AUTOMATIC CONTOUR DETECTION METHOD FOR ULTRASONIC

DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, capable of automatically extracting a boundary of a tissue by performing an image processing on an image obtained from the ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, and then automatically calculating and measuring a size surrounded by the boundary. Background Art

[2] To perform a process of setting the boundary of an organ in order to measure the circumference, the area, and the volume of a specific organ from an image shot utilizing an existing ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, a user should manually select a boundary of a region to be measured from the shot image utilizing an input means such as a mouse, a light pen, a tablet, and a touchpad, and then measure the size of the region.

[3] However, since a user should manually select a region to be measured according to a method for measuring a region in the existing ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, it is very difficult to accurately designate the boundary of each organ from a corresponding image. Also, since whether the boundary is accurately set is determined depending on dexterity of the user, measurement of a characteristic value inside the region according to the setting of the boundary may change depending on the user. Also, since much time is consumed in manually selecting a region, it is difficult to measure the region fast. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[4] According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, that can remove worry of change in a measurement value depending on a user, remarkably reduce an input time of the user, and improve an accuracy in measurement by providing a method of processing an image utilizing an image processing method such as edge detection and homogeneity detection, automatically determining the boundary of the image to be measured utilizing the processed image, and automatically measuring the sizes of the circumference/area/volume of a region inside the de- termined boundary. Technical Solution

[5] According to an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus, the method including: (Sl) receiving an image measured by the ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus and starting measurement; (S2) determining a boundary of the image received in (Sl) utilizing an image processing method; (S3) setting a region to be measured utilizing the boundary determined in (S2); (S4) calculating at least one of circumference/ area/volume of the region set in (S3); and (S5) displaying at least one of the circumference/area/volume of the region calculated in (S4) and ending a procedure.

[6] Also, the method may further include (S6) allowing a user to selectively select or control the region set in (S3), between (S3) and (S4).

[7] Also, (S2) may use one of an edge detection method of obtaining difference values between a pixel serving as a reference and neighboring eight pixels and connecting in a direction that increases a difference, and a homogeneity detection method of dividing the received image into region windows of nxn pixels (where n is a value between 2 and 10), analyzing and calculating statistical distribution of characteristic values of pixels inside the region windows, and forming a boundary by determining the region windows representing a uniform statistical characteristic as the same organ.

Advantageous Effects

[8] According to the invention, since the boundary of an organ is automatically extracted through an image processing, worry of a change in a measurement value depending on a user is removed, an input time of the user can be remarkably reduced, and a measurement accuracy also improves. Brief Description of Drawings

[9] Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method of automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention. Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

[10] Hereinafter, a method and an apparatus for automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is noted that in the drawings, like reference numerals are used for like elements or parts. In description of the invention, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail.

[11] A method for automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus begins with step S 1 of receiving an image measured by the ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus and starting to measure a region as illustrated in Fig. 1. After that, step S2 of determining the boundary of the image received in step S 1 using an image processing method. In this case, for a method of performing step S2, an edge detection method widely used in general can be used. The edge detection method is a method of obtaining difference values between a pixel serving as a reference and neighboring eight pixels, and connecting pixels in a direction that increases the differences. Since the edge detection method is widely used as an image processing method, detailed description thereof is not repeated. Meanwhile, to increase an accuracy even more than the edge detection method used for step S2, a homogeneity detection method which will be described below can be more preferably used. The homogeneity detection method divides a received image into region windows having sizes of nxn pixels (in this case, n is a value between 2 to 10), analyzes and calculates statistical distribution of characteristic values (color tone/brightness in case of a color image, brightness in case of a black and white image) of pixels inside the region windows, and forms a boundary by determining the region windows representing a uniform statistical characteristic as the same organ. Since a method of analyzing and calculating the statistical distribution used in this case is a method widely used in a general numerical analysis method, detailed description thereof is not repeated.

[12] Next, step S3 of setting a region to be measured utilizing the boundary of the image determined in step S2 is performed. After that, step S4 of calculating circumference/ area/volume of the region set in step S3 is performed. Since a method of automatically calculating the circumference/area/volume of the set region is a widely known in the art to which the invention pertains, detailed description thereof is not repeated.

[13] Meanwhile, step S6 of allowing a user to selectively select or control the region set in step S3 is preferably further provided between step S3 and step S4.

[14] Last, step S5 of displaying the circumference/area/volume of the region calculated in step S4 and ending a procedure is performed, so that the method for automatically measuring a region in an ultrasonic image diagnosis apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention is performed.

[15] In the above, preferred embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and the specification. Although specific terminologies are used herein, they are used in a descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation of the meaning or scope of the invention described in claims. Therefore, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.