The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 16, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 08, 2000
Thomas M. Burke, Bothell, WA (US);
David T. Carrott, Bristow, VA (US);
Litton Systems, Inc., Woodland Hills, CA (US);
Abstract
Ultrasonographic imaging of small calcifications or similar hard bodies distributed in human breast tissue is enhanced by correlating an ultrasonographic data set with a radiographic image of the same region of interest. A “constellation” or cluster of small calcifications is distinguished from speckle noise by the cross-correlation, which is quite sensitive to the coincidence of a pattern of distributed small targets in both the ultrasonographic and radiographic images, notwithstanding the presence of random noise. An optical correlator is preferably used to perform high speed cross-correlations. The three-dimensional position of an individual calcification is preferably found by projecting from an identified point in the radiographic image, along a projection vector, to a voxel with extreme density in the ultrasonographic volumetric data set. Multiple projection vector orientations are tested for image correlation, to accomodate any probable skew between the ultrasonographic and radiographic projections.