User interface for efficiently displaying relevant oct imaging data

Abstract

The present invention is an OCT imaging system user interface for efficiently providing relevant image displays to the user. These displays are used during image acquisition to align patients and verify acquisition image quality. During image analysis, these displays indicate positional relationships between displayed data images, automatically display suspicious analysis, automatically display diagnostic data, simultaneously display similar data from multiple visits, improve access to archived data, and provide other improvements for efficient data presentation of relevant information.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A display method for viewing optical coherence tomography (OCT) volume image data of a patient's eye acquired during a first visit and a subsequent second visit, said method comprising:
 a. registering a portion of the OCT image data from the first visit with a portion of the OCT image data from the second visit; and   b. displaying one slice of OCT image data from the first visit simultaneously with a registered slice from the second visit to permit the user to evaluate change between the first and second visits.   
     
     
         3 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the displaying step is performed in sequence, presenting a series of registered images, one from the first visit and one from second visit adjacent to one another. 
     
     
         4 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the step of registering the image data includes:
 a. registering a first OCT en-face image formed from the OCT volume acquired during the first visit with a second OCT en-face image formed from the OCT volume acquired during the second visit; and   b. registering the OCT volume acquired during the first visit with the OCT volume acquired during the second visit in accordance with the registered first and second en-face images.   
     
     
         5 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the step of registering the image data includes registering a first region of an OCT volume from the first visit to a corresponding second region of an OCT volume from the second visit. 
     
     
         6 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the rate at which the series of registered images are displayed is variable. 
     
     
         7 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the OCT volume is comprised of B-scan slices. 
     
     
         8 . A method as recited in  claim 7 , further including obtaining a fundus image registered to the first volume and displaying the fundus image, said fundus image including at least one slice locator wherein the first region is a slice of the first volume selected by the position of the slice locator in the fundus image. 
     
     
         9 . A method as recited in  claim 7 , further including selecting a first sequence of slices from the first visit, creating a corresponding second sequence of slices of the second volume wherein each slice from the first sequence is registered to a corresponding slice of the second volume and synchronously displaying first sequence and the second sequence. 
     
     
         10 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the synchronously displaying sequences start automatically. 
     
     
         11 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the rate of display of the synchronously displaying sequences is adjustable. 
     
     
         12 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the rate of display of the synchronously displaying sequences is variable. 
     
     
         13 . A method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the rate of display is slower when displaying slices from the central region of the volume. 
     
     
         14 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the step of registering the image data includes registering one slice of an OCT volume from the first visit to a corresponding slice of an OCT volume from the second visit. 
     
     
         15 . A method as recited in  claim 2 , further comprising displaying data from more than two visits.