Abstract: An apparatus includes a calculating unit that calculates gradient strength of respective pixel values based on an intraluminal image, an extracting unit that extracts a closed region from the image, and a detecting unit that detects an abnormal portion of the closed region. The closed region satisfies conditions that the pixel of which gradient strength is a predetermined value or more is not included in the closed region and a boundary of the closed region does not bend with predetermined curvature or higher toward an inner side of the closed region. The extracting unit includes a setting unit that sets an initial closed region based on the gradient strength, an energy calculating unit that calculates values of types of energies based on an outer shape of the closed region and the gradient strength, and an energy weighted-sum calculating unit that calculates a weighted sum of the types of energy.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a gradient strength calculating unit that calculates a gradient strength of respective pixel values based on an intraluminal image; an extracting unit that extracts a closed region satisfying conditions that the pixel of which gradient strength is a predetermined value or more is not included in the region and a boundary of the region does not bend with a predetermined curvature or higher toward an inner side of the region; and a detecting unit that detects an abnormal portion inside the region. The extracting unit includes a setting unit that sets an initial shape of the region; an energy calculating unit that calculates values of types of energy including at least energies determined respectively by an outer shape of the region and the gradient strength; and an energy-weighted sum calculating unit that calculates a weighted sum of the types of energy.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an identification criterion creating unit that creates an identification criterion so as to enable identification of specific regions in a target image to be processed that is selected in chronological order from among images constituting a set of time-series images; includes a feature data calculating unit that calculates the feature data of each segmented region in the target image to be processed; and includes a specific region identifying unit that, based on the feature data of each segmented region, identifies the specific regions in the target image to be processed by using the identification criterion. Moreover, the identification criterion creating unit creates the identification criterion based on the pieces of feature data of the specific regions identified in the images that have been already processed.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: a candidate abnormal region determining unit that determines a candidate abnormal region from an image using a first determination criterion; a bubble region determining unit that determines a bubble region from the image; a bubble inside determining unit that determines whether the candidate abnormal region is present inside the bubble region based on a determination result of the bubble region; and an abnormal region determining unit that determines whether the candidate abnormal region is an abnormal region using a second determination criterion different from the first determination criterion when the candidate abnormal region is determined to be present inside the bubble region.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: a feature data calculator configured to calculate the feature data of each pixel in an image; an approximate shape calculator configured to calculate an approximate shape approximating a profile of a distribution area in which the feature data is distributed in a feature space having the feature data as an element; and an abnormal area detector configured to detect an abnormal area in the image based on the approximate shape and the profile of the distribution area.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: a non-target region detecting unit that detects a region that is not to be examined as a non-target region from an image; a pixel-of-interest region setting unit that sets a pixel-of-interest region in a predetermined area including a pixel-of-interest position in the image; a surrounding region determining unit that determines a surrounding region, which is an area for acquiring information for use in forming a reference plane with respect to the pixel-of-interest position, based on the non-target region; a reference plane forming unit that forms the reference plane based on the information in the surrounding region; and an outlier pixel detecting unit that detects an outlier pixel having a pixel value numerically distant from circumferential values based on a difference between corresponding quantities of the reference plane at each pixel position and of the original image.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a distance information calculator that calculates distance information corresponding to a distance to an imaging object at each of portions in an image; a feature data calculator that calculates feature data at each portion in the image; a feature data distribution calculator that calculates a distribution of the feature data in each of regions that are classified according to the distance information in the image; a reliability determining unit that determines the reliability of the distribution of the feature data in each of the regions; and a discrimination criterion generator that generates, for each of the regions, a discrimination criterion for discriminating a specific region in the image based on a determination result of the reliability and the distribution of the feature data in each of the regions.

Abstract: An image processing device classifies a region of interest included in an image into multiple classification items. The image processing device has: an initial region detector that detects at least part of the region of interest and sets the part as an initial region; an expansion region detector that detects an expansion region by expanding the initial region; and a region determining unit that calculates feature data of the initial region and the expansion region, and determines, based on the feature data, to which of the multiple classification items the region of interest belongs.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a small area divider that divides, on the basis of edge information of an image, the image into multiple small areas each including multiple pixels; an attribute probability estimator that estimates attribute probability for each of the small areas, which is probability that the small area is attributed to a specific area to be detected; an adjacent-small-area connection strength calculator that calculates connection strength that quantitatively indicates a degree to which small areas adjacent to each other among the multiple small areas are attributed to the same area that is the specific area or a non-specific area; and a specific area detector that detects the specific area on the basis of the attribute probability and the connection strength.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an approximate-surface calculator that calculates multiple approximate surfaces that each approximate the pixel value of a pixel included in an examination-target region of an image; an approximate-surface selector that selects at least one approximate surface from the approximate surfaces on the basis of the relation between the pixel value of the pixel in the examination-target region and the approximate surfaces; an approximate-region setting unit that sets an approximate region that is approximated by at least the selected one approximate surface; and an abnormal-region detector that detects an abnormal region on the basis of the pixel value of a pixel in the approximate region and the value corresponding to the coordinates of that pixel on at least one approximate surface.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a probability value calculator that calculates, based on color feature data of a pixel included in an image, respective probabilities that the pixel belongs to a specific area and a non-specific area; a weighted edge intensity calculator that calculates a weighted edge intensity between neighboring pixels based on pixel values and color feature data of the pixel included in the image and a neighboring pixel of the pixel; an energy function creator that uses the probabilities and the weighted edge intensity to create an energy function expressed by a result of an area determination of the pixel; and an area divider that divides the image into the plurality of areas based on the energy function.

Abstract: In an image processing device that discriminates between a mucosal region and a non-mucosal region that are contained in an intraluminal image, the image processing device includes a residue candidate region detecting unit that detects a residue candidate region to be discriminated whether the candidate region is a mucosal region or not, on the basis of a feature data of each pixel that constitutes the intraluminal image, a structure edge region detecting unit that detects a structure edge contained in the intraluminal image, and an approximate structure edge line calculating unit and an overlap deciding unit that discriminate whether the residue candidate region is a mucosal region or not, based on a relative positional relationship between the structure edge and the residue candidate region.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: a candidate point extraction unit which extracts, from an image, candidate points which are candidates for points constituting a circular region that represents a bubble; and a circular-region detecting unit which detects a circular region in the image on the basis of information belonging to the candidate points.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus to detect a bubble region included in image includes: a bubble candidate region setting unit which sets, from the image, a region as a bubble candidate region, the region having shape corresponding to a bubble region shape model stored in a storage unit; and a bubble region determination unit which determines, on the basis of information belonging to the bubble candidate region, whether the bubble candidate region is a bubble region.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: an evaluation area setting unit that sets an evaluation area whose category is to be identified in an in-vivo image; a texture component acquiring unit that acquires texture components from the evaluation area in the in-vivo image; an evaluation value calculating unit that calculates an evaluation value indicating homogeneity of the texture components; and an identifying unit that identifies the category of the evaluation area on the basis of the evaluation value.

Abstract: An image processing device includes: an interest area detector that detects interest areas included in a time-series image group captured in time series; a calculation processing unit that calculates feature amounts indicative of features of the interest areas; an area classification unit that classifies the interest areas into area groups, based on the feature amounts of the interest areas and time-series positions of time-series images including the interest areas; a group feature amount calculation unit that calculates a group feature amount indicative of a feature of each of the area groups; an area selection unit that selects one or more representative areas of the interest areas belonging to the area groups, from among the area groups; and a representative image output unit that outputs one or more representative images including the representative areas in the time-series image group.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a contour-candidate-edge detecting unit that detects, as contour candidate edges, edges based on a gradient magnitude of each pixel in a target image; a contour-edge detecting unit that detect contour edges by performing thresholding on gradient magnitudes of the contour candidate edges; an interpolation-line generating unit that generates interpolation lines for connecting end points of respective end-point pairs based on gradients of pixel values between the end points while each of the end point pairs is made up of an end point of an identical contour edge as a connection base and an end point of a different contour edge as a connection destination; and a contour-edge interpolating unit that selects one of the interpolation lines based on the gradients of pixel values on the interpolation lines and interpolates a contour edge between the end points with the selected interpolation line.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a gradient magnitude calculating unit that calculates a gradient magnitude of each pixel on the basis of pixel values of a target image in which a predetermined target object is imaged; a candidate-edge detecting unit that detects contour-candidate edge positions on the basis of the gradient magnitude of each pixel; a reference-range setting unit that sets a reference range, which is to be referred to when a contour edge position is selected from among the contour-candidate edge positions, on the basis of the gradient magnitude of each pixel; and a contour-edge selecting unit that selects, as the contour edge position, one of the contour-candidate edge positions in the reference range.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an approximate value calculating unit that calculates an approximate value that becomes consecutive inside an examination area for a pixel value of each pixel of the examination area based on the pixel value inside an image, a validity evaluating unit that evaluates whether the approximate value is valid on the pixel value, an area dividing unit that divides the examination area with the approximate value that is evaluated as being invalid, an examination area re-setting unit that sets each divided area obtained by the area dividing unit as a new examination area and controls a repetition of processing, and an abnormal portion detecting unit that detects an abnormal portion based on the pixel value inside the image and the approximate value that has been evaluated as being valid by the validity evaluating unit.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a gradient strength calculating unit that calculates a gradient strength of respective pixel values based on an intraluminal image; an extracting unit that extracts a closed region satisfying conditions that the pixel of which gradient strength is a predetermined value or more is not included in the region and a boundary of the region does not bend with a predetermined curvature or higher toward an inner side of the region; and a detecting unit that detects an abnormal portion inside the region. The extracting unit includes a setting unit that sets an initial shape of the region; an energy calculating unit that calculates values of types of energy including at least energies determined respectively by an outer shape of the region and the gradient strength; and an energy-weighted sum calculating unit that calculates a weighted sum of the types of energy.