Patent ID: 8520974

Claim:
An image processing method for processing a sectional image, wherein the sectional image is divided into a pixel group including artifacts and a pixel group without any artifacts by carrying out a feature quantity analysis of the artifacts, and a correction process is carried out to remove the artifacts by performing a predetermined process relating to correction only with respect to the pixel group including the artifacts, and wherein the feature quantity analysis is an independent component analysis, and using the independent component analysis, a separation is made independently into image components corresponding to the artifacts and image components not corresponding to the artifacts, thereby dividing into the pixel group including the artifacts and the pixel group without any artifacts, wherein the predetermined process relating to correction is performed only with respect to the pixel group including the artifacts by eliminating image components corresponding to the artifacts, wherein, with a sectional plane of the sectional image regarded as an x, y plane, and each pixel of the sectional image regarded as F (x, y), the sectional image F (x, y) is divided by the x, y into groups, Δ in number, thereby to obtain images F i (x, y) (where i =1 to Δ) formed of N pixels, and by applying the independent component analysis, each element image F i (x, y) is developed with basis functions A j consisting of N pixels (where j=1 to N), as in; F i ( x,y )=Σ j=1 N S ji *A j (A) and wherein basis function(s) A h (where 1≦h≦N; the number of applicable h being one or more) corresponding to the artifacts is/are selected from among the basis functions A j developed by equation (A) above, components s hi corresponding to the selected basis function(s) A h being regarded as image components corresponding to the artifacts, and the correction process is carried out on each of the element images F i (x, y), which replaces the components s hi with “0”, thereby eliminating the image components corresponding to the artifacts, and the element images F i (x, y) are arranged by i=1 to Δ, thereby obtaining a sectional image without the artifacts.