Rounded-Corner X-Ray Image Display for Medical Viewing Systems
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing X-ray image acquisition systems face inefficiencies when rotating square or rectangular images acquired from flat-panel detectors, as they either lose information or require excessive X-ray exposure, and circular images are less informative.
Innovation Solution
A medical viewing system that acquires and displays X-ray images with rounded corners, using a collimator to adapt the X-ray source and adjust image shape for optimal display usage without losing information during rotation, and a calculation unit to control the collimator and zooming for efficient image presentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If square or rectangular X-ray images are displayed and rotated, then the image can be rotated, but corners turn outside the displayed area and information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by rounding the corners of rectangular X-ray images. This transformation creates a shape that is intermediate between rectangular and circular, allowing the image to be rotated within the display area without corners extending beyond the boundaries. The rounded corners ensure that during rotation, all image content remains visible within the rectangular display frame.
2Ease of operation
If circular X-ray images are used, then rotation is easy, but much less information is contained compared to square or rectangular images
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the advantages of both rectangular and circular shapes by introducing rounded corners to rectangular images. This creates an intermediate shape that retains more information than a pure circular image while enabling easy rotation like circular images. The rounded corners allow the image to rotate without corners extending beyond display boundaries, yet the overall rectangular form factor preserves more diagnostic information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by modifying only the corner regions of the rectangular image while preserving the central and edge information. The rounding is applied locally at the corners rather than transforming the entire image into a circle, thus maintaining high information content in the main image area while solving the rotation problem at the corners.
3Loss of information
If rectangular images are shrunk to allow rotation, then rotation without information loss is possible, but display space is wasted and only a small fraction of the display is used
Solution Approach 1:
The rounded corner shape allows the image to maintain its full size on display while enabling rotation without information loss. The curvature at the corners creates sufficient clearance from the display boundaries during rotation, eliminating the need to shrink the image. This optimizes display space utilization while preserving all image information.
4Ease of operation
If the flat-panel X-ray detector is rotated to enable image rotation, then image rotation is achieved, but further X-ray exposition of the patient is required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a rotated version of the image through digital processing rather than physically rotating the detector. The rounded corner formatting allows the acquired rectangular image to be displayed in rotated orientations without requiring the detector itself to be rotated, thus avoiding additional X-ray exposure to the patient.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical viewing system comprises an X-ray source, a collimator for limiting the X-ray radiation output of the X-ray source and a flat X-ray detector, wherein the collimator is adjustable such that the subsequent X-ray images acquired by the X-ray detector comprise a rectangular shape with variably rounded corners. The acquired X-ray images have a shape, which is in-between a circular shape and a rectangular or square shape. Acquired images with this shape may then be displayed on a display unit, wherein the borders or the images are distant from the borders of the designated screen area of the display unit in order to define a gap on the display. On rotation of an acquired image the rounded corners move towards the borders of the screen and are dimensioned such that they never cross the borders of the display. The used area of the screen 30 is approximately 30% larger than that of a circular image, e.g. taken by means of an image intensifier.