Methods, devices, storage media and electronic equipment for detecting external occipital protuberance

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device for detecting the external occipital protuberance. The method includes: acquiring an NCCT image sequence of the head of a subject to be detected; determining a skull region based on the NCCT image sequence; determining a candidate region for the external occipital protuberance, including the raphe midline, from the skull region; and determining the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region based on bone thickness characteristics. This method of determining the location of the external occipital protuberance is more accurate and safer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of image processing technology, and more specifically, to a method, apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device for detecting the external occipital protuberance. Background Technology

[0002] The external occipital protuberance, also known as the external occipital protuberance or occipital bone protuberance, is a bulge located on the outer middle part of the occipital bone. Its inner surface contains the confluence of sinuses and is the junction of the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum. The occipital emissary vessels are located below the external occipital protuberance; these vessels often dilate when intracranial pressure increases. During posterior fossa craniotomy, if a midline incision is made along the external occipital protuberance, the emissary vessels and confluence of sinuses are easily damaged, leading to massive hemorrhage. Therefore, in clinical surgeries such as cerebral hemorrhage drainage, brain tumor resection, and endoscopic navigation, the external occipital protuberance, as an important bony landmark on the body surface, requires precise identification and location to avoid surgical procedures at a certain distance from it.

[0003] In related techniques, medical staff use their experience to feel the patient's head to determine the location of the external occipital protuberance and then mark its position with a marker. However, because the external occipital protuberance is located at the base of the patient's head and the patient is in a supine position on the bed, manually marking its location requires moving the patient's head. Moving the patient's head is unsafe and can easily lead to secondary head injury. Furthermore, the pulling force from moving the patient's head can cause scalp displacement, resulting in errors in the marking of the external occipital protuberance's location. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problems existing in related technologies, this disclosure provides a method, apparatus, storage medium, and electronic device for detecting external occipital protuberance.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, a first aspect of this disclosure provides a method for detecting the external occipital protuberance, the method comprising:

[0006] Obtain the NCCT image sequence of the head of the object to be examined;

[0007] The skull region was determined based on the NCCT image sequence;

[0008] From the skull region, a candidate region including the external occipital protuberance is determined;

[0009] The location of the external occipital protuberance is determined from the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance based on bone thickness characteristics.

[0010] Optionally, determining the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence includes:

[0011] The NCCT image sequence is preprocessed to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence;

[0012] The head contour region is determined based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0013] The skull region is determined from the head contour region based on the CT value range of the bony structure.

[0014] Optionally, the preprocessing of the NCCT image sequence to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence includes:

[0015] For each image in the NCCT image sequence, the imaging information of the auxiliary device on the image is removed to obtain the first NCCT image sequence;

[0016] Based on the standard NCCT image sequence, the first NCCT image sequence is subjected to rigid image registration processing to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0017] Optionally, determining the head contour region based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence includes:

[0018] For each preprocessed image in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence, a first target voxel with a CT value greater than a first preset threshold is identified in the preprocessed image.

[0019] The region consisting of all the first target voxels in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence is defined as the head contour region.

[0020] Optionally, the determination of the skull region from the head contour region based on the CT value range of bony structure includes:

[0021] Determine a second target voxel whose CT value falls within the CT value range from the head contour region;

[0022] The region comprised of all the second target voxels is defined as the skull region.

[0023] Optionally, determining the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, from the skull region includes:

[0024] Determine the midsagittal plane where the midline of the brain is located;

[0025] Candidate sagittal tomographic images are determined from the skull region whose distance from the midsagittal plane is less than a second preset threshold, and the bone region in the candidate sagittal tomographic images represents the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance.

[0026] Optionally, the number of candidate sagittal tomographic images is multiple, and determining the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region based on bone thickness characteristics includes:

[0027] Based on bone thickness characteristics, candidate sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance are determined from each of the candidate sagittal tomographic images. The candidate sagittal plane coordinates include sagittal axis coordinates and vertical axis coordinates.

[0028] Clustering is performed on all the candidate sagittal coordinates to obtain the target sagittal coordinates of the external occipital protuberance;

[0029] The location of the external occipital protuberance is determined based on the target sagittal plane coordinates and the coronal axis coordinates of the cerebral suture.

[0030] Optionally, determining the candidate sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance from each candidate sagittal tomographic image based on bone thickness characteristics includes:

[0031] Determine the head centroid of the candidate sagittal tomographic image;

[0032] Determine the region of interest for the external occipital protuberance in the candidate sagittal tomographic image;

[0033] For each outer edge skull voxel in the region of interest, determine the target line segment connecting the outer edge skull voxel to the centroid of the head, and determine the intersection line segment between the target line segment and the skull.

[0034] The sagittal coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersecting line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined as the candidate sagittal coordinates.

[0035] A second aspect of this disclosure provides a device for detecting external occipital protuberance, the device comprising:

[0036] The acquisition module is used to acquire NCCT image sequences of the head of the object to be inspected;

[0037] The first determining module is used to determine the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence;

[0038] The second determining module is used to determine a candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, from the skull region;

[0039] The third determining module is used to determine the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance based on bone thickness characteristics.

[0040] Optionally, the first determining module includes:

[0041] The preprocessing submodule is used to preprocess the NCCT image sequence to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0042] The first determining submodule is used to determine the head contour region based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence;

[0043] The second determining submodule is used to determine the skull region from the head contour region based on the CT value range of the bony structure.

[0044] Optionally, the preprocessing submodule is used for:

[0045] For each image in the NCCT image sequence, the imaging information of the auxiliary device on the image is removed to obtain a first NCCT image sequence; according to the standard NCCT image sequence, the first NCCT image sequence is subjected to rigid image registration processing to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0046] Optionally, the first determining submodule is configured to:

[0047] For each preprocessed image in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence, a first target voxel with a CT value greater than a first preset threshold is identified in the preprocessed image; the region composed of all the first target voxels in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence is identified as the head contour region.

[0048] Optionally, the second determining submodule is used for:

[0049] Determine a second target voxel whose CT value falls within the CT value range from the head contour region; define the region composed of all the second target voxels as the skull region.

[0050] Optionally, the second determining module includes:

[0051] The third determination submodule is used to determine the midsagittal plane where the suture of the brain is located;

[0052] The fourth determination submodule is used to determine candidate sagittal tomographic images from the skull region whose distance from the midsagittal plane is less than a second preset threshold, wherein the bone region in the candidate sagittal tomographic image represents the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance.

[0053] Optionally, the number of candidate sagittal tomographic images is multiple, and the third determining module includes:

[0054] The fifth determination submodule is used to determine the candidate sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance from each candidate sagittal tomographic image based on bone thickness characteristics. The candidate sagittal plane coordinates include sagittal axis coordinates and vertical axis coordinates.

[0055] The clustering submodule is used to perform clustering processing based on all the candidate sagittal plane coordinates to obtain the target sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance.

[0056] The sixth determining submodule is used to determine the position of the external occipital protuberance based on the target sagittal plane coordinates and the coronal axis coordinates of the suture zone.

[0057] Optionally, the fifth determining submodule is further configured to:

[0058] The centroid of the head in the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined; the region of interest (ROI) of the external occipital protuberance in the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined; for each outer edge skull voxel in the ROI, the target line segment connecting the outer edge skull voxel to the centroid of the head is determined, and the intersection line segment of the target line segment with the skull is determined; the sagittal coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersection line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined as the candidate sagittal coordinates.

[0059] A third aspect of this disclosure provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the external occipital protuberance detection method described in the first aspect.

[0060] A fourth aspect of this disclosure provides an electronic device, including:

[0061] A memory on which computer programs are stored;

[0062] A processor is configured to execute the computer program in the memory to implement the steps of the external occipital protuberance detection method described in the first aspect.

[0063] By adopting the above technical solution, at least the following beneficial technical effects can be achieved:

[0064] This method involves acquiring NCCT image sequences of the head of the subject and determining the skull region based on these sequences. From the skull region, a candidate region for the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, is identified. Based on bone thickness characteristics, the location of the external occipital protuberance is determined from this candidate region. This method, which reconstructs the skull region from NCCT image sequences and determines the location of the external occipital protuberance based on its location near the suture zone and bone thickness characteristics, is more accurate and safer than related techniques that require moving the patient's head and manually locating the external occipital protuberance.

[0065] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0066] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the present disclosure and form part of the specification. They are used together with the following detailed description to explain the present disclosure, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0067] Figure 1 This is a human body coordinate system illustrated according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure of a method for detecting the external occipital protuberance.

[0069] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating noise reduction according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0070] Figure 4 This is a registration diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0071] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a head contour region according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0072] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a binary image of a head contour region according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0073] Figure 7 This is another human coordinate system illustrated according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the raphe in the XOY plane of the brain according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0075] Figure 9 It is a three-dimensional image composed of all candidate sagittal tomographic images as illustrated in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0076] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the center of mass of a head according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0077] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a region of interest according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0078] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of intersecting line segments according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0079] Figure 13 This is a block diagram illustrating an external occipital protuberance detection device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] Figure 14This is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device for detecting the external occipital protuberance according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0081] The specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit this disclosure.

[0082] It should be noted that all actions involving the acquisition of signals, information, or data in this disclosure are carried out in compliance with the relevant data protection laws and policies of the country where the location is situated, and with authorization from the owner of the relevant device.

[0083] To facilitate a better understanding of the technical solutions disclosed herein by those skilled in the art, the relevant terms involved in the embodiments are explained below.

[0084] CT is short for Computer Tomography. Noncontrast CT (NCCT) is an imaging method used in the field of acute stroke, typically to check for hyperacute cerebral infarction lesions, rule out cerebral hemorrhage, or hemorrhage transformation lesions caused by arterial reperfusion injury. In this disclosure, the NCCT image sequence refers to the image sequence obtained by performing a CT scan of the head of the subject (i.e., the patient) using the noncontrast CT method. This image sequence includes multiple slices, each of which is a two-dimensional medical image.

[0085] A voxel is a cube of equal volume that is used to divide a selected slice during CT image processing. In other words, a voxel is the smallest unit of segmentation in three-dimensional space. Voxels are used in fields such as 3D imaging, scientific data, and medical imaging. Conceptually, a voxel is similar to a pixel, the smallest unit in two-dimensional space, except that a pixel is used in two-dimensional computer image data.

[0086] In the medical field, image registration refers to finding a spatial transformation that makes the corresponding points in two or more images completely consistent in spatial and anatomical position. The result of registration should match all anatomical points, or at least points of diagnostic significance, in the two images.

[0087] Rigid image registration refers to image registration performed through translation, rotation, or rigid body transformation, where the distance between any two points on the registered objects remains unchanged before and after the transformation. In the medical field, the two or more images used for rigid image registration can be medical images from different subjects or medical images from the same subject.

[0088] The following is based on Figure 1 Explanation of basic cross-sections of the human body in human anatomy:

[0089] Sagittal plane: A plane perpendicular to the ground along the front and back of the body is called the sagittal plane. The sagittal plane divides the human body into left and right parts. The sagittal plane drawn along the midline of the body is called the median plane or median sagittal plane. For example... Figure 1 The sagittal plane is shown.

[0090] Coronal plane: A plane perpendicular to the ground along the sides of the body is called the coronal plane, also known as the frontal plane. The coronal plane is used to divide the human body into anterior and posterior parts. For example... Figure 1 The coronal plane is shown.

[0091] Horizontal plane: A plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the human body and parallel to the ground is called a horizontal plane. The horizontal plane divides the human body into upper and lower parts. For example... Figure 1 The horizontal plane shown.

[0092] The following continues based on Figure 1 Explaining the basic axes in human anatomy:

[0093] Coronal axis: The axis that passes perpendicularly through the sagittal plane in the left-right direction is called the coronal axis or frontal axis, which can be characterized as the x-axis.

[0094] Sagittal axis: The axis that passes perpendicularly through the coronal plane in the anteroposterior direction is called the sagittal axis, which can be characterized as the y-axis.

[0095] Vertical axis: An axis that passes vertically through the horizontal plane in the up-down direction is called the vertical axis, which can be characterized as the z-axis.

[0096] The following provides a detailed description of the embodiments of the technical solution disclosed herein.

[0097] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting the external occipital protuberance according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the method for detecting the external occipital protuberance may include the following steps.

[0098] S11. Obtain the NCCT image sequence of the head of the object to be detected.

[0099] The NCCT image sequence of the head of the subject under examination consists of multiple slices, each of which is a two-dimensional image. Since the combination of multiple slices can represent a three-dimensional image of the head, this NCCT image sequence can represent a three-dimensional image of the head of the subject under examination.

[0100] S12. Determine the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence.

[0101] The skull region is the area occupied by the skull in three-dimensional space.

[0102] Since NCCT image sequences are obtained from plain CT scans of the head of the subject being examined, they include imaging information of the head. The head includes the skull, therefore the skull region of the subject can be determined based on the NCCT image sequences.

[0103] S13. Determine the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, from the skull region.

[0104] In human biology, the external occipital protuberance is a biological feature located near the suture zone of the brain. Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of data processing, candidate regions of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone of the brain, can be identified from the skull region to more quickly determine the location of the external occipital protuberance.

[0105] S14. Based on bone thickness characteristics, determine the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance.

[0106] In human biology, the thickness of the human skull varies slightly depending on sex, age, individual, and location. Generally, the average thickness of the adult skull is about 5 mm, with the external occipital protuberance being the thickest part of the skull, reaching up to 10 mm. Based on these bone thickness characteristics of the skull regions, in step S14, the location of the external occipital protuberance can be determined from the candidate regions based on its bone thickness characteristics.

[0107] Using the above method, NCCT image sequences of the head of the subject to be tested are acquired, and the skull region is determined based on the NCCT image sequences. From the skull region, candidate regions including the external occipital protuberance (OPP) are identified. Based on bone thickness characteristics, the location of the external occipital protuberance is determined from the candidate regions. This method of reconstructing the skull region based on NCCT image sequences and determining the location of the external occipital protuberance based on its location near the midline of the brain and its bone thickness characteristics is more accurate and safer than related techniques that require moving the patient's head and manually locating the external occipital protuberance.

[0108] Optionally, determining the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence includes:

[0109] The NCCT image sequence is preprocessed to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence; the head contour region is determined based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence; the skull region is determined from the head contour region based on the CT value range of the bony structure.

[0110] Preprocessing of NCCT image sequences includes denoising and / or image correction.

[0111] In one scenario, during a plain CT scan, auxiliary devices are often used to stabilize the patient's head and prevent image retention due to head movement. Therefore, the resulting NCCT image sequence may include not only the patient's head imaging information but also the imaging information from the auxiliary device. This auxiliary device imaging information is interference and can interfere with subsequent image processing. In view of this, in this embodiment, the NCCT image sequence undergoes preprocessing, such as noise reduction, to remove noise interference, resulting in a noise-reduced preprocessed NCCT image sequence. For example, see [link to example]. Figure 3 For each image in the NCCT image sequence, remove auxiliary devices such as... Figure 3 The imaging information of the bed board is used to remove... Figure 3 The first NCCT image sequence following the imaging information of the bed board.

[0112] In another scenario, during a plain CT scan, the patient's head may be tilted if no auxiliary device is used to stabilize it, or if the head is tilted when an auxiliary device is used. Therefore, the resulting NCCT image sequence may show a tilted head image, which can interfere with subsequent image processing. In view of this, in this embodiment, the NCCT image sequence undergoes preprocessing, such as image correction, to correct the tilted head image, resulting in a corrected preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0113] In addition, there is another situation where the NCCT image sequence may contain noise interference from auxiliary devices, or the head imaging image may be tilted. Therefore, in some embodiments, the preprocessing of the NCCT image sequence to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence includes:

[0114] For each image in the NCCT image sequence, the imaging information of the auxiliary device on the image is removed to obtain a first NCCT image sequence; according to the standard NCCT image sequence, the first NCCT image sequence is subjected to rigid image registration processing to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0115] For example, for each image in an NCCT image sequence, the imaging information of auxiliary devices is removed from that image to obtain a first NCCT image sequence. Each image in this first NCCT image sequence is a clean image after removing the imaging information of auxiliary devices. Furthermore, since in the medical field, two images for rigid image registration can be medical images from different subjects, an NCCT image sequence with no lesions in the head, no obvious abnormalities in the bony features of the head, and no angular displacement of the patient's head during plain CT scan can be selected as a standard NCCT image sequence. See also... Figure 4 The first NCCT image sequence can be rigidly registered according to the standard NCCT image sequence to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0116] Since the NCCT image sequence represents a three-dimensional image of the head, the first NCCT image sequence can be rigidly registered according to the standard NCCT image sequence to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence. This can be achieved by using the ITK (Insight Toolkit) three-dimensional rigid registration tool in related technologies to rigidly register the first NCCT image sequence according to the standard NCCT image sequence to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0117] The auxiliary device may be a bed board, headrest, head restraint, or other similar device. One method for removing the imaging information of the auxiliary device from an image is to remove it based on its morphological characteristics. For example, the HU value of the voxel representing the auxiliary device can be set to 0. Another method is to manually remove the imaging information of the auxiliary device.

[0118] Optionally, determining the head contour region based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence includes:

[0119] For each preprocessed image in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence, a first target voxel with a CT value greater than a first preset threshold is identified in the preprocessed image; the region composed of all the first target voxels in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence is identified as the head contour region.

[0120] In one implementation, if the ITK 3D rigid registration tool from related technologies is used to perform rigid registration processing on a first NCCT image sequence based on a standard NCCT image sequence, a preprocessed NCCT image sequence is obtained. Since the ITK 3D rigid registration tool's algorithm normalizes the CT values ​​(HU values) of voxels near the head to 0, and the HU value of air is approximately -1000, while the HU value of the head is greater than 0, a first preset threshold can be set to 0. For each preprocessed image in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence, a first target voxel with a CT value greater than 0 is identified. The region comprised of all first target voxels in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence is defined as the head contour region.

[0121] To facilitate a more intuitive understanding by those skilled in the art of how this disclosure determines the head contour region, the following will use... Figure 5 and Figure 6 Let's take an example to illustrate this. Regarding... Figure 5 In each preprocessed image of the preprocessed NCCT image sequence shown, the first target voxel with a CT value greater than 0 is identified. The HU value of the first target voxel is set to 1, and the remaining voxels are set to 0, resulting in the following... Figure 6 The binary image shown has 1 representing white and 0 representing black in the image domain. Figure 6 The white area in each image represents the head region. The combined head regions from all images form the three-dimensional image of the head contour region.

[0122] Optionally, the determination of the skull region from the head contour region based on the CT value range of bony structure includes:

[0123] Determine a second target voxel whose CT value falls within the CT value range from the head contour region; define the region composed of all the second target voxels as the skull region.

[0124] Since the CT value (HU value) of bony structures is 150 to 1000, the CT value range of bony structures can be [150, 1000].

[0125] For example, since the skull is located within the head contour region, all voxels representing the skull can be determined from within the head contour region. Voxels with CT values ​​in the range [150, 1000] within the head contour region are identified as the second target voxels representing the skull. Because the second target voxels represent the skull, the three-dimensional region comprised of all the second target voxels constitutes the skull region.

[0126] The skull region can be represented as the white area in the three-dimensional binary image corresponding to the NCCT binary image sequence obtained by setting the second target voxel in the NCCT image sequence to 1 and the other voxels to 0.

[0127] Optionally, determining the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, from the skull region includes:

[0128] Determine the midsagittal plane where the suture of the brain is located; determine candidate sagittal tomographic images from the skull region whose distance from the midsagittal plane is less than a second preset threshold, wherein the bone region in the candidate sagittal tomographic images represents the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance.

[0129] The second preset threshold can be an empirical value such as 1.5 cm or 2 cm.

[0130] Since there is no single, definitive correspondence between the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis and the coronal, sagittal, and vertical axes in human anatomy, nor is there a defined positive direction for each axis, the subsequent embodiments of this disclosure use... Figure 7 The human body coordinate system shown is used as an example for illustration. Wherein, Figure 7 The x-axis represents the sagittal axis, the y-axis represents the coronal axis, and the z-axis represents the vertical axis.

[0131] For example, because the external occipital protuberance is located near the suture zone in human biology, determining the candidate region for the external occipital protuberance, which includes the suture zone, requires first determining the midsagittal plane where the suture zone is located. Figure 8 The Xoz plane, where the midsagittal suture is located, is shown in the Xoy plane view. Candidate sagittal tomographic images less than 1.5 cm from the midsagittal plane are then identified from the skull region, for example... Figure 8 The xoz plane is shown within the area defined by the two white lines. All candidate sagittal tomographic images are composed as follows: Figure 9 The three-dimensional image shown. The bone regions in all candidate sagittal tomographic images characterize the candidate external occipital protuberance region.

[0132] Optionally, the number of candidate sagittal tomographic images is multiple, and determining the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region based on bone thickness characteristics includes:

[0133] Based on bone thickness characteristics, candidate sagittal coordinates of the external occipital protuberance are determined from each candidate sagittal tomographic image. The candidate sagittal coordinates include sagittal axis coordinates and vertical axis coordinates. Clustering is performed on all the candidate sagittal coordinates to obtain the target sagittal coordinates of the external occipital protuberance. The location of the external occipital protuberance is determined based on the target sagittal coordinates and the coronal axis coordinates of the suture zone.

[0134] For example, since the external occipital protuberance is the thickest part of the skull, the coordinates of the thickest part of the skull in each candidate sagittal tomographic image can be determined as the candidate sagittal coordinates of the external occipital protuberance. Then, clustering is performed based on all candidate sagittal coordinates to obtain the target sagittal coordinates of the external occipital protuberance. Since sagittal coordinates include the sagittal axis coordinate x and the vertical axis coordinate z, and the target sagittal coordinates also include the sagittal axis coordinate x and the vertical axis coordinate z, the location (x, y, z) of the external occipital protuberance can be determined based on the target sagittal coordinates (x, z) and the coronal axis coordinate y where the sutures of the brain are located.

[0135] In one implementation, the coordinates of the thickest part of the skull in each candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined by traversing each candidate sagittal tomographic image, and the coordinates of the thickest part of the skull in each candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined as the candidate sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance.

[0136] Optionally, determining the candidate sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance from each candidate sagittal tomographic image based on bone thickness characteristics includes:

[0137] The centroid of the head in the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined; the region of interest (ROI) of the external occipital protuberance in the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined; for each outer edge skull voxel in the ROI, the target line segment connecting the outer edge skull voxel to the centroid of the head is determined, and the intersection line segment of the target line segment with the skull is determined; the sagittal coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersection line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined as the candidate sagittal coordinates.

[0138] Among them, the outer edge skull voxels refer to the skull voxels that are in contact with the scalp. In the process of determining the skull region from the head contour area, it is possible to determine which skull voxels are the outer edge skull voxels.

[0139] For example, such as Figure 10 As shown, the head centroid P1 of the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined. The method for calculating the centroid can be found in related technologies, which will not be described in this disclosure.

[0140] Furthermore, the region of interest for the external occipital protuberance in candidate sagittal tomographic images was determined. Since the external occipital protuberance is located at the back of the head, as... Figure 11 As shown, the fourth quadrant region of the candidate sagittal tomographic image can be identified as the region of interest for the external occipital protuberance.

[0141] Furthermore, by traversing each outer edge skull voxel within the region of interest, the target line segment connecting that outer edge skull voxel to the head's centroid is determined, and the intersection line segment between the target line segment and the skull is also determined. This yields the intersection line segment corresponding to each outer edge skull voxel.

[0142] Next, the sagittal coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersecting line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined as the candidate sagittal coordinates. Assume there are three intersecting line segments with lengths of 4 mm, 7 mm, and 6 mm. The 7 mm segment is the longest intersecting line segment.

[0143] For example, see Figure 12 For each outer edge skull voxel P2 in the region of interest, the target line segment P1P2 connecting the outer edge skull voxel P2 to the head centroid P1 is determined, and the intersection line segment P2P3 between the target line segment P1P2 and the skull is determined. Assuming the longest intersection line segment is P2'P3', the sagittal plane coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel P2' corresponding to the longest intersection line segment P2'P3' in the candidate sagittal tomographic image can be determined as the candidate sagittal plane coordinates.

[0144] Figure 13 This is a block diagram illustrating an external occipital protuberance detection device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, such as... Figure 13 As shown, the occipital bulge detection device 1300 includes:

[0145] The acquisition module 1301 is used to acquire the NCCT image sequence of the head of the object to be detected;

[0146] The first determining module 1302 is used to determine the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence;

[0147] The second determining module 1304 is used to determine a candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, from the skull region;

[0148] The third determining module 1305 is used to determine the position of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance based on bone thickness characteristics.

[0149] Using the aforementioned apparatus, NCCT image sequences of the head of the subject to be examined are acquired, and the skull region is determined based on the NCCT image sequences. From the skull region, a candidate region for the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, is determined. Based on bone thickness characteristics, the location of the external occipital protuberance is determined from the candidate region. This method of reconstructing the skull region based on NCCT image sequences of the head and determining the location of the external occipital protuberance based on its location near the suture zone and bone thickness characteristics is more accurate and safer than related techniques that require moving the patient's head first and then manually locating the external occipital protuberance.

[0150] Optionally, the first determining module 1302 includes:

[0151] The preprocessing submodule is used to preprocess the NCCT image sequence to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0152] The first determining submodule is used to determine the head contour region based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence;

[0153] The second determining submodule is used to determine the skull region from the head contour region based on the CT value range of the bony structure.

[0154] Optionally, the preprocessing submodule is used for:

[0155] For each image in the NCCT image sequence, the imaging information of the auxiliary device on the image is removed to obtain a first NCCT image sequence; according to the standard NCCT image sequence, the first NCCT image sequence is subjected to rigid image registration processing to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

[0156] Optionally, the first determining submodule is configured to:

[0157] For each preprocessed image in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence, a first target voxel with a CT value greater than a first preset threshold is identified in the preprocessed image; the region composed of all the first target voxels in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence is identified as the head contour region.

[0158] Optionally, the second determining submodule is used for:

[0159] Determine a second target voxel whose CT value falls within the CT value range from the head contour region; define the region composed of all the second target voxels as the skull region.

[0160] Optionally, the second determining module 1303 includes:

[0161] The third determination submodule is used to determine the midsagittal plane where the suture of the brain is located;

[0162] The fourth determination submodule is used to determine candidate sagittal tomographic images from the skull region whose distance from the midsagittal plane is less than a second preset threshold, wherein the bone region in the candidate sagittal tomographic image represents the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance.

[0163] Optionally, the number of candidate sagittal tomographic images is multiple, and the third determining module 1304 includes:

[0164] The fifth determination submodule is used to determine the candidate sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance from each candidate sagittal tomographic image based on bone thickness characteristics. The candidate sagittal plane coordinates include sagittal axis coordinates and vertical axis coordinates.

[0165] The clustering submodule is used to perform clustering processing based on all the candidate sagittal plane coordinates to obtain the target sagittal plane coordinates of the external occipital protuberance.

[0166] The sixth determining submodule is used to determine the position of the external occipital protuberance based on the target sagittal plane coordinates and the coronal axis coordinates of the suture zone.

[0167] Optionally, the fifth determining submodule is further configured to:

[0168] The centroid of the head in the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined; the region of interest (ROI) of the external occipital protuberance in the candidate sagittal tomographic image is determined; for each outer edge skull voxel in the ROI, the target line segment connecting the outer edge skull voxel to the centroid of the head is determined, and the intersection line segment of the target line segment with the skull is determined; the sagittal coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersection line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image are determined as the candidate sagittal coordinates.

[0169] Regarding the apparatus in the above embodiments, the specific manner in which each module performs its operation has been described in detail in the embodiments related to the method, and will not be elaborated upon here.

[0170] Figure 14 This is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device 700 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 14 As shown, the electronic device 700 may include: a processor 701 and a memory 702.

[0171] The processor 701 controls the overall operation of the electronic device 700 to complete all or part of the steps in the aforementioned external occipital protuberance detection method. The memory 702 stores various types of data to support the operation of the electronic device 700. This data may include, for example, instructions for any application or method operating on the electronic device 700, and application-related data such as contact data, sent and received messages, pictures, audio, video, etc. The memory 702 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), magnetic storage, flash memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

[0172] In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device 700 may be implemented by one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other electronic components to perform the above-described external occipital protuberance detection method.

[0173] In another exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium including program instructions is also provided, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the external occipital protuberance detection method described above. For example, the computer-readable storage medium may be the memory 702 including program instructions described above, which may be executed by the processor 701 of the electronic device 700 to complete the external occipital protuberance detection method described above.

[0174] In another exemplary embodiment, a computer program product is also provided, comprising a computer program executable by a programmable device, the computer program having a code portion for performing the above-described external occipital protuberance detection method when executed by the programmable device.

[0175] The preferred embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of this disclosure, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of this disclosure, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0176] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, this disclosure will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0177] Furthermore, various different embodiments of this disclosure can be combined in any way, as long as they do not violate the spirit of this disclosure, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A method for detecting the external occipital protuberance, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the NCCT image sequence of the head of the object to be examined; The skull region was determined based on the NCCT image sequence; From the skull region, a candidate region of the external occipital protuberance including the suture of the brain is determined, the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance being characterized by a bone region in a candidate sagittal tomographic image; Based on bone thickness characteristics, the location of the external occipital protuberance is determined from the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance. The method of determining the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region based on bone thickness features includes: determining the centroid of the head in the candidate sagittal tomographic image; determining the region of interest (ROI) of the external occipital protuberance in the candidate sagittal tomographic image; for each outer edge skull voxel in the ROI, determining the target line segment connecting the outer edge skull voxel to the centroid of the head, and determining the intersection line segment of the target line segment with the skull; and determining the sagittal coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersection line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image as the candidate sagittal coordinates.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence includes: The NCCT image sequence is preprocessed to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence; The head contour region is determined based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence. The skull region is determined from the head contour region based on the CT value range of the bony structure.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The preprocessing of the NCCT image sequence to obtain a preprocessed NCCT image sequence includes: For each image in the NCCT image sequence, the imaging information of the auxiliary device on the image is removed to obtain the first NCCT image sequence; Based on the standard NCCT image sequence, the first NCCT image sequence is subjected to rigid image registration processing to obtain the registered preprocessed NCCT image sequence.

4. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the head contour region based on the preprocessed NCCT image sequence includes: For each preprocessed image in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence, a first target voxel with a CT value greater than a first preset threshold is identified in the preprocessed image. The region consisting of all the first target voxels in the preprocessed NCCT image sequence is defined as the head contour region.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The step of determining the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture zone, from the skull region includes: Determine the midsagittal plane where the midline of the brain is located; Candidate sagittal tomographic images are determined from the skull region whose distance from the median sagittal plane is less than a second preset threshold.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The number of candidate sagittal tomographic images is multiple, and the step of determining the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region based on bone thickness characteristics further includes: Clustering is performed on all the candidate sagittal coordinates to obtain the target sagittal coordinates of the external occipital protuberance; The location of the external occipital protuberance is determined based on the target sagittal plane coordinates and the coronal axis coordinates of the cerebral suture.

7. A device for detecting occipital bulge, characterized in that, The device includes: The acquisition module is used to acquire NCCT image sequences of the head of the object to be inspected; The first determining module is used to determine the skull region based on the NCCT image sequence; The second determining module is used to determine a candidate region of the external occipital protuberance, including the suture of the brain, from the skull region. The candidate region of the external occipital protuberance is characterized by a bone region in a candidate sagittal tomographic image. The third determining module is used to determine the location of the external occipital protuberance from the candidate region of the external occipital protuberance based on bone thickness characteristics; The third determining module includes a fifth determining submodule, used to determine the head centroid of the candidate sagittal tomographic image; determine the region of interest of the external occipital protuberance in the candidate sagittal tomographic image; for each outer edge skull voxel in the region of interest, determine the target line segment connecting the outer edge skull voxel to the head centroid, and determine the intersection line segment of the target line segment with the skull; and determine the sagittal plane coordinates of the target outer edge skull voxel corresponding to the longest intersection line segment in the candidate sagittal tomographic image as the candidate sagittal plane coordinates.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When executed by a processor, the program implements the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1-6.

9. An electronic device, characterized in that, include: A memory on which computer programs are stored; A processor for executing the computer program in the memory to implement the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1-6.

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