Image processing system, apparatus, and method

1. An image processing system, comprising:

a stereoscopic display device; and

an image processing apparatus, wherein

the stereoscopic display device is configured to display a stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image using a plurality of parallax images, and

the image processing apparatus includes:

a transform circuit configured to generate transformed volume data from volume data, which is three-dimensional (3D) image data having a ratio of scale representing a scale in a depth direction with respect to a scale in other direction other than the depth direction, by reducing or enlarging at least one of the scale in the depth direction and the scale in the other direction within a range not exceeding a stereoscopic limit amount based on a scale in the depth direction of an assumed stereoscopic image assumed to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device using a parallax image group obtained by performing a rendering process on the volume data so as to maintain the ratio of scale in a stereoscopic image displayed on the stereoscopic display device using a parallax image group obtained by performing the rendering process on the transformed volume data, wherein the stereoscopic limit amount is an upper limit value of a size in a depth direction of the stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image defined by specifications of the stereoscopic display device,

an image generating circuit configured to generate a parallax image group by performing the rendering process on the transformed volume data, and

a display control circuit configured to cause the parallax image group generated by the image generating circuit to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device.

2. The image processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a calculating circuit configured to calculate the stereoscopic limit amount,

wherein the transform circuit reduces or enlarges the volume data in a range in which the size of the stereoscopic image, which is to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device, in the depth direction does not exceed the stereoscopic limit amount calculated by the calculating circuit.

3. The image processing system according to claim 2 ,

wherein the transform circuit reduces or enlarges the volume data such that the size of the stereoscopic image, which is to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device, in the depth direction is substantially the same as the stereoscopic limit value calculated by the calculating circuit.

4. The image processing system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the image generating circuit further generates a parallax image group by performing a rendering process on non-transformed volume data to be transformed by the transform circuit, and

wherein the display control circuit causes the parallax image group generated from the transformed volume data by the image generating circuit and the parallax image group generated from the non-transformed volume data to be simultaneously displayed on the stereoscopic display device.

5. The image processing system according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a correspondence information acquiring circuit configured to acquire correspondence information to associate space coordinates of a stereoscopic image to be stereoscopically viewed by referring to the stereoscopic display device that displays the parallax image group with space coordinates of a shooting portion of the volume data based on a display size of the parallax image group to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device,

a determining circuit configured to determine a scale to convert a length in a vertical direction in a space of the stereoscopic image on the display surface of the stereoscopic display device into a length in a space of the shooting portion based on the correspondence information; and

an output circuit configured to perform output control such that the scale on the stereoscopic image based on the parallax image group is displayed on the stereoscopic display device in a superimposed manner.

6. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

a stereoscopic display device configured to display a stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image using a plurality of parallax images;

a transform circuit configured to generate transformed volume data from volume data which is three-dimensional (3D) image data having a ratio of scale representing a scale in a depth direction with respect to a scale in other direction other than the depth direction, by reducing or enlarging at least one of the scale in the depth direction and the scale in the other direction within a range not exceeding a stereoscopic limit amount based on a scale in the depth direction of an assumed stereoscopic image assumed to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device using a parallax image group obtained by performing a rendering process on the volume data so as to maintain the ratio of scale in a stereoscopic image displayed on the stereoscopic display device using a parallax image group obtained by performing the rendering process on the transformed volume data, wherein the stereoscopic limit amount is an upper limit value of a size in a depth direction of the stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image defined by specifications of the stereoscopic display device;

an image generating circuit configured to generate a parallax image group by performing the rendering process on the transformed volume data; and

a display control circuit configured to cause the parallax image group generated by the image generating circuit to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device.

7. An image processing method executed by an image processing system including a stereoscopic display device that displays a stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image using a plurality of parallax images, the method comprising:

generating transformed volume data from volume data which is three-dimensional (3D) image data having a ratio of scale representing a scale in a depth direction with respect to a scale in other direction other than the depth direction, by reducing or enlarging at least one of the scale in the depth direction and the scale in the other direction within a range not exceeding a stereoscopic limit amount based on a scale in the depth direction of an assumed stereoscopic image assumed to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device using a parallax image group obtained by performing a rendering process on the volume data so as to maintain the ratio of scale in a stereoscopic image displayed on the stereoscopic display device using a parallax image group obtained by performing the rendering process on the transformed volume data, wherein the stereoscopic limit amount is an upper limit value of a size in a depth direction of the stereoscopically viewable stereoscopic image defined by specifications of the stereoscopic display device;

generating a parallax image group by performing the rendering process on the transformed volume data; and

causing the generated parallax image group to be displayed on the stereoscopic display device.