Tissue Distribution Table for Lung Imaging Interpretation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical image interpretation support systems fail to clearly convey tissue distribution information to doctors, making it difficult for them to understand the presence and volume of different tissues in medical images, particularly due to the need to check legends for segment and bar graph correlations.
Innovation Solution
An interpretation support apparatus that outputs a tissue distribution table with a first axis for organ parts and a second axis for tissues, using marks to represent volume, allowing for a discrete or combined display format, and includes an option to switch between these formats based on operator instruction, enabling immediate understanding of tissue volumes and proportions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If pie charts or bar graphs with legends are used to display tissue distribution, then tissue volume data can be presented, but doctors cannot understand the distribution at a glance and must check legends to correlate segments or bars with tissue types
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color coding where each tissue type is assigned a specific color that is consistently applied to both the graphical elements (pie chart segments or bar graphs) and the corresponding text labels. This eliminates the need for separate legends, as the colors themselves serve as the identification key, allowing doctors to immediately understand which tissue type corresponds to which segment or bar without additional reference
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the tissue distribution information into two distinct components: graphical representation (pie charts or bar graphs) and text labels, where each segment or bar is directly associated with its corresponding tissue type through color coding and proximity. This segmentation allows the information to be presented in a more organized and immediately comprehensible manner, eliminating the need for cross-referencing legends
2Ease of operation
If pie charts with equal central angles are used, then the display is relatively easy to understand, but the sectors cannot represent different tissue proportions accurately when tissue types have varying volumes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the pie chart sectors dynamic by allowing their central angles to vary according to the volume proportion of each tissue type. Unlike static pie charts with equal sectors, this dynamic approach enables the graphical representation to accurately reflect the actual tissue distribution, where larger tissue volumes correspond to larger sector angles, maintaining both visual intuitiveness and measurement precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of sector central angle from a fixed equal value to a variable value that corresponds to tissue volume proportions. This parameter change allows the pie chart to simultaneously maintain its visual clarity and accurately represent the quantitative distribution of different tissue types, resolving the contradiction between ease of understanding and measurement precision
3Quantity of substance
If bar graphs are used to show tissue proportions, then volume data can be displayed, but it is unclear which tissue type each bar represents without checking the legend
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color coding to bar graphs where each tissue type is assigned a specific color that is consistently applied to both the bars and the corresponding text labels. This eliminates the need for separate legends, as the colors themselves serve as the identification key, allowing doctors to immediately understand which tissue type corresponds to which bar without additional reference
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the function of the legend with the bar graph elements themselves by incorporating color-coded text labels directly adjacent to or integrated with the bars. This merging eliminates the need for a separate legend component, as the identification information is embedded within the graphical representation, allowing simultaneous display of tissue volume data and tissue type identification
Data Source
AI summary
A screen output control unit of an interpretation support server outputs a viewer screen on which a tissue distribution table is displayed. The tissue distribution table has a first axis, a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, and a first bar mark arranged in a region surrounded by the first axis and the second axis. On the first axis, a plurality of parts of the lung are arranged. On the second axis, a plurality of types of tissues are arranged. The first bar mark expresses the volume of the tissue with a length along the first axis.