Feature emphasis and contextual cutaways for image visualization
AssigneeSiemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
InventorsMichael Burns, Martin Haidacher, Wolfgang Wein
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for visualizing one or more objects of interest within a volume of imaging data includes the steps of receiving a volume of imaging data and displaying the one or more objects of interest within the volume by adaptively changing the amount of information displayed from the volume based on (1) a viewing direction of the volume, (2) a position of the one or more objects of interest within the volume, and (3) importance values of materials within the volume.
Claims13
A method for visualizing one or more objects of interest within a volume of imaging data, the method steps comprising:
- receiving, by a processor, the volume of imaging data;
- and
- displaying the one or more objects of interest within the volume by adaptively changing by the processor an amount of information displayed from the volume based on a viewing direction of the volume, a position of the one or more objects of interest within the volume, and importance values of materials within the volume, wherein the displaying comprises:
- selecting a viewing angle that is relative to the viewing direction;
- determining regions of the volume that fall within the viewing angle by determining a first region having a first angle away from the viewing direction, the first region having a bottom that is a first distance away from the object of interest and determining a second region having a second angle away from the viewing direction, the second region having a bottom that is a second distance away from the object of interest, wherein the first angle is less than the second angle and the first distance is less than the second distance;
- determining occlusion values for each point of the regions based on the degree that each point occludes the object of interest;
- and
- modifying an opacity value for each point based on the occlusion value of the point and the importance material that the point corresponds to.
A method for visualizing an object of interest, the method steps comprising:
- selecting, by a processor, a viewing direction with respect to an object of interest in a volume of image data, and first and second angles with respect to the viewing direction, the second angle being less than the first angle;
- determining, by the processor, a first region within the volume defined by the first angle, a second region within the volume defined by the second angle, and an overlapping region encompassing points of the first region and the second region;
- selecting, by the processor, a first occlusion value for the first region and a second and occlusion value for the second region based on respective amounts that the first and second regions occlude the object of interest;
- and
- displaying the object of interest by modifying an opacity of a non-overlapping part of the first region based on the first occlusion value, modifying an opacity of the non-overlapping part of the second region based on the second occlusion value, and modifying an opacity of the overlapping region based on a third occlusion value between the first and second occlusion values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.