System and method for automatic measurement of body structures
US5588435A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 22, 1995 |
| Grant date | Dec 31, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 22, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S7/52084
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Human body structures, for example, of a fetus, are automatically measured using ultrasound by first using an ultrasonic transducer or prestored ultrasound scan to generate an image frame as a pattern of pixels. Each pixel has a brightness value corresponding to an echo signal from a corresponding portion of an interrogation region of the patient's body, which includes the body structure. The image frame is displayed on a screen and includes a structure frame portion that corresponds to the body structure. The user then designates a general geometry feature of the displayed body structure and at least one measurement parameter associated with the designated geometry feature. For curved, closed structures such as the head or abdomen, the measurement parameters may, for example, be the circumference or at least one diameter. For mainly straight structures such as the femur or humerus, the measurement parameter will normally be the end-to-end length. Next, the user selects at most two reference points associated with the displayed body structure. A processing system then filters the displayed image to identify the structure frame portion, generates an approximating function correspond…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.