Patent ID: 7907775
Filing Date: 2011-03-15
Classification: G06K,G06T

Abstract:
1. An image processing apparatus comprising: an evaluation area setting section for dividing a medical image corresponding to a medical image signal constituted by multiple color signals obtained by capturing an image of a living body, into multiple small areas, extracting a small area including the outline part of a hemorrhage area from the multiple small areas based on at least one of the color signals, setting the extracted small area as a hemorrhage evaluation area, and setting evaluation target areas constituted by the multiple small areas, around the hemorrhage evaluation area; a hemorrhage candidate area determination section for extracting hemorrhage edge candidate areas from the evaluation target areas based on the amount of change in the color signals in the evaluation target areas and determining whether or not the hemorrhage evaluation area is a hemorrhage candidate area based on the ratio of the hemorrhage edge candidate areas to the evaluation target areas; and a hemorrhage area determination section for extracting the outline part of a hemorrhage area from the hemorrhage edge candidate areas based on change in two or more of the color signals in the hemorrhage edge candidate areas and determining whether or not the hemorrhage candidate area is the hemorrhage area based on the ratio of the outline part of the hemorrhage area to the hemorrhage edge candidate areas, wherein the hemorrhage candidate area determination section calculates a first direction in which the luminance value of the color signals in the evaluation target area changes most largely, and calculates such an evaluation target area that the angle formed by the first direction and a second direction from the evaluation target area toward the hemorrhage evaluation target area is equal to or below a predetermined value, as the hemorrhage edge candidate area.