X-ray diagnosis apparatus for creating a display image from three-dimensional medical image data

1. An X-ray diagnosis apparatus comprising:

a display-image creating unit that creates a display image from three-dimensional medical image data such that the display image of the three-dimensional medical image data substantially matches up with an anatomical structure on an acquired image by the X-ray diagnosis apparatus;

a display-image changing unit that changes a display image so as to maintain consistency of an anatomical structure in accordance with change in an acquiring condition by the X-ray diagnosis apparatus;

a display unit that displays a display image that is at least one of created and changed by at least one of the display-image creating unit and the display-image changing unit;

a region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit that estimates a position of a region of interest as region-of-interest coordinates based on pixel information about three-dimensional medical image data present on a line connecting a focus point of an X-ray generating tube and a substantial center of a detector surface;

an amount-of-control calculating unit that calculates an amount of control to be used for control of a certain device by using region-of-interest coordinates estimated by the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit; and

a control unit that controls the certain device in accordance with the amount of control calculated by the amount-of-control calculating unit.

2. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the acquiring condition is one of or a combination of an angle of a supporting device, a position of the supporting device, a scale of image enlargement, a position of a couch, a height of the couch, an X-ray beam-limiting device, and a compensating filter.

3. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the display-image creating unit and the display-image changing unit at least one of creates and changes a display image not to display a region that is made invisible by an X-ray beam-limiting device.

4. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the display-image creating unit and the display-image changing unit at least one of creates and changes a display image so as to change at least one of a color, a pattern, and a brightness of a region onto which all or part of X-rays are blocked by at least one of an X-ray beam-limiting device and a compensating filter.

5. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit displays on a display unit a pixel in a region within a certain range from estimated region-of-interest coordinates and each having a pixel value in a certain range, with at least one of a color, a pattern, and a brightness different from those of other pixels.

6. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit estimates the region-of-interest coordinates by calculating a center point of an aggregation of pixels continuously present on the line as an aggregation of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range.

7. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein when no aggregation of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit estimates the region-of-interest coordinates by calculating a center point of an aggregation of pixels present within a certain distance range from the line that is an aggregation of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range.

8. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein

the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit estimates the region-of-interest coordinates by calculating a center point of an aggregation of pixels continuously present on the line as an aggregation of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range, and

the amount-of-control calculating unit calculates the amount of control such that an iso center is to be positioned at the center point.

9. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit calculates a length with respect to each of the aggregations of pixels, calculates a total volume of aggregations of pixels in the certain range that are aggregations of pixels present within a spherical region having a center at the center point and a radius that is a half of calculated length, calculates a value that calculated total volume is divided by a third power of the radius, and estimates region-of-interest coordinates based on each of the calculated values.

10. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit calculates a volume of a region sectioned with a pixel present within a certain range from the center point and having a pixel value in a certain range with respect to each center point, and estimates the region-of-interest coordinates based on a value of calculated volume.

11. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit calculates a distance between the center point and an end point on the line on a side of a detector with respect to each center point, and estimates the region-of-interest coordinates based on a value of calculated distance.

12. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a selection-instruction receiving unit that receives a selection instruction to select a certain center point from among a plurality of center points when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line.

13. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a selection-instruction receiving unit that receives a selection instruction to select one from among information displayed in a differentiated manner by the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit, wherein when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit displays a region within a certain range from among the aggregations in a differentiated manner with at least one of a color, a pattern, and a brightness different from those of other aggregations.

14. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit estimates the region-of-interest coordinates based on one of two sets of information, namely, a set of information about each of the aggregations of pixels present on the line, and a set of information about each of aggregations of pixels further including pixels present in a vicinity of each of the aggregations of pixels present on the line.

15. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when a plurality of aggregations of pixels each having a pixel value in a certain range is present on the line, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit calculates respective lengths of the aggregations of pixels, and estimates the region-of-interest coordinates based on respective calculated lengths.

16. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the amount-of-control calculating unit calculates an amount of control to be used for control of at least one of a supporting device, a couch, a reading-region of an X-ray detector, an X-ray beam-limiting device, and a compensating filter, as the certain device, and

the control unit controls at least one of the supporting device, the couch, the reading-region of the X-ray detector, the X-ray beam-limiting device, and the compensating filter, in accordance with the amount of control calculated by the amount-of-control calculating unit.

17. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the X-ray diagnosis apparatus is a bi plane type,

the amount-of-control calculating unit calculates an amount of control to be applied to a second supporting device as the certain device based on the region-of-interest coordinates estimated by the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit, and

the control unit controls the second supporting device in accordance with the amount of control calculated by the amount-of-control calculating unit.

18. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the amount-of-control calculating unit calculates an amount of control to be used for control of at least one of an X-ray beam-limiting device and a compensating filter as the certain device, and

the control unit controls at least one of the X-ray beam-limiting device and the compensating filter, in accordance with the amount of control calculated by the amount-of-control calculating unit.

19. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein

the amount-of-control calculating unit identifies a point on an X-ray detector that anatomically matches up with the region-of-interest coordinates, and

the control unit controls at least one of the X-ray beam-limiting device and the compensating filter so as to vary X-ray incident strengths in a region within a certain range from identified point and other regions.

20. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein the certain range is one of a predetermined value and a range in which an X-ray strength distribution used in advance is to be reproduced.

21. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least one the display-image creating unit and the display-image changing unit extracts a region within a certain range from the region-of-interest coordinates estimated by the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit, from the three-dimensional medical image data, and at least one of creates and changes a display image by using only extracted region.

22. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit that identifies a line connecting a focus point of an X-ray generating tube and a substantial center of a detector surface with respect to at least two different directions, and estimates positional coordinates that is closest to identified line as region-of-interest coordinates,

an amount-of-control calculating unit that calculates an amount of control to be used for control of a certain device by using the region-of-interest coordinates estimated by the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit; and

a control unit that controls the certain device in accordance with the amount of control calculated by the amount-of-control calculating unit.

23. The X-ray diagnosis apparatus according to claim 22 , wherein when designation of an imaging position is performed by using at least one of a radioscopic image actually taken from a subject, and an image displayed on a display unit by at least one of the display-image creating unit and the display-image changing unit, and is in a same direction as a direction of an observation position already used for estimation by the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit, the region-of-interest coordinate estimating unit newly identifies a line that connects a focus point of the X-ray generating tube and a substantial center of the detector surface based on the designation of the imaging position, and newly estimates the region-of-interest coordinates based on identified new line and a line that is already specified with respect to another direction.