Granted Patent B2

US 9,155,501 · App. 14/325,672 · Granted Oct 13, 2015

Abstract

Claims (42)

1. A method to derive information, in a computer system, to create a set of data regarding one or more bone parameters from an image comprising:

(a) obtaining image data of bone from a subject;

(b) defining a first region of interest (ROI) from the image data;

(c) defining a second region of interest (ROI) from the image data, wherein the first and second regions of interest (ROIs) overlap;

(d) analyzing information in the first region of interest to determine at least a first value for a bone parameter, the bone parameter selected from the group consisting of bone microarchitecture, bone macroanatomy, biomechanical parameters and combinations thereof;

(e) analyzing information in the second region of interest to determine at least a second value for the bone parameter; and

(f) generating a set of data at least in part from the first and second values.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising creating a parameter map based at least in part on the first and second values for the bone parameter or the set of data.

3. The method of claim 2 , comprising generating multiple parameter maps and generating a composite parameter map from the multiple parameter maps.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein positions analyzed in the ROIs are at regular intervals in the image.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein positions analyzed in the ROIs are at irregular intervals in the image.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bone parameter is bone microarchitecture and positions analyzed are at regular intervals.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the bone parameter is bone macroanatomy and positions are analyzed are at irregular intervals in the image.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is two-dimensional.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the image is an x-ray image.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is three-dimensional.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the image is an electronic image.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the subject is an osteoporosis subject or subject being evaluated for osteoporosis.

13. A method of generating a map of one or more bone parameters, comprising:

obtaining information on the one or more bone parameters according to the method of claim 1 ; and

identifying regions of the image that exhibit similar parameter characteristics, thereby creating a parameter map of the image.

14. A method of predicting a fracture path in a subject, comprising:

generating multiple parameter maps according to the method of claim 13 ; and

generating a composite parameter map from the multiple parameters maps of step (a).

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising analyzing the composite parameter map to identify possible fracture paths.

16. A method of predicting a fracture path in a subject comprising:

1) analyzing one or more parameter maps generated according to the method of claim 13 , wherein the analysis is watershed segmentation analysis or Markov random field analysis; and

2) identifying possible fracture paths based on the analysis of step 1), thereby predicting a fracture path in the subject.

17. A method of predicting the risk of fracture in a subject comprising:

1) generating a finite element model from one or more parameter maps obtained according to the method of claim 13 ;

2) applying simulated force vectors that would occur during a fracture incident to the finite element model; and

3) determining the minimum forces required for fracture to occur, thereby estimating the risk of fracture.

18. A method of determining the risk of fracture in a subject comprising:

predicting a fracture path according to the method of claim 15 ; and

evaluating one or more selected bone parameters along the predicted fracture path, thereby estimating the risk of fracture.

19. A method of determining the risk of fracture in a subject comprising:

predicting a fracture path according to the method of claim 16 ; and

evaluating one or more selected bone parameters along the predicted fracture path, thereby estimating the risk of fracture.

20. A method of evaluating a subject for a bone disease comprising:

1) analyzing an image or image data of the subject's bone as described in claim 1 ; and

2) diagnosing whether the subject has the bone disease based, at least in part, on the analysis of step 1).

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising devising a suitable treatment to said subject based on said diagnosis.

Assignments (9)