Patent Number: 
Section: claims

1. An apparatus for processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, comprising:generation means for generating the image components due to the grid on the basis of data of the radiation image, comprisinganalysis means for analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency and optionally an angle of a periodic pattern that the image components form,extraction means for extracting predetermined components containing the image components from the radiation image on the basis of an analysis result from said analysis means, andprocessing means for processing the predetermined components obtained by said extraction means to obtain the image components; andremoving means for removing the image components obtained by said processing means from the radiation image,wherein said processing means executes a process for estimating and processing an unsteady portion of the predetermined components from steady portions before and after the unsteady portion as the process of the predetermined components, andwherein said processing means estimates an amplitude and phase of a sine wave corresponding to the image components on the basis of the steady portions of the predetermined components before and after the unsteady portion, and the spatial frequency, and mends the unsteady portion on the basis of the estimation result. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said generation means generates the image components on the basis of a feature that the image components superposed on the radiation image are steady. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said extraction means executes filtering for extracting components having the spatial frequency obtained by said analysis means from the radiation image. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means detects the unsteady portion on the basis of envelope information of the predetermined components. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means obtains the image components by executing another filtering of the mended predetermined components. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means obtains the image components by substituting an unsteady portion that satisfies a predetermined condition in the unsteady portion by a predetermined value. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said generation means executes the generation process of the image components for a predetermined line selected from the radiation image. 8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said generation means executes the generation process for a resulted line data obtained by averaging a plurality of lines selected from the radiation image. 9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said generation means executes the generation process of the image components for the predetermined line which is representative of a plurality of lines of the radiation image. 10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:image extraction means for extracting a partial image corresponding to a radiation irradiation field from the radiation image, andwherein said generation means generates the image components of the partial image obtained by said image extraction means. 11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:detection means for detecting if the grid is used for radiography, andwherein said generation means executes the process on the basis of a detection result of said detection means. 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:image storage means for storing a radiation image obtained by removing the image components generated by said generation means from the radiation image. 13. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:image sensing means for capturing the radiation image by a solid-state image sensing element having an image-receiving surface with a size within which a spatial distribution of radiation, at the image-receiving surface, corresponding to the object to be captured falls. 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:image component storage means for storing the image components generated by said generation means. 15. A system for processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, said system being built by connecting a plurality of apparatuses intercommunicatably, comprising:generation means for generating the image components due to the grid on the basis of data of the radiation image, comprisinganalysis means for analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency and optionally an angle of a periodic pattern that the image components form,extraction means for extracting predetermined components containing the image components from the radiation image on the basis of an analysis result from said analysis means, andprocessing means for processing the predetermined components obtained by said extraction means to obtain the image components; andremoving means for removing the image components obtained by said processing means from the radiation image,wherein said processing means executes a process for estimating and processing an unsteady portion of the predetermined components from steady portions before and after the unsteady portion as the process of the predetermined components, andwherein said processing means estimates an amplitude and phase of a sine wave corresponding to the image components on the basis of the steady portions of the predetermined components before and after the unsteady portion, and the spatial frequency, and mends the unsteady portion on the basis of the estimation result. 16. A method of processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, comprising:a generation step of generating the image components due to the grid on the basis of data of the radiation image, comprisingan analysis step of analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency and optionally an angle of a periodic pattern that the image components form,an extraction step of extracting predetermined components containing the image components from the radiation image on the basis of an analysis result from said analysis step, anda processing step of processing the predetermined components obtained in said extraction step to obtain the image components; anda removing step of removing the image components obtained in said processing step from the radiation image,wherein said processing step includes executing a process for estimating and processing an unsteady portion of the predetermined components from steady portions before and after the unsteady portion as the process of the predetermined components,wherein said processing step includes estimating an amplitude and phase of a sine wave corresponding to the image components on the basis of the steady portions of the predetermined components before and after the unsteady portion, and the spatial frequency, and mending the unsteady portion on the basis of the estimation result, andwherein said steps are performed using a processor and a memory. 17. A computer-readable storage medium storing, in executable form, a program for making a computer execute a method of processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, said method comprising:a generation step of generating the image components due to the grid on the basis of data of the radiation image, comprisingan analysis step of analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency and optionally an angle of a periodic pattern that the image components form,an extraction step of extracting predetermined components containing the image components from the radiation image on the basis of an analysis result from said analysis step, anda processing step of processing the predetermined components obtained in said extraction step to obtain the image components; anda removing step of removing the image components obtained in said processing step from the radiation image,wherein said processing step includes executing a process for estimating and processing an unsteady portion of the predetermined components from steady portions before and after the unsteady portion as the process of the predetermined components, andwherein said processing step includes estimating an amplitude and phase of a sine wave corresponding to the image components on the basis of the steady portions of the predetermined components before and after the unsteady portion, and the spatial frequency, and mending the unsteady portion on the basis of the estimation result. 18. An apparatus for processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, comprising:analysis means for analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency of grid stripes generated on the radiation image due to the grid;first extraction means for executing frequency band limitation processing on the radiation image on the basis of the spatial frequency to extract the processed radiation image as first grid stripes components;calculation means for calculating an amplitude value of the first grid stripes components;second extraction means for substituting a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is out of a predetermined range with a value estimated from a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is within the predetermined range to extract the substituted image as second grid stripes components; andremoving means for removing the second grid stripes components from the radiation image. 19. A system for processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, said system being built by connecting a plurality of apparatuses intercommunicatably, comprising:analysis means for analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency of grid stripes generated on the radiation image due to the grid;first extraction means for executing frequency band limitation processing on the radiation image on the basis of the spatial frequency to extract the processed radiation image as first grid stripes components;calculation means for calculating an amplitude value of the first grid stripes components;second extraction means for substituting a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is out of a predetermined range with a value estimated from a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is within the predetermined range to extract the substituted image as second grid stripes components; andremoving means for removing the second grid stripes components from the radiation image. 20. A method of processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, comprising:an analysis step of analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency of grid stripes generated on the radiation image due to the grid;a first extraction step of executing frequency band limitation processing on the radiation image on the basis of the spatial frequency to extract the processed radiation image as first grid stripes components;a calculation step of calculating an amplitude value of the first grid stripes components;a second extraction step of substituting a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is out of a predetermined range with a value estimated from a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is within the predetermined range to extract the substituted image as second grid stripes components; anda removing step of removing the second grid stripes components from the radiation image,wherein said steps are performed using a processor and a memory. 21. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for making a computer execute a method of processing a radiation image of an object obtained by radiography using a grid which is used to remove scattered radiation from the object, to remove image components due to the grid, said method comprising:an analysis step of analyzing the radiation image to obtain a spatial frequency of grid stripes generated on the radiation image due to the grid;a first extraction step of executing frequency band limitation processing on the radiation image on the basis of the spatial frequency to extract the processed radiation image as first grid stripes components;a calculation step of calculating an amplitude value of the first grid stripes components;a second extraction step of substituting a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is out of a predetermined range with a value estimated from a value of the first grid stripes components corresponding to an image portion where the amplitude value is within the predetermined range to extract the substituted image as second grid stripes components; anda removing step of removing the second grid stripes components from the radiation image.