Patent ID: 9439621
Filing Date: 2016-09-13
CPC Classification: A61B,G06T

Claim Text:
1. An automated method of screening patients including asymptotic patients with ultrasound for breast abnormalities, comprising: compressing down an upwardly facing breast of a supine patient with a scanning pod secured to an articulated support configured for up-down motion of the pod relative to the supine patient; scanning the downwardly compressed breast with an electromechanically driven ultrasound transducer associated with the pod and thereby acquiring original thin-slice ultrasound images for respective up-down oriented thin-slices of the breast; computer-processing the original thin-slice images to combine pixel values thereof into voxel values forming a 3D representation of the entire scanned 3D breast by computing the value of a voxel from the values of one or more spatially co-located pixels; wherein said forming of the 3D representation of the entire scanned 3D breast comprises excluding breast skin and breast tissue that extends inwardly from the skin over a depth of 1-3 mm by computer-detecting a transition in at least one of the representation and the images from material outside the scanned breast and the scanned breast and determining a distance of up to 1-3 mm from the transition into the breast; computer-comparing multi-voxel portions of the breast with surrounding multi-voxel portions of the same breast by comparing at least the shapes of the portions as defined by voxels included in the compared portions and thereby identifying abnormalities in the entire 3D scanned breast from comparison results meeting selected criteria; computer-projecting voxel values of up-down oriented columns of voxels of the 3D representation of the entire 3D scanned breast onto respective pixels of a coronal surface through the breast that is oriented transversely to the thin-slices, to thereby form a 2D navigator representation of the entire 3D scanned breast; said 2D navigator representation of the entire 3D scanned breast on a coronal surface comprising an array of pixel values of breast tissue and incorporating the abnormalities identified in the 3D representation of the entire 3D scanned breast; wherein said identifying of abnormalities comprises (i) identifying abnormalities as malignant based at least in part on a shape thereof as computer-analyzed, and increasing conspicuity thereof in the displayed 2D navigator representation by making the malignant abnormality appear lighter or darker than absent the identification thereof as malignant by computer-processing the 2D navigator representation, (ii) identifying an abnormality as a cyst based at least in part on a shape thereof, and increasing a conspicuity thereof in the displayed 2D navigator representation by making the identified cyst appear lighter or darker than absent the identification thereof as a cyst by computer-processing the 2D navigator representation, and/or (iii) identifying an abnormality as a spiculation based at least on a shape thereof, and increasing conspicuity thereof in the displayed 2D navigator representation by making the identified speculation appear lighter or darker than absent the identification thereof as a speculation by computer-processing the 2D navigator representation; said identifying of abnormalities including identifying the location thereof in 3D and storing location information regarding the identified abnormalities in computer memory; showing on a computer display the 2D navigator representation of the entire scanned breast; and causing a programmed computer to respond to a pointing to an abnormality in the displayed 2D navigator representation by automatically carrying out the steps of providing pop-up images through: displaying on a computer display the first and second pop-up images that contain the abnormality pointed to in the 2D navigator representation of the entire 3D scanned breast, concurrently with displaying the 2D navigator representation.