METHOD FOR ALIGNING SPATIALLY DIFFERENT SUBVOLUMES OF ULTRASONIC DATA OF A BLOOD VESSEL

• US 20160151038A1
• Filed: 07/14/2014
• Published: 06/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: GOVINAHALLISATHYANARAYANA, SUSHANTH, Sisodia, Rajendra Singh, Bussa, Nagaraju, PALANISAMY, KRISHNAMOORTHY, BASAWARAJ PATIL OKALY, VIKRAM, Sethuraman, Shriram, Petruzzello, John, Zhou, Shiwei, Anand, Ajay, Erkamp, Ramon Quido, Venkatesan, Shankar Mosur
• Granted Patent: US 11,382,596 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/06 Measuring blood flow measuring volume flow in general G01F, e.g. G01F1/66, G01F1/72; measuring speed of fluids in general G01P5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0891 for diagnosis of blood vessels
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/466 adapted to display 3D data 3D imaging and stereoscopic displays in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S15/8993 and G01S7/52068, respectively; 3D image rendering G06T15/00; manipulating 3D models for computer graphics G06T19/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/488 involving Doppler signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8925 the array being a two-dimensional transducer configuration, i.e. matrix or orthogonal linear arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging

Abstract

A method for aligning spatially different subvolumes of ultrasonic data of a blood vessel comprising: acquiring temporally discrete signals of a blood vessel with elements of a two dimensional array of ultrasonic transducer elements from spatially different depths of scanning opposed by each transducer element, said array being located in a first position with respect to the blood vessel during the acquiring; Doppler processing the temporally discrete signals received from each transducer element to produce spectral Doppler data of the scanning depth opposed by each transducer element; producing a first three dimensional map of the spectral Doppler data in spatial relationship to the position of the array with respect to the blood vessel; acquiring temporally discrete signals of the blood vessel with elements of the two dimensional array of ultrasonic transducer elements from spatially different depths of scanning opposed by each transducer element, said array being located in a second position with respect to the blood vessel during the acquiring; Doppler processing the temporally discrete signals received from each transducer element to produce spectral Doppler data of the scanning depth opposed by each transducer element; producing a second three dimensional map of the spectral Doppler data in spatial relationship to the position of the array with respect to the blood vessel; aligning the first three dimensional map with the second three dimensional map on the basis of one or more regions of matching spectral Doppler data of the two map; and producing a combined three dimension map of the blood flow of the vessel from the aligned first and second three dimensional maps.

Claims

1. A method for aligning spatially different subvolumes of ultrasonic data of a blood vessel acquired in a single sweep of a probe, comprising:

acquiring temporally discrete signals of a blood vessel in a first subvolume with the probe that comprises a two dimensional array of ultrasonic transducer elements from spatially different depths of scanning opposed by each transducer element, said array being located in a first position with respect to the blood vessel during the acquiring;

Doppler processing the temporally discrete signals received from each transducer element to produce spectral Doppler data of the scanning depth in the first subvolume opposed by each transducer element;

producing a first three dimensional map of the spectral Doppler data in spatial relationship to the position of the array with respect to the blood vessel in the first subvolume;

acquiring temporally discrete signals of the blood vessel in a spatially different, and at least partially overlapping region of, a second subvolume with the probe that comprises the two dimensional array of ultrasonic transducer elements from spatially different depths of scanning opposed by each transducer element, said array being located in a second position with respect to the blood vessel during the acquiring;

Doppler processing the temporally discrete signals received from each transducer element to produce spectral Doppler data of the scanning depth in the second subvolume opposed by each transducer element;

producing a second three dimensional map of the spectral Doppler data in spatial relationship to the position of the array with respect to the blood vessel in the second subvolume;

aligning the first three dimensional map with the second three dimensional map purely on a basis of one or more regions of matching spectral Doppler data of the two three dimensional maps, wherein the at least partially overlapping region of the second subvolume with the first subvolume is determined from a match of time domain Doppler data obtained from individual transducer elements of said array; and

producing a combined three dimensional map of the blood flow of the vessel via stitching together the aligned first and second three dimensional maps.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring additional temporally discrete signals of the blood vessel in spatially different, and at least partially overlapping additional regions of, additional subvolumes with the probe that comprises the two dimensional array in response to the array being located in additional positions with respect to the blood vessel;

Doppler processing the additional temporally discrete signals to produce additional spectral Doppler data of scanning depth in the additional subvolumes opposed by each transducer element;

producing additional three dimensional maps of the additional spectral Doppler data in spatial relationship to the additional positions of the array with respect to the blood vessel in the additional subvolumes;

aligning each of the additional three dimensional maps with at least one other three dimensional map purely on the basis of matching spectral Doppler data, wherein the at least partially overlapping region of the additional subvolumes with at least one other subvolume is determined from a match of time domain Doppler data obtained from individual transducer elements of said array; and

producing a combined three dimensional map via stitching together the aligned first, second and additional three dimensional maps.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the matching spectral Doppler data further comprises time domain Doppler data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the time domain Doppler data further comprises peak systolic velocity data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each three dimensional map produced further comprises a plurality of voxels extending in the depth dimension in front of each transducer element.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of voxels extending in the depth dimension further comprises a column of voxels, each having a Doppler flow value.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein aligning further comprises matching a column of voxels having Doppler flow values of one three dimensional map with a column of voxels having similar Doppler flow values of another three dimensional map.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the Doppler flow values further comprise flow velocity values.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein aligning three dimensional maps further comprises correlating the data of one three dimensional map with the data of another three dimensional map on a spatial basis.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring further comprising acquiring temporally discrete signals of a blood vessel with elements of a two dimensional array configured to be operated in a non-phased manner.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein producing first and second three dimensional maps further comprises producing partially spatially overlapping first and second three dimensional maps.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising interpolating or smoothing aligned first and second three dimensional maps.