Patent ID: 6213949
Filing Date: 2001-04-10
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A system for estimating the volume of fluid in an organ, the system including:A. a transducer fori. providing to a region of a body in which the organ is situated a plurality of ultrasonic beams that section the organ into a plurality of transverse planes that are angularly offset from a first transverse plane and section each transverse plane into a plurality of subsections;ii. receiving from the region echoes that correspond to the beams, andiii. producing A-line signals that are associated with the echoes;B. means for determining in each of the plurality of A-lines associated with a given plane locations of front and back walls of the organ;C. means for determining an outline of the organ in the given plane based on the locations of the front and back walls in the plurality of A-lines associated with the plane;D. means for calculating a cross-sectional area of the organ in the given plane based on the outline of organ in the plane; andE. means for determining an estimate of the volume of fluid as the weighted sum of the cross-sectional areas calculated for the planes.