System and method for automatic determination of a region of interest within an image
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for defining a Region Of Interest (ROI) of a carotid artery for measuring the arterial wall thickness in a patient, comprising:
- providing at least one image including a portion of the carotid artery;
slicing the image into vertical slices;
selecting a stripe which corresponds to the Common Carotid Artery (CCA), within each of the slices;
computing a size of each selected stripe;
comparing the sizes of the selected stripes;
identifying a base of a bulb of the carotid artery as corresponding to the stripe having at least a minimum increase in size compared to stripes in lower slices;
positioning the ROI below the base of the bulb, and measuring the arterial wall thickness of the patient in the ROI.
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Abstract
A system and method for automated image analysis selects a Region Of Interest (ROI) within a frame, suitable for subsequent Quantitative Intima Media Thickness (QIMT) analysis. Presently, a time consuming manual analysis by a highly trained technician is required to select the ROI within the frame for subsequent automated analysis. The automated image analysis provides an immediate and accurate identification of the ROI within the selected frame. In one embodiment, the automated image quality analysis may be directed to an ultrasound image of the carotid artery.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for defining a Region Of Interest (ROI) of a carotid artery for measuring the arterial wall thickness in a patient, comprising:
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providing at least one image including a portion of the carotid artery; slicing the image into vertical slices; selecting a stripe which corresponds to the Common Carotid Artery (CCA), within each of the slices; computing a size of each selected stripe; comparing the sizes of the selected stripes; identifying a base of a bulb of the carotid artery as corresponding to the stripe having at least a minimum increase in size compared to stripes in lower slices; positioning the ROI below the base of the bulb, and measuring the arterial wall thickness of the patient in the ROI. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for determining a Region Of Interest (ROI) for subsequent Intima Media Thickness (IMT) analysis in a patient, the method comprising:
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providing at least one digital frame of a portion of a carotid artery, wherein the frame includes at least one of a set consisting of a bulb of the carotid artery and a bifurcation of the carotid artery; automatically processing the frame to identify the ROI in the frame, the automatically processing comprising at least one of the set consisting of; determining the ROI by detecting a bifurcation of the carotid artery, the determining comprising; slicing the frame into vertical slices; automatically comparing at least one of the vertical slices to at least one other of the vertical slices to find the bifurcation of the carotid artery; determining the ROI horizontal extent to range from approximately 1.75 cm below the bifurcation to approximately 2.25 cm below the bifurcation; identifying the highest point of a far wall segment of the carotid artery within the ROI horizontal extent; and determining the ROI vertical extent to range from approximately 0.3 cm above the highest point to approximately 0.2 cm below the highest point; and determining the ROI by detecting a bulb of the carotid artery, the determining comprising; slicing the frame into vertical slices; automatically comparing at least one of the vertical slices to at least one other of the vertical slices to find the bulb of the carotid artery; determining the ROI horizontal extent to range from approximately 1.0 cm below the bulb to approximately 1.5 cm below the bulb; identifying the highest point of a far wall segment of the carotid artery within the ROI horizontal extent; and determining the ROI vertical extent to range from approximately 0.3 cm above the highest point to approximately 0.2 cm below the highest point; and determining the ROI by pattern-matching a portion of the frame to a previous ROI having a previous horizontal extent and a previous vertical extent;
the determining comprising;determining an expanded ROI horizontal extent to be the previous horizontal extent expanded horizontally by a factor of approximately 1.2; determining an expanded ROI vertical extent to be the previous vertical extent expanded vertically by a factor of approximately 1.2; performing an automatic pattern match comparing the previous ROI to the region defined by the expanded ROI horizontal extent and the expanded ROI vertical extent; and determining the ROI based on the highest correlation of the automatic pattern match, and thereafter analyzing the Intima Media Thickness(IMT) in said ROI in said patient.
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12. A system for processing ultrasound images of the carotid artery, comprising:
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an ultrasound sensor; an ultrasound apparatus adapted to generate frames; a sensor cable connecting the ultrasound sensor to the ultrasound apparatus, wherein the ultrasound apparatus is adapted to receive measurements from the ultrasound sensor, and wherein the ultrasound apparatus is further adapted to process the measurements to generate ultrasound data; a computer; and a path adapted to carry the ultrasound data from the ultrasound apparatus to the computer, wherein the path is selected from a group consisting of dedicated cables, phone lines, a Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet, and a wireless path, wherein the computer is adapted to pre-process the ultrasound data to generate Regions Of Interest (ROIs) within the data for subsequent processing, wherein the ROIs are subsets of the ultrasound data.
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13. A method for defining a Region Of Interest (ROI) of the carotid artery for measuring the arterial wall thickness in a patient, comprising:
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providing at least one image of a portion of the carotid artery; slicing the image into vertical slices; identifying stripes within each slice, which stripes correspond to vessels; and identifying a bifurcation of the carotid artery when two stripes in a higher first slice correspond to one stripe in a lower second slice, positioning the ROI below the bifurcation, and measuring the arterial wall thickness of the patient within the ROI. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification