Devices and systems for determination of parameters for a procedure, for estimation of cardiopulmonary function and for fluid delivery

• US 9,008,759 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2013
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayer Healthcare LLC (Bayer AG)
• Original Assignee: Bayer Medical Care Inc. (Bayer AG)
• Inventors: Kalafut, John F., Kemper, Corey
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Ruth S
• Application Number:
  US13/786,935
• Publication Number:
  US 20130253314A1
• Time in Patent Office: 769 Days
• Field of Search: 600/420, 600431-435, 604/19, 604/28, 604/67, 604/131, 382/128, 382/131
• US Class Current: 600/431
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• 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: A61B 6/507 for determination of haemodynamic parameters, e.g. perfusion CT
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 for local operation

Abstract

A system enables determination of at least one parameter for an injection procedure to be performed on a patient in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure. The system includes a processor and one or more algorithms. Embodied within the algorithm(s) is a model descriptive of the propagation of a fluid within the patient from a site of injection thereof to each of at least two regions of interest thereof. The algorithm(s) permits one discrete data point from each of at least two time enhancement curves, derived via a test bolus, to be input into the model to determine values of physiological parameters associated with the patient, preferably those related to cardiopulmonary function. The algorithm(s) also allows the values of the physiological parameters to be input into the model wherein the parameter(s) of the injection procedure that will be performed on the patient at issue are determined.

Claims

1. A parameter generation system to determine at least one parameter for an injection procedure to be performed on a patient in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure, the injection procedure including an injection of a contrast enhancement fluid that includes a contrast enhancing agent adapted to enhance a contrast of images obtained with an imaging system, the parameter generation system comprising:

(a) at least one processor for controlling operation of the parameter generation system; and

(b) one or more algorithms stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and operably associated with the at least one processor, the one or more algorithms embodying a model descriptive of propagation of a fluid within the patient from a site of the injection thereof to each of at least two regions of interest thereof, the one or more algorithms enabling;

(I) input into the model of as few as one discrete data point from each of at least two time enhancement curves to determine values of physiological parameters associated with the patient, each of the time enhancement curves being associated with one of the at least two regions of interest and each of the discrete data points constituting a pair of measurements on the time enhancement curve corresponding thereto, the time enhancement curves resulting from a scan of the at least two regions of interest as a test bolus of the contrast enhancement fluid injected into the patient flowed therethrough; and

(II) upon determination of the values of the physiological parameters, substitution of the values of the physiological parameters into the model to determine the at least one parameter for the injection procedure with which to generate desired levels of enhancement in the images obtained from the at least two regions of interest during the diagnostic imaging procedure.

2. The parameter generation system of claim 1 wherein the physiological parameters the model is adapted to determine are related to cardiopulmonary function of the patient.

3. The parameter generation system of claim 2 wherein the physiological parameters the model is adapted to determine include cardiac output and blood volume of the patient and wherein the at least one parameter for the injection procedure is determined via the model using at least:

(a) one of two equations for the blood volume, V_B;

4. The parameter generation system of claim 3 wherein the at least one parameter the model is adapted to determine is a parameter of at least one phase of the injection procedure wherein the contrast enhancement fluid is injected into the patient or a parameter of the diagnostic imaging procedure.

5. The parameter generation system of claim 3 wherein at least one of the algorithms of the model is based on first-pass dynamics of the contrast enhancement fluid and the discrete data point(s) from the time enhancement curve of a first of the at least two regions of interest corresponds to a first pass of the contrast enhancement fluid through the first region of interest, and the discrete data point(s) from the time enhancement curve of a second of the at least two regions of interest corresponds to a first pass of the contrast enhancement fluid through the second region of interest.

6. The parameter generation system of claim 5 wherein at least one of the algorithms of the model relates concentration of the contrast enhancing agent on one of the time enhancement curves at a certain time to the concentration of the contrast enhancing agent on the other of the time enhancement curves at the certain time or a time in proximity to the certain time using a conservation of mass balance.

7. The parameter generation system of claim 6 wherein the at least one of the algorithms is structured at least in part on the basis that loss of the contrast enhancement fluid between the first region of interest and the second region of interest is negligible.

8. The parameter generation system of claim 2 wherein the physiological parameters which the model is adapted to determine include cardiac output and blood volume of the patient and wherein the at least one parameter for the injection procedure is determined via the model using at least:

(a) one of two equations for the blood volume, V_B;

9. An injector system comprising:

(a) at least one pressurizing system to pressurize a contrast enhancement fluid for an injection in an injection procedure to be performed on a patient in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure, the contrast enhancement fluid having a contrast enhancing agent therein adapted to enhance a contrast of images obtained with an imaging system; and

(b) a parameter generation system to determine at least one parameter for use in controlling the at least one pressurizing system during the injection procedure, the parameter generation system comprising;

(I) a processor for controlling operation of the parameter generation system; and

(II) one or more algorithms stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and operably associated with the processor, the one or more algorithms embodying a model descriptive of propagation of a fluid within the patient from a site of the injection thereof to each of at least two regions of interest thereof, the one or more algorithms enabling;

(A) input into the model of as few as one discrete data point from each of at least two time enhancement curves to determine values of physiological parameters associated with the patient, each of the time enhancement curves being associated with one of the at least two regions of interest and each of the discrete data points constituting a pair of measurements on the time enhancement curve corresponding thereto, the time enhancement curves resulting from a scan of the at least two regions of interest as a test bolus of the contrast enhancement fluid injected into the patient flowed therethrough; and

(B) upon determining the values of the physiological parameters, substitution of the values of the physiological parameters into the model to determine the at least one parameter for the injection procedure with which to generate desired levels of enhancement in the images obtained from the at least two regions of interest during the diagnostic imaging procedure.

10. A system comprising:

(a) an injector system for injecting a contrast enhancement fluid in an injection procedure to be performed on a patient, the contrast enhancement fluid having a contrast enhancing agent therein adapted to enhance a contrast of images;

(b) an imaging system for obtaining the images during an imaging procedure; and

(c) a parameter generation system to determine at least one parameter for the injection procedure to be performed on the patient in connection with the imaging procedure, the parameter generation system comprising;

(I) a processor for controlling operation of the parameter generation system; and

(II) one or more algorithms stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium and operably associated with the processor, the one or more algorithms embodying a model descriptive of propagation of a fluid within the patient from a site of an injection thereof to each of at least two regions of interest thereof, the one or more algorithms enabling;

(A) input into the model of as few as one discrete data point from each of at least two time enhancement curves to determine values of physiological parameters associated with the patient, each of the time enhancement curves being associated with one of the at least two regions of interest and each of the discrete data points constituting a pair of measurements on the time enhancement curve corresponding thereto, the time enhancement curves resulting from a scan of the at least two regions of interest as a test bolus of the contrast enhancement fluid injected into the patient flowed therethrough; and

(B) upon determining the values of the physiological parameters, substitution of the values of the physiological parameters into the model to determine the at least one parameter for the injection procedure with which to generate desired levels of enhancement in the images obtained from the at least two regions of interest during the imaging procedure.