Considerations when colon segmentation differs between CAD processing and visualization
A system and method for preserving CAD marks falling outside the three-dimensional rendering on a visualization display following segmentation of CT medical image slices for review by a user is disclosed. The CT medical images are processed by both a CAD algorithm and a visualization workstation. The CAD algorithm reports detected suspicious regions to the visualization workstation for display on the three-dimensional rendering of the medical images as well as creates a list of the detections to notify the user. If the detected CAD marks are not located on the three-dimensional rendering of the medical images, the user is notified. The user can the view the detected CAD marks on the two-dimensional CT medical images.
1 . A method of displaying computer-aided detection marks on medical imagery, the method comprising:
segmenting a series of computed tomography medical images by a computer-aided detection algorithm and visualization workstation software;
reporting suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm to the visualization workstation; and
alerting a user if a detected suspicious region is not visible on the segmented depiction on the visualization workstation.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the medical imagery is taken from the colon.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of alerting the user differentiates non-visible suspicious regions by listing the suspicious regions in a different color on a list of suspicious regions than the visible suspicious regions.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of alerting the user pops up a dialog box on the visualization workstation display when the user selects a non-visible suspicious region from a list of suspicious regions.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm on the visualization workstation.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying suspicious regions as well as a list of all of the suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm on the visualization workstation.
7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing a list of suspicious regions to the visualization workstation for display.
8 . The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
selecting a suspicious region to view from the list of suspicious regions; and
jumping to a display of that suspicious region on the medical imagery displayed on the visualization workstation after selection of the suspicious region.
9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
providing a list of suspicious regions to the visualization workstation for display;
selecting a suspicious region to view from the list of suspicious regions; and
jumping to a display of that suspicious region on the medical imagery displayed on the visualization workstation after selection of the suspicious region.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the step of selecting a suspicious region is through the use of user-invoked controls.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the user-invoked controls comprise a computer mouse, a touch screen, a pen stylus, a display button, or combinations thereof.
12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
reviewing non-visible suspicious regions on the two-dimensional computed tomography medical images.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying both the segmented three-dimensional and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images on the workstation display.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
marking the computer-aided detected suspicious regions on the segmented three-dimensional and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images on the workstation display.
15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
marking the computer-aided detected suspicious regions on the segmented three-dimensional on the workstation display with arrows pointing to the computer-aided detected suspicious regions.
16 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
marking the computer-aided detected suspicious regions on the two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images on the workstation display with boxes surrounding the computer-aided detected suspicious regions.
17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
examining the series of computed tomography medical images for suspicious regions using the computer-aided detection algorithm.
18 . A method of displaying computer-aided detection marks on medical imagery, the method comprising:
segmenting a series of computed tomography medical images by a computer-aided detection algorithm and visualization workstation software;
reporting suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm to the visualization workstation;
providing a list of suspicious regions to the visualization workstation;
selecting a suspicious region to view from the list of suspicious regions;
alerting a user if the selected suspicious region is not visible on the displayed segmented depiction on the visualization workstation; and
jumping to a display of that suspicious region on the medical imagery displayed on the visualization workstation after selection of the suspicious region.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
displaying suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm on the visualization workstation.
20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
displaying a list of suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm on the visualization workstation.
21 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
displaying suspicious regions as well as a list of all of the suspicious regions detected by the computer-aided detection algorithm on the visualization workstation.
22 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
examining the series of computed tomography medical images for suspicious regions using the computer-aided detection algorithm.
23 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
displaying both three-dimensional segmented and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images on the workstation display.
24 . The method of claim 23 , further comprising:
marking the computer-aided detected suspicious regions on the segmented three-dimensional and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images on the workstation display.
25 . The method of claim 23 , further comprising:
reviewing the selected non-visible suspicious regions on the two-dimensional computed tomography medical images.
26 . A system for displaying computer-aided detection marks on medical imagery, the system comprising:
a computed tomography medical images processor for processing the medical imagery;
a visualization workstation, wherein the visualization workstation comprises software that segments the computed tomography medical images and wherein the visualization workstation displays the processed segmented computed tomography medical images; and
a computer-aided detection algorithm, wherein the computer-aided detection algorithm segments the computed tomography medical images, examines the computed tomography medical images for suspicious regions, reports the suspicious regions to the visualization workstation, and alerts a user if a suspicious region is not visible on the segmented depiction on the visualization workstation.
27 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the visualization workstation displays both three-dimensional and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images.
28 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the visualization workstation displays both three-dimensional and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images with the computer-aided detected suspicious regions marked on the segmented three-dimensional and two-dimensional renderings of the computed tomography medical images on the workstation display.
29 . The system of claim 26 , wherein the computer-aided detection algorithm provides a list of suspicious regions to the visualization workstation for display
30 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the computer-aided detection algorithm alerts the user by differentiating non-visible suspicious regions from the visible suspicious regions on the list of suspicious regions by using different colors.
31 . The system of claim 29 , wherein the computer-aided detection algorithm alerts the user by popping up a dialog box when the user selects a non-visible suspicious region from the list of suspicious regions.