System and method for propagation of spine labeling

1. A method programmed for execution in a computing device for labeling two or more digital image views of an anatomical target area, the method comprising:

providing a first label for the anatomical target area included in any of the two or more digital image views;

locating said first label to a center or clinically appropriate location of the anatomical target area;

utilizing said first label to identify the anatomical target area in at least two of the two or more digital image views that intersect with said first label; and

utilizing the location of said first label to predict a subsequent label for the anatomical target area included in any of the two or more digital image views based on the direction of movement and location of a cursor with respect to the anatomical target area,

wherein said cursor is controlled by a user via a pointing device.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said first label is overlayed on the two or more digital image of the anatomical target area.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the two or more digital image views are orthogonal views of the anatomical target area.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the two or more digital image views are non-orthogonal views of the anatomical target area.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the two or more digital image views are planar views of the anatomical target area.

6. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein at least one of the two or more digital image views is a non-planar view of the anatomical target area.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first and subsequent labels is a volumetric label.

8. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the anatomical target area is a spine.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said first label identifies a vertebra or inter-vertebra.

10. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein said first label is centered on said vertebra or inter-vertebra and said first label is dimensioned to approximate outer boundaries of said vertebra or inter-vertebra, wherein said spine may be linearized and a volume of the vertebra or inter-vertebra is ascertained and identified.

11. A method in accordance with claim 10 , wherein an axis of the spine is located and utilized to align and anchor said first label across the two or more digital image views.

12. A method in accordance with claim 10 , wherein a first one of the two or more digital image views is on either a sagittal plane or a coronal plane, wherein a second one of the two or more digital image views is a first axial slice that is disposed at an angle relative to said first one of the two or more digital image views, wherein a third one of the two or more digital image views is a second axial slice that is disposed at an angle relative to said first one of the two or more digital image views, and wherein said first label is displayed in said second one of the two or more digital image views and said subsequent label is displayed in said third one of the two or more digital image views as at least a portion of the spine is traversed in said first one of the two or more digital image views using the cursor.

13. A method in accordance with claim 9 , wherein labeling two adjacent vertebra results in an automated labeling of the intervening inter-vertebra.

14. A method in accordance with claim 9 , further comprising automated labeling of vertebral and inter-vertebral regions when a user provides labels for two adjacent inter-vertebral or vertebral regions.

15. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said first label is provided by having a user manipulate said pointing device, said pointing device being dynamically linked to said cursor, labeling cursor restricted to predetermined positions along a detected center line of the anatomical target area.

16. A method in accordance with claim 15 , wherein said detected center line of the anatomical target area is relocated by said user by utilizing said pointing device to drag a point along said detected center line of the anatomical target area to a new location, wherein a corrected center line may be provided and the related label may be aligned.

17. A method in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said step of locating said first label to said center or clinically appropriate location of the anatomical target area is performed automatically.

18. A method programmed for execution in a computing device for labeling a plurality of spine segments of a spine included in an anatomical image, the method comprising:

detecting the plurality of spine segments using a volumetric data recognition engine;

displaying said detected spine segments overlayed on top of the anatomical image;

allowing a user to place a label on one of said detected spine segments; and

automatically populating labels on the remaining detected spine segments based on the order of the detected spine segments.

19. A method programmed for execution in a computing device for labeling a plurality of spine segments of a spine included in an anatomical image, the method comprising:

detecting the plurality of spine segments using a volumetric data recognition engine;

displaying said detected segments overlayed on top of the anatomical image; and

automatically populating labels on all of the detected spine segments based on the order of the plurality of spine segments.

20. A method in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:

determining a centerline of the spine; and

associating said labels with said detected centerline of the spine.