Appeal No. 1999-2069
Application 08/397,639
BACKGROUND
The invention is directed to a method for image registration
(alignment) of two radiation images. One image is a reference
image and the other image is spatially transformed so that points
corresponding to points on the reference image match up. Spatial
transformation and image registration are discussed in Gonzalez
et al., Digital Image Processing (Addison-Wesley Pub. Co. 1992),
pp. 298-302 (copy attached). The invention uses "affine
transformations" to transform one image into the coordinates of
the reference image. An "affine transformation" is a
transformation in which straight lines remain straight and
parallel lines remain parallel, whereas angles may undergo
changes and differential scale changes may be introduced; e.g., a
square could become a rhombus by scaling. Affine transformations
are rotation, translation, and scale factor (magnification or
reduction) operations.
Claim 1, the sole independent claim, is reproduced below.
1. A method for adjusting positions of radiation
images, wherein the positions of a plurality of radiation
images are matched to one another such that the radiation
images may be subjected to superposition processing or
subtraction processing,
the method comprising the steps of:
i) setting template regions on a single radiation
image, which is among the plurality of the radiation images,
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