Abstract: A method for segmenting intravascular images includes acquiring a series of digitized images acquired from inside a vessel, each said image comprising a plurality of intensities corresponding to a 2-dimensional grid of pixels, providing a precomputed set of shapes for modeling contours of vessel wall boundaries, wherein a contour can be expressed as a sum of a mean shape and a inner product of shape modes and shape weights, initializing a boundary contour for one of said set of images, initializing said shape weights by projecting a contour into said shape modes, updating said shape weights from differential equations of said shape weights, and computing a contour by summing said mean shape and said inner product of shape modes and updated shape weights.

Abstract: The invention discloses water-soluble triterpenephenol compounds having antitumor activity represented by formula (I), wherein the substituents R1˜R4 and M are defined as in the description. The invention also discloses a method for preparing the compounds of formula (I) used quinone methide triterpene compounds as starting materials. The water-soluble triterpenephenol compounds disclosed in the invention can be made into various dosage forms including injection, tablet, capsule, granule and liniment, particularly suitable for making into injection.

Abstract: A method for registering two three-dimensional shapes is disclosed whereby the two shapes are represented as zero level set of signed distance functions and the energy between these two functions is minimized. In a first embodiment, two undetailed ear impression models are rigidly registered with each other. In another embodiment, a detailed ear impression is initially aligned with an undetailed ear impression model and, then, the detailed ear impression model is rigidly registered with the undetailed ear impression model as a function of the signed distance functions. In accordance with another embodiment, an undetailed ear impression model is non-rigidly registered with a template ear impression model as a function of the signed distance functions.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatically detecting stent struts in an image is disclosed whereby the inner boundary, or lumen, of an artery wall is first detected automatically and intensity profiles along rays in the image are determined. In one embodiment, detection of the lumen boundary may be accomplished, for example, by evolving a geometric shape, such as an ellipse, using a region-based algorithm technique, a geodesic boundary-based algorithm technique or a combination of the two techniques. Once the lumen boundary has been determined, in another embodiment, the stent struts are detected using a ray shooting algorithm whereby a ray is projected outward in the OCT image starting from the position in the image of the OCT sensor. The intensities of the pixels along the ray are used to detect the presence of a stent strut in the image.

Abstract: Certain exemplary embodiments can comprise a method, which can comprise, automatically determining a target object from an image via an application of an iterative minimization algorithm to an energy function. Each iteration of the iterative minimization algorithm can comprise a comparison of a model with an estimated contour of the target object.

Abstract: A method for specifying design rules for a manufacturing process includes providing a training set of 3D point meshes that represent an anatomical structure, for each 3D point mesh, finding groupings of points that define clusters for each shape class of the anatomical structure, calculating a prototype for each shape class cluster, and associating one or more manufacturing design rules with each shape class prototype. The method includes providing a new 3D point mesh that represents an anatomical structure, calculating a correspondence function that maps the new 3D point mesh to a candidate shape class prototype by minimizing a cost function, calculating a transformation that aligns points in the new 3D point mesh with points in the candidate shape class prototype, and using the rules associated with the shape class prototype, if the candidate shape class prototype is successfully aligned with the new 3D point mesh.

Abstract: Certain exemplary embodiments comprise a method, which can comprise determining an image of a predetermined physiological structure of a patient. The image can be determined based upon a first set of image data of the predetermined physiological structure of the patient. The image can be based upon a second set of image data of the predetermined physiological structure of the patient. The image can be determined based upon an iteratively adjusted movement of the patient.

Abstract: A method of preventing arcing during bevel edge etching a semiconductor substrate with a plasma in a bevel etcher in which the semiconductor substrate is supported on a semiconductor substrate support comprises bevel edge etching the semiconductor substrate with the plasma in the bevel etcher while evacuating the bevel etcher to a pressure of 3 to 100 Torr while maintaining RF voltage seen at the wafer at a low enough value to avoid arcing.

Abstract: For resonance image data of an imaged subject, a method that first detects and estimates the dominant motions of k-space data (i.e., the motion vectors) and then constructs a graphical model for each estimated motion vector. The segments of the k-space that are determined to be corrupted by motion are restored by minimizing the energy associated with the corresponding graphical model. Consequently, the MR image of the imaged subject becomes free of motion artifacts.

Abstract: A method for segmenting a digitized ultrasound image includes providing a digitized in-phase/quadrature ultrasound image comprising a plurality of intensities defined on an N-dimensional grid, decorrelating the ultrasound image wherein spatial correlations are substantially reduced in the intensity data, modeling the decorrelated image intensities with a statistical distribution, propagating, an active contour in the image where the contour segments the image, where the contour is propagated based on the statistical distributions of intensity data inside and outside the active contour.

Abstract: A method of tracking a guidewire in video imagery includes: obtaining a first video image including pixels associated with features of a guidewire; selecting a set of parameters to define an open curve on the first video image; determining a feature map of the first video image using phase congruency; and updating the parameters of the open curve using the feature map to align the open curve to the pixels associated with the features of the guidewire.

Abstract: A method for detecting anatomical features in 3D ear impressions includes receiving a 3D digital image of a 3D ear impression, obtaining a surface of the ear impression from the 3D image, analyzing the surface with one or more feature detectors, the detectors adapted to detecting generic features, including peak features, concavity features, elbow features, ridge features, and bump features, and derived features that depend on generic features or other derived features, and forming a canonical ear signature from results of the detectors, where the canonical ear signature characterizes the 3D ear impression.

Abstract: A method for determining a degree of similarity between ear canal models includes receiving a first mesh model representing an inner surface of a first ear. A set of points is sampled within the first mesh model. Each of the sampled set of points is matched to a corresponding point of a second mesh model representing an inner surface of a second ear. A shape distance between the first mesh model and the second mesh model is calculated based on the matched sets of points. A determination of the degree of similarity between the inner surface of the first ear and the inner surface of the second ear is provided based on the calculated shape distance.

Abstract: A method for designing a prosthetic device includes acquiring a three-dimensional image of an anatomical surface. A rules script for automatically performing a plurality of image processing rules using a script interpreter is executed. For each particular rule of the plurality of rules, one or more anatomical features that are relevant to the particular rule using a surface shaping engine are determined, the one or more determined anatomical features are automatically segmented from the acquired three-dimensional image using a feature detector, and the particular image processing rule is performed on the acquired three-dimensional image based on the automatically segmented anatomical features using a CAD tool. A prosthetic device design is produced based on the three-dimensional image upon which the rules of the plurality of image processing rules have been performed.

Abstract: A method for temporally filtering medical images during a fluoroscopy guided intervention procedure includes providing a mask image, a fluoroscopy intervention image acquired at a current time during a medical intervention procedure, forming a subtraction image by subtracting the mask image from the intervention image, calculating a motion image of a moving structure in the subtraction image, forming a residual image by subtracting the motion image from the subtraction image, temporally filtering the residual image with a filtered image from a previous time, and adding the motion image to the temporally filtered residual image.

Abstract: A method for multiple image restoration includes receiving a plurality of images corrupted by noise, and initializing a reduced noise estimate of the plurality of images. The method further includes estimating a probability of distributions of noise around each pixel and the probability of the signal, estimating mutual information between noise on the plurality of images based on the probabilities of distributions of noise around each pixel and the joint distribution of noise, and updating each pixel within a search range to determine a restored image by reducing the mutual information between the noise on the plurality of images.

Abstract: A system and appertaining algorithm provide a cutting and shaping of the hearing aid shell using an Ellipsoidal Line Cut that increases the speed of detailing operations and enables a creation of more cosmetically appealing shells. A contour algorithm determines a projected contour on the bottom cut plane that corresponds in shape to a portion of the line cut plane contour, and a merger algorithm defines a line cut surface between the portion of the line cut plane contour and the projected contour. An elimination algorithm eliminates parts of the new hearing aid shell design that extend beyond boundaries defined by the original hearing aid shell design.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for constructing, from a computerized tomography (CT) scan, an image relating to a physical structure. Projection data associated with the image is obtained and divided into a plurality of subsets. Filtered back projection (FBP) is then applied to each subset in the plurality of subsets. The image is constructed based on the application of the FBP to each subset in the plurality of subsets.

Abstract: A method of computing a continuous interpolation of a discrete set of three-dimensional (3D) balls, including generating an initial skin, wherein the initial skin is a surface comprised of splines and wherein the splines touch each ball along a circle that is tangent to the ball, solving a first differential equation to minimize the initial skin's surface area or solving a second differential equation to minimize a squared mean curvature of the initial skin's surface, wherein the result of solving the first or second differential equations is an updated skin; and repeating the steps of solving the first or second differential equations for the updated skin, and then, repeating the steps of solving the first or second differential equations for each subsequently updated skin until a desired skin is realized.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for rounding a sharp edge of a model of an object is disclosed whereby a ball is propagated in a desired direction along the edge to be smoothed. The position of the ball at each point in its propagation is noted and, as a result, a virtual tunnel through which the ball passed may be constructed. Points on the sides of the surface of the object in proximity to the sharp edge are then projected onto the virtual tunnel by connecting with a line each point in proximity to the sharp edge to the center of the tunnel. New projected points are created at each position on the surface of the tunnel where the lines intersect that surface. The original points along the sharp edge are then hidden or deleted and the points along the virtual tunnel are connected via well-known surface reconstruction methods. In this way, a sharp edge of a triangle mesh model are advantageously smoothed.