Evaluating disease progression using magnetic resonance imaging
First Claim
1. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
- a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions, and of a cross-patient comparison module responsive to the comparison module to compare detected differences for the patient with detected differences for at least one other patient.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system is disclosed. This system includes a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient. A segmentation module segments surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, and a registration module spatially registers, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient. A comparison module detects differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions. A cross-patient comparison module can compare detected differences for the patient with detected differences for at least one other patient.
25 Citations
68 Claims
-
1. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions, and of a cross-patient comparison module responsive to the comparison module to compare detected differences for the patient with detected differences for at least one other patient. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, wherein the registration module is operative to spatially register the data sets to within an average root-mean-square value of about 10 microns, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions.
-
-
4. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, wherein the registration module is operative to spatially register the data sets to within an average root-mean-square value of about 50 microns, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions.
-
-
5. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, wherein the registration module includes an automatic registration module operative to perform at least a three-dimensional preliminary spatial registration independent of user input, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions. - View Dependent Claims (6)
-
-
7. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, wherein the segmentation module is an automatic segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to automatically segment anatomical features in the patient with substantially only supervisory and artifact-correcting user input, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions.
-
-
8. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, wherein the source of magnetic resonance imaging data is operative to provide data sets optimized for the detection of at least bone and cartilage, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, wherein the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets includes a magnetic resonance imaging system and a support assembly operative to immobilize the diseased joint within the magnetic resonance imaging system with the joint at a predetermined three-dimensional position, and wherein the support assembly is operative to repeatedly immobilize the joint at predetermined three-dimensional positions that fall within a range of less than 7 millimeters along the longitudinal axis of the magnetic resonance imaging system, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions.
-
-
16. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, wherein the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets includes a magnetic resonance imaging system and a support assembly operative to immobilize the diseased joint within the magnetic resonance imaging system with the joint at a predetermined three-dimensional position, and wherein the support assembly is operative to repeatedly immobilize the joint at predetermined three-dimensional positions that fall within a range of less than 17 millimeters along the longitudinal axis of the magnetic resonance imaging system, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions.
-
-
17. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions, and of a differential display module operative to generate a difference map depicting differences between the data sets detected by the comparison module.
-
-
18. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining successive images of a same joint for each of a plurality of patients, wherein at least some of the joints are diseased, and obtaining a processed data set expressing results of segmenting joint surfaces within at least one of the images for each patient, of, for each of the patients, spatially registering joint features for one of the successive images with another of the successive images, of detecting differences between the successive images for each of the individual patients, and of comparing the differences obtained for different ones of the patients. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient, and obtaining a processed data set expressing results of segmenting a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint based on the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, obtaining a second magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of the same joint for the same patient, and obtaining a processed data set expressing results of segmenting the boundary between the same two anatomical features of the same joint of the same patient based on both the second magnetic resonance imaging data set and segmentation information saved in a step of saving. - View Dependent Claims (33)
-
-
34. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
means for obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient and for obtaining a second magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of the same joint for the same patient, processed data means expressing results of the operation of means for segmenting a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint based on the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of means for saving segmentation information derived by the means for segmenting, and of means for segmenting the boundary between the same two anatomical features of the same joint of the same patient based on both the second magnetic resonance imaging data set and the segmentation information saved by the means for saving.
-
-
35. A magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from an imaging volume for a patient, a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a fitting module operative to fit a biparametric surface to an anatomical feature described by the data for the patient, and a projection module responsive to the magnetic resonance imaging data source and operative to project at least a portion of the data representing the three-dimensional anatomical feature onto the biparametric surface. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A magnetic resonance imaging method, comprising:
-
obtaining a magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from an imaging volume for a patient, obtaining a processed data set expressing results of fitting a biparametric surface to an anatomical feature described by the data set for the patient, and of projecting at least a portion of the data representing the three-dimensional anatomical feature onto the biparametric surface. - View Dependent Claims (46)
-
-
47. A magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
means for obtaining a magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from an imaging volume for a patient, processed data means expressing results of the operation of means for fitting a biparametric surface to an anatomical feature described by the data set for the patient, and of means for projecting at least a portion of the data representing the three-dimensional anatomical feature onto the biparametric surface.
-
-
48. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from a joint of a patient, a processed data set expressing results of a segmentation module that is responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and is operative to detect a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint in three dimensions based on three-dimensional information from a first of the data sets, and a comparison module responsive to the segmentation module and to a second of the data sets and operative to compare boundary surface data resulting from segmentation by the segmentation module for the first data set with volumetric data from the second data set. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
-
-
51. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining a first three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from a joint of a patient, obtaining a processed data set expressing results of segmenting a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint of the patient based on the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of obtaining a second three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of an imaging volume for the same joint of the same patient, and of comparing surface data resulting from the step of segmenting with volumetric data resulting from the second data set. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53)
-
-
54. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
means for obtaining a first three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from a joint of a patient, processed data means expressing results of the operation of means for segmenting a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint of the patient based on the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of means for obtaining a second three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition from the same joint of the same patient, and of means for comparing surface data resulting from the step of segmenting with volumetric data resulting from the second data set.
-
-
55. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets resulting from successive magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, wherein the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets includes a magnetic resonance imaging system and a support assembly operative to immobilize the diseased joint within the magnetic resonance imaging system with the joint at a predetermined three-dimensional position, and a processed data set expressing results of the operation of a segmentation module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to segment surfaces in the joint based on information contained within at least one of the data sets, of a registration module responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and operative to spatially register, in three dimensions, information represented by a first of the data sets with respect to information represented by one or more further data sets for the same patient, and of a comparison module responsive to the registration module and operative to detect differences between information represented by the data sets caused by progression of the disease in the joint of the patient between acquisitions. - View Dependent Claims (56)
-
-
57. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a joint of a patient, a processed data set expressing results from a segmentation module that is responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data and to segmentation result storage, and that is operative to detect a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint in three dimensions based on both three-dimensional information from the joint of the patient and prior segmentation results stored in the segmentation result storage. - View Dependent Claims (58)
-
-
59. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
a source of magnetic resonance imaging data resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisitions from a diseased joint of a patient, and a processed data set expressing results from a segmentation module that is responsive to the source of magnetic resonance imaging data sets and is operative to detect a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint in three dimensions by detecting an outline in each of a plurality of at least generally parallel planes within the volume, wherein the outline in at least some of the planes is based on data from at least one other of the planes.
-
-
60. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient, and obtaining an outline of a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint of the patient in three dimensions, which results from detecting an outline in each of a plurality of at least generally parallel planes within the volume, wherein the outline in at least some of the planes is based on data from at least one other of the planes. - View Dependent Claims (61, 62)
-
-
63. An orthopedic magnetic resonance imaging system, comprising:
-
means for obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient, and processed data means expressing results of segmenting an outline of a boundary between two anatomical features of the joint of the patient in three dimensions by detecting an outline in each of a plurality of at least generally parallel planes within the volume, wherein the outline in at least some of the planes is based on data from at least one other of the planes.
-
-
64. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient, obtaining a processed data set expressing results of delineating joint features in the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of obtaining a second magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of the same joint for the same patient after the step of obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of delineating joint features in the second magnetic resonance imaging data set, spatially registering joint features delineated in the first magnetic resonance imaging data set and joint features delineated in the second magnetic resonance imaging data set, and of detecting differences between the spatially registered data sets for the patient, and evaluating the effects of one or more pharmaceutical agents on the patient based on results of the step of comparing.
-
-
65. The method of claim 100 wherein the step of evaluating is applied for a pharmaceutical agent designed to treat rheumatic diseases affecting the cartilage.
-
66. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient, obtaining a processed data set expressing results of delineating joint features in the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of obtaining a second magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of the same joint for the same patient after the step of obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of delineating joint features in the second magnetic resonance imaging data set, of spatially registering joint features delineated in the first magnetic resonance imaging data set and joint features delineated in the second magnetic resonance imaging data set, and of detecting differences between the spatially registered data sets for the patient, and determining how to treat the patient based on results of the step of comparing.
-
-
67. A method of monitoring disease progression in a joint, comprising:
-
obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of a joint of a patient, obtaining a processed data set expressing results of delineating joint features in the first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of obtaining a second magnetic resonance imaging data set resulting from a magnetic resonance imaging acquisition of the same joint for the same patient after the step of obtaining a first magnetic resonance imaging data set, of delineating joint features in the second magnetic resonance imaging data set, of spatially registering joint features delineated in the first magnetic resonance imaging data set and joint features delineated in the second magnetic resonance imaging data set, and of detecting differences between the spatially registered data sets for the patient, and administering treatment delivery for the patient based on results of the step of comparing. - View Dependent Claims (68)
-
Specification