EDGE DETECTION IN ULTRASOUND IMAGES
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A computer-assisted method for defining structures on images, comprising the steps of:
- acquiring an image of a target structure for edge detection thereof;
establishing a seed point within said structure on said image;
detecting an edge in said image so as to generate a partially processed image of said structure having a computed edge indicated thereon;
extending a plurality of rays radially from said seed point to intersect said computed edge at respective intersection points;
connecting said intersection points to form an initial closed contour having respective segments connecting neighboring ones of said intersection points;
computing deforming force gradients in an area of interest of said image;
deforming said closed contour responsively to said deforming force gradients to define a deformed closed contour; and
deleting ones of said segments from said deformed closed contour that meet a predefined undesirability criterion.
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention improve edge detection in 2-dimensional image data that may be carried out automatically with minimal user involvement. The invention is carried automatically, using an image processing technique that results in generation of a segmented edge contour, which may then be used in 3-dimensional reconstruction and segmentation.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer-assisted method for defining structures on images, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring an image of a target structure for edge detection thereof; establishing a seed point within said structure on said image; detecting an edge in said image so as to generate a partially processed image of said structure having a computed edge indicated thereon; extending a plurality of rays radially from said seed point to intersect said computed edge at respective intersection points; connecting said intersection points to form an initial closed contour having respective segments connecting neighboring ones of said intersection points; computing deforming force gradients in an area of interest of said image; deforming said closed contour responsively to said deforming force gradients to define a deformed closed contour; and deleting ones of said segments from said deformed closed contour that meet a predefined undesirability criterion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer software product for defining structures on images, including a computer storage medium in which computer program instructions are stored, which instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
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accept data describing an image of a target structure for edge detection thereof; establish a seed point within said structure on said image; execute an edge detection program to generate a partially processed image of said structure having a computed edge indicated thereon; extend a plurality of rays radially from said seed point to intersect said computed edge at respective intersection points; connect said intersection points to form an initial closed contour having respective segments connecting neighboring ones of said intersection points; compute deforming force gradients at respective locations on said closed contour; deform said closed contour responsively to said deforming force gradients to define a deformed closed contour; and delete ones of said segments on said deformed closed contour that meet a predefined undesirability criterion. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for defining structures on images, comprising:
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a display; a memory for storing data describing an image of a target structure, and storing executable objects comprising an edge detection program; and a processor linked to said memory and, said processor operative to process said data, to establish a seed point within said structure on said image, to execute said edge detection program to generate a partially processed image of said structure having a computed edge indicated thereon, to extend a plurality of rays radially from said seed point to intersect said computed edge at respective intersection points, to connect said intersection points to form an initial closed contour having respective segments connecting neighboring ones of said intersection points, to compute deforming force gradients at respective locations on said closed contour, to deform said closed contour responsively to said deforming force gradients to define a deformed closed contour, to delete ones of said segments on said deformed closed contour that meet a predefined undesirability criterion to define a processed image, and to present said processed image on said display. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification