System and method for navigating a tomosynthesis stack including automatic focusing
A system and method for reviewing a tomosynthesis image data set comprising volumetric image data of a breast, the method comprising, in one embodiment, causing an image or a series of images from the data set to be displayed on a display monitor and selecting or indicating through a user interface an object or region of interest in a presently displayed image of the data set, thereby causing an image from the data set having a best focus measure of the user selected or indicated object or region of interest to be automatically displayed on the display monitor.
1. An automated method employing a computer-controlled workstation for navigating and displaying breast tissue images, the workstation comprising an operatively associated user interface and display monitor, the method comprising:
obtaining a tomosynthesis image data set, the data set comprising volumetric image data of a breast;
displaying an image or a series of images from the data set on the display monitor in response to one or more user commands received through the user interface;
detecting through the user interface a user selection or indication of an object or region of interest in a then-displayed image from the data set; and
displaying an image from the data set having a best focus measure of the user selected or indicated object or region of interest, wherein the image having the best focus measure is determined by computing a respective focus measure of the object or region of interest computed for each image of the data set, and then comparing the computed focus measures, wherein displaying an image from the data set having a best focus measure of the user selected or indicated object or region of interest comprises displaying a series of near-focus images from the data set on the display monitor, the series of near focus images comprising images of the data set having computed focus measure values within a predetermined range.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the series of near-focus images are displayed simultaneously, so as to allow for a static review and comparison of the user selected or indicated object or region of interest in each image.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the images of the series of near-focus images are displayed in succession, so as to allow for a dynamic review and comparison of the user selected or indicated object or region of interest in each image.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein parameters for the selection and displaying of the series of near-focus images are configurable through the user interface.