AUTOMATED LESION ANALYSIS BASED UPON AUTOMATIC PLAQUE CHARACTERIZATION ACCORDING TO A CLASSIFICATION CRITERION
First Claim
1. A method of classifying plaque within a vessel, comprising:
- rendering, by a tissue characterization application, a characterized tissue component map from a spectral analysis of ultrasound echo information for a vessel cross-section, wherein differing plaque components are distinguished, in the characterized tissue map, by assigned identifying values;
applying, by a plaque classification application, a classification criterion to spatially arranged data of the characterized tissue map; and
rendering, in response to the applying step, a plaque classification associated with the vessel cross-section.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are disclosed for automatically classifying plaque lesions. A plaque classification application applies a plaque classification criterion to at least one graphical image, comprising a map of spectrally-analyzed characterized tissue of a vessel cross-section, to render an overall plaque classification for the slice or set of slices, covering a 3D volume. The plaque classification is based upon the amount and location of each characterized tissue type (e.g., necrotic core—NC). In an exemplary embodiment the set of potential plaque classifications, not to be confused with characterized tissue types—from which the plaque classifications are derived—include, for example: adaptive intimal thickening (AIT), pathological intimal thickening (PIT), fibroatheroma (FA), thin-cap fibroatheroma (TCFA), and fibro-calcific (FC).
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method of classifying plaque within a vessel, comprising:
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rendering, by a tissue characterization application, a characterized tissue component map from a spectral analysis of ultrasound echo information for a vessel cross-section, wherein differing plaque components are distinguished, in the characterized tissue map, by assigned identifying values;
applying, by a plaque classification application, a classification criterion to spatially arranged data of the characterized tissue map; and
rendering, in response to the applying step, a plaque classification associated with the vessel cross-section. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A computer-readable medium including computer-executable instructions facilitating classifying plaque within a vessel, the computer-executable instructions facilitating performing a set of steps comprising:
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rendering a characterized tissue component map from a spectral analysis of ultrasound echo information for a vessel cross-section, wherein differing plaque components are distinguished, in the characterized tissue map, by assigned identifying values;
applying a classification criterion to spatially arranged data of the characterized tissue map; and
rendering, in response to the applying step, a plaque classification associated with the vessel cross-section. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for classifying plaque within a vessel, the system comprising:
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a tissue characterization application for rendering a characterized tissue component map from a spectral analysis of ultrasound echo information for a vessel cross-section, wherein differing plaque components are distinguished, in the characterized tissue map, by assigned identifying values;
a plaque classification application for applying a classification criterion to spatially arranged data of the characterized tissue map, and rendering a plaque classification associated with the vessel cross-section. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification