Method and software for improving coronary calcium scoring consistency
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of improving the consistency of coronary calcium scoring, the method comprising:
- imaging a phantom with an imaging device to produce an image of the phantom;
measuring a spatial resolution from the image of the phantom;
comparing the measured spatial resolution of the image of the phantom against a reference spatial resolution;
choosing a filter algorithm, wherein when filter is applied to the phantom image a filtered image is produced having a spatial resolution substantially matching the reference spatial resolution;
subsequent to choosing a filter algorithm, obtaining an image of a subject;
applying the filter algorithm to the image of the subject to create a filtered image that has a spatial resolution that substantially matches the reference spatial resolution; and
computing a coronary calcium score from the filtered image.
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Abstract
Methods and devices for improving the machine-to-machine and temporal (e.g., inter and intra-machine) and database consistency of coronary calcium scoring by applying a filtering algorithm that sharpens and/or smoothes the image so as to return a filtered image having a spatial resolution of a certain reference value.
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Citations
66 Claims
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1. A method of improving the consistency of coronary calcium scoring, the method comprising:
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imaging a phantom with an imaging device to produce an image of the phantom; measuring a spatial resolution from the image of the phantom; comparing the measured spatial resolution of the image of the phantom against a reference spatial resolution; choosing a filter algorithm, wherein when filter is applied to the phantom image a filtered image is produced having a spatial resolution substantially matching the reference spatial resolution; subsequent to choosing a filter algorithm, obtaining an image of a subject; applying the filter algorithm to the image of the subject to create a filtered image that has a spatial resolution that substantially matches the reference spatial resolution; and computing a coronary calcium score from the filtered image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for improving coronary and other vessel calcium scoring consistency, the system comprising:
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an imaging unit that measures a spatial resolution of an image of a phantom; and a computer system coupled to the imaging unit, the computer system comprising; a memory that stores a reference spatial resolution; means for creating a resolution-adjusted image of an acquired image in which the spatial resolution of the acquired image is adjusted to match the reference spatial resolution, the adjustment being based on a comparison of the measured spatial resolution of the image of the phantom with the reference spatial resolution stored in the memory; and means for computing a coronary calcium score from a resolution-adjusted image generated by the means for creating. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of improving the consistency of coronary calcium scoring, the method comprising:
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comparing a spatial resolution of the imaging scanner against a reference spatial resolution; choosing a filter algorithm based on the comparison of the spatial resolution of the imaging scanner and the reference spatial resolution; subsequent to choosing a filter algorithm, performing an imaging operation on the imaging scanner to obtain an image of a subject; applying the filter algorithm to the obtained image to create a filtered image that has a spatial resolution that substantially matches the reference spatial resolution; and computing a coronary calcium score from the filtered image. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A method of improving a comparison of calcium scores, the method comprising:
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providing an algorithm; obtaining at least one image with an imaging device; applying the algorithm to the obtained image(s) to adjust a spatial resolution of the obtained image(s) to create resolution-adjusted image(s) that have a spatial resolution that substantially matches a reference spatial resolution; and computing a coronary calcium score by performing a scoring operation on the resolution-adjusted image(s). - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66)
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Specification