Method and system for presenting shaded descriptors corresponding with shaded ultrasound images

• US 10,489,969 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2017
• Issued: 11/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Buckton, Daniel John, Schroecker, Gerald
• Primary Examiner(s): Gray, Ryan M
• Application Number:
  US15/806,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20190139299A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/80 Shading
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/83 Phong shading
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/41 Medical
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2215/12 Shadow map, environment map
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/507 from shading G06T7/586 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/514 from specularities
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/529 from texture

Abstract

A method and system for applying shading to descriptors that are presented with 2D ultrasound images having corresponding shading is provided. The method may include mapping, by a processor, height values of a synthetic map to pixels of a descriptor. The method may include determining, by the processor, a gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor. The method may include applying, by the processor, shading to the descriptor based on shading parameters and the gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor to create a shaded descriptor. The method may include presenting, by the processor, the shaded descriptor at a display system with a 2D ultrasound image having shading corresponding with the shading applied to the shaded descriptor.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

mapping, by a processor, height values of a synthetic map to pixels of a descriptor;

determining, by the processor, a gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor;

applying, by the processor, shading to the descriptor based on shading parameters and the gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor to create a shaded descriptor; and

presenting, by the processor, the shaded descriptor at a display system with a 2D ultrasound image having shading corresponding with the shading applied to the shaded descriptor.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or both of:

a shape of the synthetic map corresponds with a shape of the descriptor, and

the descriptor has a number of pixels corresponding to a number of the height values of the synthetic map.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the descriptor is one or both of a color displaymap descriptor and a color icon descriptor.

4. The method according to claim 1, comprising one or both of:

retrieving the descriptor from memory based on a selected or default colormap from a plurality of colormaps, wherein the pixels of the descriptor are color pixels corresponding with the selected or default colormap, and

retrieving the shading parameters from memory based on a selected or default shading level of a plurality of shading levels.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the shading parameters correspond with a shading level selected from a plurality of shading levels, the shading parameters comprising one or both of a specular intensity and a diffuse intensity.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein applying shading to the descriptor using the determined gradient includes applying shading to the descriptor based on a shading model which is a function of surface normals of the determined gradient, the shading model including one or more of a diffuse specular shading model, a Phong reflection model, a Blinn-Phong shading model, and a specular highlight shading model, and wherein the shading model is modified based on the shading parameters.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining the gradient of the height values includes determining a separate gradient for each height value of the height values, and wherein the separate gradient for each height value is based on a difference between height values of adjacent pixels of the descriptor.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein each separate gradient for each height value is used to compute a surface normal, and wherein applying shading to the descriptor includes applying shading to the descriptor using the shading parameters and the surface normal of each of the pixels of the descriptor.

9. A system comprising:

a processor configured to;

map height values of a synthetic map to pixels of a descriptor,

determine a gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor, and

apply shading to the descriptor based on shading parameters and the gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor to create a shaded descriptor; and

a display system configured to present the shaded descriptor with a 2D ultrasound image having shading corresponding with the shading applied to the shaded descriptor.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the descriptor is one or both of a color displaymap descriptor and a color icon descriptor.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to one or both of:

retrieve the descriptor from memory based on a selected or default colormap from a plurality of colormaps, wherein the pixels of the descriptor are color pixels corresponding with the selected or default colormap, and

retrieve the shading parameters from memory based on a selected or default shading level of a plurality of shading levels.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the shading parameters correspond with a shading level selected from a plurality of shading levels, the shading parameters comprising one or both of a specular intensity and a diffuse intensity.

13. The system according to claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to apply shading to the descriptor based on a shading model which is a function of surface normals of the determined gradient, the shading model including one or more of a diffuse specular shading model, a Phong reflection model, a Blinn-Phong shading model, and a specular highlight shading model, and wherein the shading model is modified based on the shading parameters.

14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to determine a separate gradient for each height value of the height values to determine the gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor, and wherein the separate gradient for each height value is based on a difference between height values of adjacent pixels of the descriptor.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein each separate gradient for each height value is used by the processor to compute a surface normal, and wherein the processor is configured to apply shading to the descriptor using the shading parameters and the surface normal of each of the pixels of the descriptor.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section, the at least one code section being executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform steps comprising:

mapping height values of a synthetic map to pixels of a descriptor;

determining a gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor;

applying shading to the descriptor based on shading parameters and the gradient of the height values for each of the pixels of the descriptor to create a shaded descriptor; and

presenting the shaded descriptor at a display system with a 2D ultrasound image having shading corresponding with the shading applied to the shaded descriptor.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16, comprising one or both of:

retrieving the descriptor from memory based on a selected or default colormap from a plurality of colormaps, wherein the pixels of the descriptor are color pixels corresponding with the selected or default colormap, and

retrieving the shading parameters from memory based on a selected or default shading level of a plurality of shading levels.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein the shading parameters correspond with a shading level selected from a plurality of shading levels, the shading parameters comprising one or both of a specular intensity and a diffuse intensity.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 16, wherein determining the gradient of the height values includes determining a separate gradient for each height value of the height values, and wherein the separate gradient for each height value is based on a difference between height values of adjacent pixels of the descriptor.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 19, wherein each separate gradient for each height value is used to compute a surface normal, and wherein applying shading to the descriptor includes applying shading to the descriptor using the shading parameters and the surface normal of each of the pixels of the descriptor.