Rendering for coronary visualization
View Patent ↗A system and corresponding method for organ rendering are provided, where the system includes a processor, an imaging adapter in signal communication with the processor for receiving organ scan data indicative of an organ, a segmentation unit in signal communication with the processor for segmenting an outer surface of the organ, and a ray-casting unit in signal communication with the processor for providing a maximum intensity projection substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays, and for forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective projection to the segmented outer surface; and where the method includes segmenting an outer surface of an organ, providing a maximum intensity projection substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays, and forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective projection to the segmented outer surface.
1. A method of organ rendering comprising:
segmenting an outer surface of an organ;
providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays; and
forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
2. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising unfolding a three-dimensional (3D) model of the organ into a two-dimensional (2D) image in correspondence with the substantially normal MIPs.
3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein:
the organ is a heart; and
the substantially normal MIPs are indicative of features comprising coronary blood vessels.
4. A method as defined in claim 1 , further comprising receiving preliminary organ scan data.
5. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein the 3D model is fixed.
6. A method as defined in claim 2 wherein the 3D model is selected from the group of 3D shapes consisting of a sphere, a cylinder and an ellipsoid.
7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein casting rays comprises applying a maximum intensity projection filter to at least one ray.
8. An apparatus for organ rendering comprising:
segmenting means for segmenting an outer surface of an organ;
projecting means for providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays; and
collecting means for forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
9. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 , further comprising scanning means for receiving organ scan data.
10. An apparatus as defined in claim 8 , further comprising display means for displaying organ scan data.
11. A system for organ rendering, comprising:
a processor;
an imaging adapter in signal communication with the processor for receiving organ scan data indicative of an organ;
a segmentation unit in signal communication with the processor for segmenting an outer surface of the organ; and
a ray-casting unit in signal communication with the processor for providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays, and for forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
12. A system as defined in claim 11 wherein the processor renders the organ scan data as a three-dimensional (3D) image about a region of interest.
13. A system as defined in claim 12 , further comprising a display adapter in signal communication with the processor for displaying the rendered 3D image.
14. A system as defined in claim 13 , further comprising a user interface adapter for checking the scan quality.
15. A system as defined in claim 11 wherein the processor provides a profile for each ray and recognizes known patterns.
16. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform program steps for organ rendering, the program steps comprising:
segmenting an outer surface of an organ;
providing a maximum intensity projection (MIP) substantially normal to the segmented outer surface for each of a plurality of rays; and
forming a ray collection by casting each of the plurality of rays from a center of the organ through the respective MIP to the segmented outer surface.
17. A device as defined in claim 16 , the program steps further comprising unfolding a three-dimensional (3D ) model of the organ into a two-dimensional (2D ) image in correspondence with the substantially normal MIPs.
18. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein:
the organ is a heart; and
the substantially normal MIPs are indicative of features comprising coronary blood vessels.
19. A device as defined in claim 16 wherein the program step of casting rays comprises applying a maximum intensity projection filter to at least one ray.
20. A device as defined in claim 16 , the program steps further comprising:
providing a profile for each ray; and
recognizing known patterns in each profile.
21. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the organ is a heart, the method further comprising:
segmenting the outer surface of the heart in response to its thick myocardium muscle;
fitting a geometrical object to the segmented outer surface in response to the maximum intensity projections; and
rendering high-quality coronary arteries on the fitted geometrical object in response to the ray collection.