Surface parameter adaptive ultrasound image processing

• US 20070014446A1
• Filed: 06/20/2005
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Sumanaweera, Thilaka, Ustuner, Kutay
• Granted Patent: US 7,764,818 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/08 Volume rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/40 Hidden part removal
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/50 Lighting effects

Abstract

The depth buffer of a GPU is used to derive a surface normal or other surface parameter, avoiding or limiting computation of spatial gradients in 3D data sets and extra loading of data into the GPU. The surface parameter is used: to add shading with lighting to volume renderings of ultrasound data in real time, to angle correct velocity estimates, to adapt filtering or to correct for insonifying-angle dependent gain and compression. For border detection and segmentation, intersections with a volume oriented as a function of target structure, such as cylinders oriented relative to a vessel, are used for rendering. The intersections identify data for loading into the frame buffer for rendering.

Claims

1. A method for processing ultrasound data as a function of a surface, the method comprising:

writing to a depth buffer of a graphics processing unit as a function of first ultrasound data; and

processing second ultrasound data as a function of data from the depth buffer, the first ultrasound data being the same or different than the second ultrasound data.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein writing to the depth buffer comprises identifying coordinates of first ultrasound data closest to a viewer and greater than a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting a surface parameter from the data from the depth buffer;

wherein processing the second ultrasound data comprises processing as a function of the surface parameter.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein detecting the surface parameter comprises detecting a surface normal, surface coordinates, principal curvature direction, Gaussian curvature or combinations thereof.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising deriving surface information from the data from the depth buffer, and wherein processing comprises shading the second ultrasound data as a function of the surface information.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein processing comprises angle correcting velocity estimates as a function of the data from the depth buffer.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein writing comprises identifying first ultrasound data associated with a series of substantially parallel surfaces corresponding generally to a target surface and writing coordinates of the first ultrasound data closest to a center of the target surface and greater than a threshold, and wherein processing comprises identifying a border as a function of the coordinates.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying a surface from the data from the depth buffer, and wherein processing comprises filtering the second ultrasound data as a function of the surface.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising identifying a surface from the data from the depth buffer and determining an orientation of the surface relative to an insonification angle, and wherein processing comprises varying an M- or B-mode imaging parameter as a function of the orientation

10. The method of claim 1 wherein processing comprises processing with the graphics processing unit.

11. A method for processing ultrasound data as a function of a surface, the method comprising:

identifying a surface of a specular target;

determining an orientation of the surface relative to an insonification angle; and

varying an M- or B-mode imaging parameter as a function of the orientation.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein varying the M- or B-mode imaging parameter comprises correcting brightness as a function of the orientation.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein varying the M- or B-mode imaging parameter comprises correcting gain, compression or both gain and compression as a function of the orientation.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein identifying the surface comprises writing coordinates of first ultrasound data closest to a viewer and greater than a threshold to a depth buffer of a graphics processing unit as a function of first ultrasound data.

15. The method of claim 11 wherein determining the orientation comprises detecting a surface normal, surface coordinates, principal curvature direction, Gaussian curvature or combinations thereof.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

generating an insonification angle dependent gain corrected image as a function of the varied M- or B-mode imaging parameter.

17. A method for processing ultrasound data, the method comprising:

identifying ultrasound data associated with a series of substantially parallel surfaces corresponding generally to a target surface; and

rendering as a function of the identified ultrasound data.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the series of substantially parallel surfaces comprises non-planar and non-spherical surfaces

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the series of substantially parallel surfaces comprises a plurality of nested cylinders.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the series of substantially parallel surfaces comprises a plurality of ellipsoidal or superquadric surfaces.

21. The method of claim 17 further comprising identifying a location associated with the target surface, the series of substantially parallel surfaces oriented around the location.

22. The method of claim 17 wherein rendering comprises:

compositing as a function of the ultrasound data for each of the substantially parallel surfaces, the ultrasound data for each of the substantially parallel surfaces rendered as a two-dimensional frame of data with a largest of the substantially parallel surfaces initially composited and a smallest of the substantially parallel surfaces lastly composited.

23. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

writing to a depth buffer of a graphics processing unit as a function of the ultrasound data for the substantially parallel surfaces; and

identifying the target surface as a function of data in the depth buffer.