System, method and computer program product for graphically illustrating entities and generating a text-based report therefrom

• US 20060262134A1
• Filed: 05/05/2005
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ionosoft, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ionosoft, Inc.
• Inventors: Hamiter, David M., Harrison, Rodney V., Hamiter, Stanley M. III
• Granted Patent: US 7,949,542 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/619
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for graphically illustrating an entity and generating a text-based report therefrom includes providing a visual base representation of an entity. The base representation includes a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, where the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes. A visual diagram of a particular entity is built based upon the base representation of the entity. In this regard, at least one visual element is added to the base representation, where the added visual elements are modifiable. Accordingly, the diagram includes the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation. After determining attributes associated with the added elements, a text-based report is generated from the diagram, where the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the associated attributes, and where the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a processing element capable of operating a visual reporting application, wherein the visual reporting application is adapted to at least partially perform a method of graphically illustrating an entity and generating a text-based report therefrom, the method comprising;

providing a visual base representation of an entity, wherein the base representation comprises a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, and wherein the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes;

building a visual diagram of a particular entity based upon the base representation of the entity, wherein the building step includes adding at least one visual element to the base representation, wherein the added visual elements are modifiable, and wherein the diagram comprises the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation;

determining a plurality of attributes associated with each element added to the base representation; and

generating a text-based report from the diagram, wherein the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the attributes associated with the elements of the diagram, and wherein the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the method at least partially performed by the visual reporting application further comprises for at least one visual element of the diagram:

manipulating at least one of a shape or a placement of the element on the diagram; and

changing at least one attribute associated with the element based upon the manipulation,

wherein the manipulating and changing steps occur at at least one instance before generating the text-based report.

3. A system according to claim 2, wherein at least one visual element includes a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and wherein, for at least one visual element, the manipulating step comprises:

manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing the length of the element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with at least one point changes to reflect a change in percent of the point along the length of the respective element.

4. A system according to claim 2, wherein the manipulating step comprises manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing a curvature of the element, and wherein increasing or decreasing the curvature includes at least one of (a) increasing or decreasing a length of the element, or (b) increasing or decreasing a direction of the element.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the diagram includes at least one element depending from at least one other element, and wherein the adding step comprises:

selecting a visual element from a menu;

dragging the selected element from the menu to a stage including the base representation;

dropping the selected element onto the stage; and

snapping the selected element to an element from which the selected at least one element depends.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining a snap-to point of an element from a plurality of points along a length of each of at least one element on the diagram, the snap-to point being determined based upon at least one predefined characteristic restriction imposed by the selected element; and

snapping the selected element to the determined snap-to point.

7. A system according to claim 5, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, wherein the snapping step comprises snapping the child element to a snap-to point of the parent element,

wherein the snap-to point is one of a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the parent element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and

wherein the method at least partially performed by the visual reporting application further comprises:

increasing or decreasing the length of the parent element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with the snap-to point is reassigned to a given point to reflect a change in percent of the snap-to point and the given point along the length of the respective element, and

reassigning the child element from the snap-to point to the given point, the given point thereafter being the snap-to point of the child element.

8. A system according to claim 5, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, the parent element including a pair of sides, and wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining an angle attribute of the child element;

determining a side of the parent to which the child element snaps; and

snapping the child element proximate to the determined side of the parent such that the child element extends from the determined side.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises for at least one element added to the base representation:

determining a position attribute, a length attribute and an angle attribute associated with the element, the position, length and angle attributes defining a direction of the element; and

determining a name attribute associated with the element based upon the direction of the element and at least one rule.

10. A system according to claim 1, wherein the elements added to the base representation include at least one visual object and at least one visual modifier depending therefrom, and wherein adding at least one modifier to the base representation comprises:

snapping the modifier to an object from which the modifier depends, the object including a plurality of points along a length of, and proximate each of a pair of sides of, the object;

framing a shape of the modifier by a series of consecutive points of the object; and

fitting a stock visual representation of the modifier to the series of consecutive points framing the shape of the modifier to thereby form-fit the modifier to the object.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein the elements of the diagram comprise elements of a plurality of element types, and wherein the method at least partially performed by the visual reporting application further comprises:

assigning each element of the diagram to a respective holder array, each holder array including an identifier for each element assigned to the holder array, the identifier being linked to the attributes associated with a respective element,

wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report based upon the holder arrays and the attributes linked to the element identifiers in the holder arrays.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein the generating step comprises:

examining each element following a nested hierarchical ordering;

assigning at least one language string for each element and associated attribute based upon the examination; and

generating a text-based report based upon the language strings.

13. A system according to claim 12, wherein the assigning step includes placing at least one supporting word at least one of before or after an attribute to thereby assign a language string to the attribute.

14. A system according to claim 12, wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report by compiling the language strings into sentences, and ordering and concatenating the sentences into the text-based report.

15. A system according to claim 14, wherein the compiling step includes compiling the language strings into sentences based upon at least one function to increase grammatical accuracy of the sentences.

16. A system according to claim 1, wherein the providing step comprises providing a visual base representation of a heart, and

wherein the building step includes:

adding at least one vascular object representing at least one of a branch, a graft or a collateral; and

adding at least one modifier depending from at least one vascular object, the at least one modifier representing at least one of a stent or an aberration.

17. A system comprising:

a processing element capable of operating an application, wherein the application is adapted to at least partially perform a method comprising;

providing a diagram including at least one visual element, wherein each visual element on the diagram includes a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element; and

manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing the length of the element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with at least one point changes to reflect a change in percent of the point along the length of the respective element.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein the manipulating step further comprises increasing or decreasing a curvature of the element, and wherein increasing or decreasing the curvature includes (a) increasing or decreasing the length of the element, and (b) increasing or decreasing a direction of the element.

19. A system according to claim 17, wherein the diagram includes at least one element depending from at least one other element, wherein the method further comprises adding at least one visual element to the diagram, and wherein the adding step comprises:

selecting a visual element from a menu;

dragging the selected element from the menu to a stage including the diagram;

dropping the selected element onto the stage; and

snapping the selected element to an element from which the selected at least one element depends.

20. A system according to claim 19, wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining a snap-to point of an element from a plurality of points along a length of each of at least one element on the diagram, the snap-to point being determined based upon at least one predefined characteristic restriction imposed by the selected element; and

snapping the selected element to the determined snap-to point.

21. A system according to claim 19, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, wherein the snapping step comprises snapping the child element to a snap-to point of the parent element,

wherein the snap-to point is one of a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the parent element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and

wherein the method at least partially performed by the application further comprises:

increasing or decreasing the length of the parent element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with the snap-to point is reassigned to a given point to reflect a change in percent of the snap-to point and the given point along the length of the respective element, and

reassigning the child element from the snap-to point to the given point, the given point thereafter being the snap-to point of the child element.

22. A system according to claim 19, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, the parent element including a pair of sides, and wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining an angle attribute of the child element;

determining a side of the parent to which the child element snaps; and

snapping the child element proximate to the determined side of the parent such that the child element extends from the determined side.

23. A system according to claim 19, wherein the elements added to the diagram include at least one visual object and at least one visual modifier depending therefrom, and wherein adding at least one modifier to the diagram comprises:

snapping the modifier to an object from which the modifier depends, the object including a plurality of points along a length of, and proximate each of a pair of sides of, the object;

framing a shape of the modifier by a series of consecutive points of the object; and

fitting a stock visual representation of the modifier to the series of consecutive points framing the shape of the modifier to thereby form-fit the modifier to the object.

24. A system according to claim 17, wherein providing a diagram comprises:

presenting a visual base representation of an entity, wherein the base representation comprises a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, and wherein the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes;

building a visual diagram of a particular entity based upon the base representation of the entity, wherein the building step includes adding at least one visual element to the base representation, wherein the added visual elements are modifiable, and wherein the diagram comprises the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation, and wherein the method at least partially performed by the application further comprises;

determining a plurality of attributes associated with each element added to the base representation; and

generating a text-based report from the diagram, wherein the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the attributes associated with the elements of the diagram, and wherein the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

25. A system according to claim 24, wherein the determining step comprises for at least one element added to the base representation:

determining a position attribute, a length attribute and an angle attribute associated with the element, the position, length and angle attributes defining a direction of the element; and

determining a name attribute associated with the element based upon the direction of the element and at least one rule.

26. A system according to claim 24, wherein the elements of the diagram comprise elements of a plurality of element types, and wherein the method at least partially performed by the application further comprises:

assigning each element of the diagram to a respective holder array, each holder array including an identifier for each element assigned to the holder array, the identifier being linked to the attributes associated with a respective element,

wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report based upon the holder arrays and the attributes linked to the element identifiers in the holder arrays.

27. A system according to claim 24, wherein the generating step comprises:

examining each element following a nested hierarchical ordering;

assigning at least one language string for each element and associated attribute based upon the examination; and

generating a text-based report based upon the language strings.

28. A system according to claim 27, wherein the assigning step includes placing at least one supporting word at least one of before or after an attribute to thereby assign a language string to the attribute.

29. A system according to claim 27, wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report by compiling the language strings into sentences, and ordering and concatenating the sentences into the text-based report.

30. A system according to claim 29, wherein the compiling step includes compiling the language strings into sentences based upon at least one function to increase grammatical accuracy of the sentences.

31. A system according to claim 17, wherein the providing step comprises providing a diagram of a heart, the diagram including elements comprising at least one vascular object representing at least one of a branch, a graft or a collateral, and at least one modifier depending from at least one vascular object, the at least one modifier representing at least one of a stent or an aberration.

32. A computer-implemented method of graphically illustrating an entity and generating a text-based report therefrom, the method comprising:

providing a visual base representation of an entity, wherein the base representation comprising a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, and wherein the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes;

building a visual diagram of a particular entity based upon the base representation of the entity, wherein the building step includes adding at least one visual element to the base representation, wherein the added visual elements are modifiable, and wherein the diagram comprises the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation;

determining a plurality of attributes associated with each element added to the base representation; and

generating a text-based report from the diagram, wherein the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the attributes associated with the elements of the diagram, and wherein the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

33. A method according to claim 32 further comprising for at least one visual element of the diagram:

manipulating at least one of a shape or a placement of the element on the diagram; and

changing at least one attribute associated with the element based upon the manipulation,

wherein the manipulating and changing steps occur at at least one instance before generating the text-based report.

34. A method according to claim 33, wherein at least one visual element includes a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and wherein, for at least one visual element, the manipulating step comprises:

manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing the length of the element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with at least one point changes to reflect a change in percent of the point along the length of the respective element.

35. A method according to claim 33, wherein the manipulating step comprises manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing a curvature of the element, and wherein increasing or decreasing the curvature includes at least one of (a) increasing or decreasing a length of the element, or (b) increasing or decreasing a direction of the element.

36. A method according to claim 32, wherein the diagram includes at least one element depending from at least one other element, and wherein the adding step comprises:

selecting a visual element from a menu;

dragging the selected element from the menu to a stage including the base representation;

dropping the selected element onto the stage; and

snapping the selected element to an element from which the selected at least one element depends.

37. A method according to claim 36, wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining a snap-to point of an element from a plurality of points along a length of each of at least one element on the diagram, the snap-to point being determined based upon at least one predefined characteristic restriction imposed by the selected element; and

snapping the selected element to the determined snap-to point.

38. A method according to claim 36, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, wherein the snapping step comprises snapping the child element to a snap-to point of the parent element,

wherein the snap-to point is one of a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the parent element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and

wherein the method further comprises:

increasing or decreasing the length of the parent element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with the snap-to point is reassigned to a given point to reflect a change in percent of the snap-to point and the given point along the length of the respective element, and

reassigning the child element from the snap-to point to the given point, the given point thereafter being the snap-to point of the child element.

39. A method according to claim 36, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, the parent element including a pair of sides, and wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining an angle attribute of the child element;

determining a side of the parent to which the child element snaps; and

snapping the child element proximate to the determined side of the parent such that the child element extends from the determined side.

40. A method according to claim 32, wherein the determining step comprises for at least one element added to the base representation:

determining a position attribute, a length attribute and an angle attribute associated with the element, the position, length and angle attributes defining a direction of the element; and

determining a name attribute associated with the element based upon the direction of the element and at least one rule.

41. A method according to claim 32, wherein the elements added to the base representation include at least one visual object and at least one visual modifier depending therefrom, and wherein adding at least one modifier to the base representation comprises:

snapping the modifier to an object from which the modifier depends, the object including a plurality of points along a length of, and proximate each of a pair of sides of, the object;

framing a shape of the modifier by a series of consecutive points of the object; and

fitting a stock visual representation of the modifier to the series of consecutive points framing the shape of the modifier to thereby form-fit the modifier to the object.

42. A method according to claim 32, wherein the elements of the diagram comprise elements of a plurality of element types, and wherein the method further comprises:

assigning each element of the diagram to a respective holder array, each holder array including an identifier for each element assigned to the holder array, the identifier being linked to the attributes associated with a respective element,

wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report based upon the holder arrays and the attributes linked to the element identifiers in the holder arrays.

43. A method according to claim 32, wherein the generating step comprises:

examining each element following a nested hierarchical ordering;

assigning at least one language string for each element and associated attribute based upon the examination; and

generating a text-based report based upon the language strings.

44. A method according to claim 43, wherein the assigning step includes placing at least one supporting word at least one of before or after an attribute to thereby assign a language string to the attribute.

45. A method according to claim 43, wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report by compiling the language strings into sentences, and ordering and concatenating the sentences into the text-based report.

46. A method according to claim 45, wherein the compiling step includes compiling the language strings into sentences based upon at least one function to increase grammatical accuracy of the sentences.

47. A method according to claim 32, wherein the providing step comprises providing a visual base representation of a heart, and

wherein the building step includes:

adding at least one vascular object representing at least one of a branch, a graft or a collateral; and

adding at least one modifier depending from at least one vascular object, the at least one modifier representing at least one of a stent or an aberration.

48. A computer-implemented method comprising:

providing a diagram including at least one visual element, wherein each visual element on the diagram includes a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element; and

manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing the length of the element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with at least one point changes to reflect a change in percent of the point along the length of the respective element.

49. A method according to claim 48, wherein the manipulating step further comprises increasing or decreasing a curvature of the element, and wherein increasing or decreasing the curvature includes (a) increasing or decreasing the length of the element, and (b) increasing or decreasing a direction of the element.

50. A method according to claim 48, wherein the diagram includes at least one element depending from at least one other element, wherein the method further comprises adding at least one visual element to the diagram, and wherein the adding step comprises:

selecting a visual element from a menu;

dragging the selected element from the menu to a stage including the diagram;

dropping the selected element onto the stage; and

snapping the selected element to an element from which the selected at least one element depends.

51. A method according to claim 50, wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining a snap-to point of an element from a plurality of points along a length of each of at least one element on the diagram, the snap-to point being determined based upon at least one predefined characteristic restriction imposed by the selected element; and

snapping the selected element to the determined snap-to point.

52. A method according to claim 50, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, wherein the snapping step comprises snapping the child element to a snap-to point of the parent element,

wherein the snap-to point is one of a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the parent element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and

wherein the method further comprises:

increasing or decreasing the length of the parent element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with the snap-to point is reassigned to a given point to reflect a change in percent of the snap-to point and the given point along the length of the respective element, and

reassigning the child element from the snap-to point to the given point, the given point thereafter being the snap-to point of the child element.

53. A method according to claim 50, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, the parent element including a pair of sides, and wherein the snapping step comprises:

determining an angle attribute of the child element;

determining a side of the parent to which the child element snaps; and

snapping the child element proximate to the determined side of the parent such that the child element extends from the determined side.

54. A method according to claim 50, wherein the elements added to the diagram include at least one visual object and at least one visual modifier depending therefrom, and wherein adding at least one modifier to the diagram comprises:

snapping the modifier to an object from which the modifier depends, the object including a plurality of points along a length of, and proximate each of a pair of sides of, the object;

framing a shape of the modifier by a series of consecutive points of the object; and

fitting a stock visual representation of the modifier to the series of consecutive points framing the shape of the modifier to thereby form-fit the modifier to the object.

55. A method according to claim 48, wherein providing a diagram comprises:

presenting a visual base representation of an entity, wherein the base representation comprises a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, and wherein the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes;

building a visual diagram of a particular entity based upon the base representation of the entity, wherein the building step includes adding at least one visual element to the base representation, wherein the added visual elements are modifiable, and wherein the diagram comprises the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation, and wherein the method further comprises;

determining a plurality of attributes associated with each element added to the base representation; and

generating a text-based report from the diagram, wherein the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the attributes associated with the elements of the diagram, and wherein the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

56. A method according to claim 55, wherein the determining step comprises for at least one element added to the base representation:

determining a position attribute, a length attribute and an angle attribute associated with the element, the position, length and angle attributes defining a direction of the element; and

determining a name attribute associated with the element based upon the direction of the element and at least one rule.

57. A method according to claim 55, wherein the elements of the diagram comprise elements of a plurality of element types, and wherein the method further comprises:

assigning each element of the diagram to a respective holder array, each holder array including an identifier for each element assigned to the holder array, the identifier being linked to the attributes associated with a respective element,

wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report based upon the holder arrays and the attributes linked to the element identifiers in the holder arrays.

58. A method according to claim 55, wherein the generating step comprises:

examining each element following a nested hierarchical ordering;

assigning at least one language string for each element and associated attribute based upon the examination; and

generating a text-based report based upon the language strings.

59. A method according to claim 58, wherein the assigning step includes placing at least one supporting word at least one of before or after an attribute to thereby assign a language string to the attribute.

60. A method according to claim 58, wherein the generating step comprises generating a text-based report by compiling the language strings into sentences, and ordering and concatenating the sentences into the text-based report.

61. A method according to claim 60, wherein the compiling step includes compiling the language strings into sentences based upon at least one function to increase grammatical accuracy of the sentences.

62. A method according to claim 48, wherein the providing step comprises providing a diagram of a heart, the diagram including elements comprising at least one vascular object representing at least one of a branch, a graft or a collateral, and at least one modifier depending from at least one vascular object, the at least one modifier representing at least one of a stent or an aberration.

63. A computer program product for graphically illustrating an entity and generating a text-based report therefrom, the computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program portions comprising:

a first executable portion for providing a visual base representation of an entity, wherein the base representation comprising a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, and wherein the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes;

a second executable portion for building a visual diagram of a particular entity based upon the base representation of the entity, wherein the building step includes adding at least one visual element to the base representation, wherein the added visual elements are modifiable, and wherein the diagram comprises the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation;

a third executable portion for determining a plurality of attributes associated with each element added to the base representation; and

a fourth executable portion for generating a text-based report from the diagram, wherein the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the attributes associated with the elements of the diagram, and wherein the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

64. A computer program product according to claim 63 further comprising:

a fifth executable portion for manipulating at least one of a shape or a placement of the element on the diagram; and

a sixth executable portion for changing at least one attribute associated with the element based upon the manipulation,

wherein the manipulating and changing steps occur for at least one visual element of the diagram at at least one instance before generating the text-based report.

65. A computer program product according to claim 64, wherein at least one visual element includes a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and

wherein, for at least one visual element, the fifth executable portion is adapted to manipulate a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing the length of the element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with at least one point changes to reflect a change in percent of the point along the length of the respective element.

66. A computer program product according to claim 64, wherein the fifth executable portion is adapted to manipulate a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing a curvature of the element, and wherein increasing or decreasing the curvature includes at least one of (a) increasing or decreasing a length of the element, or (b) increasing or decreasing a direction of the element.

67. A computer program product according to claim 63, wherein the diagram includes at least one element depending from at least one other element, and wherein the second executable portion is adapted to add at least one visual element by:

receiving a selection of a visual element from a menu;

dragging the selected element from the menu to a stage including the base representation;

dropping the selected element onto the stage; and

snapping the selected element to an element from which the selected at least one element depends.

68. A computer program product according to claim 67, wherein the second executable portion is adapted to snap the selected element by:

determining a snap-to point of an element from a plurality of points along a length of each of at least one element on the diagram, the snap-to point being determined based upon at least one predefined characteristic restriction imposed by the selected element; and

snapping the selected element to the determined snap-to point.

69. A computer program product according to claim 67, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, wherein the second executable portion is adapted to snap the child element to a snap-to point of the parent element,

wherein the snap-to point is one of a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the parent element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element, and

wherein the computer program product further comprises:

a fifth executable portion for increasing or decreasing the length of the parent element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with the snap-to point is reassigned to a given point to reflect a change in percent of the snap-to point and the given point along the length of the respective element, and

a sixth executable portion for reassigning the child element from the snap-to point to the given point, the given point thereafter being the snap-to point of the child element.

70. A computer program product according to claim 67, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, the parent element including a pair of sides, and wherein the second executable portion is adapted to snap the selected element by:

determining an angle attribute of the child element;

determining a side of the parent to which the child element snaps; and

snapping the child element proximate to the determined side of the parent such that the child element extends from the determined side.

71. A computer program product according to claim 63, wherein the third executable portion is adapted to determine, for at least one element added to the base representation:

a position attribute, a length attribute and an angle attribute associated with the element, the position, length and angle attributes defining a direction of the element; and

a name attribute associated with the element based upon the direction of the element and at least one rule.

72. A computer program product according to claim 63, wherein the elements added to the base representation include at least one visual object and at least one visual modifier depending therefrom, and wherein the second executable portion is adapted to add at least one modifier to the base representation by:

snapping the modifier to an object from which the modifier depends, the object including a plurality of points along a length of, and proximate each of a pair of sides of, the object;

framing a shape of the modifier by a series of consecutive points of the object; and

fitting a stock visual representation of the modifier to the series of consecutive points framing the shape of the modifier to thereby form-fit the modifier to the object.

73. A computer program product according to claim 63, wherein the elements of the diagram comprise elements of a plurality of element types, and wherein the computer program product further comprises:

a fifth executable portion for assigning each element of the diagram to a respective holder array, each holder array including an identifier for each element assigned to the holder array, the identifier being linked to the attributes associated with a respective element,

wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to generate a text-based report based upon the holder arrays and the attributes linked to the element identifiers in the holder arrays.

74. A computer program product according to claim 63, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to generate a text-based report by:

examining each element following a nested hierarchical ordering;

assigning at least one language string for each element and associated attribute based upon the examination; and

generating a text-based report based upon the language strings.

75. A computer program product according to claim 74, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to assign at least one language string by placing at least one supporting word at least one of before or after an attribute to thereby assign a language string to the attribute.

76. A computer program product according to claim 74, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to generate a text-based report by compiling the language strings into sentences, and ordering and concatenating the sentences into the text-based report.

77. A computer program product according to claim 76, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to compile the language strings into sentences based upon at least one function to increase grammatical accuracy of the sentences.

78. A computer program product according to claim 63, wherein the first executable portion is adapted to provide a visual base representation of a heart,

wherein the second executable portion is adapted to build a visual diagram of a particular heart by:

adding at least one vascular object representing at least one of a branch, a graft or a collateral; and

adding at least one modifier depending from at least one vascular object, the at least one modifier representing at least one of a stent or an aberration.

79. A computer program product comprising at least one computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program portions comprising:

a first executable portion for providing a diagram including at least one visual element, wherein each visual element on the diagram includes a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element; and

a second executable portion for manipulating a shape of the element on the diagram, wherein manipulating the shape includes increasing or decreasing the length of the element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with at least one point changes to reflect a change in percent of the point along the length of the respective element.

80. A computer program product according to claim 79, wherein the second executable portion is adapted to increase or decrease a curvature of the element, and wherein increasing or decreasing the curvature includes (a) increasing or decreasing the length of the element, and (b) increasing or decreasing a direction of the element.

81. A computer program product according to claim 79, wherein the diagram includes at least one element depending from at least one other element, wherein the computer program product further comprises a third executable portion for adding at least one visual element to the diagram, and wherein the third executable portion is adapted to add at least one visual element by:

selecting a visual element from a menu;

dragging the selected element from the menu to a stage including the diagram;

dropping the selected element onto the stage; and

snapping the selected element to an element from which the selected at least one element depends.

82. A computer program product according to claim 81, wherein the third executable portion is adapted to snap the selected element by:

determining a snap-to point of an element from a plurality of points along a length of each of at least one element on the diagram, the snap-to point being determined based upon at least one predefined characteristic restriction imposed by the selected element; and

snapping the selected element to the determined snap-to point.

83. A computer program product according to claim 81, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, wherein the third executable portion is adapted to snap the child element to a snap-to point of the parent element,

wherein the snap-to point is one of a number of constantly-spaced points along a length of the parent element, wherein each point is associated with a value representing a percent of the point along the length of the respective element,

wherein the computer program product further comprises:

a fourth executable portion for increasing or decreasing the length of the parent element such that the number of points along the length of the element increases or decreases to thereby maintain the constant spacing, and such that the value associated with the snap-to point is reassigned to a given point to reflect a change in percent of the snap-to point and the given point along the length of the respective element, and

a fifth executable portion for reassigning the child element from the snap-to point to the given point, the given point thereafter being the snap-to point of the child element.

84. A computer program product according to claim 81, wherein the selected element comprises a child element and the element from which the child element depends comprises a parent element, the parent element including a pair of sides, and wherein the third executable portion is adapted to snap the child element by:

determining an angle attribute of the child element;

determining a side of the parent to which the child element snaps; and

snapping the child element proximate to the determined side of the parent such that the child element extends from the determined side.

85. A computer program product according to claim 81, wherein the elements added to the diagram include at least one visual object and at least one visual modifier depending therefrom, and wherein the third executable portion is adapted to add at least one modifier to the diagram by:

snapping the modifier to an object from which the modifier depends, the object including a plurality of points along a length of, and proximate each of a pair of sides of, the object;

framing a shape of the modifier by a series of consecutive points of the object; and

fitting a stock visual representation of the modifier to the series of consecutive points framing the shape of the modifier to thereby form-fit the modifier to the object.

86. A computer program product according to claim 79, wherein the first executable portion is adapted to provide a diagram by:

presenting a visual base representation of an entity, wherein the base representation comprises a plurality of elements at least one of which is modifiable, and wherein the elements are each associated with a plurality of attributes;

building a visual diagram of a particular entity based upon the base representation of the entity, wherein the building step includes adding at least one visual element to the base representation, wherein the added visual elements are modifiable, and wherein the diagram comprises the elements of the base representation and the elements added to the base representation, and wherein the computer program product further comprises;

a third executable portion for determining a plurality of attributes associated with each element added to the base representation; and

a fourth executable portion for generating a text-based report from the diagram, wherein the report is generated based upon the elements of the diagram and the attributes associated with the elements of the diagram, and wherein the report is automatically generated from the diagram without user input.

87. A computer program product according to claim 86, wherein the third executable portion is adapted to determine a plurality of attributes for at least one element added to the base representation by:

determining a position attribute, a length attribute and an angle attribute associated with the element, the position, length and angle attributes defining a direction of the element; and

determining a name attribute associated with the element based upon the direction of the element and at least one rule.

88. A computer program product according to claim 86, wherein the elements of the diagram comprise elements of a plurality of element types, and wherein the computer program product further comprises:

a fifth executable portion for assigning each element of the diagram to a respective holder array, each holder array including an identifier for each element assigned to the holder array, the identifier being linked to the attributes associated with a respective element,

wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to generate a text-based report based upon the holder arrays and the attributes linked to the element identifiers in the holder arrays.

89. A computer program product according to claim 86, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to generate a text-based report by:

examining each element following a nested hierarchical ordering;

assigning at least one language string for each element and associated attribute based upon the examination; and

generating a text-based report based upon the language strings.

90. A computer program product according to claim 89, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to assign at least one language string by placing at least one supporting word at least one of before or after an attribute to thereby assign a language string to the attribute.

91. A computer program product according to claim 89, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to generate a text-based report by compiling the language strings into sentences, and ordering and concatenating the sentences into the text-based report.

92. A computer program product according to claim 91, wherein the fourth executable portion is adapted to compile the language strings into sentences based upon at least one function to increase grammatical accuracy of the sentences.

93. A computer program product according to claim 79, wherein the first executable portion is adapted to provide a diagram of a heart, the diagram including elements comprising at least one vascular object representing at least one of a branch, a graft or a collateral, and at least one modifier depending from at least one vascular object, the at least one modifier representing at least one of a stent or an aberration.