Image volume browser with variably adjustable orientation measurement

• US 20100171741A1
• Filed: 12/04/2009
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Brill, Roland, König, Helmut
• Granted Patent: US 8,610,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/41 Medical
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/008 Cut plane or projection plane definition

Abstract

A method, a monitor control module and system are disclosed for displaying a medical image from a volume dataset on a monitor of a computer-aided device, whereby, in addition to the image a number of orientation images from the volume dataset are to be displayed. In at least one embodiment, the user determines an orientation measurement beforehand, on the basis of which orientation images will be selected from the volume dataset and presented for display with the image. The orientation measurement can be either based on distance or be the result of an anatomic model.

Claims

1. A method for displaying at least one medical image from a volume dataset on a monitor of a computer-aided device with, in addition to the at least one medical image, orientation images from the volume dataset of the at least one medical image being displayed, the method comprising:

determining or providing an orientation measurement;

applying the determined or provided orientation measurement to the volume dataset in order to select, from the volume dataset, orientation images which correspond to the determined or provided orientation measurement; and

displaying the at least one medical image together with the selected orientation images.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the orientation measurement is selectable from a set which comprises:

a distance-related orientation measurement, with a distance of the orientation measurement identifying a distance between a respective orientation image and the at least one medical image; and

an anatomy-related orientation measurement.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the distance of the distance-based orientation measurement is constant or is able to be set to grow in accordance with a configurable growth parameter.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the anatomy-related orientation measurement is based on an anatomic model provided, with all or selected images of the volume dataset being assigned an electronic anatomic code.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the orientation measurement is determined automatically on the basis of metadata established for the volume dataset.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a navigation image, orthogonal to the at least one medical image or to the orientation images, wherein the displayed orientation images and the displayed image are identified in their spatial position.

7. The method as claimed in the claim 6, wherein the display of the navigation image is interactive, so that navigation can be undertaken in the volume dataset by way of the navigation image with, on activation of an area on the navigation image, at least one of the associated image and orientation image automatically being loaded.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one of

the navigation image is two-dimensional or three-dimensional, and

an anatomic structure is labeled and assigned to the navigation image.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the displayed image and the displayed orientation images include a reference to their respective spatial position in the navigation image.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the orientation images will be displayed automatically and almost at the same time as the image.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the display of the orientation images and the display of the navigation image is initiated by a user interaction during or after the display of the image.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein display parameters for display of at least one of the image, the orientation images and a navigation image are able to be configured.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of the image and the orientation images are three-dimensional image datasets with a preselectable slice thickness.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the slice thickness of the image is selectable separately from the slice thickness of the orientation images.

17. A computer program product loadable or loaded into a memory of a computer, including computer-readable commands for executing the method as claimed in claim 1 when the commands are executed on the computer.

18. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the orientation measurement is determined automatically on the basis of metadata established for the volume dataset.

19. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

displaying a navigation image, orthogonal to the at least one medical image or to the orientation images, wherein the displayed orientation images and the displayed image are identified in their spatial position.

20. The method as claimed in the claim 19, wherein the display of the navigation image is interactive, so that navigation can be undertaken in the volume dataset by way of the navigation image with, on activation of an area on the navigation image, at least one of the associated image and orientation image automatically being loaded.

21. A computer readable medium including program code segments for, when run on a computer, executing the method as claimed in claim 1.

15. A monitor control module for controlling display of a medical image from a volume dataset on a monitor of a computer-aided device, the display being controllable such that, in addition to the medical image, a number of orientation images from the volume dataset of the image will be displayed, comprising:

a determination module designed to determine or to provide an orientation measurement;

a control module designed to apply the orientation measurement of the determination module to the volume dataset, in order to select, from the volume dataset, the orientation images that correspond to the orientation measurement determined or provided; and

a display module to present the medical image together with the selected orientation images on the monitor.

16. A system for displaying at least one image from a volume dataset, comprising:

a monitor, intended for display of images and assigned orientation images; and

a monitor control module as claimed in claim 15, the monitor control module including a data link to the monitor and able to include a user interface.