User Interface and Methods for Sonographic Display Device

• US 20130245431A1
• Filed: 04/26/2013
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: C.R. Bard, Inc. (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: C.R. Bard, Inc. (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Beasley, Jim C., Burnside, Eddie K., Scruggs, Rodney
• Granted Patent: US 8,937,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/00 Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves imaging of objects using sonar G01S15/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0841 for locating instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/12 in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters catheters per se A61M25/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/461 Displaying means of special interest
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/465 adapted to display user selection data, e.g. icons or menus
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/467 characterised by special input means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52073 Production of cursor lines, markers or indicia by electronic means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52074 Composite displays, e.g. split-screen displays; Combination of multiple images or of images and alphanumeric tabular information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/52084 related to particular user interfaces special user input means for ultrasonic medical diagnostic devices A61B8/467

Abstract

A user interface for a sonographic device is disclosed that displays a sonographic image and at least one reference object corresponding to a catheter size. The reference object may be scaled in proportion to the sonographic image. In addition, the user interface may further display a plurality of vertical lines and a plurality of horizontal lines arranged in a grid-like pattern and placed over the sonographic image. The size of both the sonographic image and the at least one reference object may change in proportion to a chosen insertion depth. A display device, a sonographic device and corresponding methods are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A user interface for a sonographic device, the user interface configured to display a live sonographic image and at least a first reference object, wherein the first reference object represents a medical instrument and is movable independent from the medical instrument, and wherein the user interface scales the first reference object in proportion to the live sonographic image when a size of the live sonographic images changes.

2. The user interface according to claim 1, further configured to display a plurality of vertical lines and a plurality of horizontal lines arranged in a grid-like pattern over the live sonographic image.

3. The user interface according to claim 2, wherein an area defined by a first vertical line and a second vertical line adjacent to the first vertical line corresponds to a dimensional measurement unit.

4. The user interface according to claim 2, wherein an area defined by a first horizontal line and a second horizontal line adjacent to the first horizontal line corresponds to a dimensional measurement unit.

5. The user interface according to claim 1, further including an insertion depth indicator that indicates an insertion depth of the live sonographic image.

6. The user interface according to claim 5, wherein a size of the live sonographic image and a size of the first reference object change in proportion to a change in insertion depth.

7. The user interface according to claim 1, wherein the first reference object represents a catheter.

8. The user interface according to claim 1, further including a plurality of control objects allowing a user to select various actions or functions to be performed.

9. The user interface according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the control objects allows a user to perform a freeze operation for freezing the live sonographic image.

10. A computer program stored in an executable format on one or more than one non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions for performing a method for facilitating selection of a medical instrument, the method comprising:

displaying a live sonographic image of an internal structure of a body in a user interface;

displaying a reference object in the user interface, the reference object representing a medical instrument and being movable independent from the medical instrument; and

automatically scaling the reference object in proportion to the live sonographic image such that the scale between the live sonographic image and the reference object remains proportionate.

11. The computer program according to claim 10, wherein disparate instructions for performing the method are stored in different locations on more than one machine-readable medium, and wherein the disparate instructions implement the method together.

12. The computer program according to claim 10, wherein multiple blocks of instructions are distributed over several different code segments and across more than one machine-readable medium.

13. The computer program according to claim 10, wherein the one or more than one non-transitory machine-readable medium is selected from the group consisting of hard drives, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, solid-state memory devices, and combinations of these.

14. The computer program according to claim 13, wherein the method includes linking to a remote processing device through a communications network.

15. The computer program according to claim 13, wherein the user may request that the reference object be overlaid on the live sonographic image by selecting the reference object from an area of the user interface including multiple different reference objects, and the method includes determining which reference object is selected by the user.

16. The computer program according to claim 13, wherein the method includes determining whether a user has requested that the reference object be overlaid on the live sonographic image, and wherein the instructions provide for displaying the reference object in an overlay position over the live sonographic image, if the user has requested that the reference object be overlaid on the live sonographic image.

17. The computer program according to claim 16, wherein the method includes determining the overlay position based on input from the user.

18. The computer program according to claim 16, wherein the method includes allowing the user to select the overlay position by dragging the reference object to the overlay position.

19. The computer program according to claim 13, wherein the method includes determining whether a user has changed an insertion depth, and the instructions provide for automatically scaling the reference object and live sonographic image in proportion to the changed insertion depth, if the user has changed the insertion depth.

20. The computer program according to claim 13, wherein the medical instrument is a catheter.