Toa Medical Electronics Co., Ltd.

Other

Hitachi Medical Corporation

Toshiba Engineering Corporation

Sysmex Corporation and Ken Ishihara

Ken Ishihara

Kaoru Asano

Yasunori Maekawa

Yasuhiro Kouchi

Shinji Kishimoto

Hiroshi Yamamoto

Mitsuru Watanabe

Akio Suzuki

Toshio Ogawa

Akira Sasaki

Takashi Sugiyama

Hiroshi Kanda

Hideo Kusuzawa

Mutsumi Watanabe

Ryozo Hasegawa

Toshihiko Kawano

Akihiro Ueyama

Hiroya Kondo

Jun Tanouchi

Masa Harashima

Kenji Nosaka

Kozi Tanabe

Keisuke Takada

Satoru Hanasaka

Yasuhiro Kochi

Hiroaki Nakai

Masahiro Kawagoe

Yoshio Miyake

A region-of-interest (ROI) setting apparatus for respiration monitoring and a respiration monitoring system capable of setting an ROI in an automatic manner. Absolute values of subtractions between every successive two of a plurality of frame images photographed by a CCD camera 2 for a period of time equal to half a respiration period are calculated, then summed and stored. Based on the change information thus calculated and stored, the position and size of each changed region is calculated. Provisional regions are set from the changed regions successively from the greatest to the smallest one thereof. In each of these provisional regions, it is determined whether a gray level histogram indicative of distribution of the number of pixels for respective gray level values includes a twin peak characteristic having twin peaks each equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and whether the area of the corresponding changed region is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. One of the provisional regions that satisfies these conditions is set as an ROI.

Region-of-interest setting apparatus for respiration monitoring and a

Noninvasive blood analyzer

An object of the present invention is to construct a sensing system capable of extracting change information as new time series information from a continuous moving picture in a non-contact manner and remotely without requiring a special illuminating and irradiating device and driving the succeeding processing system as required, to clearly show a phenomenon in an arbitrary frequency band existing in the moving picture. The present invention provides an apparatus for and a method of extracting time series image information, which comprises input means for inputting a moving picture of an object, primary processing means for detecting a primary information change in each of corresponding regions of a frame at a time point T0 which is updated and a frame at a time point T1 which is updated in a predetermined relationship with the time point T0 with respect to natural time series information on the moving picture inputted at a predetermined frame rate, secondary processing means for newly arranging the primary information change as an element to create a time-series-signalized primary information change which is arbitrary time series information and extracting a time-series-signalized secondary information change having a physical meaning different from that of the time-series-signalized primary information change as required.

Apparatus for and method of extracting time series image information

A non-invasive blood analyzer includes a light applying device for applying light to a detection region including a blood vessel in a living body and a capturing device for capturing an image of the detection region to which the light is applied. Finally, an analyzing device is included for further processing the captured image to analyze blood cells in the blood vessel included in the detection region. Preferably, the analyzing device includes a reference image forming device for forming a reference image by using at least one of a plurality of images which the capturing device repeatedly captures with respect to the same detection region. In addition, it includes a differential image forming device for calculating a difference in pixel information between the reference image and one of the plurality of images to form a differential image by using the calculated difference as pixel information. Finally, a blood cell image detecting device is included for detecting a blood cell image from the differential image.

Non-invasive blood analyzer

A non-invasive blood analyzer is intended to capture images of a prescribed volume of blood in a blood vessel in a non-invasive manner and with a good contrast without collecting blood from a living body. The non-invasive blood analyzer includes a light application device for illuminating a detection region of vessels contained in a part of a living body, an image capturing device for capturing images of the detection region illuminated by the light application device, and an analyzer for analyzing blood components contained in the detection region by processing the images captured by the image capturing device. The image capturing device includes an object lens for converging the reflected light from the detection region. The light application device illuminates the detection region at an incident angle larger than an aperture angle of the object lens with respect to the detection region to provide dark-field illumination.

A non-invasive blood analyzer contains a light applicator for illuminating a detection region under the skin of a living body including a blood vessel; a camera for capturing an image of the illuminated detection region; an analyzer for processing the captured image and analyzing at least a component of blood in the blood vessel; a transparent plate; and a support for supporting the transparent plate and contacting the transparent plate closely with the skin over the detection region. The light applicator and the camera are constructed to illuminate the detection region and capture the image of the detection region through the transparent plate. Further, a drive controller is included for driving the support to move the transparent plate contacted closely with the skin in order to adjust the detection region to thereby compensate for any change in position of the blood vessel.

Non-invasive blood analyzer and method using the same

An apparatus for analyzing blood includes an image capturing device for capturing an image including at least one object blood cell and an analyzer for analyzing the captured image as an image F(x, y) in an x-y coordinate system. The analyzer includes an edge calculator for calculating an edge intensity distribution E(x, y) representing an outline of the image F(x, y); a weight memory for storing in advance a weight distribution W(i, j) corresponding to an average outline of the object cell; an assessment value calculator for obtaining an assessment value C (x, y) at each point (x, y) by calculating a degree of correspondence between the edge intensity distribution E (x, y) and the weight distribution W(i, j) for each point (x, y); and an extractor for extracting a point (x, y) at which the assessment value C(x, y) is larger than a predetermined value, thereby determining that the object blood cell is present at the point (x, y). The apparatus is useful as a device for identifying the object blood cell.

Apparatus for analyzing blood

An apparatus for measuring a concentration of hemoglobin includes a light application device for applying light to a detection region containing a blood vessel present in a living body; an image capturing device for capturing an image of the detection region to which the light is applied; and an analyzer for analyzing the concentration of hemoglobin in blood flowing through the blood vessel by processing the captured image. The analyzer includes a light intensity detector for detecting a light intensity of a body tissue and a light intensity of blood using the captured image. It further includes a calculator for calculating the concentration of hemoglobin from a ratio of the light intensity of the body tissue relative to the light intensity of blood thus detected.

Apparatus for measuring concentration of hemoglobin and method for the

A non-invasive blood analyzer includes a light application device for applying light to a detection region of vessels contained in part of the living body, an imaging device for imaging the detection region to which light is applied, a fixing device for relatively fixing the imaging device and the part of the living body; a stabilizing device for stabilizing a focus of the imaging device with respect to the detection region; and an analyzer for analyzing the morphology and/or number of blood cells contained in the detection region by processing images captured with the imaging device, the light application device and the imaging device forming one image with a light application and capturing process during an interval of one ten thousandth to one billionth of a second.

A two-dimensional echogram or a tomogram (B-mode image) and a volume of an organ are displayed in real time while radiating an ultrasonic wave to the organ. The volume of the organ is obtained by first designating a plurality of line segments traversing the image of the organ on the two-dimensional echogram, by obtaining a pair of intersections between each line segment and the wall of the organ by using a signal intensity profile (A-mode image) of each line segment, by obtaining a length between the pair of intersections, and by calculating the volume by the Simpson method by using the obtained length. In order to improve the precision of volume calculation, the signal intensity profile is smoothed and the intensity is normalized. The intersections are displayed superposed upon the two-dimensional echogram to allow an operator to visually check easily whether the intersections are correctly aligned with the wall of the organ. If the B-mode image of a heart is displayed in slow motion, the signal intensity is also normalized to display the image brightly during a systole period which image otherwise is likely to become dark during the systole period.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and ultrasonic diagnosis method

An ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus comprises an ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting ultrasonic signals to a subject and receiving reflected echo signals reflected from the subject; a unit for controlling the ultrasonic wave transmitting/receiving unit such that the ultrasonic signals repetitively scan the subject at a predetermined scan period; an image memory unit for storing a plurality of image data pieces; a detection unit for detecting biophysical signals of the subject; a unit for setting a reference timing on the basis of the biophysical signals; an image display unit for displaying an image corresponding to the image data piece being delivered out of the image memory unit, the image display unit displaying the image at a predetermined display unit; a unit for controlling the image memory unit so as to store the plurality of image data pieces based on the reflected echo signals, wherein the plurality of image data pieces respectively correspond to two-dimensional images of the subject at different time points and the time points associated with the plurality of image data pieces are sequentially displaced by a first time interval and in synchronism with the reference timing; and a control unit for controlling the memory unit so as to sequentially deliver the plurality of image data pieces stored in the image memory unit at second time intervals longer than the first time interval during scanning of the ultrasonic signals.

Ultrasonic diagnosis apparatus

The present invention includes an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for forming differential image data by performing differential operation among topographic image data obtained in time series, an apparatus for giving color codes which designate display colors to differential image data, an apparatus for cumulating a plurality of frames of differential image data, and an apparatus for displaying respective cumulated differential images in colors designated by the color codes in which motion of a moving portion of a patient's body is displayed in colors by superposing a plurality of differential images.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus for displaying motion of moving portion

An image displaying method in an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus obtains differential image data between first image data and second image data in image data sequentially obtained from an echo signal received by transmitting an ultrasonic wave to a body to be examined. A time difference between a point of time, where the first image data are measured, and another point of time, where the second image data are measured is determined. A synthesized image data capable of displaying simultaneously a differential image and the time difference by combining the differential image data and data representing the time difference is obtained and displayed.

Image displaying method and device for realizing same in an ultrasonic

A drug carrier carrying a drug is introduced to a diseased region of the living body while it is observed in the B mode echograms. The drug carrier is irradiated with an ultrasonic wave for strongly vibrating the drug carrier, thereby releasing the drug from the drug carrier for curing the diseased portion.

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Takarazuka, Japan

Ken Ishihara