Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-12
2003-09-30
Wallerson, Mark (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Picture signal generator
C358S480000, C358S481000, C358S487000, C358S448000, C358S445000, C358S408000, C250S581000, C250S584000, C382S294000, C382S132000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06628434
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image transfer method and an image transfer system, and also to an image signal output apparatus and a terminal used therefor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In various fields such as medicine, images are conventionally displayed on an image display device such as a CRT display or output on a film by using a printer such as an LP (Laser Printer), after image data obtained by reading information of radiation images of subjects recorded on stimulable phosphor sheets or films are subjected to predetermined image processing.
Recently, digital image processing techniques using computers have been developed. Furthermore, various kinds of image generating apparatuses (image generating modalities) such as apparatuses for CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and CR (Computed Radiography) using the digital image processing techniques have been spreading as apparatuses for generating diagnostic images and widely put into practice for diagnosing lesions and injuries, or for understanding the degrees thereof.
A CR apparatus is a radiation image recording and reading apparatus. In a CR apparatus, stimulable phosphor which stores partial energy of radiation irradiated thereon and emits light in accordance with the stored radiation energy when exposed to stimulating rays such as visible light or infrared rays is used. By using a stimulable phosphor sheet, radiation image information of a subject such as a human body is recorded thereon and an image signal is obtained by using photoelectric reading means such as a photomultiplier which photoelectrically reads the light emitted from the stimulable phosphor sheet by scanning the sheet with the stimulating rays. The CR apparatuses are in wide use and put into practice (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 55(1980)-12429, 56(1981)-11395, 55(1980)-163472, 56(1981)-104645 and 55(1980)-116340).
The assignee has proposed a method of photoelectrically reading the light from both sides of a stimulable phosphor sheet (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 55(1980)-87970 and 8(1996)-116340). In this method, the photoelectric reading means described above are used on both sides of the stimulable phosphor sheet and the stimulating rays are irradiated on either one side or on both sides of the sheet in order to photoelectrically read the light emitted from both sides of the sheet.
In this double-sided light-collection reading method, a stimulable phosphor sheet is formed by disposing the stimulable phosphor on a surface of a transparent base material and the stimulable phosphor sheet storing a radiation image is placed on a transparent holder. The photoelectric reading means are located above and below the sheet. In other words, the photoelectric reading means placed above the holder reads light from the front side of the sheet while the photoelectric reading means placed below the holder reads light emitted from the backside of the sheet.
Image signals read from both sides (a front-side image signal and a rearside image signal) in the above manner are each subjected to filtering processing having different frequency characteristics. The signals are then added at corresponding pixels on both sides, and an addition image signal (superposition image signal) is obtained. According to this addition image signal, high frequency noise occurring randomly in each of the signals is smoothed by the addition. Moreover, since the light is collected from both sides of the sheet, light collection efficiency is improved and a superposition image displayed based on the superposition image signal has an improved S/N ratio, which leads to an image that is easier to see.
Furthermore, as a method of obtaining radiation image information by using the stimulable phosphor sheet described above, a method of obtaining a radiation image having a specific subject portion emphasized or extracted has been known. In this method, a plurality of image signals are obtained by reading a plurality of radiation images photographed and recorded in different conditions, and an image corresponding to a subtraction of these images, that is, the radiation image having a specific portion emphasized or extracted is obtained by finding a subtraction image signal based on a subtraction operation on these images. As this subtraction processing (operation), time subtraction processing and energy subtraction processing disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 7(1995)-3704 and 8(1996)-76741 are basically known, and the assignee has also proposed time subtraction processing using a stimulable phosphor sheet described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60(1985)-206392 and energy subtraction processing using a stimulable phosphor sheet described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 59(1984)-83486 and 60(1985)-225541, for example.
Meanwhile, due to the spread and progress of networking technologies following the recent development of technologies in communications and computers, diagnostic medical image networks have been installed as image transfer systems in the field of medicine, for example. In such a network, various kinds of image generating apparatuses installed in a medical examination room or the like of a hospital are connected to an image display apparatus or an image output apparatus such as a printer installed in a consulting room or a laboratory, and diagnostic image information obtained by the image generating apparatuses in the examination room can be obtained even in the consulting room.
In such an image transfer system using the network or the like, in the case where an image after an operation such as the addition operation or the subtraction operation described above is output from an image output apparatus, an addition image signal or a subtraction image signal after the operation is conventionally transferred from the image generating apparatus to the image output apparatus, and the image output apparatus outputs the image based on the transferred image signal.
However, in this method, it is difficult for the output image to be output again after being subjected to a further addition or subtraction operation using a different parameter, following confirmation of the output image.
In order to solve this problem, a method of outputting an image based on an image signal after an operation is possible. In this method, a plurality of image signals obtained by an image generating apparatus, that is, original image signals are transferred as they are from the image generating apparatus to an image output apparatus, and the image output apparatus carries out the addition operation or the subtraction operation described above using a predetermined parameter on the original image signals having been transferred. An image is then output based on the image signal after the operation. Alternatively, another method of image display is also possible. In this method, the original image signals are transferred together with an addition image signal or a subtraction image signal after an operation, and an image is normally displayed based on the addition image signal or the subtraction image signal. In the case where parameter change is necessary, an image is displayed based on a signal after the operation using the original image signals.
However, if a plurality of image signals for one image are transferred, the amount of data transfer increases and transfer time becomes longer or a large-capacity storing device for storing the large amount of data becomes necessary.
The present invention has been conceived based on the above considerations. An object of the present invention is therefore to provide an image transfer method and an image transfer system enabling reduction in the amount of data and an image signal output apparatus and a terminal used therefor, in the case where a plurality of image signals are transferred so that an image output apparatus can output an image after carrying out an addition operati
Gibbs Heather D
Wallerson Mark
LandOfFree
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