Patent ID: 7813535

Claim:
A method of fusing two digitized image datasets for 2-dimensional visualization of the heart, comprising the steps of: providing a first digitized image and a second digitized image, each image acquired from a different imaging modality and each comprising a plurality of intensities corresponding to a domain of points on a 3-dimensional grid, and wherein the first and second images have been registered; segmenting the heart in one of said digitized images, wherein the heart segmentation identifies the surface of the heart; forming a distance map that associates with each point in said heart a distance from said point to the surface of the heart; using said distance map to model the heart surface by a 3-dimensional ellipsoid, wherein said 3-dimensional ellipsoid is a bi-axial ellipsoid wherein a center is computed as a center of gravity G of all points located on a distance map isosurface of distance 0, a major axis Z is a vector {right arrow over (G)} M , where M is a point on said isosurface maximizing the length |{right arrow over (G)} M |, a minor axis X is a vector {right arrow over (G)} N , where N is a point on said isosurface minimizing the length |{right arrow over (G)} N |, and a third axis Y orthogonal to said axes Z and X; forming a 2-dimensional maximum intensity projection of a surface of said heart from each of said digitized images; and fusing said images by overlaying one 2-dimensional projection of said surface over the other 2-dimensional projection of said surface.