Method and processor for generating a medical image using stored pan/zoom preferences

• US 7,978,891 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2007
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Assmann, Stefan, Ekinci, Okan
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta; Bhavesh M
• Assistant Examiner(s): ANSARI, TAHMINA N
• Application Number:
  US11/835,487
• Publication Number:
  US 20080037850A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,434 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10072 Tomographic images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

In a method for generation of a medical image, starting from an acquired data set of an organ to be depicted, a magnification factor and/or an image section to be depicted are automatically determined dependent on the organ to be depicted. Based on this a medical image is generated from the data set. A data processing unit for medical images is fashioned for implementation of such a method and computer software implements such a method when it is executed on a data processing unit.

Claims

1. A method for generating a medical image, comprising the steps of:

providing a computerized processor, having a pan/zoom display function, with an acquired data set of anatomical organ to be depicted by implementing said pan/zoom display function with a pan/zoom display attribute selected from the group consisting of a magnification factor and an image section of the anatomical organ;

storing a predetermined user preference for implementing said pan/zoom display function in a memory accessible by said computerized processor;

in said processor, accessing said memory to retrieve said predetermined user preference from said memory, and automatically determining said display attribute dependent on said organ and dependent on said user preference; and

from said processor, causing said data set of said anatomical organ to be visually displayed by implementing said pan/zoom display function in a display presentation embodying said automatically determined display attribute.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising storing in a databank accessible by said data processor, respective associations of pan/zoom different display attributes with different anatomical organs, and automatically determining said display attribute in said data processor by selecting the pan/zoom display attribute associated in said databank with the anatomical organ in said data set.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising automatically determining said pan/zoom display attribute in said data processor by operating on said data set with an algorithm selected from the group consisting of segmentation algorithms and pattern recognition algorithms.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising, in said data processor, automatically determining said pan/zoom display attribute to cause the anatomical organ to be depicted in said presentation together with a pre-determined region surrounding the anatomical organ.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising, in said data processor, automatically determining if said anatomical organ is only partially visible in said presentation and, if so, automatically causing said presentation to be displayed in a format allowing said presentation to be shifted.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising making an examination indication available to said data processor, and automatically determining said pan/zoom display attribute in said data processor dependent on said anatomical organ, said predetermined user preference, and said examination indication.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising allowing manual modification by a user of said predetermined user preference after retrieval thereof.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 comprising, after displaying said presentation, executing a further image processing step in said data processor based on said presentation embodying the automatically determined pan/zoom display attribute.

9. A computerized system for generating a medical image, comprising:

a computerized processor configured to implement a pan/zoom display function, and having an input supplied with an acquired data set of anatomical organ to be depicted by implementing said pan/zoom display function with a pan/zoom display attribute selected from the group consisting of a magnification factor and an image section of the anatomical organ;

a memory accessible by said computerized processor in which a predetermined user preference for implementing said pan/zoom display function is stored;

said processor being configured to access said memory to retrieve said predetermined user preference from said memory, and to automatically determine said display attribute dependent on said organ and dependent on said user preference; and

a display monitor operates by said processor, at which said processor causes said data set of said anatomical organ to be visually displayed by implementing said pan/zoom display function in a display presentation embodying said automatically determined display attribute.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with programming instructions, said medium being loadable into a computerized processor configured to implement a pan pan/zoom function and having access to a memory in which a predetermined user preference for implementing said pan/zoom display function is stored, said programming instructions causing said computerized processor to:

receive an acquired data set of anatomical organ to be depicted by implementing said pan/zoom display function with a pan/zoom display attribute selected from the group consisting of a magnification factor and an image section of the anatomical organ;

access said memory to retrieve said predetermined user preference from said memory, and automatically determine said display attribute dependent on said organ and dependent on said user preference; and

cause said data set of said anatomical organ to be visually displayed by implementing said pan/zoom display function in a display presentation embodying said automatically determined display attribute.