Apparatus and method for surgical planning and treatment monitoring

• US 20050113651A1
• Filed: 11/19/2004
• Published: 05/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: FUJIFILM Healthcare Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Confirma, Inc. (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Wood, Chris H., Boisseranc, James J.
• Application Number:
  US10/993,701
• Publication Number:
  US 20050113651A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/300
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30068 Mammography; Breast
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 15/00 ICT specially adapted for medical reports, e.g. generation or transmission thereof
• 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 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

A system for surgical planning and therapeutic monitoring utilizes imaging data and computer-aided detection (CAD) technology to identify cancerous tumors. A pre-treatment report identifies all volumes of interest (VOIs) and provides data regarding the size and location of each VOI as well as volumetric data for use in surgical planning. The system can be used to monitor the progress of adjuvant chemotherapy or other non-surgical treatment and measures changes in tumor size and location. Post-treatment reports provide data regarding changes in tumor size and location as well as trend data to provide guidance to the physician.

Claims

1. A method for generating a medical planning report for a patient, comprising:

performing medical imaging test on a patient to thereby generate medical image data;

identifying landmarks in the medical image data;

identifying a lesion in the medical image data; and

generating data related to the identified lesion wherein the data is used to evaluate a medical plan for the patient.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying a lesion comprises identifying a plurality of lesions.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the medical plan is a surgical treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the generated data related to the identified lesion is used as a pre-treatment report.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the medical plan is a medical treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the generated data related to the identified lesion is used as a pre-treatment report.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report related to the identified lesion wherein the report includes at least one additional data element selected from a group of data elements comprising location data, distance from a landmark data, size data, volume data, enhancement composition data, and morphological indicators data.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a report related to the identified lesion wherein the report includes data conforming to report standards established by ACR BI-RADS.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the medical image data comprises a plurality of individual images of the identified lesion, the method further comprising selecting ones of the plurality of images to include in a report related to the identified lesion.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the selected ones of the plurality of images to include in the report are selected on the basis of a report type.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the report type is selected from a group of report types comprising selected one of a surgical planning report type and a medical treatment planning report type.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the selected ones of the plurality of images to include in the report are selected on the basis of lesion location within the patient.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the selected ones of the plurality of images to include in the report are selected on the basis of lesion size.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the lesion size is determined by calculating a volume of interest (VOI) surrounding the identified lesion.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the identified landmarks are anatomical landmarks.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the identified landmarks are artificial landmarks.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated data comprises position data indicating a position of the identified lesion with respect to an identified landmark.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the generated data comprises volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the volume data indicates a volume of an ellipsoid encapsulating the identified lesion.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the generated data comprises volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion and a volume calculation for the anatomical structure in which the lesion is found.

19. The method of claim 1 for use in treatment of a breast lesion wherein the generated data comprises volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion and a volume calculation for the breast in which the lesion is found, the method further comprising calculating a proportion of the breast volume incorporated in the volume size encapsulating the identified lesion.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the patient receives treatment of the identified lesion, the method further comprising:

at a time following the treatment, performing medical imaging test on the patient to thereby generate additional medical image data;

determining a location of the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

generating data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the medical plan is a treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the generated data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data comprises a post-treatment report used to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein generating data related to differences comprises performing a registration operation on the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein registering comprises using identified anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the medical image data;

determining volume data of a-volume encapsulating-the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

performing the registration operation comprises using the determined volume data in the medical image data and the determined volume data in the additional medical image data.

25. The method of claim 22 wherein performing a registration operation comprises accepting user input to manually register the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

26. The method of claim 22 wherein performing a registration operation is automatically performed between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

27. The method of claim 20 wherein the patient receives additional treatment of the identified lesion, the method further comprising:

at a time following the additional treatment, performing medical imaging test on the patient to thereby generate subsequent medical image data;

determining a location of the identified lesion in the subsequent medical image data; and

generating data related to differences in the identified lesion between the additional medical image data and the subsequent medical image.

28. A method for generating a medical report for a patient, comprising:

performing medical imaging test on a patient to thereby generate medical image data;

identifying a lesion in the medical image data;

generating data related to the identified lesion to thereby generate a medical plan for the patient;

at a time subsequent to the execution of the medical plan for the patient, performing additional medical imaging test on the patient to-thereby generate additional medical image data;

registering the medical image data and the additional medical image data;

determining a location of the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

generating data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein registering comprises using identified anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the medical image data; and

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the additional medical image data, wherein registering comprises using the determined volume data in the medical image data and the determined volume data in the additional medical image data.

31. The method of claim 28 wherein registering comprises accepting user input to manually register the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

32. The method of claim 28 wherein registering comprises automatically registering the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

33. A computer-readable medium for generating a medical report for a patient, comprising computer instructions that cause a processor to perform the steps of:

receiving medical image data for the patient;

identifying landmarks in the medical image data;

identifying a lesion in the medical image data; and

generating data related to the identified lesion wherein the data is used to evaluate a medical plan for the patient.

34. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein identifying a lesion comprises identifying a plurality of lesions.

35. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the medical plan is a surgical treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the generated data related to the identified lesion is used as a pre-treatment report.

36. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the medical plan is a medical treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the generated data related to the identified lesion is used as a pre-treatment report.

37. The computer-readable medium of claim 33, further comprising generating a report related to the identified lesion wherein the report includes data conforming to report standards established by ACR BI-RADS.

38. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the medical image data comprises a plurality of individual images of the identified lesion, the computer-readable medium further comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to perform the step of selecting ones of the plurality of images to include in a report related to the identified lesion.

39. The computer-readable medium of claim 38 wherein the selected ones of the plurality of images to include in the report are selected on the basis of a report type.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 38 wherein the selected ones of the plurality of images to include in the report are selected on the basis of lesion location within the patient.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim.38 wherein the selected ones of the plurality of images to include in the report are selected on the basis of lesion size.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 41 wherein the lesion size is determined by calculating a volume of interest (VOI) surrounding the identified lesion.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the identified landmarks comprise anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the generated data comprises position data indicating a position of the identified lesion with respect to an identified landmark.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the generated data comprises volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 45 wherein the volume data indicates a volume of an ellipsoid encapsulating the identified lesion.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 45 wherein the generated data comprises volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion and a volume calculation for the anatomical structure in which the lesion is found.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 for use in medical treatment of a breast lesion wherein the generated data comprises volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion and a volume calculation for the breast in which the lesion is found, the computer-readable medium further comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to perform the step of calculating a proportion of the breast volume incorporated in the volume size encapsulating the identified lesion.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 33 wherein the patient receives treatment of the identified lesion, the computer-readable medium further comprising computer instructions that cause a processor to perform the steps of:

at a time following the treatment, receiving additional medical image data related to the treatment for the patient;

determining a location of the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

generating data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the medical plan is a treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the generated data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data is a post-treatment report used to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein generating data related to differences comprises performing a registration operation on the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

52. The computer-readable medium of claim 51, wherein registering comprises using identified anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

53. The computer-readable medium of claim 49, further comprising computer instructions that cause a processor to perform the steps of:

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the medical image data;

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

performing a registration operation using the determined volume data in the medical image data and the determined volume data in the additional medical image data.

54. The computer-readable medium of claim 51 wherein performing a registration operation comprises accepting user input to manually register the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

55. The computer-readable medium of claim 51 wherein performing a registration operation is automatically performed between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

56. The computer-readable medium of claim 49 wherein the patient receives additional treatment of the identified lesion, the computer-readable medium further comprising computer instructions that cause the processor to perform the steps of:

at a time following the additional treatment, receiving subsequent medical image data related to the additional treatment for the patient;

determining a location of the identified lesion in the subsequent medical image data; and

generating data related to differences in the identified lesion between the additional medical image data and the subsequent medical image.

57. A computer-readable medium for generating a medical report for a patient, comprising computer instructions that cause a processor to perform the steps of:

receiving medical image data for the patient;

identifying a lesion in the medical image data;

generating data related to the identified lesion to thereby generate a medical plan for the patient;

at a time subsequent to the execution of the medical plan for the patient, receiving additional medical image data related to the executed medical plan for the patient;

registering the medical image data and the additional medical image data;

determining a location of the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

generating data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

58. The computer-readable medium of claim 57 wherein registering comprises using identified anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

59. The computer-readable medium of claim 57, further comprising:

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the medical image data; and

determining volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the additional medical image data, wherein registering comprises using the determined volume data in the medical image data and the determined volume data in the additional medical image data.

60. The computer-readable medium of claim 57 wherein registering comprises accepting user input to manually register the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

61. The computer-readable medium of claim 57 wherein registering comprises automatically registering the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

62. An apparatus for generating a medical report for a patient comprising:

an input interface configured to receive medical image data for the patient;

a data structure configured to store the medical image data; and

a processor configured to;

identify landmarks in the medical image data;

identify a lesion in the medical image data; and

generate data related to the identified lesion wherein the data is used to evaluate a medical plan for the patient.

63. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the processor is configured to identify a plurality of lesions.

64. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the processor is further configured to generate a report related to the identified lesion wherein the report includes data conforming to report standards established by ACR BI-RADS.

65. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the stored medical image data comprises a plurality of individual images of the identified lesion, the processor being further configured to select ones of the plurality of images to include in a report related to the identified lesion.

66. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein the processor selects ones of the plurality of images to include in the report on the basis of lesion location within the patient.

67. The apparatus of claim 65 wherein the processor selects ones of the plurality of images to include in the report on the basis of lesion size.

68. The apparatus of claim 67 wherein the processor is configured to determine lesion size by calculating a volume of interest (VOI) surrounding the identified lesion.

69. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the landmarks identified by the processor comprise anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data.

70. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the processor is further configured to generate position data indicating a position of the identified lesion with respect to an identified landmark.

71. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the processor is further configured to generate volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion.

72. The apparatus of claim 71 wherein the processor is configured to generate wherein the volume data indicating a volume of an ellipsoid encapsulating the identified lesion.

73. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the processor is further configured to generate volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion and a volume calculation for the anatomical structure in which the lesion is found.

74. The apparatus of claim 62 for use in treatment of a breast lesion wherein the processor generates volume data indicating a volume size encapsulating the identified lesion and a volume calculation for the breast in which the lesion is found, the processor being further configured to calculate a proportion of the breast volume incorporated in the volume size encapsulating the identified lesion.

75. The apparatus of claim 62 wherein the patient receives treatment of the identified lesion, the processor being further configured to:

at a time following the treatment, receiving additional medical image data for the patient;

determine a location of the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

generate data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

76. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the medical plan is a treatment planning report generated at a first time prior to treatment, and the processor generates data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data as a post-treatment report used to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment.

77. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the processor is further configured to generate data related to differences by performing a registration operation on the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

78. The apparatus of claim 77 wherein the processor performs registration using identified anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

79. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the medical image data;

determine volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

perform a registration operation using the determined volume data in the medical image data and the determined volume data in the additional medical image data.

80. The apparatus of claim 75, further comprising a user input device wherein the processor is further configured to perform a registration operation comprises accepting data from the user input device to manually register the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

81. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the processor is further configured to automatically perform a registration operation between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

82. The apparatus of claim 75 wherein the patient receives additional treatment of the identified lesion, processor being further configured to:

at a time following the additional treatment, receiving subsequent medical image data for the patient related to the additional treatment;

determine a location of the identified lesion in the subsequent medical image data; and

generate data related to differences in the identified lesion between the additional medical image data and the subsequent medical image.

83. An apparatus for generating a medical plan for a patient, comprising:

an input interface to receive medical image data for the patient prior to the execution of the medical plan and to receive additional medical image data for the patient at a time subsequent to the execution of the medical plan;

a data structure to store the medical image data and the additional medical image data; and

a processor configured to;

identify a lesion in the medical image data; and

generate data related to the identified lesion to thereby permit the development of the medical plan for the patient;

register the medical image data and the additional medical image data;

determine a location of the identified lesion in the additional medical image data; and

generate data related to differences in the identified lesion between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

84. The apparatus of claim 83 wherein the processor performs the registration using identified anatomical landmarks, artificial landmarks, or a combination of anatomical landmarks and artificial landmarks in the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

85. The apparatus of claim 83 wherein the processor is further configured to:

determine volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the medical image data; and

determine volume data of a volume encapsulating the identified lesion in the additional medical image data, wherein the processor performs the registration using the determined volume data in the medical image data and the determined volume data in the additional medical image data.

86. The apparatus of claim 83, further comprising a user input device wherein the processor is further configured to perform a registration operation comprises accepting data from the user input device to manually register the medical image data and the additional medical image data.

87. The apparatus of claim 83 wherein the processor is further configured to automatically perform a registration operation between the medical image data and the additional medical image data.