JP7392779B2 - Imaging device, biological image processing system, biological image processing method, and biological image processing program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a biological image processing system for processing biological images, a biological image processing method, a biological image processing program, and a storage medium that stores the biological image processing program.

In recent years, with the development of the information society, the problem of identity theft in product transactions and immigration inspections has become increasingly serious. Personal authentication using passwords, authentication cards, etc. easily allows someone to impersonate another person through theft or eavesdropping. Therefore, instead of authentication methods using passwords, authentication cards, etc., authentication methods using biometric characteristics unique to individuals that are difficult to forge have been developed. Since the characteristics of the blood vessel pattern are derived from blood vessels existing inside the living body, it is particularly difficult to forge, and authentication using the blood vessel pattern can ensure high security against impersonation.

An example of an authentication device using a blood vessel pattern is described in Patent Document 1. The authentication device described in Patent Document 1 is configured to irradiate near-infrared light onto the side of the finger pad of a finger placed on the placement section, and to irradiate visible light onto the center of the finger pad. There is. The device's camera captures the light that passes through the colorless and transparent aperture cover and generates image data. The signal separation unit of the device separates the image data generated by the camera into color spectral units, and extracts blood vessel image data and finger surface image data. The positional deviation detection processing section of the device detects the positional deviation state of the blood vessel image data from the reference finger expression image and the finger surface image data. The matching unit matches the blood vessel image whose position has been corrected based on the detection result of the misalignment state with the pre-registered image.

JP2006-72764

Incidentally, an image captured by light transmitted through a living body as in the above-mentioned device is used for matching blood vessel patterns, but skin patterns such as fingerprint patterns and palm print patterns are likely to be reflected in the image. In blood vessel pattern matching, skin patterns reflected in images can affect the matching results and cause a decrease in authentication accuracy. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a biological image processing system that acquires blood vessel patterns with less noise.

A first imaging device of the present invention includes a plate having a mounting surface on which a living body is placed, a near-infrared light source that irradiates the living body with near-infrared light, and a visible light source that irradiates the living body with visible light. , an imaging unit that captures an image of the living body, and the plate has a plurality of light-shielding walls that partition the inside of the plate, and the near-infrared light source and the visible light source are arranged in each space partitioned by the light-shielding walls. One of the imaging units is arranged, and the near-infrared light source or the visible light source is arranged in a space on both sides of the space in which the imaging unit is arranged.

The first living body image processing system of the present invention includes a first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with the near-infrared light by the imaging device, and a first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with the visible light. an acquisition unit that acquires a second image generated by capturing a second image; and an image processing unit that uses the skin pattern in the second image to reduce reflection of the skin pattern in the first image. have

In the first living body image processing method of the present invention, a first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with the near-infrared light by the imaging device, and a first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with the visible light. and a second image generated by capturing the image, and using the skin pattern in the second image to reduce the reflection of the skin pattern in the first image.

A first living body image processing program of the present invention includes a first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with the near-infrared light by the imaging device, and a first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with the visible light. A computer executes the following steps: obtaining a second image generated by capturing an image; and reducing the reflection of the skin pattern in the first image using the skin pattern in the second image. let

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a biological image processing system that acquires blood vessel patterns with less noise.

It is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the first embodiment. It is a figure showing the example of composition of a second embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of operation of a second embodiment. It is a figure showing the example of composition of a third embodiment. It is a figure showing a modification of the third embodiment. It is a figure showing a modification of the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of 4th embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the components described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and the technical scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereto.
(First embodiment)
A configuration example of the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a biological image processing system 100. The biological image processing system 100 includes an acquisition section 10 and an image processing section 11. The acquisition unit 10 acquires a first image generated by capturing an image of a living body irradiated with near-infrared light, and a second image generated by capturing an image of a living body irradiated with visible light. . The image processing unit 11 processes the skin pattern in the first image based on the second image.

According to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a biological image processing system that acquires blood vessel patterns with less noise. The principle will be explained below.

Because near-infrared light has a long wavelength, it easily passes through living organisms. Furthermore, blood in a living body contains a large amount of hemoglobin, which absorbs near-infrared light well. Therefore, when a living body is irradiated with near-infrared light, the light is well absorbed by blood vessels within the living body, and the light is transmitted through other parts of the living body, so that the blood vessels of the living body appear dark. In other words, when an image of a living body is irradiated with near-infrared light, a blood vessel pattern appears in the image. Since the blood vessel pattern differs from person to person, it can be used as a biometric characteristic unique to an individual in authentication processing such as personal authentication.

Here, skin patterns are likely to be reflected in images taken while a living body is irradiated with near-infrared light. Near-infrared light is easily absorbed by living organisms, but some of it is reflected by the living body's surface and is not absorbed by the living body. When a living body is irradiated with near-infrared light from a specific direction, the concave areas where the light from the light source does not directly reach become shadows, so the unevenness of the skin epidermis appears in the image. Note that in this specification, a skin pattern is a pattern made of unevenness of the epidermis of a living body. Skin patterns include fingerprints, palm prints, foot prints, other skin wrinkles, and the like.

Furthermore, when photographing near-infrared light that has passed through a living body, concavities in the living body's epidermis appear as shadows. In particular, when photographing a living body placed on some kind of member, the behavior of light emitted from the living body differs between concave parts and convex parts of the epidermis, so skin patterns tend to appear in the image. This is thought to be because the refractive index of light is different between the member on which the living body is placed, the air that exists between the living body, and the living body. Light emitted from the biological cavity is refracted and scattered at the boundary between the epidermis and the air. Therefore, the light that enters the member on which the living body is placed is attenuated, and the light that reaches the imaging unit through the member is also attenuated, so that the recesses in the epidermis appear dark. On the other hand, since the convex portions of the skin are in direct contact with the member, most of the light emitted from the convex portions of the skin is incident on the member. Therefore, the convex parts of the epidermis appear bright.

From the above, it is highly likely that not only the blood vessel pattern but also the skin pattern will be reflected in the first image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with near-infrared light. However, in blood vessel pattern matching, the skin pattern reflected in the image becomes noise, which may affect the matching results and cause a decrease in authentication accuracy. Therefore, when performing verification/authentication using the first image, it is preferable to process the skin pattern in the first image to reduce noise.

Therefore, in addition to the first image, the acquisition unit 10 acquires a second image generated by imaging the living body irradiated with visible light. Visible light has a shorter wavelength than near-infrared light and is difficult to pass through the body, so most of it is reflected by the epidermis of the body. Therefore, the skin pattern appears clearly in the second image. Since the image processing unit 11 processes the skin pattern in the first image based on the second image, the first image after processing becomes an image showing a blood vessel pattern with less noise. The image processing unit 11 may reduce the appearance of the skin pattern in the first image by, for example, making the skin pattern in the first image lighter (darker) using the skin pattern in the second image. .

The image processing unit 11 may remove the skin pattern corresponding to the skin pattern in the second image from the first image. More specifically, the image processing unit 11 may subtract the pixel value of the pixel of the second image corresponding to the specific pixel from the pixel value of the specific pixel of the first image. As a result, the first image from which the skin pattern has been removed becomes an image showing a blood vessel pattern with less noise. Note that the image processing unit 11 may perform the subtraction process after binarizing the pixel values of the first image and the second image.
(Second embodiment)
(Configuration of second embodiment)
Next, a configuration example of the second embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the biological image processing system 101. FIG. 2 particularly shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the imaging mechanism of the biological image processing system 101. Here, the imaging mechanism is a structure for imaging a living body, including the positional relationship of a light source, a plate on which a living body is placed, an imaging section, a light shielding section, and the like.

The biological image processing system 101 includes an acquisition unit 10, an image processing unit 11, a plate 18, a near-infrared light source 13-1, a near-infrared light source 13-2, a visible light source 14-1, and a visible light source 14. -2, an imaging section 15, a light shielding section 16-1, a light shielding section 16-2, and a light source control section 17. The surface of the plate 18 that comes into contact with the living body is called the mounting section 12. Hereinafter, the near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 and the visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 may be collectively referred to as "light sources." Further, the light shielding parts 16-1 and 16-2 may be collectively referred to as a "light shielding part".

The acquisition unit 10 captures a first image generated by capturing an image of a living body irradiated with near-infrared light, and a second image generated by capturing an image of a living body irradiated with visible light. Obtained from 15. Since the processing of the image processing unit 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the explanation will be omitted.

A living body is placed on the placing section 12 . FIG. 2 shows a living body being placed on the placing section 12. As shown in FIG. The epidermis SK of a living body has unevenness that forms a skin pattern such as a fingerprint or a palm print. As shown in FIG. 2, when the mounting section 12 is located between the living body and the imaging section 15, the plate 18 is preferably transparent or semitransparent. This is to allow the light that has passed through the living body and the light that has been reflected by the living body to pass through the mounting section 12 and reach the imaging section 15 . Plate 18 may be transparent or translucent glass, plastic, or the like.

The light source irradiates the living body with near-infrared light and visible light via the mounting section 12 . The light source may be a light emitting member such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), a light bulb, or a fluorescent lamp. The light source will be explained in more detail below. Near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 are provided below the mounting section 12. The near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 irradiate the living body with near-infrared light via the mounting section 12. The wavelength of the light emitted by the near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 is preferably 750 nm to 900 nm, which has a high absorption rate by hemoglobin.

Furthermore, visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 are provided below the mounting section 12. The visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 irradiate the living body with visible light via the mounting section 12. The wavelength of the light emitted by the visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 is preferably 400 nm to 570 nm, which has a low absorption rate by hemoglobin.

The near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 and the visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 irradiate the living body with light at different times. That is, the acquisition unit 10 generates a first image generated by capturing an image of a living body irradiated with near-infrared light, a second image generated by capturing an image of the living body irradiated with visible light, are separately acquired from the imaging unit 15. The timing of light irradiation by the light source is controlled by the light source control unit 17.

As shown in FIG. 2, part of the near-infrared light emitted by the near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 enters the living body, and part of it is reflected by the surface of the living body. Most of the visible light emitted by the visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 is reflected by the surface of the living body. As a result, the blood vessel pattern and skin pattern appear in the first image, and the skin pattern appears in the second image.

Note that the light source and the imaging unit 15 may be located inside the plate 18. This makes the device even thinner. Further, the number of light sources is not limited to two near-infrared light sources and two visible light sources. The number of light sources may be one near-infrared light source and one visible light source, or three or more near-infrared light sources and three or more visible light sources. The number of near-infrared light sources and the number of visible light sources may be different.

The imaging unit 15 is located on the side of the light source and images the living body. The imaging unit 15 may be a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Meta Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, or a camera having these. The imaging unit 15 generates image data by converting the received light into image data.

The light shielding parts 16-1 and 16-2 are members that are located between the light source and the imaging part 15 and block light from entering the imaging part. The light shielding parts 16-1 and 16-2 are located between the light source and the imaging section 15 so that the imaging section 15 does not directly receive the light from the light source. This is because if the imaging unit 15 directly receives the light from the light source, the blood vessel pattern may not be clearly visible in the first and second images due to saturation due to fogging of the light rays. Note that the number of light shielding parts does not need to be two, and for example, four light shielding parts may be provided so as to surround the outer periphery of the rectangular parallelepiped imaging part 15. Further, a cylindrical light shielding portion may be provided to surround the light source. In any case, the light shielding part plays a role of blocking light traveling straight from the light source to the imaging section 15 so that the imaging section 15 does not directly receive the light from the light source.

The light source control unit 17 controls the light source. For example, the light source control unit 17 causes a group of near-infrared light sources including near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 and a group of visible light sources including visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 to be turned on at different times. control the light source. The light source control unit 17 may turn on the light source when an input unit (not shown) inputs a signal to start imaging. The input unit (not shown) may be, for example, an input device that receives an instruction from the user to start imaging. Alternatively, the input section (not shown) may be a pressure sensor, a capacitance sensor, an infrared sensor, or the like that detects that a living body is placed on the placement section 12.
(Operation of second embodiment)
Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be explained. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the operation of the biological image processing system 101.

The near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 irradiate the living body with near-infrared light via the mounting section 12 (S1). For example, when the light source control unit 17 receives a signal from a capacitance sensor that detects that a living body is placed on the placement unit 12, the light source control unit 17 controls the near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2 to emit near-infrared light. Irradiates the living body with light. The imaging unit 15 images the living body irradiated with near-infrared light and generates a first image (S2). The acquisition unit 10 acquires a first image from the imaging unit 15. Next, the visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 irradiate the living body with visible light via the mounting section 12 (S3). For example, after controlling the near-infrared light sources 13-1 and 13-2, the light source control unit 17 may control the visible light sources 14-1 and 14-2 to irradiate the living body with visible light. The imaging unit 15 images the living body irradiated with visible light and generates a second image (S4). The acquisition unit 10 acquires the second image from the imaging unit 15. The image processing unit 11 acquires the first image and the second image from the acquisition unit 10, and processes the skin pattern in the first image based on the second image (S5). Before or after processing the first image based on the second image, the image processing unit 11 binarizes the image, emphasizes the blood vessel pattern, removes high frequency components using a low-pass filter, removes other noises, and positions the blood vessel pattern. Image processing such as alignment may be performed.

The image processing unit 11 may send the processed first image to an authentication unit (not shown). An authentication unit (not shown) may perform personal authentication by comparing a blood vessel pattern shown in the first image processed by the image processing unit 11 with a blood vessel pattern registered in advance in a DB (database) or the like. Further, the image processing unit 11 may transmit the second image in addition to the first image to an authentication unit (not shown). An authentication unit (not shown) compares the skin pattern shown in the second image with a skin pattern registered in advance in the DB, and performs personal authentication based on the result of the comparison and the result of the comparison using the blood vessel pattern. It's okay. By performing personal authentication using two or more biometric features, the accuracy of authentication can be improved.

According to the second embodiment, since the light shielding section is located between the light source and the imaging section, it becomes possible to provide the imaging section on the side of the light source. This is because the light emitted by the light source is not directly received by the imaging section due to the presence of the light shielding section, so even if the imaging section is provided on the side of the light source, there is a low possibility that the imaged blood vessel pattern will become unclear. Further, by providing the imaging section on the side of the light source, it is possible to make the biological image processing system thinner.

Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, since the skin pattern is imaged while the living body is in contact with the placement unit, for example, when a fingerprint image is generated, it is compared with a previously registered imprinted fingerprint image or a latent fingerprint image. suitable for A latent fingerprint collected from a crime scene or the like and an imprinted fingerprint read by a fingerprint reader using a prism are both fingerprints that are photographed while the finger is pressed. Therefore, the deformation of these fingerprints differs from that read by a non-contact fingerprint reading device, which may reduce the accuracy of verification. According to the second embodiment, since the skin pattern is imaged while the living body is in contact with the placement unit, it is possible to generate an image suitable for comparison with a latent fingerprint or an imprinted fingerprint.

Furthermore, fingerprint reading devices using prisms tend to be large-sized and difficult to incorporate into other products. According to the second embodiment, an image suitable for comparison with an image of a stamped fingerprint or a latent fingerprint can be generated, and the entire device can be made thin.

Further, according to the second embodiment, since the light source emits near-infrared light and visible light through the living body placement part, it is possible to effectively provide guidance to the user. For example, the light source can notify the user of the timing, position, etc. of placing a finger from the back side of the placing section. This allows the user to visually and easily grasp the timing and position of placing the finger.

In addition, although the near-infrared light source and the visible light source have been described as sources that separately irradiate light onto a living body, they may irradiate light onto a living body at the same time. That is, the imaging unit 15 may image a living body irradiated with near-infrared light and visible light at the same time. In this case, the living body image processing apparatus 101 needs to perform a process of separating a single image of a living body irradiated with near-infrared light and visible light into a first image and a second image. In order to enable image separation processing, the biological image processing device 101 preferably includes a filter array and an image separation unit.

A filter array is a filter that transmits light of a predetermined wavelength. For example, the filter array may be a single filter in which near-infrared light filters and visible light filters are arranged in a grid pattern. The near-infrared light filter transmits near-infrared wavelengths, for example, light in the wavelength range of 750 nm to 900 nm. The visible light filter transmits visible light wavelengths, for example, light in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 570 nm. Therefore, a filter array that is a combination of a near-infrared light filter and a visible light filter can separate near-infrared light and visible light and make them incident on the imaging section 15. The filter array is provided between the mounting section 12 and the imaging section 15.

The image separation unit separates image data of an image captured through the filter array into pixel data corresponding to near-infrared light and pixel data corresponding to visible light. The image separation unit then transmits the set of pixel data corresponding to near-infrared light to the acquisition unit 10 as data representing the first image, and acquires the set of pixel data corresponding to visible light as data representing the second image. 10.

Thereby, the acquisition unit 10 can acquire the first image and the second image without emitting light from the near-infrared light source and the visible light source separately, so that the photographing time can be shortened. Further, since there is no possibility that the position of the living body may shift due to a difference in the photographing timing, the position of the skin pattern in the first image matches the position of the skin pattern in the second image. Thereby, the image processing unit 11 can process the skin pattern in the first image more accurately.

Further, it is preferable that the refractive index of the mounting portion 12 is approximately the same as the refractive index of the living body. Since the refractive index of a living body is generally 1.4 to 1.5, it is desirable that the refractive index of the mounting portion 12, that is, the plate 18 is also 1.4 to 1.5. When the refractive index of the mounting portion 12 is approximately the same as the refractive index of the living body, reflection and refraction are less likely to occur on the plate, so that a clearer blood vessel pattern can be imaged.
(Third embodiment)
Next, a configuration example of the third embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the biological image processing system 102. FIG. 4 particularly shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the imaging mechanism of the biological image processing system 102. The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in the positional relationship of the light source, the light shielding section, and the imaging section. Since the other configurations are the same as those in the second embodiment, the description will be omitted as appropriate.

The biological image processing system 102 includes an acquisition unit 10, an image processing unit 11, a plate 18, a near-infrared light source 13-1, a near-infrared light source 13-2, a visible light source 14-1, and a visible light source 14. -2, an imaging section 15-1, an imaging section 15-2, a light shielding section 16-3, a light shielding section 16-4, and a light source control section 17. The surface of the plate 18 that comes into contact with the living body is called the mounting section 12. Hereinafter, the imaging sections 15-1 and 15-2 may be collectively referred to simply as "imaging section." Similarly, the light shielding section 16-3 and the light shielding section 16-4 may be collectively referred to simply as a "light shielding section."

In the third embodiment, the imaging section is located between the light source and the mounting section 12. Referring to FIG. 4, the imaging section 15-1 is located between the near-infrared light source 13-1 and the visible light source 14-1, and the mounting section 12. The imaging section 15-2 is located between the near-infrared light source 13-2 and the visible light source 14-2, and the mounting section 12. Further, the imaging units 15-1 and 15-2 are located inside the plate 18. Because the imaging section, the light source, and the mounting section 12 are in such a positional relationship, the light emitted from the light source is directed to the side of the imaging section 15-1 and to the imaging section 15-1, as shown by the arrow illustration in FIG. It reaches the living body through the side of part 15-2. In other words, the light source emits near-infrared light and visible light through the side of the imaging section.

Similar to the second embodiment, the light shielding section is located between the light source and the imaging section, but in the third embodiment, the light source is located below the imaging sections 15-1 and 15-2, so the light shielding section is located between the light source and the imaging section. 16-3 is located below the imaging section 15-2, and the light shielding section 16-4 is located below the imaging section 15-1. This prevents light from the light source from directly entering the imaging units 15-1 and 15-2. The operation of the third embodiment is similar to that of the second embodiment, so the explanation will be omitted.

According to the third embodiment, even when the biological image processing system has a plurality of imaging units, there is no need to arrange the imaging unit and the light source on the same plane, and the arrangement of the light source is less likely to be subject to restrictions by the imaging unit. . Thereby, for example, in the manufacturing process of the biological image processing system 102, the imaging unit can be placed on a base to which a light source is adhered in advance. Therefore, it is possible to expect effects such as a wider range of choices in the size of the light source and the imaging section, and easier adjustment of the amount of light by increasing or decreasing the number of light sources.

Note that the number of visible light sources, infrared light sources, imaging units, and light shielding units in the third embodiment is not limited to the number shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, the imaging unit does not need to be located directly above the light source. For example, the imaging unit 15-2 may be located directly above the space between the visible light source 14-1 and the visible light source 14-2. An example of the configuration in this case is shown in FIG. In the case of the configuration shown in FIG. 5 as well, the light source emits near-infrared light and visible light through the sides of the imaging section 15-1 and the sides of the imaging section 15-2.

Further, the light source may be provided at both the position shown in FIG. 4 and the position shown in FIG. 5 with respect to the imaging unit. In other words, the plate 18 on which the imaging units are arranged at intervals may be placed on a base covered with light sources.

Furthermore, the plurality of near-infrared light sources and the plurality of visible light sources may be alternately arranged below the mounting section. An example of the configuration in this case is shown in FIG. The biological image processing system 104 shown in FIG. 6 includes a plurality of near-infrared light sources 13-1 to 13-5 and a plurality of visible light sources 14-1 to 14-5. Further, these near-infrared light sources and visible light sources are alternately arranged below the mounting section 12.

Thereby, the light source can evenly irradiate the living body epidermis with near-infrared light and visible light. Therefore, unevenness in the amount of near-infrared light and visible light irradiated onto the living body can be suppressed, and it is possible to prevent a portion of the skin pattern shown in the first image and the second image from becoming unclear. As a result, it is expected that the image processing unit 11 will effectively process the skin pattern.

Note that the imaging section does not need to be arranged inside the plate 18. For example, the imaging section may be bonded to the lower surface of the plate 18, or a portion of the imaging section may be inside the plate 18 and a portion may be exposed outside the plate. The light shielding part does not need to be adhered to the lower surface of the plate 18 as shown in FIG. The light shielding section may be located between the light source and the imaging section; for example, the light shielding section may be located inside the plate 18.

Further, the living body image processing device 102 of the third embodiment may image a living body irradiated with a near-infrared light source and a visible light source at the same time, similarly to the second embodiment. The separation of images in that case is the same as described in the second embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. The refractive index of the mounting portion 12 is preferably approximately the same as the refractive index of the living body for the same reason as in the second embodiment.
(Fourth embodiment)
(Configuration of fourth embodiment)
Next, a configuration example of the fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the biological image processing system 105. FIG. 7 particularly shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the imaging mechanism of the biological image processing system 105. The biological image processing system 105 includes an acquisition unit 10, an image processing unit 11, near-infrared light sources 13-1 to 13-4, visible light sources 14-1 to 14-4, and imaging units 15-1 to 15-. 4, a light source control section 17, and a plate 19 having a plurality of light shielding walls. The surface of the plate 19 that comes into contact with the living body is referred to as a mounting surface 20.

The fourth embodiment differs from the second and third embodiments in that a light source, a light shielding section, and an imaging section are located inside the plate 19. Further, the plate 19 has a plurality of light shielding walls that partition the inside of the plate 19 in the lateral direction. As a result, the inside of the plate 19 is partitioned into a plurality of rooms, and in each of these rooms, a light source, a light shielding section, and an imaging section are arranged alternately. Since the other configurations are the same as those in the second embodiment, the description will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the operation of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the second embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

According to the fourth embodiment, since the light sources and the imaging units are arranged alternately, each imaging unit can image the living body in close proximity to the part of the living body that is irradiated with the light source. Thereby, each imaging unit can image a living body irradiated with a sufficient amount of near-infrared light, and therefore can generate an image in which a blood vessel pattern is clearly depicted. Similarly, since each imaging unit can image a living body irradiated with a sufficient amount of visible light, it is possible to generate an image in which the skin pattern is clearly captured.

Note that a light shielding wall may not be provided between the near-infrared light source and the visible light source. The light-shielding wall may be provided so as to separate a room in which the imaging unit is arranged from a room in which the light source is arranged so that at least light from the light source does not directly enter the imaging unit. Moreover, a plurality of near-infrared light sources, a plurality of visible light sources, or a plurality of imaging units may be provided in one room.

The living body image processing device 105 of the fourth embodiment may image a living body irradiated with a near-infrared light source and a visible light source at the same time, similarly to the second and third embodiments. Image separation is the same as described in the second embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted. The refractive index of the mounting portion 12 is preferably approximately the same as the refractive index of the living body for the same reason as in the second embodiment.
(Hardware configuration)
Next, a hardware configuration example will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a living body image processing device 106 that implements at least one of the living body image processing systems 101 to 105. Note that FIG. 8 does not show the hardware configuration of the imaging mechanism showing the positional relationship of the light source, the mounting section, the imaging section, and the like. Examples of the hardware configuration of the imaging mechanism are shown in FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4 to 7.

Biological image processing device 106 may be any conventional computer and imaging mechanism-containing device. As shown in FIG. 8, the biological image processing device 106 includes a processor 1402, a memory 1404, a storage 1406, a north bridge 1408 connected to the memory 1404, and an expansion slot 1410. The biological image processing device 106 also includes a communication interface 1414, a south bridge 1412 connected to the storage 1406, a near-infrared light source 13, a visible light source 14, and an imaging unit 15. These components are connected to each other by a bus.

Processor 1402 reads and executes instructions stored in memory 1404, storage 1406, and the like. Processor 1402 may execute instructions to display images on a display device (not shown).

The processor 1402 may implement the acquisition unit 10, the image processing unit 11, and the light source control unit 17. For example, the processor 1402 may control turning on and off of the near-infrared light source 13 and the visible light source 14 according to instructions read from the memory 1404 or storage 1406, and process image data acquired from the imaging unit 15. The processor 1402 may be a circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuits).

Memory 1404 is a computer readable storage medium that stores information. The memory 1404 may be a volatile storage medium such as RAM, or a nonvolatile storage medium such as ROM. Further, the memory 1404 may be an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or the like. Storage 1406 may be a large capacity computer readable storage medium. Storage 1406 may be, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk drive, optical disk, flash memory, or the like. The instructions included in the computer programs stored in these computer-readable storage media are executed by the processor 1402 to realize the embodiments described above.

The north bridge 1408 is connected to the brain of the computer, such as the CPU and memory, and controls the timing and speed of data transfer. The northbridge 1408 primarily bridges data between devices that operate at high speed. On the other hand, the south bridge 1412 bridges data between relatively slow devices. For example, the north bridge 1408 may be connected to the memory 1404, a display device (not shown), and an expansion slot 1410. Further, the south bridge 1412 may be connected to the storage 1406 and the communication interface 1414.

Communication interface 1414 may include various communication ports such as USB, Bluetooth, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet, etc. These communication ports may also be connected to one or more input/output devices, such as communication devices such as keyboards, pointing devices, scanners, routers, etc.

Note that the imaging mechanism including the near-infrared light source 13, the visible light source 14, and the imaging unit 15 may be located in a separate device from the biological image processing device 106. That is, the living body image processing systems 101 to 105 may be configured by the living body image processing apparatus 106 and another device that can communicate with the living body image processing apparatus 106. In that case, the processor in the biological image processing device 106 may control the near-infrared light source 13, visible light source 14, and imaging unit 15 in the other device via the communication interface 1414. Then, image data may be received from the imaging unit 15 in the other device via the communication interface 1414, and image processing may be performed on the received image data.

The embodiments described above are merely examples of embodying the present invention, and various changes can be made within the scope of the spirit of the present invention as set forth in the claims.

10 Acquisition unit 11 Image processing unit 12 Placing unit 13 Near-infrared light source 13-1 Near-infrared light source 13-2 Near-infrared light source 13-3 Near-infrared light source 13-4 Near-infrared light source 13-5 Near-infrared Light source 14 Visible light source 14-1 Visible light source 14-2 Visible light source 14-3 Visible light source 14-4 Visible light source 14-5 Visible light source 15 Imaging section 15-1 Imaging section 15-2 Imaging section 15-3 Imaging section 15-4 Imaging section 16-1 Light shielding section 16-2 Light shielding section 16-3 Light shielding section 16-4 Light shielding section 17 Light source control section 18 Plate 19 Plate 20 Placement surface 100 Living body image processing system 101 Living body image processing system 102 Living body image processing system 103 Living body image processing system 104 Living body image processing system 105 Living body image processing system 106 Living body image processing device 1402 Processor 1404 Memory 1406 Storage 1408 North bridge 1410 Expansion slot 1412 South bridge 1414 Communication interface SK Skin of living body

Claims (10)

a plate having a placement surface on which a living body is placed;
a near-infrared light source that irradiates the living body with near-infrared light;
a visible light source that irradiates the living body with visible light;
an imaging unit that images the living body;
The plate has a plurality of light shielding walls partitioning the inside of the plate,
Any one of the near-infrared light source, the visible light source, and the imaging unit is arranged in each space partitioned by the light-shielding wall,
The near-infrared light source or the visible light source is arranged in a space on both sides of the space in which the imaging unit is arranged ,
The near-infrared light source is arranged in a second space adjacent to the first space in which the imaging unit is arranged, and a second space adjacent to the first space and different from the second space is arranged. The visible light source is arranged in the space of 3.
Imaging device. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the imaging units are arranged in the space where the imaging units are arranged. The imaging device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the near-infrared light sources are arranged in the space in which the near-infrared light sources are arranged. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the visible light sources are arranged in the space where the visible light sources are arranged. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the near-infrared light source and the visible light source are arranged in the space where the near-infrared light source or the visible light source is arranged. The imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the near-infrared light source and the visible light source simultaneously irradiate the living body with light during imaging . 7. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the mounting surface has a refractive index of 1.4 to 1.5. A first image generated by capturing an image of the living body irradiated with the near-infrared light by the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; an acquisition unit that acquires a second image generated by imaging a living body;
an image processing unit that uses the skin pattern in the second image to reduce reflection of the skin pattern in the first image;
A biological image processing system with A first image generated by capturing an image of the living body irradiated with the near-infrared light by the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; Obtaining a second image generated by imaging the living body,
reducing the reflection of the skin pattern in the first image using the skin pattern in the second image;
A biological image processing method including. A first image generated by capturing an image of the living body irradiated with the near-infrared light by the imaging device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; obtaining a second image generated by imaging the living body;
reducing the reflection of the skin pattern in the first image using the skin pattern in the second image;
A biological image processing program that allows a computer to execute

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