KR-20260066508-A - Method and System for reconnecting disconnected portions in blood vessel segmentation images

KR20260066508AKR 20260066508 AKR20260066508 AKR 20260066508AKR-20260066508-A

Abstract

A method for connecting severed portions in a vascular segmentation image is disclosed. The method for connecting severed portions in a vascular segmentation image according to the present invention comprises: a step of segmenting the aorta and the coronary artery from a computed tomography image; a step of determining a centerline of the segmented coronary artery image; a step of determining a seed point adjacent to the aorta among the centerlines; a step of determining at least one first point connected to a first centerline including the seed point and at least one second point connected to a second centerline not including the seed point; a step of selecting one of a plurality of combinations of the first point and the second point; and a step of connecting the selected first point and the second point.

Inventors

박지용
김영인
김판기

Assignees

주식회사 팬토믹스

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241104

Claims (7)

In a method for connecting broken parts in a blood vessel segmentation image using at least one processor, Step of segmenting the aorta and coronary arteries from computed tomography images; Step of determining the centerline of the segmented coronary artery image; A step of determining a seed point adjacent to the aorta among the above centerlines; A step of determining at least one first point connected to a first centerline including the seed point and at least one second point connected to a second centerline not including the seed point; A step of selecting one of a plurality of combinations of the first point and the second point; and The step of connecting the selected first point and the second point; including, A method for connecting broken parts in a blood vessel segmentation image, characterized in that the above selection is based on the proximity of the distance and the similarity of direction between the first point and the second point.
In paragraph 1, In the above first centerline, the above first point is an endpoint that is not the above seed point, and A method for connecting broken parts in a vascular segmentation image, characterized in that, in the second centerline above, the second point is each of all endpoints of the target.
In paragraph 1, A method for connecting severed parts in a blood vessel segmentation image, characterized in that when the angle between a first vector corresponding to the rate of change of the curve of the first centerline at the first point and a second vector corresponding to the rate of change of the curve of the second centerline at the second point is small, the similarity of the direction is determined to be high.
In paragraph 3, The pair of the first point and the second point is selected only when it satisfies preset distance and angle conditions, and The above distance condition is set with respect to the distance between the above first point and the above second point, and The above angle conditions are each set with respect to the first angle between the vertical vector and the third vector, the second angle between the first vector and the second vector, the third angle between the first vector and the third vector, and the fourth angle between the second vector and the third vector, and The above vertical vector is in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane (axial plane), and A method for connecting a broken part in a blood vessel segmentation image, characterized in that the third vector is a direction from the first point toward the second point.
In paragraph 4, The above distance condition is that the distance between the first point and the second point is 20mm or less, and A method for connecting severed parts in a blood vessel segmentation image, characterized by the above angle conditions being that the first angle is greater than 70 degrees, the second angle is less than 90 degrees, the third angle is less than 100 degrees, and the fourth angle is less than 100 degrees.
In paragraph 1, A method for connecting severed parts in a blood vessel segmentation image, characterized by further including the step of excluding the connected parts from the judgment target and continuously selecting and connecting any one of the remaining pairs of the first point and the second point.
processor; and A storage unit for storing computed tomography images; including The above processor is, Segment the aorta and coronary arteries from computed tomography images, Determine the centerline of the segmented coronary artery image, and Determine the seed point adjacent to the aorta among the above centerlines, and Determining at least one first point connected to a first centerline including the seed point and at least one second point connected to a second centerline not including the seed point, Select one of a plurality of combinations of the first point and the second point, and Connect the selected first point and second point, A system for connecting broken parts in a blood vessel segmentation image, characterized in that the above selection is based on the proximity of the distance and the similarity of direction between the first point and the second point.

Description

Method and System for Reconnecting Disconnected Portions in Blood Vessel Segmentation Images The present invention relates to a method and system for connecting severed portions in a blood vessel segmentation image. Curved MPR (Multi-Planar Reconstruction) is a two-dimensional planar image extracted from multiple angles of a three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) image (hereinafter also referred to as a ‘CT image’). Curved MPR is useful for diagnosing conditions such as stenosis of the heart blood vessels. In the observation of coronary arteries, the generation of high-quality curved MPR images is an important basis for determining the three-dimensional position of the coronary artery centerline. In generating curved MPR, the centerline extracted from the segmented blood vessel images in CT imaging can be used as is, but numerous breaks may appear along the centerline for various reasons. The broken parts may be due to the characteristics of the algorithm for extracting segmented images or the presence of artifacts around the blood vessels. Cases where the contrast agent cannot be injected due to stenosis or where the blood vessel itself is very thin also fall under the category of broken parts. In generating curved MPR images from computed tomography images, obtaining information regarding the unbroken centerline of the coronary artery is an important task. Figure 1 shows a connection system for severed parts in a blood vessel segmentation image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows a method for connecting severed parts in a blood vessel segmentation image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 shows the first point and the second point extracted from the centerline image. Figure 4 illustrates the angles and vectors associated with the first point and the second point. Figure 5 shows an image with a severed part of a blood vessel and an image with the severed part connected, respectively. Figure 6 shows the centerlines of the divided blood vessels and coronary arteries together to explain the setting of the seed point. The present invention is capable of various modifications and may have various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and it should be understood that it includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known technology may obscure the essence of the present invention, such detailed description is omitted. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a connection system (100) (hereinafter also briefly referred to as ‘system (100)’) of a severed portion in a blood vessel segmentation image according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the connection system (100) for the broken parts in the blood vessel segmentation image includes a processor (110), a memory (120), and a communication unit (130). The processor (110) is for performing information processing related to broken parts in a blood vessel segmentation image and may include at least one processor. The processor (110) may include at least one of a Central Processing Unit, a Graphic Processing Unit, a Micro Processor, and a processor dedicated to artificial intelligence, and the type and number of processors are not limited thereto as long as they perform the functions of the present invention. Memory (120) can have a program written to it, which is a set of data and executable instructions that can be read or written by the processor (110). The memory (120) includes non-volatile memory (120) that can store data (information) regardless of whether power is provided, and volatile memory in which data to be processed by the processor (110) is loaded and data cannot be stored if power is not provided. Non-volatile memory includes flash memory, HDD (hard-disc drive), SSD (solid-state drive), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc., and volatile memory includes buffer, RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The communication unit (130) operates under the control of the processor (110) and can transmit and receive information with an external device. The external device may be either a video device (200) or a manager terminal (300), and is not limited to the above embodiment. The communication unit (130) can communicate using at least one of wired/wireless LAN, Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), Bluetooth, Zigbee, infrared communication (IrDa, infrared Data Association), NFC (Near Field Communication), Wibro (Wireless Broadband Internet), SQAP (Shared Wireless Access Protocol), and RF communication methods, but the communication method is not limited to the above embodiment. Since the memory (120)