Vertebral Area Reset via Dynamic Borderline Shifting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image processing devices for bone densitometry face difficulties in accurately segmenting and displaying vertebral areas due to incorrect vertebral area settings, which are caused by mistaken vertebral location shifts and misdetected borderlines, leading to a cumbersome and time-consuming correction process.
Innovation Solution
An image processing device with a borderline correction mechanism that allows shifting of borderlines to any location, canceling morphological restrictions between bone areas and borderlines, enabling accurate resetting of vertebral areas and reducing the number of borderlines that need to be shifted.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If the automatic segmentation is performed using conventional image processing, then the vertebral areas are extracted and displayed, but the correction process becomes troublesome and complicated when borderlines need to be shifted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the vertebral area dynamic by allowing it to be reset based on corrected borderline positions. When a borderline is shifted, the system dynamically recalculates and resets the vertebral area boundaries automatically, rather than maintaining fixed morphological relationships. This dynamic approach simplifies correction operations because users only need to shift borderlines without manually adjusting vertebral areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically resetting the vertebral area based on the corrected borderline position. When a borderline is shifted, the image processing device autonomously recalculates the vertebral area boundaries and updates the segmentation without requiring manual intervention for area adjustment. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex manual correction procedures.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the locational relationship between bone area and borderlines is morphologically determined, then the segmentation is structurally consistent, but the borderline cannot be shifted freely to correct location errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by first shifting the borderline to the correct position, and then subsequently resetting the vertebral area based on the new borderline position. This two-step approach allows the borderline to be freely positioned without being constrained by the vertebral area morphology during the shifting process, while still maintaining structural consistency after the reset.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a static morphological determination to a dynamic relationship where the vertebral area is reset based on the corrected borderline position. This dynamic approach allows borderlines to be shifted freely to correct location errors, and the system automatically adapts by recalculating the vertebral area boundaries to maintain structural consistency.
3Measurement precision
If multiple borderlines are shifted to correct vertebral location shifts, then the segmentation accuracy is improved, but the operator workload and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically resetting the vertebral area based on the corrected borderline position. When a borderline is shifted, the image processing device autonomously recalculates the vertebral area boundaries and updates the segmentation without requiring manual intervention for area adjustment. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex manual correction procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the complex task of vertebral area adjustment from the manual correction process. By separating the borderline shifting operation from the vertebral area calculation, the system allows operators to focus only on shifting borderlines to correct positions, while the system automatically handles the complex task of recalculating and adjusting the vertebral area boundaries.
Data Source
AI summary
A borderline extraction element 15 extracts a borderline B of adjacent vertebrae from an X-ray image on which multiple vertebrae are projected connected in a line. A vertebral area setting element 17 sets a area sandwiched by the adjacent borderlines B as a vertebral area and an area number is put to the respective vertebral areas L. When the vertebral areas are erroneously set up, a setup data erase element 21 erases the data of the vertebral areas L and the area number when the borderline is corrected. The setup data are erased, so that the borderline B can be shift-corrected to any location. A vertebral area setting element 17 resets the vertebral area L based on the location of the corrected borderline. Accordingly, the respective vertebral areas L are set up to the accurate locations and only the borderline B extracted to the wrong location is shift-corrected and the vertebral areas are reset. The work-burden to the operator for setting the vertebral area can be largely lessened.