Vascular Data Processing and Image Registration Systems, Methods, and Apparatuses

• US 20160174925A1
• Filed: 03/02/2016
• Published: 06/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LightLab Imaging, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories)
• Original Assignee: LightLab Imaging, Inc. (Abbott Laboratories)
• Inventors: Adler, Desmond C., Dascal, Lorina, Winkler, Itai, Cohen, Stavit, Cohen, Amit
• Granted Patent: US 9,907,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/364 Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3735 Optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3966 Radiopaque markers visible in an X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0035 adapted for acquisition of images from more than one imaging mode, e.g. combining MRI and optical tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0066 Optical coherence imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0073 by tomography, i.e. reconstruction of 3D images from 2D projections A61B5/0066 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0084 for introduction into the body, e.g. by catheters A61B5/1459 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4417 related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/481 involving the use of contrast agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/487 involving fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/507 for determination of haemodynamic parameters, e.g. perfusion CT
• 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 6/5258 involving detection or reduction of artifacts or noise
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 : involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2025/105 : having a balloon suitable for drug delivery, e.g. by using holes for delivery, drug coating or membranes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 25/104 : used for angioplasty
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10101 : Optical tomography; Optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 : Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30204 : Marker
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 : Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 : Region-based segmentation

Abstract

In part, the invention relates to processing, tracking and registering angiography images and elements in such images relative to images from an intravascular imaging modality such as, for example, optical coherence tomography (OCT). Registration between such imaging modalities is facilitated by tracking of a marker of the intravascular imaging probe performed on the angiography images obtained during a pullback. Further, detecting and tracking vessel centerlines is used to perform a continuous registration between OCT and angiography images in one embodiment.

Claims

1-8. -8. (canceled)

9. A method of detecting an intravascular probe marker comprising obtaining a first frame of angiography image data that is substantially free of contrast agent image data and includes the intravascular probe marker;

obtaining a second frame of angiography image data that comprises contrast agent image data in the vicinity of the intrasvascular probe marker; and

detecting the intravascular probe marker in the first frame and the second frame.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of applying an image processing transform to the second frame to remove or modify a feature in the second frame and increasing an intensity of a plurality of pixels, the plurality of pixels comprising a guidewire image in the second frame.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of generating an average intensity value for a plurality of images and subtracting the average intensity from the first or second frame.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising applying a bottom hat operator to the second frame and applying a morphological close operation.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein detecting the intrasvascular probe marker comprises filtering candidate markers comprising pixels in the first frame and the second frame by applying a multiscale Laplacian of Gaussian operator on the first frame and the second frame and performing a non-maxima suppression process to identify blobs having a relative maximum in a neighborhood of pixels.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of generating a guidewire-based potential by applying a Euclidian distance transform on a binary image and applying an exponent to a negative fractional power times the distance transform.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining a plurality of geodesic distances based on the guidewire-based potential using a fast marching method.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising removing a shadow from the first frame and the second frame, increasing a contrast level of a guidewire on one of the first frame or second frame, and performing a morphological image reconstruction for each marker candidate.

17. The method of claim 9 further comprising processing the plurality of pullback frames using a Hessian-based vessleness filter;

and tracking the intravascular probe marker from one of the first frame or the second frame through the plurality of pullback frames to all the pullback frames using template matching.

18. The method of claim 9, further comprising tracking the intravascular probe marker through a plurality of frames obtained during the pullback using a Viterbi dynamic programming method.

19. A processor-based method of co-registering angiographic image data and intravascular image data obtained during a pullback through a blood vessel comprising

storing a plurality of frames of optical coherence tomography data in memory;

storing a plurality of frames of angiography image data in memory;

processing the plurality of frames of angiography image data such that one or more shadows are substantially reduced;

detecting a catheter in the plurality of frames of angiography image data;

removing the detected catheter in the plurality of frames of angiography image data;

generating a vessel centerline for the plurality of frames of angiography image data;

detecting a probe marker in the plurality of frames of angiography image data;

tracking a position of the probe marker along one or more vessel centerlines; and

co-registering the plurality of frames of angiography image data and the plurality of frames of optical coherence tomography data using the tracked position.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of generating a score indicative of a level of confidence in co-registration between a frame of angiography image data and a frame of the optical coherence tomography data.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of removing the detected catheter is performed using superposition of an intensity profile generated based on a sampling of regions of the detected catheter.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of co-registering the plurality of frames of angiography image data and the plurality of frames of optical coherence tomography data comprises generating a co-registration table, using a computing device, the co-registration table comprising angiography image frames, a plurality of per frame OCT time stamps, a plurality of per frame angiography time stamps, and optical coherence tomography image frames.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising displaying a stent representation in an OCT image and an angiography image in a user interface using the co-registration table and a computing device.

24. The method of claim 22 further comprising identifying a side branch in one or more OCT images or angiography images using the co-registration table and a user interface configured to display the side branch.

25. The method of claim 22 further comprising to set the spacing of the frames of OCT data based on the co-registration table to adjust for pullback speed changes and to display a longitudinal view in a user interface based on the spacing.