Computer-aided classification of anomalies in anatomical structures
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for processing a detected anomaly in an anatomical structure, the method comprising:
- in a digital representation comprising a representation of the anomaly, measuring a characteristic of a neck of the anomaly; and
based at least on the characteristic of the anomaly neck, classifying the anomaly.
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Abstract
Candidate anomalies in an anatomical structure are processed for classification. For example, false positives can be reduced by techniques related to the anomaly'"'"'s neck, wall thickness associated with the anomaly, template matching performed for the anomaly, or some combination thereof. The various techniques can be combined for use in a classifier, which can determine whether the anomaly is of interest. For example, a computed tomography scan of a colon can be analyzed to determine whether a candidate anomaly is a polyp. The technologies can be applied to a variety of other scenarios involving other anatomical structures.
161 Citations
91 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for processing a detected anomaly in an anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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in a digital representation comprising a representation of the anomaly, measuring a characteristic of a neck of the anomaly; and
based at least on the characteristic of the anomaly neck, classifying the anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A computer-implemented method for processing a detected candidate polyp in a virtual colon, the method comprising:
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via the virtual colon, measuring a characteristic of a neck of the detected candidate polyp; and
based at least on the characteristic of the neck, classifying the candidate polyp.
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40. A computer-implemented method for processing an anomaly in an anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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in a digital representation of the anatomical structure comprising a representation of the anomaly, identifying a neck of the anomaly;
based at least on the anomaly neck, measuring protrusion of the anomaly; and
based at least on the protrusion of the anomaly, classifying the anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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41. A computer-implemented method for processing an anomaly in an anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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in a digital representation of the anatomical structure comprising a representation of the anomaly, measuring an aspect ratio of the anomaly;
based at least on the aspect ratio, classifying the anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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45. A computer-implemented method for processing an anomaly in an anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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in a digital representation of the anatomical structure comprising a representation of the anomaly, measuring a normalized wall thickness associated with the anomaly; and
based at least on the normalized wall thickness associated with the candidate anomaly, classifying the anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A computer-implemented method for determining wall thickness for an anomaly detected on a wall in a digital representation of an anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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based at least on an initial point at an arbitrary distance from or within the wall, calculating various thresholds for the wall; and
based at least on the thresholds, calculating a wall thickness associated with the anomaly.
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54. A computer-implemented method of classifying an anomaly appearing in a digitized image of an anatomical structure of interest, wherein the digitized image portrays a wall of the anatomical structure and at least one anomaly of the anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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calculating an anomaly wall thickness at a location of the anomaly;
measuring plural wall thicknesses at locations proximate to but away from the anomaly;
normalizing the anomaly wall thickness based on the plural wall thicknesses; and
based at least on the normalized anomaly wall thickness, classifying the anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67)
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68. A computer-implemented method of classifying an anomaly appearing in a digitized image of an anatomical structure of interest, wherein the digitized image portrays a wall of the anatomical structure and at least one anomaly of the anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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calculating a normalized wall thickness via a plurality of measurements of thickness of the wall of the anatomical structure;
measuring a thickness of a portion of the wall associated with the anomaly; and
based on a comparison between the normalized wall thickness and the thickness of the portion of the wall associated with the anomaly, classifying the anomaly as an anomaly of interest.
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69. A computer-implemented method for processing an anomaly in a colon, the method comprising:
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in a digital representation of the colon comprising a representation of the anomaly, matching a digital template to the anomaly;
based at least on the matching, classifying the anomaly. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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80. A computer-implemented method of detecting anomalies of interest in a virtual anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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matching a template to a region of the virtual anatomical structure; and
based at least on the matching, eliminating the region from consideration. - View Dependent Claims (81)
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82. A computer-implemented method of classifying a candidate anomaly of interest in a virtual anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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measuring a characteristic of a neck of the anomaly of interest;
calculating a normalized wall thickness for the anomaly of interest;
calculating a similarity between the anomaly of interest and a template; and
based at least on the characteristic of the neck, the normalized wall thickness, and the similarity, classifying the candidate anomaly.
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83. A computer-implemented method of depicting a virtual anatomical structure, the method comprising:
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detecting a plurality of candidate anomalies of interest in the virtual anatomical structure;
calculating a normalized wall thickness for the anomalies of interest; and
presenting a graphical depiction of the anomalies of interest for consideration by a viewer, wherein wall thickness associated with an anomaly is used to choose a color for the graphical depiction.
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84. A computer-generated user interface for presenting a graphical representation of an anatomical structure, the user interface comprising:
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a depiction of the anatomical structure;
wherein regions of the anatomical structure having a normalized wall thickness over a threshold amount are depicted specially. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86)
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87. A computer-generated user interface for presenting a graphical representation of an anatomical structure, the user interface comprising:
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a depiction of the anatomical structure;
wherein regions of the anatomical structure having a curvature indicative of an anomaly neck are depicted specially. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89)
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90. A classifier for classifying a candidate anomaly of interest in a virtual anatomical structure, the classifier comprising:
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means for calculating at least one of the following characteristics associated with the anomaly;
a characteristic of a neck of the anomaly, a normalized wall thickness of the anomaly, and a similarity between the anomaly and a digital template; and
means for classifying the anomaly based on the at least one characteristic. - View Dependent Claims (91)
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Specification