METHOD FOR DETERMINING AN ITEM OF POSITIONING INFORMATION FOR ECG ELECTRODES DURING AN EXAMINATION WITH A MAGNETIC RESONANCE FACILITY AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE FACILITY

• US 20100063381A1
• Filed: 07/07/2009
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Greiser, Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 8,346,341 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/411
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/374 NMR or MRI
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/061 Determining position of a probe within the body employing means separate from the probe, e.g. sensing internal probe position employing impedance electrodes on the surface of the body A61B1/00158 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/25 Bioelectric electrodes therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A method for determining an item of positioning information for ECG electrodes during an examination with a magnetic resonance facility is provided. An image data record of a region surrounding the heart of a patient and the electrodes arranged on the surface of the patient is recorded. A position of the longitudinal heart axis and a position of the electrodes in the image data record are determined. A target position suited to determining evaluable ECG signals is automatically calculated for each of the electrodes by considering the position of the longitudinal heart axis and a displacement from the position of the electrodes to the target position. An item of positioning information for the electrodes is displayed by taking the displacements into consideration.

A clean copy of the abstract that incorporates the above amendments is provided herewith on a separate page.

Claims

1-13. -13. (canceled)

14. A method for determining a positioning information for an ECG electrode of an ECG device during an examination with a magnetic resonance device, comprising:

recording an image data record of a region surrounding a heart of a patient and surrounding the ECG electrode arranged on a surface of the patient;

determining a position of a longitudinal heart axis in the image data record;

determining a position of the ECG electrode in the image data record;

calculating a target position for the ECG electrode suited to determining an evaluable ECG signal by considering the position of the longitudinal heart axis and a displacement from the position of the ECG electrode to the target position; and

displaying the positioning information for the ECG electrode comprising the position of the ECG electrode, the target position for the ECG electrode, and the displacement.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the image data record is a localizer image data record.

16. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the position of the longitudinal heart axis is manually marked in the image data record.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the position of the longitudinal heart axis is determined by an automatic or semiautomatic segmentation of the heart in the image data record.

18. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the position of the ECG electrode is determined manually or automatically.

19. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the target position is calculated automatically.

20. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the target position is calculated based on a projection of the longitudinal heart axis and the position of the ECG electrode on a coronal plane.

21. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the ECG electrode comprises a magnetic resonance marker.

22. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the longitudinal heart axis is a diagonal of a rectangle.

23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the ECG device comprises three ECG electrodes and target positions of the three ECG electrodes are two vertices of the rectangle intersected by the diagonal and a further vertex.

24. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein the longitudinal heart axis is a diagonal of a square.

25. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein dimensions of the rectangle are selected based on a size of the heart.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the size of the heart is measured by a distance between a heart valve plane and a cardiac apex.

27. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the positioning information is displayed in a coronal slice of the image data record which is overlaid with the position of the ECG electrode, the target position for the ECG electrode, and the displacement.

28. A magnetic resonance device, comprising:

an ECG device comprising an ECG electrode arranged on a surface of a patient;

an image recording device that records an image data record of a region surrounding a heart of a patient and surrounding the ECG electrode; and

a control unit that;

determines a position of a longitudinal heart axis in the image data record;

determines a position of the ECG electrode in the image data record;

calculates a target position for the ECG electrode suited to determining an evaluable ECG signal by considering the position of the longitudinal heart axis and a displacement from the position of the ECG electrode to the target position; and

displays the positioning information for the electrode comprising the position of the ECG electrode, the target position for the ECG electrode, and the displacement.

29. The magnetic resonance device as claimed in claim 28, wherein the ECG electrode comprises a magnetic resonance marker.

30. The magnetic resonance device as claimed in claim 29, wherein the marker is circular or annular.