Pulmonary Vessel Visualization via Hierarchical Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical imaging technologies struggle to accurately determine the location of a pulmonary embolism within the complex vascular structure of pulmonary arteries, as the tree-like branching of vessels makes it difficult to visualize and identify the affected area.
Innovation Solution
A user interface and method for visualizing structural information of pulmonary vessels, which categorizes and classifies finding information at the level of segmental arteries, using a simplified vascular structure diagram generated from actual patient data, and provides quantitative information such as PE scores and embolus sizes to assist diagnosis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional 3D visualization of pulmonary vessels is used, then the complete vascular structure can be displayed, but the vessels appear clumped together making it difficult to determine the location of pulmonary embolism
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pulmonary vascular structure into hierarchical levels (main pulmonary arteries, lobar arteries, segmental arteries, and sub-segmental arteries). This segmentation allows the complex vascular tree to be divided into manageable sections, enabling clear identification of embolism locations at specific vascular levels without the cluttered appearance of complete 3D visualization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary simplified diagram that represents the hierarchical vascular structure. This intermediary visualization layer translates the complex 3D vascular anatomy into a simplified 2D hierarchical tree diagram, making it easier to identify embolism locations while maintaining accurate anatomical relationships.
2Measurement precision
If detailed structural information of pulmonary vessels is visualized, then accurate embolism location can be determined, but the information becomes too complex for quick interpretation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments vascular information into hierarchical levels and displays only the relevant level for each embolism case. This selective segmentation provides precise location information while avoiding the overload of displaying all vascular details, thereby improving ease of interpretation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by emphasizing specific vascular segments where embolisms are detected. Instead of uniformly displaying all vascular structures with equal detail, the system highlights affected segments with enhanced visualization and provides detailed information only where needed, improving both precision and interpretability.
3Reliability
If quantitative embolism information is provided for each vascular segment, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but the amount of information to process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments quantitative embolism information by hierarchical vascular level, presenting data in an organized hierarchy from main arteries to sub-segmental arteries. This segmented presentation allows radiologists to quickly locate and process relevant quantitative information without being overwhelmed by the total volume of data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary organization and filtering of quantitative embolism information before presentation. The system pre-processes the data to identify and highlight the most clinically relevant metrics for each vascular segment, reducing the cognitive load on radiologists and decreasing processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of visualizing structural information of pulmonary vessels in medical images includes obtaining structural information of pulmonary vessels based on anatomical structure features of the pulmonary vessels from a medical image based on segmentation results of a pulmonary vascular region of the medical image; obtaining pulmonary embolism finding information in the pulmonary vessels of the medical image; visualizing the structural information of the pulmonary vessels in accordance with hierarchical information; and visualizing the pulmonary embolism finding information in association with individual sub-regions of the structural information of the pulmonary vessels visualized in accordance with the hierarchical information.