Tomographic Image Cursor Navigation via 3D Position Inversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current image display systems for three-dimensional images require complex operations when moving a cursor between intersecting tomographic images, leading to low operation efficiency and characteristics, especially when modifying regions of interest.
Innovation Solution
An image display apparatus and method that allows users to move a cursor between intersecting tomographic images by simple button operations, such as arrow key inputs, maintaining the three-dimensional position consistency, thereby simplifying the process of checking and modifying three-dimensional images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the cursor is moved by direct mouse operation between tomographic images, then the cursor can navigate to different images, but the slice positions of tomographic images change synchronously causing loss of three-dimensional position correspondence
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the cursor directly to the target image (conventional approach), the system inverts the operation by moving the three-dimensional position (voxel) to the cursor's target location. This inversion ensures that the cursor always points to the corresponding three-dimensional position across different tomographic images, maintaining spatial correspondence while enabling navigation between images.
2Productivity
If complex operations are required to move cursor between tomographic images, then precise control is achieved, but operation efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically updating the cursor position and corresponding tomographic image displays based on the moved three-dimensional position. Once the voxel is moved to the target location, the system autonomously updates all related displays without requiring additional user operations, thereby improving efficiency while maintaining precision.
3Ease of operation
If the cursor is moved to a predetermined position in an image, then mouse operations are reduced, but the cursor cannot be positioned at the corresponding three-dimensional location
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from two-dimensional cursor movement on the display screen to three-dimensional position movement in the volumetric image space. By operating in the third dimension (depth/voxel level), the system enables precise positioning at corresponding three-dimensional locations across multiple tomographic images while reducing the complexity of two-dimensional navigation.
Data Source
AI summary
A first tomographic image of a three-dimensional image is displayed on a display screen, and a cursor to be operated by a user is also displayed in the displayed first tomographic image, and at least one second tomographic image intersecting the first tomographic image at a three-dimensional position in the three-dimensional image corresponding to a two-dimensional position pointed by the cursor in the first tomographic image is also displayed. A user input by a button operation giving an instruction to move the cursor is received. The cursor is moved to a two-dimensional position in one of the at least one second tomographic image corresponding to the three-dimensional position in the three-dimensional image corresponding to the two-dimensional position pointed by the cursor in the first tomographic image.