Method of volume visualisation

• US 20040227756A1
• Filed: 02/17/2004
• Published: 11/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Original Assignee: Fraunhofer Gesellschaft Zur Foerderung Der Angewandten Forsching E.V.
• Inventors: Dicken, Volker
• Granted Patent: US 7,576,740 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/424
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/40 Hidden part removal

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of volume visualisation in which volumetric data is provided, the volumetric data having first voxels belonging to a reference surface. Second voxels of the volumetric data are determined having a user selected distance from the reference surface. The second voxels are visualised.

Claims

1. A method of volume visualisation comprising:

providing of volumetric data, the volumetric data having first voxels belonging to a reference surface,

entering a user selected distance by means of user interface means comprising a wheel mouse, an amount of rotation of the wheel of the wheel mouse being indicative of the user selected distance,

determining of second voxels of the volumetric data having the user selected distance from the reference surface,

visualising of the second voxels.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising performing a segmentation of the volumetric data to identify the first voxels.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the distance of each one of the second voxels from the reference plane being determined along a direction of projection.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the distance of each one of the second voxels from the reference surface being determined by a minimum distance measure.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the distance measure being an Euclidean distance.

6. The method of claim 1, whereby the volumetric data is medical image data, e.g. a thorax CT scan to be diagnosed e.g. for lung nodules, other lung diseases or rib fractures, and the reference surface is the surface of a body region, such as the surface of an organ, e.g. the lungs surface, or a pathological structure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the volumetric data being three dimensional microscopy data.

8. A computer program product, such as a digital storage medium, for volume visualisation, comprising program means for performing the steps of:

providing of volumetric data, the volumetric data having first voxels belonging to a reference surface,

entering a user selected distance by means of user interface means comprising a wheel mouse, an amount of rotation of the wheel of the wheel mouse being indicative of the user selected distance,

determining of second voxels of the volumetric data having the user selected distance from the reference surface,

visualising of the second voxels.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, the program means being adapted to perform a segmentation of the volumetric data to identify the first voxels.

10. A computer system for volume visualisation, comprising:

means for storing of volumetric data, the volumetric data having first voxels belonging to a reference surface,

user interface means for entering of a user selected distance, the user interface means comprising a wheel mouse, the amount of rotation of the wheel of the wheel mouse being indicative of the user selected distance,

means for determining of second voxels of the volumetric data having the user selected distance from the reference surface,

means for visualising of the second voxels.

11. The computer system of claim 10, further comprising means for segmentation of the volumetric data to identify the first voxels.

12. The computer system of claim 10, further comprising means for volume rendering of the second voxels.