Workflow assistance for medical doppler ultrasound evaluation
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.
InventorsShriram Sethuraman, Balasundar Iyyavu Raju
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems, devices, and methods are provided to provide workflow assistance to an operator during a medical imaging procedure, such as a Doppler ultrasound evaluation of a body vessel of a subject. A sensor such as a gyroscope (128) may be integrated in an external ultrasound probe (102). Workflow assistance may be provided to position the ultrasound probe (102) to make accurate flow measurements of fluid within the vessel, such as by coupling system color flow information with gyroscope angles. The workflow assistance may also assist a user in identifying a perpendicular orientation of the ultrasound to be used as a reference in making Doppler measurements. The system may also be used to create a vessel map.
Claims18
An ultrasound imaging system, comprising:
- an imaging probe configured for handheld operation by a user;
- an ultrasound transducer array within the imaging probe and configured to obtain imaging data associated with blood flow through a blood vessel within a body of a subject, wherein the imaging data comprises Doppler data;
- a first display device on the imaging probe and comprising an indicator light;
- and
- a processor within the imaging probe and in communication with the ultrasound transducer array and the first display device, wherein the processor configured to:
- during a first portion of an imaging procedure:
- receive the imaging data from the ultrasound transducer array while the imaging probe is moved to be in a plurality of orientations;
- identify, based on the imaging data, a transition between a positive velocity of the blood flow and a negative velocity of the blood flow;
- and
- determine, based on the transition, a perpendicular orientation of the imaging probe in which the imaging probe is positioned at a perpendicular angle with respect to the blood vessel;
- and
- during a second portion of the imaging procedure that occurs after the first portion:
- determine, using the perpendicular orientation as a reference, an angle of the imaging probe with respect to the blood vessel while the imaging probe is in a first orientation;
- and
- output, to the first display device, a visual representation of the angle for the user, wherein the visual representation of the angle comprises a color of the indicator light, wherein the color is representative of a numerical value of the angle such that the indicator light changes to a different color when the imaging probe is moved to be in a second orientation in which the imaging probe is positioned at a different angle with respect to the blood vessel.
A method of ultrasound imaging, comprising:
- during a first a first portion of an imaging procedure:
- receiving, with a processor within an imaging probe under handheld operation by a user, imaging data obtained by an ultrasound transducer array within the imaging probe, wherein the imaging data is associated with blood flow through a blood vessel within a body of a subject, wherein the imaging data comprises Doppler data, wherein the imaging data is received while the imaging probe is moved to be in a plurality of orientations;
- identifying, with the processor, a transition between a positive velocity of the blood flow and a negative velocity of the blood flow, based on the imaging data;
- and
- determining, with the processor, a perpendicular orientation of the imaging probe in which the imaging probe is positioned at a perpendicular angle with respect to the blood vessel;
- and
- during a second portion of the imaging procedure that occurs after the first portion:
- determining, with the processor, an angle of the imaging probe with respect to the blood vessel while the imaging probe is in a first orientation, using the perpendicular orientation as a reference;
- and
- outputting, to a first display device on the imaging probe, a visual representation of the angle for the user, wherein the first display device comprises an indicator light, wherein the visual representation of the angle comprises a color of the indicator light, wherein the color is representative of a numerical value of the angle such that the indicator light changes to a different color when the imaging probe is moved to be in a second orientation in which the imaging probe is positioned at a different angle with respect to the blood vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.