INSTRUMENT-BASED IMAGE REGISTRATION FOR FUSING IMAGES WITH TUBULAR STRUCTURES

• US 20130195338A1
• Filed: 03/29/2011
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Liu, Xin, Gutierrez, Luis Felipe, Xu, Di
• Granted Patent: US 9,104,902 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/131
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/03 Computed tomography [CT] echo-tomography A61B8/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4441 the rigid structure being a C-arm or U-arm
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/466 adapted to display 3D data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5235 combining images from the same or different ionising radiation imaging techniques, e.g. PET and CT
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/547 involving tracking of position of the device or parts of the device
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10116 X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30061 Lung
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/33 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/695 Preprocessing, e.g. image segmentation

Abstract

A system and method for registering three-dimensional images with two-dimensional intra-operative images includes segmenting (24) a tubular structured organ in a three-dimensional image of the organ, and projecting (26) the three-dimensional image of the organ into two-dimensional space to provide a projected image. A medical instrument depicted in a two-dimensional image of the medical instrument is segmented (28). A similarity score is computed between the projected image and a shape of the medical instrument depicted in the two-dimensional image to determine a best match. The projected image is registered (30) to the two-dimensional image based on the best match.

Claims

1. A method for registering three-dimensional images with two-dimensional intra-operative images, comprising:

segmenting a tubular structured organ in a three-dimensional image of the organ;

projecting the three-dimensional image of the organ into two-dimensional space to provide a projected image;

segmenting a medical instrument depicted in a two-dimensional image of the medical instrument; and

registering the projected image to the two-dimensional image based on a best match between the projected image of the organ and a shape of the medical instrument depicted in the two-dimensional image.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein segmenting a tubular structured organ includes determining a centerline of the tubular structured organ.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising computing a similarity score to determine the best match wherein computing the similarity score includes comparing a centerline of a segmented medical instrument with the centerline of the tubular structured organ to determine the similarity score.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the tubular structured organ includes airways of a lung and the medical instrument includes a bronchoscope.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional image includes a pre-operative computer tomography image.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional image includes an intra-procedure X-ray image.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the shape of the medical instrument is visible in the two-dimensional image.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein projecting includes employing a Digital Radiological Reconstruction (DRR) method to project three-dimensional space into two-dimensional space.

9. A method for registering images during a medical procedure, comprising:

segmenting a tubular structured organ in a pre-operative three-dimensional image of the organ;

projecting the three-dimensional image of the organ into two-dimensional space to provide a projected image;

collecting intra-procedural image data for a position of a medical instrument to obtain a two-dimensional image of the medical instrument relative to a region of interest in the organ;

segmenting the medical instrument depicted in the two-dimensional image;

computing a similarity score to determine a best match between the projected image and a shape of the medical instrument depicted in the two-dimensional image; and

registering the three-dimensional image to the two-dimensional image based on the best match such that the position of the medical instrument and the region of interest are concurrently visible.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein segmenting a tubular structured organ includes determining a centerline of the tubular structured organ.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein segmenting a medical instrument includes determining a centerline of the medical instrument wherein the centerline of the tubular structured organ and the medical instrument are compared to determine the similarity score.

12. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the tubular structured organ includes airways of a lung and the medical instrument includes a bronchoscope.

13. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the three-dimensional image includes a pre-operative computer tomography image.

14. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the two-dimensional image includes an intra-procedure X-ray image.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the shape of the medical instrument is visible in the two-dimensional image.

16. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein projecting includes employing a Digital Radiological Reconstruction (DRR) method to project three-dimensional space into two-dimensional space.

17. A system for registering images in a medical procedure, comprising:

a computer processing unit having memory storage media for storing and executing a program for segmenting a tubular structured organ in a three-dimensional image of the organ and projecting the three-dimensional image into a two-dimensional image; and

an intra-procedural imaging device configured to obtain a two-dimensional image of the medical instrument in a region of interest;

the program being configured to compute a similarity score between the projected image and a segmented image of a medical instrument depicted in the two-dimensional image of the medical instrument to determine a best match, and register the projected image to the two-dimensional image based on the best match to be rendered on a display device.

18. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the program determines a centerline of the tubular structured organ and determines a centerline for the medical instrument wherein the centerline of the tubular structured organ and the medical instrument are compared to determine the similarity score.

19. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the tubular structured organ includes a lung and the medical instrument includes a bronchoscope.

20. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the three-dimensional image includes a pre-operative computer tomography image.

21. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the intra-procedural imaging device includes an X-ray machine and the two-dimensional image includes an intra-procedure X-ray image.

22. The system as recited in claim 17, wherein the program includes a Digital Radiological Reconstruction (DRR) method to project three-dimensional space into two-dimensional space.