Viewing system having means for processing a sequence of ultrasound images for performing a quantitative estimation of flow in a body organ

• US 7,229,412 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2002
• Issued: 06/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Gerard, Olivier, Collet-Billon, Antoine, Jacob, Marie
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, RUTH S
• Application Number:
  US10/499,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20050165308A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: 600437-472, 128/916
• US Class Current: 600/454
• 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 8/0883 for diagnosis of the heart
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8979 Combined Doppler and pulse-echo imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems

Abstract

A medical ultrasound viewing system for processing a sequence of three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound images far performing a quantitative estimation of a flow through a body organ comprising means for performing steps of acquiring a sequence of 3D color flow images, of said flow; assessing the flow velocity values in the 3D images, constructing isovelocity surfaces (6) by segmentation of the flow velocity values; computing the volume (Vol) delimited by the isovelocity surfaces; and using the flow velocity value (V) and the volume (Vol) computed from a segmented surface for computing the surface of an orifice (3) of the organ through which the flow propagates. The viewing system further comprises means for performing steps of measuring the peak velocity (V_REG) of said flow through said orifice; computing the surface of the orifice (SOR) through which the flow propagates as a function of the flow velocity value (V) at an isovelocity surface upstream the flow propagation with respect to said orifice, the volume (Vol) computed from said segmented isovelocity surface, and the peak velocity of the flow through said orifice. The surface is given by the formula: SOR=Vol. V/V_REG. The system can be applied to the assessment of the surface of regurgitation of the mitral jet.

Claims

1. A medical ultrasound viewing system for processing a sequence of three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound images for performing a quantitative estimation of a flow in a body organ comprising means for performing steps of:

acquiring a sequence of 3-D color flow images, of a flow in a body organ;

assessing flow velocity values in the 3-D images,

constructing isovelocity surfaces by segmentation of the flow velocity values;

computing volume delimited by a surface of the isovelocity surfaces; and

using the flow velocity value and the volume computed from said surface, for computing a surface of an orifice of the organ through which the flow propagates.

2. The medical ultrasound viewing system of claim 1, wherein the assessing step comprises measuring peak velocity of said flow into said orifice, and wherein the surface computing computes said surface of an orifice as a function of:

said flow velocity value;

said volume computed from said; and

the measured peak velocity.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the technique of segmentation is an active mesh model technique.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the technique of segmentation is a front propagation technique, whose starting values and stopping values are the velocities at the isovelocity surface.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein said surface computing comprises dividing a product of said volume and said flow velocity value by said measured peak velocity.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the 3-D ultrasound images are acquired from the heart atrium, the heart left ventricle and the mitral valve, using blood flow color 3-D imaging for assessing mitral regurgitation, wherein said surface computing computes a surface of regurgitation of the mitral valve.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein said surface computing computes a volume, said system comprising means for selecting another of the constructed isovelocity surfaces based on the computed volume.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said selecting selects said another surface by matching a volume delimited by said another surface to the computed volume.

9. An ultrasound examination apparatus having means to acquire medical image data, having a system as claimed in claim 1, having access to said medical digital image data, and processing the image data, and having means to display the processed images.

10. A computer program product comprising a set of instructions embodied within a computer-readable medium, said product for carrying out the steps as claimed in claim 1.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein said body organ is the heart, said orifice being formed and defined by a regurgitant jet embodying said flow through the mitral valve.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the computed surface coincides with another of the constructed isovelocity surfaces.

13. A medical ultrasound method for processing a sequence of three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound images for performing a quantitative estimation of a flow in a body organ comprising:

acquiring a sequence of 3-D color flow images, of a flow in a body organ;

assessing flow velocity values in the 3-D images,

constructing isovelocity surfaces by segmentation of the flow velocity values;

computing volume delimited by a surface of the isovelocity surfaces; and

using the flow velocity value and the volume computed from said surface, for computing a surface of an orifice of the organ through which the flow propagates.