in a two-dimensional array, and emits X-rays emitted from the X-ray source 102 and transmitted through the subject 101. It is a device that detects an X-ray signal according to the amount of incident.

The image processing unit 104 performs image processing on the X-ray signal output from the X-ray detection unit 103, and outputs the image-processed X-ray image. Image processing includes gamma conversion, gradation conversion processing, image enlargement / reduction, and the like. The X-ray image display unit 106 displays the X-ray image output from the image processing unit 104, as well as the subject information and imaging conditions. Further, the aspiration determination device 109 detects that aspiration is likely to occur from the X-ray image which is an X-ray fluoroscopic image output from the image processing unit 104 as described in each of the following examples.

The first embodiment is the above-mentioned aspiration determination device, that is, an image processing device that processes an X-ray fluoroscopic image, and has a region designation unit that specifies a bifurcation region in which the trachea and the esophagus branch in the X-ray fluoroscopic image, and a branch. It is provided with a moving area extraction unit that extracts the moving area of the test food using an X-ray fluoroscopic image of the area, and a branch point detecting unit that detects the branch point of the test food based on the moving area, and is connected to the branch point. This is an example of an image processing device that detects that aspiration due to a test food is likely to occur using a moving area. In addition, it is an aspiration determination method by an image processing device that processes an X-ray fluoroscopic image. In the X-ray fluoroscopic image, a bifurcation region where the trachea and the esophagus branch is specified, and a moving region of the test food is extracted from the bifurcation region. , An example of an aspiration determination method that detects a branch point of the test food based on the moving area and determines that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur using the moving area connected to the branch point, and further uses it. This is an example of an X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an aspiration determination device of the X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device of the first embodiment. The imaging device 200 in the figure corresponds to a component portion that captures an X-ray image in the right half of FIG. 2, that is, an X-ray fluoroscopic image. The aspiration determination device 109 indicates that aspiration is likely to occur in real time with respect to the recording unit 210 for recording the X-ray fluoroscopic image sent from the photographing device 200 and the X-ray fluoroscopic image recorded in the recording unit 210. The aspiration determination unit 220 for determination, the display unit 230 for displaying the X-ray fluoroscopic image stored in the recording unit 210 and the X-ray fluoroscopic image being recorded, and the aspiration determination unit 220 determine that aspiration is likely to occur. It is composed of an aspiration display unit 240 that notifies the inspector when the aspiration is performed.

The aspiration determination unit 220 can be configured by, for example, executing a program of a CPU that realizes the aspiration determination device 109. Preferably, this CPU uses a CPU separate from the CPU constituting the control unit 107, but the same CPU may be used. The display unit 230 is configured with a display separate from the X-ray image display unit 106 of FIG. The aspiration display unit 240 displays for notification and warning, and can be configured as one display area in the display screen of the display constituting the display unit 230.

Subsequently, the operation function of the aspiration determination unit 220 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the functional block of FIG. As described above, when the aspiration determination unit 220 is realized by executing a program of the CPU, each functional block can be configured by a program that executes each function. First, the area designation unit 221 follows the area around the bifurcation point between the trachea 1 and the esophagus 2 under fluoroscopy during the examination and the orientation of the subject's face, which the examiner inputs using the operation unit 108 or the like. , The branch area 3 is specified.

The moving area extraction unit 223 extracts the moving area of the test food 4 in the branching area 3 designated by the area designating unit 221. Subsequently, the branch point detection unit 224 detects the branch point of the test food from the moving region extracted by the moving region extraction unit 223. Then, the distance determination unit 225 calculates the distance from the branch point of the test food detected by the branch point detection unit 224 to the end point on the tracheal side of the moving region connected to the branch point, so that aspiration is likely to occur. Is detected.

Next, the overall operation flow of the X-ray fluoroscopic imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The device is activated in step 310 of the figure, and the aspiration determination device 109 starts recording in step 320 to record in the recording unit 210. From the real-time fluoroscopic image recorded in the recording unit 210 in step 330, the area designation unit 221 follows the area near the junction of the trachea and the esophagus input by the examiner, for example, from the operation unit 108 at an arbitrary timing. A rectangular branch area 3 is specified.

In the next step 340, it is detected that the test food has branched based on the moving area of the test food in the branch area 3 specified in step 330, and it is automatically determined that aspiration is likely to occur. In step 350, when it is determined in step 340 that aspiration is likely to occur, the aspiration display unit 240 indicates that aspiration is likely to occur, and in step 360, it is determined that aspiration has not occurred. The display indicating that aspiration is likely to occur is turned off from the display unit 240. In step 370, the examination is completed and the aspiration determination device is terminated.

Next, steps 330 and 340 executed by the aspiration determination unit 220 in the above-mentioned overall operation flow will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the aspiration determination unit 220 can execute steps 330 and 340 by executing the program of the CPU. Step 405 in the figure is the same as step 330 in FIG. In step 410, the latest frame of the fluoroscopic image is read. The fluoroscopic image is taken, for example, at 30 fps (frames / second). The moving region of the test food in the branch region 3 specified in step 405 in steps 415 and 420 is extracted.

Step 415 and step 420 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. On the left side of the figure, an X-ray fluoroscopic image of each branch region 3 of the current frame _ft , the previous frame _ft-1 , and the two previous frames _ft-2 is schematically shown. In step 415, the difference in brightness between the current frame _ft and the frame of the previous frame _ft-1 is taken and binarized at a predetermined threshold value to obtain a binarized image of the difference in brightness. However, with this alone, the area before movement is also extracted. Therefore, in step 420, the binarized image 5 of the difference in brightness between the frames _ft and _{ft-1 and} the frame between the previous frame _ft-1 and the frame _ft-2 two before. The common portion (AND) with the binarized image 6 of the difference in brightness of is extracted, and the moving region 7 is extracted. As a result, the moving region 7 of the test food can be extracted.

Subsequently, the branch point of the test meal is detected in steps 425 and 430. Step 425 and step 430 will be described with reference to FIG. The moving area 7 extracted in step 420 in step 425 is thinned to obtain a moving area thin line 8. In step 430, the branch point 9 of the test food is detected using the moving region thin line 8. The condition of the branch point is, for example, as shown in the enlarged portion in FIG. 8, if the pixels in the vicinity of 8 around the pixel of interest are three or more black pixels, the branch point is set to 9. However, if there is one or less black pixels below the branch point, it is not regarded as a branch point. The condition is not limited to this branch point, and other appropriate conditions may be set. In step 435, the number of pixels from the branch point 9 to the end point of the moving area thin line 8 connected in the direction in which the subject's face is facing is counted and calculated as a distance.

A method of calculating the distance will be described with reference to FIG. 9 by exemplifying a case where the subject is facing to the left. In step 440, it is determined whether the distance from the branch point 9 to the end points 10 and 11 exceeds the threshold value as shown in FIG. This is because when thinning the lines, branches that should not originally remain often remain, and they are removed. If the value is equal to or higher than the threshold value as in the end point 11 of (b) in the figure, aspiration is likely to occur, and the process proceeds to step 445. On the other hand, if it is less than the threshold value as in the end point 10 of (a) in the figure, aspiration is unlikely to occur, so the process proceeds to step 450. In step 445, the aspiration display unit 240 is notified to the inspector that aspiration is likely to occur. In step 450, it is determined whether it is the final frame. If it is the last frame, the process ends, and if it is not the last frame, it moves to the next frame.

With the configuration of this embodiment described above, it is possible to automatically detect that aspiration is likely to occur, so that aspiration can be prevented and a safer swallowing contrast examination using an X-ray fluoroscopy device can be performed. It will be possible. Furthermore, since it is automatically detected and notified that aspiration is likely to occur during the examination, the examiner does not have to always pay attention to the aspiration and see the fluoroscopic image, which reduces the burden on the examiner. be able to.

Subsequently, the image processing device, the aspiration determination method, and the X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device of the second embodiment will be described. The difference from the first embodiment is that the aspiration display unit 240 is not used to indicate that aspiration is likely to occur, but a speaker or the like can be used to notify by sound.

According to this embodiment, when the aspiration determination device is applied to the image of the X-ray fluoroscopic image under examination, the inspector can display the display unit during the examination by notifying the sound of a speaker or the like that aspiration is likely to occur. It is possible to know that aspiration is likely to occur without looking at the image displayed on the speaker, and it is possible to concentrate on examinations other than aspiration. In this specification, the display unit 230, the aspiration display unit 240, the speaker, and the like may be collectively referred to as an output unit. In other words, the apparatus according to the present invention includes an output unit that displays or sounds that aspiration is likely to occur due to the test food.

Next, in the third embodiment, the movement of the pixels between the current frame and the previous frame in the branch area specified by the area designation unit is calculated from the optical flow, and the positions of the current frame and the previous frame are calculated. This is an example of a configuration including an alignment portion for performing alignment, and will be described below with reference to FIGS. 10-12.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a configuration example of the aspiration determination device in the third embodiment. The difference from the first and second embodiments is that the aspiration determination unit 220 adds an alignment unit 222 that absorbs the movement of the subject and aligns the frame.

The operation of the aspiration determination unit 220 of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The difference from the first and second embodiments is that steps 411 and 414, which are the processes of the alignment unit 222, are added between steps 410 and 415, and these steps are also the aspiration determination unit. This can be achieved by executing a program of 220 CPUs.

Step 411 and step 414 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, it is assumed that it has moved to the right. In step 411, as shown in FIG. 12, two images 12 and 13 of the current frame _ft and the previous frame _ft-1 are optical showing the movement between frames for each pixel by using the optical flow method. The flow 14 is calculated. Shifting the image of the frame f _t based on the motion between frames for each pixel at step 414, to obtain an image 15 of the frame f _t after absorbing the subject motion.

According to the configuration of this embodiment, the movement of the subject may be included in the difference image between the frames due to the swallowing motion during the swallowing contrast examination and the movement of the subject, or the trachea and esophagus may be included in the designated region designated as the bifurcation region. It is possible to prevent the area where the branch is branched from coming off. As a result, a more accurate movement area can be calculated, so that it is possible to reduce erroneous detection of detection that aspiration is likely to occur.

Subsequently, as the fourth embodiment, the alignment unit described in the third embodiment has a configuration in which the movement of the pixel is corrected as the movement between the frames of the pixel of interest and the optical flow most often in the pixel of interest and its peripheral pixels. An embodiment will be described. Hereinafter, the image processing device, the aspiration determination method, and the X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13-14.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the operation of the alignment unit 222 of the aspiration determination unit 220 of the fourth embodiment. The difference from Example 1 to Example 3 is that step 413 for correcting the movement between frames is added between steps 411 and 414 of the alignment portion.

Step 413 will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, it is assumed that the movement is to the right as in FIG. In step 414, the abnormal optical flow 16 shown in FIG. 14 is corrected by using the optical flow that is the largest in the pixel of interest and its peripheral pixels as the movement between normal frames of the pixel of interest, and the corrected optical flow 17 is obtained. .. As a result, it is possible to reduce an abnormal value of the amount of pixel movement between frames. Therefore, since the designated area designated as the branching area can be accurately aligned, it is possible to reduce the false detection of the detection that aspiration is likely to occur. Needless to say, step 414 can also be realized by executing the program of the CPU of the aspiration determination unit 220.

According to this embodiment, by correcting the amount of movement of pixels between frames, it is possible to more accurately align the designated area designated as the branching area, so that false detection of the possibility of aspiration is detected. Can be reduced.

Next, as the fifth embodiment, a recording unit for recording an X-ray fluoroscopic image is further provided, and the X-ray region designation unit, the moving region extraction unit, and the branch point detection unit process the X-ray fluoroscopic image read from the recording unit. An example of an image processing device having the above configuration, an aspiration determination method, and an X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device will be described. The difference from the first to fourth embodiments is that the X-ray fluoroscopic image to be read is different, and the aspiration determination is performed on the moving image stored in the recording unit 210.

The overall operation of the configuration of the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In step 710, the aspiration determination device 109 is activated, and in step 720, the recorded data of the recording unit 210 is reproduced. In step 730, the examiner inputs the orientation of the face and the area near the branch point between the trachea and the esophagus from the reproduced X-ray fluoroscopic image at an arbitrary timing, and the area designation unit 221 creates a rectangular branch area based on the input. specify. In the next step 740, a moving region is extracted within the branched region specified in step 730, and this is used to detect that the test food has branched and automatically determine that aspiration is likely to occur. In step 750, if aspiration is likely to occur in step 740, the aspiration display unit 240 displays or sounds a notification that aspiration is likely to occur, and in step 760, it is determined that aspiration has not occurred. Then, the display from the aspiration display unit 240 that is likely to cause aspiration is turned off, or the notification warning by sound is stopped. In step 770, the reproduction of the moving image is ended, and the device is terminated.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to omit looking back at the video recorded many times when diagnosing aspiration, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the inspector.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples, and includes various modifications. The above-mentioned examples have been described in detail for a better understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations of the description. For example, the area designation unit of the aspiration determination unit specifies the region near the bifurcation point between the trachea and the esophagus and the bifurcation region using the orientation of the face, which is input by the examiner using the operation unit or the like. By image processing the X-ray fluoroscopic image, the region near the branch point and the orientation of the subject's face may be automatically detected. Further, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Further, it is possible to add / delete / replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

Further, for each of the above-described configurations, functions, control units, etc., an example of creating a program for a CPU that realizes a part or all of them has been described, but a part or all of them is designed by, for example, an integrated circuit. Needless to say, it may be realized by hardware. That is, all or part of the functions of the control unit may be realized by, for example, an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

1 Trachea 2 Esophagus 3 Bifurcation area 4 Examination food 5, 6 2 Valued image 7 Moving area 8 Moving area Fine line 9 Bifurcation point 10, 11 End point 12, 13, 15 Image 14, 16, 17 Optical flow 101 Subject 102 X Source 103 X-ray detector 104 Image processing unit 105 High voltage generator 106 X-ray image display unit 107 Control unit 108 Operation unit 109 Aspiration determination device 110 Top plate 111 Aperture device 200 Imaging device 210 Recording unit 220 Aspiration determination unit 221 Area designation unit 222 Alignment unit 223 Moving area extraction unit 224 Branch point extraction unit 225 Distance determination unit 230 Display unit 240 Aspiration display unit

Claims (13)

An image processing device that processes a fluoroscopic image of a subject.
A region designation unit that specifies a bifurcation region where the trachea and esophagus branch in the fluoroscopic image, and
Using the X-ray fluoroscopic image of the branch region, a moving region extraction unit that extracts a moving region of the test food, and a moving region extraction unit.
A branch point detection unit that detects a branch point of the test food based on the moving region,
Using the moving region connected to the branch point, an aspiration determination unit that determines that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur, and
A distance determination unit for determining the distance from the branch point to the end point of the moving region on the tracheal side is provided.
The aspiration determination unit determines that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur when the distance exceeds a predetermined threshold value .
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
Further provided with an output unit for displaying or sounding that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur.
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The area designation unit is
The branching region is designated using the orientation of the subject's face input by the examiner and the region where the trachea and the esophagus branch.
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
A recording unit for recording the fluoroscopic image is further provided.
The area designation unit, the moving area extraction unit, and the branch point detection unit process the X-ray fluoroscopic image read from the recording unit.
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 .
The moving area extraction unit
The inter-frame difference of the brightness values in the branch region of the current frame, the previous frame, and the previous frame of the X-ray fluoroscopic image is calculated, and the inter-frame difference is used to obtain the moving region. Extract,
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 .
The branch point detection unit
The moving area is thinned to obtain a moving area thin line.
The distance determination unit uses the length from the branch point to the end point of the moving region thin line on the tracheal side as the distance.
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 .
The movement of pixels between the current frame and the previous frame in the branch region designated by the area designation unit is calculated from the optical flow, and the alignment between the current frame and the previous frame is adjusted. Further provided with an alignment part to be performed,
An image processing device characterized by this. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7 .
The alignment part is
The movement of the pixel is corrected as the movement between frames of the pixel of interest, which is the most optical flow in the pixel of interest and its peripheral pixels.
An image processing device characterized by this. This is an aspiration determination method using an image processing device that processes an X-ray fluoroscopic image.
In the fluoroscopic image, specify the bifurcation region where the trachea and esophagus branch,
The moving region of the test food is extracted from the branch region, and the branch point of the test food is detected based on the moving region.
The distance from the branch point to the end point of the moving region on the tracheal side is determined.
When the distance exceeds a predetermined threshold value, it is automatically determined that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur .
A method for determining aspiration. The aspiration determination method according to claim 9 .
The inter-frame difference of the brightness values in the branch region of the current frame, the previous frame, and the previous frame of the X-ray fluoroscopic image is calculated, and the inter-frame difference is used to obtain the moving region. Extract and
The moving area is thinned to obtain a moving area thin line.
The length from the branch point to the end point of the moving region thin line on the tracheal side is defined as the distance.
A method for determining aspiration. An X-ray fluoroscopy device that captures and processes an X-ray fluoroscopic image.
An X-ray irradiation unit that irradiates the subject with X-rays,
An X-ray detector that detects X-rays that have passed through the subject and outputs an X-ray signal.
An image processing unit that processes the X-ray signal and generates an X-ray image,
An X-ray image display unit that displays the X-ray image and
The X-ray image is provided with an aspiration determination device for determining that the subject is likely to undergo aspiration, and a control unit for controlling the imaging and processing of the fluoroscopic image.
The aspiration determination device is
In the X-ray image, a region designation unit that specifies a bifurcation region where the trachea and esophagus of the subject diverge, and
Using the X-ray image of the designated branch region, a moving region extraction unit that extracts a moving region of the test food, and a moving region extraction unit.
A branch point detection unit that detects a branch point of the test food based on the extracted moving region,
A distance determination unit for determining the distance between the branch point and the end point on the tracheal side of the moving region is provided.
The distance determination unit determines that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur when the distance exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
An X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device characterized by this. The X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus according to claim 11 .
When it is determined that aspiration due to the test food is likely to occur, an output unit for displaying or notifying by sound is further provided.
An X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device characterized by this. The X-ray fluoroscopy apparatus according to claim 12 .
The moving area extraction unit
The inter-frame difference of the brightness value in the branch region of the current frame, the previous frame, and the previous frame of the X-ray image is calculated, and the moving region is extracted by using the inter-frame difference. And
The branch point detection unit
The moving area is thinned to obtain a moving area thin line.
The distance determination unit
The length from the branch point to the end point of the moving region thin line on the tracheal side is defined as the distance.
An X-ray fluoroscopic imaging device characterized by this.

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