Imaging and image processing for integrated understanding of multi-modal medical images

建立可靠的多模态图像评价，构建与器官或组织生理动态相对应的诊断支持系统，是先进和防护医学的重要研究课题。为此，成像和图像处理技术必须是获取形态和功能信息，并利用互信息改进每一次观察的关键技术。开始实现功能和形态图像的CT成像新技术。在同步辐射成像中，我们成功地利用荧光和康普顿散射现象在靶器官上同时描述了它们具有相当的互信息效应。结合荧光x线CT和相衬CT图像，可以很好地评价器官功能变化的情况。利用透射光的衰减系数和光谱展宽来表征人体手指关节等靶器官，也发展和讨论了透照光学CT。为了临床评估心壁功能，我们已经开发了一种交互式3D显示系统，该系统将SPECT的功能信息与MRI的3D形态描述叠加在一起，并成功地证明了集成显示的有效性。在这里，我们开发了一种自动处理程序，通过在目标器官附近使用明确描述的器官。我们还开发了PET/MRI和SPECT/MRI图像融合的自动三维配准程序，并获得了一些用于定量临床评价的参数。进一步的努力现在集中在调整相应的个人目标的处理参数，以供临床使用。

For advanced and protective medicine, it is an important study to establish reliable multi-modal image evaluation and to construct a supporting system for diagnosis corresponding to the physiological dynamics of organ or tissue. On this purpose, imaging and image processing techniques must be key-technologies to obtain both morphological and functional information and to improve each observation by using mutual information.It is started to realize new CT imaging techniques for functional and morphological image. In synchrotron radiation imaging, we have succeeded to describe them simultaneously by using fluorescent and Compton scattering phenomena on the target organ with considerable effect of mutual information. In case of the combination with fluorescent X-ray CT and phase-contrast CT images, we can evaluate properly the situation of functional changes of organ. Trans-illumination optical CT is also developed and discussed to utilize attenuation coefficient and spectrum broadening of transmitted light to characterize target organ such as human finger joint.For clinical evaluation of cardiac wall function, we have already developed an interactive 3D display system where functional information from SPECT are superposed on 3D morphological description from MRI, and succeeded to demonstrate the validity of integrated presentation. Here we have developed an automatic processing procedure for this purpose by using clear described organs near the target organ.We have also developed several procedures in automatic 3D registration on image fusion for PET/MRI and SPECT/MRI images, and to get a few parameters for quantitative clinical evaluation. Further effort is now concentrated on tuning processing parameters corresponding individual target for clinical use.