Automated selection of computed tomography display parameters using neural networks

A collection of artificial neural networks (ANN's) was trained to identify simple anatomical structures in a set of Xray computed tomography (CT) images. These neural networks learned to associate a point in an image with the anatomical structure containing the point by using the image pixels located on the horizontal and vertical lines that ran through the point. The neural networks were integrated into a computer software tool whose function is to select an index into a list of CT window/level values from the location of the, user's mouse cursor. Based upon the anatomical structure selected by the user, the software tool automatically adjusts the image display to optimally view the structure.