VIEWING AND CORRELATING BETWEEN BREAST ULTRASOUND AND MAMMOGRAM OR BREAST TOMOSYNTHESIS IMAGES
This specification describes a novel user interface and method for viewing mammograms together with 3D breast ultrasound images for breast cancer screening. The user identifies a region of interest, in one modality and the processing system calculates the location in the other modality. Visual aids such as icons can be used to display the calculated location in the other modality in cases where the other modality is viewed on a separate device. In cases where an integrated display device is used that displays both modalities, the visual aid can be an ROI marker on the target modality. The user interface and method for viewing has been found to greatly decrease the tedium and likelihood for errors when compared with known displaying viewing techniques.
1 . A method of interactively displaying visual aids to a user indicating a region of interest within a breast tissue, the method comprising:
displaying a first and second x-ray mammographic images of a breast tissue of a patient;
receiving a digitized three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image of the breast tissue resulting from ultrasound scanning;
receiving from the user a first location on the first x-ray mammographic image and a second location on the second x-ray mammographic image, both locations indicating a user identified region of interest within the breast tissue;
calculating with a processing system a location within the ultrasound image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest; and
displaying to the user one or more visual aids which are configured so as to aid the user in quickly and easily finding a location on the three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest.
2 . A method according to claim 1 wherein the one or more visual aids includes an icon of a two-dimensional ultrasound view.
3 . A method according to claim 2 wherein said icon is an icon of a two-dimensional coronal view slice, which includes a ROI marker thereon.
4 . A method according to claim 3 wherein the ROI marker indicates to the user an approximate clock face location with respect to a nipple and an approximate distance from the nipple which together aid the user in finding one or more separately displayed ultrasound coronal view slices that include the user identified region of interest.
5 . A method according to claim 1 wherein the displaying comprises automatically selecting and displaying a two dimensional ultrasound view that contains the location that corresponds to the user identified region of interest, and wherein the one or more visual aids includes a marker overlaid on said selected and displayed two dimensional ultrasound view, the location of the marker indicating the location of the user identified region of interest.
6 . A method according to claim 5 wherein the two-dimensional ultrasound view and said first and second x-ray mammographic images are simultaneously displayed on the same display screen.
7 . A method according to claim 5 wherein the two-dimensional ultrasound view is a coronal view slice.
8 . A method according to claim 7 wherein a two-dimensional sagittal view slice and a transversal view slice are simultaneously displayed to the user along with the coronal view slice.
9 . A method according to claim 1 wherein the one or more visual aids includes textual display of a clock face position relative to a breast nipple.
10 . A method according to claim 1 wherein the first and second x-ray mammographic images result from x-ray imaging in which the breast tissue is compressed in directions approximately parallel to a chest wall of the patient, and said ultrasound scanning was performed by compressing the breast tissue in a direction perpendicular to the chest wall of the patient.
11 . A method according to claim 1 wherein the user identified region of interest is selected by the user with aid from one or more computer aided diagnosis algorithms.
12 . A method of interactively displaying visual aids to a user indicating a region of interest within a breast tissue, the method comprising:
displaying one or more two-dimensional ultrasound views taken from a digitized three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image of a breast tissue of a patient;
receiving at least a first x-ray mammographic images of the breast tissue;
receiving from the user a location on as least one of the one or more two-dimensional ultrasound views indicating a user identified region of interest within the breast tissue;
calculating with a processing system a location on the first x-ray mammographic image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest; and
displaying to the user one or more visual aids which are configured so as to aid the user in quickly and easily finding a location on first x-ray mammographic image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest.
13 . A method according to claim 12 wherein said one or more visual aids includes an icon of the first x-ray mammographic image with a symbol thereon indicating the approximate position of the region of interest.
14 . A method according to claim 13 wherein the symbol and icon aid the user in finding the region of interest on one or more separately displayed x-ray mammographic images.
15 . A method according to claim 12 further comprising receiving a second x-ray mammographic image and wherein said one or more visual aids are further configured so as to aid the user in quickly and easily finding a location on the second x-ray mammographic image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest.
16 . A method according to claim 12 wherein said displaying comprises automatically displaying the first x-ray mammographic image and the one or more visual aids includes an ROI marker positioned on the first x-ray mammographic image so as to indicate the approximate position of the region of interest.
17 . A method according to claim 12 wherein the first x-ray mammographic image results from x-ray imaging in which the breast tissue is compressed in a direction approximately parallel to a chest wall of the patient, and said three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image results from ultrasound scanning in which the breast tissue is compressed in a direction perpendicular to the chest wall of the patient.
18 . A method according to claim 12 wherein the user identified region of interest is selected by the user with aid from one or more computer aided diagnosis algorithms.
19 . A system for interactively displaying visual aids to a user indicating a region of interest within a breast tissue, the system comprising:
a processing system configured to calculate a location within a three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image of a breast tissue of a patient, the calculated location corresponding to a region of interest identified by a user on first and second x-ray mammographic images of the breast tissue; and
a display in communication with the processing system and configured to display to the user one or more visual aids that aid the user in quickly and easily finding a location on the three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest.
20 . A system according to claim 19 wherein said one or more visual aids includes an icon of a two-dimensional ultrasound view with a symbol thereon indicating the approximate position of the region of interest.
21 . A system according to claim 20 wherein said icon is an icon of two-dimensional a coronal view slice and the symbol is an ROI marker thereon.
22 . A system according to claim 21 wherein the ROI marker indicates to the user an approximate clock face location with respect to a nipple and an approximate distance from the nipple which together aid the user in finding one or more separately displayed ultrasound coronal view slices that include the user identified region of interest.
23 . A system according to claim 19 wherein the processing system is further configured to automatically select and cause to be displayed a two dimensional ultrasound view the contains the location that corresponds to the user identified region of interest, and wherein the one or more visual aids includes a marker overlaid on said selected and displayed two dimensional ultrasound view, the location of the marker indicating the location of the user identified region of interest.
24 . A system according to claim 23 wherein the two-dimensional ultrasound view and said first and second x-ray mammographic images are simultaneously displayed on the same display screen.
25 . A system according to claim 19 wherein the first and second x-ray mammographic images result from x-ray imaging in which the breast tissue is compressed in directions approximately parallel to a chest wall of the patient, and said ultrasound scanning was performed by compressing the breast tissue in a direction perpendicular to the chest wall of the patient.
26 . A system according to claim 19 wherein the processing system is further configured to use one or more computer aided diagnosis algorithms to aid the user in identifying the user identified region of interest.
27 . A system for interactively displaying visual aids to a user indicating a region of interest within a breast tissue, the system comprising:
a processing system configured to calculate a location on a first x-ray mammographic image of a breast tissue of a patient, the calculated location corresponding to a region of interest identified by a user within a three-dimensional volumetric image of the breast tissue; and
a display in communication with the processing system and configured to display to the user one or more visual aids that aid the user in quickly and easily finding a location the first x-ray mammographic image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest.
28 . A system according to claim 27 wherein said one or more visual aids includes an icon of the first x-ray mammographic image with a symbol thereon indicating the approximate position of the region of interest.
29 . A system according to claim 28 wherein the symbol and icon aid the user in finding the region of interest on one or more separately displayed x-ray mammographic images.
30 . A system according to claim 27 wherein said processing system is further configured to calculate a location on a second x-ray mammographic image corresponding to the region of interest, and wherein said one or more visual aids are further configured so as to aid the user in quickly and easily finding a location on the second x-ray mammographic image that corresponds to the user identified region of interest.
31 . A system according to claim 27 wherein the processing system is further configured to automatically display the first x-ray mammographic image and the one or more visual aids includes an ROI marker positioned on the first x-ray mammographic image so as to indicate the approximate position of the region of interest.
32 . A system according to claim 27 wherein the first x-ray mammographic image results from x-ray imaging in which the breast tissue is compressed in a direction approximately parallel to a chest wall of the patient, and said three-dimensional volumetric ultrasound image results from ultrasound scanning in which the breast tissue is compressed in a direction perpendicular to the chest wall of the patient.
33 . A system according to claim 27 wherein the processing system is further configured to use one or more computer aided diagnosis algorithms to aid the user in identifying the user identified region of interest.