KR102099350B1 - Method for aiding quantification of lesions in medical imagery and apparatus using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for assisting quantification of lesions in a medical image and a device using the same. Specifically, according to the method of the present invention, when an operation of an input device that moves a pointer or cursor is detected, a computer device determines the shape of the pointer or cursor based on a relation between a position of suspect lesions and a position of the pointer or cursor calculated by using a lesion determination module and displays the pointer or cursor in the determined form by using an output module.

Description

METHOD FOR AIDING QUANTIFICATION OF LESIONS IN MEDICAL IMAGERY AND APPARATUS USING THE SAME

The present disclosure relates to a method for assisting the quantification of a lesion in a medical image and an apparatus using the same. Specifically, according to the method according to the present disclosure, when an operation of an input device that moves a pointer or a cursor is detected, the computing device determines the position of the suspect lesion and the pointer calculated using the lesion determination module Alternatively, the shape of the pointer or cursor is determined based on the relationship between the positions of the cursor, and the pointer or cursor is displayed in the determined shape using an output module.

Various methods of assisting in the reading of medical images have been used. For example, when medical images are composed of a plurality of associated slice images, such as computed tomography (CT) images, a user such as a doctor may use an input device. Through the manipulation, it is possible to quickly check the presence or absence of lesions one by one while passing individual slice images to adjacent slice images.

For example, medical images, such as chest CT images, which are widely used to analyze lesions and utilize them for diagnosis, are frequently used for reading because they can observe abnormalities in the body, such as the lungs, bronchi, and heart. When evaluating the malignancy of a lesion, such as a pulmonary nodule, in the process of reading the chest CT image, it is necessary to measure the dimension (eg, diameter) of the pulmonary nodule corresponding to a basic physical quantity. The tool that should be called through a separate operation, such as', was used, and this was somewhat different from the general reading process focused on detection.

Therefore, this disclosure provides a convenience through a more interactive user interface to assist in the quantification of lesions in medical images, thereby making it easier to read, and a method and apparatus for improving efficiency in reading an entire image. I would like to suggest.

KR 10-1521959 B

The invention described in the present disclosure, that is, the present invention improves the reading efficiency to make it easier and faster to measure the dimension of a lesion, which is a physical quantity used as a basis for reading a lesion, without adding a complicated and difficult process to a conventional user interface in a medical image. It aims to make it possible.

Specifically, the present invention provides an interactive or predefined length information to a pointer of an input device that is naturally used in a conventional medical image reading process, so that measurement can be performed seamlessly in a lesion detection process. It aims to do.

In the end, the present invention aims to increase the efficiency of medical image viewing so that the user can check the quantitative value of more lesions in less time, and in particular assists the user to derive rapid diagnosis results in medical images. It aims to do.

The characteristic configuration of the present invention for achieving the objects of the present invention as described above and for realizing the characteristic effects of the present invention described below is as follows.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for assisting the quantification of a lesion in a medical image is provided. According to the method, when an operation of an input device moving a pointer or a cursor is detected, The computing device determines the shape of the pointer or cursor based on the relationship between the position of the suspect lesion and the position of the suspect lesion calculated using the lesion determination module, and uses the output module to determine the pointer or the pointer in the determined form. Display the cursor.

According to another aspect of the invention, a computer program is also provided, stored on a machine-readable non-transitory recording medium, including instructions implemented to perform the method for assisting in quantifying lesions of the invention.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a computing device for assisting in the quantification of a lesion in a medical image is provided. The computing device includes: a communication unit for sensing an operation of an input device that moves a pointer or a cursor; And a process of determining the shape of the pointer or cursor based on the relationship between the position of the suspect lesion and the position of the pointer or cursor calculated by the lesion determination module when manipulation of the input device is detected, and through the output module. And a processor that performs a process of displaying the pointer or cursor in a determined form.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily measure the dimension, which is the basic physical quantity of the lesion, without requesting a separate tool, without compromising the existing reading method for the image, but without interruption of the workflow on the user interface due to the measurement It has the effect of improving efficiency.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the efficiency of reading is increased, so that in the medical part, a doctor can derive a more accurate diagnosis result in less time, and the speed and quality of reading are improved, thereby improving the workflow in the medical field. ) Has the ultimate effect of being able to innovate.

And the present invention can be applied to various medical images, for example, CT images, three-dimensionally acquired ultrasound images, MRI images, and the like, so the method of the present invention can be used as a specific type of image or platform Of course, it does not depend on.

The following drawings attached for use in the description of the embodiments of the present invention are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, based on these drawings without efforts to reach a separate invention. Other drawings can be obtained.
1 is a conceptual diagram schematically illustrating an exemplary configuration of a computing device that performs a method of assisting in the quantification of a lesion (hereinafter referred to as a "lesion quantification assisting method") according to the present disclosure.
2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating hardware or software components of a computing device performing a method for assisting in quantifying lesions in accordance with the present disclosure.
3 is a flowchart exemplarily showing a method for assisting in quantifying lesions according to the present disclosure.
4 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing an embodiment of a method for assisting in quantifying lesions of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5A is a diagram exemplarily showing a shape of a pointer or cursor in a first state in which the position does not belong to a region of a suspect lesion when the pointer or cursor is moved in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.
FIG. 5B is a view exemplarily showing a shape of a pointer or cursor in a second state in which the pointer or cursor is further moved in the state of FIG. 5A in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 so that its position belongs to a region of a suspect lesion.
FIG. 5C is a view exemplarily showing a shape of a pointer or a cursor in a second state in an embodiment different from FIG. 4.

For a detailed description of the present invention to be described later, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced in order to clarify the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the invention. These embodiments are described in detail enough to enable a person skilled in the art to practice the present invention.

The term “image” or “image data” used throughout the description and claims of this disclosure is multidimensional data composed of discrete image elements (eg, pixels in a 2D image, voxels in a 3D image). Refers to.

For example, “image” is collected by (cone-beam) computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound or any other medical imaging system known in the art. It may be a medical image of the subject (subject). In addition, the image may be provided in a non-medical context, for example, there may be a remote sensing system, an electron microscopy, and the like.

Throughout the detailed description and claims of this disclosure, an 'image' is an image that can be viewed with an eye (e.g., displayed on a video screen) or an image (e.g., a file corresponding to a pixel output of a CT, MRI detector, etc.). It is a term that refers to the digital representation of.

In the drawings presented for convenience of explanation, the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) image data is sometimes shown as exemplary image modality. However, a person skilled in the art may use X-ray images, MRI, CT, PET (positron emission tomography), PET-CT, SPECT, SPECT-CT, MR-PET, 3D ultrasound images, etc., used in various embodiments of the present invention. It will be understood that it includes, but is not limited to the types listed by way of example.

Throughout the detailed description and claims of this disclosure, the 'DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine)' standard is a generic term for various standards used for digital image representation and communication in medical devices. The DICOM standard is published by an association committee formed by the American Society for Radiological Medicine (ACR) and the American Electrotechnical Society (NEMA).

In addition, throughout the detailed description and claims of the present disclosure, 'medical image storage and transmission system (PACS: Picture Archiving and Communication System)' is a term referring to a system that stores, processes, and transmits according to the DICOM standard, X-ray, Medical image images obtained by using digital medical imaging equipment such as CT and MRI are stored in DICOM format and can be transmitted to a terminal in or out of a hospital through a network, and read results and medical records can be added.

Throughout the detailed description and claims of the present disclosure, 'ellipse' or 'ellipse' is intended to have a meaning that encompasses 'circle' or 'circle' as well as generally accepted meaning, which is the same as its mathematical meaning. Do.

And, throughout the detailed description and claims of the present disclosure, 'learning' or 'learning' is a term referring to performing machine learning through computing according to a procedure, and mental action such as human educational activity. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that it is not intended to refer to.

And throughout the detailed description and claims of this disclosure, the word 'comprise' and variations thereof are not intended to exclude other technical features, additions, components or steps. Also, 'one' or 'one' is used in more than one meaning, and 'another' is limited to at least a second or more.

Other objects, advantages, and characteristics of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, some of which will appear from this specification and some from the practice of the invention. The examples and drawings below are provided by way of illustration and are not intended to limit the invention. Accordingly, the details disclosed in this disclosure with respect to a particular structure or function should not be construed in a limiting sense, but merely provide instructions for a person skilled in the art to implement the present invention in a variety of practically suitable details. It should be interpreted as representative basic data.

Moreover, the present invention encompasses all possible combinations of the embodiments shown in this disclosure. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different, but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, specific shapes, structures, and properties described herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in relation to one embodiment. In addition, it should be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment can be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following detailed description is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention, if appropriately described, is limited only by the appended claims, along with all ranges equivalent to those claimed. In the drawings, similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar functions across various aspects.

Unless otherwise indicated or clearly contradicted by context in this disclosure, an item referred to as a singular encompasses plural, unless otherwise required in that context. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that detailed descriptions of related well-known configurations or functions may obscure the subject matter of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to enable a person skilled in the art to easily implement the present invention.

1 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing an exemplary configuration of a computing device that performs a method for assisting in quantifying lesions according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the computing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 110 and a processor 120, and directly or indirectly with an external computing device (not shown) through the communication unit 110. Can communicate with the enemy.

Specifically, the computing device 100 includes typical computer hardware (eg, a computer processor, memory, storage, input device and output device, a device that may include components of other existing computing devices; routers, switches, and the like) Electronic communication devices; electronic information storage systems such as network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN)) and computer software (i.e., enabling computing devices to function in a particular way) Command) to achieve desired system performance.

The communication unit 110 of such a computing device can transmit and receive requests and responses with other computing devices to be interlocked. As an example, such requests and responses may be made by the same transmission control protocol (TCP) session. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it may be transmitted and received as a user datagram protocol (UDP) datagram. In addition, in a broad sense, the communication unit 110 may include a pointing device such as a keyboard and a mouse for receiving commands or instructions, other external input devices, printers, displays, and other external output devices.

In addition, the processor 120 of the computing device may include a micro processing unit (MPU), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU) or a tensor processing unit (TPU), a cache memory, and a data bus. ). Also, it may further include a software configuration of an operating system and an application performing a specific purpose.

2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating hardware or software components of a computing device performing a method for assisting in quantifying lesions in accordance with the present disclosure.

Referring briefly to the configuration of the method and apparatus according to the present disclosure with reference to FIG. 2, the computing device 100 may include an image acquisition module 210 as a component thereof. Since the image acquisition module 210 is configured to acquire a medical image to which the method according to the present disclosure is applied, the individual modules illustrated in FIG. 2 may include, for example, a communication unit 110 included in the computing device 100 or It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the processor 120 or the communication unit 110 and the processor 120 may be implemented by interworking. The medical image may be obtained from an external image storage system such as a photographing device or a medical image storage transmission system (PACS) that is interlocked through the communication unit 110, but is not limited thereto. For example, the medical image may be acquired by the image acquisition module 210 of the computing device 100 after being photographed by the (medical) image capture device and transmitted to the PACS according to the DICOM standard.

Next, the obtained medical image is delivered to the lesion determination module 220, and the lesion determination module 220 is configured to determine the region of the suspected lesion, which is a suspected lesion in the medical image. The lesion determination module 220 may be a lesion determination model for determining a lesion or at least a module associated therewith.

Here, when determining a suspected lesion on a medical image, the dimension may be provided together as an estimated value, and a region of the suspected lesion may be dimensioned to have a dimension larger than that of pixels or voxels suspected of lesioning. It may further include a margin.

For example, if the suspected lesion detected in the medical image in the lesion determination module 220 does not reach a predetermined threshold, such as the actual lesion day confidence, the malignity of the suspect lesion, or the like, the method of the present invention It can be ignored as appropriate so that it does not apply.

An example of the lesion determination module or the lesion determination model 220 may be a deep learning model, which can be briefly described as a multi-layer stack of artificial neural networks. That is, it is expressed as a deep neural network (deep neural network) in the sense of a deep network, and automatically learns the characteristics of each image by learning a large amount of data in a multi-layer network. It is a form that trains the network in a way that minimizes the error of the objective function. This is compared to the connection between neurons in the human brain, and such deep neural networks are becoming the next generation model of AI. Among these deep learning models, in particular, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is a model suitable for classifying images, and a convolution layer that creates a feature map of each region of the image using a plurality of filters. layer) and feature By repeating the sub-sampling layer by reducing the size of the map and extracting features that are invariant to changes in position or rotation, it is complicated and meaningful from low-level features such as points, lines, and faces. It is possible to extract various levels of features up to the high-level features, which can be used to extract suspicious lesions that are specific features.

However, as a person skilled in the art will understand that the lesion determination module or the lesion determination model is not limited to such a CNN, various kinds of machine learning models or statistical models may be used.

In this way, the area of the suspected lesion is determined by the lesion determination module 220 and the dimension of the suspected lesion is estimated, while the pointer position acquisition module 230 is configured for interaction by an input device, particularly a pointing device. It is configured to obtain the current position of a pointer or cursor, which is a graphical interface element representing a position.

When the current position of the pointer or cursor is obtained, the position is transferred to the pointer shape determination module 240, and the pointer shape determination module 240 is the pointer of the suspect lesion calculated by the lesion determination module 220 and the pointer or It is configured to determine the shape of the pointer or cursor based on the relationship between the cursor positions.

Then, the output module 250 displays the shape of the pointer or cursor in the previously determined shape. For example, the output module 250 interacts with a medical image and an external entity through a predetermined output device connected through the communication unit 110, more specifically, through a user interface displayed on the output device. Pointers or cursors can be displayed.

Here, the external entity includes a user, an administrator of the computing device 100, a medical expert in charge of the subject, and the like, any subject that needs to view or read the medical image. It should be understood that Rado is included.

The specific function and effect of each component shown in FIG. 2 will be described later in detail. Although the components shown in FIG. 2 are illustrated as being realized in one computing device for convenience of description, it will be understood that the computing device 100 performing the method of the present invention may be configured such that a plurality of devices are interlocked with each other.

Now, an embodiment of the method for assisting in quantifying lesions according to the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5C.

3 is a flowchart exemplarily illustrating a method for assisting in quantifying a lesion according to the present disclosure, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram schematically showing an embodiment of a method for assisting in quantifying a lesion according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the overall method for quantifying lesions according to the present disclosure, when a manipulation of an input device that moves a pointer or a cursor is detected (S100), the computing device suspects the lesion is calculated using the lesion determination module 220 As a method of determining the shape of the pointer or cursor 430a based on the relationship between the location of the lesion and the location of the pointer or cursor (S200; S210, S220a, S220b), the determined shape using the output module 250 The pointer or cursor is displayed (S300).

Here, the operation of the input device may be, for example, an operation generally used to move a pointer or cursor, such as a translation of a pointing device such as a mouse or a touch pad, or an input of pressing an arrow key on a keyboard. This particular input has a characteristic of being repeatedly input, which can be measured by the input amount. For example, the movement of the mouse may be designed such that the intended action is performed when the repeatedly accumulated input amount reaches a certain value.

Further, the relationship between the position of the suspect lesion and the position of the pointer or cursor may include whether the position of the pointer or cursor belongs to the area of the suspect lesion, but is not limited thereto, for example, the pointer or cursor Various positional relationships may be included, such as whether the shortest distance between the location and the area of the suspect lesion is less than (or less than) a predetermined length.

Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, in the method for assisting in quantifying lesions of the present disclosure, first, a medical image is obtained by the image acquisition module 210 implemented by the computing device 100 and is output by the output module 250 When the pointer or cursor is manipulated to move through an input device in a state provided to an external entity through a user interface, the pointer position acquisition module 230 implemented by the computing device 100 may position the pointer or cursor. Or (S100) for assisting another device (not shown) to be interlocked through the communication unit 110 to acquire the location of the pointer or cursor, such a medical image is shown in FIG. As in the interface, it may be an image of chest CT including a suspected lesion 410.

Referring to FIG. 4, an example in which a pointer or a cursor appears at an initial position 430a appears, and this position may be obtained by the pointer position acquisition module 230.

In the present disclosure, for convenience of illustration, a process of reading lung-related lesions such as a nodule is illustrated, but it will be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto and can be generally applied to various types of images.

Next, in the method for assisting in quantifying lesions according to the present disclosure, the pointer shape determination module 240 implemented by the computing device 100 is calculated by the lesion determination module 220 implemented by the computing device 100. When it is determined that the position of the pointer or cursor belongs to a region of the suspected lesion (S210; Yes), an oval of a predetermined size centered on the position of the pointer or cursor is determined as the shape of the pointer or cursor (S220b), if it is determined that the position of the pointer or the cursor does not belong to the area of the suspect lesion (S210; No), the normal shape of the pointer or cursor is determined as the shape of the pointer or cursor (S220a) ) (S200).

FIG. 5A illustrates the shape of a pointer or cursor in a first state in which the location 430a 'does not belong to the region 420 of the suspect lesion when the pointer or cursor is moved from the initial position in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG. 5B is a pointer in a second state in which the pointer or cursor is further moved in the state of FIG. 5A in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 so that the position 430b belongs to the region 420 of the suspect lesion or It is a diagram showing the shape of the cursor by way of example.

The general form of the pointer or cursor referred to in the present disclosure refers to the general form of the interface element representing the pointer or cursor, for example, reference number 430a in FIG. 4, reference number 430a 'in FIG. 5A, and the like. May include the form of a similar arrow. Meanwhile, the pointer or cursor in the second state may be an oval 430b having a predetermined size centered on the location of the pointer or cursor.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the region 420 of the suspect lesion has a predetermined dimension to have a dimension larger than that of the pixels or voxels suspected of being lesions (ie, pixels or voxels indicated as the suspect lesion 410). It may further include a margin.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 3, a method for assisting in quantifying lesions according to the present disclosure includes: an output module 250 implemented by the computing device 100 displaying the pointer or cursor in the determined form (S300) It further includes.

The shape of the pointer or cursor in the second state displayed in step S300 may be differently determined according to the dimension of the suspect lesion calculated for the suspect lesion in step S200, for example, The various sections to which the dimension value of the suspect lesion may belong are preset, and the oval shape 430b of the pointer or cursor may be determined to have a corresponding size for each of the sections.

If the oval of the pointer or cursor is not circular, preferably, the oval is only distorted according to the aspect ratio of each pixel in the output device in which the medical image is displayed. The branch may be a shape composed of points. In other words, it is only distorted in an oval shape by the output device, and the oval shape of the pointer or cursor may be composed of pixels at the same distance from the center of the oval.

As an alternative, the shape of the pointer or cursor may be determined according to predefined length information irrespective of the dimension of the suspect lesion, such predefined length information being preset by the user or corresponding to a variable length by the user. can do. For example, the pre-defined length information may be 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm or a preset default value or a user-specified value according to a lung RADS category.

5C is a view exemplarily showing a shape of a pointer or a cursor in a second state different from the shape illustrated above.

Referring to FIG. 5C, the shape of the pointer or cursor in the second state displayed in step S300 may appear as concentric ellipses corresponding to each of various predefined length information, for example, 15mm, It may be oval having a diameter of 8mm, 6mm.

As an alternative, a variation in which the diameter of each of the concentric ovals is adaptively changed according to the dimension of the suspected lesion is also possible, for example, to the first suspected lesion having a dimension of 8 mm to 15 mm. Ovals with diameters of 15 mm, 8 mm, and 6 mm, respectively, are determined as the shape of a pointer or cursor that interacts with the first suspect lesion, while other second suspects estimated to have dimensions of 6 mm to 8 mm in the same medical image. For lesions, ovals having diameters of 8 mm, 6 mm, and 4 mm, respectively, can be determined as the shape of a pointer or cursor that interacts with the second suspect lesion.

Advantageously, the aforementioned concentric ellipses may have different colors corresponding to their respective diameters to provide convenience for observation by the user.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 3, in the method according to the present disclosure, the above-mentioned steps S100 to S300 are terminated for the purpose of providing a smooth user interface, for example, due to a user's predetermined operation or the like. It can be performed repeatedly in real time.

The method of the present disclosure described above results in a user interface element of a size suitable for the user to measure the size of the lesion by simply moving the pointing device naturally without manipulation by the user, for example, the user calls a separate tool. Since it is provided, it has the effect of easily measuring the size of lesions in medical images. Ultimately, it will be able to improve the reading efficiency and improve the workflow in the medical field with the aid of AI.

Based on the description of the above embodiment, a person skilled in the art can realize that the method and / or processes of the present invention and the steps can be realized in hardware, software or any combination of hardware and software suitable for a specific application. I can understand the point clearly. The hardware may include a general purpose computer and / or a dedicated computing device or a specific computing device or special shape or component of a specific computing device. The processes can be realized by one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable devices, having internal and / or external memory. In addition, or as an alternative, the processes can be configured to process application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), programmable gate array, programmable array logic (PAL) or electronic signals. Any other device or combination of devices. Moreover, the objects contributing to the object of the technical solution of the present invention or prior arts can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded in a machine-readable recording medium. The machine-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, or the like alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the machine-readable recording medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention or may be known and usable by those skilled in the computer software field. Examples of machine-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and Blu-rays, and magnetic-optical media such as floptical disks. (magneto-optical media), and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions are stored and compiled or interpreted to be executed on a machine capable of executing a heterogeneous combination of processors, processor architectures or combinations of different hardware and software, or any other program instructions, as well as any of the devices described above. Can be made using structured programming languages such as C, object-oriented programming languages like C ++, or advanced or low-level programming languages (assemblies, hardware description languages and database programming languages and techniques), machine code, This includes not only bytecode, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter.

Thus, in one aspect according to the present disclosure, when the above-described method and combinations thereof are performed by one or more computing devices, the combination of the method and method may be implemented as executable code that performs each step. In another aspect, the method can be implemented as systems that perform the above steps, and the methods can be distributed in various ways across devices or all functions can be integrated into one dedicated, standalone device or other hardware. In another aspect, means for performing the steps associated with the processes described above may include any hardware and / or software described above. All such sequential combinations and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure.

For example, the hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform processing according to the present disclosure, and vice versa. The hardware device may include a processor, such as an MPU, CPU, GPU, TPU, which is combined with a memory such as ROM / RAM for storing program instructions and is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory, and external devices and signals. It may include a communication unit for sending and receiving. In addition, the hardware device may include a keyboard, a mouse, and other external input devices for receiving commands written by developers.

In the above, the present invention has been described by specific embodiments, such as specific components, and limited embodiments and drawings, which are provided to help the overall understanding of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, Any person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains may seek various modifications and variations from these descriptions.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and should not be determined, and all claims that are equally or equivalently modified with the claims as described below belong to the scope of the spirit of the present invention. Would say

Such an equivalent or equivalent modification would include a method that is logically equivalent, which can produce the same result as, for example, the method according to the present disclosure. The scope should not be limited by the examples described above, but should be understood in the broadest sense acceptable by law.

Claims (7)

In the method of assisting the quantification of lesions in medical imaging,
When manipulation of an input device that moves a pointer or a cursor is detected, the computing device detects the pointer or the pointer based on the relationship between the position of the suspect lesion and the position of the pointer or cursor calculated using the lesion determination module. Determine the shape of the cursor, and display the pointer or cursor in the determined shape using an output module,
The above method
(a) while being operated to move the pointer or cursor through the input device, the computing device obtaining a position of the pointer or cursor;
(b) if the acquired position of the pointer or cursor belongs to a second state belonging to an area of a suspected lesion calculated by the lesion determination module, the computing device is predetermined to correspond to the lesion, centered on the location, If the shape of the size is determined as the shape of the pointer or cursor, and the position of the acquired pointer or cursor is a first state that does not belong to the area of the suspect lesion, the computing device may recall the normal shape of the pointer or cursor. Determining in the form of a pointer or cursor;
(c) the computing device displaying the pointer or cursor in the determined form; And
(d) the computing device repeats steps (a) to (c).
Method for assisting in the quantification of lesions, comprising a. delete According to claim 1,
The method of quantifying the lesion is characterized in that the shape of the pointer or cursor is determined differently according to the dimension of the suspect lesion calculated for the suspect lesion. delete A computer program, stored in a machine-readable non-transitory recording medium, comprising instructions implemented to cause a computing device to perform the method of claim 1. In the computing device to assist in the quantification of lesions in medical images,
A communication unit that detects an operation of an input device that moves a pointer or a cursor; And
A process of determining the shape of the pointer or cursor based on the relationship between the position of the suspect lesion and the position of the pointer or cursor calculated by the lesion determination module when manipulation of the input device is detected, and the determined through an output module A processor that performs the process of displaying the pointer or cursor in the form
Including,
When the movement of the pointer or cursor is detected by the communication unit through the input device,
The processor centers on the first process of acquiring the position of the pointer or cursor, and if the acquired position of the pointer or cursor is a second state belonging to an area of a suspect lesion calculated by the lesion determination module, , A predetermined size of a predetermined size corresponding to a lesion is determined as the shape of the pointer or cursor, and if the acquired pointer or cursor position is a first state that does not belong to the region of the suspect lesion, the normal shape of the pointer or cursor Performing a second process of determining as the form of the pointer or cursor, and a third process of displaying the pointer or cursor in the determined form,
An apparatus for quantifying image lesions, characterized in that the first to third processes are repeatedly performed.

delete

Images