PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily switch rotation processing and region specifying processing by an intuitively easily comprehensible simple operation using only a pointing device to be conducted to a three-dimensional medical image.SOLUTION: A three-dimensional medical image is acquired to extract a region of interest, the extracted region of interest is moved to the center of a screen and displayed on a display screen W, and an input position of a user and a locus taking the input position as a starting point are received on the display screen. When the input position is in the center area 6 of the display screen W, the center of rotation is set in the region of interest and the rotation processing is conducted to the displayed three-dimensional medical image, and when the input position is outside of the center area 6 of the display screen W, the region specifying processing is conducted to the displayed three-dimensional medical image. The region specifying processing includes the steps of specifying a closed curve on the display screen on the basis of the received locus and deleting the three-dimensional medical image inside or outside a cylinder body extending in the depth direction of the display screen from the specified closed curve.COPYRIGHT: (C)2014,JPO&INPIT【課題】回転処理および領域指定処理を、ポインティングデバイスのみを用いた直感的に理解しやすい簡易な操作で容易に切り替えて3次元医用画像に施すことを可能にする。【解決手段】3次元医用画像を取得して関心領域を抽出し、抽出された関心領域を画面中央に移動させて表示画面Wに表示し、表示画面上でユーザの入力位置および入力位置を始点とする軌跡を受け付け、入力位置が表示画面Wの中央領域6である場合に、関心領域内に回転中心を設定して回転処理を表示された3次元医用画像に施し、入力位置が表示画面Wのうち中央領域6以外の領域である場合に、領域指定処理を表示された3次元医用画像に施す。また、領域指定処理は、受け付けられた軌跡に基づいて表示画面上で閉曲線を指定し、指定された閉曲線から表示画面奥行き方向にのびる筒体の内側または外側の3次元医用画像を削除する処理である。【選択図】図3M
