Lung Vessel Quantification by Lobe Using 2D Development Maps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for quantifying pulmonary vessels in medical images struggle to accurately analyze and quantify vessels by lobe, particularly due to inconsistencies in thresholding and difficulty in distinguishing the inner interfaces between lung lobes, which affects the precision of vascular analysis.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the extraction of pulmonary vessels from medical images using gamma correction, Otsu's binarization, and vascular topology analysis, followed by the formation of offset surfaces to locate voxels with respect to the lobe surface, allowing for the quantification of vessels based on radial distance and area ratio, and optionally calculating volume.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If Otsu's binarization method is used for thresholding pulmonary vessels, then the vascular region can be segmented, but inconsistencies in thresholding occur affecting measurement precision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the 3D pulmonary CT data into a 2D development map, changing the dimensional parameters and spatial representation. This transformation allows for more consistent thresholding by flattening the complex 3D vascular structure into a 2D plane where Otsu's binarization can be applied more reliably, reducing thresholding inconsistencies while maintaining segmentation accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a 2D development map from 3D CT data, effectively changing the dimensionality of the problem. By projecting the 3D vascular structure onto a 2D plane, the method enables more consistent threshold application and improves the reliability of vascular quantification while maintaining measurement precision
2Measurement precision
If traditional vascular extraction methods are used, then pulmonary vessels can be identified, but difficulty in distinguishing inner interfaces between lung lobes affects analysis accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pulmonary CT data by creating separate development maps for different lung lobes. By dividing the 3D vascular structure into lobe-specific 2D representations, the method enables clear distinction of inner interfaces between lobes and allows for precise lobe-specific vessel analysis without the confusion of overlapping structures
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms 3D CT data into 2D development maps, changing the dimensionality to improve interface detection. This dimensional transformation allows inner interfaces between lung lobes to be clearly distinguished in the 2D plane, reducing the difficulty of detecting and measuring lobe boundaries while maintaining measurement precision
3Measurement precision
If 3D CT data is processed directly, then complete vascular information is available, but complex anatomical structures cause interference in quantification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms complex 3D CT data into simplified 2D development maps, changing the dimensionality to reduce complexity. This transformation maintains complete vascular information while simplifying the representation of complex anatomical structures, thereby reducing interference in quantification and improving measurement precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the vascular structures from the complex 3D CT data and represents them separately in 2D development maps. By extracting and isolating the vascular information from the complex anatomical context, the method reduces interference from surrounding structures while maintaining complete vascular information for accurate quantification
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method for the quantification of pulmonary vessels by lobe, the method including extracting, at extraction unit, pulmonary vessels based on a medical image, locating, at analysis unit, voxels of pulmonary vessels with respect to the surface of a lobe, and quantifying, at calculation unit, the extracted pulmonary vessels.