Patent ID: 7711161

Claim:
A method for validating an alignment of a first and second volume of data obtained during a medical imaging procedure, comprising the steps of: selecting one or more points in the first volume and one or more points in the second volume; determining an average Euclidean distance between the one or more points in the first volume and the one or more points in the second volume; determining a distorted alignment category that provides a quantitative measure of alignment based on the average Euclidean distance; and assigning a Q value indicative of a quality of the alignment based on the distorted alignment category, the steps being carried out by a processor for medical imaging, wherein the distorted alignment category is based on the average Euclidean distance as follows: if the average Euclidean distance is between 12 and 16, the distorted alignment category is Severe; if the average Euclidean distance is between 8 and 12, the distorted alignment category is Medium; if the average Euclidean distance is between 4 and 8, the distorted alignment category is moderate; if the average Euclidean distance is between 0 and 4, the distorted alignment category is Minimal.