Systems and methods for interactive navigation and visualization of medical images

• US 20090063118A1
• Filed: 10/08/2005
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Viatronix, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Viatronix, Inc.
• Inventors: Meissner, Michael, Dachille, Frank, Meade, Jeffrey, Economos, George JR.
• Application Number:
  US11/664,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20090063118A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5862 using texture
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10072 Tomographic images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20101 Interactive definition of point of interest, landmark or seed
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30032 Colon polyp
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/60 relating to pathologies

Abstract

Systems and methods for visualization and interactive navigation of virtual images of internal organs are provided to assist in medical diagnosis and evaluation of internal organs. In one aspect, an image data processing system (105) includes an image rendering system (111) for rendering multi-dimensional views of an imaged object from an image dataset (106) of the imaged object, a graphical display system (112) for displaying an image of a rendered view according to specified visualization parameters, an interactive navigation system (107) which monitors a user'"'"'s navigation through a virtual image space of a displayed image and which provides user navigation assistance in the form of tactile feedback by a navigation control unit (115) operated by the user, upon an occurrence of a predetermined navigation event.

Claims

16. A method for providing interactive navigation in a virtual image space, comprising:

moving a virtual camera along a flight path at an actual flight speed in a virtual image space in response to user manipulation of a navigation control device;

automatically modulating the actual flight speed upon the occurrence of a triggering event such that a perceived flight remains substantially constant.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically modulating the actual flight speed is performed such that a perceived flight remains substantially similar to the actual flight speed before modulation.

18. The method of claim 16, comprising:

monitoring a position of the virtual camera in the virtual image space; and

determining an occurrence of a triggering event when the flight path of the virtual camera becomes too close to an anatomical object in the virtual image space.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the virtual image space includes an organ lumen and wherein the anatomical object comprises an inner lumen surface.

20. The method of claim 16, comprising:

monitoring a lumen width in a field of view of the virtual camera as the virtual camera travels along a centerline path through a lumen of an virtual organ; and

determining an occurrence of a triggering event when the lumen width is determined to fall outside a threshold range of lumen widths.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein automatically modulating the actual flight speed comprises gradually decreasing the flight speed as the lumen width decreases.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein automatically modulating the actual flight speed comprises gradually increasing the flight speed as the lumen width increases.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein the triggering event is based, in part, on a current actual flight speed.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically modulating the actual flight speed comprises overriding an input event generated by user operation of a flight speed control unit.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein automatically modulating the actual flight speed comprises providing force feedback to a flight speed control unit operated by a user to automatically control the flight speed control unit.

26-1. The method of claim 26, further comprising automatically increasing a field of view (FOV) to aid the user in visualizing a region of interest in the virtual image space.

28. An image data processing system, comprising:

an image rendering system for rendering multi-dimensional views of an imaged object from an image dataset of the imaged object;

a graphical display system for displaying an image of a rendered view according to specified visualization parameters; and

an interactive navigation system which monitors a user'"'"'s navigation through a virtual image space of a displayed image and which provides user navigation assistance in the form of tactile feedback by a navigation control unit operated by the user, upon an occurrence of a predetermined navigation event.