Location and display of occluded portions of vessels on 3-D angiographic images

• US 8,135,185 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2007
• Issued: 03/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stereotaxis, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Stereotaxis, Inc.
• Inventors: Blume, Walter M., Garibaldi, Jeffrey M., Drury, Heather, Viswanathan, Raju R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fitzpatrick, Atiba O
• Application Number:
  US11/874,895
• Publication Number:
  US 20080097200A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,608 Days
• Field of Search: 382128-134, 128920-925, 356 39- 49, 600407-414, 600424-426, 345581-618
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/481 involving the use of contrast agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/504 for diagnosis of blood vessels, e.g. by angiography
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10116 X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20101 Interactive definition of point of interest, landmark or seed
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30101 Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30172 Centreline of tubular or elongated structure
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/92 Computer assisted medical diagnostics
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/921 Diet management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/922 including image analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/923 by comparison of patient data to other data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/924 using artificial intelligence

Abstract

A method of finding the location of an occluded portion of a blood vessel relative to a three-dimensional angiographic image of a subject'"'"'s vasculature includes identifying the location of the occluded portion of the blood vessel on each of a series of displayed two dimensional images derived from the three dimensional image data in planes substantially transverse to direction of the occluded portion of the vessel. The identified locations in the occluded portion of the vessel can then be used to determine the path of the occluded portion of the vessel.

Claims

1. A method of finding the location of an occluded portion of a blood vessel relative to a three-dimensional angiographic image of a subject'"'"'s vasculature, the method comprising:

deriving, from three dimensional image data associated with an angiographic image, a series of two dimensional images in planes substantially transverse to the direction of an occluded portion of a blood vessel that is displayed in the angiographic image;

identifying, via a user-input device, a location within the occluded portion of the blood vessel on each of the series of displayed two dimensional images derived from the three dimensional image data; and

determining, from the locations identified on each of the two dimensional images, a construction of the occluded portions of the blood vessel, and displaying the construction on the three-dimensional angiographic image to indicate the location of the occluded portions.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising predicting the path of occluded portion, and wherein the displayed two dimensional images are from planes perpendicular to the displayed path.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein predicting the path of the occluded portion takes into account the locations of the start and end of the occluded portion.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein predicting the path of the occluded portion takes into account the direction of the non-occluded portions of the blood vessel adjacent the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

5. The method according to claim 2 wherein the predicted path of the occluded portion of the blood vessel is updated at least once using information about the location of the occluded portion of the blood vessel identified on the displayed two dimensional images.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of identifying the location of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises identifying a point near the center of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of identifying the location of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises identifying the cross-section of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the step of identifying the cross section of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises making a closed loop around the periphery of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

9. The method according to claim 7 wherein the step of identifying the cross section of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises marking two intersecting chords across the cross section.

10. A method of locating an occluded portion of a blood vessel relative to a three-dimensional angiographic image of a subject'"'"'s vasculature, the method comprising:

successively displaying two dimensional images, derived from the three dimensional image data, of a plane substantially transverse to the expected local direction of the vessel that includes the occluded portion of the vessel;

identifying, via a user-input device, a location within the occluded portion of the vessel on each of the displayed two dimensional images; and

displaying a construction determined from the locations identified on each of the two dimensional images on the three-dimensional image to indicate the location of the occluded portions.

11. The method according to claim 10 further comprising identifying the starting point of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising determining a predicted path of the occluded portion of the blood vessel based upon the direction of the non-occluded portion adjacent the starting point of the occluded portion, and wherein the orientation of the plane of at least the first two dimensional image is perpendicular to the predicted path.

13. The method according to claim 12 further comprising determining a predicted path of the occluded portion or the blood vessel based upon the direction of the non-occluded portion adjacent the starting point of the occluded portion, and wherein the orientation of the plane of the first two dimensional image is perpendicular to the predicted direction, and wherein the orientation of the successive planes is perpendicular to the predicted path of the occluded portion based at least in part upon a location of the occluded portion identified on one of the previous displayed two dimensional image.

14. The method according to claim 10 wherein the step of identifying the location of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises identifying a point near the center of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

15. The method according to claim 10 wherein the step of identifying the location of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises identifying the cross-section of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the step of identifying the cross section of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises making a closed loop around the periphery of the occluded portion of the blood vessel.

17. The method according to claim 15 wherein the step of identifying the cross section of the occluded portion of the blood vessel comprises marking two intersecting chords across the cross section.

18. The method according to claim 10 further comprising identifying the starting and ending points of the occluded portion of the blood vessel, and wherein the planes are perpendicular to a straight line connecting the starting and ending points.

19. The method according to claim 10 further comprising identifying the starting and ending points of the occluded portion of the blood vessel, and wherein the planes are perpendicular to a curve connecting the starting and ending points derived in part from the direction of the non-occluded portions of the blood vessel adjacent the occluded portion.

20. The method according to claim 10 further comprising adjusting the orientation of the plane of the displayed two dimensional image before at least some identification steps.

21. The method according to claim 10 further comprising displaying a plurality of two dimensional images at different angular orientations, and wherein the step of identifying the location of the occluded portion of the lumen comprises identifying the occluded portion of the lumen on one of the displayed images.

22. A method of locating an occluded portion of a blood vessel in a three-dimensional angiographic image of a subject'"'"'s vasculature, the method comprising:

predicting the path of the occluded portion of the blood vessel;

displaying a plurality of two dimensional images, derived from the three dimensional image data, of a plane substantially transverse to the predicted path of the occluded portion of the vessel, where the displayed two dimensional images include the occluded portion of the vessel;

identifying, via a user-input device, a location within the occluded portion of the vessel on each of the displayed two dimensional image; and

displaying a construction determined from the locations identified on each of the two dimensional images on the three-dimensional image to indicate the location of the occluded portions.

23. The method according to claim 22 further comprising updating the predicted path of the occluded portion of the blood vessel based in part on at least one of the locations of the occluded portion identified on a displayed two-dimensional image.

24. A method of identifying a navigation path through an occluded portion of a blood vessel that is difficult to see on a three-dimensional angiographic image, the method comprising:

identifying, via a user-input device, a location within the occluded portion of the blood vessel on each of a series of displayed two dimensional images, derived from the three dimensional image data, in planes substantially transverse to the direction of the occluded portion of the blood vessel; and

determining the navigation path through the occluded portion of the blood vessel by connecting the identified locations.

25. The method according to claim 24 further comprising positioning imaging equipment to image in a direction substantially perpendicular to the navigation path.