Ultrasonic Polar Map Segmentation for Cardiac Vein Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cardiac motion tracking techniques using polar coordinate distributions for evaluating asynchrony do not provide a clear positional relationship with the great cardiac vein and anterior vein, leading to unreliable temporal changes in cardiac wall motion indices due to the influence of veins.
Innovation Solution
An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that generates a polar map by segmenting cardiac wall motion indices into segments aligned with the positions of the great cardiac vein and anterior vein, adjusting segment boundaries and widths based on vein positions to improve the accuracy of cardiac wall motion index calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If uniform segmentation is applied to polar coordinate distribution, then the polar map can be generated systematically, but the reliability of temporal changes in average motion indices deteriorates due to vein influence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the polar coordinate distribution into multiple segments in the radial direction, creating segment-specific motion indices. This segmentation allows separate analysis of different radial regions, enabling the system to exclude vein-affected segments and improve reliability of temporal change measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different processing quality to different radial segments. By identifying segments that contain veins and excluding them from temporal change calculations, the system applies local quality adjustment - treating vein-affected segments differently from healthy tissue segments, thereby improving overall measurement reliability.
2Ease of operation
If polar coordinate distribution is used to evaluate cardiac asynchrony, then overall heart motion can be observed at a glance, but clear positional relationship with great cardiac vein and anterior vein is not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates information from multiple dimensions - combining the polar coordinate distribution (radial and circumferential dimensions) with longitudinal position information along the cardiac axis. This multi-dimensional approach allows simultaneous display of overall heart motion and specific positional relationships with veins.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the radial segment structure as an intermediary to connect the polar map display with vein position information. By mapping segments to specific anatomical regions and using segment boundaries as references, the system provides indirect but clear positional relationships with the great cardiac vein and anterior vein.
3Quantity of substance
If average motion indices are calculated for each segment, then temporal changes can be displayed, but the utility value deteriorates due to unreliable measurements from vein-influenced areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and excludes segments that are influenced by veins from the temporal change calculation. By removing these unreliable segments from the average value computation, the system maintains a sufficient quantity of reliable segments to provide meaningful temporal change information, thereby improving overall utility value.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the calculation parameters for temporal changes by using only segments without vein influence. This parameter change - selecting a subset of segments based on their reliability - transforms the calculation from a simple average of all segments to a weighted or filtered average that excludes problematic areas, improving utility value.
Data Source
AI summary
In general, according to one embodiment, an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes an image generating unit configured to generate medical images from a multislice which covers an area including the heart of an object. Each slice is almost perpendicular to the long axis of the heart. Each medical image is a short-axis image of the heart. A series of medical images captured at different times correspond to each slice. The embodiment generates a polar map associated with myocardial motion indices from a plurality of medical images. A polar map is segmented into segments. The embodiment calculates the average value of motion indices for each segment. The utility of an average value depends on the range covered by each segment. This embodiment matches the boundary of a segment with the position of a vein. This prevents a deterioration in the utility of average values due to the influences of veins.