Abstract: The invention relates to a medical data management method and system wherein medical data (22c) and identification data (22b) associated with the medical data (22c) of said patient (6) is received, said medical data (22c) and said identification data (22b) is stored as a medical file (22) in a storage system (2), wherein at least parts of said medical files (22) are modified for generating at least one modified file (22?) in response to a retrieval request from an unauthorized recipient (Ni), wherein such modification depends on an authorization code (42) associated with said unauthorized recipient (Ni), and wherein said at least one modified file (22?) is supplied to said unauthorized recipient (Ni) or the unmodified medical file (22) is supplied to an authorized recipient (6, 7). The invention enables a worldwide medical database for research and global health interests, by at the same time safeguarding the legitimate interests of the patient.

Abstract: A method for detecting and displaying image data of at least one object with reference to a human or animal body is provided with the following method steps: detecting a spatial structure and position of the object through a physical space detection and generating image data of the object on the basis of this detection, projecting the image data onto an artificial body, which represents the human or animal body, and displaying the object using the image data projected onto the artificial body.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for visualizing movements of an object, preferably the movements of blood vessels during the cardiac cycle. The method includes scanning the object by at least a two dimensional ultrasonic image scanning apparatus at discrete acquisition times to acquire a data set by using surface reconstruction and/or volume rendering techniques. Next, the three-dimensional data set is partitioned into a plurality of volume units, wherein each volume unit has a unit surface. The method further includes calculating the change of volume of each volume unit over the acquisition times to obtain level information of each corresponding unit surface over time, and displaying the three-dimensional data set with its level information over time.

Abstract: A device and to a method for navigation in a multi-dimensional image data set of an object, obtained by a medical imaging method, including depicting a randomly selectable first visual plane through the image data set as the first sectional image, in which a user can navigate and designate a point by means of an input device, and depicting, in addition to the first sectional image, a further, second sectional image, including another point, designated by the user in the first sectional image, in a second visual plane which intersects the image data set at that angle that corresponds to the perspective obtained during the recording of the image data set at the designated point.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device, a method and a computer program for evaluating images of the heart that have been captured by means of a medical imaging method. According to said method, at least two data records containing functional values, which describe the ventricular wall activity, are produced in a random format, are converted into a uniform format and the data records in the uniform format are compared with one another or calculated.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device and to a method for adaptive three-dimensional derivation of a proximal isokinetic shell of a proximal flow convergence zone that forms in an observation area in a moving fluid, wherein the magnitude of the velocity of the fluid at each point of the proximal isokinetic shell is identical and equal to a velocity reference value, the method including: a) preparing locally distributed velocity measurements in a surrounding area of the observation area, the measurements representing at least one directional component of the local velocity of the fluid in a respective measurement direction, b) preparing an approximation surface as an initial proximal isokinetic shell in such a way that the entire flow, at least substantially, in the flow convergence zone penetrates the approximation surface, c) establishing a plurality of approximation points on the approximation surface, d) determining the respective velocity measurements at the respective approximation points, e) calculating a c

Abstract: A method for analysing medical data in view of a specific clinical question, the method including the steps of a) providing one or several medical datasets having data acquired by means of one or several diagnostic modalities from one patient; b) providing a clinical question to be answered by the medical dataset(s); c) selecting one or several evaluation methods which are generally suitable for returning relevant information with regard to the clinical question; and d) automatically analysing the medical dataset(s) with regard to their suitability to be used for the one or several evaluation methods and calculating corresponding quality factors for each pair of medical dataset and evaluation method.

Abstract: A method of filtering an image dataset and an apparatus, a data carrier, and a computer program product, the method having the following steps: providing an N-dimensional input image dataset; applying a filtering algorithm to the input image dataset, wherein the filtering algorithm is essentially unvarying over the dataset, to thereby obtain a filtered image dataset; providing a spatially varying weighting function between the input and the filtered image datasets; computing a weighted sum of the input image dataset and the filtered image dataset, thereby using the spatially varying weighting function, in order to obtain an output image dataset.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for recording medical images, in particular ultrasound images, of a moving object, in particular of a heart, said method comprising the following steps: generating a movement signal that dynamically represents the state of movement of the moving object, identifying the phase position and the frequency of the moving object on the basis of the movement signal, reconstructing the images on the basis of the phase position and of the frequency and/or carrying out at least one scan of the moving object, with the recording times being adjusted according to the phase position and the frequency of the moving object.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method, a device and a computer program product for evaluating medical image data sets, which consists of two-dimensional section images, in particular MR images, wherein a plurality of two-dimensional cross-sections (K1, K2, . . . Kn) and at least one two-dimensional longitudinal section (L1) of a target region (1) of a human or animal body are recorded and stored, a longitudinal axis (5) and points of intersection (6) are determined at the points at which the longitudinal axis (5) extends through the plurality of two-dimensional cross-sections (K1, K2 . . . Kn) and a reduced data volume (7) is generated, which is composed of partial cross-sections (k1, k2, . . . kn), which are generated by means of the points of intersection (6) and scaling factors (a1, a2, b1, b2) from the plurality of two-dimensional cross-sections (K1, K2, . . . Kn).

Abstract: The invention relates to method and an apparatus for depth cueing, i.e. improving the sense of depth in two-dimensional images of three-dimensional volume data, said 2D images being generated using volume rendering. The invention is characterized in that a second depth color chart generated from the original color chart by permuting at least two color channels is used in the depth dimension. Alternatively, all three color channels can be permuted.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and device for automatical segmentation of medical images of a non-planar surface of an object, in particular of a heart valve, including detecting a surface boundary which delimits the non-planar surface of the object, creating a model surface, which is spanned between the surface boundary, correcting the model surface by means of distance information containing information about the distance between the model surface and the non-planar surface of the object, until a corrected model surface is generated, and depicting the corrected model surface, where the correction of the model surface is preferably carried out by means of three- or four-dimensional image data sets, by orienting the three-dimensional volume-rendering of the object essentially perpendicular to the model surface, so that the information about the distance between the model surface and the non-planar surface of the object can be evaluated, until the corrected model surface has been produced.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and a device for visualizing surface-like structures in volumetric data sets, including defining local coordinate systems at sample points of the volumetric data set, transforming external parameters from a global coordinate system into the local coordinate systems, calculating the gradient vector components (Gai, Gbi, Gci) within the local coordinate systems of the sample points, and using the gradient vector components (Gai, Gbi, Gci) for calculating a surface normal at a given position of the volumetric data set, where the surface normal is important for conventional illumination models such as the Blinn-Phong shading model, preferably, the present invention is also calculating the external parameters from the global coordinate system at the given position by using the transformed external parameters of the local coordinate systems of the sample points, where the shading or illumination at the given position is then done by using a conventional illumination model,

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and device for reconstructing two-dimensional sectional images from a three- or four-dimensional image data set of an object, for example the left ventricle. The method comprises the steps of calculating an anatomical long axis through the object, such that the length and/or shape of the anatomical long axis is adapted to the length and/or shape of the object, and defining a series of sectional planes perpendicular or parallel to the anatomical long axis, and calculating and displaying sectional images corresponding to the sectional planes.

Abstract: An intersection of a cut plane with a proxy geometry representing a scan volume is determined with a processor. The intersection is simplified, such as identifying a quadrilateral or triangle most closely enclosing the intersection. The vertex processor of a GPU deforms a reference grid and determines Cartesian coordinates and the texture coordinates for grid points of the reference grid as a function of the input intersection. The vertex processor provides coordinates for data for subsets of cut planes. The fragment processor inputs the texture coordinates and retrieves the data from the texture memory. The data is blended. The blended subsets are then blended together in the frame buffer of the GPU.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device and method for generating a motion-corrected 3D image of a cyclically moving object by means of an ultrasound probe, comprising the steps of providing at least one 3D reference image of the object, the 3D reference image showing the object substantially at one particular phase in its cyclic movement; acquiring a set of sub-images of the object by sweeping the ultrasound probe over the moving object; registering at least two, preferably all, of the sub-images with the 3D reference image, thereby generating at least two motion-corrected sub-images; and reconstructing a motion-corrected 3D image from the motion-corrected sub-images. The invention is also directed to a corresponding device, computer program, and digital storage medium.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to a device for the representation of a predeterminable region (3) in multidimensional data sets (2). The data sets (2) are especially made of three or four dimensional image data of an object which is to be examined. The image data is produced by means of one or several receiving elements of the object and especially at least one two-dimensional cut (S) is located and displayed through the predeterminable region (3). The cut (S) is defined by at least one vector plane and/or indicator plane (E1, E2), which are arranged in the multi-dimensional data set (2), by means of a vector (4). Said vector or indicator is fixed by manipulation in the multidimensional data set (2) and/or on, particularly, the two-dimensional cut planes (S1, S2) of the multi-dimensional data sets (2) on at least one vector plane (E1, E2) and the vector and/or indicator (4).

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for breast cancer screening and a corresponding method carried out with the system, the method comprising the following steps: a) providing an image of a predetermined region of a breast of a woman, b) determining the glandular volume in the scanning image, and c) calculating the absolute glandular tissue amount of the breast from the glandular volume, wherein the absolute glandular tissue amount can be used as a risk index which provides an indication about the risk of the woman of having breast cancer.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and system for graphic representation of dynamic information from a dynamic 2D or 3D object. In particular, the invention relates to a novel method of interpolating dynamic information having values of different signs. The method of the present invention is particularly useful for the graphic representation of dynamic information, in particular flow data which has been acquired with a colour-Doppler-method. The method of the invention can be used for representing the flow of liquids, such as blood and is therefore useful for human and animal diagnostics.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device, a method and a computer programme for evaluating images of the heart that have been captured by means of a medical imaging method. According to said method, at least two data records containing functional values, which describe the ventricular wall activity, are produced in a random format, are converted into a uniform format and the data records in the uniform format are compared with one another or calculated.