# US 10,368,833 B2 · Method and system for fetal visualization by computing and displaying an ultrasound measurement and graphical model > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,368,833 B2 - Document ID: US10368833B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/484,503 - Filed: 2014-09-12 - Published: 2016-03-17 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2014-09-12 - Assignees: General Electric Company - Applicants: General Electric Company - Inventors: Francesca Patruno; Simon Scharinger; Klaus Pintoffl; Walter Duda, Jr.; Karl-Heinz Lumpi; Lucienne van der Veen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10368833B2 ## CPC - A61B 8/0866: {involving foetal diagnosis; pre-natal or peri-natal diagnosis of the baby} - A61B 8/14: Echotomography - A61B 8/463: {characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display} - A61B 8/5207: {involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image} - A61B 8/5223: {for extracting a diagnostic or physiological parameter from medical diagnostic data (for algorithms to analyse biomedical images G06T7/0012)} - G06T 7/12: Edge-based segmentation - G06T 7/13: Edge detection - G06T 7/181: involving edge growing; involving edge linking - G16H 50/30: for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment - G06T 2207/10132: Ultrasound image - G06T 2207/20016: Hierarchical, coarse-to-fine, multiscale or multiresolution image processing; Pyramid transform - G06T 2207/30008: Bone - G06T 2207/30044: Fetus; Embryo - G06T 2207/30101: Blood vessel; Artery; Vein; Vascular - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract Various embodiments include a system and method that provide fetal visualization. The method can include acquiring, by an ultrasound system, ultrasound data for a region of interest. The method may include computing, by a processor of the ultrasound system, a fetal measurement based on the acquired ultrasound data. The method can include generating, by the processor, a graphical model based on one or more of the fetal measurement and the acquired ultrasound data. The method may include displaying, at a display system, the computed fetal measurement and the generated graphical model. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for fetal visualization, the method comprising: acquiring, by an ultrasound system, ultrasound data for a region of interest; computing, by a processor of the ultrasound system, one or more fetal measurements based on the acquired ultrasound data, wherein the one or more fetal measurements comprise an angle of progression measurement; generating, by the processor, a graphical model based at least in part on the angle of progression measurement; and displaying, at a display system, the one or more computed fetal measurements and the generated graphical model. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasound data is acquired by transperineal ultrasound imaging. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the graphical model is a three-dimensional graphical model comprising a standard or generic fetus model positioned within a standard or generic womb model based on the angle of progression measurement. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising: applying contrast enhancement to the acquired ultrasound data to generate a contrast enhanced image; and generating a binary representation of image pixels corresponding to a pubic ramus and a fetal skull in the contrast enhanced image by: applying a curvature mask to the contrast enhanced image to generate a curvature mask output image, applying a vesselness mask to the contrast enhanced image to generate a vesselness mask output image, and combining the curvature mask output image and the vesselness mask output image. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, comprising automatically selecting a pubic ramus and a fetal skull contour in the acquired ultrasound data. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, comprising detecting a tangent point where a line extending from an inferior apex of the pubic ramus intersects the fetal skull contour tangentially. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method according to claim 6, wherein the angle of progression measurement is computed as the angle between a line drawn along the pubic ramus and the line extending from the inferior apex of the pubic ramus to the tangent point. ### Claim 8 A system for fetal visualization, the system comprising: an ultrasound device comprising: a probe configured to acquire ultrasound data for a region of interest; a processor configured to: compute one or more fetal measurements based on the acquired ultrasound data, wherein the one or more fetal measurements comprise an angle of progression measurement, and generate a graphical model based at least in part on the angle of progression measurement; and a display system configured to display the one or more computed fetal measurements and the generated graphical model. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The system according to claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to automatically select a pubic ramus and a fetal skull contour in the acquired ultrasound data. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The system according to claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to detect a tangent point where a line extending from an inferior apex of the pubic ramus intersects the fetal skull contour tangentially. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The system according to claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to compute the angle of progression measurement as the angle between a line drawn along the pubic ramus and the line extending from the inferior apex of the pubic ramus to the tangent point. ### Claim 12 A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section, the at least one code section being executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform steps comprising: computing one or more fetal measurements based on acquired ultrasound data, wherein the one or more fetal measurements comprise an angle of progression measurement; generating a graphical model based at least in part on the angle of progression measurement; and displaying the computed one or more fetal measurements and the generated graphical model. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 12, comprising automatically selecting a pubic ramus and a fetal skull contour in the acquired ultrasound data. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 13, comprising detecting a tangent point where a line extending from an inferior apex of the pubic ramus intersects the fetal skull contour tangentially. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the angle of progression measurement is computed as the angle between a line drawn along the pubic ramus and the line extending from the inferior apex of the pubic ramus to the tangent point. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 12, wherein the graphical model is a three-dimensional graphical model comprising a standard or generic fetus model positioned within a standard or generic womb model based on the angle of progression measurement. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The non-transitory computer readable medium according to claim 12, comprising: applying contrast enhancement to the acquired ultrasound data to generate a contrast enhanced image; and generating a binary representation of image pixels corresponding to a pubic ramus and a fetal skull in the contrast enhanced image by: applying a curvature mask to the contrast enhanced image to generate a curvature mask output image, applying a vesselness mask to the contrast enhanced image to generate a vesselness mask output image, and combining the curvature mask output image and the vesselness mask output image. ### Claim 18 (depends on 8) The system according to claim 8, wherein the ultrasound data is acquired by transperineal ultrasound imaging. ### Claim 19 (depends on 8) The system according to claim 8, wherein the graphical model is a three-dimensional graphical model comprising a standard or generic fetus model positioned within a standard or generic womb model based on the angle of progression measurement. ### Claim 20 (depends on 8) The system according to claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to: apply contrast enhancement to the acquired ultrasound data to generate a contrast enhanced image; and generate a binary representation of image pixels corresponding to a pubic ramus and a fetal skull in the contrast enhanced image by: applying a curvature mask to the contrast enhanced image to generate a curvature mask output image, applying a vesselness mask to the contrast enhanced image to generate a vesselness mask output image, and combining the curvature mask output image and the vesselness mask output image.