Shimadzu Corporation

Masumi Kawai

Akihiro Ishikawa

Hiroshi Sawada

Yuusuke Miura

This treatment support system () is provided with an irradiation unit () for irradiating a medical agent () administered to a subject of a cancer subject () with therapeutic light in treatment for killing a cancer cell by irradiating the medical agent with the therapeutic light, a light detection unit () for detecting fluorescence excited by the therapeutic light, a control unit (), and a display unit (). The control unit () includes a signal acquisition unit () for acquiring a fluorescence signal, an analysis processing unit () for generating the analysis image () that displays a treatment progress distribution for each region of the treatment site based on a change along time series of the fluorescence signal, and an image output unit () for outputting the analysis image ().

Treatment support system and treatment support device

A digital angiographic apparatus for reducing exposure of patients to X-ray radiation, and completely eliminating a slip or deviation between mask image and live image. A radiographic image is picked up by emitting X rays through a selected site of a patient injected with a contrast medium. The radiographic image is converted to digital data to obtain a basic image. The basic image is used as a live image retaining high frequency components reflecting blood vessels and the like into which the contrast medium is injected. The basic image is subjected to appropriate frequency processing to remove high frequency components (reflecting the blood vessels and the like), thereby to obtain a mask image. A control unit subtracts the mask image from the live image to obtain a subtraction image extracting a blood vessel image.

Digital angiographic apparatus

A focusing voltage and a defocusing voltage are selectively applied to a focus adjusting electrode of an image intensifier included in a fluoroscopic device. An image in focus is picked up when the focusing voltage is applied to the focus adjusting electrode, and this image is used as a live image. On the other hand, an image out of focus is picked up when the defocusing voltage is applied to the focus adjusting electrode. With a degree of being out of focus set appropriately, the image obtained may be an image of a site, e.g. a blood vessel, from which high frequency components are removed. This image is used as a mask image. After the patient is injected with contrast material, the voltages are switched for application to the focus adjusting electrode to pick up successively the mask image with application of the defocusing voltage, and the live image with application of the focusing voltage. Consequently, the interval of time between the two image pickup steps is shortened, and contrast material is not injected during the interval, to reduce the possibility of movement of the patient during the interval. A slip or deviation between the mask image and live image is diminished to suppress artifacts appearing in a subtraction image thereby acquired.

An X-ray photographic equipment includes an assembly consisting of an X-ray tube and an X-ray image pickup means with the body of a subject disposed therebetween. The assembly is moved relative to the body of the subject along the direction of a contrast medium flowing in the body of the subject. A plurality of images are obtained every time the assembly is stopped. Video signals representing these images are processed, and a maximum value holding image and a minimum value holding image are found. A difference therebetween represents an image of the blood vessel, which is free from an artefact caused by positional deviation.

X-ray photographic equipment

An apparatus for processing X-ray images includes a smoothing circuit consisting of a low-pass filter. When a pre-contrast image passes therethrough, the higher portion of the spatial frequency of the pre-contrast image is cut off. A contrast image consists of a vascular image added to the pre-contrast image. The subtration of the smoothed pre-contrast image from the contrast image is carried out in a subtraction circuit. An image outputted from the subtraction circuit consists solely of the vascular image and the marginal images of skeletons, etc. This image permits easy ascertainment of vascularity on the surfaces of skeletons, etc.

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Kyoto, Japan

Masumi Kawai