Treatment support apparatus and treatment support method

1. A treatment support apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device connected to the processor,

wherein the storage device holds image information of tissue in a living body of a treatment target, and

wherein the processor

extracts a blood vessel structure of the inside of the living body from the image information,

specifies a region in which a predicted temperature is included in a predetermined range as a treatment prediction region in which thermal treatment is predicted to be completed on a treatment scheduled region,

calculates positions of one or more heat sources for the thermal treatment and an order of preforming the thermal treatment such that a size of an overlapping portion between the treatment prediction region and the treatment scheduled region is increased, the thermal treatment scheduled region including at least a part of the extracted blood vessel structure on the basis of the extracted blood vessel structure, and

outputs data for displaying an image including the calculated positions of the one or more heat sources.

2. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor

computes thermal conduction in the living body, and heat convection due to a blood flow based on the extracted blood vessel structure, so as to predict a temperature distribution in the living body in a case where thermal treatment is performed on the positions of the one or more heat sources, and

outputs data for displaying an image including the calculated order.

3. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor calculates the positions of the one or more heat sources such that the entire treatment scheduled region is included in the treatment prediction region, and the number of heat sources is minimized.

4. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor calculates the positions of the one or more heat sources such that the number of heat sources is equal to or smaller than a predetermined upper limit, and the size of the overlapping portion between the treatment prediction region and the treatment scheduled region is maximized.

5. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor specifies the treatment prediction region in a case where thermal treatment is performed on a position of an initial heat source, predicts a blood vessel structure which changes due to the thermal treatment on the position of the initial heat source in a case where the treatment scheduled region includes a residual region not overlapping the specified treatment prediction region, and specifies the treatment prediction region in a case where thermal treatment is performed on a position of the next heat source on the basis of the predicted blood vessel structure.

6. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor preferentially calculates a position where a treatment prediction region is increased in a case where thermal treatment is performed, as the position of the heat source.

7. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor preferentially calculates a position where a boundary of a treatment prediction region comes close to a boundary of the residual region in a case where thermal treatment is performed, as the position of the heat source.

8. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 5 ,

wherein the processor preferentially calculates a position where an effect of the heat convection due to a blood flow is considerable, as the position of the heat source.

9. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the processor

determines whether or not there is a residual region of which the thermal treatment is not completed in the treatment scheduled region on the basis of image information of tissue in the living body after actual thermal treatment is performed on at least one of the one or more heat sources, and

sets the residual region as a new treatment scheduled region in a case where there is the residual region, and calculates positions of one or more heat sources for thermal treatment on the new treatment scheduled region on the basis of image information of tissue in the living body after actual thermal treatment is performed on at least one of the one or more heat sources.

10. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 9 ,

wherein the processor determines whether or not there is a residual region of which the thermal treatment is not completed in the treatment scheduled region on the basis of image information of tissue in the living body after actual thermal treatment is performed on all of the one or more heat sources.

11. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 9 ,

wherein the processor determines whether or not there is a residual region of which the thermal treatment is not completed in the treatment scheduled region on the basis of image information of tissue in the living body after actual thermal treatment is performed on one of the heat sources according to the calculated order.

12. The treatment support apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the thermal treatment is performed by heating or cooling the one or more heat sources.

13. A treatment support apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a storage device connected to the processor; and

a display unit connected to the processor,

wherein the storage device holds image information of tissue in a living body of a treatment target, and

wherein the processor

extracts a blood vessel structure of the inside of the living body from the image information, and

a treatment scheduled region including at least a part of the extracted blood vessel structure is set, computes thermal conduction in the living body, and heat convection due to a blood flow based on the extracted blood vessel structure, so as to predict a temperature distribution in the living body in a case where thermal treatment is performed on positions of one or more heat sources, specifies a region in which a predicted temperature is included in a predetermined range as a treatment prediction region in which thermal treatment is predicted to be completed, and calculates the positions of the one or more heat sources and an order of performing the thermal treatment such that a size of an overlapping portion between the treatment prediction region and the treatment scheduled region is increased, and

wherein the display unit sequentially displays an image of the extracted blood vessel structure, an image of the treatment scheduled region, an image indicating a temperature distribution in the living body predicted in each piece of thermal treatment in a case where thermal treatment is performed on the calculated positions of the heat sources according to the calculated order, and an image of a treatment prediction region specified on the basis of the temperature distribution.

14. A treatment support method executed by a computer including a processor, and a storage device connected to the processor, the storage device holding image information of tissue in a living body of a treatment target, the method comprising:

a step of causing the processor to extract a blood vessel structure of the inside of the living body from the image information;

a step of causing the processor to specify a region in which a predicted temperature is included in a predetermined range as a treatment prediction region in which thermal treatment is predicted to be completed on a treatment scheduled region,

a step of causing the processor to calculate positions of one or more heat sources for the thermal treatment and an order of preforming the thermal treatment such that a size of an overlapping portion between the treatment prediction region and the treatment scheduled region is increased, the thermal treatment scheduled region including at least a part of the extracted blood vessel structure on the basis of the extracted blood vessel structure; and

a step of causing the processor to output data for displaying an image including the calculated positions of the one or more heat sources.