Method of displaying internal surfaces of three-dimensional medical images

• US 4,879,668 A
• Filed: 12/19/1986
• Issued: 11/07/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/1986
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Cline, Harvey E., Ludke, Siegwalt, Lorensen, William E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Harkcom, Gary V.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Mark K.
• Application Number:
  US06/943,357
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 364/518, 364/521, 364/522, 364/414, 364/415, 364/413, 364/518, 364/521, 364/522, 364/413.16, 364/413.18, 364/413.19, 364/413.22, 378/4, 378/901
• US Class Current: 345/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 1/06 using single beam tubes G09G1/26, G09G1/28 take precedence, e.g. three-dimensional or perspective representation, rotation or translation of display pattern, hidden lines, shadows G09G1/28 takes precedence; stereoscopic TV-systems, details thereof H04N13/00; oscilloscopes for three-dimensional representation G01R13/206; vectorscopes G01R13/208

Abstract

A count is kept of the number of surfaces traversed, in a variety of three-dimensional imaging systems which are particularly advantageous for use in medical applications based upon data generated by magnetic resonance imaging systems and computerized axial tomographic imaging systems. The system is particularly advantageous in a surgical workstation for planning a wide variety of operative procedures. Surfaces may be selected and displayed simultaneously so as to provide the viewer with a significantly improved knowledge of the relationship of various internal body structures.

Claims

1. An apparatus for displaying three-dimensional structure surfaces, said apparatus comprising:

means for storing three-dimensional signal patterns, each signal pattern containing a value of at least one physical property measured at each of regularly spaced three-dimensional grid locations within a three-dimensional body;

means for sequentially and progressively scanning through said three-dimensional signal patterns in said storing means to retrieve those three-dimensional signal patterns associated with a preselective unidirectional sequence of said grid locations within said body;

means for comparing each value of said retried signal patterns with at least one threshold value;

counter means having an output which is set responsive to said comparing means indicating that a present value of the sequence of signal patterns has traversed across any one of said at least one threshold value, for labelling each surface traversed in the single direction of said unidirectional sequence;

means for tessellating the output of said comparing means to generate polygonal surfaces which approximate an intersection of surfaces determined by said at least one threshold value;

with voxel elements being defined by said grid;

means for indicating, for each of said polygonal surfaces, surface depth information as determined by said counter means;

display processor means receiving, from at least said tessellating means, the tessellated comparing means output and for converting said output to a display format; and

means for displaying surfaces determined by said at least one threshold value, said displaying means being driven by said display processor means.

2. An apparatus for displaying three-dimensional structure surfaces, said apparatus comprising:

means for storing three-dimensional signal patterns, each signal pattern containing a value of at least one physical property measured at each of regularly spaced three-dimensional grid locations, defining volume elements each shaped as a solid parallelopiped, within a three-dimensional body;

means for sequentially and progressively scanning through the three-dimensional signal patterns in said storing means to retrieve those three-dimensional signal patterns associated with a preselected unidirectional sequence of said grid locations within said body;

means for providing a unique set of three-dimensional coordinates associated with each particular one of said grid location;

means for identifying, from a value of said signal patterns and from said associated three-dimensional grid location, those of said grid locations which lie adjacent to an associated one of at least one selected surface within said body;

means, responsive to said identifying means, for indicating a number of surfaces traversed in the single direction of said unidirectional sequence;

counter means, set by said surface number indicating means, for labelling each surface traversed in said single direction;

means for generating a normal vector to one predeterminately selected side of said surface at each of said grid locations at which said surface is identified;

means for associating surface counter information with said normal vectors; and

display processor means receiving said associated surface count information an normal vectors for providing a shaded image representing at least one predetermined one of the at least one of the selected surface.

3. A method for displaying three-dimensional structure surfaces, comprising the steps of:

storing three-dimensional surface patterns, each representative of a value of at least one physical property measured at each of a multiplicity of regularly spaced grid locations within a three-dimensional body;

sequentially and progressively scanning the three-dimensional signal patterns to retrieve those three-dimensional signal patterns associated with a preselected unidirectional sequence of grid locations within the body;

comparing the retrieved signal patterns with a threshold value selecting each of at least one surface to determine all intersections of a selected surface with each of a multiplicity of voxel elements each defined by a set of cubically-adjacent grid locations;

accumulating, for each pixel in a user-selected plane, a count of a number of surface intersections in a selected direction, normal to the body and from the view plane toward the body;

generating a vector approximating a normal to each of at least one selected surface for at least those of the grid locations associated with any voxel intersected by each of the at least one selected surface;

supplying each normal vector and its associated grid locations to a display processor; and

displaying the at least one selected surface responsive to the normal vectors and the view plane counts.

4. The method of claim 3 in which more than one selected surface is displayed simultaneously.

5. The method of claim 3 further including the step of selecting for display those points lying on one side of a user-selected cut plane.

6. The method of claim 5 in which a normal vector, associated with each point in the cut plane where the cut plane intersects the body, is set equal to a vector normal to the cut plane.

7. The method of claim 5 in which the amplitude of each normal vector associated with the cut plane is modulated in response to the signal pattern value associated with the grid location for which the normal vector was generated, to cause a textured pattern to be provided on the cut plane.

8. The method of claim 5 in which internal structure surfaces are selected in response to the surface count information to cause internal surfaces of volume-defining slids to also be viewable.