Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Philips Intellectual Property & Standards Gmbh

Helko Lehmann

Juergen Weese

Gundolf Kiefer

Alexandra Groth

Jochen Peters

Yuechen Qian

Marc Busch

Christoph Herrmann

Warner Rudolph Theophile Ten Kate

Joerg Bredno

Irina Waechter-Stehle

Merlijn Sevenster

Kai Eck

Klaus Juergen Engel

Rainer Kiewitt

Norbert Conrads

Christian Baeumer

Reinhard Kneser

Eric Thelen

Hans Barschdorf

Dieter Geller

Olivier Ecabert

Jorg Bredno

Sabri Boughorbel

Eric Zachery Silfen

Steffen Gunther Hohmann

Ali Majidi

An apparatus, a method and a computer program for visualizing a conduction tract of a heart include adapting a generic heart model to match geometrical data of a patient's heart, where model data, corresponding to the generic heart model and indicating a shape and/or position of the conduction tract, is modified in accordance to the adaptation of the generic heart model. The modification of the model data is further refined based on electrophysiological data of the patient to produce refined model data, and the refined model data is used for generating a visualization of a refined model heart indicating a refined shape and/or refined position of the conduction tract of the patients heart.

Apparatus and method for visualizing a conduction tract of heart

A system for accessing a database of a plurality of image data sets includes an acquisition unit which acquires a query for searching the database for an image data set or an image data subset comprised in an image data set. The query includes at least one medically relevant term which defines a search criteria. A determining unit determines the image data set or the image data subset included in the image data set based on the strength of semantic matches between the at least one medically relevant term and (a) corresponding medical annotation(s) describing the image data set. A retrieving unit retrieves the determined image data set or image data subset from the database.

Accessing medical image databases using medically relevant terms

A system () for interacting with a three-dimensional object dataset comprises a signal input () for receiving a signal from an interaction device () comprising a touch sensitive surface () having a typical shape of at least part of an object represented by the three-dimensional object dataset, wherein the signal is indicative of a location on the touch sensitive surface () that is touched. The system further comprises a mapping unit () for mapping the touched location to a corresponding point of the object represented by the three-dimensional object dataset. The three-dimensional object dataset is based on a signal obtained from a scanner () arranged for scanning the object.

Interacting with a three-dimensional object dataset

The invention relates to a system () for visualizing an object of interest comprised in a volume of an image dataset, the system comprising a path unit () for specifying a path in the volume of the image dataset on the basis of the object of interest, a location unit () for determining a location on a projection ray through the volume of the image dataset on the basis of the specified path, and a value unit () for computing a projected gray value corresponding to the projection rayon the basis of the determined location on the projection ray. Because the locations on the projection ray are determined based on the specified path for indicating the object of interest, the actual computation of the projection gray values may be designed and constructed to show gray values describing the object of interest while hiding gray values describing other objects, in particular occluding objects. Thus, the system of the invention is arranged for visualizing the object of interest at different viewing angles without occluding the object of interest.

Path proximity rendering

The present invention relates to the determination of the specific orientation of an object. In order to provide enhanced positioning information of an object to a user, a medical imaging system and a method for operating of a medical imaging system are proposed wherein 2D image data () of an object is acquired () with an imaging system, wherein the object is provided with at least three markers visible in the 2D image; and wherein () the markers are detected in the 2D image; and wherein the spatial positioning and rotation angle () of the object in relation to the system geometry is identified () on behalf of the markers; and wherein an object-indicator () is displayed () indicating the spatial positioning and rotation angle of the object.

Determining the specific orientation of an object

The invention relates to an image registration apparatus for registering a first image and a second image with respect to each other. A model, which has a fixed topology, is adapted to the first image for generating a first adapted model and to the second image for generating a second adapted model, and corresponding image elements () are determined in the first image and in the second image based on spatial positions of first image elements in the first image with respect to the first adapted model and spatial positions of second image elements in the second image with respect to the second adapted model. Since the model has a fixed topology, corresponding image elements can relatively reliably be found based on the adapted models, even if the first and second images show objects having complex properties like a heart, thereby improving the registration quality.

Image registration apparatus

The invention relates to a system () for visualizing medical image data, the system comprising: a first display unit () for displaying a first view of the medical image data; an indication unit () for indicating a location on the displayed first view; a trigger unit () for triggering an event; an identification unit () for identifying an anatomical structure comprised in the medical image data, based on the indicated location on the displayed first view, in response to the triggered event; a selection unit () for selecting a part of the medical image data based on the identified anatomical structure; and a second display unit () for displaying a second view of the selected part of the medical image data, thereby visualizing the medical image data. Thus, the system () allows for visualizing an anatomical structure of interest comprised in the part of the medical image data.

Selection of datasets from 3D renderings for viewing

A system for generating a view of a medical image comprises an input () for receiving information indicative of a suspected diagnosis of a patient. An input () for receiving a medical image of the patient. A mapper () for mapping the suspected diagnosis of the patient to a set of viewing parameters for viewing the medical image. A view generator () for providing a view of the medical image in accordance with the set of viewing parameters. A database () for mapping a suspected diagnosis into a set of generic viewing parameters. A transformer () for transforming the set of generic viewing parameters into a set of image-specific viewing parameters based on content of the medical image.

Generating views of medical images

The invention relates to a system () for retrieving a volumetric image data subset comprised in a data storage () of volumetric image data sets, the system comprising: a first query unit () for composing a first query for searching the data storage () for a volumetric image data set comprising the volumetric image data subset; a second query unit () for composing a second query for searching the volumetric image data set for the volumetric image data subset, the second query comprising anatomical structure information for identifying an anatomical structure within the volumetric image data set; a first determination unit () for determining the volumetric image data set, based on the first query; a second determination unit () for determining the volumetric image data subset of the volumetric image data set, based on the anatomical structure identified within the volumetric image data set, using the anatomical structure information comprised in the second query; and a retrieval unit () for retrieving the determined volumetric image data subset. The system is thus capable of retrieving a reduced amount of data describing the anatomical structure, i.e. a subset of a volumetric image data set.

Accessing medical image databases using anatomical shape information

Scattered radiation has non-intuitive properties. A signalling system () is presented which provides a perceptible signal () being indicative of a predicted or measured spatial distribution of scattered radiation. An embodiment provides for easy assessment of the individual risk of scattered radiation exposure for personnel working in an environment exposed to scattered radiation. A method for predicting a distribution of scattered radiation takes into account at least one object related parameter () and at least one radiation related parameter () and, in response hereto, predicts a distribution of scattered radiation.

Simulation and visualization of scattered radiation

A method, computer program and device for creating a viewing protocol for medical images is described. At least a first site of interest is identified in a medical imaging data set captured from the patient. Patient record data or computer assisted detection information can be used to identify the site of interest, which may be a potential lesion. A viewing protocol for displaying medical images to a user is planned. The viewing protocol includes a viewing path along which an image of the site of interest will be displayed. The viewing protocol also includes a trigger associated with the site of interest. When the trigger event is encountered the dynamic mode of image display is reconfigured to dynamically highlight the site of interest. The viewing protocol can then be used to control the display of images so as to provide, for example, a virtual endoscope.

Medical image viewing protocols

Medical imaging modalities generate increasingly more and very large three-dimensional data sets. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a three-dimensional data set of an object of interest is interactively visualized with a varying sampling rate in an image. Advantageously, a focus area may be moved by a user interactively during rendering, wherein the sampling rate of a particular part of the image is defined by its relative position to the focus area. Advantageously, this may allow for an improvement of an overall rendering performance.

Image visualization

High frequency signals cannot be reconstructed properly from sampled data if the sampling frequency lies below the Nyquist rate. The invention addresses this problem by choosing few additional sample points along a trajectory intersecting the region comprising the high frequency signals, such as an edge. Intermediate rendering data is used to determine the additional sample points. Therefore, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, 4 adaptively chosen sample points per pixel may provide a visual quality comparable to 16 times super-sampling, but at a much lower computational cost.

Adaptive sampling along edges for surface rendering

In real-time three-dimensional imaging the choice of the visualization method and orientation is crucial for intervention success. The key question is what to ignore and what to show in real-time applications, where user control is not appropriate. An intervention (caused by a user) to an object of interest is visualized without the requirement of an interactive input by the user. Parameters for a visualization procedure are automatically chosen during data acquisition which may allow for an efficient tracking of the actual orientation and relative position of the structure with respect to the object of interest.

Growing community of inventors

Aachen, Germany

Helko Lehmann