PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method, a device and a program for evaluating the degree of progress of degeneration of an intervertebral disk objectively and quantitatively by using an MRI median sagittal tomographic image of the intervertebral disk.SOLUTION: In the method for evaluating the degree of progress of degeneration of the intervertebral disk by using the MRI median sagittal tomographic image of the intervertebral disk, the luminance of the whole image is standardized with the luminance of the MRI image at the position of the spinal fluid as a reference, and a polygon whose apexes include at least two points of lower corners of the upper spinal bone and two points of upper angles of the lower spinal bone of the intervertebral disk is extracted as an intervertebral disk region. The standardized luminance centroid in the intervertebral disk region is found, and a region acquired by reducing the intervertebral disk region around the luminance centroid is extracted as a measuring region. The average of the standardized luminance in the measuring region is calculated, and the calculated average luminance is the evaluation value for evaluating the degeneration of the intervertebral disk.COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT【課題】椎間板のMRI画像正中矢状断像を用い、椎間板変性の進行度を客観的且つ定量的に評価する方法、装置及びプログラムを提供する。【解決手段】椎間板のMRI正中矢状断像を用い、椎間板変性の進行度を評価する方法に関し、脊髄液の位置のMRI画像の輝度を基準にして画像全体の輝度を規格化し、頂点が少なくとも椎間板上方脊柱骨の下角の2点及び下方脊柱骨の上角の2点を含む多角形を椎間板領域として抽出し、椎間板領域の規格化された輝度重心を求め、輝度重心を中心として椎間板領域を縮小して得た領域を測定領域として抽出し、測定領域の規格化された輝度の平均値を算出し、輝度平均値を椎間板変性の評価値とする。【選択図】図4
