Medical Image Processing Apparatus with Region-Specific Editing Constraints
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Manual region extraction in medical images, such as blood vessels, is labor-intensive and prone to errors, as existing automatic techniques lack accuracy in uncertain regions, necessitating user intervention without clear guidance on where editing is required or restricted.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that estimates the structure of target organs in medical images, calculates the degree of certainty for each region, and restricts or recommends user editing based on this certainty, displaying regions where editing is prohibited, suppressed, or recommended to reduce manual effort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If automatic region extraction techniques are used, then operator labor is reduced, but accuracy in uncertain regions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different types of guidance (prohibited regions, suppressed regions, recommended regions) for different parts of the extracted structure based on their individual certainty levels. Each region receives customized editing guidance according to its specific extraction confidence, rather than applying a uniform approach to the entire structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the extraction result into multiple regions with different certainty levels (high certainty, medium certainty, low certainty regions). This segmentation allows the system to treat different parts of the extracted structure differently, providing targeted editing guidance for each segment based on its extraction confidence.
2Measurement precision
If manual editing is allowed in all regions, then accuracy can be improved, but user effort and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by allowing manual editing only in specific regions where it is most needed (low certainty regions and recommended regions) while restricting or suppressing editing in other regions (high certainty regions and prohibited regions). This selective approach to manual editing reduces the overall user effort and time required while still improving accuracy where it matters most.
3Measurement precision
If editing is restricted in high-certainty regions, then extraction accuracy is maintained, but user flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing different editing restriction levels (prohibited, suppressed, recommended) for different regions based on their certainty levels. High-certainty regions have editing restricted to maintain accuracy, while low-certainty regions allow more flexibility. This localized approach maintains overall system accuracy while preserving user flexibility where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes a processor. The processor acquires medical image data. The processor estimates the structure of a target organ depicted in the medical image data. The processor determines, for each region of the target organ, the degree of certainty representing the accuracy of the estimation result of the structure of the target organ depicted in the medical image data. The processor causes at least information indicating whether user's editing based on the degree of certainty is necessary or information representing a region where user's editing is restricted to be displayed on a display image based on the medical image data.