Medical Image Display Device for Lesion Variation Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical image display technologies face challenges in accurately recognizing variations in lesions due to slight subject position displacements and variations in body size, which mix with lesion variations on difference images, making it difficult to distinguish true lesion changes from positional differences.
Innovation Solution
An image display device with a region-of-interest setting section, difference image creating section, and image displaying section that corrects position displacements and displays difference images alongside original images, allowing for accurate recognition of lesion variations by showing both increased and decreased areas through inverse images and gradation adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If difference image processing is applied to highlight lesion variations, then the visibility of lesion changes is improved, but position displacement artifacts are introduced that mix with true lesion variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the image processing into distinct stages: first performing position displacement correction to align images, then creating difference images to highlight lesion variations. This segmentation separates the correction of positional errors from the detection of actual lesion changes, preventing artifacts from contaminating the difference image.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies position displacement correction as a preliminary step before creating difference images. By pre-aligning the multiple medical images to correct for subject movement and positioning variations, the subsequent difference image processing only reflects true lesion variations without being contaminated by positional artifacts.
2Ease of operation
If multiple medical images are displayed side-by-side for comparison, then the ability to visually compare images is improved, but the recognition of subtle lesion variations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple display modes into a single integrated system: side-by-side display of original images for general comparison, and overlay display of difference images for precise lesion variation detection. This merging allows users to switch between or combine both views, leveraging the advantages of each display method simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color coding in difference images to represent lesion variations, where different colors indicate different types or magnitudes of changes. This visual enhancement makes subtle lesion variations more distinguishable compared to grayscale side-by-side viewing, while maintaining the ability to see overall image context.
3Measurement precision
If position displacement correction is applied to align images, then the accuracy of lesion variation detection is improved, but variations in body size and posture that cannot be corrected remain as artifacts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces difference images as an intermediary representation that separates correctable positional variations from uncorrectable anatomical variations. By displaying both the corrected aligned images and the difference images, users can distinguish between artifacts that were corrected and genuine anatomical variations that remain, preventing misinterpretation of uncorrectable differences.
Data Source
AI summary
An image display device that includes: a region-of-interest setting section that sets regions-of-interest respectively for multiple medical images representing a photographed subject; a difference image creating section that creates a difference image representing a difference between images of the regions-of-interest set by the region-of-interest setting section; and an image displaying section that displays the difference image as well as the images arranged side by side.