Method for use in ultrasound imaging
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.
InventorsJörg Sabczynski, Cornelis Petrus Hendriks, Rafael Wiemker
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Abstract
A method is provided for recording or representing captured ultrasound-derived information. The method is based on obtaining positioning information related to an ultrasound probe during execution of an ultrasound examination, and using this to associate captured data samples, or information derived therefrom, with anatomical position information for the data samples. The link between the two is achieved using an anatomical model which can relate probe surface position with anatomical body structure underlying the surface. A map can be generated of the obtained data as a function of position across the surface of the anatomical body. i.e. effectively a projection of the data onto the object 2D surface.
Claims15
A computer-implemented method for use in ultrasound examination of an internal anatomical object of a subject, comprising:
- receiving ultrasound data comprising a series of data samples acquired from an ultrasound probe moved over a surface of a body of the subject during a first period;
- applying a pre-determined processing operation to derive from the ultrasound data samples secondary data relating to features and/or artefacts detectable in at least a subset of the ultrasound data samples;
- receiving tracking data representative of movement of the ultrasound probe over the body surface during the course of the examination period;
- accessing an anatomical model, the model including a representation of the anatomical object of interest and a surface of the body overlying the anatomical object of interest, and a spatial relationship between the anatomical object and the surface of the body;
- determining, based on the tracking data, a probe position on the body surface as a function of time;
- and
- generating a surface map comprising a projection of the secondary data values onto a surface of the anatomical object, the projection based on the probe position as a function of time, and based on the anatomical model.
A processing arrangement comprising:
- an input/output;
- and
- one or more processors adapted to:
- receive at the input/output ultrasound data comprising a series of data samples acquired from an ultrasound probe moved over a surface of a body of a subject during an examination period;
- apply a pre-determined processing operation to derive from the ultrasound data samples secondary data relating to features and/or artefacts detectable in at least a subset of the ultrasound data samples;
- receive at the input/output tracking data representative of the movement of the ultrasound probe over the body surface during the course of the examination period;
- access an anatomical model, the model including a representation of the anatomical object of interest and a surface of the body overlying the anatomical object of interest, and a spatial relationship between the anatomical object and the surface of the body;
- determine, based on the tracking data, a probe position on the subject body surface as a function of time;
- and
- generate a surface map representative of a projection of the secondary data values onto a surface of the anatomical object, the projection based on the probe position as a function of time, and based on the anatomical model.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.