System and Method for Determining Cross-Section Area of the Inferior Vena Cava From Ultrasound Imaging

A method of determining measurements of the Inferior Vena Cava, IVC, using ultrasound imaging, comprising:

• attaching an ultrasound device to the body of a patient, wherein the ultrasound device includes an ultrasound transducer comprising a 2D array of independently controllable ultrasound transducer elements for producing an ultrasonic pulse, a power source for providing an electrical signal to the ultrasound transducers, and a beam former;
• obtaining, from the ultrasound device, a plurality of 2-dimensional (2D) images of a portion of the body in which the IVC is located;
• providing a three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound image of the portion of the body in which the IVC is located by combining the plurality of 2D images into a 3D ultrasound stack;
• identifying at least one anatomical structure in the 3D ultrasound image selected from the group containing the aorta, the renal arteries, the hepatic vein, the right atrium or the diaphragm, and identifying the IVC in the 3D ultrasound image by its known position relative to the identified anatomical structure, wherein the identifying includes evaluating Doppler velocity data to distinguish blood flow characteristics, and analyzing geometric properties of the vessels;
• selecting a single slice of the 3D ultrasound image, the single slice containing a cross-sectional image of the identified IVC, wherein the single slice is selected based on being located a known distance from the identified anatomical structure;
• and
• determining the cross-sectional area of the IVC from the cross-sectional image of the IVC in the selected slice.