Ultrasound system for automatically measuring fetal head size
US5605155A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 29, 1996 |
| Grant date | Feb 25, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 29, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S7/52061
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An ultrasound system automatically measures fetal head size from ultrasound images. An ultrasound image of the fetal head is detected. A radial maxima point is identified on each of a plurality of radii extending from a substantially common vertex point within the fetal head image. Each radial maxima point corresponds to an ultrasound sample along its corresponding radius, and has a maximum ultrasound echo strength. A first curve is defined from the radial maxima points. The remaining unfiltered radial maxima points are fit to a second curve, and the second curve is the detected curved boundary. The detected curve boundary is modified to define an initial fetal head boundary. An inner fetal head boundary and outer fetal head boundary are derived from the initial fetal head boundary and a predetermined fetal skull thickness, and fetal head size is computed from the inner fetal head boundary and the outer fetal head boundary.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.