US-20260123831-A1 - ANALYSIS PROCESSING APPARATUS, OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY APPARATUS, ANALYSIS PROCESSING METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUM

US20260123831A1US 20260123831 A1US20260123831 A1US 20260123831A1US-20260123831-A1

Abstract

An analysis processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit, an analyzer, and a display controller. The acquisition unit is configured to acquire two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other. The two or more pieces of motion contrast data are acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured. The analyzer is configured to perform analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data. The display controller is configured to cause an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display means.

Inventors

Toshihiro MINO
Yoshikiyo Moriguchi
Akiko Ishikawa

Assignees

TOPCON CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251222
Priority Date: 20230627

Claims (18)

1 . An analysis processing apparatus, comprising: processing circuitry configured to acquire two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other, the two or more pieces of motion contrast data being acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured; the processing circuitry is further configured to perform analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data; and the processing circuitry is further configured to cause an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display.
2 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to acquire two or more contrast data groups acquired at timings different from each other, each of the two or more contrast data groups including the two or more pieces of motion contrast data, the processing circuitry is configured to sequentially perform the analysis processing on the each of the two or more contrast data groups, and the processing circuitry is configured to cause two or more images, each of the two or more images representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing, to be simultaneously displayed on a screen of the display, or to cause the two or more images, each of the two or more images representing the time variation, at a same position to be sequentially displayed on the display.
3 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the image representing the time variation in real time.
4 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the image representing the time variation based on a saturation time of the motion contrast intensity at each of positions in the cross-section.
5 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the image representing a time change in the time variation at a designated position in the cross-section.
6 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to cause information representing the time change in the time variation to be displayed on the display.
7 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to adjust one or more parameters of the B-scan based on the time variation of the motion contrast intensity at each of one or more positions in the cross-section.
8 . The analysis processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the one or more scan parameters include an interscan time, and number of repetitions of the B-scan for a same cross-section.
9 . An optical coherence tomography apparatus, comprising: an optical system configured to perform optical coherence tomography on an object to be measured; and an analysis processing apparatus configured to cause an image representing a time variation to be displayed on a display based on two or more pieces of motion contrast data acquired by repeatedly performing three or more B-scans on a same cross-section in the object to be measured using the optical system, wherein the analysis processing apparatus comprises: processing circuitry configured to acquire two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other, the two or more pieces of motion contrast data being acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured; the processing circuitry is further configured to perform analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data; and the processing circuitry is further configured to cause an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display.
10 . An analysis processing method, comprising: acquiring two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other, the two or more pieces of motion contrast data being acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured; performing analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data; and causing an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display.
11 . The analysis processing method of claim 10 , wherein the acquiring is performed to acquire two or more contrast data groups acquired at timings different from each other, each of the two or more contrast data group including the two or more pieces of motion contrast data, the analysis processing is performed to sequentially perform the analysis processing on the each of the two or more contrast data groups, and the causing the image to be displayed is performed to cause two or more images, each of the two or more images representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing, to be simultaneously displayed on a screen of the display, or to cause the two or more images, each of the two or more images representing the time variation, at a same position to be sequentially displayed on the display.
12 . The analysis processing method of claim 10 , wherein the analysis processing is performed to generate the image representing the time variation in real time.
13 . The analysis processing method of claim 10 , wherein the analysis processing is performed to generate the image representing the time variation based on a saturation time of the motion contrast intensity at each of positions in the cross-section.
14 . The analysis processing method of claim 10 , wherein the analysis processing is performed to generate information representing a time change in the time variation at a designated position in the cross-section.
15 . The analysis processing method of claim 14 , wherein the causing the image to be displayed is performed to cause information representing the time change in the time variation to be displayed on the display.
16 . The analysis processing method of claim 10 , further comprising adjusting one or more scan parameters of the B-scan based on the time variation of the motion contrast intensity at each of one or more positions in the cross-section.
17 . The analysis processing method of claim 16 , wherein the one or more scan parameters include an interscan time, and number of repetitions of the B-scan for a same cross-section.
18 . A non-transitory computer readable recording medium storing a program of causing a computer to execute each step of an analysis processing method, wherein the analysis processing method comprises: acquiring two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other, the two or more pieces of motion contrast data being acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured; performing analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data; and causing an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2024/021492, filed Jun. 13, 2024, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-105356, filed Jun. 27, 2023, both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. FIELD The disclosure relates to an analysis processing apparatus, an optical coherence tomography apparatus, an analysis processing method, and a recording medium. BACKGROUND Optical coherence tomography (OCT) that is used for forming images representing the surface morphology or the internal morphology of an object to be measured using light beam emitted from a laser light source or the like have been known. OCT is not invasive on the human body, and therefore is expected to be applied to the medical field or the biological field, in particular. For example, in the ophthalmic field, apparatuses for forming images of the fundus, the cornea, or the like have been in practical use. Such apparatuses using a method of OCT (OCT apparatuses) can be applied to observe various sites of an eye to be examined. In addition, because of the ability to acquire high-definition images, the OCT apparatuses are applied to the diagnosis of various eye diseases. In particular, OCT angiography (OCTA) has recently attracted attention as a method for imaging components that change within the minute time between OCT scans by repeatedly performing OCT scans on the same location of the object to be measured. Such OCTA is used as a method for visualizing information on a structure of a vasculature in a retina and/or a choroid within a living body. For example, U.S. Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018/0315194, U.S. Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0064118, and “Toward quantitative OCT angiography: visualizing blood flow speeds in ocular pathology using variable interscan time analysis (VISTA)” (Stefan B. Ploner et al., Retina. Auther manuscript; available in PMC 2017 Dec. 1) disclose Variable Interscan Time Analysis (VISTA) for analyzing a relative blood flow velocity by utilizing a dependency of OCT signals (OCTA images) in the interscan time (time between scans). For example, as described in “Toward quantitative OCT angiography: visualizing blood flow speeds in ocular pathology using variable interscan time analysis (VISTA)”, a relative blood flow distribution in the retinal/choroidal vessel layer such as a superficial layer of the retina, a deep layer of the retina, and a choriocapillaris can be provided by using VISTA. VISTA is expected to be used to evaluate the activity of blood vessels, especially capillary or neovascular. SUMMARY One aspect of embodiments is an analysis processing apparatus including: an acquisition unit configured to acquire two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other, the two or more pieces of motion contrast data being acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured; an analyzer configured to perform analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data; and a display controller configured to cause an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display means. Another aspect of the embodiments is an optical coherence tomography apparatus including: an optical system configured to perform optical coherence tomography on the object to be measured; and the analysis processing apparatus described above, the analysis processing apparatus being configured to cause an image representing the time variation to be displayed on the display means based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data acquired by repeatedly performing three or more B-scans on the same cross-section in the object to be measured using the optical system. Still another aspect of the embodiments is an analysis processing method including: an acquisition step of acquiring two or more pieces of motion contrast data of a cross-section at interscan time intervals different from each other, the two or more pieces of motion contrast data being acquired by repeatedly performing B-scans three or more times on the same cross-section in an object to be measured; an analyzing step of performing analysis processing for obtaining a time variation of a motion contrast intensity in the cross-section based on the two or more pieces of motion contrast data; and a display control step of causing an image representing the time variation obtained by performing the analysis processing to be displayed on a display means. Still another aspect of the embodiments is a program of causing a computer to execute each step of the analysis processing method described above. Still another aspect of the embodim