Abstract: The invention is directed to systems and methods for detecting and presenting textural information from medical images. In one embodiment, a medical imaging system includes an imaging transducer assembly configured to emit one or more energy pulses and receive one or more echo signals, and a console, coupled to the imaging transducer assembly, configured to receive the one or more echo signals, generate an uncompressed image based on the one or more echo signals, generate a log compressed image based on the uncompressed image, generate a color overlay based on the uncompressed image, and apply the color overlay to the log compressed image.

Abstract: The invention is directed to systems and methods for detecting and presenting textural information from medical images. In one embodiment, a medical imaging system includes an imaging transducer assembly configured to emit one or more energy pulses and receive one or more echo signals, and a console, coupled to the imaging transducer assembly, configured to receive the one or more echo signals, generate an uncompressed image based on the one or more echo signals, generate a log compressed image based on the uncompressed image, generate a color overlay based on the uncompressed image, and apply the color overlay to the log compressed image.

Abstract: An improved method of tracking a catheter's position within a human body does not rely on x-rays, but instead calculates the position of the catheter's imaging head by analyzing image data. Such an analysis is able to determine the position of the imaging head in 3 dimensional space, relative to an arbitrarily selected reference image. An image is compared with the reference image, correlation data between corresponding points on the two images are gathered, and a correlation loss rate in a particular direction is determined. This correlation loss rate is modeled to an exponential function, which is evaluated to estimate an angle of separation between the image and the reference image. One or more angles of separation are used to determine a position in three dimensional space of the image, relative to the reference image. By repeating this process for a series of images being gathered by a catheter, the position of the catheter can be determined.

Abstract: An improved system and method creates a localized animation window of an image while a user is reviewing the image in a video sequence. In one example, a user may select a particular area within an image in a video sequence to be viewed as a localized animation window while the remaining area of the image is still.

Abstract: The improved system and method detects edges in an image defined by a data set. In one aspect, a plurality of arrays of pattern recognition classifiers are populated throughout an image. Each array may yield a value which indicates whether or not the array is on or near an edge to be detected. The edge may be interpolated between the arrays that are on or near an edge to be detected or extrapolated after an array on or near the edge. This edge detection method may result in more accurate edge detection.

Abstract: In an image gathering and display system, data is interpolated by gathering non-interpolated input data and formatting that data such that a user of the data can interpolate the data without requiring the image gathering and display system to perform the interpolation. A series of weighted randomly selected non-interpolated input data values are displayed to the user as a stream of non-interpolated output values, such that the user interpolates the series of non-interpolated output values.

Abstract: A new image processing method reduces Nonuniform Rotational Distortion (NURD) in a medical image acquired using a rotating transducer. The image comprises a plurality of image vectors having texture. In a preferred embodiment, the image processing technique computes an average frequency of the texture for each image vector and estimates an angle for each image vector based on the average frequency for the respective image vector. The image processing technique then corrects for NURD by remapping each image vector to the estimated angle for the respective image vector.