Echo Particle Image Velocimetry for 3D Blood Flow Characterization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing echocardiography techniques face limitations in accurately quantifying three-dimensional cardiac flow patterns, particularly in scenarios with high flow velocities and complex flows, due to low frame rates and insufficient spatial and temporal resolutions, which hinders clinical diagnosis in conditions like pulmonary hypertension.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of high frame rate data acquisition (up to 100 frames per second) using contrast agents like Optison, combined with boundary and Doppler effect corrections, and imposition of incompressibility constraints on each frame to generate corrected velocity fields, enhancing the accuracy and visualization of three-dimensional blood flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high frame rate data acquisition is implemented, then temporal resolution is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex 3D flow measurement problem into multiple 2D echocardiographic planes that are acquired at high frame rates. By dividing the volumetric space into discrete planar sections and measuring flow in each plane separately, the system achieves high temporal resolution without requiring a single complex 3D measurement system, thus resolving the contradiction between temporal resolution and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D echocardiography to a multi-planar approach that effectively creates a 3D measurement capability through the combination of multiple 2D planes acquired at high frame rates. This dimensional approach allows temporal resolution to be improved in each 2D plane while the overall system complexity is managed by reusing the same transducer and processing pipeline for each plane.
2Measurement precision
If three-dimensional flow characterization is implemented, then measurement precision is improved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the 3D velocity field into multiple 2D velocity fields corresponding to different echocardiographic planes. Each 2D field is processed independently using established PIV algorithms, and the results are then integrated to reconstruct the 3D flow pattern. This segmentation reduces the computational complexity of processing the entire 3D volume at once while maintaining measurement precision through the integration of multiple planar measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary step of acquiring and processing multiple 2D echocardiographic planes as intermediate data structures before reconstructing the final 3D flow field. These intermediate 2D velocity fields serve as mediators that bridge the gap between simple 2D measurements and complex 3D characterization, allowing the system to achieve 3D measurement precision through a series of manageable 2D processing steps.
3Measurement precision
If boundary corrections and incompressibility constraints are applied, then measurement precision is improved, but computational time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies boundary corrections and incompressibility constraints as preliminary processing steps to the raw velocity field data before final analysis. By pre-correcting the velocity fields to satisfy physical constraints, the system improves measurement precision without requiring iterative optimization during the main analysis phase, thus reducing the overall computational time while maintaining accuracy.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables improved visualization and quantification of three-dimensional blood flow, allowing for more accurate assessment of cardiac performance and detection of pathological conditions, such as pulmonary hypertension, by providing higher temporal and spatial resolution data.
Implementation Method 1
boundary and Doppler effect corrections
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for producing velocity data associated with three-dimensional (3D) flow field images. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving data associated with a plurality of frames of a flow field relating to image data acquired by a medical imaging device, in which the data includes information corresponding to measurements of the flow field over time within a chamber; performing, for each of the plurality of frames, the following operations including: generating, for a respective frame, a data correction based on an interaction of the flow field with the chamber, applying the data correction to a velocity field corresponding to the respective frame, and imposing an incompressibility constraint for the flow field on one or more data points of the respective frame; and generating, subsequent to imposing the incompressibility constraint, a plurality of corrected velocity fields each of which corresponds to one of the plurality of frames.