System and method for automatically acquiring and rotating an ultrasound volume based on a localized target structure

1 . A method comprising:

performing, by an ultrasound probe of an ultrasound system, a first ultrasound image acquisition;

automatically detecting and tracking, by at least one processor of the ultrasound system, one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition;

causing, by the at least one processor, a display system to present a region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition;

performing, by the ultrasound probe, a second ultrasound image acquisition of the region of interest to acquire volume image data of a target structure selected from a plurality of selectable target structures of the first ultrasound image acquisition, wherein each of the plurality of selectable target structures is associated with a pre-defined orientation;

estimating, by the at least one processor, a pose of the selected target structure within the volume image data;

calculating, by the at least one processor, a rotation of the volume image data from the estimated pose to the pre-defined orientation associated with the selected target structure; and

causing, by the at least one processor, the display system to present a rendering of the volume image data automatically rotated to the pre-defined orientation.

2 . The method of claim 1 , comprising receiving, by the at least one processor, a user input to modify the region of interest presented at the display system.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second ultrasound image acquisition is automatically performed in response to not receiving a user input to modify the region of interest presented at the display system within a predetermined period of time.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first ultrasound image acquisition is a volume acquisition.

5 . The method of claim 1 , comprising receiving, by the at least one processor, a user input selecting the target structure, wherein the one or more anatomical structures is the selected target structure, and wherein the automatically detecting and tracking the one or more anatomical structures is performed based on the user input selecting the target structure.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the first ultrasound image acquisition is two-dimensional biplane images.

7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the performing the first ultrasound image acquisition is performed in response to the receiving the user input selecting the target structure.

8 . The method of claim 1 , comprising:

receiving, by the at least one processor, a user input selecting the target structure in response to the display system presenting the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition, wherein the target structure corresponds with at least one of the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition, and

redefining the region of interest to surround the selected target structure.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein each of the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition presented at the display system is selectable as the target structure.

10 . The method of claim 8 , comprising causing, by the at least one processor, the display system to present an activatable button corresponding with each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition, wherein the receiving the user input selecting the target structure is provided by selecting at least one of the activatable button.

11 . An ultrasound system comprising:

an ultrasound probe configured to:

perform a first ultrasound image acquisition;

perform a second ultrasound image acquisition of a region of interest to acquire volume image data of a target structure selected from a plurality of selectable target structures of the first ultrasound image acquisition, wherein each of the plurality of selectable target structures is associated with a pre-defined orientation;

at least one processor configured to:

automatically detect and track one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition;

cause a display system to present the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition;

estimate a pose of the selected target structure within the volume image data; and

calculate a rotation of the volume image data from the estimated pose to the pre-defined orientation associated with the selected target structure; and

the display system configured to:

present the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition; and

present a rendering of the volume image data automatically rotated to the pre-defined orientation.

12 . The ultrasound system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to receive a user input to modify the region of interest presented at the display system.

13 . The ultrasound system of claim 11 , wherein the second ultrasound image acquisition is automatically performed in response to the at least one processor not receiving a user input to modify the region of interest presented at the display system within a predetermined period of time.

14 . The ultrasound system of claim 11 , wherein the first ultrasound image acquisition is a volume acquisition.

15 . The ultrasound system of claim 11 , wherein:

the at least one processor is configured to receive a user input selecting the target structure,

the one or more anatomical structures is the selected target structure, and

the at least one processor is configured to automatically detect and track the one or more anatomical structures based on the user input selecting the target structure.

16 . The ultrasound system of claim 15 , wherein the first ultrasound image acquisition is two-dimensional biplane images.

17 . The ultrasound system of claim 16 , wherein the ultrasound probe is configured to perform the first ultrasound image acquisition in response to the user input selecting the target structure.

18 . The ultrasound system of claim 11 , wherein:

the at least one processor is configured to receive a user input selecting the target structure after the display system presents the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition,

the target structure corresponds with at least one of the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition, and

the at least one processor is configured to redefine the region of interest to surround the selected target structure.

19 . The ultrasound system of claim 18 , wherein each of the region of interest surrounding each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition presented at the display system is selectable as the target structure.

20 . The ultrasound system of claim 18 , wherein the display system is configured to present an activatable button corresponding with each of the one or more anatomical structures in the first ultrasound image acquisition, the user input selecting the target structure is provided via at least one of the activatable button.