Computer Vision Systems and Methods for Real-Time Needle Detection, Enhancement and Localization in Ultrasound

A method for detecting placement of an object in a digital image, comprising:

• detecting a needle in at least one frame of a first set of digital images;
• compiling a second set of digital images from the first set, the second set including images in which the needle was detected;
• performing a needle tip enhancement process on each frame of the second set of digital images;
• and
• performing a needle tip localization process on each frame of the second set of digital images to detect placement of the needle.

A system for detecting placement of an object in a digital image, comprising:

• a computer system comprising a first neural network and a second neural network, wherein the computer system:
• receives a digital image;
• processes the digital image to generate one or more candidate regions within the digital image using the first neural network;
• selects a proposed region from the one or more candidate regions using the first neural network;
• assigns a score to the proposed region using the first neural network;
• and
• processes the proposed region using the second neural network to detect an object in the proposed region.

A system for detecting placement of an object in a digital image, comprising:

• a processor in communication with an digital image source;
• and
• computer system code executed by the processor, the computer system code causing the processor to:
• detect a needle in at least one frame of a first set of digital images;
• compile a second set of digital images from the first set, the second set including images in which the needle was detected;
• perform a needle tip enhancement process on each frame of the second set of digital images;
• and
• perform a needle tip localization process on each frame of the second set of digital images to detect placement of the needle.