Border detection method and system

• US 6,475,149 B1
• Filed: 09/21/2001
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Acuson Corporation (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Sumanaweera, Thilaka
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaworski, Francis J.
• Application Number:
  US09/960,461
• Time in Patent Office: 410 Days
• Field of Search: 600/440, 600/441, 600/443, 600/447, 600/453-456, 128/916
• US Class Current: 600/441
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02007 Evaluating blood vessel condition, e.g. elasticity, compliance
• 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 8/0858 involving measuring tissue layers, e.g. skin, interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52036 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/5206 Two-dimensional coordinated display of distance and direction; B-scan display

Abstract

Vessel border detection is provided. A top border or border closer to a transducer of a vessel is detected using Doppler data. Since little flowing fluid is provided between the top border of the vessel and the transducer, reverberation artifacts are minimized. A bottom border or border of the vessel farther from the transducer is detected from B-mode data. Since few tissue layers are provided immediately adjacent the bottom border between the bottom border and the transducer, reverberation artifacts are minimized. The detected borders are used for further calculation or display, such as automatically estimating vessel diameter for endothelial function assessment. In alternate embodiments, different techniques for identifying fluid or tissue data are used, such as magnetic resonance imaging, CAT scan, x-ray or other techniques for imaging interior portions of a patient. Borders for other fluid regions in a patient may be detected, such as a heart border or other organ borders.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a border associated with a fluid region, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) detecting a first portion of the border with Doppler data as a function of a prior identified tissue-to-fluid relationship of the first portion; and

(b) detecting a second portion of the border with B-mode data as a function of a prior identified fluid-to-tissue relationship of the second portion, the second portion different then the first portion;

wherein the tissue-to-fluid and the fluid-to-tissue are relative to a path of travel of ultrasound energy away from a transducer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) and (b) comprise detecting a two dimensional border of a vessel.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) and (b) comprises detecting a three-dimensional border of a vessel.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) comprises detecting the first portion in response to gradients associated with the Doppler data.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein (b) comprises detecting the second portion in response to gradients associated with the B-mode data.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) comprises detecting the first portion in response to the Doppler data at a tissue-to-fluid border, and (b) comprises detecting the second portion in response to B-mode data at a fluid-to-tissue border, wherein the tissue-to-fluid and the fluid-to-tissue are relative to a path of travel of ultrasound energy away from a transducer.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(c) separating the Doppler data and the B-mode data from combined image data.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(c) displaying the first and second portions as an overlay on an image responsive to at least one of the B-mode and Doppler data.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(c) positioning a transducer so that the first portion is closer to the transducer and the second portion is farther from the transducer.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein:

(a) comprises detecting the first portion in response to gradients associated with the Doppler data, the first portion associated with a tissue-to-fluid border; and

(b) comprises detecting the second portion in response to gradients associated with the B-mode data, the second portion associated with a fluid-to-tissue border, wherein the tissue-to-fluid and the fluid-to-tissue are relative to a path of travel of ultrasound energy away from a transducer; and

 

further comprising;

(c) positioning a transducer so that the first portion is closer to the transducer and the second portion is farther from the transducer; and

(d) displaying the first and second portions on an image responsive to at least one of the B-mode and Doppler data.

11. A system for detecting a border associated with a fluid region of a patient, the system comprising:

a first processor operable to detect a first portion of the border with fluid data and to detect a second portion of the border with tissue data, the second portion different then the first portion, the detection of the first and second portions based on identified relative distances from a transducer; and

a second processor operable to combine the first and second portions of the border.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the system comprises an ultrasound system, the fluid data comprises Doppler data and the tissue data comprises B-mode data;

further comprising a transducer operatively connected with the first processor.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the first processor detects the first and second portions as a function of first and second gradients, respectively.

14. The system of claim 11 further comprising:

a memory for storing combined image data wherein the tissue and fluid data are obtained from the combined image data.

15. A method for detecting a border of a vessel, the method comprising the acts of:

(a) detecting the border of the vessel closer to a transducer with flow data; and

(b) detecting the border of the vessel farther from the transducer with tissue data;

wherein act (a) is performed with the flow data based on the border of the vessel identified as being closer to the transducer, and act (b) is performed with the tissue data based on the border of the vessel identified as being farther from the transducer.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein (a) comprises detecting a top border of the vessel and (b) comprises detecting a bottom border of the vessel, the top and bottom borders being relative to the transducer.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein (a) comprises detecting the border closer to the transducer in response to gradients associated with ultrasound Doppler data;

and (b) comprises detecting the border farther from the transducer in response to gradients associated with ultrasound B-mode data.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein (a) comprises detecting the border closer to the transducer at a tissue-to-fluid border, and (b) comprises detecting the border farther from the transducer at a fluid-to-tissue border, wherein the tissue-to-fluid and the fluid-to-tissue are relative to a path of travel of ultrasound energy away from the transducer.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(c) displaying the borders closer and farther from the transducer on an image responsive to at least one of the tissue and flow data.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

(c) positioning the transducer so that the vessel is more parallel than perpendicular to a transmitting surface of the transducer.