Patent Document ID: 7854702
Application ID: 11904661
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for automatically selecting ultrasound images associated with a phase of a heart cycle, the method comprising: performing each of the following with a medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system: (a) acquiring a plurality of sets of ultrasound images; (b) storing the plurality of sets of ultrasound images, each of the plurality of sets comprising a plurality of ultrasound images, each of the plurality of ultrasound images associated with a different phase of a heart cycle; (c) retrieving a stored user-preference of a phase of the heart cycle, wherein the user-preference is stored in the medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging system prior to acquisition of the plurality of sets of ultrasound images; and (d) automatically selecting a first ultrasound image associated with the phase specified in the stored user preference from a first set of ultrasound images; and (e) automatically selecting an ultrasound image associated with the phase specified in the stored user preference from each of the other sets of ultrasound images by comparing at least one visual characteristic of the first ultrasound image with at least one visual characteristic of the ultrasound images in each of the other sets.