3D ultrasound-based instrument for non-invasive measurement of amniotic fluid volume

• US 7,744,534 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verathon Incorporated (Roper Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verathon Incorporated (Roper Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dudycha, Stephen James, McMorrow, Gerald, Chalana, Vikram
• Primary Examiner(s): Casler; Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): Roy; Baisakhi
• Application Number:
  US11/362,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20060235301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/437, 600/438, 600/439, 600/443, 600/447, 600/449
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/204 Determining bladder volume
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4343 Pregnancy and labour monitoring, e.g. for labour onset detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0858 involving measuring tissue layers, e.g. skin, interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0866 involving foetal diagnosis; pre-natal or peri-natal diagnosis of the baby
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/14 Echo-tomography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4472 Wireless probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/483 involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/8993 Three dimensional imaging systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52065 Compound scan display, e.g. panoramic imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10136 3D ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20061 Hough transform
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30044 Fetus; Embryo
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/12 Edge-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/143 involving probabilistic approaches, e.g. Markov random field [MRF] modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/155 involving morphological operators
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/62 of area, perimeter, diameter or volume
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/24 Aligning, centring, orientation detection or correction of the image
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/26 : Segmentation of patterns in the image field; Cutting or merging of image elements to establish the pattern region, e.g. clustering-based techniques; Detection of occlusion
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/03 : Recognition of patterns in medical or anatomical images

Abstract

A hand-held 3D ultrasound instrument is disclosed which is used to non-invasively and automatically measure amniotic fluid volume in the uterus requiring a minimum of operator intervention. Using a 2D image-processing algorithm, the instrument gives automatic feedback to the user about where to acquire the 3D image set. The user acquires one or more 3D data sets covering all of the amniotic fluid in the uterus and this data is then processed using an optimized 3D algorithm to output the total amniotic fluid volume corrected for any fetal head brain volume contributions.

Claims

1. A method to determine amniotic fluid volume, the method comprising:

positioning an ultrasound transceiver to probe at least a portion of a uterus of a patient, the transceiver configured to obtain a plurality of scanlines;

enhancing the images of the amniotic fluid regions in the scanline plurality with a plurality of algorithms;

registering the plurality of scanlines;

associating the registered scan lines into a composite array, and

determining the amniotic fluid volume of the amniotic fluid regions within the composite array.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein transceiver positioning and re-positioning acquires the first plurality of scanlines confined within a conically shaped field emanating from the transceiver.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of algorithms includes algorithms for image enhancement, segmentation, and polishing.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein segmentation further includes an intensity clustering step, a spatial gradients step, a hysteresis threshold step, a Region-of-Interest selection step, and a matching edges filter step.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the intensity clustering step is performed in a first parallel operation, and the spatial gradients, hysteresis threshold, Region-of-Interest selection, and matching edges filter steps are performed in a second parallel operation, and further wherein the results from the first parallel operation are combined with the results from the second parallel operation.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein image enhancement further includes applying a heat filter and a shock filter to the digital images.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the heat filter is applied to the digital images followed by application of the shock filter to the digital images.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the amniotic fluid volume is adjusted for underestimation or overestimation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the amniotic fluid volume is adjusted for underestimation by probing with adjustable ultrasound frequencies to penetrate deep tissues and to repositioning the transceiver to establish that deep tissues are exposed with probing ultrasound of sufficient strength to provide a reflecting ultrasound echo receivable by the transceiver, such that at least a portion of the plurality of scanlines penetrate to detect deep tissue and regions of the fetal head.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein amniotic fluid volume is adjusted for overestimation by automatically determining fetal head volume contribution to amniotic fluid volume and deducting it from the amniotic fluid volume.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the steps to adjust for overestimated amniotic fluid volumes include a 2D clustering step, a matching edges step, an all edges step, a gestational age factor step, a head diameter step, an head edge detection step, and a Hough transform step.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the Hough transform step includes a polar Hough Transform step, a Find Maximum Hough value step, and a fill circle region step.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the polar Hough Transform step includes a first Hough transform to look for lines of a specified shape, and a second Hough transform to look for fetal head structures.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein positioning further includes lateral and transverse.

15. A method to determine amniotic fluid volume, the method comprising:

positioning an ultrasound transceiver to probe a first portion of a uterus of a patient, the transceiver configured to obtain a first plurality of scanlines;

re-positioning the ultrasound transceiver to probe at least one other portion of the uterus to obtain a second plurality of scanlines;

enhancing the images of the amniotic fluid regions in the scanlines with a plurality of algorithms;

registering the scan lines of the first plurality and the second plurality;

associating the registered scanlines into a composite array, and

determining the amniotic fluid volume of the amniotic fluid regions within the composite array.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein transceiver positioning and re-positioning acquires the first and second plurality of scanlines confined within conically shaped fields emanating from the transceiver.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of algorithms includes algorithms for image enhancement, segmentation, and polishing.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein segmentation further includes an intensity clustering step, a spatial gradients step, a hysteresis threshold step, a Region-of-Interest selection step, and a matching edges filter step.

19. A method to determine amniotic fluid volume, the method comprising:

positioning an ultrasound transceiver to probe a first portion of a uterus of a patient, the transceiver configured to obtain a first plurality of scanlines;

re-positioning the ultrasound transceiver to probe a second through sixth portion of the uterus to obtain a second through sixth plurality of scanlines;

enhancing the images of the amniotic fluid regions in the scanlines with a plurality of algorithms;

registering the scan lines of the first through sixth plurality;

associating the registered scanlines into a composite array, and

determining the amniotic fluid volume of the amniotic fluid regions within the composite array.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein transceiver positioning and re-positioning acquires the first through the sixth plurality of scanlines confined within conically shaped fields emanating from the transceiver.