System and method for vascular border detection

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to vascular images, or more particularly, to a system and method of using the frequency spectrum of a radio frequency (RF) signal backscattered from vascular tissue to identify at least one border on a corresponding vascular image.

#2. Description of Related Art

#FIG. 1 illustrates a vascular-border-identification system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

#FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS) image.

#FIG. 3 illustrates a plurality of borders that are common to IVUS images.

#The present invention provides a system and method of using the frequency spectrum of a radio frequency (RF) signal backscattered from vascular tissue to identify at least one border on a vascular image. In the detailed description that follows, like element numerals are used to describe like elements illustrated in one or more figures.

#Embodiments of the present invention operate in accordance with a data-gathering device and a computing device electrically connected thereto. FIG. 1 illustrates a vascular-border-identification system 10 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, a data-gathering console 200 is electrically connected to a computing device 100 and a transducer 220 via a catheter 210. The transducer 220 is inserted into a blood vessel of a patient (not shown) and used to gather radio frequency (RF) data backscattered from vascular tissue. The RF data is then provided to (or acquired by) the data-gathering device 200, where it is used (or can be used) to produce an image of the vessel (e.g., intra-vascular ultrasound (IVUS) image, etc.).

#More particularly, RF data is typically gathered in segments, either through a rotating transducer or an array of circumferentially positioned transducers, where each segment represents an angular portion of the resultant image. Thus, it takes a plurality of segments (or a set of RF data) to image an entire cross-section of a vascular object. Furthermore, multiple sets of RF data are typically gathered from multiple locations within a vascular object (e.g., by moving the transducer linearly through the vessel). These multiple sets of data can then be used to create a plurality of two-dimensional (2D) images or one three-dimensional (3D) image. It should be appreciated that the data-gathering device 200 includes, but is not limited to, an IVUS console, thermographic device, optical device (e.g., an optical coherence tomography (OCT) console), MRI device, or any vascular imaging device generally known to those skilled in the art. It should further be appreciated that the computing device 100 depicted in FIG. 1 includes, but its not limited to, a personal computer or any other data-processing device (general purpose or application specific) that is generally known to those skilled in the art.