US6438403B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for cardiac analysis using four-dimensional connectivity
Assignee: General Electric Co
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Filing: 1999-11-01
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Granted: 2002-08-20
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Expires: 2019-11-01
Abstract
Abstract An imaging system enables cardiac functioning within a particular cardiac chamber to be imaged. The system acquires imaging data that includes intensity values for four-dimensional voxels within a region of interest (ROI). A seed voxel is identified, and neighbor voxels to the seed voxel are also identified. The intensity values for each neighbor voxel are compared to a threshold to determine whether the voxel corresponds to blood or muscle tissue. For each neighbor voxel corresponding to blood, its neighbor voxels are identified and compared to the threshold, and this process is repeated until a pre-established spatial boundary is encountered or the number of new neighbor voxels indicates that processing is migrating into an adjacent cardiac chamber. At that point, the identified blood voxels are counted into bins of cardiac phases, cardiac images for each phase are reconstructed, and parameters such as ejection fraction are calculated.
Inventors
- 👤 Harvey Ellis Cline
- 👤 Siegwalt Ludke
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 04:03
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T17/00; G06T7/00; G06T7/0002; G06T7/0012; G06T7/10; G06T7/11; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/10; G06T2207/10072; G06T2207/20; G06T2207/20112; G06T2207/20156; G06T2207/30; G06T2207/30004; G06T2207/30048
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
204 words
A method for analyzing cardiac functionality of a heart comprising the steps of: a) acquiring a set of image data that includes respective intensity values for a plurality of four-dimensional voxels within a region of interest; b) identifying a seed voxel from the plurality of four-dimensional voxels; c) identifying neighbor voxels to the seed voxel; d) determining for each of the neighbor voxels an indication that the voxel corresponds to blood, the indication being based on an intensity value of the voxel; e) determining new neighbors to the neighbor voxels that correspond to blood; f) repeating steps d and e for the new neighbors until all voxels of interest have been evaluated, resulting in a final set of voxels, each of which has the indication that the voxel corresponds to blood; g) comparing a first number of new neighbors identified during a first iteration of steps d and e with a second number of new neighbors identified during a previous iteration of steps d and e and discontinuing repeating steps d and e when the first number is greater that the second number indicating a migration into an adjacent chamber; and, h) reconstructing one or more cardiac images from the final set of voxels.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
204 words
A method for analyzing cardiac functionality of a heart comprising the steps of: a) acquiring a set of image data that includes respective intensity values for a plurality of four-dimensional voxels within a region of interest; b) identifying a seed voxel from the plurality of four-dimensional voxels; c) identifying neighbor voxels to the seed voxel; d) determining for each of the neighbor voxels an indication that the voxel corresponds to blood, the indication being based on an intensity value of the voxel; e) determining new neighbors to the neighbor voxels that correspond to blood; f) repeating steps d and e for the new neighbors until all voxels of interest have been evaluated, resulting in a final set of voxels, each of which has the indication that the voxel corresponds to blood; g) comparing a first number of new neighbors identified during a first iteration of steps d and e with a second number of new neighbors identified during a previous iteration of steps d and e and discontinuing repeating steps d and e when the first number is greater that the second number indicating a migration into an adjacent chamber; and, h) reconstructing one or more cardiac images from the final set of voxels.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of acquiring the set of image data comprises the step of acquiring the data for the plurality of four-dimensional voxels, wherein each of the four-dimensional voxels is described by three spatial variables and one temporal variable.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of identifying the seed voxel comprises the step of identifying the seed voxel as a voxel in a center region of a cardiac chamber.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of identifying the neighbor voxels to the seed voxel comprises the steps of identifying multiple spatially-adjacent voxels and multiple temporally-adjacent voxels, each of which is adjacent either spatially or temporally to the seed voxel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of repeating comprises the step of repeating steps d and e of claim 1 until the new neighbors begin to migrate into an adjacent cardiac chamber.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
69 words
The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the step of determining the increase due to migration comprises the steps of: determining a peak in the number of new neighbors has occurred, where the peak was followed by a decrease in the number of new neighbors between successive iterations; and determining that the increase is due to migration into the adjacent cardiac chamber when the peak has occurred.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of repeating comprises the steps of: determining when any of the new neighbors fall outside of a pre-established boundary; and ending processing for those new neighbors that fall outside of the pre-established boundary.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of separating voxels in the final set of voxels into bins corresponding to respective cardiac phases.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the step of reconstructing one or more cardiac images comprises the step of reconstructing a two dimensional image for each cardiac slice within each bin of cardiac phases.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the step of reconstructing one or more cardiac images comprises the step of reconstructing a three-dimensional image for each bin of cardiac phases.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the step of reconstructing one or more cardiac images comprises the step of creating an animated model of the cardiac functionality.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the step of: h) calculating an ejection fraction for one or more ventricles of the heart based on the one or more cardiac images.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the step of calculating the ejection fraction comprises the steps of: identifying, from the one or more cardiac images, a largest ventricular volume and a smallest ventricular volume; and calculating the ejection fraction as a function of a difference between the largest ventricular volume and the smallest ventricular volume.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
94 words
The method as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the step of calculating the ejection fraction comprises the steps of: counting a first number of voxels in a ventricle at end-diastole (“ED”); counting a second number of voxels in the ventricle at end-systole (“ES”); multiplying the first number by a voxel volume, resulting in the largest ventricular volume; multiplying the second number by the voxel volume, resulting in the smallest ventricular volume; and calculating the ejection fraction as the largest ventricular volume minus the smallest ventricular volume, then divided by the largest ventricular volume.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-08-19 | 2006-02-18 | 2006-08-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-08-19 | 2010-02-18 | 2010-08-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-08-19 | 2014-02-18 | 2014-08-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |