Abstract: A method and system for model-based fusion of pre-operative image data and intra-operative fluoroscopic images is disclosed. A fluoroscopic image and an ultrasound image are received. The ultrasound image is mapped to a 3D coordinate system of a fluoroscopic image acquisition device used to acquire the fluoroscopic image. Contours of an anatomical structure are detected in the ultrasound image, and a transformation is calculated between the ultrasound image and a pre-operative CT image based on the contours and a patient-specific physiological model extracted from the pre-operative CT image. A final mapping is determined between the CT image and the fluoroscopic image based on the transformation between the ultrasound image and physiological model and the mapping of the ultrasound image to the 3D coordinate system of the fluoroscopic image acquisition device. The CT image or the physiological model can then be projected into the fluoroscopic image.

Abstract: A method for displaying a motion compensated overlay includes receiving a model of a structure of interest, capturing an image depicting a region of interest and an instrument, determining whether the structure of interest is visible in the image, registering the model of the structure of interest to the image upon determining that the structure of interest is visible, and combining the model of the structure of interest with the image according to a registration to determine an overlay image.

Abstract: A method for real-time fusion of a 2D cardiac ultrasound image with a 2D cardiac fluoroscopic image includes acquiring real time synchronized US and fluoroscopic images, detecting a surface contour of an aortic valve in the 2D cardiac ultrasound (US) image relative to an US probe, detecting a pose of the US probe in the 2D cardiac fluoroscopic image, and using pose parameters of the US probe to transform the surface contour of the aortic valve from the 2D cardiac US image to the 2D cardiac fluoroscopic image.

Abstract: The invention relates to compositions and methods for the preparation, manufacture and therapeutic use of polynucleotides, primary transcripts and mmRNA molecules.

Abstract: The invention relates to compositions and methods for the preparation, manufacture and therapeutic use of polynucleotides, primary transcripts and mmRNA molecules.

Abstract: An image data processor processes 3D mesh data to identify an object boundary by, identifying for a first line segment between first and second points of the mesh, third and fourth points lying either side of the line segment, the first, second and third points comprising a first triangle and the first, second and fourth points comprising a second triangle. The image data processor determines a first normal vector for the first triangle and a second normal vector for the second triangle, determines a third normal vector perpendicular to a display screen, determines a first product of the first and third vectors and a second product of the second and third vectors and identifies the first line segment as a potential segment of the object boundary in response to the sign of the first and second products.

Abstract: A method for guiding transcatheter aortic valve implantations includes receiving an interventional 3D image of an aortic root reconstructed from a sequence of 2D images acquired from a C-arm computed tomography (CT) system being rotated about a patient through a predetermined number of degrees, segmenting the aortic root and detecting aortic root landmarks in the 3D image, where the aortic root landmarks include three lowest points of aortic root cusps, two coronary artery ostia, and three commissures points where the cusps meet, cropping an area inside the segmented aortic root out of the 3D volume for volume rendering, centering the 3D image on an intersection of two orthogonal planes, each containing the two detected coronary ostia, that are orthogonal to a plane spanned by three lowest points of the aortic root cusps, and volume rendering the 3D cropped aortic root image together with the detected landmarks onto a 2D image.

Abstract: A method and system for model-based fusion of multi-modal volumetric images is disclosed. A first patient-specific model of an anchor anatomical structure is detected in a first medical image acquired using a first imaging modality, and a second patient-specific model of the anchor anatomical structure is detected in a second medical image acquired using a second imaging modality. A weighted mapping function is determined based on the first patient-specific model of the anchor anatomical structure and the second patient-specific model of the anchor anatomical structure using learned weights to minimize mapping error with respect to a target anatomical structure. The target anatomical structure from the first medical image to the second medical image using the weighted mapping function. In an application of this model-based fusion to transcatheter valve therapies, the trachea bifurcation is used as the anchor anatomical structure and the aortic valve is the target anatomical structure.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) having a nucleotide sequence which is less that 30 nucleotides in length and which is substantially identical to at least a part of a 3?-untranslated region (3?-UTR) of a (+) strand RNA virus, such as HCV, as well as pharmaceutical compositions comprising the dsRNA, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutical compositions are useful for treating infections and diseases caused by the replication or activity of the (+) strand RNA virus, as well as methods for inhibiting viral replication.

Abstract: A method for fusing 2D fluoroscopic images with 2D angiographic images for real-time interventional procedure guidance includes using a 2-dimensional angiographic image to detect injection of a contrast agent into an anatomical structure, where the contrast agent first appears in a detected image frame, subtracting a background image from the detected image frame and binarizing the subtracted image frame to segment the anatomical structure from the subtracted image frame, registering the segmented anatomical structure with a predefined shape model of the anatomical structure to generate an anatomical mask, generating an anatomical probability map from the anatomical mask using intensity information from the subtracted image frame, where the anatomical probability map expresses a probability of a pixel in the subtracted image frame belonging to the anatomical structure, and fusing the angiographic image with one or more subsequently acquired 2-dimensional fluoroscopic images of the anatomical structure using t

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for locally-resolved visualization of the reconstruction quality, especially of the coverage of a target volume to be recorded as an image and reproduced in a three-dimensional reconstruction volume presentation, especially in the human body, by two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional images covering subareas of the volume recorded by a recording device arranged inside the target volume, with which the three-dimensional reconstruction volume presentation is created, with the subareas of the target volume covered by the individual images being determined and a visual locally-resolved presentation of the reconstruction quality, especially of the coverage, being created and output as a function of the subarea coverage.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for temporal up-to-date representation of a moving section of a body is provided. A first x-ray image data record is provided containing the moving section in a specific movement phase and a first 2D x-ray image and a 3D x-ray image superimposed and registered with one another. 2D x-ray images are repeatedly recorded each containing the moving section. 3D ultrasound images are repeatedly recorded each containing the moving section. Extended 2D x-ray images are created from the 2D x-ray images using the first x-ray images data record. The 3D ultrasound images are used as intermediaries for movement correction. The extended 2D images are displayed.

Abstract: A method and system for device detection in a 2D medical image is disclosed. In order to account for shape variation of a 3D object in a 2D imaging plane, a hierarchical tree-structured array of trained classifiers is used to detect a 3D object, such as a pigtail catheter in a 2D medical image, such as a fluoroscopic image. The hierarchical tree-structured array of trained classifiers increases a dimensionality of the search space with each hierarchical level, and as the search space is increased, the classification is split into object sub-classes using trained classifiers independently trained for each sub-class.

Abstract: The invention relates to a double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) for inhibiting the expression of a Hepatitis B Virus gene. The invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the dsRNA or nucleic acid molecules or vectors encoding the same together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier; methods for treating diseases caused by Hepatitis B Virus infection using said pharmaceutical composition; and methods for inhibiting the expression of a Hepatitis B Virus gene in a cell.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) for inhibiting the expression of a mutant gene, comprising a first strand that has a complementary region that is complementary to at least a portion of an RNA transcript of at least part of the mutant target gene and a second strand of the dsRNA complementary or substantially complementary to the first strand. The invention further relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the dsRNA and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutical compositions are useful for inhibiting the expression of a target mutant gene, as well as for treating diseases caused by expression of the target gene. The invention also relates to methods for inhibiting the expression of a target mutant gene, as well as methods for treating diseases caused by the expression of the target gene.

Abstract: A method and system for registering ultrasound images and physiological models to x-ray fluoroscopy images is disclosed. A fluoroscopic image and an ultrasound image, such as a Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) image, are received. A 2D location of an ultrasound probe is detected in the fluoroscopic image. A 3D pose of the ultrasound probe is estimated based on the detected 2D location of the ultrasound probe in the fluoroscopic image. The ultrasound image is mapped to a 3D coordinate system of a fluoroscopic image acquisition device used to acquire the fluoroscopic image based on the estimated 3D pose of the ultrasound probe. The ultrasound image can then be projected into the fluoroscopic image using a projection matrix associated with the fluoroscopic image. A patient specific physiological model can be detected in the ultrasound image and projected into the fluoroscopic image.

Abstract: A method for assisting a person performing a minimally invasive intervention with a catheter involving a puncture of a septum, in particular of a heart, is proposed. A three-dimensional image data record is recorded showing an anatomical structure in the region of the septum. An item of septum information showing the position of the septum is determined in the image data record and additional information is derived from the position of the anatomical structure influencing or showing the selection of a puncture site. During the intervention, the fluoroscopic images of the region are continuously recorded and a current fluoroscopic image is displayed and superimposed with the septum information and/or the additional information based on a registration of the image data record with the fluoroscopic images.

Abstract: A method and a device for obtaining a volume data set of a mobile tissue or organ of a patient by a C-arm X-ray device are provided. An electromagnetic sensor of a position detection system is arranged indirectly on the tissue or organ. The X-ray device obtains a plurality of X-ray projections from the tissue or organ from various projection directions. A first method consists of reconstructing a volume data set from the X-ray projections, in which the electromagnetic sensor adopts a position characterizing a displacement phase of the tissue or organ. A second method consists of reconstructing a volume data set from the X-ray projections captured when the electromagnetic sensor was located in a position characterizing a displacement phase of the tissue or organ. A third method does not capture an X-ray projection for the reconstruction if the electromagnetic sensor is located in a position characterizing a displacement phase.

Abstract: This invention relates to bispecific antibodies and antibody fragments against a target protein and a hapten, wherein the hapten is PEG or biotin, most preferably digoxigenin, methods for their production, their use as a delivery platform for therapeutic or diagnostic agents, pharmaceutical 5 compositions containing said antibodies, and uses thereof.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a double-stranded ribonucleic acid (dsRNA) having a nucleotide sequence which is less that 30 nucleotides in length and which is substantially identical to at least a part of a 3?-untranslated region (3?-UTR) of a (+) strand RNA virus, such as HCV, as well as pharmaceutical compositions comprising the dsRNA, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. The pharmaceutical compositions are useful for treating infections and diseases caused by the replication or activity of the (+) strand RNA virus, as well as methods for inhibiting viral replication.