Virtual fly over of complex tubular anatomical structures
US8014561B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 6, 2007 |
| Grant date | Sep 6, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 6, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2210/41
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An embodiment of the invention is method, which can be implemented in software, firmware, hardware, etc., for virtual fly over inspection of complex anatomical tubular structures. In a preferred embodiment, the method is implemented in software, and the software reconstructs the tubular anatomical structure from a binary imaging data that is originally acquired from computer aided tomography scan or comparable biological imaging system. The software of the invention splits the entire tubular anatomy into exactly two halves. The software assigns a virtual camera to each half to perform fly-over navigation. Through controlling the elevation of the virtual camera, there is no restriction on its field of view (FOV) angle, which can be greater than 90 degrees, for example. The camera viewing volume is perpendicular to each half of the tubular anatomical structure, so potential structures of interest, e.g., polyps hidden behind haustral folds in a colon are easily found. The orientation of the splitting surface is controllable, the navigation can be repeated at another or a plurality of another split orientations. This avoids the possibility that a structure of interest, e.g., a polyp th…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.