IMAGE DATA SET COMPRESSION BASED ON VIEWING PARAMETERS FOR STORING MEDICAL IMAGE DATA FROM MULTIDIMENSIONAL DATA SETS, RELATED SYSTEMS, METHODS AND COMPUTER PRODUCTS

• US 20070269117A1
• Filed: 12/20/2006
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sectra AB
• Original Assignee: Sectra AB
• Inventors: Ljung, Patric, Ynnerman, Anders, Lundstrom, Claes, Ernvik, Aron, Bergstrom, Staffan
• Granted Patent: US 8,041,129 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/232
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/001 Model-based coding, e.g. wire frame

Abstract

Methods for electronically compressing data from a multidimensional medical data set for long-term storage includes: (a) generating a first medical image from a patient multi-dimensional medical image data set in a short-term storage format; and (b) compressing the patient medical image data set into a long-term storage format using at least one viewing parameter.

Claims

1. A method for electronically compressing data from a multidimensional medical data set for long-term storage, comprising:

generating a first medical image from a patient multi-dimensional medical image data set in a short-term storage format; and

compressing the patient medical image data set into a long-term storage format using at least one viewing parameter.

2. A method according to claim 1, the method further comprising displaying a medical image rendered using the patient data set in the long-term storage format after the compressing step.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one viewing parameter defines non-relevant data that is electronically discarded during the compressing step, and wherein the at least one viewing parameter comprises at least one of a grayscale window defining non-relevant substantially constant intensity values that are discarded and/or a transfer function defining low opacity data that is discarded.

4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

generating multiple images with different views on a display at a workstation during a first viewing evaluation, the different views having associated viewing parameters;

then

automatically electronically registering the viewing parameters used during the first viewing evaluation to generate the long-term storage data set during the compressing step; and

rendering a medical image using the patient long-term storage data set after the compressing and registering steps during a second viewing evaluation.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein image quality during the first and second viewing evaluations of corresponding images of clinically relevant features is substantially the same.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the compression step comprises using at least one viewing parameter preset defined for a respective examination type.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the viewing parameters used for compression can be predefined or manually set during image visualization.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising automatically electronically defining the viewing parameters used for compression based on at least one static preset, wherein image quality of clinically relevant features in images rendered using the compressed long-term data set is substantially the same as images rendered during a prior valuation using an original data set.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising electronically storing both a second version of the patient data set and the first compressed version of the long-term storage patient data set in long-term storage, the second version having less compression than the first long-term storage data set.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises generating a second medical image using the compressed long-term storage data set after the compressing step, wherein the first and second images are generated using direct volume rendering.

11. A method according to claim 10, further comprising dynamically generating image views of the compressed long-term storage patient data set using at least one of the following:

rotating the compressed long-term storage data set;

employing cut planes; and

recoloring a data range in at least one image view.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the compression step is carried out with lossless compression for significant data and to discard insignificant data to thereby retain substantially full image quality of features associated with the significant data.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the compression step is carried out with a lossy compression of data.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising changing viewing parameters used to render images from the compressed long-term data set.

31. A computer program product configured to carry out the method of claim 1.

15. A system for generating DVR medical images, comprising:

a volume rendering medical image processor system configured to generate;

(a) first medical images of at least one target region of respective patients using a first short-term multi-dimensional data set, and (b) second medical images of the at least one target region of respective patients using a second long-term multi-dimensional data set, wherein the second data set is compressed based on at least one viewing parameter associated with rendering or visualization of the first medical images.

16. A system according to claim 15, further comprising at least one clinician workstation with a display in communication with the processor, the display configured to display the generated images.

17. A system according to claim 15, wherein the short-term and long-term data sets comprise volumetric data sets, and wherein the processor system is configured to electronically compress the first short-term volumetric data set into the long-term data set using at least one viewing parameter that defines non-relevant data, and wherein the at least one viewing parameter comprises at least one of:

a grayscale window defining non-relevant substantially constant intensity values that are discarded;

a transfer function defining low opacity data that is discarded; and

/or a time-dimension parameter for time-series images.

18. A system according to claim 16, wherein the image processor system is configured to generate multiple medical images with different views on the display at a workstation during a first viewing evaluation, the different views having associated viewing parameters, then automatically electronically register the viewing parameters used during the first viewing evaluation to generate the compressed long-term storage data set, whereby the second medical images are rendered using the patient long term storage data set during a subsequent viewing evaluation.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein image quality during the first and second viewing evaluations of corresponding displayed images of clinically relevant features is substantially the same.

20. A system according to claim 15, wherein the imaging processor system is configured to automatically employ at least one viewing parameter preset defined for a respective examination type to generate the long-term storage data set.

21. A system according to claim 15, wherein the image processor system is configured to define the viewing parameters used for compression based on at least one static preset and/or based on user input during a first viewing evaluation to generate the long-term storage data set.

22. A system according to claim 21, wherein image quality during the first and second viewing evaluations of corresponding images of clinically relevant features is substantially the same.

23. A system according to claim 15, wherein the image processor system is configured to electronically store in long term storage, both a second version of the patient data set and the first compressed version of the long-term storage patient data set, and wherein the second data set version has less compression than the first long-term storage data set.

24. A system according to claim 15, wherein the image processor system is configured to dynamically generate image views of the compressed long-term storage patient data set by at least one of the following:

rotating the compressed long-term storage data set;

employing cut planes; and

recoloring a data range in at least one image view.

25. A system according to claim 15, wherein the image processing system is configured to generate the long-term compressed data set with lossless compression for significant data and to discard insignificant data to thereby retain substantially full image quality of features associated with the significant data.

26. A system according to claim 15, wherein the image processing system is configured to generate the long-term compressed data set with a lossy compression of significant and/or insignificant data.

27. A system according to claim 15, wherein the image processing system is configured to change viewing parameters used to render images from the compressed long-term data set.

28. An automated system for obtaining, archiving and generating DVR medical images, in combination with the apparatus of claim 15, the system further comprising:

a data capture circuit for electronically providing patient medical data obtained from a patient imaging modality;

short-term electronic storage media for electronically storing the short-term patient medical data in communication with the data capture circuit and the image processor system; and

long-term electronic storage media for electronically storing the short-term patient medical data in communication with the image processor circuit.

29. A system according to claim 28, wherein the image processor system is configured to accept physician interaction to electronically generate medical images in generally real-time responsive to physician input.

30. A computer program product for reducing direct volume rendering data set size for electronic storage of previously examined data sets using a computer network, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer-readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to generate first diagnostic medical images of target region of respective patients using a first short-term multi-dimensional data set; and

computer readable program code configured to compress the first short-term data set into a smaller second long-term multi-dimensional data set based on at least one viewing parameter associated with visualization of the first medical images.

32. A system for visualizing images of medical volume data sets, comprising:

an image processor circuit configured to render (1) a first direct volume rendering medical image from a multi-dimensional medical data set temporally proximate to a first examination period using a first short-term data set and (2) a second direct volume rendering medical image temporally spaced apart from the first examination period using a compressed version of the first data set, wherein the compressed version is generated using at least one viewing parameter associated with the rendered first image; and

at least one clinician workstation in communication with the processor configured to display the medical images.