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Patent US6766043B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6766043B2
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Pleural nodule detection from CT thoracic images
Assignee: Mevis Medical Solutions AG
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Filing: 2001-11-23
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Granted: 2004-07-20
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Expires: 2021-11-23
Abstract
Abstract An algorithm is disclosed that recovers regions of possible pleural nodules left out of an organ field or otherwise undetected due to the nature of low level image processing in the organ field. A morphological closing with an elliptical structuring element is performed on a region to detect nodules within the size of the ellipsoid. A deformable surface-based analysis is performed in distinctive regions for the identification of larger nodules. The integrated use of a deformable surface model and chamfer distance potential enables explicit representation of regularized, or smoothed, surfaces within which nodule candidates may be detected.
Inventors
- 👤 Xiaolan Zeng
- 👤 Wei Zhang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 21:57
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T7/00; G06T7/0002; G06T7/0012; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/10; G06T2207/10072; G06T2207/10081; G06T2207/20; G06T2207/20036; G06T2207/30; G06T2207/30004; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S128/00; Y10S128/92; Y10S128/922
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 56
Claim 1
Independent Claim
60 words
A method of recovering nodules from digital images of an anatomical region comprising the steps of: performing a morphological operation on a region within the digital images to identify nodules smaller than a first size; and performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface in the region within the digital images to identify nodules larger than the first size.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
60 words
A method of recovering nodules from digital images of an anatomical region comprising the steps of: performing a morphological operation on a region within the digital images to identify nodules smaller than a first size; and performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface in the region within the digital images to identify nodules larger than the first size.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of highlighting nodules in the digital images corresponding to nodules identified by the morphological operation or by the surface-based analysis.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of highlighting nodules in a digital volume constructed from digital images corresponding to nodules identified by the morphological operation or by the surface-based analysis.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the anatomical region is a lung field.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the anatomical region is a heart, brain, spine, colon, liver or kidney.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the region upon which the morphological operation is performed is a digital volume constructed from the digital images.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 6 wherein the region upon which the morphological operation is performed is selected after a step of segmenting the digital volume.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the region upon which the morphological operation is performed is selected after segmenting one or more of the digital images.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the step of segmenting the digital volume further includes identifying a lung field region.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the step of segmenting the digital volume further includes identifying a pleural boundary.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 7 wherein the step of segmenting the digital volume further includes identifying a lobe of a lung.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of segmenting one or more of the digital images to identify surfaces for surface fitting.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of segmenting a digital volume created from the digital images to identify surfaces for surface-fitting.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 13 wherein a surface identified for surface-fitting includes a lung surface.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 14 wherein the lung surface is a lung apex, costal surface, lung base or mediastinal surface.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing surface-based analysis is performed by surface-fitting with deformable models.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 16 wherein the surface-fitting with deformable models is initialized using landmark points from a section of one or more digital images.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation on a region further includes the steps of: performing a morphological dilation on the region with an ellipsoidal structural element; and performing morphological erosion on the region with the ellipsoidal structural element.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of displaying a post-processed digital image, said post-processed digital image being one of the digital images as processed by the morphological operation or surface-based analysis.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 19 wherein the post-processed image includes one or more highlighted nodules.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the step of displaying a post-processed digital image further includes displaying at least one of the digital images of the anatomical region, said at least one of the digital images of the anatomical region being a digital image not processed by the morphological operation or surface-based analysis and containing anatomical information associated with anatomical information of the post-processed digital image.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the at least one of the digital images of the anatomical region displayed is shown with a highlighted location, said highlighted location associated with one or more of the highlighted nodules in the post-processed digital image.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of displaying one of the digital images, said one of the digital images having a location associated with an area corresponding to a location identified by the morphological operation or from surface-based analysis.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of displaying a post-processed digital image volume, said post-processed digital image volume constructed from digital images identified as containing anatomical information identified by the morphological operation or from surface-based analysis.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
58 words
The method of claim 24 further including displaying at least one of the digital images of the anatomical regions, said at least one of the digital images of the anatomical region being a digital image not processed by the morphological operation or surface-based analysis and containing anatomical information contained in or associated with the post-processed digital image volume.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of performing noise reduction on the digital images.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 further including the step of performing noise reduction on a digital volume constructed from some or all of the digital images.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation is performed on a digital lung field image.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation is performed using a morphological closing operation.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 12 wherein a nodule identified by the morphological operation step or the surface-based analysis step is a pleural nodule.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
11 words
The method of claim 30 wherein the pleural nodule is cancerous.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation is performed using a morphological dilation operation.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation is performed using a morphological dilation operation followed by a morphological erosion operation.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation is performed using a morphological dilation operation with a structuring element.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 34 wherein the structuring element is an elliptical structuring element.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a morphological operation is performed using morphological dilation with an elliptical structuring element performed on a region to detect nodules within the elliptical structuring element.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 36 wherein the elliptical structuring element has an elliptical radius of 3 mm.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the first size is the elliptical radius of an elliptical structuring element.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 38 wherein the elliptical radius is 2 mm-4 mm.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the first size is 3 mm.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a surface-based analysis is performed using a snake active surface model to fit a surface to a boundary.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 41 wherein the snake active surface model uses a chamfer distance potential as a measure of the proximity of the deformable surface model to the boundary.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the region upon which surface-based analysis is performed is a pleural surface.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of performing a surface-based analysis requires fitting a pleural surface to a boundary.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
12 words
The method of claim 41 wherein the boundary is a pleural boundary.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
63 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the anatomical region is the lungs and the step of performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface further includes the steps of: identifying lung border voxels; calculating a chamfer distance potential to the lung border voxels; initializing the surface; and deforming a snake active surface model under an external force and under an internal force.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the external force is based on a chamfer distance potential.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the internal force is based on a smoothness determination of the surface.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the surface is a costal surface of the lungs and the lung border voxels are on a posterior border of the lungs.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the surface is a lung base of the lungs and the lung border voxels are on an inferior border of the lungs.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 46 wherein the surface is a mediastinal surface of the lungs and the lung border voxels are on an anterior border of the lungs.
Claim 53
Independent Claim
154 words
A method of recovering nodules from digital images of an anatomical region comprising the steps of: recovering nodules below a first size by performing a morphological operation on at least one of the digital images comprising the steps of: performing a morphological dilation on a region within at least one of the digital images with a structuring element selected to be capable of detecting nodules having a size below the first size; and performing morphological erosion on the region within at least one of the digital images with the ellipsoidal structuring element; and performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface in the region to identify nodules larger that the first size comprising the steps of: identifying border voxels; calculating a chamfer distance potential to the border voxels; initializing the surface; and deforming a snake active surface model based on a chamfer distance potential and based on a smoothness determination of the surface.
Claim 54
Independent Claim
154 words
A method of recovering nodules from digital images of an anatomical region comprising the steps of: recovering nodules below a first size by performing a morphological operation on at least one of the digital images comprising the steps of: performing a morphological dilation on a region within at least one of the digital images with a structuring element selected to be capable of detecting nodules having a size below the first size; and performing morphological erosion on the region within at least one of the digital images with the ellipsoidal structuring element; and performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface in the region to identify nodules larger that the first size comprising the steps of: identifying border voxels; calculating a chamfer distance potential to the border voxels; initializing the surface; and deforming a snake active surface model based on a chamfer distance potential and based on a smoothness determination of the surface.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
74 words
A computer system including software embodied in a computer-readable medium for recovering nodules from digital images of an anatomical region comprising the steps of: logic code for performing a morphological operation on a region within the digital images to identify nodules smaller than a first size; and logic code for performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface in the region within the digital images to identify nodules larger than the first size.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
74 words
A computer system including software embodied in a computer-readable medium for recovering nodules from digital images of an anatomical region comprising the steps of: logic code for performing a morphological operation on a region within the digital images to identify nodules smaller than a first size; and logic code for performing a surface-based analysis on at least one surface in the region within the digital images to identify nodules larger than the first size.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-07-20 | 2008-01-19 | 2008-07-20 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-07-20 | 2012-01-19 | 2012-07-20 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-07-20 | 2016-01-19 | 2016-07-20 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |