Phase Change Fused Image Display for Susceptibility Differentiation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional Susceptibility Weighted Imaging (SWI) techniques struggle to clearly depict the correspondence between disease sites with different susceptibility and tissue structures, making it difficult to understand the relationship between the two.

Innovation Solution

A method and apparatus for displaying a phase change fused image by overlaying a phase change weighted image, produced using a color bar with at least three colors (blue, black, and red), on an absolute value image, allowing for clear visualization of regions with different susceptibility and tissue structures.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a phase change weighted image is displayed using conventional SWI techniques, then regions with different susceptibility can be recognized, but the correspondence between disease sites and tissue structure becomes difficult to understand

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesusceptibility differentiationVSAvoidtissue structure correspondence

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the image display into two distinct components: a phase change weighted image (in color) for susceptibility differentiation and an absolute value image (in grayscale) for tissue structure visualization. By separating these functions into distinct image channels and then combining them through overlay, the system allows simultaneous recognition of both susceptibility regions and tissue structures without mutual interference.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent merges the phase change weighted image and absolute value image into a single fused display through overlay operation. The color-coded susceptibility information is superimposed on the grayscale tissue structure image, creating a composite visualization where both datasets are simultaneously visible and interpretable in their spatial relationship.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If a color bar with at least three colors is used for phase representation, then phase information becomes clearer, but image processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvephase information clarityVSAvoidimage processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies color changes to represent phase information quantitatively. A color bar mapping is established where specific colors correspond to specific phase ranges (e.g., blue for minimum phase, red for maximum phase, black for center phase). This color-encoding scheme transforms abstract phase values into intuitive visual cues, enhancing phase information clarity without requiring complex additional processing hardware.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

Data Source

PatentUS8086009B2Method and apparatus for displaying phase change fused image

Publication Date: 2011.12.27 GE MEDICAL SYSTEMS GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY CO LLC

AI summary

To allow the correspondence between a region having different susceptibility and a tissue structure to be easily visible, a phase change weighted image is produced by use of a phase of each pixel of phase change image data and a color bar, and an absolute value image is produced by use of an absolute value of each pixel of absolute value image data and a grayscale. Then, a phase change fused image in which the phase change weighted image and absolute value image are overlaid on each other is displayed.