Seed localization system for use in an ultrasound system and method of using the same

1. A method for locating an implant in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

obtaining positions of a plurality of implants in a fluoroscopy coordinate system;

estimating positions of said plurality of implants in an ultrasound coordinate system;

using a processor to determining determine an initial transformation matrix based at least in part on said obtained positions and said estimated positions of said plurality of implants;

using the processor to determine a position of one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said initial transformation, wherein said position of said one of said implants is determined without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of implants; and storing said determined position in a non-transitory medium or displaying said determined position on a screen.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of implants comprises brachytherapy seeds.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of implants comprises at least three implants or at least four implants.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising refining said initial transformation matrix.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said refining comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel at said determined position of said implant in an ultrasound image.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said characteristic of said pixel comprises color or brightness.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein said refining further comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel associated with an actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein said refining further comprises assigning a value based at least in part on a comparison of said determined characteristic of said pixel at said determined position of said one of said treatment implants and said characteristic of said pixel associated with said actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said refining further comprises modifying said transformation matrix based on said value.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said modifying comprises minimizing said value.

11. The method of claim 4 , wherein said position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system is based at least in part on said refined initial transformation matrix.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising displaying in an ultrasound image an identifier associated with said position that is determined based at least in part on said refined initial transformation matrix.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying in an ultrasound image an identifier associated with said determined position of said one of said implants.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a position of another one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said initial transformation.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein said implants are more easily detectable using x-ray than ultrasound.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of markers are for imaging, and the plurality of implants are for delivering radiation.

17. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a sequence of instructions;

wherein said sequence of instructions, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to execute a process, said process comprising obtaining positions of a plurality of implants in a fluoroscopy coordinate system, estimating positions of said plurality of implants in an ultrasound coordinate system, determining an initial transformation matrix based at least in part on said obtained positions and said estimated positions of said plurality of implants, and determining a position of one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said initial transformation, wherein said position of said one of said implants is determined without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of implants.

18. The product of claim 17 , wherein said plurality of implants comprises brachytherapy seeds.

19. The product of claim 17 , wherein said process further comprising refining said initial transformation matrix.

20. The product of claim 19 , wherein said refining comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel at said determined position of said one of said implants in an ultrasound image.

21. The product of claim 20 , wherein said refining further comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel associated with an actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

22. The product of claim 21 , wherein said refining further comprises assigning a value based at least in part on a comparison of said determined characteristic of said pixel at said determined position of said one of said implants and said characteristic of said pixel associated with said actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

23. The product of claim 22 , wherein said refining further comprises modifying said transformation matrix based on said value.

24. The product of claim 23 , wherein said modifying comprises minimizing said value.

25. The product of claim 19 , wherein said position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system is based at least in part on said refined initial transformation matrix.

26. The product of claim 25 , wherein said process further comprising displaying in an ultrasound image an identifier associated with said position that is determined based at least in part on said refined initial transformation matrix.

27. The product of claim 17 , wherein said process further comprising displaying in an ultrasound image an identifier associated with said determined position of said one of said implants.

28. The computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the plurality of markers are for imaging, and the plurality of implants are for delivering radiation.

29. A method for locating an implant in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

using a processor to determine an initial transformation based at least in part on positions of a plurality of implants in a fluoroscopy coordinate system and estimated positions of said plurality of implants in an ultrasound coordinate system;

modifying said initial transformation based on an accuracy of said estimated positions of said plurality of implants;

using the processor to determine a position of one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said modified transformation, wherein said position of said one of said treatment implants is determined without requiring use of a plurality of imaging markers that are different from the plurality of implants; and

storing said determined position in a non-transitory medium or displaying said determined position on a screen.

30. The method of claim 29 , wherein said plurality of implants comprises brachytherapy seeds.

31. The method of claim 29 , further comprising determining a position of said implant based on said initial transformation.

32. The method of claim 31 , wherein said modifying comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel at said determined position of said one of said implants in an ultrasound image.

33. The method of claim 32 , wherein said modifying further comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel associated with an actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

34. The method of claim 33 , wherein said modifying further comprises assigning a value based at least in part on a comparison of said determined characteristic of said pixel at said determined position of said one of said implants and said characteristic of said pixel associated with said actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

35. The method of claim 29 , wherein the one of said implants that is more easily detectable using x-ray than ultrasound.

36. A computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium having a sequence of instructions;

wherein said sequence of instructions, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to execute a process, said process comprising

determining an initial transformation based at least in part on positions of a plurality of implants in a fluoroscopy coordinate system and estimated positions of said plurality of implants in an ultrasound coordinate system,

modifying said initial transformation based on an accuracy of said estimated positions of said plurality of implants, and

determining a position of one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said modified transformation, wherein said position of said one of said implants is determined without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of implants.

37. The product of claim 36 , wherein said plurality of implants comprises brachytherapy seeds.

38. The product of claim 36 , wherein said process further comprising determining a position of said one of said implants based on said initial transformation.

39. The product of claim 38 , wherein said modifying comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel at said determined position of said one of said implants in an ultrasound image.

40. The product of claim 39 , wherein said modifying further comprises determining a characteristic of a pixel associated with an actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

41. The product of claim 40 , wherein said modifying further comprises assigning a value based at least in part on a comparison of said determined characteristic of said pixel at said determined position of said one of said implants and said characteristic of said pixel associated with said actual position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound image.

42. The computer program product of claim 36 , wherein the plurality of markers are for imaging, and the plurality of implants are for delivering radiation.

43. A method for locating an implant in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

providing a position of an implant in a fluoroscopy coordinate system;

using a processor to transform said position of said implant in said fluoroscopy coordinate system to a coordinate for said implant in an ultrasound coordinate system; and

storing said coordinate in a non-transitory medium or displaying said coordinate on a screen;

wherein said processor is used to transform said position of said implant in said fluoroscopy coordinate system without requiring use of a marker that is different from the implant.

44. The method of claim 43 , wherein said implant comprises a brachytherapy seed.

45. The method of claim 43 , wherein said processor is used to transform said position of said implant in said fluoroscopy coordinate system by determining an initial transformation.

46. The method of claim 45 , wherein said processor is used to transform said position of said implant in said fluoroscopy coordinate system by also refining said initial transformation.

47. The method of claim 43 , wherein said implant is more easily detectable using x-ray than ultrasound.

48. A system for determining a position of an implant in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

a processor configured to determine an initial transformation based at least in part on positions of a plurality of implants in a fluoroscopy coordinate system and estimated positions of said plurality of treatment implants in an ultrasound coordinate system, and modify said initial transformation based on an accuracy of said estimated positions of said plurality of implants;

wherein said processor is further configured to determine a position of one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said modified transformation without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of treatment implants.

49. The system of claim 48 , wherein said plurality of implants comprises brachytherapy seeds.

50. The system of claim 48 , wherein said processor is configured to determine said accuracy of said estimated positions.

51. The system of claim 48 , wherein said processor is configured to compare a characteristic of a pixel associated with an actual position of said one of said treatment implants in an ultrasound coordinate system with a characteristic of a pixel associated with a calculated position of said one of said implants in said ultrasound coordinate system, said calculated position determined based on said initial transformation, and wherein said accuracy is determined based on said comparison.

52. The system of claim 48 , wherein said processor is configured to receive or determine an error value associated with said accuracy, and said processor is configured to modify said initial transformation based on said error value.

53. The system of claim 48 , further comprising a monitor coupled to said processor.

54. The system of claim 53 , wherein said processor is configured to display in said monitor an ultrasound image and an identifier associated with one of said estimated positions.

55. The system of claim 53 , wherein said processor is configured to display in said monitor an ultrasound image and an identifier associated with said position of said one of said implants.

56. The system of claim 48 , wherein the plurality of markers are for imaging, and the plurality of implants are for delivering radiation.

57. A system for locating an implant in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

a processor configured for determining an initial transformation matrix based at least in part on positions of a plurality of branchytherapy seeds in a fluoroscopy coordinate system and estimated positions of said plurality of branchytherapy seeds in an ultrasound coordinate system, and determining a position of one of said plurality of branchytherapy seeds in said ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on said initial transformation matrix;

wherein the processor is configured to determine the initial transformation matrix without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of branchytherapy seeds.

58. The system of claim 57 , wherein the plurality of markers are for imaging, and the plurality of branchytherapy seeds are for delivering radiation.

59. A method for locating a branchytherapy seed in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

obtaining positions of a plurality of branchytherapy seeds in a fluoroscopy coordinate system, wherein the plurality of branchytherapy seeds includes at least four branchytherapy seeds;

estimating positions of the plurality of branchytherapy seeds in an ultrasound coordinate system;

using a processor to determine an initial transformation matrix based at least in part on the obtained positions and the estimated positions of the plurality of branchytherapy seeds;

refining the initial transformation matrix, wherein the act of refining comprises determining a color or a brightness of a pixel of one of the branchytherapy seeds in an image generated using ultrasound;

using the processor to determine a position of the one of the branchytherapy seeds in the ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on the refined initial transformation, wherein the position of the one of said branchytherapy seeds is determined without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of branchytherapy seeds; and

displaying in an ultrasound image an identifier associated with the determined position of the one of the branchytherapy seeds.

60. A system for determining a position of a branchytherapy seed in an ultrasound coordinate system, comprising:

a processor configured to:

obtain positions of a plurality of branchytherapy seeds in a fluoroscopy coordinate system, wherein the plurality of branchytherapy seeds includes at least four branchytherapy seeds, estimate positions of the plurality of branchytherapy seeds in an ultrasound coordinate system, determine an initial transformation matrix using an electronic processor based at least in part on the obtained positions and the estimated positions of the plurality of branchytherapy seeds, refine the initial transformation matrix, wherein the act of refining comprises determining a color or a brightness of a pixel of one of the branchytherapy seeds in an image generated using ultrasound;

determine a position of the one of the branchytherapy seeds in the ultrasound coordinate system based at least in part on the refined initial transformation, wherein the position of the one of said branchytherapy seeds is determined without requiring use of a plurality of markers that are different from the plurality of branchytherapy seeds, and transmit data to a display for displaying in an ultrasound image an identifier associated with the determined position of the one of the branchytherapy seeds.