Siemens Corporate Research, Inc. Patent applications |
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20120256492 | Passive RF Energy Harvesting Scheme For Wireless Sensor - A radio frequency energy harvester harvests RF energy from the environment. The energy harvester may include a local power source. The energy harvester may have an associated crystal radio antenna that harvests AM radio waves ubiquitously. The radio frequency energy harvested may be stored via a super capacitor. The stored energy may power a self-contained processing unit directly when the level of the energy harvested remains above a threshold level. However, if the energy harvested drops below the threshold level, the processing unit, which may include a radio, may switch to the local power source and/or a low power mode of operation. The low power mode of operation may reduce the amount of processing and/or transmitting by the radio. The processing unit may be part of a network of radios. The energy harvester may supply energy for a variety of applications, including building automation, industrial automation, power generation, and healthcare. | 10-11-2012 |
20110123095 | Sparse Volume Segmentation for 3D Scans - A computer readable medium is provided embodying instructions executable by a processor to perform a method for sparse volume segmentation for 3D scan of a target. The method including learning prior knowledge, providing volume data comprising the target, selecting a plurality of key contours of the image of the target, building a 3D spare model of the image of the target given the plurality of key contours, segmenting the image of the target given the 3D sparse model, and outputting a segmentation of the image of the target. | 05-26-2011 |
20100266170 | Methods and Systems for Fully Automatic Segmentation of Medical Images - Methods and systems dedicated to automatic object segmentation from image data are provided. In a first step a fuzzy seed set is generated that is learned from training data. The fuzzy seed set is registered to image data containing an object that needs to be segmented from a background. In a second step a random walker segmentation is applied to the image data by using the fuzzy seed set as an automatic seeding for segmentation. Liver segmentation, lung segmentation and kidney segmentation examples are provided. | 10-21-2010 |
20100188288 | MULTI-MODAL SPEED LIMIT ASSISTANT - A speed limit assistant (SLA) system includes a camera based SLA, a map based SLA, and a fusion unit. The camera based SLA is configured to determine a first set of probabilities for an input image, wherein the probabilities indicate how likely the image includes a discrete set of speed limit signs. The map based SLA is configured to determine a second set of probabilities for an input coordinate, wherein the probabilities indicate how likely the coordinate is to correspond to one of a discrete set of speed limits. The fusion unit is configured to perform a Bayesian fusion on the first and second set of probabilities to determine a final speed limit from the discrete set of speed limits. | 07-29-2010 |
20100121175 | Automatic Femur Segmentation And Condyle Line Detection in 3D MR Scans For Alignment Of High Resolution MR - A method for automatic femur segmentation and condyle line detection. The method includes: scanning a knee of a patient with medical imaging equipment to obtain 3D imaging data with such equipment; processing the obtained 3D imaging data in a digital processor to determine two lines tangent to the bottom of the knee condyles in an axial and a coronal plane; and automatically scanning the patient in the defined plane. The processing includes: determining an approximate location of the knee; using the determined the location to define a volume of interest; segmenting the femur in the defined volume of interest; and determining a bottom point on the femur portion on a right side and a left side of the segmented femur in an axial and a coronal slice to determine the two lines. | 05-13-2010 |
20100121172 | MICROSCOPIC AND MACROSCOPIC DATA FUSION FOR BIOMEDICAL IMAGING - Macroscopic imaging data, such as CT, MR, PET, or SPECT, is obtained. Microscopic imaging data of at least a portion of the same tissue is obtained. The microscopic imaging data is spatially aligned with the macroscopic imaging data. The spatial alignment allows calculation and/or imaging using both types of data as a multi-resolution data set. A given image may include information about the relative position of the microscopically imaged tissue to the macroscopically imaged body portion. This positional relationship may allow viewing of affects or changes at cellular levels as well as less detailed tissue structure or organism levels and may allow determination of any correlation between changes in both levels. | 05-13-2010 |
20100104186 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMAGE SEGMENTATION USING CONTINUOUS VALUED MRFS WITH NORMED PAIRWISE DISTRIBUTIONS - A method for segmenting a digital image includes initializing object and background seed nodes in an image, where the image is represented as a graph G=(V, E) whose nodes iεV correspond to image points and whose edges eεE connect adjacent points, where set M⊂V contains locations of nodes marked as seeds, set U⊂V contains locations of unmarked nodes, set O⊂M contains locations of object seed nodes, and set B⊂M contains locations of background seed nodes, assigning to each seed node a membership value such that ∀iεO,x | 04-29-2010 |
20100094446 | FEATURE DRIVEN RULE-BASED FRAMEWORK FOR AUTOMATION OF MODELING WORKFLOWS IN DIGITAL MANUFACTURING - A method for designing a prosthetic device includes acquiring a three-dimensional image of an anatomical surface. A rules script for automatically performing a plurality of image processing rules using a script interpreter is executed. For each particular rule of the plurality of rules, one or more anatomical features that are relevant to the particular rule using a surface shaping engine are determined, the one or more determined anatomical features are automatically segmented from the acquired three-dimensional image using a feature detector, and the particular image processing rule is performed on the acquired three-dimensional image based on the automatically segmented anatomical features using a CAD tool. A prosthetic device design is produced based on the three-dimensional image upon which the rules of the plurality of image processing rules have been performed. | 04-15-2010 |
20100094122 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC, NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSIS OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION AND MEASUREMENT OF MEAN PULMONARY ARTERIAL PRESSURE - A method for diagnosing pulmonary hypertension from phase-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) images includes providing a time series of one or more magnetic resonance (MR) flow images of a patient's mediastinum during one or more cardiac cycles, segmenting the pulmonary artery within each image of the times series of images, identifying the anterior wall and pulmonary valve within the segmented pulmonary artery, analyzing blood flow during a diastolic phase of the one or more cardiac cycles to determine a relative duration of blood flow, t | 04-15-2010 |
20100092059 | Creation Of Motion Compensated MRI M-Mode Images Of The Myocardial Wall - A method for displaying medical image data includes receiving medical image data including a myocardium. An endocardial contour is automatically segmented from the received medical image data. A center of mass of the automatically segmented endocardial contour is determined. A plurality of equiangular projections is defined beginning from the center of mass and projecting outwardly and cross the endocardial contour. A plurality of normal projections that correspond to the plurality of equiangular projections is defined. Each normal projection begins from an end of a corresponding equiangular projection and extends for a predetermined length, crossing the endocardial contour at a right angle. Dynamics of the myocardium along each normal projection are displayed as a function of time. | 04-15-2010 |
20100080434 | Method and System for Hierarchical Parsing and Semantic Navigation of Full Body Computed Tomography Data - A method and apparatus for hierarchical parsing and semantic navigation of a full or partial body computed tomography CT scan is disclosed. In particular, organs are segmented and anatomic landmarks are detected in a full or partial body CT volume. One or more predetermined slices of the CT volume are detected. A plurality of anatomic landmarks and organ centers are then detected in the CT volume using a discriminative anatomical network, each detected in a portion of the CT volume constrained by at least one of the detected slices. A plurality of organs, such as heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, bladder, and prostate, are detected in a sense of a bounding box and segmented in the CT volume, detection of each organ bounding box constrained by the detected organ centers and anatomic landmarks. Organ segmentation is via a database-guided segmentation method. | 04-01-2010 |
20100076296 | Method and System for Automatic Detection of Coronary Stenosis in Cardiac Computed Tomography Data - A method and system for automatic coronary stenosis detection in computed tomography (CT) data is disclosed. Coronary artery centerlines are obtained in an input cardiac CT volume. A trained classifier, such as a probabilistic boosting tree (PBT) classifier, is used to detect stenosis regions along the centerlines in the input cardiac CT volume. The classifier classifies each of the control points that define the coronary artery centerlines as a stenosis point or a non-stenosis point. | 03-25-2010 |
20100074499 | Method and System for Segmentation of Brain Structures in 3D Magnetic Resonance Images - A method and system for segmenting multiple brain structures in 3D magnetic resonance (MR) images is disclosed. After intensity standardization of a 3D MR image, a meta-structure including center positions of multiple brain structures is detected in the 3D MR image. The brain structures are then individually segmented using marginal space learning (MSL) constrained by the detected meta-structure. | 03-25-2010 |
20100070249 | Method and System for Generating a Personalized Anatomical Heart Model - A method and system for generating a patient specific anatomical heart model is disclosed. Volumetric image data, such as computed tomography (CT) or echocardiography image data, of a patient's cardiac region is received. Individual models for multiple heart components, such as the left ventricle (LV) endocardium, LV epicardium, right ventricle (RV), left atrium (LA), right atrium (RA), mitral valve, aortic valve, aorta, and pulmonary trunk, are estimated in said volumetric cardiac image data. A patient specific anatomical heart model is generated by integrating the individual models for each of the heart components. | 03-18-2010 |
20100067768 | Method and System for Physiological Image Registration and Fusion - A method and system for physiological image registration and fusion is disclosed. A physiological model of a target anatomical structure in estimated each of a first image and a second image. The physiological model is estimated using database-guided discriminative machine learning-based estimation. A fused image is then generated by registering the first and second images based on correspondences between the physiological model estimated in each of the first and second images. | 03-18-2010 |
20100067764 | Method and System for Automatic Landmark Detection Using Discriminative Joint Context - A method and system for detecting anatomic landmarks in medical images is disclosed. In order to detect multiple related anatomic landmarks, a plurality of landmark candidates are first detected individually using trained landmark detectors. A joint context is then generated for each combination of the landmark candidates. The best combination of landmarks in then determined based on the joint context using a trained joint context detector. | 03-18-2010 |
20100067760 | Method and System for Automatic Coronary Artery Detection - A method and system for coronary artery detection in 3D cardiac volumes is disclosed. The heart chambers are segmented in the cardiac volume, and an initial estimation of a coronary artery is generated based on the segmented heart chambers. The initial estimation of the coronary artery is then refined based on local information in the cardiac volume in order to detect the coronary artery in the cardiac volume. The detected coronary artery can be extended using 3D dynamic programming. | 03-18-2010 |
20100063792 | Visualization Method for Electrical Machine Operation Models Based on Mechanical Machine Operation Models - A visualization of an electrical machine operation model of logic controller behavior is displayed on a display such as a two-dimensional computer display. The display includes separate spaces representing separate devices in the model. For each device, several characteristics are shown in the model, including mechanical steps, electrical steps and electrical signal outputs. The electrical steps are shown superimposed on the mechanical steps, and electrical transitions link sequential electrical steps in time. Representations of conditions link the electrical transitions with signal outputs upon which the electrical transitions are conditioned. | 03-11-2010 |
20100063606 | AUTOMATED DERIVATION OF A LOGIC-CONTROLLER-BEHAVIOR-MODEL FROM A MECHANICAL-MACHINE-OPERATION-MODEL - An electrical logic controller behavior model of logic controller behavior is automatically or semi-automatically derived from a model of mechanical machine operation. To create the electrical model, an electrical step is created corresponding to each mechanical step of the mechanical model. For each mechanical transition on the mechanical step, a corresponding electrical transition is created on the corresponding electrical step. For each identified signal associated with an end position of the mechanical step, a condition is created for the associated signal on the corresponding electrical transition. The electrical logic controller behavior model is then used to generate PLC-specific software to control a machine or plant. | 03-11-2010 |
20100061612 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ELASTIC COMPOSITION OF MEDICAL IMAGING VOLUMES - A method and system for improving the quality of composing image volumes using deformable registration, and a gradual elastic morphing to create a seamless whole body volume image from several component volumes from a 3D medical imager. | 03-11-2010 |
20100061611 | CO-REGISTRATION OF CORONARY ARTERY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY AND FLUOROSCOPIC SEQUENCE - A method for displaying real-time imagery of coronary arteries including a chronic total occlusion (CTO) includes acquiring three-dimensional image data of coronary arteries using a three-dimensional medical imaging device, wherein the three-dimensional image data includes imagery of the CTO. A radiocontrast agent is administered to a patient. Real-time image data of the coronary arteries are acquired using one or more fluoroscopes. The real-time image data does not include imagery of the CTO and down-stream vessel structure. The three-dimensional image data is co-registered with the real-time image data using an image processing device within a vicinity of the CTO. The co-registered image data are displayed in real-time using a display device to accurately illustrate the location of the CTO within the context of the real-time image data. | 03-11-2010 |
20100061606 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DATA DEPENDENT MULTI PHASE VISUALIZATION - A method and system for data dependent multi phase image visualization, includes: acquiring a plurality of series of image data acquisitions; registering the plurality of series of image data acquisitions to a same reference series to create a plurality of registered series; combining information from the registered series to create a new series; creating a further new series by a selection decision based on combination rules from information from the plurality of registered series and the new series; and displaying the further new series. | 03-11-2010 |
20100045671 | 3D BALL SKINNING USING PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS FOR GENERATION OF SMOOTH TUBULAR SURFACES - A method of computing a continuous interpolation of a discrete set of three-dimensional (3D) balls, including generating an initial skin, wherein the initial skin is a surface comprised of splines and wherein the splines touch each ball along a circle that is tangent to the ball, solving a first differential equation to minimize the initial skin's surface area or solving a second differential equation to minimize a squared mean curvature of the initial skin's surface, wherein the result of solving the first or second differential equations is an updated skin; and repeating the steps of solving the first or second differential equations for the updated skin, and then, repeating the steps of solving the first or second differential equations for each subsequently updated skin until a desired skin is realized. | 02-25-2010 |
20100040272 | Method and System for Left Ventricle Detection in 2D Magnetic Resonance Images - A method and system for left ventricle (LV) detection in 2D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images is disclosed. In order to detect the LV in a 2D MRI image, a plurality of LV candidates are detected, for example using marginal space learning (MSL) based detection. Candidates for distinctive anatomic landmarks associated with the LV are then detected in the 2D MRI image. In particular, apex candidates and base candidates are detected in the 2D MRI image. One of the LV candidates is selected as a final LV detection result using component-based voting based on the detected LV candidates, apex candidates, and base candidates. | 02-18-2010 |
20100027911 | MULTILEVEL THRESHOLDING FOR MUTUAL INFORMATION BASED REGISTRATION AND IMAGE REGISTRATION USING A GPU - An exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a method of registering images. The method includes: for each image, determining an optimum intensity threshold set from a plurality of intensity threshold sets that maximizes a variance between classes of each set, segmenting each image using the corresponding determined optimum intensity threshold set, generating mutual information from a joint histogram of at least two of the segmented images, and registering the at least two images using the mutual information. The joint histogram may be generated using a geometry shader of a graphical processing unit. | 02-04-2010 |
20100027865 | Method and System for Brain Tumor Segmentation in 3D Magnetic Resonance Images - A method and system for brain tumor segmentation in multi-spectral 3D MRI images is disclosed. A trained probabilistic boosting tree (PBT) classifier is used to determine, for each voxel in a multi-spectral 3D MR image sequence, a probability that the voxel is part of a brain tumor. The brain tumor is then segmented in the multi-spectral 3D MRI image sequence using graph cuts segmentation based on the probabilities determined using the trained PBT classifier and intensities of the voxels in the multi-spectral 3D MR image sequence. | 02-04-2010 |
20100021034 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE GENERATION OF ATTENUATION CORRECTION MAPS FROM MR IMAGES - A method for generating a positron emission tomography (PET) attenuation correction map from magnetic resonance (MR) images includes segmenting a 3-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance (MR) whole-body image of a patient into low-signal regions, fat regions, and soft tissue regions; classifying the low-signal regions as either lungs, bones, or air by identifying lungs, identifying an abdominal station, and identifying a lower body station; and generating an attenuation map from the segmentation result by replacing the segmentation labels with corresponding representative attenuation coefficients. | 01-28-2010 |
20100014739 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SEGMENTATION OF MR FLOW DATA USING FLUID DYNAMICS AND TRACKING - Methods for vessel segmentation and tracking using 7D MRI flow image data incorporate information from the velocity field and the magnitude. A vessel tracking methods selects a time containing sufficient blood flow through a vessel, uses the magnitude image to determine the vessel boundary and uses the velocity image to define the vessel direction. A method for segmenting tubular and circular objects segments the objects into separate vessels and then uses the velocity data to reunite the objects, where touching components are evaluated by the velocity field where they are connected. If vectors point towards the other component, the two components are reconnected. An advection-diffusion method based on fluid dynamics performs a fluid dynamics simulation with image forces according to the Navier-Stokes equations. With the 7D data, the vector field is available from the flow data, from the time point at which maximal flow occurs in the vessel of interest. | 01-21-2010 |
20100011268 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIGNAL RECONSTRUCTION FROM INCOMPLETE DATA - A method for reconstructing a signal from incomplete data in a signal processing device includes acquiring incomplete signal data. An initial reconstruction of the incomplete signal data is generated. A reconstruction is generated starting from the initial reconstruction by repeating the steps of: calculating a sparsity transform of the reconstruction, measuring an approximation of sparsity of the reconstruction by applying an m-estimator to the calculated sparsity transform, and iteratively optimizing the reconstruction to minimize output of the m-estimator thereby maximizing the approximation of sparsity for the reconstruction. The optimized reconstruction is provided as a representation of the incomplete data. | 01-14-2010 |
20100008540 | Method for Object Detection - A method for object detection from a visual image of a scene. The method includes: using a first order predicate logic formalism to specify a set of logical rules to encode contextual knowledge regarding the object to be detected; inserting the specified logical rules into a knowledge base; obtaining the visual image of the scene; applying specific object feature detectors to some or all pixels in the visual image of the scene to obtain responses at those locations; using the obtained responses to generate logical facts indicative of whether specific features or parts of the object are present or absent at that location in the visual image; inserting the generated logical facts into the knowledge base; and combining the logical facts with the set of logical rules to whether the object is present or absent at a particular location in the scene. | 01-14-2010 |
20100002925 | Fluid Dynamics Approach To Image Segmentation - A method for segmenting image data within a data processing system includes acquiring an image. One or more seed points are established within the image. An advection vector field is computed based on image influences and user input. A dye concentration is determined at each of a plurality of portions of the image that results from a diffusion of dye within the computed advection field. The image is segmented into one or more regions based on the determined dye concentration for the corresponding dye. | 01-07-2010 |
20090324043 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC REGISTRATION OF 4D (3D PLUS TIME) RENAL PERFUSION MRI DATA - A method for registering digital renal perfusion images includes selecting a volume of interest (VOI) containing a kidney in a reference renal perfusion image, computing 3D intensity gradients for a plurality of points in the VOI of the reference renal perfusion image, computing 3D intensity gradients for a plurality of points in a search window of a current renal perfusion image, and maximizing a similarity measure between the reference image VOI and the current image search window, where the similarity measure is a function of the 3D intensity gradients computed for the reference image and the current image. | 12-31-2009 |
20090324012 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTOUR TRACKING IN CARDIAC PHASE CONTRAST FLOW MR IMAGES - A method for tracking a contour in cardiac phase contrast flow magnetic resonance (MR) images includes estimating a global translation of a contour in a reference image in a time sequence of cardiac phase contrast flow MR images to a contour in a current image in the time sequence of images by finding a 2-dimensional translation vector that maximizes a similarity function of the contour in the reference image and the current image calculated over a bounding rectangle containing the contour in the reference image, estimating an affine transformation of the contour in the reference image to the contour in the current image, and performing a constrained local deformation of the contour in the current image. | 12-31-2009 |
20090323528 | Method and Apparatus to Inspect Wireless Traffic and Mitigate Packet Elimination for Wireless Saturation Avoidance - A method for controlling packet flow in a packet transmission network. The method includes determining a parameter representative of packet congestion on the network, and adjusting a flow of packets onto the network in accordance with such parameter. The adjusting is a function of the time history of the parameter and the time average of such parameter relative to predetermined threshold levels. The adjusting selects one of a plurality of states, transitions between the states being a function of the time history of the parameter and the time average of such parameter relative to predetermined threshold levels. | 12-31-2009 |
20090310837 | Method and System for Automatic Detection and Measurement of Mitral Valve Inflow Patterns in Doppler Echocardiography - A method and system for segmentation of mitral valve inflow (MI) patterns in Doppler echocardiogram images is disclosed. Trained root detectors are used to detect left root candidates, right root candidates, and peak candidates in an input Doppler echocardiogram image. Two global structure detectors, a single triangle detector for non-overlapping E-waves and A-waves and a double triangle detector for overlapping E-waves and A-waves, are used to detect single triangle candidates and double triangle candidates based on the left root, right root, and peak candidates. A shape profile is used to determine a shape probability for each of the single triangle candidates and each of the double triangle candidates. The best single triangle candidate and the best double triangle candidate are selected based on shape probability and detection probability. One of the best single triangle candidate and the best double triangle candidate is selected as the final segmentation result based on a shape probability comparison. | 12-17-2009 |
20090304251 | Method and System for Detecting 3D Anatomical Structures Using Constrained Marginal Space Learning - A method and apparatus for detecting 3D anatomical objects in medical images using constrained marginal space learning (MSL) is disclosed. A constrained search range is determined for an input medical image volume based on training data. A first trained classifier is used to detect position candidates in the constrained search range. Position-orientation hypotheses are generated from the position candidates using orientation examples in the training data. A second trained classifier is used to detect position-orientation candidates from the position-orientation hypotheses. Similarity transformation hypotheses are generated from the position-orientation candidates based on scale examples in the training data. A third trained classifier is used to detect similarity transformation candidates from the similarity transformation hypotheses, and the similarity transformation candidates define the position, translation, and scale of the 3D anatomic object in the medical image volume. | 12-10-2009 |
20090296989 | Method for Automatic Detection and Tracking of Multiple Objects - A method for automatically detecting and tracking objects in a scene. The method acquires video frames from a video camera; extracts discriminative features from the video frames; detects changes in the extracted features using background subtraction to produce a change map; uses the change map to use a hypothesis to estimate of an approximate number of people along with uncertainty in user specified locations; and using the estimate, track people and update the hypotheses for a refinement of the estimation of people count and location. | 12-03-2009 |
20090295800 | METHOD FOR DIRECT VOLUMETRIC RENDERING OF DEFORMABLE BRICKED VOLUMES - A method for rendering a deformable object. The method includes: obtaining a 3D volumetric voxel dataset of a region, such region having therein an object to be rendered; building a tree hierarchical structure for the obtained volumetric dataset, such tree structure blocks as the nodes of a primary tree hierarchy and bricks being those blocks stored as textures in a video memory; augmenting the primary tree hierarchical structure with maximum and minimum values of the data contained within a block; creating a neighborhood tree hierarchy having for each leaf block of the neighborhood tree hierarchy a reference to the neighboring leaf blocks in the neighborhood tree hierarchy as well as references to neighboring bricks in the neighborhood tree hierarchy; updating the information about minimum and maximum in the primary tree hierarchy by saving for each block the minimum and maximum of the neighboring blocks; and rendering the leaf blocks in visibility order. | 12-03-2009 |
20090290778 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING MR MYOCARDIAL PERFUSION MAPS WITHOUT USER INTERACTION - A method for automatically generating a myocardial perfusion map from a sequence of magnetic resonance (MR) images includes determining a region of interest (ROI) in a reference frame selected from a time series of myocardial perfusion MR image slices, registering each image slice in the time series of slices to the reference frame to obtain a series of registered ROIs, and using the series of registered ROIs to segment endo- and epi-cardial boundaries of a myocardium in the ROI. | 11-26-2009 |
20090290777 | AUTOMATIC LOCALIZATION OF THE LEFT VENTRICLE IN CARDIAC CINE MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING - A method for automatically localizing left ventricle in medical image data includes acquiring a sequence of three-dimensional medical images spanning a cardiac cycle. Each of the images includes a plurality of two-dimensional image slices, one of which is defined as a template slice. The template slice of each medical image of the sequence is automatically cropped to include the heart and a margin around the heart based on temporal variations between pixels of the template slice throughout the sequence of medical images. The template slice of each medical image of the sequence is automatically contoured to determine the endo-cardial and epi-cardial boundaries for at least the end-diastolic and end-systolic phases. Localization information is generated for the left ventricle based on the determined endo-cardial and epi-cardial boundaries for at least the end-diastolic and end-systolic phases. | 11-26-2009 |
20090290776 | Automatic Determination Of Field Of View In Cardiac MRI - A method for automatically determining a field of view for performing a subsequent medical imaging study includes acquiring one or more preliminary images. A body mask is generated by thresholding the preliminary images and identifying a largest connected component. A boundary mask is obtained from the boundary of the generated body mask. A rectangular bounding box is fit to the obtained boundary mask. The rectangular bounding box is used as a field of view for performing a subsequent medical imaging study. | 11-26-2009 |
20090290775 | Method and System for Selecting the Number of Gaussian Modes for the Segmentation of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (MR) Images - A method for automatically selecting a number of Gaussian modes for segmentation of a cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) image, including: identifying a left ventricle (LV) in a cardiac MR image slice; quantifying the LV blood pool; obtaining a mask for the LV blood pool; generating a ring mask for a myocardium of the LV from the LV blood pool mask; fitting three Gaussian modes to a histogram of the image slice to obtain a corresponding homogeneity image for the myocardium; computing a quality of fitting (QOF) measure for the three Gaussian modes based on the corresponding homogeneity image; repeating the fitting and computing steps for four and five Gaussian modes; and selecting the homogeneity image of the number of Gaussian modes with the largest QOF measure as the homogeneity image for processing. | 11-26-2009 |
20090285357 | Automatic Patient Positioning System - A patient positioning system for positioning a patient relative to radiographic equipment. The system includes: a 3D optical imaging system for optically scanning the patient, such 3D optical imaging system having a focal plane and providing, for each position on the object, data representative of the intensity of reflected energy received by the system from such position and data representative of distance from such position on the object to the focal plane; a table apparatus for supporting the patient and for moving the table relative to the radiographic equipment in response to positioning signals; and a processor responsive to data from the radiographic equipment and the data from the a 3D optical imaging system for producing the positioning signals. The system enables a method for displaying temporal changes in a patient positioned with a bore of radiographic equipment. | 11-19-2009 |
20090284537 | FRAMEWORK FOR PROCESSING AND RENDERING LARGE VOLUME DATA - Described herein is a system and method for facilitating large volume data processing and rendering. An exemplary system includes at least one processor coupled to a first memory, wherein the processor is configured to organize the large volume data in the first memory into one or more bricks. In addition, at least one graphics processing unit (GPU) is coupled to the processor and a second memory. The GPU is configured to process at least one or more bricks transferred from the first memory to the second memory to produce intermediate processing results, and to further render the intermediate processing results. | 11-19-2009 |
20090278846 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GEOMETRIC MODELING OF TUBULAR STRUCTURES - A method for extracting a centerline of a tubular structure in a digital medical image includes providing a 3-dimensional (3D) digitized medical image having a segmented tubular structure, finding a path in the image between a starting point and every other point in the tubular structure that minimizes an accumulative cost function, wherein the minimum accumulative cost φ(x) at a point x is a minimum of (φ(x′)+P | 11-12-2009 |
20090276060 | Mobile Function Block for a PLC Based Distributed Control System - Methods and architectures are described that provide function block mobility between PLCs. Each PLC configured with Mobile Function Blocks (MFBs) may forward and execute MFBs from each other. To enable MFB mobility over a communication bus, each PLC having one or more configured MFBs requires a Communication Function Block (CFB) and an MFB directory data block. Each PLC maintains an MFB directory data block to store its MFB directory which is used when other PLCs send requests to check the availability of MFBs they need to run new tasks. | 11-05-2009 |
20090268966 | IDENTIFICATION, CLASSIFICATION AND COUNTING OF TARGETS OF INTEREST IN MULTISPECTRAL IMAGE DATA - An imaging system for detecting targets of interest (TOIs) in multispectral imaging data includes a memory device storing a plurality of instructions embodying the system for detecting TOIs, a processor for receiving the multispectral imaging data and executing the plurality of instructions to perform a method including determining a list of events collocated across images of the multispectral imaging data and labeling each event as one of a TOI or non-TOI. | 10-29-2009 |
20090220137 | Automatic Multi-label Segmentation Of Abdominal Images Using Non-Rigid Registration - A method for segmenting an anatomical image, including: receiving a patient anatomical image; receiving a baseline anatomical image having pre-segmented labels, wherein the pre-segmented labels identify regions of interest in the baseline anatomical image; aligning the patient anatomical image with the baseline anatomical image to produce a transformation that when applied to the pre-segmented labels roughly identifies regions of interest in the patient anatomical image that correspond to the regions of interest in the baseline anatomical image; and updating the pre-segmented labels, which have been deformed by application of the transformation, with a new transformation that minimizes the likelihood of intensity distributions within the regions of interest of the patient anatomical image to produce a gradient image that better identifies the regions of interest of the patient anatomical image. | 09-03-2009 |
20090214097 | METHOD FOR GENERATING ANALYTICAL TOOL FOR ANALYZING ABNORMALITIES IN HUMAN ORGANS - A method for providing a tool for analyzing an abnormality affixed to a human organ. The method includes: obtaining an image of the organ with the abnormality; separating the image of the abnormality from the image of the organ with the abnormality; mapping a surface of the separated image of the abnormality onto a homeomorphic equivalent template, such template being topologically equivalent to the surface. In one embodiment, the mapping is a continuous, bijective, mapping having a continuous inverse mapping characteristic. | 08-27-2009 |
20090190833 | Piecewise Smooth Mumford-Shah on an Arbitrary Graph - A method for recovering a contour using combinatorial optimization includes receiving an input image, initializing functions for gradient f, smooth background g, and contour r, determining an optimum of the gradient f of a region R in the input image, extending the optimum of the gradient f of region R to a complement of R, determining an optimum of the smooth background function g for a region Q corresponding to the complement of R, extending the optimum of the smooth background function g of region Q to a complement of Q, and determining an optimum contour r according to the optimum of the gradient f and the optimum of the smooth background function g. | 07-30-2009 |
20090161928 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR UNSUPERVISED DETECTION AND GLEASON GRADING OF PROSTATE CANCER WHOLE MOUNTS USING NIR FLUORSCENCE - A method for unsupervised classification of histological images of prostatic tissue includes providing histological image data obtained from a slide simultaneously co-stained with NIR fluorescent and Hematoxylin-and-Eosin (H&E) stains, segmenting prostate gland units in the image data, forming feature vectors by computing discriminating attributes of the segmented gland units, and using the feature vectors to train a multi-class classifier, where the classifier classifies prostatic tissue into benign, prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), and Gleason scale adenocarcinoma grades 1 to 5 categories. | 06-25-2009 |
20090161926 | Semi-automatic Segmentation of Cardiac Ultrasound Images using a Dynamic Model of the Left Ventricle - A method for segmenting a sequence of images includes developing an autoregressive model using training data including segmented images of a same type as the sequence of images. The sequence of images showing a progression of a subject through a cycle is acquired. At least two images from the sequence of images are identified. A region of interest is manually segmented from the identified images. The manually segmented images are parameterized. The autoregressive model is adapted to the parameterized segmented images. The autoregressive model is used to perform segmentation on the region of interest for a plurality of images of the sequence of images. | 06-25-2009 |
20090154353 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTED CROSS-LEYER CONGESTION CONTROL FOR REAL-TIME VIDEO OVER WIRELESS LAN - A method for controlling congestion for real-time video transmission in a wireless network includes receiving a packet loss rate of a video camera in a wireless network, receiving an estimated maximum throughput of the video camera from the camera to a server, decrementing a bit transmission rate when the packet loss rate is greater than a first predetermined threshold, incrementing the bit transmission rate when the packet loss rate is less than a second predetermined threshold for a predetermined time period, and transmitting the bit transmission rate to a video encoder that is part of an application layer of a network communication protocol for the wireless network. | 06-18-2009 |
20090141995 | System and Method for Fixed Point Continuation for Total Variation Based Compressed Sensing Imaging - A method of compressed sensing imaging includes acquiring a sparse digital image b, said image comprising a plurality of intensities corresponding to an I-dimensional grid of points, initializing points (x | 06-04-2009 |
20090141968 | CORONARY RECONSTRUCTION FROM ROTATIONAL X-RAY PROJECTION SEQUENCE - A method for three-dimensional reconstruction of a branched object from a rotational sequence of images of the branched object includes segmenting the branched object from each image of the sequence, extracting centerlines of the branched object, performing symbolic reconstruction via a stereo correspondence matching between the centerlines from different views of the sequence of images using a graph cut-based optimization, and creating a three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of the branched object compensated for motion of the branched object between the images of the sequence. | 06-04-2009 |
20090141650 | Method for Congestion Detection in Packet Transmission Networks - A method for measuring degree of packet congestion on a channel of a packet communication network. The method includes: during a training mode, generating an mathematical relationship between the degree of packet congestion on the channel and a plurality of measurable features of the network over a plurality of network conditions; and, during a subsequent normal operating mode, periodically measuring the plurality of measurable features and applying the generated mathematical relationship to such periodically measured plurality of measurable features to determine actual degree of congestion on the channel; and comparing the actual degree of congestion on the channel with a predetermined channel congestion threshold level. The degree of packet congestion on the channel is saturation level. The measurable features include: time delay between transmission starts and terminations of the previously transmitted packet; the fraction of time the channel is busy; and, average number of packet transmission retries. | 06-04-2009 |
20090135726 | Method and Apparatus for Estimating Collision Probability in a Wireless Network - A method for estimating packet collisions within a wireless network, comprising: for each transmit packet an Access Point (AP) of the network records statistics transmission information; based on this statistical information the AP computes: Total number of slot times generated during this transmission, n; Total number of deferrals, m; and Total number of unsuccessful transmissions, Q s; and using a sequence (m,n,Q) of statistics for each access category (AC), the AP computes the probability of collision for unsuccessful packets, p. | 05-28-2009 |
20090135191 | COREGISTRATION AND ANALYSIS OF MULTI-MODAL IMAGES OBTAINED IN DIFFERENT GEOMETRIES - A method for coregistration of multi-modal images obtained in different geometries includes acquiring multi-modal image data, wherein the multi-model image data includes image data of a first modality and image data of a second modality, wherein the image data of the respective modalities have different geometries, defining a volume of interest in the multi-modal image data, segmenting the image data of the first modality and incorporating segmentation data of the first modality into a reconstruction of the second modality, and applying a registration of the second modality image data to the first modality image data according to a similarity measure through the volume of interest, wherein an output of the registration comprises superimposed multi-modal image data. | 05-28-2009 |
20090135180 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR VOLUME RENDERING ON MULTIPLE GRAPHICS PROCESSING UNITS (GPUs) - A method for volume rendering a volumetric dataset with multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) coupled to a computer system, comprises building a block hierarchical structure of blocks for the volumetric dataset, the block hierarchy comprising a block sequence; partitioning the block sequence into a plurality of groups; determining a target work load for each GPU; allocating each group of the plurality to a respective GPU in accordance with the target load; rendering respective intermediate images by the respective GPUs; and compositing for a final image by blending the respective intermediate images. | 05-28-2009 |
20090124886 | Method For Developing Test For Neurosychiatric Disease - A method for generating classifiers for identifying neuropsychiatric disease includes acquiring functional neuroimaging data. The acquired functional neuroimaging data may be registered to an atlas of the brain. A discriminative mask is generated based on the registered functional neuroimaging data and the generated discriminative mask is applied to the registered functional neuroimaging data. One or more classifiers are generated for identifying neuropsychiatric disease based on the masked functional neuroimaging data. The accuracy of the generated classifiers may be verified. The generated classifiers may then be used to identify neuropsychiatric disease. | 05-14-2009 |
20090119243 | Multivariate Analysis of Wireless Sensor Network Data for Machine Condition Monitoring - Machine condition monitoring on a system utilizes a wireless sensor network to gather data from a large number of sensors. The data is processed using a multivariate statistical model to determine whether the system has deviated from a normal condition. The wireless sensor network permits the acquisition of a large number of distributed data points from plural system modalities, which, in turn, yields enhanced prediction accuracy and a reduction in false alarms. | 05-07-2009 |
20090116737 | Machine Learning For Tissue Labeling Segmentation - A method for directed machine learning includes receiving features including intensity data and location data of an image, condensing the intensity data and the location data into a feature vector, processing the feature vector by a plurality of classifiers, each classifier trained for a respective trained class among a plurality of classes, outputting, from each classifier, a probability of the feature vector belong to the respective trained class, and assigning the feature vector a label according to the probabilities of the classifiers, wherein the assignment produces a segmentation of the image. | 05-07-2009 |
20090106286 | Method of Hybrid Searching for Extensible Markup Language (XML) Documents - A method of generating a searchable database system for storing and querying Extensible Markup Language (XML) documents is disclosed. A Document Type Description (DTD) associated with one or more XML documents is analyzed to determine a scope of XML documents defined by the DTD. A first set of elements associated with the DTD is identified. The first set of elements is mapped to a relational database. A second set of elements associated with the DTD to be stored in an XML database is identified. A collection of classes is created such that each class defines an object schema. The classes are mapped to a set of corresponding tables, and foreign and primary keys associated with the corresponding tables are identified. | 04-23-2009 |
20090102842 | CLIPPING GEOMETRIES IN RAY-CASTING - A computer implemented method for creating a depth range buffer for supporting clipping geometries for ray-casting includes inputting image data, establishing a depth range buffer for specifying a start and an end point of each ray, computing a near depth of the image data corresponding to the start point of each ray, computing a far depth of the image data corresponding to the end point of each ray, clipping the volume by restricting ray-casting within the start and end points of the depth range buffer, and rendering a portion of the image data corresponding to the visible depth range. | 04-23-2009 |
20090097727 | 3D General Lesion Segmentation In CT - A general purpose method to segment any kind of lesions in 3D images is provided. Based on a click or a stroke inside the lesion from the user, a distribution of intensity level properties is learned. The random walker segmentation method combines multiple 2D segmentation results to produce the final 3D segmentation of the lesion. | 04-16-2009 |
20090096454 | Methods For Rectification of B0 Inhomogeneity effects in Magnetic Resonance Images - A method for reducing B0 inhomogeneous effects in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The method includes: obtaining a high-resolution volumetric MR image of the patient, such high-resolution volumetric MR image having B0 inhomogeneous effects; calculating distortion within obtained the high-resolution volumetric MR image of the patient; and correcting the B0 inhomogeneous effects in the obtained high-resolution volumetric image using the calculated distortion. | 04-16-2009 |
20090096448 | b-Value Optimization for Diffusion Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging - A method for selecting the b-values for diffusion weighted magnetic resonance scans. The method includes: identifying a single reference slice within a volume of interest (VOI); progressively changing b-values over a plurality of scans of the reference slice wherein each one of the scans has a different b-value to obtain a plurality of diffusion weighted images; calculating ADC maps for combinations of b-values from the obtained plurality of diffusion weighted images; evaluating the calculated ADC maps; selecting from the evaluation optimal b-values; and using the selected b-values for subsequent scans. | 04-16-2009 |
20090094617 | Container for Disparate Software Components - A computer readable medium embodying instructions executable by a processor to perform a method for hosting components implemented in different computer readable languages within one process. The method includes instantiating a container within a single process, creating a hosting environment for each of a plurality of components, and wherein loading the components by respective environments and wherein the hosting environments are objects instantiated within the container and within the one process, and wherein the plurality of components are implemented in respective a computer readable language, and instantiating a container communication framework object within the container and the one process for processing serialized messages of the components, wherein specific language adapters convert data types of the components to a common implementation, wherein the messages of the plurality of components are processed within the container. | 04-09-2009 |
20090094575 | System and Method For Applying Model-Based Testing To Train Control Systems - A method for model-based testing of an industrial system includes modeling functionality of an industrial system using a modeling computer language, enhancing the model by adding functionality or refining existing functionality, generating test suites from the system model, and executing the test suites. The modeling computer language is the Unified Modeling Language (UML), wherein modeling includes defining UML use case diagrams to describe relationships among use cases specified for the system and actors who interact with the system according to the use cases, defining UML activity diagrams to model process logic of each use case, wherein the activity diagrams comprise a sequence of activities and transitions, and defining UML class diagrams to specify data categories and attributes that are inputs to the activities of the activity diagrams, wherein data categories relevant for a use case are modeled as test variables in the activity diagram. | 04-09-2009 |
20090093717 | Automated Fetal Measurement From Three-Dimensional Ultrasound Data - A fetal parameter or anatomy is measured or detected from three-dimensional ultrasound data. An algorithm is machine-trained to detect fetal anatomy. Any machine training approach may be used. The machine-trained classifier is a joint classifier, such that one anatomy is detected using the ultrasound data and the detected location of another anatomy. The machine-trained classifier uses marginal space such that the location of anatomy is detected sequentially through translation, orientation and scale rather than detecting for all location parameters at once. The machine-trained classifier includes detectors for detecting from the ultrasound data at different resolutions, such as in a pyramid volume. | 04-09-2009 |
20090093707 | Method and System for Monitoring Cardiac Function of a Patient During a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Procedure - A method for monitoring cardiac function of a patient during a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure, including: acquiring an MR image sequence of the patient's heart during a cardiac phase; segmenting a left ventricle of the patient's heart in the MR image sequence, wherein the segmentation produces endocardial and epicardial contours; representing at least one of the contours in polar or radial coordinates and computing its Fourier transform, wherein the Fourier transform produces Fourier descriptors for the contour; putting a vector of the Fourier descriptors into a classifier, wherein the classifier determines whether the contour reflects normal wall motion in the cardiac phase or whether the contour reflects abnormal wall motion in the cardiac phase; and alerting a medical practitioner when abnormal wall motion is detected. | 04-09-2009 |
20090093706 | Automatic Alignment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Brain Scan By Anatomic Landmarks - A method to automatically align magnetic resonance (MR) brain scans for diagnostic scan planning, including: acquiring a three-dimensional (3D) localizer image of a patient; selecting a two-dimensional (2D) coronal view and a 2D transverse view from the localizer image; identifying a mid-sagittal plane (MSP) line in each of the coronal and transverse views and calculating a 3D MSP based on the MSP lines; reconstructing the localizer image based on an equation for the 3D MSP to obtain an image of the MSP of the patient's brain; identifying crista galli (CG) and tip of the occipital bone (TOB) in the image of the MSP of the patient's brain; calculating a transformation matrix based on the MSP, CG and TOB in the image and using the transformation matrix to obtain a scan plan for the patient; and outputting the scan plan for the patient. | 04-09-2009 |
20090093699 | METHOD FOR MONITORING MYOCARDIAL WALL THICKNESS - A method for monitoring left ventricular (LV) myocardial wall thickness. The method includes: obtaining real time images of a periodically spatially changing myocardium and segmenting the myocardium in such images; calculating wall thickness of the myocardium from each one of the obtained images; and performing a dynamic harmonic analysis of the calculated thickness to determine spatial changes in the thickness of the wall of the myocardium. The method applies the calculated wall thickness to a predictor to determine changes in the thickness of the wall of the myocardium. The method applies the calculated wall thickness to a predictor to determine the periodicity the myocardium. | 04-09-2009 |
20090092304 | Apparatus and method for remotely controlling in real time measurement parameters of a magnetic resonance (MR) scanner - Apparatus for remotely controlling parameters of an image scanning apparatus includes a software interface for translating commands from an external application for providing scanner control commands to a scanner control machine for control of the parameters; and the software interface includes syntax software for translating the commands from the external application into a given syntax for providing the scanner control commands. | 04-09-2009 |
20090092298 | METHOD FOR FUSING IMAGES ACQUIRED FROM A PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT IMAGE ACQUIRING MODALITIES - A method for fusing a plurality of images. The method includes: acquiring the plurality of images from a plurality of different modalities, each one of the images having a different reference space; and fusing the plurality of images into a common reference space, such common reference space being different from the reference space of each one of the plurality of acquired images. Thus, with such method, a unified process is provided for handling fusion across multiple clinical interventional and/or surgery (i.e., intra-operative) procedures. | 04-09-2009 |
20090091443 | Segment-Based Change Detection Method in Multivariate Data Stream - A method and framework are described for detecting changes in a multivariate data stream. A training set is formed by sampling time windows in a data stream containing data reflecting normal conditions. A histogram is created to summarize each window of data, and data within the histograms are clustered to form test distribution representatives to minimize the bulk of training data. Test data is then summarized using histograms representing time windows of data and data within the test histograms are clustered. The test histograms are compared to the training histograms using nearest neighbor techniques on the clustered data. Distances from the test histograms to the test distribution representatives are compared to a threshold to identify anomalies. | 04-09-2009 |
20090088830 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INTRAOPERATIVE GUIDANCE OF STENT PLACEMENT DURING ENDOVASCULAR INTERVENTIONS - A method for guiding stent deployment during an endovascular procedure includes providing a virtual stent model of a real stent that specifies a length, diameter, shape, and placement of the real stent. The method further includes projecting the virtual stent model onto a 2-dimensional (2D) DSA image of a target lesion, manipulating a stent deployment mechanism to navigate the stent to the target lesion while simultaneously acquiring real-time 2D fluoroscopic images of the stent navigation, and overlaying each fluoroscopic image on the 2D DSA image having the projected virtual stent model image, where the 2D fluoroscopic images are acquired from a C-arm mounted X-ray apparatus, and updating the projection of the virtual stent model onto the fluoroscopic images whenever a new fluoroscopic image is acquired or whenever the C-arm is moved, where the stent is aligned with the virtual stent model by aligning stent end markers with virtual end markers. | 04-02-2009 |
20090088640 | Automated View Classification With Echocardiographic Data For Gate Localization Or Other Purposes - A view represented by echocardiographic data is classified. A probabilistic boosting network is used to classify the view. The probabilistic boosting network may include multiple levels where each level has a multi-class local structure classifier and a plurality of local-structure detectors corresponding to the respective multiple classes. In each level, the local structure is classified as a particular view and then the local structure is detected to determine whether the currently selected local structure corresponds to the class. The view classification may be used to determine gate locations, such as a gate for spectral Doppler analysis. | 04-02-2009 |
20090088632 | Method for Dynamic Road Mapping - A method of determining a three-dimensional (3D) position of a catheter tip includes: compensating a 2D position of the tip of the catheter for respiratory motion to generate a compensated 2D catheter position, generating weighted sample points around the compensated 2D catheter position, determining correspondent points of the weighted sample points in a 3D image, computing a weighted mean and a weighted covariance of each correspondent point, and determining the 3D position of the catheter tip in the 3D image from a fusion of the weighted means and weighted covariances. | 04-02-2009 |
20090083015 | Particle System Architecture in a Multi-Body Physics Simulation - An architecture tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium, the architecture for creating a particle system to be used in a physical simulation, including: a plurality of particle generation modules, wherein a particle generation module generates particles in a particle system; a plurality of particle motion modules, wherein a particle motion module produces physical motion of particles in a particle system; a plurality of particle display modules, wherein a particle display module renders particles in a particle system; a plurality of target effect modules, wherein a target effect module modifies particles in a particle system to perform in a certain way when they collide with an object; and a plurality of particle data structures. | 03-26-2009 |
20090080779 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR REGISTRATION OF CONTRAST- ENHANCED IMAGES WITH VOLUME-PRESERVING CONSTRAINT - A method and system for registering a first image of, for example, a liver and a second image of the liver being contrast-enhanced comprises: deriving a statistical similarity measure between images; deriving a smooth divergence-free vector field derived from a gradient of the statistical similarity measure; and integrating the vector field for providing a fluid-based algorithm including a volume-preserving constraint for a transformation for registering the images. | 03-26-2009 |
20090080732 | System and Method for Performing Probabilistic Classification and Decision Support Using Multidimensional Medical Image Databases - A system and method for providing decision support to a physician during a medical examination is disclosed. Data is received from a sensor representing a particular medical measurement. The received data includes image data. The received data and context data is analyzed with respect to one or more sets of training models. Probability values for the particular medical measurement and other measurements to be taken are derived based on the analysis and based on identified classes. The received image data is compared with training images. Distance values are determined between the received image data and the training images, and the training images are associated with the identified classes. Absolute value feature sensitivity scores are derived for the particular medical measurement and other measurements to be taken based on the analysis. The probability values, distance values and absolute value feature sensitivity scores are outputted to the user. | 03-26-2009 |
20090079734 | Sketching Three-Dimensional(3D) Physical Simulations - A system for creating physical simulations using hand-sketched three-dimensional (3D) objects, including: a memory device for storing a program; a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to enable: 3D objects to be hand-sketched and assigned physical descriptions; and behavior of the physical descriptions to be simulated in a physics environment. | 03-26-2009 |
20090074280 | Automated Detection of Planes From Three-Dimensional Echocardiographic Data - A plane position for a standard view is detected from three-dimensional echocardiographic data. The position of the plane within the volume is defined by translation, orientation (rotation), and/or scale. Possible positions are detected and other possible positions are ruled out. The classification of the possible positions occurs sequentially by translation, then orientation, and then scale. The sequential process may limit calculations required to identify the plane position for a desired view. | 03-19-2009 |
20090067755 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GEODESIC IMAGE MATCHING USING EDGE POINTS INTERPOLATION - A method for deformable registration of 2 digital images includes providing a pair of digital images, including a fixed image and a moving image, extracting a set of edge images from each image of the pair of images, each edge set being extracted at a different resolution, selecting a pair of edge images with a lowest resolution, determining a mapping from edge points of the fixed image to edge points of moving image using a geodesic thin plate spline interpolation, applying the mapping to a next higher resolution edge point image of the moving image, selecting a pair of edge images at a next higher resolution, where a moving edge image is the moving edge image to which the mapping has been applied, repeating the steps at a next higher resolution for all edge images in the set of edge images, and applying the mapping to an entire moving image. | 03-12-2009 |
20090060333 | Interactive Image Segmentation On Directed Graphs - Methods for segmentation of an object from a background in an image are disclosed. Segmentation is achieved by an adapted Random Walker segmentation method using directed edges in a graph. The segmentation applies the minimization of an approximation of an energy function. A minimizer of the approximated energy function can be found by using iterative steps. Weights are assigned to an edge between two nodes. The weights are dependent on the direction of an edge. A system for segmentation of an object from a background is also disclosed. | 03-05-2009 |
20090052757 | DEFORMABLE 2D-3D REGISTRATION - A method for deformable registration including determining a vector field from a two-dimensional matching of a volume of an object of interest and a two-dimensional image of the object of interest, providing a deformation profile, and finding a volume deformation that maps to a state of the two-dimensional image, wherein the deformation is parameterized by the vector field and control points of the deformation profile to find a control point configuration of the volume deformation. | 02-26-2009 |
20090052756 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GLOBAL-TO-LOCAL SHAPE MATCHING FOR AUTOMATIC LIVER SEGMENTATION IN MEDICAL IMAGING - A method for automatically segmenting a liver in digital medical images includes providing a 3-dimensional (3D) digital image I and a set of N training shapes {φ | 02-26-2009 |
20090048482 | Image-based Path Planning for Automated Virtual Colonoscopy Navigation - A method for automatic virtual endoscopy navigation, including: (a) using a fisheye camera to generate an endoscopic image and a depth image from a current position of the camera in lumen computed tomographic (CT) data; (b) segmenting a first region and a second region from the depth image, wherein the first region identifies a view direction of the camera and the second region is an area through which the camera can be moved without touching an inner surface of the lumen; (c) moving the camera from the current position, while pointing the camera in the view direction, to a next position in the second region; and (d) repeating steps (a-c) in sequence using the next position in step (c) as the current position in step (a). | 02-19-2009 |
20090041328 | Feature Processing For Lung Nodules In Computer Assisted Diagnosis - Feature processing is provided for lung nodules in computer-assisted diagnosis. A feature that may better distinguish nodules from background is extracted using a Hough transform. Rather than relying on a specific boundary shape, the Hough transform accumulates evidence associated with a region, such as a ring region. The accumulated evidence provides a feature score without requiring a nodule to fit a specific shape. In another approach, a background level is determined from extracted features. Rather than attempting to normalize an image prior to extraction, the features are normalized. The feature normalization and generalized Hough transform extraction may be used together or alone. | 02-12-2009 |
20090034808 | Automatic Cardiac View Classification of Echocardiography - A method for view classification includes providing a frame of an object of interest, detecting a region of interest within the object of interest for each of a plurality of detectors (e.g., binary classifiers), wherein each binary classifier corresponds to a different view, performing a global view classification using a multiview classifier for each view, outputting a classification for each view, fusing outputs of the multiview classifiers, and determining and outputting a classification of the frame based on a fused output of the multiview classifiers. | 02-05-2009 |
20090024022 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LYMPH NODE IMAGING USING CO-REGISTRATION OF CT AND MR IMAGERY - A method for imaging lymph nodes includes acquiring first magnetic resonance (MR) image data pertaining to a subject prior to administration of lymphotropic nanoparticles. Second MR image data pertaining to the subject is acquired after administration of lymphotropic nanoparticles. The first and second MR image data are registered using non-rigid registration. | 01-22-2009 |
20090016587 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL VISUALIZATION OF TEMPORAL PHENOMENA AND THREE DIMENSIONAL VESSEL RECONSTRUCTION - A method for visualizing temporal phenomena and constructing 3D views from a series of medical images includes providing a first time series of digital images of contrast-enhanced blood flow in a patient, each acquired from a same viewing point with a known epipolar geometry, each said image comprising a plurality of intensities associated with an N-dimensional grid of points, calculating one or more time-density curves from said first time series of digital images, each curve indicative of how the intensity at corresponding points in successive images changes over time, and generating one or more overview images from said time density curves using a color coding technique, wherein said each overview image depict how a physical property value changes from said blood flow at selected corresponding points in said first time series of images. | 01-15-2009 |
20090010515 | Robust Reconstruction Method for Parallel Magnetic Resonance Images - Methods and systems for reconstruction of an image from parallel Magnetic Resonance Image (pMRI) data are disclosed. A reconstructed pMRI image may suffer from noise and aliasing. A method for reducing aliasing by applying a bounded error function is disclosed. A method for reducing noise in a reconstruction by applying an error term is also disclosed. Error terms are included in an expression that can be solved as a minimization problem. Creating a solution in an iterative way is also disclosed. Examples of specific solutions are provided. A system applying the methods is also provided. | 01-08-2009 |
20090003675 | Bleeding Detection Using a Blanket Ultrasound Device - A method for differentiating between a blood vessel bifurcation and a bleeding blood vessel in an ultrasound volume includes performing vessel segmentation on the ultrasound volume, calculating vessel centerlines for the segmented vessels, automatically detecting a bifurcation candidate using the calculated vessel centerlines, placing a first marker at a predetermined distance before the detected bifurcation candidate, placing a second marker at a predetermined distance after the bifurcation candidate, placing a third marker at a predetermined distance alone a potential vessel branch of the bifurcation candidate, acquiring spectral Doppler waveform data at each of the three markers, and comparing the acquired spectral Doppler waveform data for each of the three markers to determine whether the bifurcation candidate is a point of internal bleeding. | 01-01-2009 |
20080310716 | EDITING OF PRE-SEGMENTED IMAGES USING SEEDS DERIVED FROM CONTOURS - A method for processing an object in image data includes the steps of drawing a contour on a pre-segmentation of an object in image data, generating at least one seed point on the pre-segmentation from an intersection of the contour and the pre-segmentation, providing a weighting factor between the seed points and the pre-segmentation, and segmenting the pre-segmentation using the seed points and the weighting factor to generate a new pre-segmentation. | 12-18-2008 |
20080301156 | Method and System for Bi-Directionally Synchronizing Tracing Relationships Between A Requirements Repository and Textual Requirements Documents - A method for bi-directional synchronization of tracing relationships between a requirements repository and textual requirements documents, including: in a first operating mode: gathering trace information from a requirements repository; and formatting the trace information and inserting the trace information as text in textual requirements documents; and in a second operating mode: modifying the trace information in the textual requirements documents; and updating the requirements repository to match the modifications that were made in the textual requirements documents. | 12-04-2008 |
20080294401 | Active Shape Model for Vehicle Modeling and Re-Identification - A method for modeling a vehicle, includes: receiving an image that includes a vehicle; and constructing a three-dimensional (3D) model of the vehicle, wherein the 3D model is constructed by: (a) taking a predetermined set of base shapes that are extracted from a subset of vehicles; (b) multiplying each of the base shapes by a parameter; (c) adding the resultant of each multiplication to form a vector that represents the vehicle's shape; (d) fitting the vector to the vehicle in the image; and (e) repeating steps (a)-(d) by modifying the parameters until a difference between a fit vector and the vehicle in the image is minimized. | 11-27-2008 |
20080292164 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COREGISTRATION AND ANALYSIS OF NON-CONCURRENT DIFFUSE OPTICAL AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE BREAST IMAGES - A method for joint analysis of non-concurrent magnetic resonance (MR) and diffuse optical tomography (DOT) images of the breast includes providing a digitized MR breast image volume comprising a plurality of intensities corresponding to a 3-dimensional (3D) grid of voxels, providing a digitized DOT breast dataset comprising a plurality of physiological values corresponding to a finite set of points, segmenting the breast MR image volume to separate tumorous tissue from non-tumorous tissue, registering a DOT breast dataset and the MR image volume and fusing said registered DOT and MR datasets, wherein said fused dataset is adapted for analysis. | 11-27-2008 |
20080285831 | AUTOMATICALLY UPDATING A GEOMETRIC MODEL - A computer implemented method for automatically updating a geometric model of an object of interest includes determining, automatically, a region of the geometric model for updating according to a update parameter, acquiring data at the region, extracting features from the acquired data, updating the geometric model described by the extracted features, wherein updating the model includes calculating at least one acquisition parameter of a set of acquisition parameters, and displaying a scene showing the object of interest using the model. | 11-20-2008 |
20080285830 | Computer Aided Lesion Assessment in Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Breast MRI Images - A method for performing computer-assisted lesion assessment includes acquiring contrast enhanced MRI data. A region of interest is identified. Kinetic properties, morphological properties and pattern of enhancement are determined for the identified region of interest. A score is calculated for each of the kinetic properties, morphological properties, pattern of enhancement. A cumulative score is calculated for the identified region of interest. The scores are provided to a medical practitioner to assist in diagnosing the identified region of interest. | 11-20-2008 |
20080285829 | System and Method for Consistent Detection of Mid-Sagittal Planes for Magnetic Resonance Brain Scans - A method for finding consistent mid-sagittal planes (MSPs) in a pair of 3D image head scans of a same patient includes, for each image, selecting a 2D transverse localizer image from a middle slice along a transverse view of the 3D image, fitting an ellipse to the transverse localizer image to locate a head position (x, y), where the y-coordinate is indicative of a position of a 2D coronal localizer image in the 3D image, fitting an ellipse to the coronal localizer image to locate a head position (x, y) in the coronal localizer image, calculating a middle line in the transverse localizer image and a middle line in the coronal localizer image, calculating an MSP from the middle lines, and determining a new set of slope and intercept parameters for one MSP that maximizes a similarity measure between the one MSP and the other MSP. | 11-20-2008 |
20080284781 | FUSED VOLUME RENDERING - A rendering system having a customizable database of compositing rule tables that define how the input volumes are to be combined based on the their type, i.e. anatomical, functional, etc. The system also allows for the customization of the transfer function types associated with each type of input volume. Enabling this customization is a modularization of the rendering system such that the image formation process is shielded form the actual input volume configuration. This includes the building of a database of shaders that embody the compositing rules defined in a selected table matching the input volume configuration. This shader database in conjunction with a spatially subdivided/bricked representation of the input volumes allows the system to manage the overall complexity of the image formation process by locally selecting the cheapest/least complex shader. Thus allowing for more complex compositing rules with minimal impact on the rendering performance. | 11-20-2008 |
20080275467 | Intraoperative guidance for endovascular interventions via three-dimensional path planning, x-ray fluoroscopy, and image overlay - A method for planning a path for an endovascular intervention includes acquiring and displaying 3D angiographic images; selecting a target on the displayed images; extracting a skeleton of a vascular tree from the displayed images; extracting a symbolic vessel path to the target based on the skeleton of the vascular tree; and overlaying and displaying the symbolic vessel path on 2D fluoroscopic images for guiding the endovascular intervention. | 11-06-2008 |
20080275351 | Model-based pulse wave velocity measurement method - A method for measuring pulse wave velocity through an artery. The method includes: obtaining an image of the artery; generating from the image a model of the artery; selecting two reference points along the artery, such two reference points being separated a predetermined distance, D; observing a change in the model at a first one of the two reference points and a corresponding change in the model at a second one of the two reference points along with a time difference T between the observed changes; and estimating the pulse wave velocity, PWV, in accordance with PWV=D/T. | 11-06-2008 |
20080273752 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE DETECTION AND TRACKING - A method for vehicle detection and tracking includes acquiring video data including a plurality of frames, comparing a first frame of the acquired video data against a set of one or more vehicle detectors to form vehicle hypotheses, pruning and verifying the vehicle hypotheses using a set of course-to-fine constraints to detect a vehicle, and tracking the detected vehicle within one or more subsequent frames of the acquired video data by fusing shape template matching with one or more vehicle detectors. | 11-06-2008 |
20080270095 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTERACTIVE 4-DIMENSIONAL (4D) VIRTUAL ENDOSCOPY - A method of performing 4-dimensional virtual endoscopy includes acquiring a sequence of cardiac images of a patient's heart from an imaging device; acquiring an electrocardiographic signal exhibiting cardiac cycles of the heart; and utilizing the electrocardiographic signal to gate the images for deriving respective 3-dimensional views in succession at corresponding cardiac cycles, from respective cardiac images at a selected phase point common to each of the corresponding cardiac cycles. | 10-30-2008 |
20080267474 | Layer Reconstruction From Dual-Energy Image Pairs - A system and method for layer reconstruction from dual-energy image pairs are provided, the method including: receiving a pair of dual-energy images, one having a relatively high energy dose and the other having a relatively low energy dose; ascertaining that a first relatively motionless layer is substantially aligned between the high and low dose images; computing a preliminary image of a second layer that has non-rigid motion relative to the first layer; detecting the relative motion of the second layer relative to the first layer; generating a mask in accordance with the detected motion; filling the motion area corresponding to the mask with gradients of the high-dose image; removing the first layer; and inpainting the motion area. | 10-30-2008 |
20080267471 | AUTOMATIC PARTITIONING AND RECOGNITION OF HUMAN BODY REGIONS FROM AN ARBITRARY SCAN COVERAGE IMAGE - A recognition pipeline automatically partitions a 3D image of the human body into regions of interest (head, rib cage, pelvis, and legs) and correctly labels each region. The 3D image is projected onto a 2D image using volume rendering. The 3D image may contain the whole body region or any subset. In a learning phase, training datasets are manually partitioned and labeled, and a training database is computed. In a recognition phase, images are partitioned and labeled based on the knowledge from the training database. The recognition phase is computationally efficient and may operate under 2 seconds in current conventional computer systems. The recognition is robust to image variations, and does not require the user to provide any knowledge about the contained regions of interest within the image. | 10-30-2008 |
20080260261 | METHOD FOR DETECTING OBJECTS USING FLEXIBLE EDGE ARRANGEMENTS - A method wherein images of different types of objects within a class are partitioned into region stacks. For each one of the stacks, the method: (a) applies a template to extract fragments having a predetermined size and one of a plurality of different spatial orientations, to generate extracted templates; (b) determines, from the extracted templates, a most frequent one thereof having only a first number of fragments with a common spatial orientations; (c) records the number of images having the determined most frequent extracted template; (d) repeats (b) and (c) with successively increasing number of fragments until the number of recoded images falls below a threshold; and (e) selects as a master extracted template the one of the most frequent templates having the largest recorded number of fragments. The master extracted templates for the stacks are combined into a map that is then compared with background images to remove extracted templates matching segment in the background. | 10-23-2008 |
20080260247 | INTERACTIVE IMAGE SEGMENTATION BY PRECOMPUTATION - A method for interactive image segmentation includes receiving an image to be segmented, performing an offline computation of eigenvectors of a Laplacian of the image without using seed points, receiving seed points, and performing an online segmentation taking the seed points and the eigenvectors of the Laplacian as input and outputting a partition of the image. | 10-23-2008 |
20080260221 | System and Method for Lesion Segmentation in Whole Body Magnetic Resonance Images - A method for lesion segmentation in 3-dimensional (3D) digital images, includes selecting a 2D region of interest (ROI) from a 3D image, the ROI containing a suspected lesion, extending borders of the ROI to 3D forming a volume of interest (VOI), where voxels on the borders of the VOI are initialized as background voxels and voxels in an interior of the VOI are initialized as foreground voxels, propagating a foreground and background voxel competition where for each voxel in the VOI, having each neighbor voxel in a neighborhood of the voxel attack the voxel, and, if the attack is successful, updating a label and strength of the voxel with that of the successful attacking voxel, and evolving a surface between the foreground and background voxels in 3D until an energy functional associated with the surface converges in value, where the surface segments the suspected lesion from the image. | 10-23-2008 |
20080255682 | Online Fault Detection and Avoidance Framework for Distributed Factory Control Systems - An on-line fault detection and avoidance method is provided for industrial control systems that include multiple interacting process controllers. The method addresses the problem that not all faults can be determined and removed at the time of system design and testing. When a fault translates into a time-out condition in one or more controllers, symptoms are identified, persistence is measured, other involved controllers are identified, the fault condition is identified and control laws are reconfigured to avoid the fault condition in the future. | 10-16-2008 |
20080249755 | Modeling Cerebral Aneurysms in Medical Images - Methods and systems for modeling cerebral aneurysm and their incoming and outgoing vessels from 3D image data are disclosed. Aneurysms and vessels are segmented from their background using a graph-cuts method. Begin and end of vessels are determined. Construction of a centerline of the incoming and outgoing vessels using a measure of vesselness in calculating a minimum cost path in a graph with nodes being representation of pixels is also disclosed. Vessel surface models are constructed from sub-voxel cross-sectional segmentation. The interpolation of vessels inside an aneurysm based on smooth continuity is disclosed. Selection of endo-vascular stents based on interpolation results is also provided. | 10-09-2008 |
20080247668 | METHOD FOR RECONSTRUCTING THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGES FROM TWO-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE DATA - A method for reconstructing three-dimensional, plural views of images from two dimensional image data. The method includes: obtaining two-dimensional, stereo digital data from images of an object; processing the digital data to generate an initial three-dimensional candidate of the object, such process using projective geometric constraints imposed on edge points of the object; refining the initial candidate comprising examining spatial coherency of neighboring edge points along a surface of the candidate. | 10-09-2008 |
20080247646 | METHOD FOR SEGMENTING AN IMAGE USING CONSTRAINED GRAPH PARTITIONING OF WATERSHED ADJACENCY GRAPHS - A method for segmenting at least a pair of regions of an image, such method comprising: obtaining data of the image; computing watersheds of the image from intensity gradients of such image data; extracting a watershed region adjacency graph from the computed watersheds, such graph comprising a plurality of nodes corresponding to the watersheds and node interconnecting edges; assigning weights to the interconnecting edges; identifying each of the pair of regions in the image; identifying the nodes corresponding to the pair of identified regions in the adjacency graph; applying constrained graph-partitioning in the adjacency graph using the edge-weights to label unmarked nodes corresponding to each one of the pair of regions; and extrapolating the obtained label nodes on the graph to the image to segment each one of the pair of regions of the image. | 10-09-2008 |
20080240564 | Fast 4D Segmentation of Large Datasets Using Graph Cuts - A method for segmenting at least a pair of regions of an image. High resolution data is obtained of the image. Each one of the pair of the regions in the image is marked. Graph cuts are used on the downsampled data to obtain first voxels along an outer boundary of a selected one of the pair of marked regions and second voxels along an inner boundary the selected region. The graphs cuts are projected to the previously obtained high-resolution image data. First and second sets of seeds are placed on the first voxels and a second set of seeds respectively. The first seeds grow into first areas extending inwardly of the selected region while simultaneously the second seeds grow into second areas extending towards the first extending areas until the first areas and the second areas meet to thereby establish the outer boundary of the selected region. | 10-02-2008 |
20080226169 | ACCELERATED IMAGE VOLUME SEGMENTATION USING MINIMAL SURFACES GIVEN A BOUNDARY - A method for image volume segmentation includes receiving an input image, obtaining an oriented closed contour on one or more slices of the input image, determining a minimum-weight surface from the oriented closed contour using a minimum-cost circulation network flow, and outputting the minimum-weight surface as a segmentation of the input image. | 09-18-2008 |
20080219570 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR REMOTELY VISUALIZING IMAGES - A method for remotely visualizing an image on a client includes the steps of rendering a 2D image from image data on a server, applying a 2D wavelet transform to the 2D image on the server to generate a plurality of sub-bands, identifying code blocks of the sub-bands that correspond to a region of interest in the 2D image on the server, compressing a number of bit planes of each code block using one of a plurality of coding techniques on the server based on the number of bit planes to generate compressed codes, sending the compressed codes from the server to the client, and visualizing a new 2D image on the client using the received compressed codes. | 09-11-2008 |
20080219536 | REGISTRATION OF CT VOLUMES WITH FLUOROSCOPIC IMAGES - A method for registering images of multiple modalities includes acquiring first image of a subject using a first modality. A second image of the subject is acquired using a second modality. The first image includes greater structural detail of the subject than the second image and the second image is a video image including multiple image frames. The first and second images are registered based on an anatomical structure observable in the first image and a foreign object proximate to the anatomical structure observable in the second image. | 09-11-2008 |
20080219498 | VISUAL DISCRIMINATION MODEL FOR SINGLE IMAGE APPLICATIONS - A computer implemented method for applying a visual discrimination model for single image applications includes receiving an image, defining a plurality of regions of interest in the image including a first region located to contain a feature or object to be detected and a second region located to encompass a background, determining metrics for visibility of the feature or object, wherein the metrics are determined by generating channel Just-Noticeable Difference (JND) maps for the single image determining JND summary metrics for the plurality of regions, and determining a difference in JND metrics between the plurality of regions, and adjusting parameters of the JND metrics to increase a visibility of the feature or object in the image. | 09-11-2008 |
20080208536 | System and Method for Automating the Analysis of Computer System Load Testing - A method for analyzing load run test results of a computer system includes providing a plurality of performance measure sets derived from a first series of load run tests performed over a same time period, each the set comprising a plurality of records, each record having a timestamp and a value, sorting performance measure records by value in ascending order, for each performance measure set, identifying plateau regions in the sorted performance measure sets, for each performance measure, sorting performance measure records within each plateau region by time stamp in ascending order, for each performance measure, identifying overlapping time intervals covered by the plateau regions for the plurality of performance measure sets, and computing averages of performance measures over the overlapping time intervals. | 08-28-2008 |
20080205720 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EFFICIENT REAL-TIME TECHNIQUE FOR POINT LOCALIZATION IN AND OUT OF A TETRAHEDRAL MESH - A method for determining whether a point is contained in a sub-volume of a digitized medical image, includes providing a tetrahedron volume mesh (TVM) representing a sub-volume of a digital image volume and a point M, finding a vertex P of said TVM that is closest to point M, finding a tetrahedron T | 08-28-2008 |
20080198161 | TISSUE STIFFNESS ASSIGNMENT - A method for assigning stiffness values to voxels of an inputted discretized image includes assigning stiffness values according to intensity values of voxels of the image, wherein the inputted discretized image comprises the intensity values and refining the stiffness values assigned to voxels using a segmentation. | 08-21-2008 |