Patent ID: 9679374
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: A61B,G06K,G06N,G06T,G16H,G16Z

Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method for predicting information relating to a vascular lesion of a patient, the method comprising: receiving, for each of a plurality of individuals, a geometric model including a plurality of points, biophysical hemodynamic characteristics at each of the plurality of points, and an estimate of a probability of plaque growth, shrinkage, or onset at each of the plurality of points; creating a feature vector comprising the biophysical hemodynamic characteristics at each of the plurality of points in the geometric model, for each of the plurality of individuals; associating each feature vector with the estimate of the probability of plaque growth, shrinkage, or onset, for each of the plurality of points in the geometric model, for each of the plurality of individuals; receiving, for a patient different from the plurality of individuals, a patient-specific image of the patient's vasculature and biophysical hemodynamic characteristics at one or more points of the patient's vasculature; segmenting the received patient-specific image based on regions with known biophysical hemodynamic characteristics; generating a patient-specific geometric model of the patient's vasculature using the segmented patient-specific image, the geometric model including a plurality of points and biophysical hemodynamic characteristics at each of the plurality of points; creating a feature vector comprising the biophysical hemodynamic characteristics at each of the plurality of points in the geometric model of the patient's vasculature; comparing the patient-specific geometric model of the patient's vasculature to the geometric models of the plurality of individuals, to identify feature vectors common between the patient and each of the plurality of individuals; identifying a selected point of a geometric model of a selected individual of the plurality of individuals, and a corresponding selected point in the geometric model of the patient's vasculature, where the differences between the feature vector at the selected point of the geometric model of the selected individual and the feature vector at the corresponding selected point in the geometric model of the patient's vasculature falls below a predetermined threshold; determining an estimate of a probability of plaque growth, shrinkage, or onset at the selected point in the geometric model of the patient's vasculature, using the estimate of the probability of plaque growth, shrinkage, or onset associated with the feature vector at the selected point in the geometric model of the selected individual; generating, using a computer processor, a patient-specific prediction or a patient-specific probability of a development of artery disease for the patient, using the determined estimate of the probability of plaque growth, shrinkage, or onset at the selected point in the geometric model of the patient's vasculature; and outputting the patient-specific prediction or a patient-specific probability of a development of artery disease to an electronic storage medium or display.