Combined Rib and Spine Manifold Imaging for Continuous CT Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical imaging visualization schemes for ribs and spine, such as the 'filet view' and 'visceral cavity view', suffer from discontinuities, incorrect rib lengths, and distortions, making them inefficient for time-critical trauma assessments.
Innovation Solution
A method involving automated segmentation, rib and spine detection, and a deformed two-dimensional manifold plane for mapping and interpolation, generating a continuous and straightened visualization of the rib cage and spine, combining the advantages of both views while avoiding their disadvantages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the filet view is used to visualize ribs, then rib centerlines can be accurately inspected in a normalized view, but discontinuities between ribs occur and imaging artifacts appear from adjacent ribs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the rib visualization with the spine visualization into a single unified manifold view. By integrating both structures onto one continuous manifold surface, the discontinuities between ribs are eliminated and the visualization becomes continuous and reliable for clinical assessment.
2Reliability
If the visceral cavity view is used to visualize the rib cage, then the rib cage can be inspected as a whole in a continuous visualization, but relative rib lengths are not maintained and unrealistic distortions occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making the manifold surface adaptive - it is continuous and smooth in regions requiring continuity (resolving the visceral cavity view's strength) but locally adjusts to preserve accurate rib lengths and anatomical proportions (resolving the visceral cavity view's weakness). This localized adaptation eliminates unrealistic distortions while maintaining overall continuity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the filet view is used for rib visualization, then individual ribs can be normalized and straightened, but the view is limited to ribs only and adding spine requires additional separate processing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal manifold visualization system that can simultaneously display multiple anatomical structures (ribs, spine, and potentially other thoracic structures) in a single integrated view. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate processing of different structures and provides a comprehensive visualization platform for trauma assessment.
4Quantity of substance
If whole-body CT scans are used for trauma assessment, then comprehensive imaging data is obtained, but large amounts of imaging data must be thoroughly inspected which is time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates the critical anatomical structures (ribs and spine) from the entire whole-body CT scan data and presents them in a dedicated, optimized manifold visualization. This extraction approach allows radiologists to focus inspection efforts on the most clinically relevant structures in a condensed, easy-to-read format, significantly reducing inspection time while maintaining comprehensive coverage of trauma-relevant anatomy.
Data Source
AI summary
A visualization scheme is generated based on automated segmentation to display anatomies of a patient. Data representative of a three-dimensional diagnostic image is received. The ribs and spine are segmented, rib centerlines and vertebra center landmarks are detected and labeled. Three-dimensional position coordinates corresponding to the received data are mapped to a defined two-dimensional manifold plane followed by an interpolation technique to complete the remaining three-dimensional position coordinates and deform the two-dimensional manifold plane. Image intensities are sampled from three-dimensional diagnostic image space, at each coordinate of the deformed two-dimensional manifold plane. A reformatted image is generated as a manifold slice from the sampled image intensities displaying a continuous and straightened visualization of a rib cage. A three-dimensional visualization of the rib cage is generated from a plurality of manifold slices.