406 results about "Imaging diagnostic" patented technology

The invention relates to a catheter for brachytherapy having a radiation source for generating β or γ rays. In order to be able to position the catheter as accurately as possible it is proposed according to the invention that a position indicating means is provided in the area of a free end of the catheter, by means of which position indicating means a position in a three-dimensional coordinate system can be determined on the basis of interactions produced when an external magnetic field is applied.

A probe which is adapted to repeatedly transmit and receive signals during radial scanning within a body cavity to acquire reflected signals and transmit the reflected signals to an image diagnostic apparatus which, on a basis of the reflected signals, forms and outputs a tomographic image of the body cavity and biotissue surrounding the body cavity includes a hollow shaft for transmitting rotational drive force to perform the radial scanning, and a transmission line extending along the shaft to transmit the reflected signals to the image diagnostic apparatus. The shaft receives the rotational drive force via a torque limiter which possesses a thickness which is non-uniform in a circumferential direction at a part of the torque limiter along a length of the torque limiter.

A software updating apparatus which is connected to a medical image diagnostic apparatus so that the software updating apparatus can freely communicate with the medical image diagnostic apparatus, and is used for updating control software for controlling an operation of the medical image diagnostic apparatus includes a first storage section which stores software having the same configuration as the configuration of the control software. An updating section updates the software stored in the first storage section. A testing section hypothetically tests whether or not the medical image diagnostic apparatus normally operates on the basis of the updated software.

Diagnostic angiograms only provide the projected lumen of a coronary, which is only an indirect measure of blood flow and pressure decline. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a motion compensated determination of a flow dynamics and a pressure decline for stenosis grading is provided, in which the motion compensation is performed on the basis of a tracking of a first position of a first marker and a second position of a second marker in the projection data set. This may provide for a robust and precise flow dynamics and pressure decline determination.

An image processing apparatus includes an image data acquisition unit, a development generating unit and a display unit. The image data acquisition unit acquires slice image data with regard to a heart of an object. The development generating unit obtains blood flow perfusion information with regard to a myocardial thickness direction based on the slice image data and generates development data according to a desired development format for displaying the blood flow perfusion information. The display unit displays the development data.

[Problems] To provide a puncture treatment supporting apparatus enabling puncture treatment by previously performing puncture simulation and enabling its treatment evaluation.[Means for Solving Problems] A puncture treatment supporting apparatus comprises an ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic image construction means for constructing an ultrasonic image, volume data storing means for storing volume data on a medical image diagnostic apparatus, probe position / direction detecting means for detecting the position and direction of the ultrasonic probe, tomographic image construction means for constructing tomographic image having the same cross section as the ultrasonic image by using the information on the position and direction of the ultrasonic probe, display means for displaying these images, and puncture means for inserting a puncture needle.The apparatus, further comprises simulation image constructing means for constructing a simulation image by adding a puncture guideline indicating the puncture position and direction of the puncture needle to the tomographic image, and the display means displays the simulation image along with the ultrasonic image.

A skin-marking device is disclosed that has a holder body and cap having a shape other than round, preferably triangular, to prevent the device from accidentally rolling off a flat surface. Measuring indicia is disposed on the device for accurately measuring distances. The device contains a dermatologically acceptable coloring agent for marking a patient's skin and one that may be selected from the group consisting of a radioopaque substance for x-ray diagnostic purposes, a fluorescent composition, a non-magnetic hydrogel for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging diagnostic purposes, a sterilizable gel ink, a combination of any of these, and a mixture of any of these. The holder body or cap may include a pocket clip or magnet attached thereto to permit the skin marker to be clipped inside a person's pocket or prevented from sliding off a magnetic drape or other magnetic surface, respectively. The skin marker may also come in a number of different sizes, one of which is optionally short enough to allow it to fit into a needle counter box to be packaged as part of a mini kit.

A medical imaging diagnostic apparatus is maintained by means of a remote computer connected to a communication line. This maintenance includes: generating log data concerning a use state of a medical imaging diagnostic apparatus; transmitting the thus generated log data to the remote computer via the communication line; storing the thus transmitted log data as data that configures a database on the remote computer; and analyzing the use state of the medical imaging diagnostic apparatus so that the use state can be displayed based on the stored log data.

A medical diagnostic imaging apparatus is provided that is capable of accurately tracking motions of a moving organ that moves periodically over a plurality of periods.The medical diagnostic imaging apparatus includes a matching computation unit for performing a matching computation between a template extracted containing a tracking point on one image and another image, and a template extracting unit for extracting, from the other image, a region correlated with the template as a template of the other image by the matching computation, whereby a movement of the tracking point is tracked based on the extracted template. The template extracting unit extracts, as a key template, a region containing one or more tracking points set on an image at least one time phase within a motion cycle of the moving organ. The matching computation unit performs the matching computation using the key template in the vicinity of the time phase at which the key template is extracted.

A shared object is newly created in a unified format with respect to past medical information that is effective in a photographing step or a report creating step. Since the shared object can include a position determination image, unique object information, body coordinates information, a photographing condition, a image creating condition, and key image information, it is possible to automatically set the same photographing condition, photographing range, a tomographic position to be photographed, and image creating condition as those in a past test by using the information described above.

An X-ray image diagnostic apparatus in a medical institution is linked to an examination protocol providing server via a wide area network. The server has registered examination protocols including information related to X-ray image diagnoses, and searches for and provides an examination protocol in response to a request from each X-ray image diagnostic apparatus. This allows the diagnostic apparatus to use an examination protocol set in another apparatus in addition to an examination protocol set in itself. In this instance, because the server is furnished with a search function, the diagnostic apparatus can readily obtain arbitrary information from registered examination protocols.

A computer-aided image diagnostic processing apparatus includes a storage unit which stores a medical image representing the inside of a subject, a unit which specifies an anatomical abnormality candidate region included in the medical image, and a generation unit which generates a display image representing the abnormality candidate region and its peripheral region to be discriminable from each other based on the medical image.

A medical imaging diagnostic apparatus is maintained by means of a remote computer connected to a communication line. This maintenance includes: generating log data concerning a use state of a medical imaging diagnostic apparatus; transmitting the thus generated log data to the remote computer via the communication line; storing the thus transmitted log data as data that configures a database on the remote computer; and analyzing the use state of the medical imaging diagnostic apparatus so that the use state can be displayed based on the stored log data.

A CT- or MRT-assisted image acquisition, image archiving and image rendering system allows generation, storage, post-processing, retrieval and graphical visualization of computed or magnetic resonance tomography image data that, for example, can be used in the clinical field in the framework of radiological slice image diagnostics as well as in the framework of interventional radiology. Moreover, a method implemented by this system allows reproduction of patient-specific examination parameters of an initial examination implemented by means of computed or magnetic resonance tomography imaging in the framework of CT or MRT follow-up examinations (“follow-ups”), for example in a post-operative tumor examination implemented under slice image monitoring in connection with a histological tissue sample extraction (biopsy) implemented under local anesthesia or a minimally-invasive intervention implemented for tumor treatment. Acquisition, measurement, 2D and / or 3D reconstruction parameters from a radiological initial examination of the patient conducted by means of CT, PET-CT or MRT as well as position data to establish the position adopted by this patient on the examination table of a computed tomography or magnetic resonance tomography apparatus are electronically documented, retrievably and persistently stored, and are automatically reused given subsequent CT-, PET-CT- or MRT-based monitoring examinations, or CT-controlled or MRT-controlled interventional or operative procedures.

[Objective] Providing a medical image diagnostic apparatus which can mitigate an operational burden at the time when measurement processing is performed by use of a medical image.[Means for Solution] An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus 100 acquires input image information, which is image data of a subject, and holds it in a storage section 3. An image selection section 8 performs image recognition calculation for comparison between the input image information and past image information pieces of an image measurement database 7. When the image recognition has succeeded, a measurement-position setting section 9 refers to a record of image measurement information including a past image information piece most similar to the input image information, retrieves measurement position information of the record, and sets it. A measurement-position setting processing section 6 displays the measurement position on a display section 12 such that it is superimposed on the input image information 21. A measurement calculation section 11 performs measurement calculation for the measurement position set by the measurement-position setting section 9, and displays measurement results on the display section 12. The measurement-position setting processing section 6 updates the image measurement database 7 on the basis of the input image information, the measurement position set by the measurement-position setting section 9, etc.

When displaying a plurality of images in different conformations in relation to information of a tissue motion typified by a heart wall motion, support information which is used to rapidly and easily visually confirm a relative positional correspondence relationship between an MPR image, a polar mapping image, and a three-dimensional image is generated and displayed. A marker indicative of a desired local position is set and displayed as required. Further, a position corresponding to the set or changed marker may not be present on the MPR image. In such a case, the MPR image always including a position corresponding to the set or changed marker is generated and displayed by automatically adjusting a position of an MPR cross section.

A medical image display device provided with storage means for storing a sliced image of an object to be examined obtained by a medical image diagnostic apparatus, extraction means for extracting a center line passing through the region of a hollow organ of the object and the center thereof from the sliced image stored by the storage means, and 3-dimensional image generation means for generating a virtual 3-dimensional image of the inner wall of the hollow organ seen from a viewpoint while sequentially moving the viewpoint from one end to the other end of the center line is provided, with means for changing the direction in which the virtual 3-dimensional image seen from the viewpoint is generated to the direction of bending curvature of the hollow organ according to the bending curvature thereof.

A magnetic resonance imaging diagnostic apparatus includes a generating unit which generates a slice gradient magnetic field, a phase-encode gradient magnetic field and a read-out gradient magnetic field that extend in a slice axis, a phase-encode axis and a read-out axis, respectively, a setting unit which sets a dephase amount for weighting a signal-level decrease resulting from flows in the arteries and veins present in a region of interest of a subject, with respect to at least one axis selected form the slice axis, phase-encode axis and read-out axes, and a control unit which controls the generating unit by using a pulse sequence for a gradient echo system, which includes a dephase gradient-magnetic-field pulse that corresponds to the dephase amount set by the setting unit for the at least one axis.

Projection data acquired with an x-ray CT system is filtered using a bilateral filter to reduce image noise and enable the acquisition at lower x-ray dose without the loss of image diagnostic quality. The bilateral filtering is performed before image reconstruction by producing a noise equivalent data set from the acquired projection data and then converting the bilateral filtered values back to a projection data set suitable for image reconstruction.

In the case where a tracking process of a moving tissue performing a contraction movement and an expansion movement and represented by a cardiac wall is performed for one heartbeat from the ED1 to the ED2, a contour position (tracking point) initially set at the ES (End-Systole) is tracked until ED1 in accordance with movement information, the tracking point is rearranged and a position of a middle layer is set at the ED (End-Diastole), the rearranged tracking point including the position of the middle layer is tracked in accordance with the movement information already obtained, and then the tracking point is further tracked in the normal direction until the ED2. Alternatively, an initial reverse tracking process is performed from the ES to the ED1 by using plural middle layer path candidates, and a path passing through the tracking point existing on the middle layer or contours of inner and outer layers and rearranged at the ED1 is searched, thereby accurately creating and evaluating movement information of each of an endocardium and an epicardium of a cardiac wall.

The present invention relates to a method for assessing the presence or absence of lesion(s) in an image and a system therefor, wherein said image may be any image potentially comprising lesions, in particular an image from medical image diagnostics, and more particularly an ocular fundus image. The lesions are identified from starting points being candidate lesion areas and validated with respect to their visibility as compared to the local surroundings.

A medical image diagnostic apparatus provided with an image acquisition unit configured to acquire in-vivo information about an object to be examined as a medical image, a display unit configured to display the medical image, a setting unit configured to set a target region of volume measurement in the medial image displayed on the display unit, a calculation unit configured to perform calculation to split the target region into a plurality of volume elements, calculate the moving distance of the vertices of the volume elements when the target region of the acquired medical image moves, calculate the volumes of the volume elements after the movement using the calculated moving distance of the vertices, totalizing the calculated volumes of the volume elements after the movement and using the total volume as the volume of the target region, and a control unit configured to display the volume of the target region on the display unit.

An image diagnostic processing device includes peripheral region specifying means which specifies a peripheral region connecting to an abnormal candidate region included in an image representing the inside of a subject, and judging means which judges whether the abnormal candidate region is an anatomic abnormal region or not, based on a first feature quantity of the abnormal candidate region and a second feature quantity of the peripheral region.

An image diagnostic apparatus includes a radiography unit which generates a mask image and contrast images before and after the injection of a contrast medium, an image memory which stores the mask image and the contrast images, an ROI identifying unit which sets a region of interest from the mask image and the contrast images, a pixel shift amount detecting unit which detects a pixel shift amount between the mask and the contrast image upon localization to the region of interest, and a processing unit which shifts at least the mask image or the contrast image in accordance with the detected pixel shift amount and performs subtraction between the images.

An image diagnostic system controls a probe to perform radial scanning within a body cavity produces data based on signals received by the probe to construct and display a tomographic image of the body cavity and surrounding biotissue. The system includes a generation unit, a selection unit and a conversion unit. The generation unit generates and outputs synchronization signals in synchronization with a timing of acquisition cycles of line units of the signals and generated at a higher frequency than output signals outputted corresponding to rotational angles of the probe upon performing the scanning. The selection unit successively receives the output signals, and selects and outputs first ones of the synchronization signals as received subsequent to the receptions of the output signals. Responsive to successive inputs of the synchronization signals selected by the selection unit, the conversion unit converts the reflected signals into digital signals and outputs the digital signals.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for monitoring parameter selection during the operation of a technical device, in particular an imaging diagnostic device. The device comprises an input interface (1) for a parameter selected by an operator of the technical device, a comparator (2) which compares the selected parameters with the standard parameters, and an output device (3) which, in the event of a deviation of the selected parameters by a predefinable minimum degree from the closest standard parameters, outputs information regarding the deviation for display on a display unit (4) and / or outputs the closest standard parameters for adjustment of the technical device. Improved results are achieved with the present device and the associated method during operation of the technical device.

Diagnostic apparatus (20) includes an antenna 32, which is configured to direct radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic waves into a living body and to generate signals responsively to the waves that are scattered from within the body. Processing circuitry (36) is configured to process the signals so as to locate a feature in a blood vessel in the body.

In consideration of the fact that a lung field varies in the density of sponge-like tissue depending on an individual or display region, an opacity curve which gives priority to a nodule candidate region or an extended nodule candidate region can be set by generating a histogram concerning a volume of interest which includes a foreground region, and using the statistical analysis result on the histogram as an objective index.

A liquid injector registers the data of a variable pattern in which an injection rate of a contrast medium varies with time. The injection rate of the contrast medium varies with time according to the variable pattern for maintaining a state in which the image contrast achieved by the contrast medium approximates an optimum level.

In a medical image diagnostic device, wherein X-Ray CT devices and PET devices are longitudinally disposed, and which has a tubular imaging part for positioning a subject who is placed on the top surface of a bed and collecting image data, an illumination part is provided for producing a suitable level of brightness to the display part, which is for providing information to the subject without having to adopt every imaging position within the tubular imaging part, and to the imaging part.