Method and system for fast detection of lines in medical images
US6404908B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 28, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 11, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 28, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30068
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method an apparatus for detecting lines in medical images is disclosed, wherein a direction image array and a line image array are formed by filtering a digital image with a single-peaked filter, convolving the resultant array with second order difference operators oriented along the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal axes, and computing the direction image arrays and line image arrays as direct scalar functions of the results of the second order difference operations. Advantageously, line detection based on the use of four line operator functions along the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal directions in accordance with the preferred embodiments actually results in fewer computations than line detection based on the use of three line operator functions. In particular, because of the special symmetries involved, 3×3 second order difference operators may be effectively used. Moreover, the number of computations associated with the second order difference operations may be achieved with simple register shifts, additions, and subtractions, yielding an overall line detection process that is significantly less computationally intensive than prior art algorithms. Also according t…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.