Method and data processing device to support diagnosis and/or therapy of a pathological change of a blood vessel
First Claim
1. A method for supporting at least one of diagnosis and therapy of a pathological change of a blood vessel in a subject, comprising the steps of:
- (a) at a point in time, acquiring an image of a blood vessel using an imaging modality, said image being selected from the group consisting of pixel images and voxel images;
(b) from said image, making a measurement of an existing quantity of non-calcified plaque and a measurement of an existing quantity of calcium-rich plaque associated with the blood vessel;
(c) determining an indicator value dependent on the respective quantities of non-calcified plaque and calcium-rich plaque from said measurement, and on the composition of said plaque in said blood vessel at said point and time;
(d) storing at least one limit value in a data processor and, in said data processor, comparing said indicator value with said at least one limit value to obtain a comparison result; and
(e) at an output unit associated with said data processor, presenting an output proposal dependent on said comparison result, selected from the group consisting of a proposal for a measure to be undertaken on the patient and a proposal for no measure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a method to support the diagnosis and/or therapy of a pathological change of a blood vessel of a patient, in particular in the context of coronary heart disease at a first point in time of a pixel-based or voxel-based first image is acquired with the blood vessel of interest by an imaging method, a determination is made from the first image of a quantity of existing non-calcified plaque and a quantity of existing calcium-rich plaque, a determination of a first indicator value is made from the quantities of the different plaque types that represents a measurement of the quantity and the composition of plaque present in the blood vessel at the first point in time, a comparison of the first indicator value is made with at least one limit value stored in a storage of a data processing device, and dependent on the comparison, a presentation is made on an output unit associated with the electronic data processing device of either a proposal for a measure to be undertaken on the patient, or a proposal for no measure.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for supporting at least one of diagnosis and therapy of a pathological change of a blood vessel in a subject, comprising the steps of:
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(a) at a point in time, acquiring an image of a blood vessel using an imaging modality, said image being selected from the group consisting of pixel images and voxel images;
(b) from said image, making a measurement of an existing quantity of non-calcified plaque and a measurement of an existing quantity of calcium-rich plaque associated with the blood vessel;
(c) determining an indicator value dependent on the respective quantities of non-calcified plaque and calcium-rich plaque from said measurement, and on the composition of said plaque in said blood vessel at said point and time;
(d) storing at least one limit value in a data processor and, in said data processor, comparing said indicator value with said at least one limit value to obtain a comparison result; and
(e) at an output unit associated with said data processor, presenting an output proposal dependent on said comparison result, selected from the group consisting of a proposal for a measure to be undertaken on the patient and a proposal for no measure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A data processing device for supporting at least one of diagnosis and therapy of a pathological change of a blood vessel in a subject, said data processor being supplied with an image of a blood vessel acquired at a point in time using an imaging modality, said image being selected from the group consisting of pixel images and voxel images, and said data processor being programmed to:
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from said image, make a measurement of an existing quantity of non-calcified plaque and a measurement of an existing quantity of calcium-rich plaque associated with the blood vessel;
determine an indicator value dependent on the respective quantities of non-calcified plaque and calcium-rich plaque from said measurement, and on the composition of said plaque in said blood vessel at said first point and time;
compare said indicator value with said at least one stored limit value to obtain a comparison result; and
at an output unit associated with said data processor, present an output proposal dependent on said comparison result, selected from the group consisting of a proposal for a measure to be undertaken on the patient and a proposal for no measure. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A data processing device as claimed 19 programmed to measure said quantity of said non-calcified plaque by determining a mass and a volume of said non-calcified plaque from said image, and measure said quantity of calcium-rich plaque by determining a mass and a volume of said calcium-rich plaque from said image.
Specification