Medical image processing apparatus and medical image processing method

1. A medical image processing apparatus reducing noise of a medical image acquired, the medical image processing apparatus comprising:

a smoothing unit forming a smoothed image of the medical image, wherein

the smoothed image is formed by at least one of:

smoothing the medical image by calculating one of an average pixel value and a median pixel value of each of an object pixel and an adjacent pixel group, and substituting the pixel value of the object pixel with the calculated average value or the calculated median value,

using a noise reducing method by a successive approximation method or by utilizing artificial intelligence, and

acquiring smoothed projection data by smoothing projection data that is used in formation of the medical image and subjecting the smoothed projection data to reconstruction processing;

a route forming unit forming a route that is a first pixel group having coordinates positioned continuously in the smoothed image and fulfills a route condition, wherein the route forming unit forms the first pixel group from an originating pixel to a newest watched pixel as the route by repeating setting a pixel where a difference from a pixel value of a watched pixel is minimum from a third pixel group adjacent to the watched pixel as a new watched pixel until the route condition is no longer fulfilled after the originating pixel selected from the smoothed image is set as the watched pixel; and

a noise reducing unit configured to:

extract a second pixel group from the medical image corresponding to the coordinates of the first pixel group by calculating a representative pixel value of the coordinates; and

reduce noise of the medical image based on the extracted second pixel group by substituting a pixel value in the medical image with the representative pixel value.

2. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the route forming unit sets the route condition according to smoothing strength in the smoothing unit.

3. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the route condition is an upper limit value of a difference between a pixel value of an originating pixel and a pixel value of a watched pixel of the route, and

the route forming unit sets the upper limit value to be smaller as the smoothing strength is larger.

4. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 2 ,

wherein the route condition is an upper limit value of the number of continuous pixels of the route, and

the route forming unit sets the upper limit value to be smaller as the smoothing strength is larger.

5. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein when the kind of noise reduced by the noise reducing unit is granular noise, the smoothing unit forms the smoothed image by smoothing the medical image, and

when the kind of noise reduced by the noise reducing unit is linear noise, the smoothing unit forms the smoothed image by acquiring smoothed projection data by smoothing projection data that is used in formation of the medical image and subjecting the smoothed projection data to reconstruction processing.

6. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the route forming unit selects all pixels in the smoothed image as the originating pixels, and forms the route with respect to each of the originating pixels.

7. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the noise reducing unit calculates a representative value of the pixel value of the extracted second pixel group, and substitutes a pixel value of a pixel corresponding to an originating pixel of the route in the medical image by the representative value.

8. The medical image processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the representative value is any one of an average value, a median value, and a weighed and added value calculated using a weighing factor that becomes larger as a distance from an originating pixel is shorter and is less than 1 of pixel values of the extracted second pixel group.

9. A medical image processing method reducing noise of a medical image acquired, the medical image processing method comprising:

a smoothing step of forming a smoothed image of the medical image wherein,

the smoothed image is formed by at least one of:

smoothing the medical image by calculating one of an average pixel value and a median pixel value of each of an object pixel and an adjacent pixel group, and substituting the pixel value of the object pixel with the calculated average value or the calculated median value,

using a noise reducing method by a successive approximation method or by utilizing artificial intelligence, and

acquiring smoothed projection data by smoothing projection data that is used in formation of the medical image and subjecting the smoothed projection data to reconstruction processing;

a route forming step of forming a route that is a first pixel group positioned continuously in the smoothed image and fulfills a route condition, wherein the route forming unit forms the first pixel group from an originating pixel to a newest watched pixel as the route by repeating setting a pixel where a difference from a pixel value of a watched pixel is minimum from a third pixel group adjacent to the watched pixel as a new watched pixel until the route condition is no longer fulfilled after the originating pixel selected from the smoothed image is set as the watched pixel; and

a noise reducing step of:

extracting a second pixel group from the medical image corresponding to the coordinates of the first pixel group by calculating a representative pixel value of the coordinates and;

reducing noise of the medical image based on the extracted second pixel group by substituting a pixel value in the medical image with the representative pixel value.