SYSTEM AND METHOD TO GENERATE AN ILLUSTRATION OF A CARDIAC REGION OF INTEREST

• US 20080275336A1
• Filed: 05/03/2007
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Launay, Laurent, Knoplioch, Jerome F., Deschamps, Thomas, Nay, Maria-Magdalena
• Granted Patent: US 7,957,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/425
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/503 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/20 Editing of 3D images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20221 Image fusion; Image merging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30048 Heart; Cardiac
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/41 Medical
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2219/2004 Aligning objects, relative positioning of parts
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/12 Edge-based segmentation

Abstract

A system and method to generate an illustration of a cardiac region of interest of an imaged subject is provided. The method includes generating a three-dimensional model from a series of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest; measuring a series of values of at least one functional parameter of the cardiac region of interest; generating a map of a spatial relation of the plurality of values of the functional parameter in spatial relation to the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest; generating a three-dimensional model of a vessel structure leading to the cardiac region of interest; generating an output image that includes combining the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest, the map of the series of values of the functional parameter, and the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure in spatial relation to one another relative to a common coordinate system.

Claims

1. A method of generating an illustration of a cardiac region of interest of an imaged subject, the method comprising acts of:

generating a three-dimensional model from a plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest;

measuring a plurality of values of at least one functional parameter from one or more of the plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest;

generating a map of a spatial relation of the plurality of values of the at least one functional parameter in spatial relation to the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest;

generating a three-dimensional model of a vessel structure leading to the cardiac region of interest; and

generating an output image that includes combining the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest, the map of the plurality of values of the at least one functional parameter, and the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure in spatial relation to one another relative to a common coordinate system.

2. The method according to claim 1, the method further comprising the acts of:

identifying an endocardium contour or an epicardium contour delimiting a myocardium of the cardiac region of interest, and

calculating a value of at least one functional parameter of the myocardium.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the at least one functional parameter comprises a thickness of the myocardium, said parameter being calculated as a distance between the endocardium contour and the epicardium contour.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the at least one functional parameter comprises a motion amplitude of the myocardium, wherein measuring the motion amplitude includes detecting a distance between an endocardium contour isolated in a first of the plurality of images acquired during a systole phase of the cardiac region of interest and an endocardium contour isolated in a second of the plurality of images acquired during a diastole phase of the cardiac region of interest.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the at least one functional parameter comprises a density of the myocardium, wherein measuring the density of the myocardium includes detecting grayscale value of pixels between the endocardium contour and the epicardium contour as illustrated in one or more of the plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of generating the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest includes applying a ray tracing technique to the plurality of acquired images so as to generate a three-dimensional volume rendering view of the cardiac region of interest.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the act of generating the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure includes identifying a vessel structure in one or more of the plurality of acquired images, the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure independent of the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure includes a view of the coronary arteries leading to the cardiac region of interest.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of acquired images are generated using a computed tomography imaging system.

10. A system to generate an illustration of a cardiac region of interest of an imaged subject, comprising:

an imaging system operable to generate a plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest; and

a controller in communication with the imaging system, the controller including a processor operable to execute a plurality of program instructions stored in a memory, the plurality of program instructions representative of the acts of;

generating a three-dimensional model from the plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest,

measuring a plurality of values of at least one functional parameter from one or more of the plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest,

generating a map of a spatial relation of the plurality of values of the at least one functional parameter in spatial relation to the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest,

generating a three-dimensional model of a vessel structure leading to the cardiac region of interest, and

generating an output image that includes combining the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest, the map of the plurality of values of the at least one functional parameter, and the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure in spatial relation to one another relative to a common coordinate system.

11. The system according to claim 10, further including program instructions representative of the acts of:

identifying an endocardium contour or an epicardium contour delimiting a myocardium of the cardiac region of interest, and

calculating a value of at least one functional parameter of the myocardium.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one functional parameter comprises a thickness of the myocardium, said parameter being calculated as a distance between the endocardium contour and the epicardium contour.

13. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one functional parameter comprises a motion amplitude of the myocardium, wherein measuring the motion amplitude includes detecting a distance between an endocardium contour isolated in a first of the plurality of images acquired during a systole phase of the cardiac region of interest and an endocardium contour isolated in a second of the plurality of images acquired during a diastole phase of the cardiac region of interest.

14. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one functional parameter comprises a density of the myocardium, wherein measuring the density of the myocardium includes detecting grayscale value of pixels between the endocardium contour and the epicardium contour as illustrated in one or more of the plurality of acquired images of the cardiac region of interest.

15. The system according to claim 10, wherein the act of generating the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest includes applying a ray tracing technique to the plurality of acquired images so as to generate a three-dimensional volume rendering view of the cardiac region of interest.

16. The system according to claim 10, wherein the act of generating the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure includes identifying a vessel structure in one or more of the plurality of acquired images, the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure independent of the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest.

17. The system according to claim 10, wherein the three-dimensional model of the vessel structure includes a view of the coronary arteries leading to the cardiac region of interest.

18. The system according to claim 10, wherein the imaging system includes a computed tomography imaging system.

19. The system according to claim 10, the map including different bands of color representative of a given range values of the functional parameter in spatial relation to the three-dimensional model of the cardiac region of interest.