Computer aided diagnostic assistance for medical imaging

• US 20040147840A1
• Filed: 11/06/2003
• Published: 07/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Medical Solutions USA Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Zhou, Xiang, Krishnan, Arun, Comaniciu, Dorin, Paine, Diane S., Duggirala, Bhavani
• Granted Patent: US 7,244,230 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/437
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4427 Device being portable or laptop-like
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/485 involving measuring strain or elastic properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0012 Biomedical image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 50/20 for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/925 Neural network

Abstract

Various attributes for medical CAD analysis used alone or in combination are disclosed, including: (1) using medical sensor data and context information associated with the configuration of the medical system to provide recommendations for further acts to be performed for more accurate or different diagnosis, (2) recommending further acts to be performed and providing an indication of the importance of the further act for further diagnosis, (3) distributing the computer-assisted diagnosis software and/or database over multiple systems, and (4) transmitting patient data to a remote system for CAD diagnosis and using the results of the CAD diagnosis at the remote facility.

Claims

I. I (We) claim:

1. A method for assisting a medical diagnosis of a patient with a computer assisted diagnosis system, the method comprising:

(a) configuring a medical system for a particular examination;

(b) obtaining medical sensor data in response to the configuration of (a);

(c) obtaining context data based on the configuration;

(d) analyzing the medical sensor data and the context data with a processor;

(e) automatically recommending a further act for diagnosis based on the analysis.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(f) automatically reconfiguring the medical system in response to the recommendation of (e).

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the reconfiguration of (f) comprises automatically performing the recommendation.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) comprises connecting a transducer to the medical system, the medical system being an ultrasound system, the transducer being associated with at least the particular examination and not associated with another particular examination.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein (d) and (e) are preformed by the processor, the processor being in the medical system.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) comprises selecting the particular examination from an examination list.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein (a) comprises configuring the medical system to obtain data and (c) comprises identifying the particular examination free of the data obtained as a result of a scan with responsive to the configuration of (a).

8. The method of claim 1 wherein (d) comprises performing a computer assisted diagnosis.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein (e) comprises recommending a measurement.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein (e) comprises recommending imaging in a new mode.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the new mode is one of:

B-mode, C-mode, spectral Doppler, Doppler tissue imaging, strain imaging, elasticity imaging, shear wave imaging, acoustic streaming, acoustic palpation, harmnonic imaging, boost imaging, 3-D, and 4-D.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein (e) comprises recommending an imaging view.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein (e) comprises recommending a medical protocol.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(f) indicating a sensitivity of the recommendation of (e) for diagnosis.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein (e) comprises recommending a plurality of measurements where the further act is one of the plurality of measurements;

wherein (f) comprises indicating a ranking of the plurality of measurements to a user.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

(g) outputting a probability of a diagnosis in response to (d), the sensitivity being based on an importance of the recommendation to the diagnosis.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(f) receiving data responsive to performance of the further act;

(g) repeating (d) as a function of the medical sensor data, the context data and the data responsive to performance of the further act for the patient; and

(h) outputting a probability of a diagnosis in response to (g).

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(f) obtaining patient context data;

wherein (d) comprises analyzing the medical sensor data, the context data based on the configuration and the patient context data.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein (d) comprises analyzing based in part on a database;

further comprising;

(f) updating the data base with the medical sensor data.

20. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

(f) identifying a measurement based on (d); and

(g) automatically performing the measurement;

wherein (e) is performed as a function of the measurement of (g).

21. A method for assisting a medical diagnosis of a patient with a computer assisted diagnosis system, the method comprising:

(a) obtaining medical sensor data;

(b) analyzing the medical sensor data with the computer assisted diagnosis system;

(c) recommending a further act for a diagnosis based on the analysis; and

(d) indicating a sensitivity of the diagnosis for the further act of (c).

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

(e) configuring the medical system for a particular examination; and

(f) obtaining context data based on the configuration;

wherein (b) comprises analyzing the medical sensor data and the context data.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein (b), (c) and (d) are preformed by a medical system.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein (c) comprises at least one of:

recommending a measurement, recommending an imaging view, recommending a medical protocol, and combinations thereof.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein (c) comprises recommending a plurality of measurements where the further act is one of the plurality of measurements;

wherein (d) comprises indicating a ranking of the plurality of measurements to a user.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein (d) comprises outputting a numerical value.

27. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

(e) outputting a probability of a diagnosis in response to (b), the sensitivity being based on an importance of the recommendation to the diagnosis.

28. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

(e) receiving data responsive to performance of the further act;

(f) repeating (b) as a function of the medical sensor data and the data responsive to performance of the further act for the patient; and

(g) outputting a probability of a diagnosis in response to (f).

51. The method of claim 21 wherein the sensitivity is based on feature sensitivity analysis.

29. A method for assisting a medical diagnosis of a patient with a computer assisted diagnosis system, the method comprising:

(a) obtaining medical sensor data with a medical system;

(b) analyzing the medical sensor data with the computer assisted diagnosis system;

(c) identifying a further act to assist diagnosis based on the analysis;

(d) automatically performing the further act with the medical system; and

(e) outputting a diagnosis based on the further act and the medical sensor data.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

(f) indicating a sensitivity of the further act of (c) for a first diagnosis; and

(g) indicating a probability of the first diagnosis

wherein (e) comprises outputting a probability of a second diagnosis updated from the first diagnosis with the information of the further act.

31. A system for computer assisted diagnosis in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the system comprising:

a medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system having a first memory operable to store a first portion of a computer assisted diagnosis system; and

a processor associated with a second memory remote from the medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system, the second memory operable to store a second portion of the computer assisted diagnosis system;

wherein the second portion is operable on data from the first portion.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the first portion comprises a first database and the second portion comprises a second database, the second database having additional information than the first database.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the computer assisted diagnosis system is operable to perform a first diagnosis based on the first database, the second database operable to provide data responsive to the first diagnosis to the medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system.

34. The system of claim 32 wherein the first database comprises a representative sample of the second database.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the first database comprises information for a first type of pathology and the second database comprises information for a second type of pathology.

36. The system of claim 31 wherein the computer assisted diagnosis system is operable to implement a first set of diagnostic capabilities with the first portion and a second set of diagnostic capabilities with the second portion, the second set different than the first set.

37. The system of claim 31 wherein the first portion comprises a menu structure of possible pathology, associated conditions and associated representative samples and the second portion comprises a database, classifier and quantification algorithms for determining a probability of diagnosis.

38. The system of claim 31 wherein the medical diagnostic ultrasound system comprises one of:

a system in a vehicle, a portable system and combinations thereof.

39. The system of claim 38 wherein the processor is located at a medical facility.

40. A method for computer assisted diagnosis in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the method comprising:

(a) obtaining ultrasound data with a portable ultrasound system;

(b) transmitting the ultrasound data to a computer assisted diagnosis system at a facility remote from the portable ultrasound system;

(c) analyzing the ultrasound data with the computer assisted diagnosis system; and

(d) outputting results of the analysis of (c) for use at the facility.

41. The method of claim 40 further comprising:

(e) transmitting the results to the portable ultrasound system.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein (d) comprises displaying the results.

43. The method of claim 40 wherein (d) comprises outputting a ranking of possible diagnoses.

44. The method of claim 40 wherein (a) comprises:

(a1) navigating a menu structure of possible pathology, associated conditions and associated representative samples; and

(a2) scanning based at least in part on (a1), the ultrasound data responsive to the scan.

45. The method of claim 40 wherein the portable ultrasound system is used for a mobile response and the facility comprises a medical facility.

46. A method for computer assisted diagnosis in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the method comprising:

(a) obtaining ultrasound data with a portable ultrasound system;

(b) obtaining anatomical position information;

(c) transmitting the ultrasound data and anatomical position information to a computer assisted diagnosis system at a facility remote from the portable ultrasound system;

(c) analyzing the ultrasound data and anatomical position information with the computer assisted diagnosis system; and

(d) outputting to a user of the portable ultrasound system a scan position reconuiendation based, at least in part, on the analysis of (c).

47. The method of claim 46 wherein (d) comprises outputting a transducer position.

48. A method for computer assisted diagnosis in medical diagnostic ultrasound, the method comprising:

(a) obtaining ultrasound data with a portable ultrasound system;

(b) determining a transmission bandwidth between the portable ultrasound system and a facility remote from the portable ultrasound system;

(c) altering a data bandwidth of the ultrasound data as a function of the transmission bandwidth; and

(d) transmitting the ultrasound data at the data bandwidth to the facility remote from the portable ultrasound system.

49. The method of claim 48 further comprising:

(e) analyzing the ultrasound data with the computer assisted diagnosis system.

50. The method of claim 48 wherein (c) comprises altering the data bandwidth as a function of a type of assistance.