MRI Medical Object Visualization via Slice Coding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Magnetic resonance imaging systems face challenges in real-time tracking and visualization of medical objects, such as catheters, due to strict timing requirements and the difficulty in distinguishing objects within large 3D volumes or thick slices, which limits their ability to monitor moving objects or provide accurate position information.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the recording of a stack of sectional images, followed by sectional-image-specific coding and combination imaging, allowing for the creation of a projection image that simplifies the visualization of a medical object's position within the body, enabling real-time tracking and alignment of slice planes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If a large number of thin slices are recorded to cover large body volumes, then the coverage volume is improved, but the scanning time increases and real-time tracking becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the body volume into a stack of multiple thin slices, where each slice is independently coded and can be quickly scanned. This segmentation allows the system to cover large volumes by combining multiple fast scans of individual slices rather than performing one slow scan of the entire volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies color coding to different slices in the stack, where each slice is assigned a specific color or brightness level. This visual encoding allows the system to rapidly display and differentiate between multiple slices in real-time, enabling fast scanning while maintaining comprehensive volume coverage through the stacked slice representation.
2Loss of time
If thick slices or large 3D volumes are recorded, then the scanning time is reduced, but the medical object signal becomes subsumed and cannot be recognized
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of recording one thick slice, the patent segments the volume into multiple thin slices. Each thin slice maintains high resolution and can clearly depict the medical object. The stack of thin slices collectively covers the same volume as a thick slice would, preserving object visibility while reducing scan time through faster, thinner slice acquisition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color or brightness coding to differentiate between adjacent thin slices in the stack. This visual encoding allows the medical object to be tracked across multiple slices - the object appears in consecutive slices with progressive color changes, enabling precise position detection while using thin slices that can be scanned quickly.
3Measurement precision
If multiple thin slices are recorded to maintain object visibility, then object detection accuracy is improved, but the complexity of visualizing and tracking the object across slices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent assigns progressive color or brightness codes to slices in the stack (e.g., different grayscale levels or colors for different slice positions). The medical object appears across multiple slices with these progressive color changes, creating a visual gradient that directly indicates the object's depth position and trajectory. This simple visual encoding dramatically reduces the complexity of tracking the object through the slice stack compared to viewing unencoded grayscale images.
4Productivity
If real-time tracking of moving medical objects is implemented, then the monitoring capability is improved, but the scanning speed must be significantly increased requiring substantial technical outlay
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time tracking by segmenting the volume into a small number of thin slices that can be scanned rapidly in sequence. By using a manageable stack of thin slices rather than attempting to scan the entire volume, the system achieves real-time monitoring capability with moderate scanning speed requirements and reasonable technical investment.
Solution Approach 2:
The progressive color or brightness coding across slices enables intuitive real-time visualization of moving objects. As the object moves through the body, its position is immediately apparent from which colored slices it appears in, providing real-time tracking feedback without requiring complex processing or display systems.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method and apparatus for visualizing the position of a medical object in a body of an examination object, a stack of sectional images through the body, acquired by operation of a magnetic resonance imaging system, is provided to a processor, which implements sectional-image-specific pixel coding of the sectional images. This is followed by the creation of a combination image composed of a combination of a number of coded sectional images from the stack, and representation of the combination image.