EP0846442A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for analysis of left ventricular function
Assignee: Advanced Technology Laboratories Inc
•
Filing: 1997-11-07
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Granted: —
•
Expires: 2017-11-07
Abstract
Abstract An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system is provided for measuring the volume of a chamber of the heart or other organ or vessel. An ultrasonic transducer probe is used to scan the chamber with a plurality of spatially distinct scan planes. The pixels of the chamber volume of each scan plane are aggregated to provide a measure of the volume. In a preferred embodiment the chamber volume pixels are developed from Doppler signals from the fluid within the chamber, and are related to voxels within the chamber by weighting pixels in the scan planes in accordance with the voxel sampling afforded by the inter-plane separation.
Inventors
- 👤 Gary Allen Schwartz
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 16:41
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61B; A61B8/00; A61B8/08; A61B8/0883; A61B8/0891; A61B8/44; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S128/00; Y10S128/916
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
83 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for
measuring the volume of a chamber of the heart,
comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for scanning the
heart at different scan plane orientations; means for storing a plurality of spatially
distinct scan planes containing ultrasonic data of
the same chamber of the heart; means for combining said ultrasonic data from
said scan planes to develop a measure of the volume
of said chamber of the heart; and means for displaying cardiac diagnostic
information derived from said measure.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
16 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic data comprises
ultrasonic Doppler data.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 2, wherein said ultrasonic Doppler data
comprises ultrasonic power Doppler data.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 1, wherein said combining means further
includes means for weighting the ultrasonic data of a
scan plane in accordance with the sampling density of
the chamber afforded by said scan planes.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 4, wherein said means for weighting comprises
means for weighting the ultrasonic data of a scan
plane in accordance with the inter-plane spacing of
said scan planes.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
47 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 1, wherein said ultrasonic data comprises image
pixel data, and wherein said combining means further
includes means for weighting the pixel data of a scan
plane in accordance with the sampling density of the
chamber afforded by said scan planes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
34 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 6, wherein said means for weighting comprises
means for weighting the pixel data of a scan plane in
accordance with the inter-plane spacing of said scan
planes.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 1, further including heart gating means for
scanning the heart at a desired phase of the heart
cycle.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 8, wherein said plurality of spatially distinct
scan planes are acquired at substantially the same
phase of the heart cycle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 9, wherein said means for displaying cardiac
diagnostic information further includes means for
computing ejection fraction from said volume measure.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
76 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 9, wherein said means for storing comprises
means for storing two groups of spatially distinct
scan planes, each acquired at a different phase of
the heart cycle; said combining means comprises means
for developing a measure of the volume of a chamber
from each of said groups of scan planes; and said
means for displaying cardiac diagnostic information
further includes means for computing ejection
fraction from said volume measures.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
103 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for
measuring the volume of a chamber of the heart,
comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for scanning the
heart at different scan plane orientations; means for storing a plurality of spatially
distinct scan planes containing ultrasonic data of
the same chamber of the heart; means for delineating endocardial border data of
said chamber in said scan planes; means for weighting said delineated endocardial
border data in accordance with the sampling density
of the endocardium afforded by said scan planes; and means for combining said weighted endocardial
border data to develop a measure of the volume of
said chamber.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
36 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 12, wherein said means for weighting comprises
means for weighting the delineated endocardial border
data of a scan plane in accordance with the inter-plane
spacing of said scan planes.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
104 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for
measuring the volume of a vessel or organ of the
body, comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for scanning the
vessel or organ at different scan plane orientations; means for storing a plurality of spatially
distinct scan planes containing ultrasonic data of
said vessel or organ; means for weighting the ultrasonic data of a
scan plane in accordance with the sampling density of
the interior of said vessel or organ afforded by said
scan planes; and means for combining said weighted ultrasonic
data from said scan planes to develop a measure of
the volume of said vessel or organ.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
16 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 14, wherein said ultrasonic data comprises
ultrasonic Doppler data.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 15, wherein said ultrasonic Doppler data
comprises ultrasonic power Doppler data.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
77 words
A method for measuring the volume of a
chamber of a heart containing an ultrasonic contrast
agent comprising the steps of: scanning the heart chamber at different scan
plane orientations; storing a plurality of spatially distinct scan
planes containing ultrasonic data derived from
ultrasonic signals received from contrast agent in
said chamber of the heart; and combining said ultrasonic data from said scan
planes to develop a measure of the volume of said
chamber of the heart.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of Claim 17, wherein said
ultrasonic contrast agent comprises a harmonic
ultrasonic contrast agent.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
79 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for
measuring the volume of a chamber of the heart,
comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for scanning the
heart at different scan plane orientations which
share a common scanline orientation; means for storing a plurality of spatially
distinct scan planes containing ultrasonic data of
the same chamber of the heart; and means for combining said ultrasonic data from
said scan planes to develop a measure of the volume
of said chamber of the heart.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
82 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for
measuring the volume of a chamber of the heart,
comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for scanning the
heart at different scan plane orientations which are
angularly inclined with respect to one another; means for storing a plurality of spatially
distinct scan planes containing ultrasonic data of
the same chamber of the heart; and means for combining said ultrasonic data from
said scan planes to develop a measure of the volume
of said chamber of the heart.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
79 words
An ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system for
measuring the volume of a chamber of the heart,
comprising: an ultrasonic transducer probe for scanning the
heart at different scan plane orientations which are
parallel to one another; means for storing a plurality of spatially
distinct scan planes containing ultrasonic data of
the same chamber of the heart; and means for combining said ultrasonic data from
said scan planes to develop a measure of the volume
of said chamber of the heart.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
43 words
The ultrasonic diagnostic imaging system of
Claim 21, further comprising means for weighting said
ultrasonic data of said scan planes in accordance
with the separation of adjacent scan planes; and
wherein said means for combining comprises means for
combining said weighted ultrasonic data.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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