Patent
Detection of immobilized contrast agent in medical imaging applications based on flow dynamics analysis
| العنوان: | Detection of immobilized contrast agent in medical imaging applications based on flow dynamics analysis |
|---|---|
| Patent Number: | 9,198,639 |
| تاريخ النشر: | December 01, 2015 |
| Appl. No: | 12/084933 |
| Application Filed: | November 09, 2006 |
| مستخلص: | A system for facilitating the detection of an immobilized contrast agent in medical imaging applications is proposed. The system includes means for providing a sequence of a total number of input images obtained at corresponding acquisition instants by imaging a body-part of a patient subjected to an administration of a contrast agent capable of circulating within the patient and of being substantially immobilized on a biological target, each input image including a plurality of input values each one indicative of a response to an interrogation signal of a corresponding portion of the body-part possibly including said contrast agent, and means for reducing a contribution of the circulating contrast agent within the body-part in at least one selected input image; the means for reducing includes means for creating a filtered image corresponding to each selected input image by replacing a set of input values of the selected input image with a set of corresponding filtered values, each filtered value being representative of the lowest response of the corresponding portion of the body-part in a set of multiple input images including the selected input image, the set of multiple input images consisting of a number of input images lower than the total number. |
| Inventors: | Frinking, Peter (Geneva, CH); Arditi, Marcel (Geneva, CH); Rognin, Nicolas (Geneva, CH); Yan, Feng (Geneva, CH) |
| Assignees: | BRACCO SUISSE S.A. (Manno, CH) |
| Claim: | 1. A system for facilitating detection of an immobilized contrast agent in medical imaging applications, the system including: a receiving component configured to receive a sequence of a total number of input images obtained at corresponding acquisition instants by imaging a body-part of a patient subjected to an administration of a contrast agent capable of circulating within the patient and of being substantially immobilized on a biological target, each input image including a plurality of input values each one indicative of a response to an interrogation signal of a corresponding portion of the body-part possibly including said contrast agent, a reducing component configured to reduce a contribution of the circulating contrast agent within the body-part in at least one selected input image, wherein the reducing component includes a filtering component configured to create a filtered image for each selected input image, the filtered image being created from a set of multiple input images consisting of a number of input images lower than the total number, the set of multiple input images including the selected input image and at least one other input image the acquisition instant of which is at a predefined time distance from the acquisition instant of the selected input image by replacing a set of input values of the selected input image with a set of corresponding filtered values, each filtered value being representative of a lowest response of the corresponding portion of the body-part in the set of multiple input images; and a display component operable for displaying each filtered image for use in analyzing the body-part. |
| Claim: | 2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each input value increases with the response to the interrogation signal of the corresponding portion of the body-part, each filtered value consisting of a minimum among the corresponding input values in the set of multiple input images. |
| Claim: | 3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the set of multiple input images consists of the selected input image and at least one preceding input image in the sequence. |
| Claim: | 4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one preceding input image consists of a plurality of preceding input images. |
| Claim: | 5. The system according to claim 3 , further including: a selecting component configured to select the number of preceding input images as a function of an estimated flow rate of the contrast agent in the body-part. |
| Claim: | 6. The system according to claim 1 , further including a sub-sampling component configured for temporally sub-sampling the preceding input images. |
| Claim: | 7. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the body-part includes a tissue, the receiving component including: a further reducing component configured to reduce a contribution of the tissue in the input images. |
| Claim: | 8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the filtering component includes: a selecting component configured to select a background image in the sequence of input images, and a subtracting component configured to subtract the background image from the set of multiple input images. |
| Claim: | 9. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the filtering component includes: a spatially-sub-sampling component configured for spatially sub-sampling the set of multiple input images according to an estimated resolution thereof. |
| Claim: | 10. The system according to claim 1 , further including a selecting component configured to select a reference image in the sequence of input images and for compensating a motion of each input image with respect to the reference image. |
| Claim: | 11. The system according to claim 1 , further including a linearizing component configured to linearize the set of multiple input images to make each input value thereof substantially proportional to a concentration of the contrast agent in the corresponding portion of the body-part. |
| Claim: | 12. The system according to claim 1 wherein the display component is further configured to display each filtered image substantially in real-time with the acquisition instant of the corresponding selected input image. |
| Claim: | 13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the filtering component includes: a resetting component configured to reset each filtered value in the filtered image not reaching a threshold value, and a overlaying component configured to overlay the filtered image on the corresponding selected input image. |
| Claim: | 14. A method for improving the performance of a data processing system by facilitating detection of an immobilized contrast agent in medical imaging applications, the method including the steps of: providing a sequence of a total number of input images obtained at corresponding acquisition instants by imaging a body-part of a patient subjected to an administration of a contrast agent capable of circulating within the patient and of being substantially immobilized on a biological target, each input image including a plurality of input values each one indicative of a response to an interrogation signal of a corresponding portion of the body-part possibly including said contrast agent, reducing a contribution of the circulating contrast agent within the body-part in at least one selected input image, wherein for each selected input image the step of reducing includes creating a corresponding filtered image by replacing a set of input values of the selected input image with a set of corresponding filtered values, the filtered image being created from a set of multiple input images consisting of a number of input images lower than the total number, the set of multiple input images including the selected input image and at least one other input image the acquisition instant of which is at a predefined time distance from the acquisition instant of the selected input image, each filtered value being representative of the lowest response of the corresponding portion of the body-part in the set of multiple input images, and displaying each filtered image for use in analyzing the body-part. |
| Claim: | 15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising a computer program for performing the method of claim 14 when the computer program is executed on a computer. |
| Claim: | 16. A computer program product including a non-transitory tangible computer-usable medium embodying a computer program, the computer program when executed on a data processing system causing the system to perform a method for facilitating the detection of an immobilized contrast agent in medical imaging applications, wherein the method includes the steps of: providing a sequence of a total number of input images obtained at corresponding acquisition instants by imaging a body-part of a patient subjected to an administration of a contrast agent capable of circulating within the patient and of being substantially immobilized on a biological target, each input image including a plurality of input values each one indicative of a response to an interrogation signal of a corresponding portion of the body-part possibly including said contrast agent, reducing a contribution of the circulating contrast agent within the bodypart in at least one selected input image, wherein for each selected input image the step of reducing includes: creating a corresponding filtered image by replacing a set of input values of the selected input image with a set of corresponding filtered values, the filtered image being created from a set of multiple input images consisting of a number of input images lower than the total number, the set of multiple input images including the selected input image and at least one other input image the acquisition instant of which is at a predefined time distance from the acquisition instant of the selected input image, each filtered value being representative of the lowest response of the corresponding portion of the body-part in the set of multiple input images, and displaying each filtered image for use in analyzing the body-part. |
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| Other References: | PCT International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/EP2006/068305, European Patent Office, Feb. 16, 2007. cited by applicant Lindner, “Targeted Ultrasound Contrast Agents: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Potential”, 2001 IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium, Oct. 7-10, 2001, pp. 1695-1703, vol. 2 of 2, New York, NY. cited by applicant Weller et al., “Ultrasound Imaging of Acute Cardiac Transplant Rejection with Microbubbles Targeted to Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1”, Circulation, Jun. 30, 2003, pp. 218-224, vol. 108. cited by applicant Lanza et al., “Targeted Ultrasonic Contrast Agents for Molecular Imaging and Therapy”, Progress in Cardiovacular Diseases, Jul. 1, 2008, pp. 13-31, vol. 44, No. 1, Saunders, Philadelphia, PA. cited by applicant Marsh et al., “Time-Evolution of Enhanced Ultrasonic Reflection Using a Fibrin-Targeted Nanoparticulate Contrast Agent”, Ultrasonics Symposium, Oct. 22, 2000, pp. 1927-1930, vol. 2, Piscataway, NJ, USA. cited by applicant Patrick Rafter, Patrick Phillips, Mani A. Vannan, “Imaging technologies and techniques” Cardiology Clinics 22 (2004), pp. 181-197. cited by applicant Paul A. Dayton, David Pearson, Jarrod Clark, Scott Simon, Patricia Schumman, Reena Zutshi, Terry Matsunaga, Katherine W. Ferrara, “Ultrasonic Enhancement of αvβ3 Expressing-Cells With Targeted Contrast Agents”, 2003 IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium, pp. 540-543. cited by applicant |
| Assistant Examiner: | Bor, Helene |
| Primary Examiner: | Le, Long V |
| Attorney, Agent or Firm: | Jablonski, Kevin D. Lane Powell PC |
| رقم الانضمام: | edspgr.09198639 |
| قاعدة البيانات: | USPTO Patent Grants |
| الوصف غير متاح. |