Systems and methods of determining injection protocols for diagnostic imaging procedures

• US 9,616,166 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bayer Healthcare LLC (Bayer AG)
• Original Assignee: Bayer Healthcare LLC (Bayer AG)
• Inventors: Uber, III, Arthur E., Kalafut, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mendez, Manuel
• Application Number:
  US13/654,680
• Publication Number:
  US 20130102897A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,636 Days
• Field of Search: 604500
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0044 for the heart
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02028 Determining haemodynamic parameters not otherwise provided for, e.g. cardiac contractility or left ventricular ejection fraction
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0205 Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/026 Measuring blood flow A61B3/1233, A61B3/1241 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/029 Measuring or recording blood output from the heart, e.g. minute volume A61B8/065 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0295 using plethysmography, i.e. measuring the variations in the volume of a body part as modified by the circulation of blood therethrough, e.g. impedance plethysmography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7257 using Fourier transforms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• 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: A61B 6/583 using calibration phantoms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/13 Tomography A61B8/10, A61B8/12 take precedence; tomography for radiation diagnosis A61B6/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/481 involving the use of contrast agent, e.g. microbubbles introduced into the bloodstream analysis of echo signal exploiting properties of a contrast enhancer in devices for short-range imaging with acoustic waves G01S7/52039
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 49/0002 General or multifunctional contrast agents, e.g. chelated agents
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/007 for contrast media
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/5601 involving use of a contrast agent for contrast manipulation, e.g. a paramagnetic, super-paramagnetic, ferromagnetic or hyperpolarised contrast agent
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/20 for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 30/40 for processing medical images, e.g. editing
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/50 : for simulation or modelling of medical disorders

Abstract

A method and system for tailoring an injection protocol to an individual patient, wherein the injection protocol is administered in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure. The method includes: administering a test injection of a fluid including a contrast enhancing fluid into the patient at an administration site; performing a test scan of one or more regions of interest of the patient as the fluid propagates through the patient to obtain scan data; determining from the scan data an enhancement output from each of the one or more regions of interest at a plurality of points in time as a result of the propagation of the fluid through the patient; and determining the injection protocol for the patient based at least in part upon the enhancement output from each of the one or more regions of interest at each of the plurality of points in time.

Claims

1. A method of tailoring an injection protocol to an individual patient, the injection protocol to be administered in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure, the method comprising:

(a) administering a test injection of a fluid into the individual patient at an administration site thereof, the fluid including a contrast enhancing fluid;

(b) performing a test scan of one or more regions of interest of the individual patient as the fluid propagates therethrough to obtain scan data resulting therefrom;

(c) determining from the scan data an enhancement output from each of the one or more regions of interest at a plurality of points in time as a result of the propagation of the fluid therethrough; and

(d) determining the injection protocol for the individual patient based at least in part upon the enhancement output from each of the one or more regions of interest at each of the plurality of points in time.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein, in step (d), the injection protocol is determined at least in part by determining at least one difference between the enhancement output from a first of the one or more regions of interest with the enhancement output from a second of the one or more regions of interest so as to provide a measure of at least one physiological parameter of the individual patient.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the at least one physiological parameter includes a volumetric blood flow calculated from:

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the at least one physiological parameter includes a blood volume calculated from:

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of determining the injection protocol further includes:

(a) identifying a patient transfer function for the individual patient based on data specific to the individual patient, the patient transfer function enabling prediction of a desired level of enhancement to be output from each of the two or more regions of interest based on a given input; and

(b) updating the patient transfer function using at least one of (i) the measure of the at least one physiological parameter of the individual patient and (ii) some of the scan data acquired as a result of the test scan; and

(c) determining through a numerical optimization technique the given input that, when entered into the patient transfer function, determines the injection protocol for the individual patient with which to generate the desired level of enhancement for each of the two or more regions of interest.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the data specific to the individual patient includes at least one of a height thereof, a weight thereof, a heart rate thereof, a blood pressure thereof and a cardiac output thereof.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein the data specific to the individual patient is obtained from at least one of a human operator, a hospital information system, an imaging device, an injection system and a monitoring device.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the at least one physiological parameter is a parameter of the cardiopulmonary system.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the at least one physiological parameter is at least one of (i) a volume of blood in at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system, (ii) a rate at which blood is output from at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system, (iii) a rate at which blood diffuses through at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system, and (iv) a delay in transit of blood through at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein the first of the one or more regions of interest comprises at least a portion of an aorta of the individual patient and the second of the one or more regions of interest comprises at least a portion of a pulmonary artery of the individual patient.

11. The method of claim 2 wherein the first of the one or more regions of interest comprises at least vessels and structure of a right side of a heart of the individual patient and the second of the one or more regions of interest comprises at least vessels and structure of a left side of the heart.

12. The method of claim 5 wherein the patient transfer function is a mathematical model of the propagation of the fluid between the administration site of the fluid and the one or more regions of interest to be enhanced thereby as a result of the injection protocol to be administered in connection with the diagnostic imaging procedure.

13. A method of tailoring an injection protocol to an individual patient, the injection protocol to be administered in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure, the method comprising:

(a) identifying a patient transfer function for the individual patient based on data specific to the individual patient, the patient transfer function enabling prediction of a desired level of enhancement to be output from each of two or more regions of interest based on a given input;

(b) administering a test injection of a fluid into the individual patient at an administration site thereof, the fluid including a contrast enhancing fluid;

(c) performing a test scan of the two or more regions of interest of the individual patient as the fluid propagates therethrough to obtain scan data resulting therefrom;

(d) determining from the scan data an enhancement output from each of the two or more regions of interest at a plurality of points in time as a result of the propagation of the fluid therethrough;

(e) updating the patient transfer function using at least some of the scan data acquired as a result of the test scan; and

(f) determining through a numerical optimization technique the given input that, when entered into the patient transfer function, determines the injection protocol for the individual patient with which to generate the desired level of enhancement for each of the two or more regions of interest.

14. The method of claim 13 further including:

determining at least one difference between the enhancement output from a first of the two or more regions of interest with the enhancement output from a second of the two or more regions of interest so as to provide a measure of at least one physiological parameter of the individual patient;

wherein the step of updating the patient transfer function also involves using the measure of the at least one physiological parameter of the individual patient.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one physiological parameter is a parameter of the cardiopulmonary system.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the at least one physiological parameter is at least one of (i) a volume of blood in at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system, (ii) a rate at which blood is output from at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system, (iii) a rate at which blood diffuses through at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system, and (iv) a delay in transit of blood through at least a portion of the cardiopulmonary system.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the data specific to the individual patient includes at least one of a height thereof, a weight thereof, a heart rate thereof, a blood pressure thereof and a cardiac output thereof.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the data specific to the individual patient is obtained from at least one of a human operator, a hospital information system, an imaging device, an injection system and a monitoring device.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein a first of the two or more regions of interest comprises at least a portion of an aorta of the individual patient and a second of the two or more regions of interest comprises at least a portion of a pulmonary artery of the individual patient.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein a first of the two or more regions of interest comprises at least vessels and structure of a right side of a heart of the individual patient and a second of the two or more regions of interest comprises at least vessels and structure of a left side of the heart.

21. A method of tailoring an injection protocol to an individual patient, the injection protocol to be administered in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure, the method comprising:

(a) identifying a patient transfer function for the individual patient based on data specific to the individual patient, the patient transfer function in response to a given input enabling prediction of a desired level of enhancement to be output from each of one or more regions of interest;

(b) determining, from scan data acquired as a result of a test scan of the one or more regions of interest while a fluid inclusive of a contrast enhancing fluid therein propagated therethrough, an enhancement level output from each of the one or more regions of interest at a plurality of points in time as a result of the propagation of the fluid therethrough;

(c) updating the patient transfer function using at least some of the scan data acquired as a result of the test scan; and

(d) determining through a numerical optimization technique the given input that, when entered into the patient transfer function, determines the injection protocol for the individual patient with which to generate the desired level of enhancement for each of the one or more regions of interest.

22. A system for tailoring an injection protocol to an individual patient, the injection protocol to be administered in connection with a diagnostic imaging procedure, the system comprising:

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

(b) a programming system operably associated with the processor, the programming system having at least one algorithm for enabling;

(i) use of a patient transfer function determined for the individual patient based on data specific to the individual patient, the patient transfer function in response to a given input enabling prediction of a desired level of enhancement to be output from each of one or more regions of interest;

(ii) input of an enhancement level output from each of the one or more regions of interest at a plurality of points in time, the enhancement levels obtained from scan data acquired during a test scan of the one or more regions of interest while a fluid inclusive of a contrast enhancing fluid therein propagated therethrough;

(iii) updating of the patient transfer function using at least some of the scan data acquired as a result of the test scan; and

(iv) determination through a numerical optimization technique of the given input that, when entered into the patient transfer function, determines the injection protocol for the individual patient with which to generate the desired level of enhancement to be output from each of the one or more regions of interest.