SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REGISTERING ULTRASOUND INFORMATION TO AN X-RAY IMAGE

• US 20160030008A1
• Filed: 07/30/2014
• Published: 02/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Gerard, Olivier
• Application Number:
  US14/446,498
• Publication Number:
  US 20160030008A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/487 involving fluoroscopy
• 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: A61B 6/5247 combining images from an ionising-radiation diagnostic technique and a non-ionising radiation diagnostic technique, e.g. X-ray and ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0841 for locating instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0883 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display composite display in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52074
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/5261 combining images from different diagnostic modalities, e.g. ultrasound and X-ray
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/54 Control of the diagnostic device
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10121 Fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/30 Determination of transform parameters for the alignment of images, i.e. image registration

Abstract

A system and a method of medical imaging includes registering an ultrasound image to a non-ultrasound image according to a first transformation. The system and method includes registering the non-ultrasound image to the x-ray image according to a second transformation. The system and method includes registering the ultrasound image to the x-ray image based on the first transformation and the second transformation and co-displaying ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image. The ultrasound information is based on the ultrasound data.

Claims

1. A method of medical imaging comprising:

accessing ultrasound data;

generating an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound data;

accessing a non-ultrasound image and an x-ray image;

registering the ultrasound image to the non-ultrasound image according to a first transformation;

registering the non-ultrasound image to the x-ray image according to a second transformation;

registering the ultrasound image to the x-ray image based on the first transformation and the second transformation; and

co-displaying ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image,

wherein the ultrasound information is based on the ultrasound data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound image comprises a live ultrasound image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said registering the ultrasound image to the x-ray image is performed in real-time and, wherein said co-displaying the ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image is updated in real-time.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a location on the ultrasound image, and wherein the ultrasound information comprises a marker indicating a corresponding location on the x-ray image.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound information comprises a graphic positioned on the x-ray image to indicate a region or volume from which the ultrasound data was acquired.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the graphic comprises an outline of the region or the volume from which the ultrasound data was acquired.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the probe is moved during the process of acquiring the ultrasound data, and wherein the graphic is adjusted in real-time to indicate the region or volume from which the ultrasound is being acquired.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound image and the non-ultrasound image both comprise 3D images.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said registering the ultrasound image to the non-ultrasound image comprises implementing an image processing technique to identify a common structure in both the ultrasound image and the non-ultrasound image.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the ultrasound information comprises the ultrasound image.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said co-displaying the ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image comprises displaying the ultrasound image as an overlay on top of the x-ray image.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the ultrasound image comprises a volume-rendered image.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said co-displaying the ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image comprises displaying the x-ray image in a first portion of a display device and displaying the ultrasound image in a second portion of the display device, and wherein the x-ray image and the ultrasound image are both displayed with a common relative orientation with respect to a structure in both the x-ray image and the ultrasound image.

14. An ultrasound imaging system comprising:

a probe;

a display device; and

a processor in electronic communication with the probe and the display device, wherein the processor is configured to;

control the probe to acquire ultrasound data;

access a non-ultrasound image;

access an x-ray image;

calculate a first transformation to register the x-ray image to the non-ultrasound image;

calculate a second transformation to register the ultrasound image to the non-ultrasound image;

calculate a third transformation to register the ultrasound image to the x-ray image based on both the first transformation and the second transformation; and

co-display ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image on the display device, wherein the ultrasound information is based on the ultrasound data

15. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to update the ultrasound information registered to the x-ray image in real-time as additional ultrasound data is acquired.

16. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 14, wherein the ultrasound information includes a graphic showing at least one of a probe position and a position of a region or volume from which the ultrasound data was acquired.

17. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to update the graphic in real-time while an x-ray imaging system used to acquire the x-ray image is in an “

OFF”

state.

18. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 14, wherein the ultrasound information comprises a marker positioned on the x-ray image to indicate a structure identified based on the ultrasound image.

19. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 14, wherein the ultrasound image and the non-ultrasound image each comprise a 3D image, and wherein the processor is configured to identify and segment a common anatomical structure in both the ultrasound image and the non-ultrasound image.

20. The ultrasound imaging system of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to segment the common anatomical structure in the ultrasound image and the non-ultrasound image by using an image processing technique involving a mesh.