Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US10249045B2/en
Timestamp: 2019-06-17 17:16:31
Document Index: 258362308

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 61', 'Application No. 2016', 'Application No. 18182407', 'Application No. 2017200332', 'Application No. 2017', 'Application No. 18182407']

US10249045B2 - Region-growing algorithm - Google Patents
US10249045B2
US10249045B2 US15/828,699 US201715828699A US10249045B2 US 10249045 B2 US10249045 B2 US 10249045B2 US 201715828699 A US201715828699 A US 201715828699A US 10249045 B2 US10249045 B2 US 10249045B2
US15/828,699
US20180089837A1 (en
2015-05-12 Priority to US14/710,113 priority patent/US9595111B2/en
2017-02-21 Priority to US15/438,134 priority patent/US9836850B2/en
2017-12-01 Priority to US15/828,699 priority patent/US10249045B2/en
2017-12-01 Assigned to SUPERDIMENSION, LTD. reassignment SUPERDIMENSION, LTD. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: AVERBUCH, DORIAN, KREININ, YURI
2017-12-21 Assigned to COVIDIEN GROUP S.A.R.L. reassignment COVIDIEN GROUP S.A.R.L. ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: SUPERDIMENSION, LTD.
2017-12-21 Assigned to COVIDIEN LP reassignment COVIDIEN LP ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: COVIDIEN GROUP S.A.R.L.
2018-03-29 Publication of US20180089837A1 publication Critical patent/US20180089837A1/en
2019-04-02 Publication of US10249045B2 publication Critical patent/US10249045B2/en
The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/438,134 filed on Feb. 21, 2017, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/710,113 filed on May 12, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,595,111, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/492,561 filed on Sep. 22, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,042,625, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/867,217 filed on Apr. 22, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,842,898, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/019,261 filed on Feb. 1, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,428,328, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/300,423 filed on Feb. 1, 2010, which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1. A region growing method comprising:
identifying, by a processor coupled to a memory, a voxel as a first seed voxel in a wave;
performing, by the processor, region growing iterations with the first seed voxel in the wave until there are no newly segmented voxels in a successive wave and no leakage voxels left in a post processing queue, each region growing iteration including:
identifying, by the processor, voxels adjacent to a seed voxel in a current wave as seed voxels in a successive wave, when each of the adjacent voxels meets or exceeds a threshold value;
determining, by the processor, whether a seed voxel in the current wave is a leakage voxel;
when the seed voxel in the current wave is determined to be the leakage voxel,
removing, by the processor, the seed voxel from the current wave and storing the seed voxel as a leakage voxel in the post processing queue;
determining, by the processor, whether the successive wave includes at least one seed voxel;
when the successive wave is determined to include no seed voxel, determining, by the processor, whether the post processing queue includes at least one leakage voxel; and
when the post processing queue is determined to include at least one leakage voxel, selecting, by the processor, a leakage voxel from the post processing queue as a seed voxel in the successive wave and reducing the threshold value so that the reduced threshold value is used as a new threshold value in next region growing iterations.
2. The region growing method of claim 1, wherein the first seed voxel is a point in a trachea of a patient.
3. The region growing method of claim 2, wherein the first seed voxel in the trachea meets a high threshold value.
4. The region growing method of claim 1, further comprising counting a number of seed voxels in the successive wave.
5. The region growing method of claim 4, wherein the seed voxel in the current wave is determined to be a leakage voxel when an increase in the number of seed voxels in the successive wave exceeds a predefined rate.
6. The region growing method of claim 5, wherein the predefined rate is related to an inversely proportional relationship of a front size of adjacent voxels and an iteration number and (b) a linear relationship between the front size and bifurcations and changes in an airway shape.
7. The region growing method of claim 1, wherein, when no seed voxels in the current wave are determined to be a leakage voxel, the region growing method proceeds to a next region growing iteration.
8. The region growing method of claim 1, further comprising generating a model from seed voxels in the current and successive waves.
9. The region growing method of claim 8, wherein the model is of an anatomical structure of a patient.
10. The region growing method of claim 9, wherein the anatomical structure is an airway starting from a trachea to a lung.
11. The region growing method of claim 1, wherein an initial threshold is a Hounsfield unit value for air.
12. The region growing method of claim 1, wherein the method is performed by a processor.
US15/828,699 2010-02-01 2017-12-01 Region-growing algorithm Active US10249045B2 (en)
US15/438,134 Continuation US9836850B2 (en) 2010-02-01 2017-02-21 Region-growing algorithm
US20180089837A1 US20180089837A1 (en) 2018-03-29
US10249045B2 true US10249045B2 (en) 2019-04-02
US20070047792A1 (en) 2005-08-22 2007-03-01 Michael Scheuering Method for identification of a contrasted blood vessel in digital image data
US20080071160A1 (en) 2004-06-22 2008-03-20 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Displaying A Tracheobronchial Tree
JP2008520319A (en) 2004-11-23 2008-06-19 コーニンクレッカ フィリップス エレクトロニクス エヌ ヴィ Plane angle visualization of the bronchial tree
JP2007054623A (en) 2005-08-22 2007-03-08 Siemens Ag Identifying method for contrast intensified blood vessel in digital image data
English translation of Japanese Office Action issued in corresponding Application No. 2016-095154, dated Mar. 21, 2017, 3 pages.
European Search Report issued by the European Patent Office on Jan. 17, 2019 in corresponding European Patent Application No. 18182407.9.
Examination Report issued by the Australian Government corresponding to Australian Patent Application No. 2017200332, dated Dec. 13, 2017.
Extended European Search Report corresponding to counterpart Int'l Appln. No. EP 11 73 6679.9 dated Apr. 6, 2017.
Japanese Office Action issued in Japanese Application No. 2017-150213, dated Jul. 24, 2018.
Partial European Search Report issued in European Patent Application No. 18182407.9, dated Oct. 10, 2018.
Pinho et al. "Robust Region Growing Based Intrathoracic Airway Tree Segmentation", Proc. of Second International Workshop on Pulmonary Image Analysis, 2009, 11 pages.
Schlatholter et al. Simultaneous Segmentation and Tree Recognition of the Airways for Virtual Bronchoscopy, Proceedings of SPIE, vol. 4684 (2002), Medical Imaging, 2002, Imaging Processing, 2002, pp. 103 to 113.
Tamechika, et al. "Bronchus Extraction from Three Dimensional Chest CT Images for COPD Diagnosis", IEICE Technical Report, Jan. 20, 2006, vol. 105, No. 579, pp. 41-44.
Tschirren et al. "Intrathoracic Airway Trees: Segmentation and Airway Morphology Analysis From Low-Dose CT Scans", IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, vol. 24, No. 12, IEEE, Dec. 2005, pp. 1529 to 1539.
WIPO, International Search Report dated Aug. 14, 2001 in International Patent Application No. PCT/IL01/00224.
WIPO, International Search Report dated Mar. 31, 2000 in International Patent Application No. PCT/US99/26826.
WIPO, U.S. International Search Authority, International Search Report dated Nov. 13, 2008 in International Patent Application No. PCT/IB07/04567.
WIPO, U.S. International Search Authority, International Search Report dated Oct. 26, 2009 in International Patent Application No. PCT/IB2009/005609.
WIPO, U.S. International Search Authority, International Search Report dated Sep. 24, 2009 in International Patent Application No. PCT/IL2009/000569.
US20070127803A1 (en) 2007-06-07 Adaptive density correction in computed tomographic images
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:AVERBUCH, DORIAN;KREININ, YURI;SIGNING DATES FROM 20110425 TO 20110428;REEL/FRAME:044272/0190
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:SUPERDIMENSION, LTD.;REEL/FRAME:044934/0846
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:COVIDIEN GROUP S.A.R.L.;REEL/FRAME:044935/0048