A medical imaging system employs a transesophageal probe (20) including an ultrasound transducer (21) for scanning a patient's heart and atrial electrode(s) (22) for generating atrial electrocardiogram signal(s) predominately indicative of electrical activity of atrium chambers of the patient's heart. The medical imaging system further employs ventricular electrode(s) (23) for generating ventricular electrocardiogram signal(s) predominately indicative of electrical activity of ventricle chambers of the patient's heart. The medical imaging system further employs an electrocardiogram machine (30) for generating an electrocardiogram waveform based on the indicated electrical activities of the patient's heart, and for generating a cardiac gating signal representative of a cyclical cardiac phase period of the electrocardiogram waveform. The medical imaging system further employs an ultrasound machine (40) for reconstructing an ultrasound image of the patient's heart encompassing a time segment or an entirety of the cyclical cardiac phase period.

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus according to an embodiment includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to generate ultrasound images in a time series on the basis of data acquired by transmitting and receiving an ultrasound wave. Every time an ultrasound image satisfying a predetermined condition is generated, the processing circuitry is configured to perform a position aligning process between the ultrasound image satisfying the predetermined condition and a reference image obtained in advance. The processing circuitry is configured to identify, within the ultrasound image satisfying the predetermined condition, a region of interest set in the reference image, on the basis of a result of the position aligning process and to track the region of interest in ultrasound images in a time series that are newly generated by the image generating unit during or after the position aligning process.

A method of displaying the influence of an aspect of a model includes acquiring a two-dimensional echocardiogram having a variable intensity; relating the two-dimensional echocardiogram to a plurality of mapping points, the mapping points existing in a three-dimensional model space; determining a degree of influence value for a mapping point; and displaying the mapping point with a visual attribute that corresponds to the determined degree of influence value.

Apparatus and methods are described including inserting a tool into a blood vessel, and, while the tool is within the blood vessel, acquiring an extraluminal image of the blood vessel. In the extraluminal image of the blood vessel, a location of a portion of the tool with respect to the blood vessel is detected automatically. In response to detecting the location of the portion of the tool, a target portion of the blood vessel that is in a vicinity of the portion of the tool is designated automatically. Using the extraluminal image, quantitative vessel analysis is performed on the target portion of the blood vessel. Other embodiments are also described.

An image processing apparatus of an embodiment includes a combined image generator and a controller. The combined image generator projects, on three-dimensional data indicating three-dimensional heart function information obtained from a first volume data group obtained by imaging the heart of a subject, a three-dimensional shape of blood vessels nourishing a cardiac muscle included in second volume data obtained by imaging the heart, thereby producing three-dimensional combined data, and produces combined image data in which the three-dimensional combined data is developed on a surface. The controller causes a display unit to display the combined image data.

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to the present disclosure is configured so that a probe including transducers is connectable thereto and performs predetermined measuring processing on a subject's region of interest. The apparatus includes a controller, which performs transmission processing, in which an ultrasonic wave is transmitted toward the subject including the region of interest by driving the probe, and received signal processing, in which frames are generated based on the probe's received signals representing the ultrasonic wave reflected from the subject including the region of interest, a number of times at mutually different times, thereby generating multiple frames, which selects at least two frames under measurement to be subjected to measurement from the multiple frames, which extracts measurable ranges, where the measuring processing can be carried out, based on respective received signals obtained from the region of interest represented in the at least two frames under measurement, and which combines those measurable ranges together to perform predetermined measuring processing on the region of interest.

Devices, systems, and methods for controlling an intravascular imaging device are provided. For example, in one embodiment a method includes communicating a control signal to an actuator of the intravascular imaging device to cause oscillation of an imaging element of the intravascular imaging device, wherein the intravascular imaging device further includes an acoustic marker; receiving imaging data from the imaging element of the intravascular imaging device; identifying the acoustic marker in the imaging data by determining a correlation between the imaging data and a template representative of the acoustic marker; adjusting an aspect of the control signal based on identifying the acoustic marker; and communicating the adjusted control signal to the actuator of the intravascular imaging device.

A system and method for developing radiation therapy plans and a system and method for developing a radiation therapy plan to be used in a radiation therapy treatment is disclosed. A radiation therapy plan is developed using a registration of medical images. The registration is based on identifying landmarks located within inner body structures.

A system for estimating a position in an x-ray projection image that corresponds to a projected probe position of an intravascular probe at a time of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging. A marker detector identifies in the x-ray projection image a plurality of projected positions of markers that are located at predetermined distances along an acquisition trajectory of the intravascular probe. The projected positions are interpolated to obtain the projected probe position on the trajectory. The projected probe position corresponds to a location of the intravascular probe at a time of the IVUS imaging and is based on a distance along the acquisition trajectory between the intravascular probe at the time of the IVUS imaging and at least one of the markers.

A combination of an ultrasonic scanner and an omnidirectional receive transducer for producing a two-dimensional image from received echoes is described. Two-dimensional images with different noise components can be constructed from the echoes received by additional transducers. These can be combined to produce images with better signal to noise ratios and lateral resolution. Also disclosed is a method based on information content to compensate for the different delays for different paths through intervening tissue is described. The disclosed techniques have broad application in medical imaging but are ideally suited to multi-aperture cardiac imaging using two or more intercostal spaces. Since lateral resolution is determined primarily by the aperture defined by the end elements, it is not necessary to fill the entire aperture with equally spaced elements. Multiple slices using these methods can be combined to form three-dimensional images.