System and method for detecting trachea

• US 9,990,721 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2017
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Markov, Igor A., Kreinin, Yuri
• Primary Examiner(s): Nakhjavan, Shervin
• Application Number:
  US15/672,612
• Publication Number:
  US 20170365056A1
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/205 Image-based rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/04 involving 3D image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/08 involving all processing steps from image acquisition to 3D model generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10081 Computed x-ray tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10088 Magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10104 Positron emission tomography [PET]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10121 Fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10132 Ultrasound image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30061 Lung
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/11 Region-based segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/187 involving region growing; involving region merging; involving connected component labelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/457 by analysing connectivity, e.g. edge linking, connected component analysis or slices
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/031 of internal organs

Abstract

Disclosed are systems, devices, and methods for detecting a trachea, an exemplary system comprising an imaging device configured to obtain image data and a computing device configured to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model, identify a potential connected component in a first slice image, identify a potential connected component in a second slice image, label the first slice image as a top slice image, label the connected component in the top slice image as an active object, associate each connected component in a current slice image with a corresponding connected component in a previous slice image based on a connectivity criterion, label each connected component in the current slice image associated with a connected component of the preceding slice image as the active object, and identify the active object as the trachea, based on a length of the active object.

Claims

1. A method for detecting a trachea of a patient, the method comprising:

obtaining a three-dimensional (3D) model of a patient'"'"'s chest;

generating a plurality of slice images of the 3D model along an axial direction;

identifying a connected component in each of the plurality of slice images;

labeling the connected component in a top slice image of the plurality of slice images as an active object;

associating the connected component in a current slice image of the plurality of slice images with a corresponding connected component in a previous slice image of the plurality of slice images based on a connectivity criterion;

labeling each connected component in the current slice image associated with a connected component in the previous slice image as the active object; and

identifying the active object as the trachea, based on a length of the active object.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the 3D model is generated based on image data obtained by an imaging device using a tomographic technique, radiography, a tomogram produced by a computerized axial tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, contrast imaging, fluoroscopy, nuclear scans, or positron emission tomography.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising finalizing the active object in the previous slice image.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of slice images are spaced at an equal distance apart from each other.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising calculating a length of a finalized active object by multiplying a number of the plurality of slice images including the finalized active object minus one and the distance between each slice image.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein, when the length of the finalized active object is greater than or equal to 70 mm, the method further comprises indicating that the trachea is identified.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein, when the length of the finalized active object is greater than or equal to 30 mm but less than 70 mm, the method further comprises indicating that the trachea is potentially identified.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein, when the length of the finalized active object is less than 30 mm, the method further comprises indicating that the trachea has not been identified.

9. The method according to claim 3, further comprising finalizing the active object in the previous slice image based on an association parameter,

wherein the association parameter is an area ratio calculated by dividing an area of the connected component in the current slice image by an area of the corresponding connected component in the previous slice image.

10. The method according to claim 3, further comprising finalizing the active object in the previous slice image based on an association parameter,

wherein the association parameter is a ratio between a number of coordinates of the connected component in the current slice image, which match coordinates of the corresponding active object in the previous slice image, and a number of non-matching coordinates of the connected component in the current slice image.

11. The method according to claim 3, further comprising finalizing the active object in the previous slice image based on an association parameter,

wherein the association parameter is an area of the connected component in the current slice image.

12. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

finalizing the active object in the previous slice image based on an association parameter; and

removing the label of the corresponding active object in the previous slice image as an active object when the association parameter is greater than a predetermined value.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising removing the label of the connected component in the current slice image as an active object when the association parameter is greater than the predetermined value.

14. The method according to claim 3, further comprising finalizing the active object in the previous slice image based on an association parameter,

wherein an active object is finalized when the association parameter is less than a predetermined value.

15. The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

finalizing the active object in the previous slice image based on an association parameter; and

labeling the connected component in the current slice image as the active object when the association parameter is greater than or equal to a first predetermined value and less than or equal to a second predetermined value.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein a connected component in the current slice image is associated with the corresponding connected component in the previous slice image when coordinates of a pixel in the connected component in the current slice image matches coordinates of a pixel in the corresponding connected component in the previous slice image.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein a connected component in the current slice image is associated with the corresponding connected component in the previous slice image when a difference between a center of mass of the connected component in the current slice image and a center of mass of the corresponding connected component in the previous slice image is less than a predetermined value.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein a connected component in the current slice image is associated with a corresponding connected component in the previous slice image when a difference between an area of the connected component in the current slice image and an area of the corresponding connected component in the previous slice image is less than a predetermined value.