US5542003A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for maximizing fidelity and dynamic range for a region of interest within digitized medical image display
Assignee: Carestream Health Inc
•
Filing: 1993-09-13
•
Granted: 1996-07-30
•
Expires: 2013-09-13
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus is presented in which a medical imagery workstation provides an end-user interface which when activated, windows and levels a whole image or a region of interest within the image utilizing the pixel values within a selection area. The method and apparatus customizes the pixel values when the entire image is selected before calculating the window and levels to produce a higher contrast, then redraws the entire image utilizing the newly calculated window and level values. The present invention provides a method and apparatus to enable an operator to define a region of interest, that when activated, the image is redrawn utilizing only the pixel values from the region of interest, maximizing the brightness and contrast of the selected.
Inventors
- 👤 Mark G. Wofford
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 16:15
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T5/00; G06T5/40; G06T5/90; G06T5/94; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/20; G06T2207/20092; G06T2207/20104; G16; G16H; G16H40/00; G16H40/60; G16H40/63
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
A method for displaying a medical diagnostic image comprising the steps of: (a) scanning an x-ray film image of a patient into a digital representation of pixels values corresponding to intensity of points on the x-ray film; (b) displaying the pixels values on a workstation; (c) selecting an area within the pixel values displayed on the workstation; (d) calculating a window width equal to difference between MAX and MIN and a window level value equal to the window width divided by 2 plus MIN, for all pixel values displayed.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
89 words
A method for displaying a medical diagnostic image comprising the steps of: (a) scanning an x-ray film image of a patient into a digital representation of pixels values corresponding to intensity of points on the x-ray film; (b) displaying the pixels values on a workstation; (c) selecting an area within the pixel values displayed on the workstation; (d) calculating a window width equal to difference between MAX and MIN and a window level value equal to the window width divided by 2 plus MIN, for all pixel values displayed.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: calculating a histogram for the selected area representing a number of occurrences of pixel values which occur in selected area.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
222 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: (e) determining a total number of occurrences of all pixel values represented in the histogram which occur in the selected area; (f) determining a number N equal to a selected percentage of the total number of occurrences of all pixel values which occur in the selected area; (g) calculating a first sum comprising a number of occurrences of pixel values starting with the smallest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to a next smallest pixel value represented in the histogram and continuing to the next smallest pixel value until the total number of occurrences becomes greater than or equal to N; (h) setting a variable MIN equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram when the first sum becomes greater than or equal to N; (I) calculating a second sum comprising a number of occurrences of pixel values starting with a number of occurrences of a largest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to a number of occurrences of a next largest pixel value occurring in the histogram until the second sum becomes greater than or equal to N; and (j) setting a variable MAX equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram when the second sum of occurrences becomes greater than or equal to N.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: (e) selecting less than all the pixel values occurring within the selected area; and (f) calculating a histogram based on the selected pixel values representing a number of occurrences of each pixel value which occurs in the selected pixel values.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
180 words
The method of claim 4 further comprising the steps of: (g) determining a total number of occurrences of all pixel values occurring in the selected area; (h) determining a number N equal to a selected percentage of a total number of occurrences of all pixel values which occur in the selected area; (I) calculating a first sum of occurrences for pixel value starting with a smallest pixel value represented in the histogram until the first sum becomes greater than or equal to N; (j) setting a variable MIN equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram when the first sum becomes greater than or equal to N; (k) calculating a second sum of a number of occurrences of pixel values starting with a largest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to the next largest pixel value represented in the histogram until the second sum becomes greater than or equal to N; and (l) setting a variable MAX equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram when the second sum becomes greater than or equal to N.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
367 words
A method for displaying a medical diagnostic image comprising the steps of: (a) scanning x-ray film containing a diagnostic image of a patient into a digital representation of pixel values corresponding to intensity values for a particular point n the x-ray film; (b) displaying the pixel values on a workstation; (c) selecting an area within the pixel values displayed on the workstation; (d) calculating a histogram for the selected area representing a number of occurrences of each pixel value which occurs in the selected area; (e) determining a total number of occurrences of all pixel values which occur in the selected area; (f) determining a number N equal to a selected percentage of the total number of occurrences of all pixel values which occur in the selected area; (g) adaptively calculating a first sum comprising a number of occurrences of pixel values starting with a number of occurrences of a smallest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to add to the first sum a number of occurrences of a next smallest pixel value represented in the histogram and continuing to a number of occurrences of a next smallest pixel value represented in the histogram until the first sum of occurrences is greater than or equal to N; (h) setting a variable MIN equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram when the first sum becomes greater than or equal to N; (I) adaptively calculating a second sum comprising the number of occurrences of pixel values starting with the number of occurrences of a largest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to add to the second sum, a number of occurrences of a next largest pixel value represented in the histogram and continuing to a next largest pixel value represented in the histogram until the second sum is greater than or equal to N; (j) setting a variable MAX equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram at which the second sum becomes greater than or equal to N; and (k) calculating a window width equal to difference between MAX and MIN and a window level value, equal to the window width divided by 2 plus MIN, for all pixel values displayed.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
367 words
A method for displaying a medical diagnostic image comprising the steps of: (a) scanning x-ray film containing a diagnostic image of a patient into a digital representation of pixel values corresponding to intensity values for a particular point n the x-ray film; (b) displaying the pixel values on a workstation; (c) selecting an area within the pixel values displayed on the workstation; (d) calculating a histogram for the selected area representing a number of occurrences of each pixel value which occurs in the selected area; (e) determining a total number of occurrences of all pixel values which occur in the selected area; (f) determining a number N equal to a selected percentage of the total number of occurrences of all pixel values which occur in the selected area; (g) adaptively calculating a first sum comprising a number of occurrences of pixel values starting with a number of occurrences of a smallest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to add to the first sum a number of occurrences of a next smallest pixel value represented in the histogram and continuing to a number of occurrences of a next smallest pixel value represented in the histogram until the first sum of occurrences is greater than or equal to N; (h) setting a variable MIN equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram when the first sum becomes greater than or equal to N; (I) adaptively calculating a second sum comprising the number of occurrences of pixel values starting with the number of occurrences of a largest pixel value represented in the histogram and preceding to add to the second sum, a number of occurrences of a next largest pixel value represented in the histogram and continuing to a next largest pixel value represented in the histogram until the second sum is greater than or equal to N; (j) setting a variable MAX equal to a pixel value represented in the histogram at which the second sum becomes greater than or equal to N; and (k) calculating a window width equal to difference between MAX and MIN and a window level value, equal to the window width divided by 2 plus MIN, for all pixel values displayed.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the percentage selected in step (f) is 1 percent.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 6 further comprising the step of: (l) providing a user interface to enable a user to select a region of interest within a set of displayed digital pixel values for calculation of window width and window level values for all pixel values displayed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4353092A
Cited
US5305204A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-07-30 | 2000-01-29 | 2000-07-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-07-30 | 2004-01-29 | 2004-07-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-07-30 | 2008-01-29 | 2008-07-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |