Dynamic Chest X-Ray Diagnosis Assistance System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current diagnosis methods using stethoscopes rely heavily on physician proficiency and struggle to effectively integrate dynamic chest X-ray images for accurate diagnosis, especially when patient tension alters lung behavior, making it difficult for non-experts to interpret dynamic image data from semiconductor image sensors.
Innovation Solution
A GUI-based system that performs dynamic imaging, extracts and analyzes subject regions, calculates motion features, and allows users to select and display specific feature quantities, enabling accurate diagnosis even for less experienced physicians by integrating information visually.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If dynamic imaging using semiconductor image sensors is performed to capture lung motion, then diagnostic information availability is improved, but interpretation difficulty increases for non-expert physicians
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an image processing system that acts as an intermediary between the dynamic imaging data and the physician. This system automatically extracts motion features, generates difference images, and highlights relevant diagnostic information, thereby bridging the gap between complex raw data and interpretable diagnostic insights for non-expert physicians.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the need for expert physiological interpretation (mechanical expertise) with automated computer-based image processing and analysis. The system automatically calculates motion parameters, generates difference images, and identifies diagnostic features, substituting expert human analysis with algorithmic processing that makes dynamic imaging interpretable for general physicians.
2Measurement precision
If stethoscope-based diagnosis is used to assess lung function, then diagnostic capability is improved for expert physicians, but diagnostic consistency deteriorates across different physicians
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a visual copy or representation of the lung motion data through difference images and motion feature visualizations. These graphical representations capture the essential diagnostic information in a standardized format that can be consistently interpreted by any physician, replacing the variable human interpretation of stethoscope sounds with uniform visual data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the diagnostic approach by changing the parameter representation from auditory (stethoscope sounds requiring expert interpretation) to visual (difference images and motion parameters). This parameter transformation standardizes the diagnostic data format, enabling consistent interpretation across physicians with varying levels of expertise.
3Device complexity
If maximum values of inter-frame difference values are calculated and displayed, then processing simplicity is improved, but diagnostic accuracy deteriorates for non-expert physicians
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the lung field into multiple regions and calculates difference values for each region separately. By dividing the complex image data into manageable regional segments, the system maintains processing simplicity while enhancing diagnostic accuracy through region-specific analysis that highlights localized abnormalities more effectively than global maximum values.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a diagnosis assistance system. The system includes, an imaging unit, an analysis unit, an operation unit, and a display unit. The analysis unit extracts a subject region from each of the plurality of image frames generated by the imaging unit, divides the extracted subject region into a plurality of regions, and analyzes the divided regions correlated among the plurality of image frames, thereby calculating a predetermined feature quantity indicating motions of the divided regions. The operation unit allows a user to select a region serving as a display target of an analysis result by the analysis unit. The display unit displays the calculated feature quantity regarding the selected region.