Medical Image Processing Apparatus Motion Compensation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional color parametric imaging technologies face difficulties in tracking pixel value changes at moving sites such as abdominal blood vessels or the heart, making it challenging to apply color parametric imaging effectively in these areas.

Innovation Solution

The medical image processing apparatus performs a transformation process on blood vessel images to align them with a reference image, allowing for the generation of a color image where pixel values correspond to temporal changes, enabling the display of color animations that represent flow times of contrast agents at these moving sites.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If color parametric imaging is applied to moving sites such as abdominal blood vessels or the heart, then diagnostic capability is enhanced, but tracking pixel value changes becomes difficult due to motion artifacts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveapplicability to moving sitesVSAvoidpixel value tracking accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary image registration and motion compensation before conducting color parametric imaging analysis. By pre-aligning images from different time points and compensating for motion artifacts in advance, the system establishes a stable reference framework that enables accurate pixel value tracking despite patient motion during the imaging process

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring pixel value changes across time-series images and comparing them against reference values. This feedback loop allows the system to distinguish between actual contrast agent flow and artifacts caused by motion, thereby maintaining measurement precision even when imaging moving sites

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Device complexity

If conventional color parametric imaging is used without image transformation, then processing is simpler, but accurate visualization of flow time at moving sites cannot be achieved

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing complexityVSAvoidvisualization accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system introduces dynamic image transformation that adapts to the specific motion characteristics of each imaging site. Rather than using a fixed, simple processing pipeline, the system dynamically adjusts transformation parameters based on detected motion patterns, enabling accurate flow time visualization while maintaining reasonable processing complexity through automated parameter selection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS11793478B2Medical image processing apparatus, medical image processing method, and X-ray diagnostic apparatus

Publication Date: 2023.10.24 CANON MEDICAL SYST CORP

AI summary

A medical image processing apparatus comprises processing circuitry configured to select a reference image from blood vessel images based on contrast images acquired in time series and conduct a transformation process on other blood vessel images such that blood vessel shapes in the other blood vessel images match a blood vessel shape in the reference image, generate a color image where a color that corresponds to a temporal change in a pixel value is assigned to each pixel based on the blood vessel images after the transformation process, and display the color image on a display.