PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tomographic image processing method, a tomographic image processing device, and a tomographic image processing program, and an X-ray CT apparatus for automatically discriminating and measuring a visceral fat or the like with high precision.SOLUTION: A center of a spine and a center of an image are acquired from a CT tomographic image. A prescribed number of searching initial points are placed on the circumference having the center of the spine as the center. A boundary of a muscle layer is searched toward the center of the image from the searching initial point provided on the back side of a line passing through the center of the spine in parallel with the back, and a boundary of the muscle layer is searched toward the center of the spine from the searching initial point provided on the abdominal side of the line passing through the center of the spine in parallel with the back. A mask covering the inner side of the body of the boundary of the muscle layer is created from the points detected by the search. The tomographic image processing method discriminates an image of a subcutaneous fat from an image of the visceral fat by using the mask.COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT【課題】本発明は、内臓脂肪などを精度良く自動弁別、計測することができる断層像処理方法、断層像処理装置、断層像処理プログラム、およびX線CT装置を提供する。【解決手段】CT断層像から背骨中心と、画像中心と、を求め、前記背骨中心を中心とした円周上に所定の数の探索初期点を配置し、前記背骨中心を通り背中に対して略平行な線よりも背側に設けられた前記探索初期点から前記画像中心に向かって筋肉層の境界を探索し、前記背骨中心を通り背中に対して略平行な線よりも腹側に設けられた前記探索初期点から前記背骨中心に向かって筋肉層の境界を探索し、前記探索により求められた検出点に基づいて、前記筋肉層の境界よりも体内側を覆うマスクを作成し、前記マスクを用いて皮下脂肪の画像と内臓脂肪の画像とを弁別すること、を特徴とする断層像処理方法が提供される。【選択図】図1
