Reporting imaged portions of a patient's body part

• US 10,032,060 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2015
• Issued: 07/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Modulated Imaging, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Leuthardt, Eric C., Aiden, Erez Lieberman, Rivet, Dennis J., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Wood, Jr., Lowell L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera-Martinez, Guillermo
• Application Number:
  US14/614,323
• Publication Number:
  US 20150146961A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/000094 extracting biological structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/506 for diagnosis of nerves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5241 combining overlapping images of the same imaging modality, e.g. by stitching
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5253 combining overlapping images, e.g. spatial compounding
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/00 Pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10068 Endoscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30028 Colon; Small intestine
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/00 Image enhancement or restoration
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0014 using an image reference approach
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/337 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/40 relating to mechanical, radiation or invasive therapies, e.g. surgery, laser therapy, dialysis or acupuncture
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/70 for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00 Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

Described embodiments include a system, method, and computer program product. In a described system, a receiver circuit receives at least two reference images of a patient body part. Each reference image includes a respective landmark subsurface feature of the patient body part, and each imaged landmark subsurface feature has a respective spatial relationship to a respective region of a surface of the patient body part imaged during a medical examination. A feature matching circuit determines a correspondence between (x) each atlas landmark subsurface feature of the patient body part included in a landmark subsurface feature atlas and (y) each respective imaged landmark subsurface feature. A reporting circuit generates informational data reporting a depiction of an area of the surface of the patient body part by at least two adjacent imaged regions of the surface of the patient body part. A communication circuit outputs the informational data.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

(a) a receiver circuit configured to receive at least two reference images of a patient body part, each reference image of the at least two reference images including a respective imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part, each imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature having a respective spatial relationship to a respective imaged region of a surface of the patient body part imaged during a medical examination, wherein each respective imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature includes a scar tissue, a healed lesion, a nodule, or an encapsulated foreign object;

(b) a feature matching circuit configured to determine a correspondence between

(x) each atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part of at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features of the patient body part included in a landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas wherein each atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature includes a scar tissue, a healed lesion, a nodule, or an encapsulated foreign object; and

(y) each respective imaged landmark subsurface abnormal feature of the patient body part included in the at least two reference images;

(c) a reporting circuit configured to generate informational data reporting a depiction of an area of the surface of the patient body part by at least two adjacent imaged regions of the surface of the patient body part, the informational data at least partially based on the correspondence, as determined; and

(d) a communication circuit configured to output the informational data.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two reference images are acquired by a body-insertable device.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least two reference images are acquired by an ex vivo device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective spatial relationship is less than about six centimeters to the respective region of the surface of the patient body part imaged during the medical examination.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective spatial relationship is less than about three centimeters to the respective region of the surface of the patient body part imaged during the medical examination.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective spatial relationship is less than about one centimeter to the respective region of the surface of the patient body part imaged during the medical examination.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective spatial relationship is less than about fifty millimeters to the respective region of the surface of the patient body part imaged during the medical examination.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the respective spatial relationship is less than about twenty-five millimeters to the respective region of the surface of the patient body part imaged during the medical examination.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a surface area of the patient body part collectively depicted by at least two imaged regions, the informational data at least partially based on the correspondence, as determined.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a surface area of the patient body part not collectively depicted by any imaged region, the additional informational data at least partially based on the correspondence, as determined.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a determined positive correspondence for at least one atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features, the additional informational data at least partially based on the correspondence, as determined.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a determined negative or absence of a correspondence for at least one atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features, the additional informational data at least partially based on the correspondence, as determined.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting

(i) a determined positive correspondence between (x) a particular atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features and (y) an imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part, and

(ii) a determined negative correspondence between (x) another atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features immediately spatially adjacent to the particular atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature and (y) each other respective imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting

(i) a determined positive correspondence between (x) a first atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features and (y) an imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two reference images,

(ii) a first determined negative correspondence between (x) a second atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features immediately spatially adjacent to the first atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature and (y) each other respective imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part, and

(iii) a second determined negative correspondence between (x) a third atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features also immediately spatially adjacent to the first atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature and (y) each other respective imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting at least two spatially adjacent atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features respectively having a determined negative correspondence with each imaged landmark subsurface abnormal feature of the patient body part.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting

(i) at least two spatially adjacent atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features respectively having a determined negative correspondence with each respective imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part;

(ii) a first determined positive correspondence between (x) a first atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features and (y) an imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature, the first atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature spatially adjacent to a terminal atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two spatially adjacent atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features having the determined negative correspondence; and

(iii) a second determined positive correspondence between (x) a second atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features and (y) an imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature, the second atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature spatially adjacent to a second terminal atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two spatially adjacent atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features having the determined negative correspondence.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a determined positive correspondence between an imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part and at least one atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a determined negative or absence of a correspondence between an imaged landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the patient body part and each atlas landmark abnormal subsurface feature of the at least two atlas landmark subsurface features.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting circuit is configured to generate additional informational data reporting a predicted likelihood that an area of the surface of the patient body part is at least substantially absent from the respective imaged region of the surface of the patient body part imaged during the medical examination.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the subsurface feature atlas includes a spatial relationship between the at least two atlas landmark subsurface features of the patient body part.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas includes a registration of the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features of the patient body part.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas includes the at least two atlas landmark abnormal subsurface features of the patient body part, the landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas previously prepared in connection with a testing, diagnosis, or treatment of a possible medical condition of the patient.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas includes:

a published landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas including the at least two atlas landmark subsurface features of the patient body part, the landmark abnormal subsurface feature atlas arranged in a manner facilitating a testing, diagnosis, or treatment of a possible medical condition of patients.

24. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a registration circuit configured to register a spatial relationship of the respective imaged abnormal subsurface landmark subsurface feature of each reference image of the at least two reference images.

25. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable media configured to maintain the informational data.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable media includes:

a computer-readable media configured to maintain and to provide electronic access to the informational data.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein the informational data output by the communication circuit includes the informational data transformed into a particular visual depiction of a location of an un-imaged region of the surface of the patient body part relative to a larger portion of the surface of the patient body part.