Navigational Entities for Medical Image Series
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Solution Overview
Problem
Navigating through large datasets of medical images is time-consuming and cumbersome, lacking effective assistance for quickly finding images of interest.
Innovation Solution
The method involves creating navigational entities through image segmentation, allowing users to identify and quickly access images of interest by displaying segmented objects as intuitive navigational entities, which can be stored alongside the images, enabling fast and user-friendly navigation within the series of related images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If images are displayed one after the other in a large dataset, then all images can be viewed, but navigation becomes time-consuming and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces navigational entities as intermediary elements between the user and the large dataset of images. These entities (such as thumbnails, icons, or representative images) serve as mediators that provide an overview and enable quick navigation to images of interest, thereby reducing the time required to search through large numbers of images while maintaining access to all images in the dataset.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the large dataset of images into manageable groups or collections, each represented by navigational entities. By dividing the overwhelming number of images into smaller, organized segments with representative indicators, users can efficiently navigate through different segments without being overwhelmed by the total quantity of images, thus reducing search time.
2Ease of operation
If navigational entities are created through segmentation and identification, then navigation becomes user-friendly and fast, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing segmentation and identification of objects in images during the data preparation phase, before the actual navigation task. Navigational entities are pre-created and stored alongside the image data, so that when users need to navigate, the complex processing has already been completed. This approach maintains ease of operation during navigation while managing processing complexity by performing it in advance.
3Productivity
If segmented objects are used as navigational entities, then direct access to images of interest is enabled, but image processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs segmentation and identification of objects as preliminary actions during data preparation, creating navigational entities in advance. This allows the system to achieve fast access to images of interest during navigation (improving productivity) while managing the processing time requirement by performing the computationally intensive segmentation and identification tasks before the navigation phase, rather than during active use.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method of navigating in a series of related images, comprising the steps of creating and storing one or more navigational entities, each navigational entity relating to an object depicting one or more images of the series of related images; and facilitating navigation within said series of related images by means of said navigational entities; wherein each navigational entity is created based on segmentation of the object depicted in the one or more images and on identification of the segmented object. This provides for user- friendly and fast navigation within a large set of related images, e.g. medical images. The invention moreover relates to a corresponding apparatus and computer program product.