Patent ID: 9715757
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: A61B,G06T

Claim:
1. An ultrasound imaging system comprising: an ultrasound probe having a transducer array configured to provide an ultrasound receive signal, a B-mode volume processing unit configured to generate a B-mode volume based on the ultrasound receive signal, a B-mode image processing unit configured to provide a current B-mode image based on the B-mode volume, a vessel segmentation unit configured to create a 3D-vessel map by performing a vessel segmentation technique prior to insertion of an invasive device during an ultrasound image guidance procedure, a memory configured to store the 3D-vessel map, a registration unit configured to automatically register the 3D-vessel map retrieved from the memory to the B-mode volume and to select a portion of the 3D-vessel map corresponding to the current B-mode image, and wherein the registration unit is configured to receive ultrasound transducer position tracking information and use the position tracking information to select the portion of the 3D-vessel map corresponding to the current B-mode image, a display configured to display a live ultrasound image, which is updated in real-time during the insertion of the invasive device, based on the current B-mode image and the selected portion of the 3D-vessel map, and an image processing unit configured to overlay the current B-mode image and the selected portion of the 3D-vessel map to provide the live ultrasound image.