Patent ID: 8483443

Claim:
A method of imaging a moving object, the method comprising: obtaining imaging data relating to a moving object; using the imaging data to generate a mathematical 4D model of movement of at least a portion of the moving object between a first time and a second time; using the mathematical 4D model to calculate a plurality of different localized motion vectors, wherein each different motion vector identifies a movement of a different corresponding location on the portion of the moving object between the first time and the second time; and combining the plurality of motion vectors to calculate one or more measured motion values, wherein the one or more measured motion values characterize the movement of the portion of the moving object between the first time and the second time, by determining at least one of: (a) a normalized sum of the magnitudes of the motion vectors, wherein the normalized sum is a sum of the motion vectors of the portion of the moving object divided by a surface area of the portion; and (b) a derivative of the motion vectors.