US 4,791,567 A · Three dimensional connectivity system employing an equivalence schema for determining connected substructures within a body

Abstract

An apparatus and method for determining connected substructures within a body is disclosed. The system and method are particularly advantageous for use in medical diagnostic imaging applications. In particular, three dimensional regions exhibiting the same tissue type are similarly labeled. The system and method of the present invention is operable in any situation in which three dimensional signal patterns representing the value of one or more physical properties associated with the substructures within a body at regularly spaced grid locations within the body are presented. A subset of the original data may then be provided to a display processor, particularly one employing gradient normal shading for display of three dimensional images. Even more particularly, the present invention is related to a method and system for determining equivalence classes of objects, the objects typically comprising one or two dimensional connected regions found in a planar slice of data from magnetic resonance imaging or x-ray tomography systems.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A method for determining, in three dimensions, connected substructures within a body, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing, in memory means three-dimensional signal patterns representing the value of at least one physical property, associated with substructures within said body, at regularly spaced grid locations within said body;
(b) selecting signal pattern values, from said memory means, which are associated with slices through said body;
(c) determining connectivity of two-dimensional substructures within each slice independently of connectivity in other slices, said connectivity being indicated by ordered indicia associated with distinct planar substructures;
(d) determining connectivity of said two-dimensional substructures between adjacent slices, said connectivity being indicated in a pair list of connected substructures;
(e) permuting a list of said ordered indicia in a memory means in accordance with said pair list, said permutation being carried out only for those pairs which are not already indicated as being connected;
(f) determining from said permuted list those two-dimensional substructures which are connected.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Three dimensional connectivity system employing an equivalence schema for determining connected substructures within a body

Life of this patent

Three dimensional connectivity system employing an equivalence schema for determining connected substructures within a body

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims4