Medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging methods for estimating motion between composite ultrasonic images and recovering color doppler values from composite images

• US 6,371,913 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2000
• Issued: 04/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Guracar, Ismayil, Pang, Linyong, Hossack, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lateef, Marvin M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Imam, Ali M.
• Application Number:
  US09/733,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20020013528A1
• Time in Patent Office: 494 Days
• Field of Search: 600/437, 600/440-447, 600/453-457, 738/612.5, 348/163, 348/33, 367/7, 367/11, 367/130
• US Class Current: 600/441
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8988 Colour Doppler imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52066 Time-position or time-motion displays
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52071 Multicolour displays; using colour coding; Optimising colour or information content in displays, e.g. parametric imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

An medical diagnostic ultrasonic image processing method estimates motion between first and second composite ultrasonic images that include both B-mode and Color Doppler information. First and second B-mode images are extracted from the first and second composite ultrasonic images, respectively, and then motion is estimated between the first and second B-mode images. The estimated motion is then used to compose a multi-frame image using at least portions of the composite ultrasonic images or derivatives of the composite ultrasonic images, such as the B-mode images.

Claims

1. A method for identifying an entry in a Color Doppler map of a medical diagnostic ultrasonic processing system, said method comprising:

(a) generating first, second and third color arrays from a Doppler color map of a medical diagnostic ultrasonic imaging processing system, each color array associated with a respective color and comprising a plurality of color array entries, each color array entry associated with a respective color value and indicative of the Doppler color map entries that are associated with the respective color value;

(b) for a color (m, n, I), comparing the entry of the first color array associated with the m^th color value, the entry of the second color array associated with the n^th color value, and the entry of the third color array associated with the I^th color value to identify the Doppler color map entry associated with the color (m, n, I).

2. The method of claim 1 wherein act (b) comprises the act of bit AND the entry of the first color array associated with the m^th color value, the entry of the second color array associated with the n^th color value, and the entry of the third color array associated with the I^th color value.

3. A medical diagnostic ultrasonic image processing method for extracting a-Color Doppler image from a composite ultrasonic image comprising an array of composite color values, said method comprising:

(a) removing a gray scale component from each entry of a first color map associated with the composite ultrasonic image to form a second color map;

(b) removing a gray scale component from one of the composite color values of the composite ultrasonic image to form a new color value; and

(c) identifying an entry of the second color map corresponding to the new color value.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein each entry of the first color map comprises respective red, green and blue values.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein each gray scale component has equal red, green and blue values.