Claims
- 1. A method for imaging and identifying non-viable myocardial tissue in a patient's heart, the method comprising the steps of:
obtaining images of a section of the myocardium; segmenting an endocardial border and epicardial border of the section of the myocardium; dividing the segment of the section of the myocardium into sectors; measuring one or more selected features of the sectors of the myocardium; applying the measured one or more features to a decision surface; determining whether each sector contains viable or non-viable myocardial tissue; and displaying an image that shows each sector of the myocardium and an indication of its viability.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the images obtained are using Delayed Enhanced Magnetic Resonance (DEMR) imaging.
- 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the section of the myocardium is a left ventricle.
- 4. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is image intensity.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is thickness of the myocardium.
- 6. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is differential thickness of the myocardium.
- 7. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is homogeneity in DEMR images of the myocardium.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is transmurality of scar (non-viable) tissue.
- 9. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is a position of the sector of tissue.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is rate of contrast agent uptake.
- 11. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is material strain information form tagged-MR.
- 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the decision surface is created using an artificial intelligence technique.
- 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the artificial intelligence technique is support vector machines.
- 14. The method of claim 1 wherein sectors of viable tissue are displayed as a first color and sectors of non-viable tissue are displayed as a second color.
- 15. A system for imaging section of a patient's myocardium and identifying non-viable myocardial tissue, the system comprising:
magnetic resonance imaging equipment for obtaining DEMR images of the myocardium; a processor for segmenting the section of the patient's myocardium into an endocardial border and an epicardial border, the processor further dividing the a myocardial wall of the section of the myocardium into sectors, the processor measuring one or more selected features of the sectors of the myocardial wall and applying the measured one or more features to a decision surface to determine whether each sector contains viable or non-viable myocardial tissue; and a display for displaying an image that shows each sector of the myocardial wall and an indication of its viability.
- 16. The system of claim 15 wherein the section of the myocardium is a left ventricle.
- 17. The system of claim 15 wherein a selected feature is image intensity.
- 18. The system of claim 15 wherein a selected feature is thickness of the myocardial wall.
- 19. The system of claim 15 wherein a selected feature is thickening of the myocardial wall.
- 20. The system of claim 15 wherein a selected feature is homogeneity of the myocardial wall.
- 21. The method of claim 15 wherein a selected feature is transmurality of scar (non-viable) tissue.
- 22. The method of claim 15 wherein a selected feature is position of the sector of tissue.
- 23. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is rate of contrast agent uptake.
- 24. The method of claim 1 wherein a selected feature is material strain information form tagged-MR.
- 25. The system of claim 15 wherein the decision surface is created using an artificial intelligence technique.
- 26. The system of claim 26 wherein the artificial intelligence technique is support vector machines.
- 27. The system of claim 15 wherein sectors of viable tissue are displayed as a first color and sectors of non-viable tissue are displayed as a second color.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/415,840, filed on Oct. 3, 2002, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60415840 |
Oct 2002 |
US |