Methods and systems for ultrasound imaging

Abstract

A system (e.g., an ultrasound imaging system) is provided. The system includes an ultrasound probe configured to acquire three dimensional (3D) ultrasound data of a volumetric region of interest (ROI). The system further includes a display, a memory configured to store programmed instructions, and a controller circuit. The controller circuit includes one or more processors. The controller circuit is configured to execute the programmed instructions stored in the memory. When executing the programmed instructions, the controller circuit performs a plurality of operations. The operations includes collecting the 3D ultrasound data from an ultrasound probe and identifying a select set of the 3D ultrasound data corresponding to an object of interest within the volumetric ROI. The operations further include segmenting the object of interest from the select set of the 3D ultrasound data, generating a visualization plane of the object of interest, and displaying the visualization plane on the display.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, the method comprising:
 acquiring three dimensional (3D) ultrasound data of a volumetric region of interest (ROI) from an ultrasound probe;   identifying a select set of the 3D ultrasound data corresponding to an object of interest within the volumetric ROI;   segmenting the object of interest from the select set of the 3D ultrasound data;   generating a visualization plane of the object of interest; and   displaying the visualization plane on a display.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the visualization plane is projected along three orthogonal two dimensional (2D) planes. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein one of the 2D planes correspond to a mid-coronal plane, a mid-sagittal plane, or a mid-axial plane. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the visualization plane is displayed as a plurality of two dimensional (2D) slices, and further comprising arranging the 2D slices as a polyline. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising receiving a user input indicative of adjusting an orientation of at least one of the 2D slices, and adjusting the visualization plane based on the orientation of the at least one of the 2D slices. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising detecting a plurality of plate-like structures within the 3D ultrasound data of the volumetric ROI. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising applying a dynamic hysteresis threshold to each of the plurality of plate-like structures by adjusting voxel intensities of the plurality of plate-like structures. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the dynamic hysteresis threshold applied to a first plate-like structure is based on a histogram of the first plate-like structure. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of plate-like structures are detected based on a Hessian response algorithm. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the select set of the 3D ultrasound data is identified utilizing a machine learning algorithm. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the visualization plane is a hypersurface of the object of interest. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a user input indicative of a rotation of the visualization plane about a rotational axis. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 adjusting the visualization plane of the object of interest based on the rotation to form an adjusted visualization plane; and   displaying the adjusted visualization plane on the display.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the object of interest is an endometrium cavity 
     
     
         15 . An ultrasound imaging system comprising:
 an ultrasound probe configured to acquire three dimensional (3D) ultrasound data of a volumetric region of interest (ROI);   a display;   a memory configured to store programmed instructions; and   a controller circuit having one or more processors, the controller circuit is configured to execute the programmed instructions stored in the memory, wherein the controller circuit when executing the programmed instructions perform the following operations:
 collect the 3D ultrasound data from an ultrasound probe; 
 identify a select set of the 3D ultrasound data corresponding to an object of interest within the volumetric ROI; 
 segment the object of interest from the select set of the 3D ultrasound data; 
 generate a visualization plane of the object of interest; and 
 display the visualization plane on the display. 
   
     
     
         16 . The ultrasound imaging system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller circuit when executing the programmed instructions further detects a plurality of plate-like structures within the 3D ultrasound data of the volumetric ROI. 
     
     
         17 . The ultrasound imaging system of  claim 16 , wherein the controller circuit when executing the programmed instructions further applies a dynamic hysteresis threshold to each of the plurality of plate-like structures by adjusting voxel intensities of the plurality of plate-like structures. 
     
     
         18 . The ultrasound imaging system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller circuit when executing the programmed instructions further receives a user input indicative of a rotation of the visualization plane about an axis. 
     
     
         19 . A tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium comprising one or more computer software modules configured to direct one or more processors to:
 acquire three dimensional (3D) ultrasound data of a volumetric region of interest (ROI) from an ultrasound probe;   identify a select set of the 3D ultrasound data corresponding to an object of interest within the volumetric ROI;   segment the object of interest from the select set of the 3D ultrasound data;   generate a visualization plane of the object of interest; and   display the visualization plane on a display.   
     
     
         20 . The tangible and non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 19 , wherein the one or more processors are further directed to:
 detect a plurality of plate-like structures within the 3D ultrasound data of the volumetric ROI; and   apply a dynamic hysteresis threshold to each of the plurality of plate-like structures by adjusting voxel intensities of the plurality of plate-like structures.