Patent ID: 8417009
Filing Date: 2013-04-09
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A medical image diagnosis assisting apparatus, comprising: an abnormal peripheral structure detection means for detecting, from a three-dimensional medical image representing a subject's internal structure having a branch structure and a peripheral structure which is a structure located in a periphery of the branch structure and functionally associated with the branch structure, an abnormal peripheral structure which is an abnormal portion of the peripheral structure; a branch structure extraction means for extracting the branch structure from the three-dimensional medical image; an association identification means for identifying a point in the branch structure functionally associated with each point in the peripheral structure based on position information of each point in the extracted branch structure and for obtaining a control area of each branch of the extracted branch structure based on the identified functional correspondence between each point in the peripheral structure and each point in the branch structure; an associated branch structure identification means for identifying a portion of the branch structure functionally associated with the abnormal peripheral structure as an associated branch structure based on the obtained control area of each branch of the extracted branch structure; and an associated peripheral structure identification means for identifying a portion of the peripheral structure functionally associated with the identified associated branch structure as an associated peripheral structure based on the obtained control area of each branch of the extracted branch structure and the identified associated branch structure, wherein the associated peripheral structure is an area functionally associated with the branch structure from the associated branch structure to a periphery leading from the associated branch structure.