Noninvasive medical imaging system and method for the identification and 3-D display of atherosclerosis and the like
First Claim
1. A noninvasive imaging system for the display of a mammalian soft tissue live body part such as blood vessels or similar soft tissue for evaluation of soft tissue, using information obtained from multiple sequenced image slices produced by a body scan such as MRI and PET comprising:
- an electronic digital storage means for storing said information;
a computer processing means for processing said information from said storage means;
a graphics display station means for displaying an image resulting from said processed information;
said computer processing means including;
means for determining the boundary of said soft tissue body part from said image slices;
means for extracting said soft tissue body part;
means for clustering and determining the different soft tissue types of interest in said body part; and
means for creating a data base for said extracted soft tissue body part including the different soft tissue types with their location and volume for displaying in contrasting delineation on said graphics display station whereby said display shows an extracted view of said body part with said different soft tissues shown delineated in their volumetric quantities and shape at the correct location in said body part.
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Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed an image processing, pattern recognition and computer graphics system and method for the noninvasive identification and evaluation of atheroscelerosis using multidimensional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Functional information, such as plaque tissue type, is combined with structure information, represented by the 3-D vessel and plaque structure, into a single composite 3-D display. The system and method is performed with the application of unsupervised pattern recognition techniques and rapid 3-D display methods appropriate to the simultaneous display of multiple data classes. The results are a high information content display which aids in the diagnosis and analysis of the atherosclerotic disease process, and permits detailed and quantitative studies to assess the effectiveness of therapies, such as drug, exercise and dietary regimens.
334 Citations
64 Claims
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1. A noninvasive imaging system for the display of a mammalian soft tissue live body part such as blood vessels or similar soft tissue for evaluation of soft tissue, using information obtained from multiple sequenced image slices produced by a body scan such as MRI and PET comprising:
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an electronic digital storage means for storing said information; a computer processing means for processing said information from said storage means; a graphics display station means for displaying an image resulting from said processed information; said computer processing means including; means for determining the boundary of said soft tissue body part from said image slices; means for extracting said soft tissue body part; means for clustering and determining the different soft tissue types of interest in said body part; and means for creating a data base for said extracted soft tissue body part including the different soft tissue types with their location and volume for displaying in contrasting delineation on said graphics display station whereby said display shows an extracted view of said body part with said different soft tissues shown delineated in their volumetric quantities and shape at the correct location in said body part. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for noninvasive display of a mammalian soft tissue live body part using information obtained from multiple image slices produced by a body scan such as MRI and PET comprising the following steps:
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produce multiple sequenced image slices by noninvasively scanning a mammalian body; segment the entire scene represented by the image slices and identify the boundary of said soft tissue body part; extract said body part by extracting a region enclosed within said boundary; cluster the different soft tissue types of interest in said soft tissue body part; and create a data base for the different soft tissue types including their location and volume in contrasting delineation for displaying on a graphics display station whereby said display shows an extracted view of said body part with said different soft tissues shown delineated in their volumetric quantities and shape at the correct location in said body part. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A noninvasive imaging system for the 3-D display of atherosclerosis of a living human blood vessel using information obtained from multiple image slices produced by a MRI body scan comprising:
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an electronic digital storage means for storing said information; a computer processing means for processing said information from said storage means; a graphics display station means for displaying a 3-D image resulting from said processed information; said computer processing means including; means for taking multiple sequenced image slice sets wherein each set includes three images representing proton emphasis, T1 emphasis and T2 emphasis and normalizing the images so that they represent a common intensity, means for segmenting said normalized image for delineating the boundary of and extracting said living human blood vessel; classification means for using unsupervised clustering with no a priori knowledge to define the label lipid tissue, fibrous tissue and calcified tissue and assign different colors to each tissue; and means for creating a 3-D data base for the tissue types including their location and volume in different colors for displaying on said graphics display stations whereby said display shows a 3-D extracted view of the vessel with said lipid tissue, fibrous tissue and calcified tissue, to the extent present, shown in different colors in their volumetric quantities and shape at the correct location in said vessel. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64)
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Specification