Method and apparatus for displaying medical image

• US 10,416,833 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jun-ki, Park, Jun-sung
• Primary Examiner(s): Dragoescu, Claudia
• Application Number:
  US15/166,803
• Publication Number:
  US 20160349957A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,208 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0489 using dedicated keyboard keys or combinations thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing

Abstract

A medical image displaying apparatus includes: a user interface configured to receive a user input with respect to an object that is movable; a display configured to display the object on a medical image in response to the user input; and a controller configured to move the object and change a velocity of the object based on a property of the object.

Claims

1. A medical imaging apparatus comprising:

a processor;

a user input receiver coupled to the processor and configured to receive a user input with respect to a cursor; and

a display having a screen configured to display a medical image, a plurality of graphical user interfaces (GUIs), and the cursor on the medical image based on the user input, each of the plurality of GUIs being a graphical object, which is imposed as an overlay on the medical image and is selectable and movable with the cursor,

wherein the processor is configured to move the cursor based on the user input and change a velocity of the cursor based on sensitivity information of the cursor that is determined based on at least one from among a distance between a first GUI from among the plurality of GUIs and the cursor and crowdedness of the plurality of GUIs.

2. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the crowdedness of the plurality of GUIs is determined based on distances among the plurality of GUIs.

3. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate a new GUI,

control the display to display the new GUI overlaid on the medical image, and

update the sensitivity information of the cursor based on the location of the first GUI and a location of the new GUI, with respect to one another.

4. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first GUI and the new GUI has a first area surrounding the first GUI and the new GUI, respectively,

a sensitivity of the cursor is preset, as the sensitivity information of the cursor, to a first value corresponding to the first area, and

the processor is further configured to:

determine the velocity of the cursor based on the first value of the sensitivity of the cursor when the cursor is moved, based on the user input, in an area where the first area of the first GUI and the first area of the new GUI do not overlap, and

increase the first value of the sensitivity of the cursor to a second value, when the first area of the first GUI overlaps the first area of the new GUI, and to determine the velocity of the cursor based on the second value of the sensitivity of the cursor when the cursor is moved, based on the user input, in an area where the first area of the first GUI overlaps the first area of the new GUI.

5. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first GUI is a property changing GUI configured to change a property of the medical image,

the user input receiver is further configured to receive a user selection input for selecting the property changing GUI to change the property of the medical image, and

the processor is further configured to change a value of the property of the medical image to a different property value, based on the user selection input received through the property changing GUI.

6. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the user input receiver is further configured to receive an input of a user via a key, and

the processor is further configured to select at least one of the plurality of GUIs that is located in a moving direction, in which the cursor is moved, based on the moving direction of the cursor when the key is input.

14. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of GUIs is comprises at least one from among a window for setting a scanning parameter of the medical imaging apparatus and a line for setting a property for displaying the medical image, and

the window or the line is displayed to be overlapped on the medical image.

15. The medical imaging apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of GUIs comprises at least one from among a GUI for setting a region of interest on the medical image, a GUI for setting a scanning area on the medical image, and a GUI for setting an angle of an object displayed on the medical image.

7. A medical image displaying method performed by a medical imaging apparatus, the medical image displaying method comprising:

receiving a user input with respect to a cursor;

displaying on a display screen a medical image and a plurality of graphical user interfaces (GUIs), each of the plurality of GUIs being a graphical object, which is imposed as an overlay on the medical image and is selectable and movable with the cursor;

displaying and moving the cursor based on the user input, on the medical image; and

controlling, by a processor of the medical imaging apparatus, a velocity of the cursor based on a sensitivity information of the cursor that is determined based on at least one from among a distance between a first GUI from among the plurality of GUIs and the cursor and a crowdedness of the plurality of GUIs.

8. The medical image displaying method of claim 7, wherein

the crowdedness of the plurality of GUIs is determined based on distances among the plurality of GUIs with respect to one another.

9. The medical image displaying method of claim 7, wherein the displaying the plurality of GUIs comprises generating a new GUI and displaying the new GUI overlaid on the medical image, and

the controlling the velocity of the cursor comprises changing the sensitivity information of the cursor based on the location of the first GUI and a location of the new GUI.

10. The medical image displaying method of claim 9, wherein each of the first GUI and the new GUI has a first area surrounding the first GUI and the new GUI, respectively,

a sensitivity of the cursor is preset, as the sensitivity information of the cursor, to a first value corresponding to the first area, and

the controlling the velocity of the cursor further comprises:

determining the velocity of the cursor based on the first value of the sensitivity of the cursor when the cursor is moved based on the user input in an area where the first area of the first GUI and the first area of the new GUI do not overlap, and

increasing the first value of the sensitivity of the cursor to a second value, when the first area of the first GUI overlaps the first area of the new GUI, and determining the velocity of the cursor based on the second value of the sensitivity of the cursor when the cursor is moved, based on the user input, in an area where the first area of the first GUI overlaps the first area of the new GUI.

11. The medical image displaying method of claim 7, wherein the first GUI is a property changing GUI configured to change a property of the medical image, and

the medical image displaying method further comprises:

receiving a user selection input for selecting the property changing GUI to change the property of the medical image; and

changing the property of the medical image to a different property value, based on the user selection input received through the property changing GUI.

12. The medical image displaying method of claim 7, wherein

the medical image displaying method further comprises:

receiving an input of a user via a key; and

selecting one of the plurality of GUIs located on a moving direction, in which the cursor is moved, based on the moving direction of the cursor when the key is input.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having embodied thereon a program which, when executed by a computer system, causes the computer system to execute the medical image displaying method of claim 7.