Apparatus for displaying medical image data of a body part
The present invention relates to an apparatus for displaying medical image data of a body part. It is described to provide ( 12 ) medical data of a body part, and subsets of medical image data from the medical data are determined ( 14 ). A plurality of measures of information content for the subsets of medical image data is determined ( 16 ), wherein a measure of information content is associated with a subset of medical image data. A plurality of weighting factors for the subsets of medical image data is determined ( 18 ), wherein a weighting factor is associated with a subset of medical image data and the weighting factor is determined as a function of the measure of information content for that subset of medical image data. Data representative of the subsets of medical image data is output ( 22 ) as a function of the plurality of weighting factors.
1. An apparatus for processing medical image data of a body part, comprising:
a processor configured to:
receive the medical data of the body part;
determine a plurality of subsets of medical image data;
calculate a plurality of measures of information content for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each measure of information content is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data;
use the measures of information content to determine a plurality of weighting factors for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each weighting factor is associated with the corresponding subset of medical image data;
use the weighting factors to determine a plurality of durations of time for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each duration of time is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data; and
a display configured to output the subsets of medical image data in direct proportion to the corresponding duration of time.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine a plurality of indicators for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each indicator is associated with the corresponding subset of medical image data, wherein the indicator is based on the weighting factor for the subset of medical image data; and wherein the display is configured to output the plurality of indicators.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the medical data comprises a plurality of images, wherein the processor is configured to determine at least one subset of medical image data that is a combined image of at least two of the plurality of images, wherein the processor is configured to determine the at least one subset of medical image data that is a combined image such that the weighting factor for the at least one subset of medical image data that is a combined image is substantially the same as the weighting factor for a different subset of medical image data or substantially the same as a specified target value.
4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to:
determine an information content for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining information contents for the at least two of the plurality of images forming the combined image, and determine a weighting factor for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining weighting factors for the at least two of the plurality of images forming the combined image and summing those weighting factors; or
determine an information content for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining a single information content for the combined image, and determine a weighting factor for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining a single weighting factor for the combined image.
5. A medical system for processing medical image data of a body part, the system comprising:
an image acquisition device configured to acquire the medical image data of a body part; and
an apparatus for processing the medical image data of the body part, the apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
receive the medical image data from the image acquisition device;
determine a plurality of subsets of the received medical image data;
calculate a plurality of measures of information content for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each measure of information content is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data;
use the measures of information content to determine a plurality of weighting factors for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each weighting factor is associated with the corresponding subset of medical image data;
use the weighting factors to determine a plurality of durations of time for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each duration of time is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data; and
a display configured to output the subsets of medical image data in direct proportion to the corresponding duration of time.
6. A method for processing medical image data of a body part, comprising:
acquiring the medical image data of the body part;
determining a plurality of subsets of the acquired medical image data;
calculating a plurality of measures of information content for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each measure of information content is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data;
using the measures of information content to determine a plurality of weighting factors for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each weighting factor is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data;
using the weighting factors to determine a plurality of durations of time for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each duration of time is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data; and
displaying the subsets of medical image data in direct proportion to the corresponding duration of time.
7. The method according to claim 6 , further comprising:
determining a plurality of indicators for the subsets of medical image data, wherein an indicator is associated with a subset of medical image data, and the indicator is based on the weighting factor for the subset of medical image data; and outputting the plurality of indicators.
8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising displaying or sounding the indicator of the plurality of indicators that is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data.
9. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the medical data comprises a plurality of images, and the method further comprises determining at least one subset of medical image data that is a combined image of at least two of the plurality of images, and determining the at least one subset of medical image data that is a combined image such that the weighting factor for the at least one subset of medical image data that is a combined image is substantially the same as the weighting factor for a different subset of medical image data or substantially the same as a specified target value.
10. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising determining an information content for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining information contents for the at least two of the plurality of images forming the combined image, and determining a weighting factor for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining weighting factors for the at least two of the plurality of images forming the combined image and summing those weighting factors.
11. The method according to claim 9 , further comprising determining an information content for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining a single information content for the combined image, and determining a weighting factor for the subset of medical image data that is the combined image by determining a single weighting factor for the combined image.
12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having one or more executable instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method for processing medical image data of a body part, the method comprising:
acquiring the medical image data of the body part;
determining a plurality of subsets of the acquired medical image data;
calculating a plurality of measures of information content for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each measure of information content is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data;
using the measures of content to determine a plurality of weighting factors for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each weighting factor is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data;
using the weighting factors to determine a plurality of durations of time for the subsets of medical image data, wherein each duration of time is associated with a corresponding subset of medical image data; and
displaying the subsets of medical image data in direct proportion to the corresponding duration of time.