Adjunctive ultrasound processing and display for breast cancer screening
US7597663B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 27, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 6, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 4, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B8/4405
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An adjunctive ultrasound mammography system and associated methods are described comprising an adjunctive ultrasound display configured for quick, intuitive, interactive viewing of data derived from volumetric ultrasound scans, the data being displayed near a conventional x-ray mammogram display. Preferred embodiments for navigating among a thick-slice image array, a selected enlarged thick-slice image, and planar ultrasound views are described, including a preferred embodiment in which the planar ultrasound views are updated in real time as a cursor is moved across an active thick-slice image. In one preferred embodiment the thick-slice images are inverted prior to display, with non-breast areas of the image preferably segmented out and reset to dark. The inverted thick-slice images are of more familiar significance to radiologists having years of expertise in analyzing conventional x-ray mammograms. For example, the inverted thick-slice images allow benign features to be more easily dismissed as compared to non-inverted thick-slice images. Preferred embodiments for computing thick-slice image values from the volumetric scan data are also described that emphasize larger mass lesio…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.