Methods of endobronchial diagnosis using imaging
First Claim
1. A method of analyzing data in an image data file of a lung comprising:
- providing the image data file of the lung to a computer; and
analyzing the image data file on the computer with an algorithm which determines the periphery of at least one lung compartment within the lung.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Devices and methods are provided for acquiring and analyzing an image data file to generate diagnostic information reflecting an individual lung compartment. A lung compartment could be an entire lobe, a segment or a subsegment and beyond, hereinafter subsegments and beyond will be referred to simply as segments. Such analysis is used to assess the level of disease of individual lung compartments, both for quantification of the disease state and for determining the most appropriate treatment plan. This analysis allows the imaging technology to be used as a functional diagnostic tool as well as an anatomical diagnostic tool. To this end, dynamic data or images may also be acquired at specific points throughout the breathing cycle. Since air movement in and out of a lung compartment during the breathing cycle is a direct indicator of lung function in some diseases like emphysema, analysis of images during the breathing cycle will indicate levels of disease. Thus, a physician may be able to determine the nature of the disease, severity of the disease and the most effective course of treatment from a computerized image of the lung.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method of analyzing data in an image data file of a lung comprising:
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providing the image data file of the lung to a computer; and
analyzing the image data file on the computer with an algorithm which determines the periphery of at least one lung compartment within the lung. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of generating an image data file of a lung of a patient at at least one preselected point in a breathing cycle, said method comprising:
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providing a spirometer which generates pulmonary data representing a breathing cycle;
providing a controller which generates a signal at at least one point in a breathing cycle based on the pulmonary data;
providing an imaging device which is activated by the signal to create an image of the lung; and
breathing into the spirometer so that the pulmonary data is generated and the at least one signal is generated to activate the imaging device to create the image of the lung. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification