Determining a location at which a given feature is represented in medical imaging data

An apparatus, comprising:

• a non-transitory memory device for storing computer readable program code;
• and
• a processor in communication with the non-transitory memory device, the processor being operative with the computer readable program code to perform operations for determining a location at which a given feature is represented in medical imaging data, the operations including
• obtaining a first descriptor for a first location at which the given feature is represented in first medical imaging data, wherein the first descriptor is representative of values of elements of the first medical imaging data located relative to the first location according to a first predefined pattern;
• obtaining a second descriptor for each of a plurality of candidate second locations in second medical imaging data, wherein each second descriptor is representative of values of elements of the second medical imaging data located relative to the respective candidate second location, wherein the plurality of candidate second locations are locations distributed through the second medical imaging data in a second predefined pattern
• calculating, for each of the plurality of candidate second locations, a similarity metric indicating a degree of similarity between the first descriptor and the second descriptor;
• selecting a candidate second location from among the plurality of candidate second locations based on the calculated similarity metric;
• and
• determining the location at which the given feature is represented in the second medical imaging data based on the selected candidate second location.

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media embodying instructions executable by machine to perform operations for determining a location at which a given feature is represented in medical imaging data, the operations comprising:

• obtaining a first descriptor for a first location at which the given feature is represented in first medical imaging data, wherein the first descriptor is representative of values of elements of the first medical imaging data located relative to the first location according to a first predefined pattern;
• obtaining a second descriptor for each of a plurality of candidate second locations in second medical imaging data, wherein each second descriptor is representative of values of elements of the second medical imaging data located relative to the respective candidate second location, wherein the plurality of candidate second locations are locations distributed through the second medical imaging data in a second predefined pattern;
• calculating, for each of the plurality of candidate second locations, a similarity metric indicating a degree of similarity between the first descriptor and the second descriptor;
• selecting a candidate second location from among the plurality of candidate second locations based on the calculated similarity metric;
• and
• determining the location at which the given feature is represented in the second medical imaging data based on the selected candidate second location.