VASCULAR ASSESSMENT USING ACOUSTIC SENSING
The present disclosure relates to the use of prior images acquired of the patient and acoustic signature from a vascular region of interest to create a patient-specific model of sound propagation from the vascular region. This model is then used to monitor the progression of disease in the vascular region of interest, using subsequently-acquired acoustic signals. In an alternate embodiment, population-based images and/or population-based acoustic signatures are used to generate predictive data when a priori patient-specific imaging information is not available and this data is used to characterize or categorize at-risk patients suspected of coronary artery disease, but without prior cardiac events.
1 . A method for monitoring vascular health of a patient, comprising:
acquiring patient-specific imaging data of a vascular region of interest;
acquiring acoustic data of the vascular region of interest contemporaneous or close to contemporaneous with acquisition of the patient-specific imaging data;
creating a patient-specific model of sound propagation for the vascular region of interest using the patient-specific imaging data and the acoustic data;
identifying differences between the acoustic data acquired contemporaneous or close to contemporaneous with the patient-specific imaging data and a subsequent acoustic data set; and
processing the differences using the patient-specific model to estimate a change in vascular structure or function of the patient.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the patient-specific imaging data used to generate the patient-specific model includes quantitative vascular flow information to supplement the patient-specific imaging data.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the quantitative vascular flow information includes velocity flow data or volume flow rate data as a function of time.
4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the quantitative flow information and the patient-specific imaging data is two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatially.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial data further comprises a temporal dimension.
6 . The method of claim 1 , where estimating a change in vascular structure or function of the patient involves:
generating a patient-specific library of acoustic signatures using the patient-specific model of sound propagation and different states of vascular anomaly; and
comparing the subsequent acoustic data set against estimates associated with the patient-specific library of acoustic signatures to find a vascular anomaly state that best matches the subsequent acoustic data.
7 . The method of claim 1 where an indication or alert is generated if a change in hemodynamic significance due to the change in vascular structure is sufficient for a medical action to be taken.
8 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
performing periodic imaging to acquire data of underlying vascular architecture of the patient;
generating or measuring a corresponding acoustic signature contemporaneously or close to contemporaneously with the acquisition of the patient-specific imaging data;
updating the patient-specific model of sound propagation with new data associated with the acoustic signature and the patient-specific imaging data to improve accuracy of the estimates of the patient-specific library of acoustic signatures.
9 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
acquiring on a continuous basis the acoustic data and communicating the acoustic data to a central station;
comparing the acoustic data against the estimates of the patient-specific library of acoustic signatures to determine if the change in the hemodynamic significance of the vascular anomaly exceeds a threshold for hemodynamic significance that prompts medical attention.
10 . A method for characterizing vascular risk of a patient, comprising:
acquiring population-based data of a vascular region of interest;
generating one or more estimated acoustic spectral signatures based on the population-based data;
comparing or correlating the estimated acoustic spectral signatures with screening acoustic data; and
based upon the comparison or correlation, characterizing or categorizing a risk state of the patient.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the population-based data used to generate the one or more estimated spectral signatures comprises at least one of population-based images used to derive an acoustic model and longitudinal acoustic data acquired from the general population.
12 . The method of claim 10 , comprising data associated with population-based images augmented by ultrasound data acquired concurrently during a procedure to improve relevance of the data.
13 . An analysis system for monitoring vascular health of a patient, comprising:
a memory encoding processor-executable routines; and
a processing component configured to access the memory and execute the processor-executable routines, wherein the routines, when executed by the processing component, cause the processing component to perform actions comprising:
acquiring patient-specific imaging data of a vascular region of interest;
acquiring acoustic data of the vascular region of interest contemporaneous or close to contemporaneous with acquisition of the patient-specific imaging data;
creating a patient-specific model of sound propagation for the vascular region of interest using the patient-specific imaging data and the acoustic data;
identifying differences between the acoustic data acquired contemporaneous or close to contemporaneous with the patient-specific imaging data and a subsequent acoustic data set; and
processing the differences using the patient-specific model to estimate a change in vascular structure or function of the patient.
14 . The analysis system of claim 13 , wherein the patient-specific imaging data used to generate the patient-specific model includes quantitative vascular flow information to supplement the patient-specific imaging data.
15 . The analysis system of claim 14 , wherein the quantitative vascular flow information includes velocity flow data or volume flow rate data as a function of time.
16 . The analysis system of claim 14 , wherein the quantitative flow information and the patient-specific imaging data is two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatially.
17 . The analysis system of claim 16 , wherein the two-dimensional or three-dimensional spatial data further comprises a temporal dimension.
18 . The analysis system of claim 13 , where estimating a change in vascular structure or function of the patient involves:
generating a patient-specific library of acoustic signatures using the patient-specific model of sound propagation and different states of vascular anomaly;
and comparing the subsequent acoustic data set against estimates associated with the patient-specific library of acoustic signatures to find a vascular anomaly state that best matches the subsequent acoustic data.
19 . The analysis system of claim 13 where an indication or alert is generated if a change in hemodynamic significance due to the change in vascular structure is sufficient for a medical action to be taken.
20 . The analysis system of claim 18 , further comprising:
performing periodic imaging to acquire data of underlying vascular architecture of the patient;
generating or measuring a corresponding acoustic signature contemporaneously or close to contemporaneously with the acquisition of the patient-specific imaging data;
updating the patient-specific model of sound propagation with new data associated with the acoustic signature measurement and the patient-specific imaging data to improve the accuracy of the estimates of the patient-specific library of acoustic signatures.
21 . The analysis system of claim 18 , further comprising:
acquiring on a continuous basis the acoustic data and communicating the acoustic data to a central station;
comparing the acoustic data against the estimates of the patient-specific library of acoustic signatures to determine if the change in the hemodynamic significance of the vascular anomaly exceeds a threshold for hemodynamic significance that prompts medical attention.