BIOPSY CONTAINER WITH IDENTIFIER

Abstract

The invention relates to a biopsy container (10) with an identification mark (13), which comprises one or more curves that surround the biopsy container. Identification information of the biopsy container may be encoded in a plurality of widths of the curves surrounding the biopsy container as well as in distances between these curves. Additionally, the biopsy container may comprise an alignment mark (11), which is configured to facilitate the registration of images of the biopsy container. The invention also relates to systems configured to determine identification information of a biopsy container and an image processing method.

Claims

1. A biopsy container, comprising: an identification mark for identifying the biopsy container; wherein the identification mark comprises a curve, which surrounds an interior of the biopsy container, wherein the identification mark is configured to be detectable by a medical imaging system during a process of taking a biopsy and when the biopsy container is located within a patient, so that images provided by the medical imaging system allow to determine identification information of the biopsy container.

2. Biopsy container according to claim 1, wherein the curve spans an entire circumference of the biopsy container.

3. Biopsy container according to claim 1, wherein the medical imaging system is a computer-assisted tomography system, a magnetic resonance imaging system, a medical ultrasound system or a positron emission tomography system.

4. Biopsy container according to claim 1, wherein identification information is encoded in a thickness of the curve surrounding the interior of the biopsy container.

5. Biopsy container according to claim 1, wherein the identification mark comprises at least two curves, which surround the interior of the biopsy container; and wherein identification information is encoded in distances between the at least two curves surrounding the interior of the biopsy container.

6. Biopsy container according to claim 1, further comprising: an alignment mark for registering images of the biopsy container.

7. Biopsy container according to claim 6, wherein the identification mark and the alignment mark are at least partially integrated into a joint identification and alignment mark.

8. Biopsy container according to claim 6, wherein the alignment mark or the identification mark are attached to the biopsy container at one end of the biopsy container or at opposing ends of the biopsy container.

9. A system comprising: an imaging unit configured for generating an image of a biopsy container according to claim 1; and a processing unit configured for detecting the identification mark of the biopsy container in said image and configured for determining identification information of the biopsy container based on the detected identification mark.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein the processing unit is configured for detecting the alignment mark of the biopsy container; and wherein the processing unit is configured for registering the image of the biopsy container based on the detected alignment mark.

11. System according to claim 9, wherein the system is a biopsy gun; wherein the biopsy gun comprises a biopsy device configured for taking a biopsy; wherein the biopsy gun further comprises an output unit for outputting identification information of the biopsy container; wherein the biopsy gun further comprises an input unit configured for receiving a trigger; wherein the input unit is configured to cause, upon receiving the trigger, the biopsy device to take a biopsy and the output unit to output the identification information.

12. System according to claim 9, wherein the system is a medical imaging system for providing imaging information during a process of taking a biopsy, wherein, preferably, the medical imaging system comprises a receiving unit for receiving identification information from a biopsy gun; wherein the receiving unit is configured to cause, upon receiving identification information, the imaging unit to generate the image; and wherein the medical imaging system is configured to store the image in a data structure together with the received identification information.

13. System according to claim 9, wherein the system is a biopsy scanner for analyzing a sample in the biopsy container; wherein the processing unit is configured for generating a three-dimensional analysis of the sample in the biopsy container based on images generated by the imaging unit.

14. Method for processing medical images comprising the following steps: detecting an identification mark of a biopsy container according to claim 1 in the images, wherein the images were captured during a process of taking a biopsy (S2); determining identification information of the identification mark of the biopsy container (S3).

15. Method according to claim 14, wherein the method comprises the step of detecting in-focus regions of one or more images (S1), wherein detecting the identification mark of a biopsy container comprises identifying crossing points of the identification mark of the biopsy container with a focal plane of the medical imaging system, and wherein determining identification information of the identification mark of the biopsy container comprises associating for each curve of the identification mark the two crossing points with the focal plane.

16. Method according to claim 14, wherein the determination of identification information comprises determining a thickness of the curve surrounding the interior of the biopsy container and/or determining a distance between two curves surrounding the interior of the biopsy container.

17. Method according to claim 14, wherein the determination of identification information comprises decoding a joint identification and alignment mark.

18. Method according to claim 14, further comprising: detecting an alignment mark of the biopsy container in the images (S4); performing a registration of the images by using the alignment mark (S5).

19. Method according to claim 14, further comprising: detecting in-focus regions of the images (S1); using the detected in-focus regions of the images for the detection of the biopsy container and for the determination of identification information.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0064] FIG. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a biopsy container according to the invention.

[0065] FIG. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily in-focus regions of identification and alignment marks in an image of a biopsy container according to the invention.

[0066] FIG. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily another embodiment of a biopsy container according to the invention.

[0067] FIG. 4 shows schematically and exemplarily another embodiment of a biopsy container according to the invention.

[0068] FIG. 5 shows schematically and exemplarily systems configured for the detection of identification marks of biopsy containers according to the invention.

[0069] FIG. 6 shows a schematic overview of steps of an image processing method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0070] FIG. 1 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a biopsy container 10 according to the invention. The biopsy container 10 has the shape of a tube with two open ends. The biopsy container 10 has an identification mark 13, which comprises three circular curves surrounding the biopsy container. These three curves may lie within planes, which are orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the biopsy container. In other examples, these curves may lie within planes, which make an angle different from 90 relative to the longitudinal axis of the biopsy container. Identification information may be encoded in varying widths of these curves surrounding the biopsy container and/or in varying distances between the curves surrounding the biopsy container. The biopsy container 10 also comprises an alignment mark 11, which includes two opaque, thin, line segments arranged in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the biopsy container. The alignment mark 11 also comprises two starting symbols 18a and 18b to indicate starting points of the line segments.

[0071] In FIG. 1, the z-axis 14 is defined orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the biopsy container 10. The imaging direction 15 is inclined relative to the z-axis 14. For this reason, the focal plane 17 is also inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the biopsy container. The focal plane 17 cuts the alignment mark 11 of the biopsy container 10 at crossing points 12a and 12b. Furthermore, the focal plane 17 cuts the identification mark at a triplet of points 16a and another triplet of points 16b.

[0072] For each imaging direction 15, an imaging unit may generate a z-stack of images, which is a sequence of images with focal planes 17 shifted in the direction of the z-axis 14. These images may show crossing points 12a and 12b of the focal planes with the alignment mark 11 of the biopsy container 10 at different image pixels. Analyzing the locations of the crossing points 12a and 12b in the sequence of z-stack images may allow to determine the location and orientation of the alignment mark. Subsequently, the location and orientation of the biopsy container 10 can be derived from the location and orientation of the alignment mark 11. At the same time, a single image may be sufficient to detect the identification mark 13 and to determine identification information of the biopsy container 10.

[0073] FIG. 2 shows schematically and exemplarily in-focus regions of identification and alignment marks in an image 20 of a biopsy container according to the present invention. The image depicted in FIG. 2 may be obtained for a biopsy container similar to the one shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, out-of-focus image regions may have been suppressed. Furthermore, all image pixels with a brightness that exceeds a certain darkness threshold may have been suppressed, leaving only dark image pixels caused by opaque identification and alignment marks. FIG. 2 illustrates crossing points 22a and 22b of the alignment mark with the focal plane of the imaging system. In addition, FIG. 2 shows two triplets 26a and 26b of crossing points of the focal plane with the identification mark. These triplets correspond to the three curves of the identification mark 13 surrounding the biopsy container 10 depicted in FIG. 1. In this example, a search for two triplets of nearby points may be performed to detect the identification mark of the biopsy container. For each curve of the identification mark, the two crossing points with the focal plane may be associated, which is illustrated by dashed line segments in FIG. 2. Identification information of the biopsy container may be determined by evaluating distances between these dashed line segments.

[0074] FIG. 2 corresponds to an identification mark comprising three thin curves, resulting in crossing points with the focal plane of the imaging unit. In another example, the identification mark of the biopsy container may comprise curves of varying widths to encode identification information. In this example, the focal plane of the imaging unit may cut the identification mark at crossing strips of varying lengths. Identification information of the biopsy container may be determined by decoding the widths of these crossing strips.

[0075] FIG. 3 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a biopsy container 30 according to the invention. The biopsy container 30 comprises a joint identification and alignment mark 31. The joint identification and alignment mark 31 comprises two dashed line segments. Identification information of the biopsy container may be encoded in a plurality of lengths of dashes and a plurality of lengths of gaps between dashes of the dashed line segments of the joint identification and alignment mark 31.

[0076] Gaps between dashes may cause that an image of the biopsy container does not show two crossing points of the focal plane with the joint identification and alignment mark. However, the alignment information may still be obtained from other images corresponding to other locations and/or orientations of the focal plane of the imaging unit (as the functional shape of the alignment mark may be known a priori).

[0077] FIG. 4 shows schematically and exemplarily an embodiment of a biopsy container 40 according to the invention. The biopsy container 40 comprises a joint identification and alignment mark 41. The joint identification and alignment mark 41 is a spiral surrounding the biopsy container 40, wherein identification information of the biopsy container is encoded in the pitch 42 between turns of the spiral.

[0078] FIG. 5 shows schematically and exemplarily systems 51, 52 and 53 configured for the detection of identification marks of biopsy containers according to the invention. System 51 depicts a biopsy gun comprising a biopsy device 512 for taking a biopsy. The biopsy device 512 may comprise one or more biopsy containers. The biopsy gun 51 further comprises an imaging unit 513 for generating an image of biopsy containers of the biopsy device. The image generated by the imaging unit 513 is processed by the processing unit 514 to detect identification marks of biopsy containers and to determine identification information based on the detected identification marks. The biopsy gun 51 may also comprise an input unit 511 for receiving a trigger and an output unit 515 for outputting identification information of biopsy containers. The trigger may be a mechanical or electronic trigger. Upon receiving the trigger, the input unit 511 causes the biopsy device 512 to take a biopsy and the output unit 515 of the biopsy gun to output identification information of the biopsy containers that are used by the biopsy device 512 for the current biopsy.

[0079] The output unit 515 of the biopsy gun 51 may send the identification information of the biopsy containers to the receiving unit 521 of the medical imaging system 52. The medical imaging system 52 is used by a clinician, for example a radiologist, urologist or surgeon, to obtain image information of the region-of-interest inside the body of a patient during the process of taking a biopsy. Upon receiving identification information of biopsy containers from the output unit 515 of the biopsy gun 51, the receiving unit 521 causes the imaging unit 522 of the medical imaging system 52 to generate an image. Preferably, the imaging unit 522 generates an image of the part of the body that is to be examined by the biopsy. Furthermore, the imaging unit 522 preferably generates the image at the time when the biopsy is taken, such that the generated image shows the location from where the tissue sample is extracted. The medical imaging system 52 further comprises a processing unit 523 for processing the image generated by the imaging unit 522. The processing unit 523 may be configured to detect identification marks of one or more biopsy containers in the image generated by the imaging unit 522. Furthermore, the processing unit 523 of the medical imaging system may be configured to determine identification information of biopsy containers based on the detected identification marks. Thereby, the processing unit 523 may utilize the identification information of biopsy containers provided by the output unit 515 of the biopsy gun 51.

[0080] The processing unit 523 of the medical imaging system 52 may also be configured to process a plurality of images generated by the imaging unit 522 to detect alignment marks of one or more biopsy containers depicted in these images. Moreover, the processing unit 523 may be configured to derive the locations and orientations of one or more biopsy containers based on the detected alignment marks. Subsequently, the one or more images generated by the imaging unit 522 may be stored together with identification information of the biopsy containers and, potentially, location information of the biopsy containers.

[0081] In an alternative embodiment, the output unit 515 of the biopsy gun is configured to send identification information of the one or more biopsy containers that are used for the current biopsy to a storage computer, which may be a remote server. Furthermore, the output unit 515 may be configured to send a trigger to the receiving unit 521 of the medical imaging system 52. Upon receiving the trigger, the receiving unit 521 may cause the imaging unit 522 to generate one or more images of the patient. The processing unit 523 may process the images generated by the imaging unit 522 to determine identification and location information of the one or more biopsy containers. The medical imaging system 52 may send the one or more images generated by the imaging unit 522 and, potentially, the determined identification and location information of the one or more biopsy containers to the storage computer. This storage computer may store the image data in a data structure together with identification information of the biopsy containers and, potentially, location information of the biopsy containers.

[0082] FIG. 5 also depicts a biopsy scanner 53 comprising an imaging unit 531 and a processing unit 532. The line between the biopsy gun 51 and the biopsy scanner 53 indicates that the biopsy scanner 53 receives a biopsy container with a tissue sample from the biopsy gun 51. The imaging unit 531 is configured to generate one or more images of the tissue sample inside the biopsy container. In particular, the imaging unit 531 of the biopsy scanner may generate z-stacks of images of the tissue sample inside the biopsy container for different imaging directions. The processing unit 532 may be adapted to process the images generated by the imaging unit 531. In particular, the processing unit 532 may be configured to detect the alignment mark of the biopsy container and to register the image data based on the detected alignment mark, potentially resulting in a 3D analysis of the sample tissue inside the biopsy container. In addition, the processing unit 532 may be configured to detect the identification mark of the biopsy container and to determine the associated identification information based on one or more images generated by the imaging unit 531. The biopsy scanner 53 may be configured to store or output the 3D analysis together with the determined identification information of the biopsy container.

[0083] FIG. 6 shows a schematic overview of steps of an image processing method 60 according to the invention. In step S1 of the image processing method 60, in-focus regions of one or more images are detected. Step S1 may also comprise the suppression of image structures in the one or more images, which are brighter than a darkness threshold. In step S2, the identification mark of a biopsy container according to the present invention is detected. In step S3, identification information of the detected identification mark is determined. In step S4, the alignment mark of the biopsy container is detected. In this step, a sequence of images may be analysed, and the crossing points of the alignment mark of the biopsy container with different focal planes of the imaging unit may be searched to determine the location and orientation of the alignment mark of the biopsy container. In step S5, image data is registered based on the detected alignment mark of the biopsy container. The registration of image data may be limited to image data from one imaging unit/imaging modality. Alternatively, the registration of image data may comprise image data from several imaging units/imaging modalities.

[0084] It has to be noted that embodiments of the invention are described with reference to different subject matters. In particular, some embodiments are described with reference to method type claims whereas other embodiments are described with reference to the device type claims. However, a person skilled in the art will gather from the above and the following description that, unless otherwise notified, in addition to any combination of features belonging to one type of subject matter also any combination between features relating to different subject matters is considered to be disclosed with this application. However, all features can be combined providing synergetic effects that are more than the simple summation of the features.

[0085] While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing a claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the dependent claims.

[0086] In the claims, the word comprising does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items re-cited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are re-cited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope.