CALIBRATED NATURAL SIZE VIEWS FOR VISUALIZATIONS OF VOLUMETRIC DATA SETS

• US 20120223945A1
• Filed: 08/26/2011
• Published: 09/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sectra AB
• Original Assignee: Sectra AB
• Inventors: Ernvik, Aron, Ranlöf, Magnus, Lo, Hong, Pennerup, Joackim, Milososki, Igor, Edespong, Erik
• Granted Patent: US 9,053,574 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/424
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/08 Volume rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/41 Medical

Abstract

Systems, methods, computer programs, and circuits that can provide 3-D perspective natural size views calibrated to ROIs.

Claims

1. A visualization system, comprising:

a display; and

a circuit in communication with the display configured to;

(1) show an image generated as a perspective 3-D rendering of voxels of an image data set on the display;

(2) allow a user to select a target region of interest (ROI) associated with the image on the display; and

(3) present a perspective 3-D natural size view calibrated with respect to the selected target ROI on the display.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to define a reference plane parallel to a viewing screen plane associated with the ROI on the display, and wherein the reference plane is used to generate the perspective 3-D calibrated natural size view.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to derive at least one reference point in a perspective 3-D projection of the ROI in a volumetric data set based on identification of depth locations of features in a mapping volume to generate the calibrated natural size view.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one reference point is defined by an object in the mapping volume closest to the screen plane.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the display is a touch screen display, wherein the circuit is configured to provide graphic user interface controls with defined touch gestures, and wherein a defined substantially rectangular shape touch gesture associated with a concurrent two-hand touch shape on the display both (i) commands the circuit to generate the perspective 3-D natural size view calibrated to the selected target ROI and (ii) defines a boundary for the selected target ROI.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the display is a touch screen display, wherein the circuit is configured to provide graphic user interface controls that commands the circuit to generate the calibrated natural size view with defined touch gestures, and wherein a defined touch gesture on the display about the target ROI to activate the perspective 3-D calibrated natural size view.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein, when an ROI is selected for a perspective 3-D calibrated natural size view on the display, a visual border is shown on the display about the ROI.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to analyze meta-data associated with the voxels of the image data set to define a physical size of voxels, and wherein the circuit is configured to calculate physical size for the 3-D calibrated natural size view based on the physical voxel size and a known display area size associated with the display.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to define a reference point in a normal view of the selected target ROI and generate the calibrated natural size view so that it maintains the reference point in the same location on the image on the display.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the circuit is configured to generate a series of reference planes using a common ROI across multiple time points of related 3-D data sets to generate multiple time points of perspective 3-D calibrated natural size views.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the 3-D image data set is a medical image data set.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the display is provided on a workstation table.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the perspective 3-D rendering of the 3-D image data set is generated using direct volume rendering.

14. A visualization system comprising:

a touch screen;

a graphic user interface (GUI) circuit in communication with the screen, the GUI circuit configured with GUI touch gesture controls;

a visualization circuit in communication with the screen and the GUI circuit, wherein the visualization circuit is configured to allow a user to select a target region of interest (ROI) on a perspective 3-D image rendered from voxels of an image data set shown on the screen using a defined, two-hand, multi-finger touch gesture, and wherein the visualization circuit is configured to then generate a natural size view calibrated to the target ROI based on;

(i) an in situ generated 3-D perspective projection mapping volume used to electronically define a reference plane in a depth dimension;

(ii) meta-data defining voxel size of associated with the image data set; and

(iii) a display area size associated with the screen.

15. A method of interacting with image data;

comprising;

providing an interactive screen with a GUI (graphic user interface);

providing a perspective 3-D image rendered from voxels of an image data set;

allowing a user to select a region of interest (ROI) of the image shown on the screen; and

electronically displaying a perspective 3-D natural size view calibrated to the ROI on the screen in response to the step of allowing a user to select the ROI.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the screen is a touch screen, and wherein the allowing a user to select the ROI step is carried out by accepting a defined touch gesture.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the defined touch gesture is a concurrent two hand, multiple-finger touch gesture forming a substantially rectangular shape about the ROI on the screen, whereby the touch gesture activates the natural size view calibrated to the ROI and defines the size and location of the ROI.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising automatically displaying a line on the screen image about the selected ROI for the natural size view.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising electronically calculating a calibrated natural size of an object in the ROI based on:

(a) a defined size of a display area of the screen;

(b) voxel size associated with source image(s) of the data set; and

(c) a calculated depth position of the object in the ROI using an in situ defined depth-reference plane.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the displaying step is carried out so that a reference point in a normal view on the screen used to select the ROI of the natural size view is at the same location in the natural size view on the screen.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the 3-D image data set is a patient medical data set.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of electronically displaying the perspective 3D calibrated natural size view is carried out by displaying a series of multiple time points of perspective 3-D calibrated natural size views using the same ROI to derive reference planes in the associated 3-D data sets.

23. A computer program product for visualization systems of image data sets, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory 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 allow a user to select a target region of interest (ROI) associated with a visualized 3-D perspective image of a volumetric image data set on a display; and

computer readable program code configured to generate a perspective 3-D natural size view calibrated to the selected target ROI on the display in response to a user'"'"'s selection.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the computer program code that generates the natural size view calculates size based on:

(a) a defined size of a display area of the screen;

(b) voxel size associated with source image(s) of the data set; and

(c) a calculated depth position of the object in the ROI using an in situ defined depth-reference plane.

25. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the computer readable program code that is configured to allow a user to select the target ROI is configured to recognize a defined touch gesture having a concurrent two hand, multiple-finger touch gesture forming a substantially rectangular shape about the ROI on the screen, whereby the touch gesture activates the natural size view calibrated to the ROI and defines the size and location of the ROI for generating the natural size view.

26. The computer program product of claim 23, further comprising computer readable program code that identifies a reference point in a normal view of the ROI on the screen and displays the calibrated natural size view so that the reference point is at the same location in the natural size view on the screen.

27. A visualization circuit for generating visualizations of image data sets, wherein the visualization circuit is configured to accept user input to select a target region of interest (ROI) for a natural size view in a 3-D perspective image rendered from a volumetric image data set shown on a screen using a defined, two-hand, multi-finger touch gesture, and wherein the visualization circuit is configured to generate the natural size view calibrated to the selected ROI based on:

(i) an in situ generated 3-D perspective projection mapping volume used to electronically define a reference plane in a depth dimension;

(ii) meta-data defining voxel size of associated with the image data set; and

(iii) a display area size associated with the screen.

28. The circuit of claim 27, wherein the circuit is configured to generate a series of perspective 3-D natural size views across multiple sequential time points of associated 3-D data sets using a common ROI to define respective reference planes in the 3-D data sets.