Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080317318 | Method for visualizing a three-dimensional image data record from an x-ray CT examination and workstation for carrying out the method - A method and a workstation are disclosed for visualizing a three-dimensional image data record having a multiplicity of voxels of a heart of a patient, recorded with the aid of an x-ray CT examination carried out with contrast agent present in the bloodstream. In at least one embodiment, the method includes saving the CT image data record including a multiplicity of voxels defined by absorption values, determining the voxels associated with the chamber of the heart by segmenting the chambers of the heart filled with blood containing the contrast agent, removing the image information from the voxels associated with the chambers of the heart, calculating a two-dimensional virtual projection from the remaining CT image data record, and displaying the virtual two-dimensional projection. | 12-25-2008 |
20090028287 | Methods, apparatuses and computer readable mediums for generating images based on multi-energy computed tomography data - Methods, apparatuses and computer readable mediums for generating a volume visualization image based on multi-energy computed tomography data are provided. In one method, an image is rendered based on a multi-dimensional graphical representation of the computed tomography data. The computed tomography data includes at least two different energy image data sets and the multi-dimensional graphical representation represents intensity values of each of the at least two different energy image data sets. | 01-29-2009 |
20090244060 | Method and apparatus for visualizing an image data record of an organ enclosing a cavity, in particular a CT image data record of a colon - A visualization of an image data record of an organ enclosing a cavity, in particular a CT image data record of a colon, that is reliable and has a low level of computational complexity, is performed according to a method. In at least one embodiment of the method a virtual viewer position outside the organ tissue is defined; an interface between the organ tissue and the cavity is defined with the aid of the image data record; from the middle of the cavity local gradients, that specify the rise in the absorption behavior between a gas contained in the cavity and the organ tissue, are determined; starting from the viewer position, a search beam is defined and an angle between the search beam and the gradients is determined; and a transparency value is allocated to the organ tissue as a function of the angle during visualization. | 10-01-2009 |
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 |
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 |
20100240996 | VALVE ASSESSMENT FROM MEDICAL DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING DATA - Heart valve operation is assessed with patient-specific medical diagnostic imaging data. To deal with the complex motion of the passive valve tissue, a hierarchal model is used. Rigid global motion of the overall valve, non-rigid local motion of landmarks of the valve, and surface motion of the valve are modeled sequentially. For the non-rigid local motion, a spectral trajectory approach is used in the model to determine location and motion of the landmarks more efficiently than detection and tracking. Given efficiencies in processing, more than one valve may be modeled at a same time. A graphic overlay representing the valve in four dimensions and/or quantities may be provided during an imaging session. One or more of these features may be used in combination or independently. | 09-23-2010 |
20100260400 | METHOD AND DATA-PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING THE PROPORTION OF CALCIUM IN CORONARY ARTERIES - A method and a data-processing system are disclosed for determining the proportion of calcium in coronary arteries using image data from CT angiography. In at least one embodiment of the method, anatomical landmarks are detected in the image data in the region of the heart and coronary arteries are segmented taking into account the detected landmarks. Regions with an increased HU value compared to a contrast agent surroundings are segmented in the segmented coronary arteries. A proportion of calcium respectively is calculated from the segmented regions for one or more of the segmented coronary arteries. At least the last two steps are carried out fully automatically by a data-processing system. Weighting factors for the individual regions are used when calculating the proportion of calcium, which weighting factors depend on both the threshold for segmenting the respective region and the volume of said region. The method and the data-processing system of at least one embodiment allow the dose exposure of the patient to be reduced and reduce the time expenditure of the user for determining the proportion of calcium. | 10-14-2010 |
20110103667 | METHOD FOR HIGHLIGHTING LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS IN ANATOMICAL VOLUME RENDERINGS OF VESSEL STRUCTURES AND COMPUTER SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT THIS METHOD - A method is disclosed for highlighting local characteristics in anatomical volume renderings of vessel structures and a computer system is disclosed for carrying out this method. In at least one embodiment of the method, the method includes determining or receiving a volume of interest; generating or receiving at least one first tomographic volume data record in the volume of interest, having a rendered display of a vessel structure; generating or receiving at least one second volume data record, which is used as a mask for the first volume data record and has at least one characteristic vector with a minimum data width of 2 bit for each voxel; accepting at least one characteristic definition for at least one predefined position or predefined region of the mask or the first volume data record, which is at the same position, and encoding the at least one characteristic definition in at least one characteristic vector of the mask; and combined rendering of the first volume data record and the mask, wherein the mask translucently marks a defined surrounding area of the predefined position as a function of the characteristic vectors present there. | 05-05-2011 |
20110224542 | Method and System for Automatic Detection and Classification of Coronary Stenoses in Cardiac CT Volumes - A method and system for providing detecting and classifying coronary stenoses in 3D CT image data is disclosed. Centerlines of coronary vessels are extracted from the CT image data. Non-vessel regions are detected and removed from the coronary vessel centerlines. The cross-section area of the lumen is estimated based on the coronary vessel centerlines using a trained regression function. Stenosis candidates are detected in the coronary vessels based on the estimated lumen cross-section area, and the significant stenosis candidates are automatically classified as calcified, non-calcified, or mixed. | 09-15-2011 |
20120026169 | METHOD FOR VISUALIZING AN ATRIUM OF THE HEART IN A PATIENT - A method is disclosed for visualizing at least one section of the wall of an atrium of the heart in a patient after an ablation for treating atrial fibrillation, in which, based on a volume data record of the heart in the patient obtained after the ablation, at least the treated atrium of the heart in the patient is segmented, wherein those voxels are established that can be considered part of the inner surface, the outer surface, and the volume situated between the inner and outer surfaces of the wall of the treated atrium. Further, in at least one embodiment of the method, there is volume rendering or ray casting such that only the voxel values of those voxels that lie on the inner surface, in the volume, or on the outer surface of the wall of the treated atrium are used for visualizing at least the section of the wall of the treated atrium of the heart. At least one embodiment of the invention moreover relates to a computational program that executes the method, a computational unit that carries out the computational program, and/or a data medium with the computational program. | 02-02-2012 |
20120071755 | Method and System for Automatic Native and Bypass Coronary Ostia Detection in Cardiac Computed Tomography Volumes - A method and system for detection of native and bypass coronary ostia in a 3D volume, such as a CT volume, is disclosed. Native coronary ostia are detected by detecting a bounding box defining locations of a left native coronary ostium and a right native coronary ostium in the 3D volume using marginal space learning (MSL), and locally refining the locations of the left native coronary ostium and the right native coronary ostium using a trained native coronary ostium detector. Bypass coronary ostia are detected by segmenting an ascending aorta surface mesh in the 3D volume, generating a search region of a plurality of mesh points on the ascending aorta surface mesh based on a distribution of annotated bypass coronary ostia in a plurality of training volumes, and detecting the bypass coronary ostia by searching the plurality of mesh points in the search region. | 03-22-2012 |
20120121151 | Device And Computed Tomography Scanner For Determining And Visualizing The Perfusion Of The Myocardial Muscle - A device is disclosed for determining and visualizing the perfusion of the myocardial muscle with the aid of static CCTA images. In at least one embodiment, the device includes a segmentation unit for segmenting the coronary blood vessels and the left myocardial muscle from a CCTA image of the heart; a first simulation unit for simulating the blood flow through the coronary blood vessels; and a second simulation unit by which the local perfusion of the myocardial muscle is determined on the basis of the ascertained blood flow into different regions of the myocardial muscle. The perfusion of the different regions of the myocardial muscle is visualized in a schematized image on a visualization unit. By virtue of the proposed device it is possible to dispense with further imaging examinations after the performance of a CCTA scan, thereby relieving the pressure both on the part of the physician and on the part of the patient. | 05-17-2012 |
20120134564 | Method and System for Heart Isolation in Cardiac Computed Tomography Volumes for Patients with Coronary Artery Bypasses - A method and system for isolating the heart in a 3D volume, such as a cardiac CT volume, for patients with coronary artery bypasses is disclosed. An initial heart isolation mask is extracted from a 3D volume, such as a cardiac CT volume. The aortic root and ascending aorta are segmented in the 3D volume, resulting in an aorta mesh. The aorta mesh is expanded to include bypass coronary arteries. An expanded heart isolation mask is generated by combining the initial heart isolation mask with an expanded aorta mask defined by the expanded aorta mesh. | 05-31-2012 |
20120323545 | DEVICE FOR PLANNING A TRANSCATHETER AORTIC VALVE IMPLANTATION - A device for planning a transcatheter aortic valve implantation is disclosed. The device includes a segmentation module for segmenting the aorta ascendens with the aorta annulus, the aortic valves and the coronary ostia as well as the left ventricle; a determination module, which determines on the basis of the segmented data the aorta annulus plane and from this one or more angiography projections for setting an angiography device, with which the aorta annulus and the coronary ostia are able to be detected in the optimum manner for positioning the transcatheter heart valve; and an output module that outputs this information. The proposed device supports the user in the planning of a transcatheter aortic valve implantation. | 12-20-2012 |
20130034280 | MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM AND OPERATING A METHOD THEREFOR WITH REDUCED TIME REQUIRED FOR ACQUISITION OF PROJECTION IMAGES - In a method to control a medical technology system with a projection image acquisition apparatus, planning images that were previously selected in a planning step and generated from previously generated volume data are used, and orientation data are associated with the planning images. For this purpose, an output of the planning images at a display device initially takes place. A selection signal to select a planning image is then registered, and acquisition parameters are determined using the orientation data of the selected planning image. The medical technology system is controlled based on the acquisition parameters to acquire a current projection image and the current projection image is displayed. | 02-07-2013 |
20130083983 | Method and System for Segmentation and Removal of Pulmonary Arteries, Veins, Left Atrial Appendage - A method and system for segmentation and removal of pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and a left atrial appendage from 3D medical image data, such as 3D computed tomography (CT) volumes, is disclosed. A global shape model is segmented for each of pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and a left atrial appendage in a 3D volume. The segmented global shape model for each of the pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and left atrial appendage is locally refined based in local voxel intensities in the 3D volume, resulting in a respective mask for each structure. The mask is used to remove voxels belonging to the pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins, and left atrial appendage from the 3D volume in order to better visualize coronary arteries and bypass arteries. | 04-04-2013 |
20130129173 | Method and System for Intervention Planning for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation from 3D Computed Tomography Data - A method and system for automated intervention planning for transcatheter aortic valve implantations using computed tomography (CT) data is disclosed. A patient-specific aortic valve model is detected in a CT volume of a patient. The patient-specific aortic valve model is detected by detecting a global location of the patient-specific aortic valve model in the CT volume, detecting aortic valve landmarks based on the detected global location, and fitting an aortic root surface model. Angulation parameters of a C-arm imaging device for acquiring intra-operative fluoroscopic images and anatomical measurements of the aortic valve are automatically determined based on the patient-specific aortic valve model. | 05-23-2013 |
20130155064 | Method and System for Aortic Valve Calcification Evaluation - A method and system for automatic aortic valve calcification evaluation is disclosed. A patient-specific aortic valve model in a 3D medical image volume, such as a 3D computed tomography (CT) volume. Calcifications in a region of the 3D medical image volume defined based on the aortic valve model. A 2D calcification plot is generated that shows locations of the segmented calcifications relative to aortic valve leaflets of the patient-specific aortic valve model. The 2D calcification plot can be used for assessing the suitability of a patient for a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVI) procedure, as well as risk assessment, positioning of an aortic valve implant, and selection of a type of aortic valve implant. | 06-20-2013 |
20130216110 | Method and System for Coronary Artery Centerline Extraction - A method and system for extracting coronary artery centerlines from 3D medical image volumes is disclosed. Heart chambers are segmented in a 3D volume. Coronary artery centerlines are initialized in the 3D volume coronary artery based on the segmented heart chambers. The coronary artery centerlines are locally refined based on a vesselness measure. A length of each coronary artery centerline is shrunk to verify that the coronary artery centerline is within a coronary artery. The coronary artery centerline is the extended using data-driven vessel tracing. | 08-22-2013 |
20130246034 | Method and System for Non-Invasive Functional Assessment of Coronary Artery Stenosis - A method and system for non-invasive assessment of coronary artery stenosis is disclosed. Patient-specific anatomical measurements of the coronary arteries are extracted from medical image data of a patient acquired during rest state. Patient-specific rest state boundary conditions of a model of coronary circulation representing the coronary arteries are calculated based on the patient-specific anatomical measurements and non-invasive clinical measurements of the patient at rest. Patient-specific rest state boundary conditions of the model of coronary circulation representing the coronary arteries are calculated based on the patient-specific anatomical measurements and non-invasive clinical measurements of the patient at rest. Hyperemic blood flow and pressure across at least one stenosis region of the coronary arteries are simulated using the model of coronary circulation and the patient-specific hyperemic boundary conditions. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is calculated for the at least one stenosis region based on the simulated hyperemic blood flow and pressure. | 09-19-2013 |
20140058715 | Method and System for Non-Invasive Functional Assessment of Coronary Artery Stenosis - A method and system for non-invasive assessment of coronary artery stenosis is disclosed. Patient-specific anatomical measurements of the coronary arteries are extracted from medical image data of a patient acquired during rest state. Patient-specific rest state boundary conditions of a model of coronary circulation representing the coronary arteries are calculated based on the patient-specific anatomical measurements and non-invasive clinical measurements of the patient at rest. Patient-specific rest state boundary conditions of the model of coronary circulation representing the coronary arteries are calculated based on the patient-specific anatomical measurements and non-invasive clinical measurements of the patient at rest. Hyperemic blood flow and pressure across at least one stenosis region of the coronary arteries are simulated using the model of coronary circulation and the patient-specific hyperemic boundary conditions. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is calculated for the at least one stenosis region based on the simulated hyperemic blood flow and pressure. | 02-27-2014 |
20140294137 | DEVICE AND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY SCANNER FOR DETERMINING AND VISUALIZING THE PERFUSION OF THE MYOCARDIAL MUSCLE - A device is disclosed for determining and visualizing the perfusion of the myocardial muscle with the aid of static CCTA images. In at least one embodiment, the device includes a segmentation unit for segmenting the coronary blood vessels and the left myocardial muscle from a CCTA image of the heart; a first simulation unit for simulating the blood flow through the coronary blood vessels; and a second simulation unit by which the local perfusion of the myocardial muscle is determined on the basis of the ascertained blood flow into different regions of the myocardial muscle. The perfusion of the different regions of the myocardial muscle is visualized in a schematized image on a visualization unit. By virtue of the proposed device it is possible to dispense with further imaging examinations after the performance of a CCTA scan, thereby relieving the pressure both on the part of the physician and on the part of the patient. | 10-02-2014 |