Abstract: A method and system for reviewing contouring of medical images in a contouring system is described. The method comprising the steps of: providing at least one medical image showing structures to be contoured; generating a contour for a structure on the at least one medical image; determining if the generated contour conforms to guidelines for the structure being contoured; in response to the determining of conformity providing feedback about the quality of the contour; and continuing to generate the contour based on the provided feedback. A method and system for reviewing previously contoured medical images is also described.

Abstract: A method and system for contouring a medical image in a contouring system is described. The method comprising the steps of: providing at least one medical image to be contoured by a user; determining that the user has initiated contouring of a structure on the medical image; the contouring system determining the structure that is being or will be contoured; in response to the determination of the structure the system displaying guidance for the contouring of the determined structure; contouring the determined structure in accordance with the displayed guidance. A method and system for reviewing contours on a contoured medical image is also described.

Abstract: A method and system for contouring an image for display is described. The method comprising: providing at least one image to be contoured; providing a window width parameter, W, and a window level parameter, L; displaying the medical image according the W,L parameters; performing the following steps: determining local image intensities of the at least one image for each position of the contour, as it is generated; determining if the parameters are suitable for each position of the contour on the image as it is generated; according to the determined local image intensity; if the parameters are not suitable, alerting the user that at least one of the parameters is not suitable for a most recently generated position on the contour; adjusting at least one of the—parameters to be suitable for the most recently generated position on the contour; and displaying the—image according to the adjusted settings.

Abstract: A method and system for generating synthetic images for use in a database is described. The database is used for delineation of features in real images, the method comprising the steps of: providing a delineated image acquired using a first scanner, defining a model related to the generation of synthetic images using a second scanner, processing the delineated image using the model to generate a synthetic image, mapping contours to the synthetic image to form a synthetic image-contour pair; repeating providing, defining and processing steps to generate a plurality of synthetic images and contour pairs for the database; using said database of synthetic images and contour pairs to optimise a contouring algorithm, where the optimised algorithm generates contours for the real images of the same type as the synthetic images; processing one or more further real images to contour and delineate features on the further real image using the algorithm.

Abstract: A method (900) of generating an atlas for a universal atlas database (901) is provided. A new medical scan image (905) is provided. A universal auto-contouring operation (920) is performed on the medical scan image, to generate a set of universal contours (930) for the medical scan image. A local auto-contouring customisation operation (940) is performed on the medical scan image, to generate a set of local contours (950) for the medical scan image. The set of local contours is standardised (980) using a trained model to compensate for biases in the set of local contours, thereby creating a set of standardised global contours (985) for the medical scan image. The set of standardised global contours (985) and the medical scan image (905) can be added to the universal atlas database (901) as a new atlas, thereby expanding the set of atlases that are available in the universal atlas database.

Abstract: A method and system for generating synthetic images for use in a database is described. The database is used for delineation of features in real images, the method comprising the steps of: providing a delineated image acquired using a first scanner, defining a model related to the generation of synthetic images using a second scanner, processing the delineated image using the model to generate a synthetic image, mapping contours to the synthetic image to form a synthetic image-contour pair; repeating providing, defining and processing steps to generate a plurality of synthetic images and contour pairs for the database; using said database of synthetic images and contour pairs to optimise a contouring algorithm, where the optimised algorithm generates contours for the real images of the same type as the synthetic images; processing one or more further real images to contour and delineate features on the further real image using the algorithm.

Abstract: A method (900) of generating an atlas for a universal atlas database (901) is provided. A new medical scan image (905) is provided. A universal auto-contouring operation (920) is performed on the medical scan image, to generate a set of universal contours (930) for the medical scan image. A local auto-contouring customisation operation (940) is performed on the medical scan image, to generate a set of local contours (950) for the medical scan image. The set of local contours is standardised (980) using a trained model to compensate for biases in the set of local contours, thereby creating a set of standardised global contours (985) for the medical scan image. The set of standardised global contours (985) and the medical scan image (905) can be added to the universal atlas database (901) as a new atlas, thereby expanding the set of atlases that are available in the universal atlas database.