Heber M Macmahon

6335980, Jan 1, 2002

Dec 23, 1999

09/471088

Maryellen L. Giger - Elmhurst IL
Heber Macmahon - Chicago IL

Arch Development Corporation - Chicago IL

G06K 900

382132, 382169, 382173, 382266, 600443

A method and system for the automated segmentation of the lung regions in lateral chest radiographs. This is achieved according to the invention by providing an improved computerized, automated method for image segmentation based on gray-level threshold analysis. A unique method for identifying an approximate outer bounds on the extent of the lung fields in the image is performed to restrict the region further analyzed. An iterative global gray-level thresholding method is applied based on the features of a global gray-level histogram. Features of the regions in a binary image constructed at each iteration are identified and subjected to a modified analysis to exclude regions external to the lung field. The initial lung region contour that results from this global process is used to facilitate a novel adaptive local gray level thresholding method. Individual regions-of-interest (ROIs) are placed along the initial contour.

6466689, Oct 15, 2002

Dec 28, 1993

08/173935

Heber MacMahon - Chicago IL

Arch Development Corp. - Chicago IL

G06T 500

382132, 382274, 128922

A system and method for digital imaging. A digital radiological image of a subject is obtained having at least one low density region. The image is processed using first weighting factors in the at least one low density region of the digital image and second weighting factors smaller than the first weighting factors in regions of the digital image other than the at least one low density region. A processed digital image is obtained and a representation of the processed digital image is produced. In the processing of the image, unsharp mask filtering is employed using a processing curve having maximum unsharp mask filtering in the at least one low density region of the digital image and a constant amount of unsharp mask filtering less than the maximum unsharp mask filtering in the regions of the image other than the low density regions.

6483934, Nov 19, 2002

Apr 27, 2001

09/842860

Maryellen L. Giger - Elmhurst IL
Heber MacMahon - Chicago IL

Arch Development Corporation - Chicago IL

G06K 900

382132

A method, system, and computer product for the automated segmentation of the lung fields and costophrenic angle (CP) regions in posteroanterior (PA) chest radiographs, wherein image segmentation based on gray-level threshold analysis is performed by applying an iterative global gray-level thresholding method to a chest image based on the features of a global gray-level histogram. Features of the regions in a binary image constructed at each iteration are identified and analyzed to exclude regions external to the lung fields. The initial lung contours that result from this global process are used to facilitate a local gray-level thresholding method. Individual regions-of-interest (ROIs) are placed along the initial contour. A procedure is implemented to determine the gray-level thresholds to be applied to the pixels within the individual ROIs. The result is a binary image, from which final contours are constructed.

6577752, Jun 10, 2003

Jun 15, 2001

09/881002

Heber MacMahon - Chicago IL

Arch Development Corporation - Chicago IL

G06K 900

382131, 382132, 382169

A method, system, and computer program product for automated measurements of pleural space and/or pleural thickening in thoracic CT images to identify the presence and quantify the extent of pleura-based disease, including obtaining a CT image including the pleural space and/or the pleural thickening, segmenting lungs in the obtained image, constructing a chest wall image from the obtained image using a lung boundary obtained in the segmenting step, identifying ribs in the chest wall image, mapping a location of the identified ribs back into the obtained image, and determining in the obtained image the extent of the pleural space and/or the pleural thickening between the identified ribs mapped back into the obtained CT image and at least one segmented lung. Exemplary embodiments include determining the extent of pleural space and/or pleural thickening based on linear distance, area, and volume of the space between the ribs and the lung boundary. These pleural determinations may be used to quantify the extent of disease in a particular case as additional information to be incorporated into a radiologists decision-making process, or as part of a computer-aided diagnostic scheme that alerts radiologists of the potential for pleural disease in the case.

6724925, Apr 20, 2004

Oct 30, 2002

10/283044

Maryellen L. Giger - Elmhurst IL
Heber MacMahon - Chicago IL

Arch Development Corporation - Chicago IL

G06K 900

382132

A method, system, and computer product for the automated segmentation of the lung fields and costophrenic angle (CP) regions in posteroanterior (PA) chest radiographs, wherein image segmentation based on gray-level threshold analysis is performed by applying an iterative global gray-level thresholding method to a chest image based on the features of a global gray-level histogram. Features of the regions in a binary image constructed at each iteration are identified and analyzed to exclude regions external to the lung fields. The initial lung contours that result from this global process are used to facilitate a local gray-level thresholding method. Individual regions-of-interest (ROIs) are placed along the initial contour. A procedure is implemented to determine the gray-level thresholds to be applied to the pixels within the individual ROIs. The result is a binary image, from which final contours are constructed.

6813375, Nov 2, 2004

Nov 13, 2002

10/292625

Samuel G. Armato III - Downers Grove IL
Heber MacMahon - Chicago IL
Geoffrey R. Oxnard - Chicago IL

University of Chicago - Chicago IL

G06K 900

382131, 382132, 382169, 382171

A method, system, and computer program product for automated and semi-automated measurements of pleural space and/or pleural thickening in thoracic CT images to identify the presence and quantify the extent of pleura-based disease, including obtaining a CT image including the pleural space and/or the pleural thickening, segmenting lungs in the obtained image, obtaining an initial endpoint on a chest wall or a mediastinum boundar; determining a terminal endpoint on a boundary of the at least one segmented lung; and determining a distance between said initial endpoint and said the terminal endpoint as the extent of the pleural space and/or the pleural thickening. Exemplary embodiments include determining the extent of pleural space and/or pleural thickening based on linear distance, area, and volume of the space between the lung boundary and at least one of the chest wall and the mediastinum boundary. These pleural determinations may be used to quantify the extent of disease in a particular case as additional information to be incorporated into a radiologists decision-making process, or as part of a computer-aided diagnostic scheme that alerts radiologists of the potential for pleural disease in the case.

6898303, May 24, 2005

Jan 16, 2001

09/759333

Maryellen L. Giger - Elmhurst IL, US
Heber Macmahon - Chicago IL, US

Arch Development Corporation - Chicago IL

G06K009/00

382131, 382285, 600425, 378 21

A method, system and computer readable medium for automated detection of lung nodules in computed tomography (CT) image scans, including generating two-dimensional segmented lung images by segmenting a plurality of two-dimensional CT image sections derived from the CT image scans; generating three-dimensional segmented lung volume images by combining the two-dimensional segmented lung images; determining three-dimensional lung nodule candidates from the three-dimensional segmented lung volume images, including, identifying structures within the three-dimensional segmented lung volume images that meet a volume criterion; deriving features from the lung nodule candidates; and detecting lung nodules by analyzing the features to eliminate false-positive nodule candidates from the nodule candidates.

8265728, Sep 11, 2012

Nov 26, 2003

10/721827

Heber MacMahon - Chicago IL, US

University of Chicago - Chicago IL

A61B 5/05
A61B 8/00

600407, 600410, 600437, 378 5, 378 56, 378 62, 378 9811, 382169, 382171, 382174, 382172

An apparatus, method and computer program product for performing computer aided diagnosis on temporal subtraction images of objects. A mode of a gray-level histogram is identified, and a gray-level threshold is established at a predefined fraction of this modal value. All pixels with gray levels below this threshold that lie within the lung regions of the temporal subtraction image remain “on,” while all other pixels are set to zero. Area and circularity requirements are imposed to eliminate false-positive regions. Areas of pathologic change identified in this manner may be presented as outlines in the subtraction image or as highlighted regions in the original radiographic image so that, in effect, temporal subtraction becomes a “background” process for computer-aided diagnosis. The present invention is also directed to method, apparatus, and computer program product for performing temporal subtraction on energy subtraction images, with or without subsequent computer aided diagnosis, of objects.