X-ray diagnostic apparatus, image processing apparatus, and program

1. An X-ray diagnostic apparatus comprising:

an image generating unit which generates first X-ray images before injection of a contrast medium and second X-ray images after injection of the contrast medium;

a region detecting unit which detects a non-contrast region based on the first X-ray images and the second X-ray images;

a selecting unit which selects one of the first X-ray images with respect to each of the second X-ray images on the basis of a correlation between the first X-ray images in the non-contrast region and the second X-ray images in the non-contrast region; and

a subtraction image generating unit which generates subtraction images by performing subtraction between each of the second X-ray images and the selected one of the first X-ray images.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising

an operating unit which sets an acquisition time for the first X-ray images; and

a control unit which controls outputting of a contrast medium injection instruction at a point of time at which the set acquisition time has elapsed from the start of radiography performed by the image generating unit.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a setting unit which sets, as tentative images, some of the first X-ray images which are generated during at least one cycle of an electrocardiogram and are not influenced by the contrast medium;

a subtraction unit which generates second subtraction images with regard to different electrocardiographic phases by performing subtraction between each of the second X-ray images and one of the tentative images whose electrocadiographic phase is nearest to a phase of each of the second X-ray images; and

a detecting unit which detects an injection timing of a contrast medium on the basis of changes in pixel values of said second subtraction images.

4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:

an image sorting unit which separates the second X-ray images into first contrast images and second contrast images, and wherein

the selecting unit selects the one of the first X-ray images with respect to each of the second X-ray images on the basis of correlations between the first contrast images in the non-contrast region and the first X-ray images in the non-contrast region, and

the subtraction image generating unit generates the subtraction images by performing subtraction between each of the first contrast image and the selected one of the first X-ray images.

5. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the image sorting unit separates the second X-ray images into first contrast images and the second contrast images before and after the start of movement of a bed top on which a subject is placed.

6. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the image sorting unit separates the second X-ray images into first contrast images and the second contrast images before and after the start of movement of at least one of a collimator and a compensation filter.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the region detecting unit generates a first minimum value projection image from said first X-ray images by projection processing in a time axis direction, generates a second minimum value projection image from said second X-ray images, and detects the non-contrast region on the basis of a subtraction image between the first minimum value projection image and the second minimum value projection image.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the region detecting unit detects a body movement region which is within the non-contrast region and in which a body movement of the subject has occurred, and

the mask selecting unit obtains a correlation between the first X-ray images in the body movement region and the second X-ray images in the body movement region.

9. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a region detecting unit which detects a non-contrast region based on first X-ray images before injection of a contrast medium and second X-ray images after injection of the contrast medium which are generated by repeatedly radiographing a subject;

a selecting unit which selects one of the first X-ray images with respect to each of the second X-ray images on the basis of a correlation between the first X-ray images in the non-contrast region and the second X-ray images in the non-contrast region; and

a subtraction image generating unit which generates subtraction images by performing subtraction between each of the second X-ray images and the selected one of the first X-ray images.

10. A computer readable medium including computer executable code which when executed on a computer causes the computer to implement an X-ray diagnostic operation comprising:

generating first X-ray images before injection of a contrast medium and second X-ray images after injection of the contrast medium;

detecting a non-contrast region based on the first X-ray images and the second X-ray images;

selecting one of the first X-ray images with respect to each of the second X-ray images on the basis of a correlation between the first X-ray images in the non-contrast region and the second X-ray images in the contrast region; and

subtraction image generating which generates subtraction images by performing subtraction between each of the second X-ray images and the selected one of the first X-ray images.