Patent ID: 8676298
Filing Date: 2014-03-18
Classification: A61B,G06T,G16H

Abstract:
1. A medical image alignment apparatus for aligning a three-dimensional image which represents a subject having vertebrae with a three-dimensional comparison image for being compared with the three-dimensional image, wherein the three-dimensional comparison image represents the subject and is a different image from the three-dimensional image, the apparatus comprising: a three-dimensional image detector configured to obtain the three-dimensional image and the three-dimensional comparison image; an image generator configured to generate, with respect to each of the three-dimensional image and the three-dimensional comparison image, a plurality of tomographic images orthogonal to a central axis of each vertebra of the subject along the central axis; a first characteristic amount calculation processing unit configured to calculate, with respect to each of the three-dimensional image and the three-dimensional comparison image, a first characteristic amount representing a profile in a direction orthogonal to the central axis at each point on the central axis based on the tomographic images; a second characteristic amount calculation processing unit configured to calculate, with respect to each of the three-dimensional image and the three-dimensional comparison image, a second characteristic amount representing a profile in a direction of the central axis at each point on the central axis based on the tomographic images; a third characteristic amount calculation processing unit configured to calculate, with respect to each of the three-dimensional image and the three-dimensional comparison image, a third characteristic amount representing regularity of disposition of each vertebra at each point on the central axis based on the calculated first and second characteristic amounts; and a vertebra alignment processing unit configured to align positions of the third characteristic amount calculated from the three-dimensional image and the third characteristic amount calculated from the three-dimensional comparison image along the central axis.