Medical Image Processing for Multi-Phase Brain Circulation Delay Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical imaging technologies for diagnosing cerebral infarction, such as 4D-CT Angiography and CT images, face challenges with long imaging times and high radiation exposure, while qualitative methods like left-right ratio analysis lack accuracy due to differences in blood flow arrival times between affected and healthy brain sides.
Innovation Solution
A medical image processing device and method that acquires and analyzes multiple time phases of brain images to derive feature amounts, including ratios of blood vessel inflow, presence, and outflow, and compares these between affected and healthy sides to quantify time phase delays, using maximum intensity projection processing to generate vascular images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If 4D-CT Angiography is used to obtain detailed analysis including blood flow arrival time delays, then measurement precision is improved, but imaging time increases and radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the continuous 4D-CTA imaging process into discrete time phase points (e.g., peak enhancement time and delayed time point) for analysis. By selecting specific time phases rather than analyzing the entire continuous dataset, the system achieves the necessary measurement precision for blood flow arrival time delay while reducing the effective imaging time required for diagnosis.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary processing to automatically identify the peak enhancement time point and calculate expected arrival times before conducting the full analysis. This preliminary action allows the system to focus computational and imaging resources only on the critical time phases needed for measurement, thereby improving precision without proportionally increasing total imaging time.
2Measurement precision
If 4D-CT Angiography is used to obtain detailed analysis including blood flow arrival time delays, then measurement precision is improved, but radiation exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the imaging process into essential time phase segments (peak enhancement and delayed time points only) rather than requiring continuous imaging throughout the entire contrast agent passage. This segmentation maintains the ability to measure blood flow arrival time delays accurately while reducing the cumulative radiation exposure by eliminating redundant imaging at non-critical time points.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial imaging at strategically selected time phases rather than complete continuous imaging. By acquiring images only at the peak enhancement time and the calculated delayed time point, the system achieves sufficient measurement precision for clinical diagnosis while exposing the patient to less radiation than full 4D-CTA would require.
3Loss of time
If left-right ratio analysis is used with one-time imaging, then imaging time is reduced and radiation exposure is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to unaccounted blood flow arrival time differences
Solution Approach 1:
Before performing the simplified left-right ratio comparison, the system performs preliminary analysis to determine the peak enhancement time and calculate the expected blood flow arrival time delay. This preliminary action allows the system to compensate for timing differences between sides, enabling accurate collateral circulation evaluation even when using reduced imaging protocols with fewer time phases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces time phase delay as a correction parameter in the left-right ratio analysis. By measuring and applying this time delay parameter, the system adjusts the comparison between affected and healthy sides to account for differences in blood flow arrival times, thereby maintaining measurement precision while using a simplified one-time or reduced-phase imaging approach.
4Ease of operation
If left-right ratio analysis is used with one-time imaging, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary automated calculations of peak enhancement time and expected arrival times before the main analysis. This preliminary action simplifies the subsequent left-right ratio comparison by pre-processing the time synchronization aspects, making the overall operation easier while maintaining precision through the embedded time delay compensation algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically performs the time phase delay measurement and correction without requiring manual intervention. The automated derivation of feature amounts and time delay compensation occurs self-service, maintaining measurement precision while keeping the user interface simple and easy to operate. The complex calculations are handled automatically by the system.
Data Source
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AI summary
A medical image processing device of an embodiment includes an acquirer, a deriver, and an analyzer. The acquirer is configured to acquire medical images of a plurality of time phases of a brain of a subject, having one of left and right sides of the brain as an affected side and the other as a healthy side. The deriver is configured to derive feature amounts related to collateral circulation in the brain of the subject based on the acquired original medical images. The analyzer is configured to analyze a time phase delay in the affected side relative to the healthy side based on a result of comparing the feature amounts of the affected side and the healthy side for each of the plurality of time phases.