Heart Inner Wall Visualization Using Equal-Area Projection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current techniques for visualizing the inner walls of the heart, such as bull's eye maps and Goode projection-based two-dimensional surface development, fail to accurately express length and area, leading to difficulties in intuitively grasping the heart's state, especially for regions like infarcts and treatment areas, and do not effectively depict the inner walls of atria and ventricles.
Innovation Solution
An image processing device and method that receives three-dimensional heart structure information, applies equal-area projection to develop the inner walls into two-dimensional images divided into front, rear, left, and right walls, allowing for accurate and intuitive representation by incorporating time-series data, heart valve positioning, wall thickness, electrocardiogram information, and wall motion analysis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If bull's eye map or Goode projection is used to project three-dimensional heart data onto two-dimensional surface, then the entire heart surface can be visualized, but the length and area cannot be accurately expressed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D projection methods to a 3D virtual model that preserves spatial relationships. By maintaining three-dimensional representation with accurate scaling, the system allows measurement of length and area while still providing comprehensive heart surface visualization, thus resolving the contradiction between coverage and measurement accuracy.
2Area of stationary object
If the two-dimensional surface is developed continuously, then the entire heart wall can be shown, but the relationship between interrupted sections and the whole becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the heart wall into distinct anatomical segments (anterior, posterior, lateral, inferior walls) that can be separately visualized and measured. Each segment maintains its spatial context within the 3D model, making it easier to understand the relationship between parts and whole compared to continuous interrupted projections.
Solution Approach 2:
By using 3D spatial coordinates to represent heart wall segments, the patent maintains intuitive spatial relationships while achieving complete surface coverage. The three-dimensional presentation allows users to grasp the anatomical layout more easily than traditional two-dimensional interrupted projections.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional projection methods are used, then the heart surface can be developed two-dimensionally, but the inner wall state of atria and ventricles cannot be intuitively grasped
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs three-dimensional virtual modeling to preserve and display inner wall characteristics of atria and ventricles. The 3D representation maintains spatial depth and anatomical relationships, allowing intuitive grasping of inner wall states that are lost in traditional 2D projections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates multiple parameters including wall thickness, tissue density, and spatial coordinates to comprehensively represent the inner wall state. By utilizing these additional parameters in the 3D model, the patent preserves critical anatomical information that cannot be captured by conventional 2D imaging methods.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing device is described herein including an information input unit that receives as an input three-dimensional structure information indicating a three-dimensional structure of a heart; and an image generation unit that develops an inner wall of atria and ventricles of a heart indicated by the three-dimensional structure information into a two-dimensional image based on an equal-area projection, and generates a developed image interrupted by dividing the two-dimensional image into a front wall, a rear wall, a left wall, and a right wall.