An imaging device for acquiring a time series of in vivo images of a region of a subject's body is provided. The imaging device includes a energy source, a detector for detecting energy from the energy source passing through the region of the subject's body located between the energy source and detector, a controller configured to operate the energy source and the detector to acquire a time series of in vivo images of the region of the subject's body, a sensor for monitoring a physiological parameter associated with the region of the subject's body to be imaged and a processor configured to determine timing of the image acquisition based at least on the monitored physiological parameter. A method for acquiring a time series of in vivo images of a region of a subject's body using the imaging device is also provided.

An ultrasound diagnosis apparatus includes a calculating unit, an obtaining unit, a determining unit, and a controlling unit. By using a plurality of pieces of three-dimensional ultrasound image data in a time series corresponding to a three-dimensional region including a myocardium of a subject, the calculating unit calculates first movement information indicating a movement of the myocardium by tracking a movement of a region of interest that corresponds to the myocardium and that is set in each of the plurality of pieces of three-dimensional image data. The obtaining unit obtains direction information indicating a direction of a myocardial fiber in the myocardium. The determining unit determines second movement information indicating a movement of the myocardium with respect to the direction of the myocardial fiber, on the basis of the first movement information and the direction information. The controlling unit causes a display unit to display the second movement information.

An imaging device positioning system for monitoring an anatomical region (10). The imaging device positioning system employs an imaging device (20) for generating an image (21) of an anatomical region (10). The imaging device positioning system further employs an imaging device controller (30) for controlling a positioning of the imaging device (20) relative to the anatomical region (10). During a generation by the imaging device (20) of the image (21) of the anatomical region (10), the imaging device controller (30) adapts the positioning of the imaging device (20) relative to the anatomical region (10) to a physiological condition of the anatomical region (10) extracted from the image (21) of the anatomical region (10).

An ultrasonic blood flow parameter displaying method, comprises: acquiring, by means of a probe (1), an ultrasonic signal from an object to be scanned (S100); acquiring, according to the ultrasonic signal, a plurality of velocities and directions of blood flow within the object to be scanned (S200); extracting the plurality of velocities and directions of blood flow (S300); quantifying the dispersion of the plurality of velocities and directions of the blood flow extracted (S400); and displaying the quantization result of the dispersion (S500). The present invention provides a method for quantifying and evaluating the direction of the motion of blood flow, and provides a better perspective of observation for a user.

There is provided a method and a system for ultrasound imaging in presence of relative motion between a body and an imaging probe. A plurality of Eulerian-based ultrasound images of the body acquired at successive times T with the imaging probe is obtained. Lagrangian coordinates for the body are computed using data from the Eulerian-based ultra-sound images. Lagrangian-based ultrasound images of the body are formed by providing the data from the Eulerian-based ultrasound images in the Lagrangian coordinate system.

A method for ultrasound image processing having steps of receiving sequences of ultrasound images imaging an anatomical feature of interest during two cardiac cycles one in the absence of, and the other in the presence of, an invasive medical device in said ultrasound images, each ultrasound image corresponding to a different phase of said cardiac cycle. The invasive medical device may at least partially obscure the anatomical feature of interest for each ultrasound image of the further sequence. The location of the invasive medical device is tracked and isolated in the ultrasound image, and the isolated invasive medical device is inserted into an ultrasound image of the first sequence of a corresponding phase of the cardiac cycle in the tracked location. The method also controls a display device to display the first sequence of ultrasound images including the inserted invasive medical device.

An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus (1) includes a time phase search period specifying unit (16) that specifies a time phase search period in each heartbeat period on the basis of Doppler data; and a frame specifying unit (12) that specifies at least one of B-mode data of a frame with a maximum diameter of a blood vessel or B-mode data of a frame with a minimum diameter of the blood vessel in each heartbeat period by analyzing the B-mode data of a plurality of frames in the time phase search period specified by the time phase search period specifying unit (16).

A system and method for tracking an anatomical structure over time based on Pulsed-Wave (PW) Doppler signals of a Multi-Gated Doppler (MGD) signal is provided. The method may include identifying a gate corresponding with a selected anatomical structure. The method may include analyzing an MGD signal to track the selected anatomical structure over an extended period of time by selecting, at a plurality of sample times during the extended period of time, a PW Doppler signal from a plurality of PW Doppler signals of the MGD signal. Each of the selected PW Doppler corresponds with the selected anatomical structure at the particular sample time. The method may include presenting a continuous PW Doppler signal generated from each of the PW Doppler signals selected at each of the sample times during the extended period of time at a display system.

Apparatus and methods are described for imaging a tool inside a portion of a subject's body that undergoes motion. A plurality of image frames are acquired of the portion of the subject's body. The image frames are image tracked by (a) automatically identifying at least a feature of the tool in at least a portion of the image frames, and (b) aligning the tool in image frames of the portion of the image frames, based on the automatic identifying. The image-tracked image frames of the portion of the subject's body are displayed as an image stream. Other embodiments are also described.

Systems and methods can be used for ultrasound-based geometry determination for cardiac mapping. A patient can be scanned with an ultrasound while wearing body surface electrodes. While the scanning takes place, the location of the ultrasound transducer can be tracked in three-dimensional space. The electrodes can be tracked and located in the same coordinate system as the image volume. Therefore, each electrode's location can be determined relative to the acquired image volume such that corresponding geometry data is generated for the heart and the electrodes.