Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-03
2001-06-26
Herndon, Heather R. (Department: 2776)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C345S182000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253220
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the editing of digital images, and more particularly to the editing of a plurality of images on a single page of an editing medium.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known that several digital images can be edited on the same page of an editing medium. However, such a procedure requires prior preparation in front of a workstation in order to arrange the images one by one on the editing medium, for example by selecting the images and determining the zone in which it is wished to arrange these images. When it is wished to automatically edit several images an editing template is used for filling of the page of the editing medium. This template has zones which are practically identical to each other, intended to receive an image very often in even numbers. When the editing template is chosen, a template is selected which has a number of zones equal to the number of images to be edited or a little greater.
This type of editing is well suited to images of identical sizes such as series of digital images produced by equipment of the MRI or scanner type. It is necessary to know in principle the number of images to be edited on a single page of the editing medium.
In digital radiography, photoluminescent memory plates are used having different sizes, for example 18 cm×24 cm, 24 cm×30 cm, 35 cm×35 cm, or 35 cm×43 cm. These plates can also be exposed in both possible orientations, as can be seen in FIG.
1
A. The larger dimension can be disposed vertically
11
, hereinafter referred to as portrait format or arrangement, or the larger dimension can be disposed horizontally
12
, hereinafter referred to as landscape format or arrangement. In addition, the image matrices are not necessarily proportional to the cassette sizes, for example a 24 cm×30 cm cassette and a 35 cm×43 cm cassette can have the same matrix of 2000×2500 pixels.
Traditionally, in radiography, the size of the cassette used to produce the image was chosen as a function of the dimension of the part whose image it is wished to obtain. The size of the image was very rapidly assimilated to the size of the medium which was used to record the image. When an editing of two images of an identical object is effected, each image being on a different page of an editing medium, the dimension of the matrix gives rise to an editing in which the objects represented have identical sizes on each editing medium whatever the cassette used. This is because the size of the object depicted or image edited depends on the pixel matrix and not on the physical size of the medium on which the image has been captured, that is to say the size of the cassette.
However, when several images are edited in a conventional fashion on a single page of an editing medium comprising several editing zones of identical dimensions, the existing software packages adapt the external dimensions of the image, for a radiograph of the size of the cassette, to the dimensions of the editing zone. The ratios of enlargements of various edited images or depicted objects can therefore be different when the cassettes do not have the same size or the same orientation.
As can be seen in
FIG. 1A
, when the images of two identical objects obtained by means of two identical cassettes are edited on a single page of an editing medium, one arranged in portrait format and the other arranged in landscape format, the conventional editing of the images on two editing zones of identical sizes
13
and
14
modifies the enlargement of the images in order to adapt them as well as possible to each editing zone. In the present case the enlargement is determined by the ratio of the greatest size of the image to the width of the zone
13
for the image
12
, and to the width of the other zone
14
for the image
11
. The result gives rise to two images of different sizes, as depicted.
As can be seen in
FIG. 1B
, when the images of two identical objects obtained by means of two different cassettes
21
and
22
are edited on a single page of an editing medium having two identical editing zones
23
and
24
, the adaptation of the images obtained in the usual fashion to editing zones of identical sizes gives rise to images with different enlargements.
When an editing template is chosen, it may turn out that the number of images to be edited does not correspond to any available template. In this case, the user chooses a template having more editing areas than images to be edited and certain zones will be left empty. This happens for example when the available templates have an even number of editing zones and it is wished to edit an odd number of images.
In some applications, and in particular in radiography, the reader must be able to evaluate the dimensions of one organ or another on several views. It is therefore important, at final editing, to preserve, between these images, the enlargement ratios existing between the original images.
When it is desired to preserve the existing enlargement ratio between the original images, it is necessary to apply, to all the images, an enlargement coefficient calculated by means of the ratio between the dimension of the largest image and the dimension of the zones receiving the image, zones which are identical. When several images are edited on a single page with preservation of the enlargement ratio between these images, the same enlargement coefficient is applied to all the images. In these circumstances the images formed on radiographic plates of small size do not fill all the surface of the editing zone and the surface of the editing medium is not optimally used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is therefore a need for a method of filling the editing medium which makes it possible to improve the use of the surface of the editing medium.
The invention provides a method of optimizing the filling of an editing medium of given size for the display on this medium of a plurality of individual original images all having the same enlargement. This method comprises the steps of: a) orienting the images in their normal observation orientation; b)determining a useful width (L
i
) and a useful height (H
i
) for each original image disposed in this normal observation orientation; c) forming a virtual representation of an editing medium in one of the available formats, portrait or landscape, and containing the plurality of the individual original images to be edited; d) calculating the useful width and the useful height of the virtual representation made at step c); e) calculating a first maximum enlargement to be applied to the virtual representation to be edited on the editing medium when the editing medium is presented in a portrait format so that all the images are entirely contained within the editing medium and a second maximum enlargement to be applied to the virtual representation to be edited on the editing medium when the editing medium is presented in a landscape format so that all the images are entirely contained within the editing medium; f) editing the images in the arrangement corresponding to the highest figure of said first or second maximum enlargement.
In a preferred embodiment the images are distributed among several virtual juxtaposed rows. The distribution being obtained by classifying the original images to be edited according to a principal criterion corresponding to one of the respective dimensions of each of these original images and according to at least one secondary criterion corresponding to the other dimension of the original images.
Other advantages and aims of the invention will emerge from a reading of the description which follows, given with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4751660 (1988-06-01), Hedley
patent: 4928252 (1990-05-01), Gabbe et al.
patent: 4951233 (1990-08-01), Fujiwara et al.
patent: 5193126 (1993-03-01), Matsuki
patent: 5390354 (1995-02-01), de Heus et al.
patent: 5414811 (1995-05-01), Parulski
patent: 5434961 (1995-07-01), Horiuchi et al.
patent: 5526442 (1996-06-01), Baba et al.
patent:
Buff Michel F.
Le Beux Jean-Claude
Eastman Kodak Company
Herndon Heather R.
Huynh Cong-Lec
Noval William F.
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