Breast tomosynthesis with display of highlighted suspected calcifications
AssigneeHologic, Inc.
InventorsChris Ruth, Jay Stein, Loren Niklason, Andrew Smith
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods that facilitate the presentation and assessment of selected features in projection and/or reconstructed breast images, such as calcifications that meet selected criteria of size, shape, presence in selected slice images, distribution of pixels that could be indicative of calcification relative to other pixels or of other image features of clinical interest.
Claims20
A method of obtaining and displaying x-ray images of a patient's breast comprising:
- obtaining x-ray tomosynthesis image data Tp representative of projection images Tp taken at different angles of an origin of imaging x-rays relative to a patient's breast;
- computer-processing at least a subset of the Tp data into reconstructed tomosynthesis image data Tr representative of reconstructed tomosyntesis images Tr of slices of the breasts that have respective selected orientations and thicknesses;
- identifying an anatomical feature in one of said images that meets selected criteria of size, location and other properties;
- and
- computer-processing said reconstructed tomosynthesis image data Tr to select a tomosynthesis image Tr in which said anatomical feature is seen well;
- and
- displaying on a computer display the selected tomosynthesis image Tr in which said anatomical feature is seen well.
A method of obtaining and displaying x-ray images comprising:
- obtaining two-dimensional (2D) x-ray image data of a patient's breast, including tomosynthesis images data Tp representative of projection images Tp taken at different angles of an origin of imaging x-rays relative to the breast;
- computer-processing at least a subset of the 2D x-ray image data into reconstructed tomosynthesis image data Tr representative of images Tr of slices of the breasts that have selected orientations and thicknesses that are several mm for each of at least some of the slices;
- selectively displaying one or more 2D images based on at least of subset of said 2D image data and identifying, at least in part through computer processing of at least some of said 2D images, one or more features in the displayed 2D images in response to user designation of said one or more features;
- and
- automatically identifying and displaying under user control a Tr image showing the one or more features identified in said displayed 2D images.
A computer program product embodied in a computer-readable information storage device in a non-transitory form and containing instructions to a processing system to:
- receive information describing projection x-ray images of a patient's breast acquired at different angles and reconstruct breast slice images in a reconstruction process using at least the projection images;
- identify pixels in the projection and/or reconstructed images that correspond to features in breast tissue identified by a user interacting with a computer interface;
- process the identified pixels to facilitate visualization of at least a subset of the identified pixels in a display, and
- deliver information describing for display slice images containing at least said subset of the identified pixels for screening and/or diagnosis by a user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.