Device, system and method for measurement and analysis of contractile activity

• US 8,335,362 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2007
• Issued: 12/18/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Given Imaging Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Given Imaging Limited (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Vilarino, Fernando, Spyridonos, Panagiota, Radeva, Petia, Vitria, Jordi, Azpiroz, Fernando, Malagelada, Juan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ko, Tony
• Application Number:
  US12/304,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20090202117A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,016 Days
• Field of Search: 382/128, 382/107, 382/276, 382/286
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00016 using wireless means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00045 Display arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0005 combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/041 Capsule endoscopes for imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/073 Intestinal transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/42 Detecting, measuring or recording for evaluating the gastrointestinal, the endocrine or the exocrine systems A61B1/00, A61B5/4857, A61B5/486, A61B5/4866, A61B5/4869 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4255 Intestines, colon or appendix
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7264 Classification of physiological signals or data, e.g. using neural networks, statistical classifiers, expert systems or fuzzy systems neural networks per se G06N3/00; expert systems per se G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10068 Endoscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30028 Colon; Small intestine
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection

Abstract

A method and system for determining intestinal dysfunction condition are provided by classifying and analyzing image frames captured in-vivo. The method and system also relate to the detection of contractile activity in intestinal tracts, to automatic detection of video image frames taken in the gastrointestinal tract including contractile activity, and more particularly to measurement and analysis of contractile activity of the GI tract based on image intensity of in vivo image data.

Claims

1. A method for analysis of an in-vivo image stream comprising:

receiving a stream of image frames from an in-vivo imaging device;

measuring at least a property of each frame of a plurality of image frames of said stream;

determining frame classifications of each of said plurality of frames based on the measured properties; and

analyzing the measured properties and the frame classifications to determine the number of contractions in the plurality of image frames.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the measured property comprises image intensity value.

3. The method according to claim 2 further comprising:

calculating an image intensity value for each of a series of in-vivo image frames;

analyzing a variation of the in-vivo image intensity values corresponding to the series of in-vivo image frames; and

determining contractile activity information corresponding to one or more in-vivo image frames based on the calculated image intensity values.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein the series of in-vivo images comprises predetermined number of in-vivo images acquired within a predefined time period.

5. The method according to claim 3 wherein an in-vivo image frame having substantially a highest image intensity value is determined to correspond with a peak of a contraction.

6. The method according to claim 3 further comprising calculating a normalized intensity value substantially for each in-vivo image frame.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein said classification is selected from a group consisting of:

contractile activity frames, static frames, turbid frames, wall frames and tunnel frames.

8. The method according to claim 1 further comprising determining a percentage of contraction frames with a wrinkle pattern.

9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:

calculating a mean length of static frames sequences and determining whether the length is longer than a predetermined value.

10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising analyzing the number of contractions per minute to determine if it exceeds a predetermined value.

11. The method according to claim 1 further comprising providing indication that contractile activity is normal or abnormal.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of in-vivo images is a set of consecutive images of the image stream.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the first image of the set corresponds to a cycle of contractile activity.

14. The method according to claim 1 wherein the in vivo imaging device is a swallowable capsule.