Patent Document ID: 9095273
Application ID: 13245591
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of performing contrast-enhanced medical imaging, the method including the steps of: a) prior to injection of a contrast agent to a subject, acquiring one or more baseline images of the subject with an imaging device; b) processing the baseline image data to determine an average baseline image from the one or more baseline images; and during or after injection of the contrast agent to the subject; c) acquiring a post-injection image with the imaging device; d) processing image data from previously acquired post-injection images to generate at least one cumulative map, wherein a baseline contribution is removed based on the average baseline image; e) determining a frequency of occurrence of cumulative map values of pixels within binned intervals in a form suitable for generating a histogram; f) determining a quantity associated with a double-peak shape of the histogram and comparing the quantity to a pre-determined threshold, wherein each peak of the double-peak shape is associated with tissue having a different perfusion rate; g) repeating steps c) to f) until the quantity exceeds the pre-determined threshold; and h) segmenting the most recently generated cumulative map to generate a segmented image for visualizing a border between tissue regions having different perfusion characteristics; wherein steps b), d), e), f) and h) are performed using one or more processors.