System and method for performing a three-dimensional virtual examination of objects, such as internal organs
First Claim
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1. A method for performing virtual examination of an object comprising:
- performing at least one scan of an object with the object distended by the presence of a contrast agent;
performing at least one scan of the object with the object relieved of the contrast agent;
converting the scans to corresponding volume datasets comprising a plurality of voxels;
performing image segmentation to classify the voxels of each scan into a plurality of categories;
registering the volume datasets of each scan to a common coordinate system;
displaying at least two of the volume datasets in a substantially simultaneous manner;
performing virtual navigation operations in one of the volume datasets and having the corresponding navigation operations take place in at least one other volume dataset; and
evaluating the at least one scan with the object distended and the at least one scan with the object relieved to identify regions where contrast is more visible in one of said scans and evaluating the scan with more contrast in a region of interest to determine physiological characteristics of the object, wherein said step of image segmentation includes classifying voxels based on local intensity vectors of the voxels and further includes using a region growing algorithm to identify regions of the object based on the classified voxels.
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Abstract
Methods for generating a three-dimensional visualization image of an object, such as an internal organ, using volume visualization techniques are provided. The techniques include a multi-scan imaging method; a multi-resolution imaging method; and a method for generating a skeleton of a complex three dimension object. The applications include virtual cystoscopy, virtual laryngoscopy, virtual angiography, among others.
170 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for performing virtual examination of an object comprising:
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performing at least one scan of an object with the object distended by the presence of a contrast agent; performing at least one scan of the object with the object relieved of the contrast agent; converting the scans to corresponding volume datasets comprising a plurality of voxels; performing image segmentation to classify the voxels of each scan into a plurality of categories; registering the volume datasets of each scan to a common coordinate system; displaying at least two of the volume datasets in a substantially simultaneous manner; performing virtual navigation operations in one of the volume datasets and having the corresponding navigation operations take place in at least one other volume dataset; and evaluating the at least one scan with the object distended and the at least one scan with the object relieved to identify regions where contrast is more visible in one of said scans and evaluating the scan with more contrast in a region of interest to determine physiological characteristics of the object, wherein said step of image segmentation includes classifying voxels based on local intensity vectors of the voxels and further includes using a region growing algorithm to identify regions of the object based on the classified voxels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for performing virtual examination of an object comprising:
- performing at least one scan of an object with the object distended by the presence of a contrast agent;
performing at least one scan of the object with the object relieved of the contrast agent; converting the scans to corresponding volume datasets comprising a plurality of voxels; performing image segmentation to classify the voxels of each scan into a plurality of categories; registering the volume datasets of each scan to a common coordinate system; displaying at least two of the volume datasets in a substantially simultaneous manner; performing virtual navigation operations in one of the volume datasets and having the corresponding navigation operations take place in at least one other volume dataset, and partitioning the volume image datasets into a plurality of regions related to the coordinate system, wherein the plurality of regions include eight regions defined in a three dimensional coordinate system.
- performing at least one scan of an object with the object distended by the presence of a contrast agent;
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17. A method for performing virtual examination of an object comprising:
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performing an imaging scan of the object to acquire image scan data; converting the acquired image scan data to a plurality of voxels; interpolating between the voxels to generate an expanded dataset; performing image segmentation to classify the voxels into a plurality of categories; extracting a volume of the object interior from the expanded dataset; generating a reduced resolution dataset from the expanded dataset; storing the expanded dataset in a tree data structure; rendering images for the expanded dataset and reduced resolution dataset; selecting at least one of the reduced resolution dataset or expanded dataset renderings for display. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification