Patent ID: 8224419
Filing Date: 2012-07-17
Classification: A61B,G16H,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method for visualizing medical images of an organ for which a plurality of image series of the organ are commonly acquired, as commonly-acquired image series, said method comprising: operating an imaging system to acquire multiple series of organ slice images of said organ, with each slice image in each slice series being acquired at a different point in time, with at least some of said multiple series respectively corresponding to at least some of said commonly-acquired image series; storing and sorting said slice images of said organ in a memory and associating information in said memory with each slice image therein, and selecting said information from the group consisting of a designation of the point in time at which the slice image associated with the information was acquired, and a designation of the series, among said multiple series, of which the slice image associated with the information is a member; establishing a data connection between an input/output device and said memory; via said input/output device, making a pre-selection from among said plurality of commonly-acquired image series, as a pre-selected series; via said input/output device, automatically determining which of said commonly-acquired image series is currently available for display at said input/output device, due to (1) being among the multiple series in said memory, and (2) being able to be correctly transmitted to the input/output device from the memory via the data connection, with all of said commonly-acquired series that satisfy (1) and (2) being determined by said input/output device as being an available series, and any of said commonly-acquired series for which either (1) or (2) is not satisfied being determined by said input/output device as an unavailable series; when said pre-selected series is among said available series, displaying the pre-selected series at a display screen of said input/output device together with others among said available series, and together with a representation of each commonly-acquired series that is an unavailable series, each of said pre-selected series and said others of said available series, and each representation of an unavailable series, being shown at said display screen with a symbolism having a symbolism characteristic that can have a plurality of different visual appearances; showing said pre-selected series and said others of said available series at said display screen, as active series, with said symbolism having a first of said different visual appearances; showing any of said representations of unavailable series at said display screen with said symbolism having a second of said different visual appearances when the commercially-acquired series indicated by the representation thereof is unavailable due to not satisfying (1); and showing any of said representations of unavailable series at said display screen with said symbolism having a third of said different visual appearances when the commonly-acquired series indicated by the representation thereof is unavailable due to not satisfying (2).