Anatomy-anchored reference system for medical image registration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Comparing heart anatomy from different ultrasound clips is challenging due to unknown transducer positions and heart anatomy changes over the cycle, with existing methods like image-based registration and model-based segmentations being inefficient or ineffective for live applications.
Innovation Solution
An anatomy-anchored reference system is determined by identifying predetermined features of interest in a medical dataset, such as landmarks and meshes, to facilitate efficient registration between different images or models, allowing a single common reference system for various elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If image-based registration or model-based segmentations are used to align images with different acquisition directions, then anatomical alignment can be achieved, but the methods are too slow for live applications and require substantial computational effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential anatomical features (landmarks, curves, surfaces) from the full medical images to create a simplified reference system. This extraction process reduces the data volume significantly while preserving the critical anatomical information needed for alignment, enabling fast comparison without processing entire images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the anatomical structure into distinct feature types (landmarks as points, curves as lines, surfaces as 2D manifolds) and processes each segment independently. This segmentation allows the system to work with discrete anatomical elements rather than continuous image data, improving computational efficiency for live applications.
2Adaptability or versatility
If pairwise mappings are created between heart model meshes to register different segmentations, then anatomical information can be mapped between models, but the exponential number of mappings required results in substantial maintenance and computational effort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal anatomy-anchored reference system that serves as a common reference for all medical datasets. Instead of creating pairwise mappings between every possible model combination, all models are independently registered to this single universal reference, reducing the complexity from exponential to linear scaling.
Solution Approach 2:
The anatomy-anchored reference system acts as an intermediary that mediates between different medical datasets. Rather than directly mapping models to each other, the reference system serves as a common intermediary framework that simplifies the registration process and reduces computational burden.
3Measurement precision
If traditional registration methods are used to align ultrasound clips, then anatomical comparison can be performed, but the methods cannot account for heart anatomy changes over the heart cycle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic anatomy-anchored reference system that can adapt to different phases of the heart cycle. The system updates the reference anatomical features based on the current cardiac phase, allowing accurate comparison of ultrasound clips taken at different times in the cardiac cycle while accounting for normal anatomical variations.
Data Source
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AI summary
Proposed concepts thus aim to provide schemes, solutions, concepts, designs, methods and systems pertaining to determining an anatomy-anchored reference system for a medical dataset comprising a representation of at least part of an anatomical structure. In particular, embodiments aim to provide a method for determining an anatomy-anchored reference system for a medical dataset comprising a representation of at least part of an anatomical structure by identifying a plurality of predetermined features of interest of the anatomical structure in the medical dataset. In other words, it is proposed that by identifying features of interest, e.g., anatomical features, of an anatomical structure in a medical dataset, such as a heart, an anatomy-anchored reference system can thus be determined. In this way, a single common reference system can be generated that provides a more efficient and/or effective method of facilitating registration between different images/models/segmentations/views.