Bronchial Area Ratio Visualization for COPD Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical image processing systems struggle to visually identify and differentiate bronchi from other tubular structures in lung images, making it difficult to determine the location of area ratios and diagnose bronchial conditions effectively, especially in COPD cases where bronchi are displayed as tubular structures similar to blood vessels.
Innovation Solution
A medical image processing apparatus that extracts lung tissue from three-dimensional image data, calculates area ratios between the bronchial lumen and wall, and allocates corresponding pixel values to generate color-coded area ratio images, allowing for the superimposition of these ratios onto the bronchial structures for clear visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If area ratios are displayed as numerical values on axial images, then diagnostic information is provided, but it is impossible to identify which location the displayed area ratio relates to in the entire image
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color mapping to represent area ratios visually on the bronchial structure. Different colors indicate different area ratio values, allowing operators to immediately understand the degree of wall thickening at each location without interpreting numerical values. This resolves the location identification problem by providing both spatial context and quantitative information simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from displaying area ratios as one-dimensional numerical values to a two-dimensional visual representation directly overlaid on the bronchial structure. This dimensional transformation allows the area ratio information to be associated with specific locations through spatial correspondence, eliminating the ambiguity of numerical display.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If bronchi are displayed as tubular structures in axial images, then the overall structure is visible, but it is difficult to instantaneously discriminate a bronchus that is a target of diagnostic reading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color mapping to highlight the bronchial structure and overlay area ratio information directly on the target bronchus. This visual enhancement makes it easy to distinguish the diagnostic target from other tubular structures and immediately identify regions of interest based on color-coded area ratios.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different visual properties (colors representing different area ratios) to different parts of the bronchial structure. This allows operators to quickly identify abnormal regions with thickened walls by looking for specific color patterns, making diagnostic reading more efficient without losing overall structural context.
3Loss of information
If visual observation of cross sections is performed to diagnose airway disease, then bronchial states can be observed, but area ratios are only presented as numerical values without visual context
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the visual observation of bronchial cross-sections with the quantitative area ratio data by overlaying color-coded ratio information directly on the image. This combination allows operators to simultaneously assess both the visual appearance and quantitative metrics of bronchial wall thickening, improving diagnostic efficiency without losing visual context.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color mapping to represent area ratios visually on the bronchial structure. Different colors indicate different area ratio values, allowing operators to immediately understand the degree of wall thickening at each location without interpreting numerical values. This resolves the location identification problem by providing both spatial context and quantitative information simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical image processing apparatus according to the embodiments includes a display, and processing circuitry configured to execute a program. The processing circuitry extracts at least part of a lung from three-dimensional image data, extracts a tubular structure from at least part of the extracted lung, calculates area ratios between a lumen and a wall of the extracted tubular structure along the tubular structure, and generates area ratio images by allocating pixel values, corresponding to the calculated area ratios, to corresponding positions on the tubular structure having the area ratios being calculated, and displays the area ratio images on the display.