Method, apparatus, and computer program product for the generation and use of cardiology reporting diagrams

1. An apparatus facilitating clinical reporting, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one non-transitory memory including computer program code instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

presenting, via a user interface, a clinical diagram comprising a depiction of a vascular system, wherein vessels of the vascular system comprise a plurality of vessel segments and wherein each of the plurality of vessel segments is formed from a pair of cardinal splines and end lines between adjacent ends of the pair of cardinal splines;

receiving, via the user interface, a first user input identifying at least one clinical finding associated with the vascular system;

modifying the clinical diagram responsive to the first user input to include a visual representation of the at least one clinical finding within the depiction of the vascular system;

generating a clinical report based on the modified clinical diagram; and

populating the clinical report with the at least one clinical finding and a location of the at least one clinical finding corresponding to a segment of the plurality of vessel segments.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each segment of the vascular system comprises unique identifying information, and wherein the identifying information comprises a position of the segment within the vascular system, and a function of the segment within the vascular system.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one clinical finding comprises at least one of a blockage, a stent placement, or a connector between vessels.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the clinical diagram is a first clinical diagram from among a plurality of available clinical diagrams, the operations further comprising:

presenting, via the user interface, a list of the plurality of available clinical diagrams; and

receiving, via the user interface, a second user input comprising a selection of the first clinical diagram.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, a second user input corresponding to a modification of the clinical diagram, wherein the modification comprises a new vessel or connector to be added to the clinical diagram;

receiving an indication of placement of the new vessel or connector in the clinical diagram;

and

applying a connectivity algorithm to the new vessel or connector to join the new vessel or connector to an existing segment of the plurality of vessel segments.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the connectivity algorithm uses proximity of the new vessel or connector to existing segments and a hierarchy of existing segments to establish the existing segment to which the new vessel or connector is joined.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , the operations further comprising:

converting a three point cardinal spline of the pair of cardinal splines of the existing segment to a four point spline responsive to applying the connectivity algorithm, thereby replacing a middle control point of the three point cardinal spline with two points; and

join ends of two splines forming the new vessel or connector to the two points.

8. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program code instructions stored therein, the computer-executable program code instructions comprising program code instructions to:

display, via a user interface, a clinical diagram comprising a depiction of a vascular system, wherein vessels of the vascular system comprise a plurality of vessel segments and wherein each of the plurality of vessel segments is formed from a pair of cardinal splines and end lines between adjacent ends of the pair of cardinal splines;

receive, via the user interface, a first user input identifying at least one clinical finding associated with the vascular system;

modify the clinical diagram responsive to the first user input to include a visual representation of the at least one clinical finding within the depiction of the vascular system;

generate of a clinical report based on the modified clinical diagram; and

populate the clinical report with the at least one clinical finding and a location of the at least one clinical finding corresponding to a segment of the plurality of vessel segments.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein each segment of the vascular system comprises unique identifying information, and wherein the identifying information comprises a position of the segment within the vascular system, and a function of the segment within the vascular system.

10. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the at least one clinical finding comprises at least one of a blockage, a stent placement, or a connector between vessels.

11. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the clinical diagram is a first clinical diagram from among a plurality of available clinical diagrams, the computer program product further comprising program code instructions to:

present, via the user interface, a list of the plurality of available clinical diagrams; and

receive, via the user interface, a second user input comprising a selection of the first clinical diagram from the list.

12. The computer program product of claim 8 , further comprising program code instructions to:

receive, via the user interface, a second user input corresponding to a modification of the clinical diagram, wherein the modification comprises a new vessel or connector to be added to the clinical diagram;

receive an indication of placement of the new vessel or connector in the clinical diagram; and

apply a connectivity algorithm to the new vessel or connector to join the new vessel or connector to an existing segment of the plurality of vessel segments.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the connectivity algorithm uses proximity of the new vessel or connector to existing segments and a hierarchy of existing segments to establish the existing segment to which the new vessel or connector is joined.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 , further comprising program code instructions to:

convert a three point cardinal spline of the pair of cardinal splines of the existing segment to a four point spline responsive to applying the connectivity algorithm, thereby replacing a middle control point of the three point cardinal spline with two points; and

join ends of two splines forming the new vessel or connector to the two points.

15. A method comprising:

presenting, by a processor and via a user interface, a clinical diagram comprising a depiction of a vascular system, wherein vessels of the vascular system comprise a plurality of vessel segments and wherein each of the plurality of vessel segments is formed from a pair of cardinal splines and end lines between adjacent ends of the pair of cardinal splines;

receiving, by the processor and via the user interface, a first user input identifying at least one clinical finding associated with the vascular system;

modifying, by the processor, the clinical diagram responsive to the first user input to include a visual representation of the at least one clinical finding within the depiction of the vascular system;

generating, by the processor, a clinical report based on the modified clinical diagram; and

populating, by the processor, the clinical report with the at least one clinical finding and a location of the at least one clinical finding corresponding to the user input based on a segment of the plurality of vessel segments.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein each segment of the vascular system comprises unique identifying information, and wherein the identifying information comprises a position of the segment within the vascular system, and a function of the segment within the vascular system.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the at least one clinical finding comprises at least one of a blockage, a stent placement, or a connector between vessels.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the clinical diagram is a first clinical diagram from among a plurality of available clinical diagrams, the method further comprising:

presenting, by the processor and via the user interface, a list of the plurality of available clinical diagrams; and

receiving, by the processor and via the user interface, a second user input comprising a selection of the first clinical diagram.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving, by the processor and via the user interface, a second user input corresponding to a modification of the clinical diagram, wherein the modification comprises a new vessel or connector to be added to the clinical diagram;

receiving, by the processor, an indication of placement of the new vessel or connector in the clinical diagram; and

applying, by the processor, a connectivity algorithm to the new vessel or connector to join the new vessel or connector to an existing segment of the plurality of vessel segments.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the connectivity algorithm uses proximity of the new vessel or connector to existing segments and a hierarchy of existing segments to establish the existing segment to which the new vessel or connector is joined.