Methods, processes, and systems for soft and glandular tissue vascularity assessment
AssigneeMorphometrix Imaging Technologies, Inc.
InventorsBarry McLeod, Ali Meghoufel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present technology relates to in vivo ultrasound imaging, and particularly to a proxy model of vascularity in soft and glandular tissue from two-dimensional ultrasound signals. The methods, processes, and systems herein are useful for detecting abnormal cell growth, and involve obtaining an ultrasound image of an anatomical structure of interest, isolating a region of interest (ROI) within the anatomical structure, identifying, within the ROI, one or more hyperechoic structures, subjecting the hyperechoic structures to 2D and 3D smoothing, or 2D and 3D thinning, or 2D and 3D application of one or more morphological operations, to produce closed segmented structures.
Claims5
A method for detecting abnormal cell growth, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) obtaining an ultrasound image of an anatomical structure of interest, the anatomical structure including blood or lymphatic vessels that create liquid spaces in tissue;
- (b) isolating a region of interest (ROI) within the anatomical structure;
- (c) identifying and enhancing, within the ROI, hyperechoic structures produced by an echo caused by coherent specular reflection at the liquid spaces in the tissue by subjecting a radio frequency signal generated from the echo to:
- (i) 2D and 3D smoothing, (ii) 2D and 3D thinning, and (iii) 2D and 3D application of one or more of the following:
- morphological operations, erosion, dilation, closing pixels or watershed closing operations;
- to produce a segmented structure;
- and
- (d) analyzing the segmented structure by measuring dimensions, quantity, density or number of segmented structures.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.