Method, a system, a computer program product and a user interface for segmenting image sets

• US 8,009,910 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2006
• Issued: 08/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus
• Original Assignee: Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus
• Inventors: Lötjönen, Jyrki
• Primary Examiner(s): ZARKA, DAVID PETER
• Application Number:
  US11/418,177
• Publication Number:
  US 20070258643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,943 Days
• Field of Search: 382/173
• US Class Current: 382/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/26 Segmentation of patterns in the image field; Cutting or merging of image elements to establish the pattern region, e.g. clustering-based techniques; Detection of occlusion
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/945 User interactive design; Environments; Toolboxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/03 Recognition of patterns in medical or anatomical images

Abstract

The current invention relates to the segmentation of image sets in four dimensions. A method for segmenting image sets comprises steps for defining deformation by at least one control point in a deformation area defined in four dimensions and modifying the content of said deformation area based on said control point, wherein the steps are iterated. The invention also relates to a system, a computer program product and a graphical user interface.

Claims

1. A method for segmenting image sets, comprising:

defining deformation in a computer by at least one four-dimensional control point in a deformation area defined in in three spatial coordinates and a temporal coordinate, wherein the deformation area is spatially and temporally constrained,

modifying in a computer a content of said deformation area around said control point, wherein the modifying comprises transforming spatial and temporal coordinates of a point in the deformation area, wherein said transforming happens according to a vector field defined in terms of a transformation of said control point and difference between said control point and said point in the deformation area, the difference being calculated using spatial and temporal coordinates, wherein a norm of the transformation vector of said vector field at the control point is ∥

V∥

, and wherein the norm of the transformation vector of said vector field is shorter than ∥

V∥

at a border of the deformation area, and

repeating the defining deformation and the modifying.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said deformation area comprises a plurality of deformation area points defined in spatial and temporal coordinates and said deformation area points span more than one spatial location and more than one time instance around said control point.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the modifying comprises transforming spatial and temporal coordinates of a point in the deformation area, wherein the deformation area comprises a deformation sphere, and wherein the transformation is implemented by an equation

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein a display of a time dimension is formed by

determining a three-dimensional line,

deriving a line profile for the three-dimensional line in each time phase,

forming the display of time dimension by stacking the line profiles, and

indicating the constraint of the deformation area in the time dimension in the display of time dimension.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the control point is a point in a four-dimensional space, the method further comprising:

receiving input from the user by dragging and dropping or by clicking, and

modifying content of said deformation area according to the input.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the deformation area comprises a deformation sphere defined in four dimensions around said control point, wherein said deformation sphere is constrained in space and time by a spatial and temporal radius.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the control point comprises a center point of the deformation area, wherein the norm of the transformation vector of said vector field at the center point is ∥

V∥

, and wherein the norm of the transformation vector of said vector field shortens to zero outside the deformation sphere.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving input from a user on at least one of the control point and the deformation area, and

modifying content of said deformation area according to the input.

9. A system for segmenting image sets, said system comprising:

a computer

a computer readable medium, and

computer program instructions recorded on the computer readable medium that when executed by the computer cause the system to at least

define deformation by at least one four-dimensional control point in a deformation area defined in four dimensions, wherein the deformation area is spatially and temporally constrained, wherein said deformation is done using spatial and temporal coordinates,

modify a content of said deformation area around said control point, wherein the modifying comprises transforming spatial and temporal coordinates of a point in the deformation area, wherein said transforming happens according to a vector field defined in terms of a transformation of said control point and difference between said control point and said point in the deformation area, the difference being calculated using spatial and temporal coordinates, wherein a norm of the transformation vector of said vector field at the control point is ∥

V∥

, and wherein the norm of the transformation vector of said vector field is shorter than ∥

V∥

at a border of the deformation area, and

repeat the defining deformation and modifying.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein said deformation area comprises a plurality of deformation area points defined in spatial and temporal coordinates and said deformation area points span more than one spatial location and more than one time instance around said control point.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the system is caused to modify the content based on said deformation area and said control point by transforming spatial and temporal coordinates in the deformation area, and wherein said transforming is caused to happen according to a vector field defined in terms of a transformation of said control point and distance between said control point and said content point, the distance being calculated using spatial and temporal coordinates.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the control point is a point in a four-dimensional space, wherein the deformation area comprises a deformation sphere defined in four dimensions around said control point, wherein said deformation sphere is constrained in space and time by a spatial and temporal radius, wherein the control point comprises a center point of the deformation area.

13. The system according to claim 9, further comprising:

user interface circuitry and user interface software configured to facilitate user control of at least some functions of the system through use of a display and configured to respond to user input; and

a display and display circuitry configured to display at least a portion of a user interface of the system, the display and display circuitry configured to facilitate user control of at least some functions of the system.

14. The system according to claim 9, wherein the computer program instructions further cause the system to receive input from a user on at least one of the control point and the deformation area and to modify content of said deformation area according to the input.

15. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium; and

computer program instructions recorded on the computer readable medium and executable by a processor for carrying out a method for segmenting image sets, the method comprising

defining deformation in a computer by at least one four-dimensional control point in a deformation area defined in four dimensions, wherein the deformation area is spatially and temporally constrained, and wherein said defining of said deformation is done using spatial and temporal coordinates,

modifying in a computer a content of said deformation area around said control point, wherein the modifying comprises transforming spatial and temporal coordinates of a point in the deformation area, wherein said transforming happens according to a vector field defined in terms of a transformation of said control point and difference between said control point and said point in the deformation area, the difference being calculated using spatial and temporal coordinates, wherein a norm of the transformation vector of said vector field at the control point is ∥

V∥

, and wherein the norm of the transformation vector of said vector field is shorter than ∥

V∥

at a border of the deformation area, and

repeating the defining deformation and the modify.

16. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the computer program instructions are further for receiving input from a user on at least one of the control point and the deformation area and for modifying content of said deformation area according to the input.