Bidirectional Contour Extraction for Accurate Tomographic Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ultrasonic diagnostic apparatuses struggle to accurately extract contours from tomographic images due to interpolation processing, leading to inaccuracies in contour extraction.
Innovation Solution
A contour extraction device that propagates contours of tomographic images in both directions between two selected images, using an active contour method, and outputs correction instructions for discrepancies exceeding a threshold, ensuring accurate contour extraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If interpolation processing is performed to extract contours between two tomographic images, then productivity is improved by enabling contour extraction for intermediate images, but measurement precision deteriorates because the extracted contour may not be accurate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs bidirectional propagation (forward from first image to second image, and backward from second image to first image) and compares the results. When the difference exceeds a threshold, a correction instruction is output. This feedback mechanism ensures accuracy by verifying contours from both directions and correcting discrepancies.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary contour extraction in both forward and backward directions before final output. By pre-processing contours from both temporal directions and comparing them, the system identifies and corrects potential errors before finalizing the contour extraction results.
2Measurement precision
If bidirectional propagation and correction processing are performed, then measurement precision is improved by ensuring accurate contour extraction, but device complexity increases due to additional processing steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts processing based on the difference between forward and backward propagation results. Correction processing is applied selectively only when the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, making the complexity adaptive rather than fixed. This dynamic approach maintains high accuracy while avoiding unnecessary processing complexity.
3Manufacturing precision
If correction processing is applied selectively based on threshold comparison, then manufacturing precision is improved by correcting only when necessary, but loss of time increases due to threshold comparison and conditional processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the processing parameter (whether to apply correction) based on the threshold comparison result. By setting a predetermined threshold, the system efficiently determines when correction is necessary, balancing accuracy requirements with processing time constraints. This parameter-based decision-making optimizes the trade-off between precision and time.
Data Source
AI summary
A contour extraction device propagates a contour of a region of interest of a first tomographic image in a direction from the first tomographic image to a second tomographic image to extract first contours of the regions of interest of tomographic images between the first tomographic image and the second tomographic image, and propagates a contour of the region of interest of the second tomographic image in a direction from the second tomographic image to the first tomographic image to extract second contours of the regions of interest of tomographic images between the first tomographic image and the second tomographic image, and outputs a correction instruction for a contour in a third tomographic image between the first tomographic image and the second tomographic image in a case where a difference between the first contours and the second contours in the third tomographic image is a threshold value or more.