Ultrasound system and method for direct manipulation interface

Abstract

A system and a method of manipulating system parameters directly from displayed graphics utilize universal controls whose functions can vary depending on the current position of a cursor on a display device of the system. The system may be an imaging system based on ultrasound, magnetic resonance, computed tomography technology, or other modalities. The universal controls allow the number of controls included in the control panel of the system to be significantly reduced, since each universal control can perform functions of multiple hard controls. The universal controls may be pushbutton rotatable dials or rotatable toggles. In operation, when the cursor is positioned over one of the cursor-sensitive target areas, a control assignor of the system designates functions that correspond to that cursor-sensitive target area to the universal controls. The system also includes a display controller that controls the operations of displayed cursor-sensitive graphic elements. The cursor-sensitive graphic elements that are manipulated by the display controller include an annotation area, a pictogram area, toolbar buttons, and region of interest (ROI) controls. Depending on the selected cursor-sensitive graphic element, a menu of selectable graphics or an on-screen control may be displayed. The system also includes a selective print driver that operates to selectively prevent certain undesirable graphics from being printed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.