Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

U.S. Philips Corporation

Pierre Henri Lelong

Raoul Florent

Lucile Nosjean

Peter Maria Johannes Rongen

Vincent Maurice André Auvray

Olivier Gerard

Sherif Makram-Ebeid

Vincent Maurice Andre Auvray

Michel R Jatteau

Milena Planells-Rodriguez

Juergen Weese

Sabine Mollus

Jan Klijn

Bert Leo Alfons Verdonck

Jean Pergrale

Vincent Pauzat

Govert Dalm

Raul Florent

Jean H Ott

Christian Plard

Peter Rongen

Imaging systems and methods for imaging assisted interventional procedure that receive images of a region of interest, that automatically detect in the images a contrast agent puff as it courses through the region of interest, and that generate a display including a video replay loop of contrast enhanced images based on the automatic detection of the contrast agent puff.

Contrast injection imaging

The present invention relates to visualizing vasculature structure. In order to provide an improved visualizing a course of a vasculature structures with an occlusion, it is provided: a) to determine () a region of interest in a first image of a sequence of a cardiac vasculature structure, which is at least partly injected with contrast agent; wherein the vasculature structure comprises an occlusion and wherein vessel portions distal of the occlusion are non-visible; b) to identify () a trajectory proposal from a proximal vessel portion that is visible in the image to a distal portion of the occlusion as a first estimation of the non-visible vessel portions; c) to modify () the trajectory proposal generating a plurality of possible trajectories for matching with the vessel course in a next image of the sequence; d) to determine () a plausibility value for each of the possible trajectories; e) to select () the possible trajectory with the highest plausibility value as vessel course indicator for the first image; f) to repeat () steps c) to e) for each image of the sequence to achieve a sequence of vessel course indicators; g) to associate () the vessel course indicators to the images corresponding to the same heart phase of the sequence of the cardiac vasculature structure; and h) to display () an illustration of the cardiac vasculature structure with the associated course indicators.

Visualizing a course of a vasculature structure with an occlusion

A device for medical imaging of coronary vessels includes a data extracting module configured to extract a first vessel map from computed tomography angiography data covering at least one reference cardiac phase and a set of second vessel maps from three-dimensional rotational angiography data covering at least one cardiac cycle. An interpolation module is configured to generate a series of warped versions of the first vessel map aligned with the set of second vessel maps, the series starting at the at least one reference cardiac phase. A merging module is configured to merge the series and the set of second vessel maps at the different phases in order to generate a final imaging map of the coronary vessels.

Device and method for medical imaging of coronary vessels

The present invention relates to localization of a vascular treatment and quantification of a part of a vascular structure. It is described to provide () at least one first image comprising a representation of a region of interest of a vascular structure. At least one second image comprising a representation of the region of interest of the vascular structure is provided (). Between an acquisition of the at least one first image and an acquisition of the at least one second image, a vascular treatment might have been applied to the region of interest of the vascular structure, wherein the representation of the region of interest of the vascular structure relates to spatial extension information of the vascular structure at least in one image plane. At least one reference image from an image set formed from the at least one first image and the at least one second image is selected (). At least one sample image from the image set formed from the at least one first image and the at least one second image is selected (), wherein the at least one sample image is different to the at least one reference image. At least one image from the at least one sample image is registered () with the at least one reference image to provide at least one registered image. It is determined () if there exists at least one region of spatial discrepancy between the representation of the region of interest in the at least one reference image and the representation of the region of interest in the at least one registered image. Data is output () representative of the at least one region of spatial discrepancy.

Revascularisation localisation and pre and post quantitative coronary angiography

A device for medical imaging of coronary vessels includes a medical imaging device configured to extract a first vessel map from computed tomography angiography data covering at least one reference cardiac phase and a plurality of second vessel maps from three-dimensional rotational angiography data including at least the reference, to generate a plurality of warped versions of the first vessel map aligned with each of second vessel maps, to merge the plurality of warped first vessel maps with corresponding ones of the second vessel maps at different cardiac phases in order to generate a plurality of merged vessel maps of the coronary vessels in the plurality of cardiac cycles.

Cin&#xe9; imaging of coronary vessels using fused CT angiography and 3D rotational angiography images

A method and an image processing system for the evaluation of projection images generated by an X-ray imaging system, wherein the images may show different instruments of a given set of interventional instruments like catheters or guide wires. The instruments are equipped with markers such that their configuration is characteristic of the corresponding instrument. Preferably three markers are arranged on a straight line, the ratio of the distances between them being characteristic for the corresponding instrument. The image processing system may then identify the instruments present in a given projection and provide functionalities for a user that correspond to said instruments. Moreover, the system may be used to locate an instrument of interest in a projection image if the marker configuration of that instrument is known a priori.

Processing of images of interventional instruments with markers

Cardiac roadmapping consists in correctly overlaying a vessel map sequence derived from an angiogram acquisition onto a fluoroscopy sequence used during PTCA intervention. This enhanced fluoroscopy sequence however suffers from several drawbacks such as breathing motion, high noise level, and most of all suboptimal contrast-enhanced mask due to segmentation defaults. This invention proposes to reverse the process and to locally overlay the intervention device as seen in fluoroscopy onto an optimal contrast-enhanced image of a corresponding cycle. This drastically reduces or suppresses the breathing motion, it provides the high image quality standard of angiograms, and avoids segmentation defaults. This proposal could lead to a brand new navigation practice in PCI procedures.

Vascular roadmapping

A medical viewing system for displaying a sequence of medical images that represents moving and/or positioning a guide-wire in a blood vessel, which guide-wire has a guide-wire tip that is contrasted with respect to the guide wire, this system comprising acquisition means that acquires an original sequence of noisy images called live sequence and processing means for processing said live sequence of images in real time, the processing means comprising: first means () for automatically detecting the guide-wire tip, yielding skeleton information of the guide-wire tip and a field of motion vectors based on said skeleton information; second means () for automatically registering the guide-wire tip with respect to a reference based on the field of motion vectors and for enhancing the guide-wire and the vessel walls while blurring the background in the registered images; and comprising: Display means for displaying a live sequence of processed images.

Medical viewing system and method for detecting boundary structures

A method for use in a medical viewing system for processing for display a sequence of images of a medical intervention comprising manipulating a tool such as a stent () within an artery. Two markers () are provided on the tool support () and the method includes extracting these markers () to yield marker location information, from which tool location information can be derived. The image of the tool within the sequence of images is then enhanced relative to the background. The background can be additionally blurred by simulating or effecting relative movement of the image detector and the stent () by, for example, zooming in on the stent () or rotating the detector relative thereto, during acquisition of the sequence of images.

Medical viewing system and method for detecting and enhancing static structures in noisy images using motion of the image acquisition means

The invention relates to a system and a method for detecting an object of interest in a sequence of medical images. Said viewing system comprises alarm detection means () for detecting a set of alarms of said object of interest in a medical image (I') at time t, in which an alarms is a set of data describing a possible location of the object. It further comprise temporal tracking means () for iteratively creating a set of tracks (T&#x2032;) at time t by associating alarms of said set of alarms (A&#x2032;) with tracks (T&#x2032;) at time t&#x2212;1 and for choosing a track from among said set of tracks at time t in accordance with a merit criterion. Said track at time t is ended by an alarm which corresponds to a detection of said object of interest in said medical image at time t. Said viewing system advantageously accumulates temporal proofs for confirming or infirming spatial detections of alarms at time t. Detection of the object of interest is therefore made more robust to errors.

System and method for enhancing an object of interest in noisy medical images

The invention relates to a viewing system and a method for detecting an object of interest in a sequence of images (IS). Said object of interest is detected by first locating localizers related to said object of interest and by locating borders (BL) related to said object of interest using the location (LI, LZ) of said localizers. The viewing system according to the invention is able to produce a sequence of enhanced images in which the object of interest is enhanced, to measure some characteristics and to build a three dimensional representation of said object of interest. The viewing system is also able to register and combine said sequence of enhanced images with a sequence of reference images.

Medical viewing system and method for detecting borders of an object of interest in noisy images

A viewing system and method for enhancing objects of interest represented on a moving background in a sequence of noisy images and for displaying the sequence of enhanced images, comprising extracting means () for extracting features related to an object of interest in images of the sequence; registering means () for registering the features related to the object of interest with respect to the image referential, yielding registered images (); similarity detection means for determining the resemblance of the representations of a registered object of interest in succeeding images and weighing means for modulating the intensities of the pixels of said object of interest over the images of the sequence; temporal integrating means () for integrating the object of interest and the background over a number, or at least two, registered images () of the sequence; and display means () for displaying the processed images () of the enhanced registered object of interest on faded background. Application: Medical Imaging. X-ray Fluoroscopic Imaging.

Medical viewing system and method for enhancing structures in noisy images

A viewing system and method comprises an extracting device, a spatial enhancement device, and a display device. The extracting device () extracts features related to an object of interest in images of a sequence. The spatial enhancement device () includes a ridge filter modulated by factor to enhance the object of interest to the exclusion of background objects. The display device () displays the processed images () of the enhanced registered object of interest on a faded background.

Medical viewing system and method for spatially enhancing structures in noisy images

A medical viewing system for displaying a sequence of images of a medical intervention that comprises moving and/or positioning a tool in a body organ, which tool is carried by a support to which at least one marker is attached at a predetermined location with respect to the tool, comprising means for acquiring the sequence of images, and for processing said images during the medical intervention, wherein: extracting means for automatically extracting at least one marker that is attached to the tool support and that neither belongs to the tool nor to the body organ, and yielding the marker location information; computing means for automatically deriving the tool location information from the marker location information, and enhancing means for improving the visibility of the tool and/or the body organ in order to check whether the medical intervention stages are successfully carried out.

Medical viewing system and method for detecting and enhancing structures in noisy images

An image processing method for providing three-dimensional geometric modeling of the spine, using a biplanar image reconstruction, comprising steps of acquisition of a first view (F) of a part of the spine, and a second view (L) of the same part of the spine taken from a different angle around the longitudinal axis of the spine, matching the dimensions of the views (F,L) from two predetermined corresponding landmarks (PP) on each view and deriving three-dimensional coordinates (z, x, y) of corresponding points (P) along the spine. Application: X-ray medical 3-D imaging.

Growing community of inventors

Saint Mande, France

Pierre Henri Lelong