Medical Image Display Device with Pointer Tracking and Enlarged Map Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
In medical image display devices, there is a risk of missing lesions when a doctor determines their presence by examining a pathology image without ensuring all areas are visually confirmed, leading to incomplete evaluation.
Innovation Solution
A medical image display device is equipped with an image enlargement unit, display area acquisition, display area image generation, pointer position acquisition, and line-of-sight detection to create enlarged maps and viewing position maps, which are superimposed on the pathology image, allowing easy identification of examined and unexamined areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a doctor examines a pathology image without visual confirmation of all areas, then the examination process is faster, but the reliability of lesion detection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses color-coded map images to visually indicate different examination states. Areas that have been examined are displayed with one color, unexamined areas with another color, and partially examined areas with a third color. This color differentiation allows doctors to quickly identify which areas need attention without slowing down the examination process, thereby maintaining both speed and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a map image as an intermediary visual aid between the pathology image and the doctor's examination process. This map image provides real-time feedback about examination progress and status, serving as a mediator that guides the doctor's attention to unexamined or partially examined areas without requiring direct visual inspection of every region, thus balancing speed and accuracy.
2Reliability
If a doctor carefully examines all areas of a pathology image, then the reliability of lesion detection improves, but the examination time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis by tracking the pointer's movement and automatically generating a map image that identifies unexamined and partially examined areas before the doctor completes their review. This preliminary action highlights regions that require attention, allowing the doctor to focus their careful examination only on necessary areas rather than uniformly reviewing the entire image, thus reducing overall examination time while maintaining detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The map image provides continuous feedback to the doctor about examination progress. By displaying visual indicators of examined, unexamined, and partially examined areas, the system enables the doctor to adjust their examination strategy in real-time, directing attention to areas that need further review and avoiding redundant examination of already-reviewed regions, thereby optimizing the balance between thoroughness and time efficiency.
3Device complexity
If no visual indication of examined areas is provided, then the display simplicity is maintained, but the ability to track examination progress deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pathology image into distinct regions based on examination status. The map image divides the image area into examined areas, unexamined areas, and partially examined areas, each represented by different visual indicators. This segmentation provides clear spatial organization of examination progress without overwhelming the display, maintaining relative simplicity while effectively communicating examination status across different regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a visual dimension to the examination process by overlaying a map image that represents examination status. This creates a second layer of information that complements the pathology image itself, allowing the system to convey examination progress without altering the primary medical image. The map image serves as an additional dimension of information that enhances tracking capability while preserving the original image's integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
An image enlargement unit enlarges a partial area of a pathology image. A display area acquisition unit acquires a display area indicating the partial area enlarged by the image enlargement unit. A display area image generation unit generates an enlarged map image in which an enlarged display area of the pathology image is drawn, based on the display area acquired by the display area acquisition unit. A pointer position acquisition unit acquires a position of a pointer that is superimposed on the pathology image and displayed. A viewing position image generation unit generates, as a viewing position map image, a pointer map image indicating a movement trajectory of when the pointer moves on the pathology image, based on the position of the pointer. An image compositing unit superimposes the enlarged map image and the viewing position map image on the pathology image.