EP2097009A2 - Système et procédé pour imagerie harmonique à ultrasons - Google Patents

Système et procédé pour imagerie harmonique à ultrasons

Info

Publication number
EP2097009A2
EP2097009A2 EP07870148A EP07870148A EP2097009A2 EP 2097009 A2 EP2097009 A2 EP 2097009A2 EP 07870148 A EP07870148 A EP 07870148A EP 07870148 A EP07870148 A EP 07870148A EP 2097009 A2 EP2097009 A2 EP 2097009A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
harmonic
ultrasound
frequency
region
bladder
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP07870148A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP2097009A4 (fr
Inventor
Fuxing Yang
Yanwei Wang
Gerald Mcmorrow
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Verathon Inc
Original Assignee
Verathon Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Verathon Inc filed Critical Verathon Inc
Publication of EP2097009A2 publication Critical patent/EP2097009A2/fr
Publication of EP2097009A4 publication Critical patent/EP2097009A4/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/13—Tomography
    • A61B8/14—Echo-tomography
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/20—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons for measuring urological functions restricted to the evaluation of the urinary system
    • A61B5/202—Assessing bladder functions, e.g. incontinence assessment
    • A61B5/204—Determining bladder volume
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B8/00—Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves
    • A61B8/08—Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings
    • A61B8/0858—Detecting organic movements or changes, e.g. tumours, cysts, swellings involving measuring tissue layers, e.g. skin, interfaces
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/52—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00
    • G01S7/52017—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S15/00 particularly adapted to short-range imaging
    • G01S7/52023—Details of receivers
    • G01S7/52036—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation
    • G01S7/52038—Details of receivers using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation involving non-linear properties of the propagation medium or of the reflective target
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T7/00—Image analysis
    • G06T7/10—Segmentation; Edge detection
    • G06T7/11—Region-based segmentation
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
    • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
    • A61B5/20—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons for measuring urological functions restricted to the evaluation of the urinary system
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T2207/00—Indexing scheme for image analysis or image enhancement
    • G06T2207/10—Image acquisition modality
    • G06T2207/10132—Ultrasound image
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
    • G06T2207/00—Indexing scheme for image analysis or image enhancement
    • G06T2207/30—Subject of image; Context of image processing
    • G06T2207/30004—Biomedical image processing

Definitions

  • An embodiment of the invention relates generally to ultrasound-based diagnostic systems and procedures employing image acquisition, processing, and image presentation systems and methods.
  • a system includes at least one transducer configured to transmit at least one ultrasound pulse into a region of interest (ROI) of a patient.
  • the pulse has at least a first frequency and propagates through a bodily structure in the ROI.
  • the system further includes at least one receiver configured to receive at least one echo signal corresponding to the pulse.
  • the echo signal includes the first frequency and at least one harmonic multiple of the first frequency.
  • the system further includes a processor configured to automatically determine, from the at least one harmonic multiple, at least one boundary of the bodily structure.
  • the processor is configured to automatically determine, from the at least one harmonic multiple, an amount of fluid within the bodily structure.
  • FIGURES IA-D depict a partial schematic and a partial isometric view of a transceiver, a scan cone comprising a rotational array of scan planes, and a scan plane of the array of an ultrasound harmonic imaging system;
  • FIGURE 2 depicts a partial schematic and partial isometric and side view of a transceiver, and a scan cone array comprised of 3D-distributed scan lines in alternate embodiment of an ultrasound harmonic imaging system;
  • FIGURE 3 is a schematic illustration of a server-accessed local area network in communication with a plurality of ultrasound harmonic imaging systems
  • FIGURE 4 is a schematic illustration of the Internet in communication with a plurality of ultrasound harmonic imaging systems
  • FIGURE 5 schematically depicts a progressive sound wave distortion with increasing harmonics
  • FIGURE 6 schematically depicts the super-positioning of fundamental, second and third harmonic wavelengths undergoing constructively interference
  • FIGURE 7 A depicts a bladder image formed from multi-pulsed (50) ultrasound echoes at frequency 2.1MHz, showing the overlap of ration of the second harmonic and the fundamental frequency component along scan lines within a bladder region of interest (ROI);
  • ROI bladder region of interest
  • FIGURE 7B depicts the frequency spectrum of the two sets of RF data in FIGURE 7A;
  • FIGURE 8 illustrates a process according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 9A illustrates the harmonic information from 792 scan lines used for determining harmonic ratio profiles
  • FIGURE 9B is a schematic depiction of the harmonic echo response signal of a 3 rd harmonic ratio along scan lines at different theta angular values within a 2D scan plane;
  • FIGURE 10 is a method to establish sufficient organ or structure aiming and to determine organ or structure boundary volume calculations using tissue harmonic images
  • FIGURE 1 IA is a color-coded presentation of a bladder in the pseudo Cmode view using the 3 rd ultrasound harmonic ratios on all scan lines from all 12 planes from FIGURE 9B;
  • FIGURE 1 IB is an interpolated shape in the pseudo C-mode view of the bladder based upon the segmentation
  • FIGURE 12 illustrates a process according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 13A is a screenshot depiction of an aiming feedback of the not sufficiently targeted bladder
  • FIGURE 13B is a screenshot depiction of a virtual aiming aid of the aiming feedback presented in FIGURE 13 A;
  • FIGURE 18 illustrates a harmonic analysis process according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIGURE 19 illustrates a plot of the harmonic ratio vs. bladder size on each scan line from one human data set
  • FIGURE 20 illustrates a neural network employed by an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 21 illustrates a process according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 22 illustrates a projection of the bladder region according to an embodiment
  • FIGURE 23 illustrates a process according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 24 illustrates arrow feedback modes according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 25 illustrates rules for arrow-feedback display according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 26 illustrates gradings for all lines in an exemplary data set according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIGURE 27 illustrates a series of intermediate C-mode shapes on the exemplary data set according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • FIGURE 28 illustrates volume calculation according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • ultrasound systems and methods employ harmonic theory to improve bladder segmentation.
  • the reflected harmonic content associated with tissue regions beyond a volume of liquid, such as urine or amniotic fluid, to be measured is used to make a processing device, such as a computer, aware of the presence of the liquid.
  • a color-coded image in pseudo C-mode view may be constructed based upon the strength of harmonic ratios from structures of a region-of-interest having structural components that increase the harmonic of the ultrasound waveform.
  • the color-coded image can be utilized as a useful guidance for the task of aiming an ultrasound transceiver.
  • harmonic ratio profile on each scan plane can be used to rectify the bladder (or uterus of non-pregnant female) region segmentation and fluid volume measurement.
  • ultrasound systems and methods to develop, present, and use the harmonic theory which is only applied to voxels containing the harmonic information to improve bladder segmentation.
  • a goal is to make assignment of regions preceding the bladder back wall tissue to the urine structure, instead of improving the image quality for visualization or image processing.
  • the propagation history through this type of liquid gives rise to additional decision making capability.
  • the Goldberg number of the liquid is an advantageous indication in an embodiment.
  • the harmonic content from bladder back wall tissue beyond the fluid are impacted by presence of the fluid in the ultrasound path in front of the tissue.
  • ultrasound systems and methods develop, present, and use a color-coded image of a structure within a region-of-interest.
  • a color-coded image of the structure or region-of-interest may be obtained based upon determining the optimal ultrasound harmonic frequency exhibited by the structure within the region-of-interest.
  • the harmonic distortion due to non-linear effects prevail in urine is an advantageous element of an embodiment.
  • the concept of the harmonic is not new.
  • many methods have been proposed for using harmonic information to improve ultrasound image quality. In general, these methods use the reflected sound wave at all voxels and enhance the image quality at the corresponding location using its harmonic content.
  • the harmonic information utilized in these applications is from all kinds of tissues.
  • an embodiment instead of improving the image quality for visualization or image processing, an embodiment models fluid in a bodily structure, such as urine inside a bladder, and tissue, such as bladder back wall and tissues behind it, as two different media for harmonic generation and absorption, so as to provide very useful information, such as the length of the path through the urine relative to the current scan path length.
  • the harmonic information is processed and utilized in a novel way.
  • the entire propagation history information of each scan line is processed to provide a corresponding indicator.
  • the urine in front of tissue will influence the harmonic information reflected from the tissue behind urine.
  • regions composed of urine along the scan line contribute to the harmonic accumulation that appears on the structure behind the region.
  • the urine itself is anechoic and generally does not present any image signal. Regions devoid of urine do not contribute to the harmonic accumulation. Without considering this accumulation process, looking at the harmonic information at each voxel independently will not provide information such as how much urine is presented in the current scan line.
  • Another feature of an embodiment is the ultrasound propagation medium model employed. Instead of using harmonic information to differentiate different tissues as suggested by other approaches, we treat all the tissues with a single model. A focus may be the significant difference of harmonic propagations between tissue and urine, which is very clear from harmonic propagation theory. This treatment of the harmonic information gives us the opportunity to make fully or partially automatic determinations of how much urine is under examination, without human intervention based estimation of same.
  • the transmitting signal we choose is narrowband, which is different from the wideband signals used for harmonic imaging. This is because we process the harmonic propagation history; hence the spatial resolution can be sacrificed and traded for better harmonic amplitude ratio estimation.
  • an ultrasound transceiver transmits two pulses.
  • the first one is a traditional B-mode pulse, while the second one is the narrowband pulse explained above for harmonic ratio estimation.
  • the information obtained from the harmonic (second) pulse is merged with the B-mode information from the first pulse to provide a comprehensive view of the medium under examination.
  • the successful fusion of these two pieces of information is another feature of an embodiment.
  • the quantitative harmonic amplitude estimation is a very challenging task due to the noisy nature of the spectrum and nonhomogeneous property of the signal.
  • Many advanced spectral estimation algorithms have been developed in the literature to provide improved spectral estimation results for various engineering applications. Based on their principles, these algorithms can be divided into two approaches: parametric and nonparametric. Since the parametric approach is more sensitive to data modeling errors, the nonparametric approach are developed in an embodiment to build a robust spectral estimator. Careful studies of ultrasound propagation can lead to a good choice for this spectral estimator.
  • harmonic approaches use the absolute value of the second or higher harmonics as an indicator for volume rendering or threshold choosing.
  • An embodiment uses the ratio between the second and the first harmonic to give us a better indicator, which is independent of the various echo generating capabilities of the tissues under examination.
  • the conventional harmonic imaging approach cannot provide tissue harmonic absorbing information since the echo generating capability of the tissue will dominate the received signal.
  • an embodiment is concerned with the tissue harmonic absorption (this is why the harmonic propagation history of one scan line is processed herein), while the harmonic imaging technology from the alternative approach is concerned with the tissue harmonic generation.
  • the model we selected for urine and tissue are based on their dramatically different harmonic absorption capabilities.
  • systems and methods are described for acquiring, processing, and presenting a color-coded image in the pseudo C-mode view, based upon the strength of harmonic ratios from structures of a regions-of-interest having structural components that increase the harmonic of the ultrasound waveform. Optimization of image acquisition by providing systems and methods to direct transceiver placement or repositioning is described.
  • harmonic ratio classification results may be applied to alert the computer executable programs to check either or any combination of the volume measurement to properly determine a small or large bladder, the volume measurement of the bladder, and to adjust segmentation algorithms to prevent overestimation of the bladder size.
  • the result can also be combined with pseudo C-mode view displaying for transceiver aiming or final bladder shape determination.
  • the simplest way to utilize the result may be that if the bladder size is large compared with harmonic ratio classification, we can check the dimension of current shape for over estimation. If the bladder size is too small, an appropriate compensation can be made to enlarge the size of the shape for displaying; if the size is small, we can provide an appropriate modification of the shape.
  • the harmonic ratio is an extra information extracted from the received ultrasound signal, which can be utilized to improve measurement of the bladder and/or fluid volume quantitatively.
  • Alternate embodiments include systems and/or methods of image processing for automatically segmenting (i.e., automatically detecting the boundaries of bodily structures within a region of interest (ROI) of a single or series of images undergoing dynamic change). Particular and alternate embodiments provide for the subsequent measurement of areas and/or volumes of the automatically segmentated shapes within the image ROI of a singular image or multiple images of an image series undergoing dynamic change.
  • FIGURES IA-D depicts a partial schematic and a partial isometric view of a transceiver, a scan cone comprising a rotational array of scan planes, and a scan plane of the array of various ultrasound harmonic imaging systems 60A-D illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4 below.
  • FIGURE IA is a side elevation view of an ultrasound transceiver 1OA that includes an inertial reference unit, according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the transceiver 1OA includes a transceiver housing 18 having an outwardly extending handle 12 suitably configured to allow a user to manipulate the transceiver 1OA relative to a patient.
  • the handle 12 includes a trigger 14 that allows the user to initiate an ultrasound scan of a selected anatomical portion, and a cavity selector 16.
  • the cavity selector 16 will be described in greater detail below.
  • the transceiver 1OA also includes a transceiver dome 20 that contacts a surface portion of the patient when the selected anatomical portion is scanned.
  • the dome 20 generally provides an appropriate acoustical impedance match to the anatomical portion and/or permits ultrasound energy to be properly focused as it is projected into the anatomical portion.
  • the transceiver 1OA further includes one, or preferably an array of separately excitable ultrasound transducer elements (not shown in FIGURE IA) positioned within or otherwise adjacent with the housing 18.
  • the transducer elements may be suitably positioned within the housing 18 or otherwise to project ultrasound energy outwardly from the dome 20, and to permit reception of acoustic reflections generated by internal structures within the anatomical portion.
  • the one or more array of ultrasound elements may include a one-dimensional, or a two-dimensional array of piezoelectric elements that may be moved within the housing 18 by a motor. Alternately, the array may be stationary with respect to the housing 18 so that the selected anatomical region is scanned by selectively energizing the elements in the array.
  • a directional indicator panel 22 includes a plurality of arrows that may be illuminated for initial targeting and guiding a user to access the targeting of an organ or structure within an ROI.
  • the organ or structure is centered from placement of the transceiver 1OA acoustically placed against the dermal surface at a first location of the subject, the directional arrows may be not illuminated.
  • an arrow or set of arrows may be illuminated to direct the user to reposition the transceiver 1OA acoustically at a second or subsequent dermal location of the subject.
  • the acoustic coupling may be achieved by liquid sonic gel applied to the skin of the patient or by sonic gel pads to which the transceiver dome 20 is placed against.
  • the directional indicator panel 22 may be presented on the display 54 of computer 52 in harmonic imaging subsystems described in FIGURES 3 and 4 below, or alternatively, presented on the transceiver display 16.
  • Transceiver 1OA includes an inertial reference unit that includes an accelerometer and/or gyroscope (not shown) positioned preferably within or adjacent to housing 18.
  • accelerometer and/or gyroscope can be used to merge several scans at different locations into one reference frame.
  • the accelerometer may be operable to sense an acceleration of the transceiver 1OA, preferably relative to a coordinate system, while the gyroscope may be operable to sense an angular velocity of the transceiver 1OA relative to the same or another coordinate system.
  • the gyroscope may be of conventional configuration that employs dynamic elements, or it may be an optoelectronic device, such as the known optical ring gyroscope.
  • the accelerometer and the gyroscope may include a commonly packaged and/or solid-state device.
  • One suitable commonly packaged device is the MT6 miniature inertial measurement unit, available from Omni Instruments, Incorporated, although other suitable alternatives exist.
  • the accelerometer and/or the gyroscope may include commonly packaged micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices, which are commercially available from MEMSense, Incorporated.
  • MEMS micro-electromechanical system
  • the transceiver 1OA includes (or if capable at being in signal communication with) a display (not shown) operable to view processed results from an ultrasound scan, and/or to allow an operational interaction between the user and the transceiver 1OA.
  • the display may be configured to display alphanumeric data that indicates a proper and/or an optimal position of the transceiver 1 OA relative to the selected anatomical portion. Display may be used to view two- or three-dimensional images of the selected anatomical region.
  • the display may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, or other suitable display devices operable to present alphanumeric data and/or graphical images to a user.
  • LCD liquid crystal display
  • LED light emitting diode
  • CRT cathode ray tube
  • a cavity selector 16 may be operable to adjustably adapt the transmission and reception of ultrasound signals to the anatomy of a selected patient.
  • the cavity selector 16 adapts the transceiver 1OA to accommodate various anatomical details of male and female patients.
  • the transceiver 1OA may be suitably configured to locate a single cavity, such as a urinary bladder in the male patient.
  • the transceiver 1OA may be configured to image an anatomical portion having multiple cavities, such as a bodily region that includes a bladder and a uterus.
  • Alternate embodiments of the transceiver 1OA may include a cavity selector 16 configured to select a single cavity scanning mode, or a multiple cavity-scanning mode that may be used with male and/or female patients.
  • the cavity selector 16 may thus permit a single cavity region to be imaged, or a multiple cavity region, such as a region that includes a lung and a heart to be imaged.
  • the transceiver dome 20 of the transceiver 1OA may be positioned against a surface portion of a patient that is proximate to the anatomical portion to be scanned.
  • the user actuates the transceiver 1OA by depressing the trigger 14.
  • the transceiver 10 transmits ultrasound signals into the body, and receives corresponding return echo signals that may be at least partially processed by the transceiver 1OA to generate an ultrasound image of the selected anatomical portion.
  • the transceiver 1OA transmits ultrasound signals in a range that extends from approximately about two megahertz (MHz) to approximately about ten MHz.
  • the transceiver 1OA may be operably coupled to an ultrasound system that may be configured to generate ultrasound energy at a predetermined frequency and/or pulse repetition rate and to transfer the ultrasound energy to the transceiver 1OA.
  • the system also includes a processor that may be configured to process reflected ultrasound energy that is received by the transceiver 1OA to produce an image of the scanned anatomical region.
  • the system generally includes a viewing device, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display device, or other similar display devices, that may be used to view the generated image.
  • a viewing device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT), a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display device, or other similar display devices, that may be used to view the generated image.
  • the system may also include one or more peripheral devices that cooperatively assist the processor to control the operation of the transceiver 1OA, such a keyboard, a pointing device, or other similar devices.
  • the transceiver 1OA may be a self-contained device that includes a microprocessor positioned within the housing 18 and software associated with the microprocessor to operably control the transceiver 1OA, and to process the reflected ultrasound energy to generate the ultrasound image.
  • the display 24 may be used to display the generated image and/or to view other information associated with the operation of the transceiver 1OA.
  • the information may include alphanumeric data that indicates a preferred position of the transceiver 1OA prior to performing a series of scans.
  • the transceiver 1OA may be operably coupled to a general-purpose computer, such as a laptop or a desktop computer that includes software that at least partially controls the operation of the transceiver 1OA, and also includes software to process information transferred from the transceiver 1OA, so that an image of the scanned anatomical region may be generated.
  • the transceiver 1OA may also be optionally equipped with electrical contacts to make communication with receiving cradles 50 as discussed in FIGURES 3 and 4 below.
  • transceiver 1OA of FIGURE IA may be used in any of the foregoing embodiments, other transceivers may also be used.
  • the transceiver may lack one or more features of the transceiver 1OA.
  • a suitable transceiver need not be a manually portable device, and/or need not have a top-mounted display, and/or may selectively lack other features or exhibit further differences.
  • FIGURE IB is a graphical representation of a plurality of scan planes that form a three-dimensional (3D) array having a substantially conical shape.
  • An ultrasound scan cone 40 formed by a rotational array of two-dimensional scan planes 42 projects outwardly from the dome 20 of the transceivers 1OA.
  • the other transceiver embodiments may also be configured to develop a scan cone 40 formed by a rotational array of two-dimensional scan planes 42.
  • the pluralities of scan planes 40 may be oriented about an axis 11 extending through the transceivers 10A- 1OB.
  • One or more, or preferably each of the scan planes 42 may be positioned about the axis 11 , preferably, but not necessarily at a predetermined angular position ⁇ .
  • the scan planes 42 may be mutually spaced apart by angles ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ i.
  • the scan lines within each of the scan planes 42 may be spaced apart by angles ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ i.
  • angles ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ i are depicted as approximately equal, it is understood that the angles ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ i may have different values.
  • angles ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ 2 are shown as approximately equal, the angles ⁇ 1 and ⁇ i may also have different angles.
  • Other scan cone configurations are possible; for example, a wedge-shaped scan cone, or other similar shapes.
  • FIGURE 1C is a graphical representation of a scan plane 42.
  • the scan plane 42 includes the peripheral scan lines 44 and 46, and an internal scan line 48 having a length r that extends outwardly from the transceivers 10A- 1OB.
  • a selected point along the peripheral scan lines 44 and 46 and the internal scan line 48 may be defined with reference to the distance r and angular coordinate values ⁇ and ⁇ .
  • the length r preferably extends to approximately 18 to 20 centimeters (cm), although any length is possible.
  • Particular embodiments include approximately seventy-seven scan lines 48 that extend outwardly from the dome 20, although any number of scan lines is possible.
  • FIGURE ID a graphical representation of a plurality of scan lines emanating from a hand-held ultrasound transceiver forming a single scan plane 42 extending through a cross-section of an internal bodily organ.
  • the number and location of the internal scan lines emanating from the transceivers 10A- 1OB within a given scan plane 42 may thus be distributed at different positional coordinates about the axis line 11 as required to sufficiently visualize structures or images within the scan plane 42.
  • four portions of an off-centered region-of-interest (ROI) are exhibited as irregular regions 49. Three portions may be viewable within the scan plane 42 in totality, and one is truncated by the peripheral scan line 44.
  • ROI off-centered region-of-interest
  • the angular movement of the transducer may be mechanically effected and/or it may be electronically or otherwise generated.
  • the number of lines 48 and the length of the lines may vary, so that the tilt angle ⁇ sweeps through angles approximately between -60° and +60° for a total arc of approximately 120°.
  • the transceiver 10 may be configured to generate approximately about seventy-seven scan lines between the first limiting scan line 44 and a second limiting scan line 46.
  • each of the scan lines has a length of approximately about 18 to 20 centimeters (cm).
  • the angular separation between adjacent scan lines 48 (FIGURE 1C) may be uniform or non-uniform.
  • the angular separation ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ 2 may be about 1.5°.
  • the angular separation ⁇ ⁇ and ⁇ 2 may be a sequence wherein adjacent angles may be ordered to include angles of 1.5°, 6.8°, 15.5°, 7.2°, and so on, where a 1.5° separation is between a first scan line and a second scan line, a 6.8° separation is between the second scan line and a third scan line, a 15.5° separation is between the third scan line and a fourth scan line, a 7.2° separation is between the fourth scan line and a fifth scan line, and so on.
  • the angular separation between adjacent scan lines may also be a combination of uniform and non-uniform angular spacings, for example, a sequence of angles may be ordered to include 1.5°, 1.5°, 1.5°, 7.2°, 14.3°, 20.2°, 8.0°, 8.0°, 8.0°, 4.3°, 7.8°, and so on.
  • FIGURE ID is an isometric view of an ultrasound scan cone that projects outwardly from the transceivers of FIGURES 1-4.
  • Three-dimensional images of a region of interest may be presented within a scan cone 40 that comprises a plurality of 2D images formed in an array of scan planes 42.
  • a dome cutout 41 that is the complementary to the dome 20 of the transceivers 10A- 1OE is shown at the top of the scan cone 40.
  • FIGURE 2 depicts a partial schematic and partial isometric and side view of a transceiver, and a scan cone array comprised of 3 D -distributed scan lines in alternate embodiment of an ultrasound harmonic ratio imaging system.
  • a plurality of three-dimensional (3D) distributed scan lines emanating from a transceiver that cooperatively forms a scan cone 30.
  • Each of the scan lines have a length r that projects outwardly from the transceivers 10A- 1OB.
  • the transceiver 1OA emits 3D-distributed scan lines within the scan cone 30 that may be one-dimensional ultrasound A- lines.
  • the other transceiver embodiment 1OB may also be configured to emit 3D-distributed scan lines.
  • these 3D-distributed A-lines define the conical shape of the scan cone 30.
  • the ultrasound scan cone 30 extends outwardly from the dome 20 of the transceiver 1OA, 1OB centered about an axis line 11.
  • the 3D-distributed scan lines of the scan cone 30 include a plurality of internal and peripheral scan lines that may be distributed within a volume defined by a perimeter of the scan cone 30.
  • the peripheral scan lines 31 A-3 IE define an outer surface of the scan cone 30, while the internal scan lines 34A-34C may be distributed between the respective peripheral scan lines 31 A-3 IE.
  • Scan line 34B is generally collinear with the axis 11, and the scan cone 30 is generally and coaxially centered on the axis line 11.
  • the locations of the internal and peripheral scan lines may be further defined by an angular spacing from the center scan line 34B and between internal and peripheral scan lines.
  • the angular spacing between scan line 34B and peripheral or internal scan lines may be designated by angle ⁇ and angular spacings between internal or peripheral scan lines may be designated by angle 0.
  • the angles O 1 , O 2 , and O 3 respectively define the angular spacings from scan line 34B to scan lines 34A, 34C, and 3 ID.
  • angles O 1 , 0 2 , and 0 3 respectively define the angular spacings between scan line 3 IB and 31C, 31C and 34A, and 3 ID and 3 IE.
  • the plurality of peripheral scan lines 3 IA-E and the plurality of internal scan lines 34A-D may be three dimensionally distributed A-lines (scan lines) that are not necessarily confined within a scan plane, but instead may sweep throughout the internal regions and along the periphery of the scan cone 30.
  • a given point within the scan cone 30 may be identified by the coordinates r , O, and 0 whose values generally vary.
  • the number and location of the internal scan lines emanating from the transceivers 10A- 1OB may thus be distributed within the scan cone 30 at different positional coordinates as required to sufficiently visualize structures or images within a region of interest (ROI) in a patient.
  • ROI region of interest
  • the angular movement of the ultrasound transducer within the transceiver 10 may be mechanically effected, and/or it may be electronically generated.
  • the number of lines and the length of the lines may be uniform or otherwise vary, so that angle O sweeps through angles approximately between -60° between scan line 34B and 3 IA, and +60° between scan line 34B and 3 IB.
  • angle O in this example presents a total arc of approximately 120°.
  • the transceiver 1OA, 1OB may be configured to generate a plurality of 3D-distributed scan lines within the scan cone 30 having a length r of approximately 18 to 20 centimeters (cm).
  • FIGURE 3 is a schematic illustration of a server-accessed local area network in communication with a plurality of ultrasound harmonic imaging systems.
  • An ultrasound harmonic imaging system 100 includes one or more personal computer devices 52 that may be coupled to a server 56 by a communications system 55.
  • the devices 52 may be, in turn, coupled to one or more ultrasound transceivers 1OA and/or 1OB, for examples the ultrasound harmonic sub-systems 60A-60D.
  • Ultrasound based images of organs or other regions of interest derived from either the signals of echoes from fundamental frequency ultrasound and/or harmonics thereof, may be shown within scan cone 30 or 40 presented on display 54.
  • the server 56 may be operable to provide additional processing of ultrasound information, or it may be coupled to still other servers (not shown in FIGURE 3) and devices.
  • Transceivers 1OA or 1OB may be in wireless communication with computer 52 in sub-system 6OA, in wired signal communication in sub-system 6OB, in wireless communication with computer 52 via receiving cradle 50 in sub-system 6OC, or in wired communication with computer 52 via receiving cradle 50 in sub-system 6OD.
  • FIGURE 4 is a schematic illustration of the Internet in communication with a plurality of ultrasound harmonic imaging systems.
  • An Internet system 110 may be coupled or otherwise in communication with the ultrasound harmonic sub-systems 60A-60D.
  • FIGURE 5 schematically depicts a distortion of a waveform by propagation.
  • Echo signals received from structures in the body carry not only the frequencies of the original transmit pulse, but also include multiples, or harmonics of these frequencies. Echoes from tissue have predominantly linear components, i. e. the echo frequencies are the same as the transmit frequencies. These linear components may be used in conventional, fundamental B-mode imaging. Non-linear effects cause harmonic echo frequencies during the propagation of ultrasound. Urine inside a bladder can greatly increase the harmonic components due to the low attenuation of harmonics in water.
  • G represents a measure of the attenuation or harmonic distortion likely to prevail.
  • the Goldberg number is higher than 1, nonlinear processes dominate the wave propagation behavior.
  • attenuation is more significant in governing the amplitude of the harmonic components than the energy transfer due to nonlinear distortion.
  • Fat has a Goldberg number below 1 (0.27).
  • Muscle, liver, and blood have a Goldberg number above but near 1.
  • Urine and amniotic fluid have a Goldberg number of 104.
  • Urine and amniotic fluid have a higher ability to provoke strong nonlinear distortion compared with other body tissues.
  • the large Goldberg number value of urine and amniotic fluid is utilized to distinguish the bladder or umbilical region from other tissue regions.
  • FIGURE 6 schematically depicts the super-positioning of fundamental, second and third harmonic waveform undergoing constructive interference.
  • tissue harmonic imaging THI
  • the existing use of ultrasound harmonic frequencies to image structures is referred to as tissue harmonic imaging (THI) and is based on the effect that ultrasound signals are distorted while propagating through tissue with varying acoustic properties.
  • the harmonic information utilized in these applications is from all kinds of tissues. THI provides an imaging application to better delineate structural boundaries of organs and cavities.
  • the harmonic information used in an embodiment is different from such a conventional approach.
  • the harmonic distortion due to non-linear effects associated with a fluid, such as urine, normally invisible to a conventional harmonic imager due to its anechoic nature is an optionally advantageous feature of an embodiment.
  • the harmonic information utilized in an embodiment is not from all kinds of tissues.
  • a method is to model the urine inside the bladder and tissue as two different media for harmonic generation and absorption, so we can provide very useful information, such as if the ultrasound wave is passing a urine-filled region and relatively how much urine is in the current ultrasound scan path. It is the propagation history information through the urine in front of the tissue giving rise to a decision-making capability. Color-coded legends for the fundamental, second harmonic, third harmonic, super positioning of the fundamental and second harmonic, and super-positioning of the fundamental, second, and third harmonics are presented on the figure.
  • FIGURE 7 A depicts graphical results of a test on a human subject.
  • the test included 50 pulses of ultrasound wave at frequency on 2.1MHz and we only collected the RF signals at the depth range inside the yellow window 700.
  • a b-mode image is formed using the received RF data.
  • FIGURE 7A depicts a bladder image formed from multi-pulsed (50) ultrasound echoes at frequency 2.1MHz, showing the overlap of harmonic ratio (the second harmonic over the fundamental frequency component) along scan lines within a bladder region of interest (ROI).
  • Using the five red RF lines 720 we computed the minimum ratio value.
  • the harmonic response is lower at the scan lines which are not passing a bladder region filled with urine, than at the scan lines which are passing through bladder region.
  • the green curve 730 represents this measurement on all scan lines inside the yellow window 700.
  • FIGURE 7B depicts the frequency spectrum of the two sets of RF data in FIGURE 7A.
  • Colors in FIGURE 7C correspond to colors of regions in FIGURE 7A (i.e., 740 corresponds to 710; 750 corresponds to 720).
  • the blue RF 740 has a larger second harmonic component in the frequency domain than the red RF 750.
  • FIGURE 9 A illustrates an 11 -scan plane sampling of 12 scan planes used for determining harmonic ratio profiles.
  • Each scan plane is derived from 72 scan lines.
  • the harmonic ratios may be determined from 12 data sets derived from the 12 scan planes.
  • a threshold of approximately -32dB may be defined to be the harmonic ratio used to classify or generally demarcate a small bladder from a large bladder.
  • the blue data sets are the harmonic ratios along each scan line on the 11 planes.
  • the corresponding data was collected from a human subject with large bladder volume.
  • the red data sets are the harmonic ratios along each scan line on the 11 planes.
  • the corresponding data was collected from a human subject with small bladder volume.
  • FIGURE 9B is a schematic depiction of the harmonic ratio along scan lines at different theta angular values within twelve 2D scan planes. Harmonic information of the 12 scan planes for a single scan cone may be interpolated based on these 12 profiles corresponding to theta angular values of 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, and 165 degrees. The settings employed use a fundamental frequency of 2.46 MHz with a pulse number as 20.
  • FIGURE 10 is a method to establish sufficient organ or structure aiming and to determine organ or structure boundary volume calculations using harmonic ratios.
  • a bladder volume instrument (BVI) aiming and segmentation method begins by using a harmonic ratio peak is for initial wall localization at process block 102 wherein the boundary volume calculation method 100 utilizes the Calculate-Gradient and Initial-Walls on the scan planes.
  • the gradient information corresponds to each scan line. Since the approach is based on hard thresholds, inevitably, it will lead to some non-ideal initial wall candidates.
  • the regions above the harmonic ratio threshold can be taken as another set of bladder wall candidates. Or the harmonic ratio can be taken as extra criterion for initial wall candidates selection.
  • a Find-Max-Delta is determined, followed by calculating the centroid based on the initial walls on all planes at process block 110.
  • the harmonic ratio peak is for wall fixing and is based on the centroid being modified to determine the location with MaxDelta on each plane so that the peak location of the harmonic ratio provides extra information to determine if the starting location for wall fixing is appropriate.
  • a Fix-Initial- Walls-By-Plane process is accomplished, followed by application of a Median-Filter- Walls at process block 118.
  • the method 100 is then finished by completing process block 122 Volume computation to determine the volume of harmonic imaged and segmented structures within a region-of-interest.
  • PDF polynomial differential formulas
  • FIGURES 1 IA is a color-coded presentation of a bladder in the pseudo C-mode view using the 3 rd ultrasound harmonic ratios on all scan lines from all 12 planes from FIGURE 9B .
  • the color-coded image may be obtained from a 32 bit jet color map.
  • the red color represents a bladder region, while the blue represents a non-bladder region.
  • FIGURE 1 IB is an interpolated shape in the pseudo C-mode view of the bladder based upon the segmentation. It can be found that there is very close correspondence between the bladder region based on segmentation and the red region from the harmonic ratio in FIGURE 1 IA.
  • FIGURE 1 IB is an interpolated shape of the bladder based upon the color-coded presentation of FIGURE 1 IA. The red color in FIG. 1 IA represents the bladder region, while the other colors represent the non-bladder region. For this result, the bladder shape based on the link of the segmentation from all planes is shown and has close correspondence with the harmonic ratio image of FIGURE HA. This new imaging method can be utilized as a very useful guidance for the task of aiming the transceiver.
  • FIGURE 13A is a screenshot depiction of an aiming feedback of the not ideally targeted bladder.
  • the cross hairs of the targeting images may be beyond the segmented boundary of the blue bladder region.
  • FIGURE 13B is a screenshot depiction of a virtual aiming aid of the aiming feedback presented in FIGURE 13 A. Since the cross hairs of the targeting image is outside of the blue bladder region, a leftward arrow with three circles is illuminated to indicates the direction of movement of that the transceiver 1OA or 1OB to be undertaken to obtain a centered bladder image. Here the statement “move in direction 5" is shown above the virtual aiming aid.
  • the color-coded images using harmonic ratio specially designed for bladder aiming/targeting is employed in an embodiment.
  • the method is based on the special property of the non- linear propagation of ultrasound wave.
  • a fast interpolation and efficient color map may be explored and a 2D pseudo-color imaging can be generated for each bladder scan. Operator can easily find the urine-filled bladder in the image and adjust scanning direction for best aiming.
  • the color harmonic imaging method Based on the initial design and implementation of 30 tests on human subjects, and using the interpolated shape as reference, the color harmonic imaging method provides accurate feedback about, for example, bladder location, bladder shape and bladder volume. This technique can be easily applied for clinical usage for more accurate data collection and analysis .
  • a process according to an embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 8.
  • step 1.1 on each plane, a transceiver collects two RF signals for B-mode imaging and harmonic content extraction. Initial walls are estimated at step 1.2.
  • Step 1.3 is the harmonic analysis kernel, as explained in greater detail below herein.
  • an embodiment employs a pre-trained neural network (described in greater detail below herein) to give grading for each line on a current plane using the harmonic ratio information and other related features based on intensity information.
  • the grading is utilized to fix the segmentation at step 1.5.
  • the fixed segmentation will be used for bladder volume measurement at step 1.9. More details of the steps are given in the following sections.
  • FIG. 12 illustrates the initial bladder wall detection process (Step 1.2 illustrated in FIG. 8) according to an embodiment.
  • This process may be executed on every A-mode scan line.
  • the first step here is local averaging/low-pass filtering using a 15 or 16 sample window.
  • a local gradient is computed for each sample point using a central difference formulation.
  • the algorithm tries to find the best front wall (FW) and back wall (BW) pair.
  • the best front wall and back wall pair on each line is defined as the front wall and back wall pair for which the difference in the back wall gradient and front wall gradient (also called the tissue delta) is the maximum and the local average between front wall and back wall pair is the minimum.
  • FW front wall
  • BW back wall
  • the best front wall and back wall pair on each line is defined as the front wall and back wall pair for which the difference in the back wall gradient and front wall gradient (also called the tissue delta) is the maximum and the local average between front wall and back wall pair is the minimum.
  • step 1.3 illustrated in FIG. 8 harmonic frequency analysis is performed.
  • prior approaches were designed to extract the scan lines that pass the bladder region, based on B-mode image.
  • artifacts such as reverberations and shadows degrade ultrasound images. Therefore, the corresponding gradient information in B-mode images may be incomplete for these cases and lead to erroneous bladder detection.
  • Echo signals received from structures in the body carry not only the frequencies of the original transmit pulse, but also include multiples, or harmonics of these frequencies. These linear components are used in conventional, fundamental B-mode imaging. Harmonic echo frequencies are caused by non-linear effects during the propagation of ultrasound.
  • THI tissue harmonic imaging
  • THI tissue harmonic imaging
  • ultrasound signals are distorted while propagating through tissue with varying acoustic properties.
  • THI is merely an imaging method that does not solve the bladder detection problem.
  • Harmonic information is hidden in the frequency domain and it is an effective indicator for harmonic build-up on each scan line at different depth, based on which bladder lines and tissue lines can be separated. For example, inside a bladder region, there is not enough reflection, so the attenuations of the first and second harmonics are low. Deep behind the bladder wall, both the first and the second harmonics will be attenuated, while the second harmonic will be attenuated much faster than the first one. As a result, harmonic information will be higher for a scan line which passes through a bladder, compared to a scan line that penetrates tissue only.
  • One way to use the harmonic information is to use relative change of the harmonic information around the 2nd harmonic frequency compared with response at fundamental frequency.
  • the ratio (Goldberg Number) of the peak value around the 2nd harmonic and the peak value around the fundamental frequency is a suitable indicator for such change.
  • FIG. 18 A block diagram of the Harmonic Analysis Kernel is illustrated in Figure 18.
  • such an approach may be based on sub-aperture processing technology, and it can be approximately regarded as a deconvolution process.
  • the sub-aperture processing technology is ideal, in an embodiment, since it can be approximately regarded as a deconvolution process.
  • the resulting data segments can be either overlapping or non-overlapping.
  • a Taylor window is applied to reduce its sidelobes from FFT. After FFT, we average its spectrum around the first and the second harmonic frequencies.
  • Ratio SA(i) 20*loglO(f ⁇ rst harmonic/second harmonic);
  • Ratio SA(i) Ratio SA(i) + i*Att_Comp;
  • Ratio Sum Ratio Sum + Ratio SA(i);
  • Ratio Ratio Sum/Counter
  • 'Att Comp' is an attenuation compensation parameter (we use 2.5dB/cm, estimated from clinical data).
  • the 'normalization' step will remove the data segments which are too weak, the compensation step will compensate the harmonic ratio loss in tissue, and the averaging step will provide a more robust ratio estimator.
  • the final step may be spatially smoothing the harmonic ratios across the scan lines within a plane.
  • FIG. 19 illustrates a plot of the harmonic ratio vs. bladder size on each scan line from one human data set. Each blue point indicates the harmonic ratio corresponding to a scan line through a bladder. Clearly, there is a linear relationship between bladder size and the corresponding harmonic ratio. If we fit the data into a linear model, which is indicated by the red line, it has a slope of 2.726dB/cm. This result matches the theoretical value well. The intersection between the linear model and the y-axis may be our baseline for this image: harmonic ratio with no bladder presented. This would be -34dB according to the plot of FIG. 19.
  • An embodiment includes combining harmonic features with B-mode image properties. Such an approach may include a pre-trained 5 by 5 by 1 Neural Network [ Figure 20], with different features as inputs and a single grading [0 - 1] as output. For each scan line, after initial walls are estimated based on gradient information, the corresponding features will be computed and the grading value from this network will show how likely it is that the current line is a bladder line.
  • logistic (x) 1.0/(l+exp(-x))
  • an embodiment uses a lookup table to give a fast implementation.
  • the trained network may be in the following configuration:
  • An embodiment may use harmonic information for bladder detection (Grading on Walls).
  • the goal of using harmonic information is to improve liquid- volume measurement accuracy and help a user locate a bladder region faster.
  • the goal is directly related to the segmentation accuracy of the bladder region.
  • With the harmonic information we can check if the segmentation (detection of bladder walls) on each scan line is valid.
  • the grading from the neural network provides more robust information to fix the initial bladder walls.
  • a region G is defined in which all lines are with grading higher than the threshold. Additionally, a region W is defined which is based on the cuts from fixed walls.
  • G and W are exactly the same: [00136] Action: none [00137] G [00138] W [00139] [00140] It is easy to remove the wrong segmentation line. But, it is difficult to add new lines.
  • An embodiment determines the average of the non-zero initial wall on current line and the non-zero fixed wall from its neighbor.
  • the bladder detection task is more challenging for a female patient due to the presence therein of a uterus.
  • the uterus is adjacent to the bladder region and it has avery similar pattern in B-mode image.
  • the computed volume is the actual urine inside the bladder.
  • a uterus detection method may address the whole segmentation after wall detection using volume. In other words, it tries to determine that the segmentation is bladder or uterus. However, some times, it is not so simple to refine the result, because the segmentation includes both bladder and uterus. An embodiment may determine which part in the segmentation belongs to the bladder and which part in the segmentation is the uterus. This may be a difficult task, especially when the bladder is small in size.
  • the uterus can be located side by side with the bladder, and it can also be located under the bladder.
  • a method previously described herein can be used to classify the scan lines passing through uterus only from the scan lines passing through bladder.
  • a method may not be able to solve the second problem.
  • further processing has to be made to find which part on the line belongs to the bladder.
  • An embodiment is based on the following observation: if the scan is on a female patient, there must be a boundary between uterus and bladder region and the uterus is always under the bladder if both regions appear on a scan line. In the B-mode image, for each scan line passing through both regions, a small ridge exists. If the ridge can be located, an embodiment can tell the two structures apart.
  • FIG. 8 A detailed design of an embodiment of this procedure is illustrated in Figure 21.
  • an embodiment provides the function called C-mode shape displaying.
  • the goal of this functionality is to show the location and size information of the bladder or other structure in a current scan, based on which, users are able to adjust scan direction and angle.
  • the shape is generated based on the segmentation on all scan lines.
  • the definition of a C-mode image may be a plane parallel to the face of the transducer. As illustrated in Figure 22, an embodiment provides to the users the projection of the bladder region. Consequently, the information is not only from a single plane parallel to the transducer surface. As such, it may be called a pseudo C-mode image.
  • the image is binary, including non-bladder region and bladder region.
  • the bladder region [a.k.a. Interpolated shape] may be generated from the left most and the right most cuts on all planes, [cut: valid segmentation of bladder region.]
  • a bladder in the bladder scan is a single connected 3D volume. Due to various reasons (one of which is the segmentation algorithm searches for bladder wall blindly plane by plane.), there may be more than one 3D regions and the corresponding bladder walls are also stored in the segmentation results. This step may make a topological consistency checking to guarantee that there is only one connected region in the C-mode view.
  • HMH44-1 ⁇ 001541 Compute the Cartesian coordinates for each valid cut and get the mass center. Based on this mass center, compute the corresponding radius and angle of very valid cut. Sort the new angles in ascending order. At the same time align the corresponding radius. In order to smooth the final interpolated shape, an embodiment averages the radii from above result in a pre-defined neighborhood.
  • the final output which is used to represent the interpolated shape is stored in two arrays, the size of which is 250.
  • the dimension of the final display is on a 2D matrix, 250 by 250.
  • the two arrays store the upper wall and lower wall location in each column respectively.
  • the aiming is based on the segmentation results and it is similar as the C-mode shape functionality.
  • an embodiment also provides arrow feedback after a full scan.
  • the arrow feedback may be based on the C-mode view shape. There may be four different arrow feedback modes as illustrated in Figure 24.
  • arrows may be used.
  • the arrow to be used is determined by the location of the mass center of the interpolated shape in C-mode view. Based on the vector between ultrasound cone center and the mass center, the corresponding angle can be computed in a range from -180 degree to +180 degree.
  • the [-180 180] range is divided into eight parts and each part corresponds to each arrow.
  • FIG. 25 illustrates rules for arrow-feedback display.
  • An embodiment includes the following method to effect pubic bone detection based on the special shadow behind it.
  • Kittler & Illingworth thresholding method See, Kittler, J., Illingworth, J., 1986, Minimum Error Thresholding, Pattern Recognition, 19, Al-Al .
  • the shadow does not affect the volume measurement since the pubic bone is far from the bladder region; in a second case, the influence is strong since the pubic bone blocks the bladder region partly.
  • a pubic icon (not shown) on the feedback screen, operators are trained to recognize when a new scanning location should be chosen and when not.
  • the step 1.6 is to show the C-mode shape.
  • the difference between this step and the final C-mode shape is that this step only uses the grading information from the previous planes and gives instant response to the operator of current scanning status during a full scan.
  • the first step is to use the grading values to find the cuts on current plane:
  • the second step is to generate a virtual painting board and draw line between the cuts on current plane and cuts from previous plane.
  • An embodiment has the advantage over previous approaches in that the grading information will help find the bladder lines as completely as possible. In previous approaches, bladder wall detection will stop early when strong reverberation noise is present.
  • an embodiment includes the following method to remove the small wedges on the bladder walls using shape information:
  • An embodiment includes an interpolation approach using adjacent bladder wall shape. We have already considered the cases when the bladder shape is indeed with large convex part on the front or back wall by defining two parameters (valid FW change and valid BW change).
  • a spherical wedge shape is defined, with the physical scan line passed through the center of the wedge.
  • the spherical wedge is bounded on top by the front wall and on the bottom by the back wall, on the sides by the average of the current scan line spherical angles and the next closest spherical angles.
  • the non-pregnant female's uterus can be distinguished from a bladder by employing at least one embodiment of the invention, inasmuch as blood occasionally present within the uterus of the non-pregnant female does not have as high a Goldberg number as amniotic fluid in the pregnant female or urine within the female bladder, in either case.
  • blood in an engorged umbilical cord may be distinguished from amniotic fluid by employing at least one embodiment of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of embodiments of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the particular embodiments. Instead, embodiments of the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système comprenant au moins un transducteur configuré pour émettre au moins une impulsion ultrasonore dans une région d'intérêt (ROI) d'un patient. L'impulsion a au moins une première fréquence et se propage à travers une structure corporelle dans la ROI. Le système comprend en outre au moins un récepteur configuré pour recevoir au moins un signal d'écho correspondant à l'impulsion. Le signal d'écho comprend la première fréquence et au moins un multiple harmonique de la première fréquence. Le système comprend en outre un processeur configuré pour déterminer automatiquement, à partir d'au moins un multiple harmonique, au moins une limite de la structure corporelle. Dans un mode de réalisation, le processeur est configuré pour déterminer automatiquement, à partir d'au moins un multiple harmonique, une quantité de fluide dans la structure corporelle.
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