Patent ID: 8483796
Filing Date: 2013-07-09
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A device for quantitatively determining the blood flow within blood vessels through which blood flows in a volume of a tissue defining a surface, the device comprising: a first detecting unit for capturing three-dimensional first image data of a first volume portion of said volume; a first calculating unit for the spatially-resolved calculation of absolute values of a flow speed and/or of a volumetric flow of the blood flowing through the blood vessels within said first volume portion from said three-dimensional first image data; an optical second detecting unit for capturing optical second image data continuously in time of a first surface portion of said surface; a second calculating unit for the spatially-resolved calculation of relative values of the flow speed and/or of the volumetric flow of the blood flowing through the blood vessels disposed directly below said first surface portion from said optical second image data; an allocation unit for spatially allocating said first and second image data; a calibrating unit for calibrating the relative value of said flow speed and/or the volumetric flow of the blood flowing through the blood vessels disposed directly below said first surface portion based on said absolute values of the flow speed and/or of said volumetric flow of the blood, which flows through said blood vessels within said first volume portion, with said first and second image data for a first time point, said first and second image data being spatially allocated with respect to each other; a third calculating unit for calculating absolute values of the flow speed and/or of the volumetric flow, continuously in time, of the blood flowing through the blood vessels arranged directly below said first surface portion on the basis of the calibrated relative values from the optical second image data, captured continuously in time, by said optical second detecting unit; and, an output unit for outputting the absolute values of the flow speed and/or the volumetric flow of the blood flowing through the blood vessels arranged within said first volume portion, calculated from said optical second image data, continuously in time.